We are starting a regular Mormon Newsroom feature. “Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right” will present several recent news articles, blog posts or videos that, in our view, provide accurate and fair reporting on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as those that misrepresent the faith to readers. Don’t forget to discuss these stories on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
Hits:
“Mormons need not be such a mystery” – Cincinnati Enquirer
Rather than only using sources outside the Church to describe the Mormon life, this reporter allows several Latter-day Saints to define themselves. And while acknowledging that heightened exposure piques public interest in the Church, the article says, “It’s time to stretch the so-called ‘Mormon Moment’ into a real conversation. That’s the place to define doctrines, explain practices and put on the table controversies – as well as qualities as rarely explored as awe.” Read more.
“Mormonism Obsessed With Christ” – First Things
Stephen Webb, a professor of religion at Wabash College, points out the importance of Jesus Christ in Latter-day Saint doctrine. He writes that Latter-day Saint teachings are “obsessed with Christ” and are “meant to awaken, encourage, and expand faith in him.” He says, “what gives Christianity its identity is its commitment to the divinity of Jesus Christ. And on that ground Mormons are more Christian than many mainstream Christians who do not take seriously the astounding claim that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Webb also describes reading the Book of Mormon. Every page, he writes, “prepares the way for its stunning climax, which is a literal appearance of Jesus to the ancient peoples of America.” Webb points out that while other faiths do not teach that the resurrected Lord visited the Americas, Webb says he can’t understand why other Christians would take issue with scripture that expounds on the divinity of Jesus Christ. Read more.
“Inside One Mormon Family: Raising Faithful Children” – Patheos.com
Blogger Rosalynde Welch discusses her upbringing in a Latter-day Saint home with loving parents who taught her and her siblings to think freely and critically. “When it comes to family environment, I won the lottery. My parents are ordinary humans with ordinarily imperfect kids, but they created a family environment that equipped us extraordinarily well to meet faith challenges without fear, betrayal, or emotional crisis.” Read more.
“NYC to SLC” – The Salt Lake Tribune
Guest columnist Arjune Rama writes of his experience moving from New York to Salt Lake City. “And what has been my ‘Mormon experience’ in Utah? I hardly notice it at all. I think people have knocked on our door once or twice. No one has suggested that I take on more wives. In fact, the mainstream LDS Church denounced that practice long ago. When I’ve visited the Salt Lake Temple grounds I have been approached a couple of times with offers of more information about Mormonism. But when I declined, the young women handing out pamphlets respectfully allowed me to go about my business. In fact, if I went to the very center of any religion and didn’t get solicited, I’d be halfway disappointed. … I can honestly say that I have never lived in a more pleasant and simultaneously more misunderstood city than this one.” Read more.
“Media Attention Misses the Heart of Mormonism” – Mormon Perspectives
This blogger says some media coverage is “missing a very vital something” about the Mormon experience. Journalists, the blogger writes, “want to understand a religion from facts when religion exists in faith, feelings, and Spirit. It’s as much something you feel as something you think about. Mormonism has changed and is changing my life. It brings me community, scripture, service, healing, and closeness to God.” Read more.
“Are Mormons spared from reality? Hardly” – Deseret News
Daniel Peterson, a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at BYU, refutes the claim some make that “Mormons live in a bubble.”
“Latter-day Saints are no more strangers to ‘the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to’ than are non-Mormons,” Peterson says. “We get sick. We die. We lose loved ones. We’re not magically immune to the effects of substance abuse, immorality, emotional challenges, job loss and dissolving families. We can’t live in a bubble. It’s impossible. … The church constantly sends us out – out of ourselves and, often, far out of our comfort zones – as home teachers and visiting teachers, as young missionaries and senior missionaries, as bishops, as employment-service volunteers and addiction counselors.” Read more.
Source: Mormon Newsroom
