LDS Today Articles for January 8, 2007

January 8, 2007
On a soul patrol (News & Observer - North Carolina) (January 8, 2007)His face is soft. His shirt is pressed. As the 19-year-old missionary speaks, he sounds rehearsed but sincere....Patrick Loftus goes on to talk about pillars of light in a forest, a teenage boy unearthing ancient tablets, testaments of Jesus Christ's journeys through North America.
Mormon missionaries (News & Observer - North Carolina) (January 8, 2007)The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly encourages its young men to spend two years spreading the faith full time.
Local Composer's Music Played At Ford's Funeral (KUTV - Utah) (January 8, 2007)A local man was honored in a different way this week. His work was featured prominently at President Ford’s funeral. Mack Wilberg arranged the music for two hymns performed at the funeral. He is the associate director for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir but moonlights a little on the side, but not for extra money.
Family ties: Conference to help genealogists update their Internet skills (Deseret News - Utah) (January 8, 2007)There's a revolution right now in genealogy, and it is coming from a number of fronts," says Rich Running. His part in the revolution is to provide what he calls "the bathrobe experience." Picture, if you will, an army of pajama-clad researchers. As head of product management for the Family History department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Running's job is to take the Church's 2 1/2 million rolls of microfilm and another 1 1/2 million microfiches and scan all those billions of birth and marriage and death records and get them on the Internet.
Author Bushman's diary of 'Rough Stone Rolling' tour is a page-turner (Deseret News - Utah) (January 8, 2007)A little over a year ago, I reviewed "Rough Stone Rolling" (Knopf), Richard Bushman's splendid biography of the first LDS prophet, Joseph Smith. I thought Bushman accomplished what no historian had before, a balanced, interesting, perhaps even definitive look at the life of the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — "warts and all."
Knight stunned friends with Mormonism (January 8, 2007)R&B queen GLADYS KNIGHT stunned family, fans and friends when she announced she was converting to Mormonism a decade ago (97). The MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA singer, who has rarely spoken about her religious beliefs, admits many of those close to her were upset and confused when she became an outspoken member of the Church of Latter Day Saints and became the director of one of the religion's top choirs, SAINTS UNIFIED VOICES.
Genealogy helps trace roots of family trees (East Oregonian) (January 8, 2007)A major source of help in Roberts' research has been the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are Family History Centers in the Mormon churches in Hermiston and Pendleton that provide links to all the research held in Salt Lake City as well as local records.
As Mitt Romney Edges Toward A Presidential Run, Questions About His Religion Are Inevitable (Courant - Connecticut) (January 8, 2007)In the last half-century, America has elected a Catholic president, and a ticket with a Jewish vice presidential candidate won the popular vote. Now it could be a Mormon's turn, but like John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Joseph I. Lieberman 40 years later, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will find he has to answer a lot of questions about his faith.
Romney's religion under the microscope (Ledger-Enquirer - Georgia) (January 8, 2007)How, the South Carolina Republican activist asked presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, could he square Mormon doctrine with civil rights or monogamy?...Romney told her Mormons no longer practice such beliefs. For almost 30 years African-Americans have been in the priesthood of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church renounced polygamy in 1890.
Book says Smith came from Jesus' family tree (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (January 8, 2007)Vern G. Swanson, longtime director of the Springville Museum of Art, knows some readers will think he's crazy. Others will be intrigued, and still others may be offended. That's because Swanson has written a provocative new book theorizing that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, that they bore children and that LDS Church founder Joseph Smith was their direct descendant.
Fired BYU prof is happy to be out of the spotlight (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (January 8, 2007)Jeffrey Nielsen knows what it's like to be relatively unknown. He also knows what it's like to be the subject of fiery public debate. He prefers being unknown. The philosophy professor's contract was terminated by LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University in June after he wrote an op-ed piece for The Salt Lake Tribune criticizing his church's stance on gay marriage.