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

Dr. Keith Finlayson, M.D. of the Mormon Tabernacle Choice

This article in the Deseret News is about my medical doctor (ENT) in Salt Lake City, Dr. Keith Finlayson.  He also served a mission in Brazil, and he sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

LDS women win first place in international film festival

(courtesy Rodger L. Hardy, Deseret News)

Two LDS women, Anne Bradshaw of Mapleton, Utah, and Jeanne McKinney of San Diego, Calif., joined forces via e-mail to write a screenplay that took first place at the recent International Family Film Festival.

The festival took place at Raleigh Studios in the Charlie Chaplin Theater in Hollywood.

The women drew from the history of politico-religious strife to create a tale of time travel that brings about change in today's world. The screenplay, "The Ardanea Pendant," was entered in the science fiction category and competed against hundreds of others from 17 countries, McKinney said.

LDS General Conference

LDS General Conference, an event held twice annually, just concluded.

The Conference lasted during last Saturday and Sunday.  Members from around the world gather in the Conference Center (shown above), or via satellite, internet, television, or radio.  The Conference's proceedings are simultaneously translated into over 80 languages.

Conference on Global LDS Church and Public Perception

This coming Monday at BYU (Brigham Young University) in Provo, Utah, scholars, journalists, students, Mormons, non-Mormons, will gather at an all-day international conference to discuss the public perceptions of the Church throughout the world.

For more information, click here.

Mitt Romney's son may enter politics in 2008

Governor Mitt Romney's son, Josh, may decide to run for Congress in Utah.  If he enters the race, he will challenge incumbent Jim Matheson to represent Utah's 2nd congressional district. (Utah only has 3 congressional districts.) We'll see if Josh Romney actually chooses to run against Jim Matheson... could turn out to be an interesting clash of two influential Mormon political families.  

*** Attention all readers:  Please send me interesting stories about Mormons you see online, in the news, etc. I would love to receive recommended articles and links. Also, please leave comments on the posts in this blog! :)

Church Historian's Press Announced

This morning, the LDS Church announced the creation of the new Church Historian's Press, a new imprint responsible for a series of Church historical documents.  The Press will target scholars and researchers to enable and facilitate further research on the Church's history and origins.  The picture above is an artist's rendition of the Church History Library, which is currently under construction on the northeast corner of North Temple and Main Streets in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Will John McCain choose an LDS running mate (not Mitt)?

Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah has been a loyal John McCain backer since very early on. Huntsman, 47, hails from one of the country's most Republican states and he's a Mormon.  Rumors have circulated that Huntsman may be one of John McCain's picks for the V.P. position.  Huntsman is an attractive candidate because he is a semi-moderate conservative, and also due to his international experience and connections: he has two adopted daughters: one from China, and another from India; he has lots of international (and domestic) business experience, has served as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.  Additionally he has loads of money, and has been considered one of the most popular governors in America. (At one point, rankings placed him as THE most popular governor in the country!)  Some Latter-day Saint Republicans have been left bitter and disappointed by the failure of Mitt Romney's campaign, so by choosing a Mormon, perhaps McCain could cozy up to LDS voters.

Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams is a fantastic writer and member of the LDS Church.  She is a naturalist, feminist, advocate, activist, and teacher.  When Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, she was asked to write a piece for the official Olympic souvenir program.  Her beautiful essay appears here.  It is entitled "A City of Salt and Granite".  Very good.  (It makes me proud to be a native Salt Lake boy.)

Hindu Leader meets at LDS Church headquarters

Elder Neil Anderson of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received Rajan Zed, a leader in the Hindu and Indo-American communities.  During their meeting at the Salt Lake City offices, matters of faith and law were discussed, as well as the parallels between Hinduism and Mormonism.  

Also, Rajan Zed offered a prayer on the floor of the Utah State Senate during his trip to the Beehive state.

President Hinckley's entourage and cane salute

I was in Salt Lake for the "cane salute" on South Temple as President Hinckley's hearse and entourage passed by.  

Please click here to take a look at these pictures.

Cathedral's bells in honor of President Hinckley

I went up to Utah this past weekend. President Hinckley's viewing lasted through Friday evening, and his funeral was held on Saturday morning.

Here in this photo, you see the end of the entourage accompanying President Hinckley's casket from the Conference Center (funeral venue) to the Salt Lake City Cemetery... along South Temple street downtown. I took this photo as I was with family near the Cathedral of the Madeleine, participating in the "cane salute". Anyway, as the hearse and its entourage passed by the Cathedral, its bells played as a tribute to President Hinckley and the deep friendship he fostered between the LDS and Catholic communities in Utah, and abroad. This was a moving example of interfaith goodwill and respect.

City Hall pays tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley

The City & County Building at Washington Square in Salt Lake City played its bells 97 times in honor of President Hinckley, who died at age 97 last week. They began to play the bells immediately as the funeral services ended. I took this photograph while the bells were ringing.
Thanks to the City of Salt Lake! By the way, it took 16 minutes for the bells to ring 97 times (you do the math to figure out the frequency).

Barack Obama cancels campaign visit to Utah, citing President Hinckley's funeral

Barack Obama was scheduled to visit Salt Lake City this coming Saturday, but the presidential hopeful has canceled his visit to Utah out of respect for President Gordon B. Hinckley whose funeral services will be held on Saturday morning.

Obama spoke with President Thomas S. Monson on the telephone to express his condolences.

“Last night I spoke with President Thomas Monson and expressed my deepest sympathies to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” said Senator Obama.

Barack Obama is the only Democratic presidential candidate who has publicly expressed an interest in forming a strategy to reach out to and mobilize Latter-day Saints, especially in the Western United States.

Senator Obama's new Western tour will include a quick campaign stop in Phoenix, then he will travel directly to Boise, skipping over Salt Lake City.

The Sundance Film Festival & Mormons

The Sundance Film Festival is the most important cultural event that happens in Utah, and attracts thousands of people to Salt Lake City and Park City.  This year, Sundance film fans enjoyed a whimsical reference to Mormons in one of the films on debut at the festival:

In the film "Sunshine Cleaning," a character explains why she doesn't drink alcohol or do drugs, and the character played by Emily Blunt replies, "You should just tell people you're a Mormon."

:)