Last Updated May 19, 2017 09:12AM
Taxes in America are complicated enough that fiddling with them is bound to have unexpected consequences. And although President Donald Trump has promised to simplify the system, his proposals could also result in fewer contributions to churches — including many …
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Pope Francis strikes again with cold-call visits to bless homes
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Since Russia’s ban, persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses is ‘worse than ever’
- Longtime Mormon leader Glenn Pace, who steered faith’s welfare services, business ventures, dies at 77
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Is the Old Testament dying? Maybe, but less so for African-Americans and Mormons
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Interactive Mormon genealogy exhibit plays to cultural stereotypes, critics argue
- Commentary: Accepting life’s challenges, with a little help from ‘Tao Te Ching’
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LDS Church combines two Russian missions
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Saturday that two of its missions in Russia will be merged. The combination of the southeast Vladivostok Mission and the southern Novosibirsk Mission will be effective July 1, according to a news release. The merger will bring the number of ... The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Saturday that two of its missions in Russia will be merged. The combination of the southeas... -
Commentary: What Bill Nye and the science movement can learn from religion
There is no end to the truly regrettable moments in “Bill Nye Saves the World,” Netflix’s attempt to rebottle the 1990s-era lightning of a nebbishy but dapper science guy for a new generation. But one stands out. Rachel Bloom, decked out in avant-garde ’80s pop gear, sings a cringe-worthy song about... There is no end to the truly regrettable moments in “Bill Nye Saves the World,” Netflix’s attempt to rebottle the 1990s-era lightning of a nebbishy bu... -
Callista Gingrich gets nod to be ambassador to the Vatican
Washington • The Trump administration has approached the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, days before President Donald Trump embarks on his first foreign trip. Trump will nominate Callista Gingrich for the post, two people with direct knowledg... Washington • The Trump administration has approached the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, day... -
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An Insider’s Guide to Lava Hot Springs
Lava Hot Springs—the resort community located in southeastern Idaho—is often known and lauded for its collection of clear, odorless geothermal hot spring pools, which range between 102 and 112 degrees and each provide a warm, relaxing and therapeutic gathering place for all ages.... Lava Hot Springs—the resort community located in southeastern Idaho—is often known and lauded for its collection of clear, odorless geothermal hot spr... -
A happy Mother’s Day for two Utah Mormon women — whom their kids know as Dad
Syracuse • Ann Pack so dreaded becoming a parent, she felt relieved when her spouse was infertile. That’s because Ann had a secret — one she feared would complicate and possibly destroy the world of any child. The truth was Ann was born as Ryan. It would take almost a decade after her marriage to ... Syracuse • Ann Pack so dreaded becoming a parent, she felt relieved when her spouse was infertile. That’s because Ann had a secret — one she feared w... -
Riess: Rob Bell takes back the Bible, a ‘book written by people about God’
Rob Bell’s new book comes out Tuesday, and I love it: It’s wise, well-researched and written with a characteristic accessibility. “What Is the Bible? How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything” may be his best book yet. Even if you... Rob Bell’s new book comes out Tuesday, and I love it: It’s wise, well-researched and written with a characteristic accessibility. “What Is the Bible? ... -
Kirby: My post-Scouting program for Mormon boys? Hint: It includes fire
I possibly received an emergency call from LDS Church headquarters last week, asking for my help developing an outdoors program for older male Mormon youths. Don’t believe me? OK, here’s a transcript of the voicemail left on my cellphone: “Mr. Kirby … [garbled] … have chosen you … [inaudible] … spe... I possibly received an emergency call from LDS Church headquarters last week, asking for my help developing an outdoors program for older male Mormon ... -
Utah Mormons, Protestants finding new spiritual home in ancient Orthodox church
It shook the fundamentalist Christian world to its roots: Hank Hanegraaff, the darling of evangelicals as host of the long-running, nationally syndicated “Bible Answer Man” broadcast, had joined the Greek Orthodox Church. Hanegraaff, for nearly 30 years president of the Christian Research Institute,... It shook the fundamentalist Christian world to its roots: Hank Hanegraaff, the darling of evangelicals as host of the long-running, nationally syndica... -
Pope Francis prays in silence for all mothers in heaven and on earth
Vatican City • Pope Francis has invited faithful in St. Peter’s Square to join him in silent prayer for each one’s own mother, including those in heaven. Greeting tourists and Romans on Sunday from a window overlooking the square, Francis noted that in many countries Mother’s Day was being celebrate... Vatican City • Pope Francis has invited faithful in St. Peter’s Square to join him in silent prayer for each one’s own mother, including those in heav... -
Pope Francis makes 2 Fatima children saints on centenary of visions
Fatima, Portugal • Pope Francis added two Portuguese shepherd children to the roster of Catholic saints Saturday, honoring young siblings whose reported visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago turned the Portuguese farm town of Fatima into one of the world’s most important Catholic shrines. Francis... Fatima, Portugal • Pope Francis added two Portuguese shepherd children to the roster of Catholic saints Saturday, honoring young siblings whose report... -
Bet you’ve heard this before: Days of ’47 Parade rejects Mormons Building Bridges
It’s beginning to feel like an annual ritual. Mormons Building Bridges applies for a slot in Utah’s largest celebration of its heritage — the Days of ’47 Parade — and gets turned down. Parade co-Chairwoman Jodene Smith handed down the latest denial in a telephone message this week, Bridges co-founde... It’s beginning to feel like an annual ritual. Mormons Building Bridges applies for a slot in Utah’s largest celebration of its heritage — the Days of ... -
Pope Francis cheered in Fatima to honor children who urged peace
Fatima, Portugal • Pope Francis urged Catholics on Friday to “tear down all walls” and spread peace as he traveled to this Portuguese shrine town to mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most significant events of the 20th-century Catholic Church: the visions of the Virgin Mary reported by three ... Fatima, Portugal • Pope Francis urged Catholics on Friday to “tear down all walls” and spread peace as he traveled to this Portuguese shrine town to m... -
Mormon church takes steps away from Boy Scouts of America; does total exodus loom?
It is not the end of Mormonism’s longtime alliance with the Boys Scouts of America, but it could be a step in that direction. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday that, come January, it is dropping BSA programs known as Varsity and Venturing for boys ages 14 to 18. Thi... It is not the end of Mormonism’s longtime alliance with the Boys Scouts of America, but it could be a step in that direction. The Church of Jesus Chri... -
Faith surging in former atheistic East bloc nations even as Russia pushes back against Western religions
Three-quarters of a century of official state atheism in the former Soviet Union and its Central and Eastern European satellite nations has all but evaporated in a resurgence of faith since the fall of the Iron Curtain, a new Pew Research Center study shows. From 1917, when Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevi... Three-quarters of a century of official state atheism in the former Soviet Union and its Central and Eastern European satellite nations has all but ev... -
Q & A about Mormonism’s moves away from Scouting
Is the LDS Church pulling out of Scouting? Not entirely. The Utah-based faith will continue to sponsor Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops for boys ages 8 through 13 in the U.S. and Canada. But it is dropping Varsity and Venturing for ages 14 to 18, arguing that these older youths are “not being s... Is the LDS Church pulling out of Scouting? Not entirely. The Utah-based faith will continue to sponsor Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops for boys ... -
Top BSA leader, who is LDS, hopes Scouting-Mormon marriage lasts, but he’s not sure it will
Charles W. Dahlquist II, who is one of the nation’s top three Boy Scout leaders and the former Young Men general president of the LDS Church, says he’s unsure if the two groups he loves will continue as partners far into the future. “I really don’t know,” he said Thursday after the church announced ... Charles W. Dahlquist II, who is one of the nation’s top three Boy Scout leaders and the former Young Men general president of the LDS Church, says he’... -
Fatima mystery blends visions, miracles and supernatural
Vatican City • When Pope Francis travels to the Portuguese town of Fatima this weekend, he will be lending his blessing to a religious phenomenon that has captivated Catholics for a century: It involves visions of the Virgin Mary, supernatural meteorological events and apocalyptic prophesies of hell... Vatican City • When Pope Francis travels to the Portuguese town of Fatima this weekend, he will be lending his blessing to a religious phenomenon that... -
Leaked survey shows Mormons believe teachers, tourism industry have more political power than LDS Church in Utah
When it comes to Utah politics, most local Mormon church leaders and members believe the faith should wield considerable influence, but say they think it holds less sway with lawmakers than the state’s tourism industry, schoolteachers and constituents. Active members ranked church clout with the sta... When it comes to Utah politics, most local Mormon church leaders and members believe the faith should wield considerable influence, but say they think... -
FAITH
Faith, peace, hope — Fatima’s century-old message needed more today than ever, cardinal says
The century that has passed since three Portuguese children reported seeing the Virgin Mary in Fatima has not diminished the urgency of the apparition’s message, the Roman Catholic Church says. If anything, says the Vatican’s Fatima expert, that event’s call for renewed faith, conversions, peace and... The century that has passed since three Portuguese children reported seeing the Virgin Mary in Fatima has not diminished the urgency of the apparition... -
Pope Francis to canonize 2 Fatima children a century after visions
Fatima, Portugal • Three shepherd children in Portugal were jailed and threatened with being boiled alive in olive oil when they asserted the Virgin Mary appeared to them 100 years ago. The Catholic Church doubted their story too. From that unpromising start, the children’s reported visions would g... Fatima, Portugal • Three shepherd children in Portugal were jailed and threatened with being boiled alive in olive oil when they asserted the Virgin M... -
It’s beginning to feel like an annual ritual. Mormons Building Bridges applies for a slot in Utah’s largest celebration of its heritage — the Days of ’47 Parade — and gets turned down. Parade co-Chairwoman Jodene Smith handed down the latest denial in a telephone message this week, Bridges co-founde... It’s beginning to feel like an annual ritual. Mormons Building Bridges applies for a slot in Utah’s largest celebration of its heritage — the Days of ...
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FAITH
Mormon, Jewish leaders trumpet their close ties at New York reception
Israeli government and Jewish religious leaders joined with Mormon representatives this week in praising the increasingly close relationship between the two faiths. Participants in the New York City reception, reported in an LDS Church news release, hailed the social gathering as an outgrowth of an ... Israeli government and Jewish religious leaders joined with Mormon representatives this week in praising the increasingly close relationship between t... -
Commentary: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ shows how scary Genesis is for women
If, over the next few days, you’re looking for me, you can find me sitting in front of my TV, binge-watching “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which has just been released on Hulu. I cannot break away. “The Handmaid’s Tale” is an adaptation of the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood. It is a dystopian story, set in ... If, over the next few days, you’re looking for me, you can find me sitting in front of my TV, binge-watching “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which has just bee... -
Vatican celebrates Big Bang to dispel faith-science conflict
Vatican City • The Vatican is celebrating the Big Bang theory. That’s not as out of this world as it sounds. The Vatican Observatory has invited leading scientists and cosmologists to talk black holes, gravitational waves and space-time singularities as it honors the late Jesuit cosmologist consider... Vatican City • The Vatican is celebrating the Big Bang theory. That’s not as out of this world as it sounds. The Vatican Observatory has invited leadi... -
Charles W. Dahlquist II, who is one of the nation’s top three Boy Scout leaders and the former Young Men general president of the LDS Church, says he’s unsure if the two groups he loves will continue as partners far into the future. “I really don’t know,” he said Thursday after the church announced ... Charles W. Dahlquist II, who is one of the nation’s top three Boy Scout leaders and the former Young Men general president of the LDS Church, says he’...
