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San Angelo, Texas » Jurors heard more from a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Monday in the trial of Allan Keate, who faces charges of sexually assaulting a child. Rebecca Musser explained why she moved away from her FLDS community. Having been married to FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs in her late teens, she was pressured along with younger wives to marry the new prophet, Rulon Jeffs' son Warren Jeffs, and she refused, Musser said. Musser said Warren Jeffs told her, "I will break you. I will make you a good wife....

One of the basic tenets of gospel living has always been to set a good example for our neighbors. "Let your light so shine before men," the Savior said. "That they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Trouble is, some of us seem to think that guideline doesn't apply when we live in "Zion." Case in point: My wife, Annie, works at a bank in Utah valley where a significant number of the customers are active Latter-day Saints. She knows this because they frequently come in to cash checks from The Church of...

As finals are quickly approaching, students sometimes joke about living in the library. But when author Matthew Brown says he lives in the library, he’s not joking around. Brown, who recently released the book “Exploring the Connection between Mormons and Masons,” does most of the research for his books in the BYU library. “I live here in the BYU library and I’m not kidding,” Brown said. “I have done research at other universities around the country but for the most part, when it comes to LDS subjects, this is my primary research library.” “Mormons and Masons” is Brown’s 10th book,...

SALT LAKE CITY -- David Austin's two-day visit to Utah was packed with meetings, presentations and discussions about finding and producing Mormon-made films that might appeal to the general Christian inspiration market. A blizzard hit on the first day, Dec. 8, messing up the tight schedule. But Austin didn't mind. "I'm from Michigan, so it feels like home," Austin said of the weather. Austin is vice president of sales and marketing at Bridgestone Multimedia Group and was here at the invitation of filmmakers including Lyman Dayton and BYU's Dennis Packard. Bridgestone distributes family-friendly Christian movies and music to Christian bookstores...

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is adding a fourth emphasis to its three-prong mission. The LDS Church is adding, "to care for the poor and needy" to the threefold mission of the Church, which is to teach the gospel to the world, strengthen the membership of the Church and perform saving ordinances for the dead. The change will be made in a new Church Handbook of Instructions, to be released next year, which will refer to them as "the purpose of the Church" instead of missions. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=8984614-SNIP-Related: Origin of the “Threefold Mission...

  The Gospel and the ChurchBy Ronald E. PoelmanThe First Quorum of the SeventyGeneral Conference October, 1984Two different version of this talk were distributed. The first was given over the pulpit at general conference, the second was published in the Ensign and on the official conference videotape. Differences between the two talks are highlighted in red. Deletions from the original talk are set off by strikethrough Font, while additions in the Ensign version are Underlined. Conference Version  Version Published in the Ensign and on Video Tape Both the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ are...

For me, this is an embarrassing question to answer, because I used to be racist. I was born and raised Mormon in Cottonwood, Arizona, USA. I served a mission and was sealed to my wife in the Mesa Arizona temple. I have seen the good that Mormons do in helping the poor and needy but racism is still alive and well within the LDS church. Seven years ago my wife and I decided to leave Mormonism when we began to study the doctrines that Joseph Smith originally proclaimed. I wish I could say that I left the Mormon church because...

As a Romney supporter and blogger I have very seldom written about faith and religion, whether in the general sense or as it applies to Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate. I’ve always known Romney’s religion to be a stigma to some. I’m sure it is even a boon to others, especially those who share his faith. Today, in remembrance of the 2nd anniversary of Romney’s speech “Faith in America”, I’m going to take a rare moment to share my thoughts on subject. Full disclosure: I am a life-long member of the LDS (Mormon) church. Now let’s proceed. I consider...

PROVO, Utah -- Significant misperceptions shape the LDS church's image and standing in America, said a church apostle Friday. Speaking during Women's Conference at Brigham Young University, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve, asked more than 16,000 women gathered in the BYU Marriott Center to dedicate themselves to strengthening the image of the church. SNIP Offering the conference's closing general address, Elder Perry said that church leaders have been looking at the church's image to better understand how the organization approaches its missionary efforts. "We have employed some professional...

As we continue our discussion about the Book of Mormon translation, some members may be troubled that the process doesn't match their conceptions of how they thought the process worked. For members who were unaware of the seer stone in the hat, at least two questions or concerns may arise: 1) Is it strange that Joseph used a stone in a hat? 2) Why have we have always been told that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim? To answer the first question we might also ask: Is it strange that a man could rise from the dead, walk on water,...

SALT LAKE CITY 3 December 2009 Since the launch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Mormon Messages channel on YouTube in August 2008, its influence has grown to reach millions. Situated among the endless variety of videos available on YouTube, the dozens of videos currently available on Mormon Messages have been viewed a total of 7.5 million times. During the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, the Church posted a Mormon Messages video showing random people on the streets of New York City sharing a variety of responses to one simple question: “What are you thankful for?”...

For 27 years I have had the opportunity to visit vast and varied regions of the world because of my employment with an airline. I can travel virtually free anywhere my airline goes, and practically free on most other carriers because of generous reciprocal agreements. This perk has afforded me the opportunity to be an ambassador for my country and my "peculiar" state. No matter where in the world I go, when people ask me where I come from and I tell them Utah, the next words out of their mouths are almost always the same: "So you must be...

The LDS Church now has in place a computer program it believes may halt -- or at least slow -- the submission of incorrect, inappropriate or dubious information into its massive collection of genealogical records. "The new version of FamilySearch is a technological deterrent to improper submissions," LDS spokesman Scott Trotter said Thursday. "For example, users must certify that the names they are submitting are of family members." Mormons submit the lion's share of the historical data, either from private or public sources, typed singly or "extracted" from a list. Thousands of names are entered into the system every day...

Helen Radkey sits in her tiny Millcreek apartment amid images of Buddha and Egyptian sun gods, good-luck charms, sacred texts, tarot cards and a makeshift shrine to a Catholic saint, complete with a relic. Her refrigerator is awash in photos of children, grandchildren and friends from around the country and across the globe. Both bedrooms are piled high with box after box of file folders, evidence of her decadeslong drive to undermine the LDS Church's temple ritual in which living Mormons are baptized for a person who has died. Each folder contains the name and personal information of an individual...

REXBURG -- A large media campaign involving billboards and mass mailings has been launched in eastern Idaho. Its goal is to draw women away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The "Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons" campaign was started by the Truth in Love Ministry in Nampa, and its focus is on "witnessing to Mormons" and showing them the "truth of God's words" through "loving means." This week a billboard was placed at the intersection of Yellowstone Highway and Seventh South in Rexburg showing a woman holding her head next to the words "Feeling Worthy?"...

Most Mormons have long suspected what three political science professors have confirmed: Increased knowledge about Mormons and their faith helps remove stigma attached to them. That news comes as the nation's highest-ranking Mormon risks his political future on heath care reform. Writing in USA Today, Professors David E. Campbell, John C. Green and J. Quin Monson, wrote "Americans still have a bias against Republican Mitt Romney, according to a study conducted during last year's election. Not a political bias, but a religious one. The good news: When people understood his Mormon faith, the bias melted away. The trio teach political...

NAMPA - Becki Detro said she was married to the church for 28 years of her life. Constant feelings of unworthiness caused her to leave her faith. "It was very hard," she said. "It's a hard thing when your whole family..." she couldn't continue and was visibly emotional. She's now joining an effort to help other followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who want to leave the church, but still have a place to worship. "I see a concern that LDS people are leaving because they are not receiving the healing balm of His forgiveness,"...

With the LDS church’s recent endorsement of a gay rights ordinance in Salt Lake City, many have begun speculating that the church is on its way to changing its policy on same-sex marriage. Not so, say BYU professors of religion and political science. Last week, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly endorsed a city ordinance that bans housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The BYU professors interviewed said that although the church supports tolerance and equality, it does not approve of homosexuality. Kent Jackson, associate dean of Religious Education, said the church is...

Yesterday on Daily RFT we had a couple bones to pick with a misleading headline in the local daily and the bible-thumping defenders of Burrell E. Mohler Sr. Along with his brother and four sons, the 74-year-old Independence, Missouri, native is accused of repeatedly raping his elementary school-aged granddaughters. Turns out the article in the Post was cribbed from a much longer and much more compelling piece that led Sunday's Kansas City Star. The latter feature lays out the Mohler family tree, details all of the disgusting deeds in question and sets it all against the backdrop of the family's...

Last week we talked about the frontier treasure-digging environment in which Joseph Smith lived and how his own pre-prophet world view was shaped by that environment. As we've discussed in past articles, Joseph -- like any other prophet -- was a fallible human with preconceived ideas, opinions, and assumptions, who was divinely called to an important role. Worldviews don't change immediately or all at once. God reveals his word, line upon line, and those who listen can enlarge their understanding of truth a little here and there as they are willing to grasp new concepts. In approximately 1819, Joseph borrowed...