Mormon Life - Salt Lake City tag

Go West, young religion: Mormonism on exhibit

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:13:00 -0600

source: nytimes.com

Mormon Life says: The New York Times features the exhibits on display at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. I like what they have to say about the Church and U.S. history. The president, according to Mormon doctrine, is literally a seer, a prophet — the president, that is, of the church. Usually American presidents have a somewhat lower reputation.

Now that Mitt Romney, an active Mormon, is aspiring to the more mundane office, new attention has come upon the faith that guides him. And much of that attention has been accompanied by controversy, confusion and concern about how Mormonism fits into American society.

For a glimpse of how Mormons see themselves, though, it’s worth visiting the Church History Museum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here. Created by believers, for believers, the museum shows how close to the center of American life Mormons consider themselves to be.

LDS Conference Center fire caused $500K in damage, fire officials say

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:13:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

A fire at the downtown Conference Center caused $500,000 in damage to the LDS Church building, fire officials said Thursday.

The blaze began about 8:15 p.m. Monday in a bank of backup batteries in a mechanical room at the Conference Center, 60 N. West Temple. The batteries serve as a backup electrical service that helps power the generator in the building.

The Inner City Project: a chance to serve from home

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:03:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Whether you're finding an apartment for someone newly homeless, explaining to a foreign refugee what a flush toilet is, or connecting addicts with resources for recovery, the Inner City Project has something nearly anyone can do to fulfill Christ's call to serve "the least of these" right when it matters the most.

Mike and Allene Ross — Elder and Sister Ross for now — are assistant directors for this innovative program that is changing the lives of both recipients and those who serve in downtown Salt Lake City. In this audio interview they share amazing stories about this program that lets you serve for a number of hours each week while still living at home, sleeping in your own bed and even before you retire.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks dedicates new home of Utah's largest law firm

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:57:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Elder Dallin H. Oaks was among friends Thursday afternoon, surrounded by legal professionals at the new home of Utah's largest law firm.

Elder Oaks, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve, officially welcomed Kirton McConkie to City Creek Center and offered a dedicatory prayer on the firm's new building at 50 E. South Temple.

"Lawyers and the legal profession have served humanity ably, responsibly and effectively throughout our lifetimes and for many generations before us," Elder Oaks told the lawyers gathered in the new office.

LDS Church to reuse the rubble from the old downtown malls

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:53:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

With all the attention paid to the new City Creek Center development, a lot of Utahns may be starting to forget what was there before.

But a reminder of the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza is seen by drivers every day.

Alongside an I-80 frontage road at 7200 West, there's a sizable pile of debris from the old shopping malls and other buildings demolished to make way for City Creek Center. During the demolition, rubble was hauled to the site, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It includes an old refuse dump.

Family history holidays bring tourists to Utah

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:39:00 -0600

source: bbc.co.uk

Thousands of people flock to Salt Lake City each year, not for Utah’s skiing or national parks, but to search through endless records of births, deaths and marriages at one the world's largest repositories of genealogy information on the planet. There is a new breed of traveller focused on uncovering family narratives, as evidenced by the 1,500 visitors who visit the Family History Library every day. Run by the Mormon Church, it contains more than two billion names of the deceased, more than 2.2 million rolls of microfilm and 300,000 books.

{LDSL Blog} What City Creek Will Do for the Church

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:32:00 -0600

by Ashley Evanson
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: The new City Creek Center in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City is more than just a mall - it's the newest missionary tool of the LDS Church. The LDS Church’s for-profit firm City Creek Reserve is behind the construction of the $2 billion mixed-use shopping space that spans two city blocks just across the street from Temple Square. And what’s amazing is that the Church paid for City Creek with cash, not using a dime of member tithing money.

A lot of members, including LDS Living readers, are in support of the shopping center, but I’ve also read comments questioning the Church’s use of money. Some think the Church should be using the money to build temples, and others have even called City Creek “great and spacious.” But I don’t see it that way at all.

Think of it this way: There is a huge, metropolitan center literally steps away from the Salt Lake Temple, Visitor Center, Tabernacle, Church History Museums, among other places. People who might never have stepped foot onto Temple Square can casually stroll over after a day of shopping, or while waiting for a dinner reservation. A new TRAX line is going to run from the airport to City Creek, so people from all over the globe can visit both word-class shopping and the LDS hub quite conveniently. I see so many missionary opportunities coming from the incredible location and overall atmosphere it has brought back to Salt Lake. This was no coincidence, and the Church knows exactly what it’s doing.

The First Presidency attended the opening ceremony last week where President Henry B. Erying said, "Everything that we see around us is evidence of the long-standing commitment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City. Downtown, thanks to so many, is indeed rising."

This commitment to revitalizing downtown is to preserve the heritage, legacy, and culture of Salt Lake City, Bishop H. David Burton, the Church's presiding bishop, told the Deseret News. And it will no doubt also be a vital tool in missionary work. So before you judge, give City Creek a chance. After all, if President Monson thinks it’s a good thing, so do I.

The Truth About Mormons: American attitudes towards Mormons

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:20:00 -0600

source: nationalreview.com

Mormon Life says: I love this cover. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, you may be surprised to learn, the largest religious organization in the United States after the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the United Methodist Church. The Baptists and the Methodists are in decline, while the number of Catholics and Mormons is growing, with Mormons adding to their numbers at 2.5 times the Roman rate of redemption. It is likely that Joseph Smith soon will have more followers in the United States than does John Wesley; already the words “Salt Lake City” carry a religious resonance no longer detectable in place names such as “Aldersgate” — or “Boston” or “Philadelphia” for that matter.

Conference visitors have many travel, viewing options

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:12:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Officials are urging the tens of thousands gathering for LDS General Conference to carpool, use mass transit and take advantage of many options to watch or listen elsewhere.

And beware: Fares for buses and TRAX light rail go up April 1 — halfway through conference. It is no April Fools’ Day joke. As part of a long-planned increase, regular adult one-way fares will jump from $2.25 to $2.35.

City Creek prepares for LDS General Conference weekend

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:05:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

The debut of City Creek Center exceeded expectations, but owners of the shops and stores that constitute the mixed-use downtown destination are bracing for more, possibly larger, crowds in its second weekend.

Scott Trotter, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, estimated that 115,000 people will visit downtown during the church's two-day general conference on Saturday and Sunday. City Creek officials expect some of those visitors to make their way to the new shopping center and are preparing to usher in a second wave of curious guests.

Salt Lake City storehouse at top of Mormon food chain

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:07:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

At the new Utah Bishops’ Central Storehouse, pallets loaded with food wait to be ferried to locales near and far, their destinations handwritten in black marker on plastic wrap covers: Lindon, Ely, Mesa, San Diego, St. George.

Richard Humphries, storehouse manager, stops a golf cart next to one steel storage rack, slits open a cardboard box with a pocket knife and pulls out a can of peaches made with fruit grown at an LDS Church orchard and processed at its cannery in Lindon. The can’s label is stamped "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" and "Welfare Services, Salt Lake City, Utah." This, Humphries said as he holds the can in his palm, is "the best food money can’t buy."

First Presidency attends City Creek opening

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:09:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: What an incredible day this was! This article has an excellent photo gallery of the events. The First Presidency participated in Thursday's ceremonial ribbon cutting at City Creek Center, signaling the long-awaited opening of Salt Lake City's newest mall.

President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, also greeted and shook hands with several shoppers anxious to look about and enjoy the only regional shopping center opening this year in North America.

Artists at work on March 23 at Church History Museum

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:40:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Seven Mormon artists will be featured at this year's Artists at Work event at the LDS Church History Museum on Friday, March 23, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Mormon inner city project blesses lives of thousands

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:14:00 -0600

source: Newsroom.lds.org

Glenn and Kathy Sorte serve as volunteer missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) in the Inner City Project of Salt Lake City. After a lifetime of Church service, they are still keeping busy by responding to the needs of central city families.

Their list of responsibilities may include coordinating appointments and providing transportation to visit the doctor, the dentist, the job interview or the computer repair shop. They could teach English as a second language, basic piano lessons or budgeting, or tutor students in their school assignments. They help plan and execute activities and socials and arrange donations of clothing, household supplies, car seats, diapers and baby formula, holiday gift cards and even tuition.

It's time to move past 'the Mormon moment,' LDS official says

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:16:00 -0600

source: washingtonpost.com

Mormon Life says: Is it really a "moment" if it's lasted more than ten years? History has not recorded the name of the journalist who created the phrase, “the Mormon moment.”

The originator may have been a headline writer for U.S. News and World Report who, back in November of 2000, used “Mormon Moment” as the label for a story triggered by a new Mormon temple in Houston. The church’s growth, according to the story’s author, reporter Jeff Sheler, was “a tangible sign of the rising fortunes of this uniquely American religious movement …the Salt Lake City-based church is finding a home in the least likely places, from Houston to Helsinki, and from Tampa to Tokyo.”

A Look Back: Photos of Salt Lake's ZCMI in the late 1800s

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:06:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: What incredible photos. The Salt Lake Tribune occasionally presents images from its archives in a special series called A Look Back. This installment shows the factory of Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, or ZCMI, in the end of the 19th century.

Mormons build giant mall designed to 'last for 100 years'

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:44:00 -0600

source: wsj.com

Mormon Life says: We are very excited for the opening next week. We hope the Church's project does extremely well. In the heart of this western capital's downtown, the Mormon church and mall owner Taubman Centers Inc. are preparing to throw the wraps off a retail anomaly next week: a megamall with eye-popping extras such as a man-made creek, retractable roofs and a fountain that erupts in choreographed jets of water and fire.

Costly amenities aside, City Creek Center stands out simply because malls this size aren't often built in the U.S. anymore. New projects have been choked off by retail overbuilding, the rise of online shopping, curtailed expansion by department stores and store closures by mall stalwarts such as Gap Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp.

Salt Lake Valley: This is the place for two new Mormon missions

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:44:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

Many people outside of Utah presume that the Beehive State's entire population is Mormon, so why would there be a need for LDS missionaries?

In fact, barely half of Salt Lake City's residents are members of the state's predominant church, and the Salt Lake Valley's LDS missions are reportedly among the most successful in the country. So much so that the Utab-based faith has just announced that it is creating two new missions in the valley — on the west side and in the central section.

Forgotten time capsule discovered in Salt Lake City

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:52:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: This is incredible! Some of the predictions they made for the future are spot on. In 1959, the microchip was introduced to the world and in October of that year the Soviet Union launched Luna 3, the first spacecraft to circle the moon.

A month later a group of Salt Lake City leaders gathered on a corner of downtown Salt Lake City and wrote down their vision of what life would be like in Utah when the century turned, predicting floating cars, moving sidewalks and climate controlled clothes.

The predictions, a few newspapers and one very special promise were slipped into a container and sealed into a wall of the Crandall Building, forgotten until renovations brought the unlikely discovery 52 years later.

Stores announced for Utah's City Creek Center

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:29:00 -0700

source: ldsliving.com

City Creek announced over 90 retailers that will join City Creek Center when it officially opens on March 22, 2012. City Creek Center is the retail component of City Creek, the major mixed-use development rising in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. The new 700,000-square-foot shopping center, anchored by Macy’s and Nordstrom, is the only regional shopping center scheduled to open in the United States this year.

The stores and services announced today will join Macy’s, Nordstrom and the 20 exciting new-to-the-market tenants previously announced:

77kids by american eagle

BCBGMAXAZRIA

Bose

Brooks Brothers/Brooks Brothers Women

Coach

Cotton On

The Limited

L’Occitane

Love Culture

LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

Michael Kors

N3L Optics

PANDORA

Papyrus

Porsche Design

Swarovski

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria

Tiffany & Co.

TUMI

Yankee Candle Company

City Creek Center shoppers will discover a broad selection of more than 30 new-to-the market stores and restaurants. Debuting with the 20 newcomers announced previously will be:

Allen Edmonds

Bauer’s Fashion Eyewear

BOSS HUGO BOSS

Clarks

Disney Store

Rolex by O.C. Tanner

Salomon

Steve Madden

True Religion Brand Jeans

An impressive roster of merchants will establish the center’s position as the region’s preferred destination for the latest women’s, men’s and children’s fashion and accessories. Stores announced today include:

Aldo

American Eagle Outfitters

Ann Taylor

Banana Republic

bebe

Brighton Collectibles

Caché

Chico’s

Claire’s

Express/Express Men

Fanzz

Foot Locker

Forever 21

Gap

Gymboree

H&M

J. Crew

J. Jill

Kay Jewelers

LOFT

Mr. Mac

Sephora

Sunglass Hut

Tricked Out

Vans

White House Black Market

Helping to make any shopping trip complete, City Creek Center will offer an array of specialty stores addressing a range of interests and pursuits. The new stores unveiled today include:

AT&T Mobility

GNC Live Well

The Gym at City Creek

LensCrafters

Restoration Hardware

ZAGG

For those who work up an appetite shopping, the center’s food and dining offerings are sure to hit the spot. It was announced today that bringing their delicious treats and cuisine to City Creek Center will be:

Big Sal’s

The Cheesecake Factory

Chick-fil-A, Godiva

Farr’s Fresh

Kneaders Bakery & Café

Mykonos

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Teavana

Already open for business at City Creek Center are:

Al Rounds Studio

Blue Lemon

Deseret Book

Harmon’s

Key Bank

Utah Woolen Mills Clothier

Wells Fargo Bank

Zions Bank

VRx Pharmacy

City Creek Center Food Court restaurants – Bocata, Chang Chun, Great Steak, McDonald’s, Roxberry Juice Co., Sbarro, Subway, new-to-the-market Suki Hana and Taste of Red Iguana.