Mormon Life - Mormons We Know

Mitt Romney called 'Governor Mormon'

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:21:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

Mormon Life says: Oops. How preoccupied are political news reporters with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney 's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

This preoccupied: During Saturday night's coverage of the Nevada caucus voting, CNN's John King dropped the whole Romney thing and instead referred to the GOP frontrunner as "Governor Mormon."

Mormon church skips pre-session meeting with lawmakers

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:25:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

For the first time in decades, legislative leaders didn’t hold their annual pre-session meeting with LDS Church officials, but the reason for the change in the practice is unclear.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, said he thinks the change might be related to heightened scrutiny the Salt Lake City-based church is subjected to as Mitt Romney makes his presidential bid.

Mitt Romney hopes millions he tithes to LDS Church isn't politicized

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:11:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: The public has clearly misunderstood tithing payment, turning his faith-based donations into a political problem. It's too bad. With the release of Mitt Romney's tax records on Tuesday, the world now knows what was previously known only by a select few: Mitt and Ann Romney pay 10 percent of their income in tithing to their faith.

Traditionally, tithing records are viewed as a confidential matter between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the lay leader of their church congregation, but for the Romneys in the midst of a presidential campaign, those donations are now a matter of public record.

And a matter for possible misunderstanding. The Romneys, as is common among LDS Church members and in all kinds of American charitable giving, made many of their donations to their faith through appreciated stock, according to the tax return for 2010 Romney released today and his estimated taxes for 2011.

Elizabeth Smart is engaged; summer wedding is planned

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:13:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Congratulations to Elizabeth! Elizabeth Smart is engaged to marry, a family spokesman confirmed Friday.

A summer wedding is planned, said Chris Thomas of the Salt Lake public relations firm Intrepid Group. Thomas would not identify Smart's fiancé nor confirm how the couple met. The pair became engaged this past weekend.

"She has planned to be very public in her child advocacy work but wants to keep the details of her personal life private," Thomas said.

Smart, 24, is "happy and excited for this next chapter in her life," he said.

Romney, a Mormon, gets support from ex-ambassadors to the Vatican

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:06:00 -0700

source: cnn.com

Mormon Life says: Even though Santorum and Gingrich are both Catholic, Romney is the one getting the endorsement. Bypassing two GOP presidential candidates known for their Catholic faith, five former U.S. Ambassadors to the Holy See threw their support behind frontrunner Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon.

In a letter blasted out by Romney's campaign on Saturday, the ambassadors lauded the former Massachusetts governor for understanding "the importance of strong families as pillars of a vibrant economy and a flourishing polity."

LDS Church plans to turn house into seminary building for new high school

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:47:00 -0700

source: abc4.com

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to turn a house into a seminary building near the new high school in Draper. But before that can happen, the neighbors will get to vote on the covenants, conditions and restrictions of the neighborhood.

This new Corner Canyon High School is set to open in the Fall of 2013.

Baptist reverend: Mitt's Mormonism a bigger issue than Newt's infidelity

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:15:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Rev. Brad Atkins, the president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, which includes nearly 2,000 churches and 1 million members, told South Carolina's Patch newspaper on Monday that both Romney and Gingrich could struggle in the Palmetto State because of these issues.

Stories about faith and family help Romney open up

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:09:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mitt Romney is starting to open up.

For the past year, the former Massachusetts governor has emphasized his business background as he's argued that he should be president because he understands the economy and can fix it to help millions of out-of-work Americans. Yet Romney, a multimillionaire many times over whom critics call robotic, has struggled to connect with average people.

Now, he's trying to show people he personally understands what hardship is like by drawing on anecdotes from his upbringing — funny, revealing and sometimes slightly awkward stories — in hopes they will humanize him while providing a contrast with the rocky past of his chief rival, Newt Gingrich.

Mitt Romney's speech about Boston temple

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:56:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

(Editor's note: on Oct. 8, 1996, Mitt Romney spoke to the zoning board of Belmont, Mass., in favor of allowing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to proceed with plans for building a temple in the Boston suburb of Belmont that would include a 139-foot-tall steeple. Below are Romney's words from that occasion, according to an official Belmont document obtained by the Los Angeles Times.)

TIME asks why voters don't like Mitt

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:24:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: His religion isn't the problem; it's that no one knows what he stands for. Next to a grimacing close-up of presidential candidate Mitt Romney's face, the latest cover of Time magazine asks, "Why Don't They Like Me?"

The five-page article by Joe Klein in the news magazine's Dec. 12 edition (available online to subscribers only) attempts to answer the question of why many Republicans appear to want anybody but Romney as their party's nominee.

Klein labeled the two-time White House contender "uninspiring to moderates and untrustworthy to conservatives, an unloved, forlorn front runner" who maintains the support of only about 20 percent of the GOP.

David Archuleta: the Eagle, the temple and the music

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:14:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Good things are happening for David: receiving his Eagle Scout, going through the temple, he's on the cover of LDS Living (okay, that last one is a little biased).

It’s been a year since David Archuleta was the featured artist of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert.

Sporting a sweater and scarf, the 20-year-old "American Idol" star was in town last week to promote his Christmas concert CD and DVD, sign autographs, sit for some media interviews and enjoy Thanksgiving with his family before beginning a Christmas tour.

Polishing off a turkey sandwich during an interview, Archuleta described how honored he was to be invited to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir he grew up admiring.

'My heart is broken' for victims of Penn State child sex abuse scandal, Elizabeth Smart says

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:59:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Kidnapping victim turned child advocate Elizabeth Smart said her heart was broken when she learned of the victims of the Penn State child abuse scandal.

"It makes me feel terrible any time I hear about a child being abused," Smart said at a press conference at the Utah State Capitol Monday afternoon.

But news of the scandal also vaulted her into action. Smart called on President Obama Monday to declare "a national emergency" to rescue children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Elizabeth Smart to speak at conference on child abuse and family violence

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:30:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

Two decades ago, children who became crime victims didn’t have an inviting place to talk about what they’d endured.

They were brought to a police station, sat down in an interrogation room and often felt frightened in an unfamiliar place, said Trina Taylor, associate director of Prevent Child Abuse Utah.

Today, a new environment exists for child victims in Utah. Eighteen children’s justice centers exist around the state, all equipped with child-friendly tools to help put children at ease as they’re interviewed about abuse.

MSNBC: Mitt Romney's French missionary education

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:55:00 -0700

source: msnbc.msn.com

Mormon Life says: A feature on Mitt's mission to France and how it shaped him into the man/candidate he is today. To understand why Mitt Romney persists in the face of rejection, opposition and indifference from his own party, look no further than the two and a half years he spent in France, getting up at 6:30 a.m. every day to venture forth and have doors slammed in his face for 10 hours.

The fresh-faced Latter-Day Saints who came to France in the late 1960s to preach the message of Jesus Christ — of whom Republican presidential candidate Romney is the best known — discovered a secular and skeptical populace, and few willing converts.

On bad days, the young Americans were greeted with guns, or barking dogs chased at their heels. Romney has said his mission, which took him through Le Havre, Paris and Bordeaux, was testing.

Baptist leader: Liberals will ‘mock’ Mitt’s Mormonism

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:56:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

An influential evangelical leader says Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith will be an issue if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee, but maintains that the attacks will come from secular liberals, not conservatives.

"The secular liberals are going to mock Mormonism," Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "They’re going to start doing documentaries on Mormonism and try to scare independents about him. They ought to be ashamed of themselves, and they will do this."

Jon Huntsman Sr. says voters just need to get to know his son

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:04:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

The biggest problem with Jon Huntsman Jr.'s presidential bid is that the public hasn't gotten to know yet just how perfect he'd be for the job.

At least according to his proud father.

"I think when they get to know Jon Jr., they'll recognize what a tremendously talented and capable individual he is," Jon Huntsman Sr. said. "That comes straight from a father."

The billionaire industrialist and philanthropist offered his views on his son's campaign during an interview about a major expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute that will be dedicated Friday. Huntsman Jr. is expected to be in Utah for the event.

WSJ: Romney Isn't Planning Another Mormon Speech

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:19:00 -0600

source: wsj.com

Mormon Life says: A lot of people have said he should address the issue again - but Romney (understandably) just seems to want to get beyond the "Mormon" issue. Mitt Romney told an Iowa audience on Thursday that he has no plans to deliver another speech about his Mormon faith after a Dallas pastor raised the issue earlier this month.

“I think the great majority of American people want to select the person who’s the most capable of getting our country going again, with strong values and a strong economy and a strong military,” the Republican presidential candidate said at a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday afternoon. “Among the things that are unique and exceptional about our country is the fact that, in America, we recognize and appreciate differences in faith.”

More reaction to rock star Brandon Flowers' 'I'm a Mormon' video

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:15:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: More media reactions to Flowers's most recent declaration of faith. "Brandon Flowers" and "Mormon" are still being paired in a lot of conversations from New Zealand to the United Kingdom.

The profile and video on Mormon.org is now up to 3,000 "likes" on Facebook, and its presence on the social network quickly approached 50,000 shares on Thursday.

The video has caught the attention of The Telegraph, which is appropriate considering the popularity of Flowers and The Killers in the U.K. Flowers' solo album debuted at No. 1 on U.K. charts in September.

‘Jeopardy!’ champ Ken Jennings speaks to Utah teachers at UEA

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:47:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Opossums have 13 nipples. Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day. Buzz Aldrin’s mother’s maiden name was Moon. These facts may seem like little more than trivia at first glance. But to "Jeopardy!" champ and former Utahn Ken Jennings they’re bits of information that can help people connect to others and ignite an interest in learning more about the world.

"Information may not be the same as knowledge, and it may not be the same as wisdom, but it is the building block," Jennings told hundreds of teachers gathered for the first day of the Utah Education Association Convention and Education Exposition Thursday. Jennings, who famously won 74 games of "Jeopardy!" to win $2.5 million in 2004, kicked off the annual two-day convention with a humor-filled take on the importance of trivia and knowledge.

Reactions to Brandon Flowers' Mormon.org video

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:18:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers is a Mormon.

Surprised? Most people aren’t. But there’s definitely quite a bit of buzz about his new video and profile on Mormon.org.

“His connection to the LDS Church has never been a secret and he is certainly not the only star with a current or former tie to the Mormon faith — like Gladys Knight, Katherine Heigl and Ryan Gosling — but for the 'I’m a Mormon' campaign, to feature such a recognizable artist is unprecedented,” reads an article on Entertainment Weekly’s website.