Mormon

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David Cross Will Perform at Utah School Despite Row

The comedian tweeted what appeared to be a joke about holy undergarments

(Newser) - The University of Utah says a tweet from comedian David Cross showing him wearing undergarments sacred to the Mormon faith was "deeply offensive" but the college won't consider calls for the cancellation of his performance on campus Wednesday. College president Ruth Watkins criticized the tweet in a statement...

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Don't Call Us Mormons

'LDS Church' is also now frowned upon

(Newser) - "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Tabernacle Choir" isn't a name that exactly rolls off the tongue, but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir might have to adopt it. Russell T. Nelson, the church's president, announced Thursday that it is launching a major campaign to have the...

Selfie-Taking US Missionary Dies in Cliff Fall

Photos show Gavin Zimmerman close to rock edge

(Newser) - Gavin Zimmerman promised to take lots of photos from a whale-watching lookout in Australia so he could share them with friends back home in Utah. He won’t get the chance. Before finding a cellphone with photos of Zimmerman close to a cliff edge, authorities pulled the lifeless body of...

After More Than a Century, Mormons Dump Boy Scouts

The complete severing will come at the end of 2019

(Newser) - The Mormon church said Tuesday it will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts of America at the end of 2019 and place its remaining 425,000 boys into a gospel-focused youth program it's developing. The move ends what USA Today calls a "long, symbiotic relationship," one...

Mormons Pick Former Surgeon, 93, as New Leader

Russell Nelson is appointed to top post in church

(Newser) - The Mormon church appointed a 93-year-old former heart surgeon Tuesday as its new president, following a longstanding succession plan that aims to keep the faith on course with a minimum of upheaval. The selection of Russell M. Nelson was announced by high-ranking Mormon D. Todd Christofferson during an address broadcast...

President of Mormon Church Dies
15th Man to Succeed
Joseph Smith Has Died
OBITUARY
Jan 3, 2018 3:45 AM CST

15th Man to Succeed Joseph Smith Has Died

Thomas Monson was LDS leader for almost a decade

(Newser) - The 15th man to succeed Joseph Smith as chief of the Mormon church has died. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says 90-year-old church president Thomas Monson died at his Salt Lake City home Tuesday evening, the AP reports. Monson—who was ordained as a bishop at the...

Ex-Mormon Borrows Password, Finds Improper Celeb Baptisms

Including Marilyn Monroe

(Newser) - Mormons are posthumously baptizing Holocaust victims, as well as grandparents of public figures like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Steven Spielberg, despite church rules intended to restrict the ceremonies to a member's ancestors, according to a researcher who has spent two decades monitoring the church's massive genealogical database....

Mormon-Owned BYU Ends 6-Decade Ban
Mormon-Owned BYU
Ends 6-Decade Ban
Sep 21, 2017 7:17 PM CDT

Mormon-Owned BYU Ends 6-Decade Ban

Caffeinated soft drinks are now being sold on Brigham Young University campus

(Newser) - Mormon church-owned Brigham Young University ended a six-decade ban Thursday on the sale of caffeinated soft drinks on campus, surprising students by posting a picture of a can of Coca-Cola on Twitter and just two words: "It's happening." The move sparked social media celebrations from current and...

Mormons Excommunicate First Leader in Decades

This time, it wasn't for apostasy, church says

(Newser) - A Mormon church leader was removed from his post and kicked out of the religion Tuesday for the first time in nearly three decades. James J. Hamula was released from a mid-level leadership council based on disciplinary action by the religion's highest leaders, says Eric Hawkins, a spokesman for...

She Expressed Support for LGBT People—and Was Fired

Former BYU instructor Ruthie Robertson doesn't regret a thing

(Newser) - When Ruthie Robertson declared on Facebook that "homosexuality and transgenderism are not sins," the 22-year-old political science instructor at Brigham Young University-Idaho expected the feedback would be harsh. "But it never crossed my mind that I would lose my job," she tells the Idaho State Journal ...

Leaders Push Mormons to Baptize Their Dead Ancestors

Practice is reportedly becoming more common

(Newser) - Mormon leaders reminded church members Saturday about the importance of performing ceremonial baptisms on dead ancestors who didn't receive the ordinance while alive. It's a practice unique to the faith that came under fire in the past from Jews when they discovered Holocaust victims, including Anne Frank , were...

Pregnant Mom Loses Husband, Two Kids in an Instant

Husband was flying their 2 kids home from a Phoenix wedding

(Newser) - A pregnant mother who learned last week that she is expecting a daughter is now going through the unimaginable: planning the funerals of her husband and older two children. Randall Wells, a Mormon bishop and experienced pilot, was flying his single-engine Cessna 172 home to Utah from a wedding in...

Mormons Planning Metropolis in Florida

Plan would convert church-owned ranch to a sprawling city by 2080

(Newser) - It is one of the largest ranches in the country, 20 times bigger than Manhattan and 10 times bigger than DisneyWorld, one hour away in central Florida. Now plans are underway to convert Deseret Ranch into a massive new city by 2080. The project proposed by the Mormon church, owners...

Singer Quits Mormon Tabernacle Choir Over Trump Performance

She makes her resignation letter public

(Newser) - It's not only the Rockettes who were upset to learn they'd be performing for the 45th US president. Thousands of people have signed a petition asking the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to rescind its acceptance of an invitation to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration next month, and now...

BYU to Stop Investigating Rape Victims for Rule-Breaking

Students complained it stifled reports of sexual abuse

(Newser) - Students claimed earlier this year that Brigham Young University silenced victims of sexual assault by focusing investigations on whether a victim had broken school rules prior to the assault. No more. The Mormon college in Utah says it will adopt 23 recommendations from an internal advisory committee regarding sexual assault,...

He&#39;s an 18-Year-Old Mormon. He&#39;s Also a Supermodel
He's an 18-Year-Old
Mormon. He's Also
a Supermodel
in case you missed it
Oct 18, 2016 1:03 AM CDT

He's an 18-Year-Old Mormon. He's Also a Supermodel

If you haven't heard of Lucky Blue Smith, you're officially in the loop

(Newser) - Today's stereotype-busting story comes compliments of the Times of London , which shares the story of Lucky Blue Smith, an 18-year-old Mormon who isn't currently on a 2-year mission, which is what the church recommends for teens of that age. "I feel I can spread the word much...

Mormon Millionaire Planning Massive Utopia in Vermont

David Hall's vision is the same as one Joseph Smith had in 1833

(Newser) - “Lots of things he did were stupid, but in my view, he was a sage or a seer and didn’t even understand what came to him.” So says wealthy Mormon David Hall about Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church. Bloomberg has a fascinating deep dive...

Family: Venezuela Cops Framed Son, New Bride

Weapons found in wife's apartment were planted: witness

(Newser) - Until June 30, Joshua Holt and his wife, Thamara Caleño, were living a fairy tale. The Mormons—Holt from Utah, Caleño from Venezuela—had fallen in love online before meeting in the Dominican Republic earlier this year. Holt then traveled to Venezuela on June 11 to marry Caleñ...

Hundreds of Mormons Quit Over New Anti-Gay Policy

Church blocks kids of same-sex couples

(Newser) - At least 1,500 Mormons have resigned from the Church of Latter-day Saints over a new policy targeting same-sex couples and their kids. New guidelines state Mormons in same-sex relationships must face disciplinary councils and possible excommunication, while their "natural or adopted" children can't be baptized until they...

Mormon Rule Changes Target Gay Couples, Kids

Children of same-sex couples will have to disavow their parents to get baptized

(Newser) - Gay and lesbian Mormons and their supporters are reeling over a rule change by church officials that says members in same-sex marriages can be kicked out and their children are to be barred from being baptized unless they disavow homosexual relationships. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints disseminated...

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