Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights

The LDS Temple in Kensington, Maryland, which stands near the I-495 Capitol Beltway Freeway, is known for its gorgeous grounds and the annual Festival of Lights, a free event open to the general public. The event features a presentation of hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights and numerous international nativity scenes on display.

Between December 3 and January 1, the lights are on from dusk until 10pm. Also, fantastic musical presentations (by local groups and performers, both LDS and not) are held nightly at no cost to the general public. For more information, see the official website: http://dctemplelights.lds.org/

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Lai'e Hawaii LDS Temple Rededicated

The Laie temple was the first finished Mormon temple outside of Utah. The building has stood as a community landmark on Oahu's north shore for many decades. The temple has been closed since late 2008 for remodeling (second time since the temple's construction) and was rededicated by President Monson on November 21, 2010.

For more information about the Laie temple, please visit: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/laie/

The Rise of a new generation of Mormons

Readers are encouraged to read this great article which was published in the Financial Times about four months ago. The article highlights Mormons' success in business, the arts, and politics. It describes the Church's international missionary efforts, including how missionary experiences helped influence prominent LDS leaders. Access the article online at the Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/938ff454-8a32-11df-bd30-00144feab49a.html#ixzz14nDEvUV3

Mormon.org profiles

Mormon.org was recently revamped and now features a variety of great videos about members of the LDS Church, their lives, their conversion to the Restored Gospel, and their beliefs. It's a great site - please check it out!

180th Semiannual General Conference

Today and tomorrow, members of the LDS Church all over the world will participate in the Church's international "General Conference", a worldwide event for Mormons held every 6 months. For more information, or to view the conference via simulcast online, please visit this page.

Meet John Chen

This story is really inspiring. Please check it out here. The new Mormon.org website is full of amazing stories of people who are examples of strength and faith.

Mormon.org profiles

The newly launched Mormon.org features personal profiles and video vignettes of real live members of the LDS Church.

Click here to see the videos. (http://www.mormon.org/people/)

CNBC reports on Mormons, missionaries, and LDS business leaders

CNBC's Erin Burnett traveled to Taiwan, Utah, China, and Brazil to explore the world of LDS missionaries and former missionaries who have become international business leaders. Overall a pretty good report - one of the most favorable we've seen from the mainstream media in a long while. Watch the report in this video:

CNN reports on new LDS temple in Vancouver, British Columbia

CNN featured a video report about the new Mormon temple in Vancouver. Watch the video here below:

How does this report compare to other media reports on LDS temples? Please share your thoughts and comments.

Miami teen reports on LDS Church's help with Haiti earthquake relief

An LDS teenager is reporting for CNN (via iReport) in this video, seen here.

The LDS Church has sent extensive aid to help those affected by the earthquake in Haiti,

much of it being

handled through Miami and the LDS community there. The Mormons have also been

sending medical teams and supplies to supplement the efforts of

government agencies and the Red Cross, among other charities.

More info on the Church's contributions to Haiti here.

Also, several LDS meetinghouses in the Port-au-Prince area are being

used as shelters for those displaced by the disaster.

Washington DC Festival of Lights

The LDS temple in the Washington DC area is hosting its annual Festival of Lights celebration. During the Christmas season, the temple grounds hosts a variety of arts and musical groups for free entertainment for the local community. There are several international exhibits as well.

Please visit this website for more information.

The Church in China

I just read an old speech by Elder Dallin Oaks about the Church in China. Mormons have been in and out of China for decades and there has been a lot of progress for the Church in that region of the world. This talk was given in 1991 at BYU and should be re-given with the amazingly positive developments that have happened in the past 18 years!

The speech is available for free at:

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7070

I reflect on the improved religious liberties granted to the Chinese during recent years. Chinese leaders have been increasingly willing to support their people's rights to pursue faith and religious beliefs.

President Carter established official diplomatic ties with China in 1979, just a year after LDS Church President Spencer Kimball issued very prophetic remarks about the opening of the Church and the spread of the restored gospel in China. It is remarkable that President Obama has appointed a Mormon fluent in Mandarin, Jon Huntsman, to serve as the bridge between the U.S. and China. What a great opportunity for the LDS community globally and especially in Asia!

Please take a few minutes to read this. It really inspired me and I believe that the time will come for the LDS Church to truly grow and flourish throughout China.

10th annual Mormon Night at the Los Angeles Dodgers

This evening was the annual Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was perfect weather, the game was exciting, and the Latter-day Saints were out in the thousands. LDS singers performed the national anthem and a few other songs. Elder Ballard threw the night's first pitch. It was a great evening!

The L.A. Dodgers host Mormon Night on an annual basis as a way to thank and recognize the Mormon community in Southern California for being the most active supporting organization. According to the Dodgers' website, this was the 10th annual Mormon Night!

For more information, check out:

http://www.mlb.com/la/ticketing/supergroup.jsp?group=lds

Mormons and LDS General Conference on top of Twitter trends!

During this weekend's General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Twitter tag #ldsconf reached the #1 spot on Twitter. Thousands of Latter-day Saints have been using Twitter to share favorite quotations and references from conference talks, as well as to share their own feelings and testimonies of the gospel and Church.

To follow #ldsconf on Twitter, visit: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23ldsconf

We are now on Twitter!!

Please FOLLOW this blog's Twitter feed:  https://twitter.com/whoaremormons

I hope to have regularly updated info on Mormons in the news, and updated to this blog.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

https://twitter.com/whoaremormons

LDS Democrats no longer outnumbered by LDS Republicans in U.S. Senate

For the first time in at least twenty years, among Mormons serving in the U.S. Senate, there are as many Democrats as Republicans:

Democrats:

• Harry Reid (Nevada)
• Tom Udall (New Mexico)
• Mark Udall (Colorado)

Republicans:

• Orrin Hatch (Utah)
• Robert Bennett (Utah)
• Mike Crapo (Idaho)

The Udall cousins were elected in 2008 and entered the Senate earlier this month.  Gordon Smith, the moderate Republican from Oregon, lost in his race against liberal Democrat, Jeff Merkley.

I'll try to post info on current LDS in the House of Reps.

Mormon Artist magazine is launched

The new magazine, Mormon Artist, is available online for free here.

Ben Crowder (not pictured above) is founding editor of the newly launched magazine, Mormon Artist.  The magazine is dedicated to Latter-day Saints in the arts and Mormon themed art, music, photography, dance, theater, and cinema.  

The magazine looks great and will serve a highly needed role in the Mormon arts community.  

Church in Jamaica

The Church is growing in Jamaica and has attracted attention of the Jamaica Gleaner News. 

Taken from the article:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is also known as the Mormon Church, has congregations in every parish in Jamaica, and there is the prospect that two more congregations will be established by 2010 - one in Port Antonio and the other in Old Harbour.

Mormon scholar receives honor for work on international religious freedom and human rights

Professor Cole Durham, of the BYU Law School, was in Richmond, Virginia, earlier this month to receive the First Freedom Award.  

Professor Durham's work in promoting international religious freedom has gained him much attention around the world.  He has worked to improve religious liberties throughout the world in places such as Russia, Peru, and Iraq.  

Durham also organizes the annual International Law and Religion Symposium, held each October in Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah.  The event attracts government officials, religious leaders, clergy, scholars, and others from over 50 countries, including China, Spain, and India.

Church's new video

A beautiful new video produced by the Church:

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/learning-center-video-popup?mediaId=finding-happiness-6-03

Pres. Uchtdorf and Elder Ballard at Obama's Inauguration

“It is always an honor for the Church to be represented at the inauguration of a new president,” said President Thomas S. Monson. “We send our best wishes to President Obama and pray for the blessings of a loving Father in Heaven to be upon him and his administration.”

In this second photo, the Church leaders attend and participate in the National Prayer Service on Wed., Jan. 21, 2009.

Mormons in the Obama Administration

We are just starting to get word on the details of the incoming administration. Here are some members of the Obama Administration who are Latter-day Saints:

• Gordon Flake, advisor on Korea and East Asia
• Jon Huntsman, U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of CHINA

BYU football: loss of Teo?

Report: Cougars lose out on Te'o

Several recruiting publications, including Total Blue Sports, are reporting that BYU has lost out on the Manti Te'o sweepstakes.

Teo, the top outside linebacker in the country, has narrowed his top three choices to USC, UCLA and Notre Dame. Te'o told TBS that "when it came down to it I just thought I could make a bigger impact and be a bigger influence elsewhere. I think at a school like USC or UCLA, I could really represent the Mormon church well."

Tom Hanks issues apology to Mormon community

From this morning's Chicago Tribune:

Tom Hanks is rethinking his comments about Mormons who supported Proposition 8, People.com reported Thursday.

Last week he spoke out about the religious group's involvement in passing the California law, which bans same-sex marriage. Referring to the group's financial support of the law, Hanks said, "There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them."

Kim Farah, speaking for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, told Fox News, "Expressing an opinion in a free and democratic society is as American as it gets."

Now Hanks says, "Everyone has a right to vote their conscience—nothing could be more American. ... No one should use 'un-American' lightly."

The top 10 most famous Mormons in 2008:

1. Mitt Romney
2. Harry Reid
3. David Archuleta
4. Glenn Beck
5. Aaron Eckhart
6. Thomas S. Monson
   
7. Orrin Hatch
8. Gordon Smith
9. Bob Bennett
10. David Neeleman

Mormons at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama

On Tuesday morning, thousands of American Latter-day Saints attended the Inauguration of America's 44th president, Barack Obama.  Among the millions in Washington for the events, many Mormons shared the moment of Obama's new administration.  Some prominent LDS in attendance:

• Senator Harry Reid, U.S. Senate Majority Leader (D-NV)
• Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT)
• Other LDS members of Congress, e.g. the Udall cousins (D-Nm, D-CO), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), etc.
• Mayor Mufi Hannemann, mayor of Honolulu, Hawai'i
• David Archuleta, singer
• Dieter Uchtdorf, 2nd counselor in the LDS Church's First Presidency (not American citizen)
• Russell Ballard, member of the Church's Quorum of the 12 Apostles

Mufi Hannemann one of earliest supporters of Obama

President-elect (until 22 hours from now) Barack Obama received early support from the mayor of his hometown, Honolulu: Mayor Mufi Hannemann, an LDS Democrat who has served in several presidential administrations, including Carter, Clinton, and Reagan.

David Archuleta at Sundance

 The Los Angeles Times covers an encounter with the young Mormon singer, David Archuleta, while partying during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Jeff, watching with me, nodded and said: "This is how Mormons party. It's just like kids everywhere, just without the sex and drugs. But there's always lots of music." He credited the Mormon faith for encouraging this devotion to music. "It's about instilling in them a sense that there are no limits to what you can be."

If one wonders where a David Achuleta comes from — a prodigy who expresses himself more naturally in music than in words — this seemed a glimpse at the answer. Through the night, the wandering tribe of 9- to 19-year-olds rarely paused, breaking into song at every possible moment — even, as I soon learned, in extreme circumstances.

ABC News take a look inside the new LDS Temple in Draper, Utah

Mayor of Honolulu and Samoan heritage

As the first Samoan-American to graduate from Harvard University, Mayor Mufi Hannemann honors his Samoan heritage at an event in Hawai'i.  Mayor Hannemann is the second Mormon to serve as mayor of the city of Honolulu.  He has served as a high councilor in the Honolulu West Stake.  

He recently participated in a celebration honoring Samoan culture and heritage.