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Newsroom commentary: “The Mormon Ethic of Civility”

So many of the habits and conventions of modern culture — ubiquitous media, anonymous and unsourced online participation, politicization of the routine, fractured community and family life — undermine the virtues and manners that make peaceful coexistence in a pluralist society possible. The fabric of civil society tears when stretched thin by its extremities. Civility, then, becomes the measure of our collective and individual character as citizens of a democracy.

16 October 2009 @ 5:16 pm | No comments

LDS Newsroom launches the Newsroom Blog. I always thought the Newsroom site had become more and more “bloggy.” It will be interesting to see what a real blog will be like.

You may notice a different, more conversational tone on this blog than you would see in official news releases on the Newsroom Web site. This blog will be managed and written by staff of the Public Affairs Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The information here will be reliable and accurate but should not necessarily be viewed as official statements from the Church. The purpose of this blog is to provide journalists, bloggers and the public with additional context and information regarding public issues and news stories involving the Church.

18 August 2009 @ 12:04 pm | No comments

On the heels of tonight’s broadcast encouraging California Members to support Proposition 8, the Church launches a new website: PreservingMarriage.org.

[via Messenger and Advocate]

8 October 2008 @ 11:26 pm | 7 comments

Vatican, We Have a Problem

4 October 2008 @ 11:12 am | 8 comments

Not really but the Pope will be getting a new neighbor with an LDS temple in Rome. That will be an interesting rollout. Now the Catholic Church can continue to hinder the work for the dead in its own backyard.

In addition, President Monson announced four more temples in:

Just as President Monson announced these temples, the Newsroom wasted no time in shooting out a press package with detailed releases on each temple as you can read at the above links.

The internet is the place to be for General Conference.

Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

25 July 2008 @ 10:04 am | 7 comments

No!

I noticed a little while ago that the Church was so serious about actively spreading word that the LDS Church does not condone or practice polygamy that it was advertising the Newsroom.lds.org website.

Those same ads are still showing up in Google ads but they are now pointing to MormonsandPolygamy.org. It’s a one page site with a video of President Hinckley explaining the Church’s policy on polygamy, links to various resources, and tools to spread the word (including social bookmarking).

They even include a button to link the page that you can put on your own site.

Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

Unfortunately, I can’t get the code to work for me right now. But I would recommend linking to it to boost its page-ranking and give it more notice in the search engines.

MORE: Thanks Bryce for the solution to fixing the code.

Sign Up for Newsroom.lds.org Mailing List

5 June 2008 @ 11:14 am | 1 comment

You can now sign up for the Newsroom.lds.org mailing list (bottom of the lefthand menu).

You can pick to get email updates for all new content or pick among news releases and stories, commentaries, video, photos, audio, public issues statements, and stories from the news media.

This feature appears to be especially targeted to involve bloggers. While not required, the submission form allows you to submit your blog address.

Advertising to Explain Where Polygamy Isn’t

21 May 2008 @ 12:42 am | 7 comments

How bad does the Church want to explain that LDS Mormons don’t practice polygamy?  

It’s placing Google ads linking to its Newsroom article explaining that “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reiterates that it has no affiliation whatsoever with any polygamous groups.”


Mormon Church ad explaining no polygamy

I suppose it’s a cheap way to spread the message around.

(Who knows what the garments ad is all about).

LDS Church statement on California gay marriage decision:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes that same sex marriage can be an emotional and divisive issue. However, the church teaches that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is the basic unit of society. Today’s California Supreme Court decision is unfortunate.

15 May 2008 @ 5:36 pm | No comments

LDS Newsroom on life and death in light of Pres. Hinckley’s funeral.

[L]iterary scholar Harold Bloom proclaimed the following: “ … Of all religions that I know, the one that most vehemently and persuasively defies and denies the reality of death is the original Mormonism of the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator Joseph Smith.”

Most important, this affirmation of life in the face of death arises from faith in God’s abundant mercy. Joseph Smith taught that God is “more liberal in His views, and boundless in His mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive.”

[via Sixteen Small Stones]

12 February 2008 @ 2:42 pm | No comments

LDS Newsroom: Succession in the Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

When the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passes away, the following events take place:

1. The First Presidency is automatically dissolved.

2. The two counselors in the First Presidency revert to their places of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seniority is determined by the date on which a person was ordained to the Twelve, not by age.

3. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, now numbering 14 and headed by the senior apostle, assumes Church leadership.

4. The senior apostle presides at a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve to consider two alternative propositions:
  i. Should the First Presidency be reorganized at this time?
  ii. Should the Church continue to function with the Quorum of the Twelve presiding?

5. After discussion, a formal motion is made and accepted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

6. If a motion to reorganize the First Presidency is passed, the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously selects the new president of the Church. The new president chooses two counselors from among the Quorum of the Twelve and the three of them become the new First Presidency. Throughout the history of the Church, the longest-serving apostle has always become the president of the Church when the First Presidency has been reorganized.

7. Following the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostle who has served the second longest is sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The only exception is when the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, in which case the third-longest-serving apostle becomes acting president of the Twelve.

8. The president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with the rest of the apostles, sets apart the new president of the Church through a formal laying on of hands.

28 January 2008 @ 11:59 am | No comments

Media Lessons From Slovenia: Interesting difference between media coverage of the Church in the U.S. and a nation still emerging from behind the Iron Curtain:

Sirtl believes that “in countries like the United States where there is a long and rich tradition of religious pluralism, many journalists skip the basics of a faith in their reporting and focus on contrasts with other churches. Solely concentrating on differences is often driven by a desire to situate a specific faith within the wider religious mosaic.”

But she says that journalists in Slovenia and other places where such a diversified religious milieu either does not exist or is emerging “have to start from scratch. They are building their knowledge and their stories from the basics.”

22 January 2008 @ 4:56 pm | No comments

YouTube – Elder Ballard Invites Mormons to Join Internet Conversation

17 January 2008 @ 6:17 pm | No comments

Mormon Membership in Utah

17 January 2008 @ 6:11 pm | 2 comments

The third release from the Church on its membership in two days. This one briefly discusses the number of Mormons in Utah and offers some statistics to refute the impression that it is declining.

The net growth in Utah among members of the Church is growing steadily, approaching 1.8 million or 72 percent of the population according to end-of-year 2006 statistics.

That may come as a surprise to some who know that the percentage of Mormons in Utah overall is dropping because of the continued influx of non-Mormons moving into the state.

(That last paragraph seems awkward. Is it saying those who “know” are wrong and actually don’t know?)

In 2006, the Salt Lake Tribune ran a series of articles with much fanfare, heralding the end of the Mormon majority in Utah.

The often cited claim that Utah is 70 percent Mormon is not true – and hasn’t been true for more than a decade, according to the church numbers. While continuing to grow in actual members, the LDS share of the state population showed a slow but constant decline every year from 1989 to 2004.

According to the 2004 count, Utah is now 62.4 percent LDS with every county showing a decrease.

Perhaps the Tribune was jumping the gun?

Church Membership is Beyond Statistics

16 January 2008 @ 4:20 pm | No comments

The Church’s Newsroom published a news release and a commentary on the Church’s methodology for counting its members.  Church membership is or will soon be passing 13 million.

In an age in when so many aspects of life are measured by statistical formulas and metrics, the incalculable value of the human dimension — devotion, dedication, compassion — is often overlooked and underappreciated. How does this relate to statistics gathered by churches? It is impossible to fully measure the faith and commitment of any person of faith by statistics. Likewise, a complex set of beliefs can never translate into a number. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes its statistics seriously but does not treat them as an end in themselves. Rather, keeping a record of Church members is a spiritual injunction enshrined in scripture, the main purpose of which is to make sure that they are “remembered and nourished by the good word of God” (Moroni 6:4). Thus, the main purpose of statistics is to help the Church help its members.

The news release explains when the Church creates a membership record for someone and why it doesn’t automatically delete it if one stops attending services. Since there is no standardized way for denominations to track membership, there is no good way to compare different churches’ membership rolls .  The best indicator of church growth may actually be new building statistics.

Why doesn’t the Church just remove records if someone stops coming to church?

But since there is no universal standard for compiling statistics among the various churches in the United States, the Church remains as inclusive as possible in its membership rolls so as not to preclude any potential return or change of heart of a member who has become inactive. Taking such individuals off the records does no one any good. No particular statistical methodology should serve as a means for the spiritual write-off and disfellowship of any member. Statistics do not operate in that realm, nor do they aim to.

The release notes that “remembering all members, despite their activity level, is important, because 20 percent of members in congregations today have at some time become disassociated with a congregation.”

LDS Newsroom: “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Men — Not Just Those Who Share My Beliefs”

Ill-informed comments can be easily forgiven, and chances to engage in discussion to develop mutual, accurate understanding and respect are often seized upon — as they should be. But when a person starts excluding someone of a different faith as a legitimate participant in society because there are theological differences — then a line has been crossed.

28 December 2007 @ 6:32 pm | 2 comments

An audio version of Elder Ballard’s recent talk “Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” is now available in the Church’s Newsroom podcast feed or can be directly downloaded as an mp3.

21 December 2007 @ 9:27 am | No comments

21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith. The Church answers questions submitted by FOX News.

18 December 2007 @ 8:22 pm | No comments