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Chris Collinsworth, a BYU basketball player currently on an LDS Church mission in Australia, and another missionary were attacked by three men Tuesday night in a part of Sydney known as "Little Lebanon." Collinsworth, from Provo, was treated and released at a local hospital, according to his father, Jeff Collinsworth. But the other missionary, whom Jeff Collinsworth described as "Elder Ferguson, from Montana," is still hospitalized and recovering from multiple stab wounds and lacerations. "Both elders were roughed up pretty good," Jeff Collinsworth said, having received a phone call from his son and the mission president of the Sydney North...

A research-based BYU reality show taking viewers into the homes of families of all kinds to watch them deal with issues of marriage, toddlers, teens, blended families, time and money will premiere Tuesday at 8 p.m. on BYU Television. "Real Families, Real Answers" is sponsored by Brigham Young University's School of Family Life and the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences. The series, which will also air on KBYU-TV, is organized around topics studied by scholars from BYU and other universities, including the University of North Carolina, the University of Minnesota and the University of California-Davis. "The idea is...

Engineering students at BYU are shedding a little light on science and fun in a small village in Ghana. They've installed an electricity-generating merry-go-round at a school there and the effort has the whole town beaming. Most of the villages and schools in Ghana don't have electricity. The schools get dark when natural light disappears, and homework is hard to do when students can't see. Plugging into the country's power grid isn't an option at this time, so with the help of some BYU students, a company called Empowered Playgrounds came up with a bright idea: a merry-go-round that produces...

If you ever get a chance to hunt a rhinoceros in the wild, Fred Morris has some advice that could save your life: Stay downwind of your 3-ton quarry lest it correctly interpret your smell as mortal danger and blindly charge you. Morris, a Draper businessman and prolific trophy hunter, took part in a safari to South Africa last year to kill a southern white rhino whose skin is now being mounted for display at Brigham Young University's Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. The exhibit highlights an ironic situation in which rare wildlife is killed for the sake of...

Brigham Young University students tried to pin down the U.S. Supreme Court chief justice on hot-button topics like extraordinary rendition and Guantanamo Bay detainees during his speech today at the Mariott Center. After spending nearly half an hour talking about the Constitution, Chief Justice John Roberts took another 40 minutes for questions from the approximately 7,000 students, faculty and family members in the audience. Evan Crockett, a 23-year-old student, wanted to know how Supreme Court decisions could affect foreign policy in matters like detainees. The justice said the court doesn't even take such ideas into consideration. "My question was pretty...

As director of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative at Brigham Young University, Daniel Peterson has overseen the translation of many documents from Arabic to English, providing Western scholars with a rich new library of research materials that were previously inaccessible. Now he's written a book designed to help Western laymen understand the founder of Islam, free from the cynical characterizations that have grown up around Muhammad among some in Christianity and Judaism. That is according to Muslim scholars who have praised the book as "the best scholarly text on the prophet Muhammad written by a Christian." "Muhammad: Prophet of God,"...

Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr., will speak at a Brigham Young University forum assembly on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 11:05 a.m. in the Marriott Center. The forum will be presented live on BYU Television, KBYU TV, KBYU FM and byubroadcasting.org. For rebroadcast information, visit byubroadcasting.org. A question-and-answer session for students will be held in the Marriott Center immediately following the address. On September 29, 2005, John G. Roberts, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States. At 50 years of age, he became the youngest...

Lost in the coverage of Harry Reid's pilgrimage to Salt Lake City this week was this small paragraph from the Desert Morning News... Reid also told reporters the Republican Party has been driven by evangelical Christians for 20 years. "They are the most anti-Christian people I can imagine, the people from the Christian far right." Let that statement sink in for a minute.

PROVO — Some past prominent LDS Church leaders wrongly pressed conservatism on church members, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday during a press conference at Brigham Young University. The Nevada senator attacked President Bush and evangelical Christians while saying members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints need to worry less about abortion and gay marriage and more about health care, global warming, education and jobs. Reid first spent 40 minutes delivering a well-received and sometimes tender BYU forum speech in the Marriott Center to 4,091 students, faculty, staff and visitors. He described a journey from...

No protests expected during Reid's BYU visitThere is irony, then, in the fact Reid is the first Mormon to lead his party in Congress and therefore is the highest-ranking Mormon in American political history. That fact, and Reid's place in the tumult that surrounded Vice President Cheney's controversial visit to BYU six months ago, raised some expectations for fireworks prior to Reid's visit. Reid's role as one of the Democratic Party's chief critics of the Bush administration is also considered polarizing by many at BYU and in Utah, where support for the president remains among the strongest in the nation....

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to present BYU forum Oct. 9 Will discuss "Faith, Family and Public Service” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will visit the Brigham Young University campus Tuesday, Oct. 9, to present a forum address titled “Faith, Family and Public Service,” at 11:05 a.m. in the Marriott Center. The forum will be presented live on BYU Television, KBYU TV, KBYU FM and byubroadcasting.org. For rebroadcast information, visit byubroadcasting.org.

Click Video- Learn how DNA was able to sort out and match the DDS fragments

President urges all students to read and study document PROVO — Brigham Young University President Cecil Samuelson called this the "Year of the Constitution" at the school Tuesday during the opening devotional of the fall semester. Speaking on the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Samuelson encouraged all BYU students to read a book already assigned to incoming freshmen over the summer — "The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution," by Linda R. Monk. The selection of the book was connected to the topic for the devotional and to the scheduled campus visits of three...

(KUTV) PROVO - The long and exhaustive search for missing Brigham Young University student Camille Cleverley came to a saddening end on Sunday, after searchers found the woman's body in a rugged part of Provo Canyon. Authorities confirmed that Cleverley's body was discovered Sunday afternoon at the base of a cliff, but did not reveal any further details. It was unclear whether Cleverley fell off the cliff or what kind of injuries she sustained. More information will be disclosed at an upcoming news conference.

Camille Cleverley's body was found near Bridal Veil Falls, according to Salt Lake City TV. Details are skimpy. Presser expected shortly. The area had been searched earlier and now researched.

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Warm welcome for Cheney 20,000 cheer him repeatedly; he hails Y. accomplishments By Tad WalchDeseret Morning News PROVO — A month of controversy over the decision to invite Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at Brigham Young University's commencement ended Thursday with more than 20,000 BYU graduates and their families, along with faculty and staff, soaking Cheney in applause. Vice President Dick Cheney, left, chats with LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley after commencement exercises at BYU. Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News There was no sign of disapproval inside the Marriott Center. Instead, the crowd cheered as Cheney arrived with...

PROVO, Utah - Vice President Dick Cheney told Brigham Young University graduates on Thursday to savor second chances and be prepared for the unexpected throughout life in a commencement address that stirred up protests in one of the nation's most Republican states. "Don't give up or let your doubts get the best of you," Cheney said. "For all the plans we make in life, sometimes life has other plans for us." On a campus where dissent is unusual, about 100 people protested quietly ahead of Cheney's arrival, holding signs reading: "Mormon for peace" and "Make soup, not war." Utah voters...

Provo, Utah (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney headed to Brigham Young University on Thursday to give a commencement address that has stirred up protests in one of the nation's most Republican states. On a campus where dissent is unusual, about a dozen members of the College Democrats protested quietly ahead of Cheney's arrival, holding signs reading: "Mormon for peace" and "Make soup, not war."

As a committed Latter-day Saint and Brigham Young University professor, I and others disagree with whatever Vice President Dick Cheney will say at this Thursday's commencement. My e-mail account has been inundated with letters from around the globe expressing dismay at Cheney being honored. There is absolutely no way he can reverse his record. For many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as students, faculty and administrators at BYU, any words from him will be disheartening. Why? Let me count a few ways Cheney has diminished our American ideals: using false premises for war,...

BYU students wanting an alternative commencement speaker to Vice President Dick Cheney could get their wish, thanks in part to a local filmmaker. The Deseret Morning News reports shortly after director Steven Greenstreet posted video footage online from a protest April 4 at BYU, the donations came pouring in. By Monday afternoon, students, faculty and alumni received more than $12,000. The money should be able to fund an alternative commencement at Utah Valley State College. Meanwhile the uproar has drawn national attention because it's seen as a sign the Bush administration's support is waning. Cheney will speak at BYU's commencement...

One might not expect an American Roman Catholic priest living in the slums of Bangkok and Brigham Young University students to have much in common. But Father Joe Maier, founder of the Human Development Foundation, and seven students enrolled in the Marriott School of Management field studies program found common ground as they worked together to better the lives of Thai children. Improving lives was Father Joe Maier’s goal when he founded the Human Development Foundation. His mission of saving abandoned Thai children with AIDS began with one kindergarten built in the center of a slum where four drug...

Students gathered Wednesday at BYU to protest Vice President Dick Cheney and Bush Administration policies in light of the VP coming to speak at April's commencement ceremonies. There was also a counter protest in support of Cheney. A large banner with the Words "Political Dialogue" held center stage with hundreds of students surrounding it holding their own signs. Signs had messages such as "That's okay, I wasn't using my civil liberties anyway" and "Dick Cheney: The best reason not to impeach Bush" and "Habeas Schmabeus." One large banner levied charges of war profiteering against Cheney because of his relationship with...

Provo, Utah (AP) -- More than 200 demonstrators held a quiet rally Wednesday at Brigham Young University to protest Vice President Dick Cheney's upcoming commencement speech, while his supporters staged a counter-protest. Cheney will be the commencement speaker April 26 at BYU, a conservative school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The invitation from Mormon church officials has drawn criticism from some students and faculty who claim the school is showing a partisan stripe despite church insistence it has no allegiance to any political party. The anti-Cheney protesters passed out leaflets that slammed the vice president's...

PROVO, Utah - Some students and faculty on one of the nation's most conservative campuses want Brigham Young University to withdraw an invitation for Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at commencement later this month. Critics at the school question whether Cheney sets a good example for graduates, citing his promotion of faulty intelligence before the Iraq war and his role in the CIA leak scandal. The private university, which is owned by the Mormon church, has "a heavy emphasis on personal honesty and integrity in all we do," said Warner Woodworth, a professor at BYU's business school. "Cheney just...

A Brigham Young University employee's attempt to offer an explanation of "Mormon polygamy" on the school's Web site proved short-lived. Jim Engebretsen pulled a polygamy page he had posted at polygamy.byu.edu on Monday afternoon after being told it violated university policy. Engebretsen did not have approval to place the "personal project" on the school's official Web site, said Carrie Jenkins, BYU spokeswoman. But for at least three days, it appeared BYU might be tackling head-on a topic that has bedeviled its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose own Web site approaches the subject of polygamy with...

PROVO - A Brigham Young University student has been arrested in the investigation of the sexual assault of a woman in Springville. Police say a 21-year-old man apparently invited the 20-year-old woman to his home, then pulled her into his bedroom where he assaulted her. Officers say the two knew each other through mutual friends. Police reports say the man is a junior at BYU on a student visa from Nigeria. The man was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of forcible sex abuse. He's scheduled to appear in court on Dec 6.

Ah, the refined sensibilities of the Associated Press. Far be it from that paragon of journalistic impartiality to insert itself in the controversy over whether George Bush & Co. intentionally murdered thousands of Americans on 9-11 via the controlled demolition of the World Trade Center.And so it is that AP entitled its article about the decision of 9-11 conspiracy nut Steven Jones to retire from his BYU professor's post: "BYU Scholar, Sept. 11 Theorist, Resigns".A "scholar" and a "theorist." Impressive! Might that be some kind of hybrid between a 'gentleman and a scholar' and a theoretical physicist, perhaps? Now, in...

Brigham Young University has accused pharmaceutical giant Pfizer of cheating the school out of profits and credit for the development of Celebrex, a blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug that has earned the company billions of dollars. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City against Pfizer and several of its predecessor companies after years of unsuccessful negotiations, BYU said. The suit seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages, but notes Celebrex sales have exceeded $20 billion. It also seeks corrections in 75 patents in order to credit Professor Daniel L. Simmons for his discoveries. The suit alleges Simmons...

And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah. CHAPTER 1 Nephi, son of Helaman, departs out of the land, and his son Nephi keeps the records—Though signs and wonders abound, the wicked plan to slay the righteous—The night of Christ’s birth arrives—The sign is given and a new star arises—Lyings and deceivings increase, and the Gadianton robbers slaughter many. Between...

I stuttered most of the way through school so badly I could scarcely talk. When I dared, I tried to answer the teacher's questions, but seldom successfully. You have seen the grimace a stutterer makes and the flickering eyelids. I remember the strained expressions on people's faces. As children often do, I compensated. I became brash, loud, boastful, and competitive--to win the respect I didn't think people would give me otherwise. This put people off, a response that only made me try harder to win their acceptance. I made pretty good progress in overcoming my stuttering during my school years....

PROVO — Brigham Young University placed physics professor Steven Jones on paid leave Thursday while it reviews his involvement in the so-called "9/11 truth movement" that accuses unnamed government agencies of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. BYU will conduct an official review of Jones' actions before determining a course of action, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. Such a review is rare for a professor with "continuing status" at BYU, where Jones has taught since 1985. Jones was teaching two classes this semester, which began Tuesday. Other professors will cover those classes, and Jones will...

A controversy over words at BYU this morning. A professor is on paid leave for suggesting the government is responsible for the destruction of the World Trade Center. The man on paid leave is Dr. Steven Jones. He's a physics professor involved in the so-called "9-11 Truth Movement." Jones believes unnamed government agencies orchestrated the fall of the twin towers and he says there's evidence to back it up. Two weeks ago he published his theory in a paper called "Why Indeed did the World Trade Center Buildings Collapse?" In it, the professor says the towers fell not because of...

By Doug Robinson Deseret Morning News There are a few long-standing, common sense rules to remember if you want to keep your job. Never beat the boss at golf. Never fail to laugh at his jokes. Never yawn when he's telling stories about his adorable kids. Never take his parking spot. And, oh yeah, don't go to the newspaper and say something that challenges his agenda and supports his competition. That's exactly what Jeffrey Nielsen, the adjunct BYU philosophy professor, did earlier this month. He wrote a guest column for the Salt Lake Tribune in which he opposed The Church...

BYU fires teacher over op-ed stance Same-sex marriage: His idea that church leaders are misguided didn't sit well PROVO - As an American citizen, Jeffrey Nielsen felt compelled to publicly question the LDS Church's opposition to same-sex marriage. As a Brigham Young University instructor, he now is paying the price. The LDS-owned school will not rehire Nielsen after spring term because of his remarks in an op-ed piece earlier this month. "I believe opposing gay marriage and seeking a constitutional amendment against it is immoral," the part-time philosophy teacher and practicing Latter-day Saint wrote in the June 4 Salt Lake...

The Honor Code Office at Brigham Young University is conducting a review of the actions of five students who participated in a gay-awareness demonstration on campus last month. Deseret Morning News graphic Meanwhile, a deal appears imminent in the court case surrounding 29 people arrested during the two-day visit to BYU by the Soulforce Equality Riders. A local attorney representing Soulforce told a 4th District judge in Provo on Tuesday that he has a tentative agreement with a Provo city prosecutor to have his clients plead guilty to an infraction and each pay a $200 fine. Three of the Riders...

PROVO — Brigham Young University police arrested 24 people, among them five current students, who participated Tuesday in a march and demonstration by a national gay-awareness group. Protesters carry lilies to represent LDS gays or lesbians who have committed suicide. Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News At the event, the group marched around the edge of campus and then staged a "die-in" on campus property near the university's main entrance, just past one of the university's icons — the sign "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve." "I'm not advocating a gay lifestyle," said one of the arrested students, Lauren Jackson,...

Soul Fource was a joke - nobody cared.

PROVO Five gay activists were peacefully escorted from Brigham Young University's campus Monday after raising a mild ruckus in front of a gathering of students. The five are members of Soulforce, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group. BYU police loaded them into a van after the demonstrators yelled to a campus crowd that policies of the LDS Church, BYU's owner, were killing gays. “They made us aware of their intentions, and we told them it would go directly against our policy,” said BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins. [snip]They were allowed to speak to students, but not allowed to create a...

Preachers and proselytizing are nothing new at Brigham Young University. But the missionary force due on campus next month is spreading a doctrine rarely if ever heard at the LDS Church-owned school. Their message: BYU discriminates against gays and that's not OK. Soulforce - a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group - is scheduled to visit the school April 10 as part of a nationwide Equality Ride tour. After previous stops at other religious schools and military academies, more than 30 advocates plan to comb the Provo campus to talk to students about how BYU allegedly oppresses homosexuals. "All...

PROVO — A Brigham Young University assistant professor has resigned after being arrested Thursday night for investigation into allegations that he taped and watched pornographic videos of a 14-year-old girl on his computer. The 63-year-old man is being investigated for sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and voyeurism, a class-A misdemeanor, after Provo police found a video clip of a girl undressing on a laptop computer belonging to BYU. The Deseret Morning News does not name arrested persons until charges are filed. Acting on a tip, Provo police approached the man at his home and took him to...

The physics of 9/11 — including how fast and symmetrically one of the World Trade Center buildings fell — prove that official explanations of the collapses are wrong, says a Brigham Young University physics professor. In fact, it's likely that there were "pre-positioned explosives" in all three buildings at ground zero, says Steven E. Jones. In a paper posted online Tuesday and accepted for peer-reviewed publication next year, Jones adds his voice to those of previous skeptics, including the authors of the Web site www.wtc7.net, whose research Jones quotes. Jones' article can be found at www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html. Jones, who conducts research...

Enrollment is up at smaller colleges with Christian values. Some think students hope it will launch political careers. By Adam Karlin | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor Catherine Shultis, a National Merit Scholar with a perfect SAT score, is a natural for the hallowed halls of academia: Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown. But last month, she began her freshman year at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Why Steubenville instead of Cambridge, Mass., or New York? The East Coast elite universities "lack a grounding in the Christian faith, and they're turning away from core principles and becoming more and more liberal,"...

A top-notch college education no longer means four years of liberal indoctrination. According to the experts, schools that promote conservative values are among the nation’s best. Which colleges made the list?

The Princeton Review's annual list of best colleges included lists of colleges most accepting of LGBT students and those least accepting. The Princeton Review's annual "The Best 361 Colleges" was released Tuesday, and authors included lists of the colleges that are most accepting of LGBT students and those that are not. According to a survey taken by 110,000 students at 361 top colleges, the 10 schools that ranked the best in being accepting toward gay students are: New College of Florida, Sarasota; Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn.; Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.; Eugene Lang College, New York City; Mount Holyoke College,...

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The family of Brooke Wilberger, a 19-year-old college student who vanished from Corvallis 14 months ago, said Wednesday they still want to find their daughter. Brooke's mother, Cammy Wilberger, spoke at a press conference in Corvallis following the announcement that a 39-year-old man jailed in New Mexico on unreleated but similar kidnapping and rape counts had been charged with Brooke's kidnapping and murder. Benton County District Attorney Scott Heiser said investigators had not found Brooke's body but had enough other evidence to charge Joel Patrick Courtney, in custody in Albuquerque, N.M., with aggravated murder. "Our main goal...

WASHINGTON — In late 1839, Joseph Smith, leader of the still-fledgling Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, arrived in the nation's capital to petition President Martin Van Buren to help end the persecution of church members forced from their Missouri homes. Martin Van Buren He left disappointed and, according to the official church history, with Van Buren's now-infamous words ringing in his ears: "Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." The man revered by millions today as a prophet returns triumphantly to Washington, D.C., today and Saturday, the subject of a two-day international academic conference...

In "God On The Quad" Naomi Schaefer Riley reveals that some of the popular assumptions made about religious colleges — citadels of intolerant thinking, with inferior curricula and in-your-face religious zealotry — are either outdated or simply wrong. She profiles a number of individual schools including: Mormon stronghold Brigham Young University; Fundamentalist Christian Bob Jones University; Catholic Notre Dame and Thomas Aquinas College, one of the quirkiest schools mentioned; Jewish Yeshiva University, and Evangelical (Baptist) Baylor University. Unsurprisingly, the biggest issue religious colleges face is how to reconcile the seemingly incompatible nature of secularism, with its accent on post-modern, radical...

Eighteen Bible students from the evangelical Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Biola, visited BYU campus Tuesday to build friendships, develop relationships and clarify doctrine. “It’s important that other organizations understand each other, get a basic understanding and be willing to listen to each other,” said Julie Ann Johnson, 23, a BYU linguistics major, from Denver, Colo. Evangelists broadly define themselves as those in the Christian religion who strongly believe in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. “This trip is based on talking about differences and more importantly getting to know what you believe,” said...

A former Brigham Young University film student has maxed out his credit cards to make a $10,000 documentary about "Fahrenheit 9/11" director Michael Moore's controversial visit to Utah Valley State College. "This Divided State" premieres Thursday at UVSC's Ragan Theater. Steven Greenstreet, who cut the 102-minute production from 66 hours of interview and event footage, said he's trying to find a distributor. He's entering the documentary in a dozen film festivals, and plans are in the works with the Center for American Progress to fund a national college tour, the 25-year-old filmmaker said. Greenstreet had been working on a documentary...