Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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Mormon Church Not Happy Utah Plans to Ban Conversion Therapy

LDS church wants pending state regulation on minors amended

(Newser) - A state regulation is pending in Utah that would prohibit psychologists from using gay conversion therapy on minors—and on Tuesday night, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement announcing its opposition to the ban. "We teach the right of individuals to self-determination and the... More »

Dad of Elizabeth Smart: I'm Gay, Getting Divorced

Ed Smart also says he's not finding 'solace' anymore in LDS church

(Newser) - Ed Smart, father of kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart , posted a letter on Facebook Thursday that held some stunning revelations: He's gay, divorcing Elizabeth's mother, and "doesn't see a place for himself in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," per the Deseret News . Smart... More »

Warren Jeffs' Son, Who Said Dad Abused Him, Dead at 26

Roy Jeffs is said to have taken his own life

(Newser) - A son of Warren Jeffs who was one of the first to say the polygamist had sexually abused his own children has died. The Salt Lake City Tribune reports that Roy Jeffs, 26, was found dead at his Salt Lake City home on Friday. He would have turned 27 on... More »

BYU Valedictorian Comes Out During Speech

'I'm proud to be a gay son of God,' he says

(Newser) - There were cheers and whoops from the crowd at Brigham Young University's commencement ceremony Friday as political science valedictorian Matt Easton came out as gay during his speech. After congratulating his classmates at the Mormon university, Easton said: "I stand before my family, friends, and graduating class today... More »

LDS Church Makes 'Surprise' Change on LGBT Issues

Mormon children of LGBT parents can be blessed, baptized

(Newser) - Children of LGBT parents may now be blessed as infants and then, later, baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church announced that and other changes Thursday to controversial church policies that were enacted in 2015, the Deseret News reports. Church leaders said at... More »

Mormon Missionaries Now Get More Than 2 Calls a Year

They had previously been allowed to phone home on Christmas and Mother's Day

(Newser) - Parents of Mormon missionaries will be able to hear their children's voices a lot more often under new rules announced Friday that allow the proselytizing youngsters to call home every week instead of only twice a year. The move is aimed at encouraging families to be more involved in... More »

LDS Church Supporters Cry 'Blasphemy' Over Deadpool Poster

Promo looks strikingly like painting of Jesus commissioned by the church

(Newser) - Once Upon a Deadpool opened nationwide Wednesday, and while it's earning tepid reviews , its promo poster is drawing more heated reaction. Who's hot about it: supporters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which boasts a painting that looks to be the inspiration for the Deadpool... More »

Church President: Calling Us Mormon a 'Victory for Satan'

Russell M. Nelson is fighting a battle against the M word

(Newser) - The president of the Mormon church wants members, the media and others to use the faith's full name , saying nicknames are "a major victory for Satan." Addressing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' twice-yearly conference Sunday in Salt Lake City, Russell M. Nelson says the... More »

David Cross Will Perform at Utah School Despite Row

The comedian tweeted what appeared to be a joke about holy undergarments

(Newser) - The University of Utah says a tweet from comedian David Cross showing him wearing undergarments sacred to the Mormon faith was "deeply offensive" but the college won't consider calls for the cancellation of his performance on campus Wednesday. College president Ruth Watkins criticized the tweet in a statement... More »

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Don't Call Us Mormons

'LDS Church' is also now frowned upon

(Newser) - "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Tabernacle Choir" isn't a name that exactly rolls off the tongue, but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir might have to adopt it. Russell T. Nelson, the church's president, announced Thursday that it is launching a major campaign to have the... More »

After More Than a Century, Mormons Dump Boy Scouts

The complete severing will come at the end of 2019

(Newser) - The Mormon church said Tuesday it will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts of America at the end of 2019 and place its remaining 425,000 boys into a gospel-focused youth program it's developing. The move ends what USA Today calls a "long, symbiotic relationship," one... More »

Mormons Make History With New Apostles

Brazilian, Chinese-American choices add diversity

(Newser) - The Mormon church made history and injected diversity into a top leadership panel on Saturday by selecting the first-ever Latin-American apostle and the first-ever apostle of Asian ancestry, the AP reports. The selections of Ulisses Soares of Brazil and Gerrit W. Gong, a Chinese-American, were announced at the start of... More »

Mormons Pick Former Surgeon, 93, as New Leader

Russell Nelson is appointed to top post in church

(Newser) - The Mormon church appointed a 93-year-old former heart surgeon Tuesday as its new president, following a longstanding succession plan that aims to keep the faith on course with a minimum of upheaval. The selection of Russell M. Nelson was announced by high-ranking Mormon D. Todd Christofferson during an address broadcast... More »

15th Man to Succeed Joseph Smith Has Died

Thomas Monson was LDS leader for almost a decade

(Newser) - The 15th man to succeed Joseph Smith as chief of the Mormon church has died. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says 90-year-old church president Thomas Monson died at his Salt Lake City home Tuesday evening, the AP reports. Monson—who was ordained as a bishop at the... More »

Ex-Mormon Borrows Password, Finds Improper Celeb Baptisms

Including Marilyn Monroe

(Newser) - Mormons are posthumously baptizing Holocaust victims, as well as grandparents of public figures like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Steven Spielberg, despite church rules intended to restrict the ceremonies to a member's ancestors, according to a researcher who has spent two decades monitoring the church's massive genealogical database.... More »

Mormons Excommunicate First Leader in Decades

This time, it wasn't for apostasy, church says

(Newser) - A Mormon church leader was removed from his post and kicked out of the religion Tuesday for the first time in nearly three decades. James J. Hamula was released from a mid-level leadership council based on disciplinary action by the religion's highest leaders, says Eric Hawkins, a spokesman for... More »

She Expressed Support for LGBT People—and Was Fired

Former BYU instructor Ruthie Robertson doesn't regret a thing

(Newser) - When Ruthie Robertson declared on Facebook that "homosexuality and transgenderism are not sins," the 22-year-old political science instructor at Brigham Young University-Idaho expected the feedback would be harsh. "But it never crossed my mind that I would lose my job," she tells the Idaho State Journal ... More »

Singer Quits Mormon Tabernacle Choir Over Trump Performance

She makes her resignation letter public

(Newser) - It's not only the Rockettes who were upset to learn they'd be performing for the 45th US president. Thousands of people have signed a petition asking the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to rescind its acceptance of an invitation to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration next month, and now... More »

Warren Jeffs' Brother Literally Slips From FBI's Grasp

Thanks to ... olive oil?

(Newser) - The brother of jailed polygamous Mormon sect leader Warren Jeffs is on the run from the FBI after using "some sort of lubrication, possibly olive oil," to wriggle out of his ankle monitor, say police. Lyle Jeffs, one of 11 leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ... More »

Utah Missionaries, US Air Force Family Injured in Brussels

Details are developing

(Newser) - Among those hurt in the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday: three Mormon missionaries from Utah and an Air Force officer and his family. Richard Norby, 66, Joseph Empey, 20, and Mason Wells, 19, were injured in the explosion at Brussels airport, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... More »

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