Recently in News Category

Nothing on the LDS news wire that's hot, but there's plenty going on in the world. It's messy and getting messier. Here are a few thought-provoking links.

It happened on Sunday. The historic and picturesque LDS chapel near Harvard University caught fire about 10:30 a.m. and burned for two hours. Here's from the initial story at the Boston Globe:

Mormons around the country today are grieving the destruction of a well-known LDS meetinghouse in Cambridge that many encountered as grad students at Harvard or MIT. The meetinghouse, in Longfellow Park, caught fire this morning, while local Mormons were gathered there to watch the satellite broadcast of a meeting being held in Salt Lake City. Everyone was safely evacuated, and the cause of the fire is unknown.

You read the story and decide for yourself. From the Deseret News, "Missing Mormon convert found in Texas."

A 19-year-old girl allegedly abducted from her Holladay [near Salt Lake City] home by her Texas parents because she recently converted to the LDS Church has been found at her parents' house in Texas.

It happens twice a year, in April and October, as the senior leaders of the LDS Church speak to the general membership of the LDS Chruch in person (to those attending at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City) and via radio, television, and the Internet. The big news: Elder Neal L. Anderson was called as an LDS apostle, filling out that senior quorum to its full complement of twelve. Until now, Elder Anderson has been serving as the senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy (another senior LDS leadership quorum).

For the very best real-time Conference coverage, visit the Messenger and Advocate blog. If you prefer to twitter, visit the BCC comment threads. I'm traveling this weekend, but I'll be posting on some Conference talks next week. Transcripts of Conference talks are generally posted at LDS.org on Wednesday or Thursday.

A reliable-looking blog cites an email from the "outreach coordinator at the GLBT Drop-in center at the Unitarian Church in Ogden" announcing gay service projects over the upcoming Conference weekend (April 4-5). The email is trying to counter claims circulating by email that there are large protests being planned. I hope their service project is a rousing success.