The Salt Lake Tribune
How Spencer Kimball won over apostle Bruce McConkie, other LDS titans to end Black priesthood ban
- Title
- How Spencer Kimball won over apostle Bruce McConkie, other LDS titans to end Black priesthood ban
- Runtime
- 53:11
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Forty-six years ago this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, under then-President Spencer W. Kimball, lifted its prohibition preventing Black men from entering the all-male priesthood and Black women and men from participating in temple rites.
This historic shift, the most significant since the faith stopped practicing polygamy, abruptly ended this racist ban, but it hardly ended racism within the church. After all, 126 years of theological justifications for the ban remained, including influential works such as “Mormon Doctrine” by apostle Bruce R. McConkie.
Cleanup still needed — and needs — to be done.
Building on President Gordon B. Hinckley’s outreach efforts, current church leader Russell M. Nelson has called on members to lead out against racism and has cemented ties with the NAACP.
Matthew Harris’ new book, “Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality,” explores t...
- Title
- The surprising news about LDS Church growth
- Runtime
- 30:58
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- For The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is much to celebrate in its latest statistical report: The worldwide growth rate in the 17.2 million-member faith is growing. The expansion of congregations is expanding. And the number of U.S. states with declining membership is, well, declining.
East Africa, meanwhile, is booming, the U.S. is rebounding, and many growth measures have met or surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Still, there are causes for concern: West Africa, unlike the continent’s eastern and central regions, has seen its Latter-day Saint growth slow. While the U.S. enjoyed an increase in net membership, it once again had the largest net decrease in wards and branches. California continues to bleed Latter-day Saints and growth rates in Utah, home to the global faith’s headquarters, remain near historic lows.
On this week’s show, Matt Martinich, an independent researcher who tracks church movements for the websites cumorah.com and ld...
- Title
- Here's a list of the LDS Church's venture capital investments
- Runtime
- 0:45
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints oversees its major holdings in U.S. stocks and mutual funds, filings show, it spreads billions of dollars across industries from Big Tech to real estate, from health care and banking to consumer goods.
But what does it back when it’s risking money as a venture capitalist?
Read story: https://rb.gy/vyagtr
- Title
- Black bear wanders through a Salt Lake City neighborhood before being tranquilized
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Bears may usually be associated with honey, but one Utah cub couldn’t resist Salt Lake City’s Marmalade neighborhood Wednesday morning.
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials responded to help the animal leave the area safely, and authorities asked that residents stay inside, especially those with small pets.
By 10:32 a.m., the bear had been hit by at least one tranquilizer dart, and officials were working to move a bucket truck underneath the bear to bring the animal down safely.
However, the bear slipped and fell from the tree before the bucket could get underneath the animal. DWR Outreach Manager Scott Root estimated the bear fell about 15 feet.
Update: After this video was posted, DWR said the bear survived and was successfully released.
Story by Jordan Miller, photo and video by Bethany Baker, video by Trevor Christensen | The Salt Lake Tribune
- Title
- Utah's restrictive abortion law is driving away health care professionals, experts say
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The number of new medical school graduates applying to Utah residency programs dropped again this year, continuing a trend of health care professionals choosing to work elsewhere.
- Title
- Martha Hughes Cannon – The first female state senator in the United States
- Runtime
- 4:23
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Martha Hughes Cannon was elected to the Utah State Senate in 1896, making her the first woman in the U.S. to be elected to a state senate. But her life was so much more than just her political career.
Video by Kelly Cannon of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Title
- Utah furries set the record straight on misconceptions about their fandom
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- After tensions with parents and students in Nebo School District, furries here in Utah talk about misconceptions people have about their hobby of dressing up in cartoonish animal costumes.
Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/05/24/utah-has-an-adult-furry-fandom
- Title
- New Latter-day Saint hymns announced at music event in Tabernacle
- Runtime
- 0:39
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finally got their first peek — and listen — to 13 new songs to be included in the long-awaited revision of the global faith’s hymnbook.
After six years of development, including reviewing more than 17,000 proposed submissions from across the world, 13 hymns from the faith’s forthcoming volume, “Hymns — for Home and Church,” became available on Thursday.
Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/05/30/six-years-after-lds-church/
Video by Bethany Baker of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Title
- Homeowners in Park City, Utah, declining to rent to seasonal workers in growing trend
- Runtime
- 1:01
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- A Park City couple decided to be part of the solution and rent their townhome to foreign seasonal workers, also known as J1s. After the renters abruptly left, the couple found truckloads of trash, thousands of dollars in damage and, worst of all in their opinion, no one who was willing to help them.
- Title
- NHL sports district will cost the average Salt lake home $221 a year. Is that too much?
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The average Salt Lake City household will pay about $220 a year in increased sales taxes to support the proposed downtown sports, entertainment, culture and convention district.
Proponents say the benefits for the city will be profound, but low-income advocates worry that it will squeeze already struggling families.
Read more: https://rb.gy/t428o2
- Title
- Meet the Utah man brewing a ‘3,000-year-old’ Egyptian beer, with yeast from ancient pottery
- Runtime
- 3:05
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Like many potentially hare-brained projects, Dylan McDonnell’s idea to brew beer from yeast that’s nearly 3,000 years old started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, McDonnell, an avid home-brewer in Millcreek, heard about someone who had baked a loaf of sourdough bread with a strain of yeast that’s a descendant of a 4,500-year-old Egyptian yeast.
McDonnell — who has never brewed professionally and started home-brewing using a kit from The Beer Nut — asked himself, “I wonder if I could do that for beer?”
McDonnell’s journey to connect with beer makers of the ancient world involved a German yeast company, ancient recipes on papyrus, and a search for rare ingredients from Egypt and Israel. It also required McDonnell to apply his home-brewing experience and his master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies to brew a beer with yeast descended from a strain of yeast from 850 B.C.E.
“It’s hard for me to convey to others...
- Title
- More than a third of Utah lawmakers profit from real estate
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Leaders in the Utah Legislature have been pushing to build new homes in Utah — and are making money off that development.
Read more: rb.gy/cblzz2
- Title
- What was lost when the LDS Church started emphasizing covenants over community
- Runtime
- 39:06
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Since shortening its Sunday services and refocusing its curriculum more than five years ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has trumpeted a home-centered, church-supported approach with an emphasis on covenant-making and covenant-keeping.
This shift has some members worried about a loss of community.
Gone are roadshows, pageants, sports leagues, cultural celebrations and more. While there has been an explosion of temple building, there has been a slowdown in chapel building. The church meetinghouse of today has become just that — a house for staid and stiff meetings, mainly on Sunday — and not the buzzing and bustling community centers of yesteryear.
Would a return to some of that past help not only the church’s present but also its future?
Candice Wendt, a staff member of McGill University’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and a contributing editor at Wayfare magazine, wrote about the church’s evolut...
- Title
- Are ‘furries’ a problem at Utah schools? Here’s what districts say.
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The short answer: No. But viral claims surrounding “furries” have created disruptions and safety issues for students and staff.
- Title
- Failed coup attempt in Congo was led by a one-time Salt Lake City resident
- Runtime
- 0:40
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The military of Congo said Sunday that it had foiled a coup attempt involving foreigners, hours after a gunfight near the presidential palace in which at least three people were killed.
Read more:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/05/20/failed-coup-attempt-congo-was-led
- Title
- Sneak peek: A new Asher Adams Hotel alongside Salt Lake City’s historic Union Pacific Depot
- Runtime
- 0:46
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The extraordinary feat of grafting a new luxury hotel onto Salt Lake City’s historic Union Pacific Depot at the western edge of downtown is almost finished.
Folks developing what will be called the Asher Adams say the new 225-room boutique hotel at The Gateway is on track to open in mid-October. It will include an ambitious overhaul and adaptive reuse of the iconic former rail station as a vintage front for the hotel’s eight-story guest tower tucked behind.
The Salt Lake Tribune got an exclusive tour inside the construction project.
Video by Trevor Christensen, reporting by Tony Semerad, photos by Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Title
- Buying a home in Utah could break the bank in all but one county
- Runtime
- 0:55
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Potential homebuyers described Utah’s housing market as ‘demoralizing’ and ‘depressing’ in interviews with The Tribune.
- Title
- Doubling down on garments and motherhood may not keep young women in the fold
- Runtime
- 40:11
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Without a doubt, says writer and scholar Caroline Kline, Latter-day Saint women’s leader Camille Johnson would have heard former church presidents telling working mothers to “come home” and focus on their families.
Instead, Johnson, who now heads the global Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pursued a 30-year career as a corporate lawyer.
In this episode of “Mormon Land,” Kline, assistant director of the Center for Global Mormon Studies at Southern California’s Claremont Graduate University, explains just how radical it is that the faith’s top leaders are lauding her as a role model — and why their decision to do so may be a tough pill to swallow for some women.
Kline, author of “Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness,” also breaks down what she sees as an increased anxiety by church leadership over female members’ activity and level of devotion, why th...
- Title
- Special ‘Mormon Land’ from Europe: The LDS Church isn’t dying here, but it is changing
- Runtime
- 31:42
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Born in West Germany, Ralf Grünke has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for most of his life. But it was complicated. And, among his Catholic and Lutheran peers, that meant he sometimes keenly felt his “otherness.”
Still, being “an ugly duckling between the swans,” Grunke has written, was a “blessing in disguise.”
He studied his own faith deeply, reading everything he could find, pro or con, as well as other faiths, and developed a strong foundation spiritually and scholarly. He now enjoys a spectrum of friends and contacts among all religions, while representing the Utah-based church.
Grunke is the church’s assistant communication director for Central Europe, headquartered in Frankfurt. He joined “Mormon Land” for a special on-location podcast in Hamburg about the faith’s status on the Continent.
- Title
- Latter-day Saint missionary arrested in Utah
- Runtime
- 0:46
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- A 19-year-old missionary with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was arrested in Saratoga Springs, Utah, on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Reporting by Scott D. Pierce, video by Trevor Christensen | The Salt Lake Tribune
- Title
- Fallen Utah police officer Bill Hooser remembered at funeral
- Runtime
- 0:38
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- “I am completely broken,” says daughter, whose 50-year-old father will not be there to walk her down the aisle at her upcoming wedding.
- Title
- British spoof of the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial crashes into Park City
- Runtime
- 0:59
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- A British spoof of the Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial is about to play the Egyptian Theatre in Park City.
- Title
- Salt Lake City's Cottonwood Park to get upgrades
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- In 2022, voters approved millions to improve parks in Utah’s capital. Now, the city plans to use some of that money at Cottonwood Park on the west side, known for its expansive dog run and persistent homelessness issues.
- Title
- Damage to Glen Canyon Dam reveals vulnerabilities of the entire Colorado River system
- Runtime
- 0:50
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Glen Canyon Dam, which creates the second-largest reservoir in the U.S., enables the distribution of Colorado River water throughout the West and generates power for seven states.
It also has a plumbing problem.
- Title
- Will a top LDS women’s leader ever again be seen as a ‘13th apostle’?
- Runtime
- 26:36
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The role of women in any patriarchal faith is always fraught. It is especially confusing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which celebrated women who led the charge for suffrage while also practicing polygamy.
Past Latter-day Saint women like Eliza Snow and Emmeline Wells held high-profile positions in the hierarchy almost until their deaths — Susa Young Gates, an influential daughter of church prophet Brigham Young, was even dubbed a “13th apostle” — while today’s top female leaders are in and out in just five years.
Earlier general presidents of the women’s Relief Society were well known to members and wielded wide personal power, but, like the current high-level female leaders, they never held offices as “general authorities.”
Now comes word that, unlike yesteryear, today’s General Relief Society Presidencies don’t even meet weekly with an apostle “liaison” to the governing First Presidency.
- Title
- Wilderness therapy: Utah programs for ‘troubled teens’ are struggling
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Nearly half of Utah’s wilderness programs for ‘troubled teens’ closed in the last year. One factor causing the industry to struggle is the negative attention from former clients.
Tribune reporter Jessica Miller explains what’s happening.
- Title
- How Utah created the wilderness therapy industry for ‘troubled teens’ — and why it’s in trouble now
- Runtime
- 8:01
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The wilderness therapy industry is struggling in a way it hasn’t since the early 2000s, when national scrutiny followed the deaths of a number of young people in outdoor youth programs.
Wilderness therapy programs, part of the larger industry of programs aimed at "troubled teens," got their start in Utah, thanks in part to a student at BYU and an enterprising, and troubled, businessman.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Jessica Miller explains why the industry is so strong in Utah and why its future is uncertain.
Video by Trevor Christensen of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Title
- Officer hit and killed by semitruck in Utah County. Utah law enforcement form an honor line
- Runtime
- 3:53
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Members of the law enforcement community form an honor line as the body of a Santaquin police officer is led into the Office of the Medical Examiner in Taylorsville, Sunday, May 5, 2024.
Video by Chris Samuels of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Title
- LDS Church stock riches: New allegations surface of federal violations
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- An independent watchdog group says Ensign Peak Advisors failed to report large stakes in publicly traded stocks at least seven times.
- Title
- LDS women no longer meet separately with a designated apostle ‘liaison’
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Yes, they hold high-level positions, but the men call the shots in the patriarchal faith and the systemwide chain of command reinforces that fact.
- Title
- Utah State University's veterinarian school opening in 2025 hopes to address West's shortage
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Utah State University’s new College of Veterinary Medicine will officially launch in 2025 in the hopes of more animal health care providers for the West.
- Title
- How the University of Utah protests and police response unfolded, as seen through photos and video
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Hundreds of protesters linked arms at the University of Utah on Monday in concert with other students across the country rallying in support of Palestine.
Police from several agencies across Salt Lake County responded in riot gear and, by the end of the night, they reported arresting 17 individuals. Law enforcement had declared the gathering, which included an encampment with more than 20 tents, unlawful.
Here is a visual timeline of events from Salt Lake Tribune journalists who witnessed the events unfold.
- Title
- Small newspaper in rural Utah fights back against $19M lawsuit
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- A rural Utah newspaper is fighting back against a libel lawsuit filed by a Utah land developer, asking a judge to dismiss the case and arguing that it was filed in an effort to silence reporters through a prolonged and expensive legal battle.
- Title
- Salt Lake City's $1B plan to keep hockey — and the Utah Jazz — downtown
- Runtime
- 0:46
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The Salt Palace and Abravanel Hall could be impacted as stakeholders work to build a sports and entertainment district around the Delta Center.
- Title
- Utah GOP stops convention vote on in vitro fertilization ban
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The move comes as Donald Trump, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, walks back comments that he supports national abortion restrictions.
- Title
- This Utah city sent its mayor and two officials on expensive overseas trips. Not everyone is happy.
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Some of Vineyard residents and council members were flabbergasted to discover how much the small Utah city shells out on travel and related membership fees.
- Title
- These young leaders are saving lives and eliminating stigma amid Utah's youth mental health crisis
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Several young leaders in Utah spoke with The Tribune about the work they do, why they do it and their advice for other young Utahns looking to get involved in mental health work. They also shared their story in their own words, via a format they all know well: social media.
- Title
- Here’s how much a Utah college is paying Rainn Wilson from ‘The Office’ to speak at graduation
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- It’s the highest cost for a commencement speaker at any of the eight public colleges and universities in the state this year.
- Title
- Panguitch Lake Dam: What went wrong? Are other Utah dams in trouble?
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The Tribune analyzed years of inspection reports and other communications concerning the Panguitch Lake Dam and spoke with the Utah Division of Water Rights, the dam’s owner and an outside dam expert to better understand this near-disaster.
- Title
- New study shows attitudes toward same-sex sealings among Latter-day Saints
- Runtime
- 0:53
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The study of 3,800 LDS members revealed that how Latter-day Saints feel about the issue depends, to some extent, on where they live.
- Title
- Kevin Bacon returns to Payson 40 years after the filming of "Footloose"
- Runtime
- 1:49
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Kevin Bacon returns to Payson 40 years after the filming of "Footloose," joining hundreds of students in filling resource kits for his charity. The occasion marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Footloose, which was filmed in and around Payson, Utah. Four local nonprofits: Encircle, Spy Hop, Food & Care Coalition and Centro de la Familia de Utah, were recipients of kits.
Read more:
https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2024/04/20/kevin-bacon-meets-payson-students
(Video by: Trevor Christensen)
- Title
- Utah to get $1.5M to turn canal in Layton into a floating power plant
- Runtime
- 0:49
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- About a quarter mile of Weber County’s Layton Canal in Utah will be covered with solar panels as part of a federally funded experiment that aims to address the state's biggest challenges: clean energy and water conservation.
- Title
- Are apartments for rent in Salt Lake City getting more or less expensive?
- Runtime
- 0:59
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- A local brokerage report shows a one-year decrease, but other sources show rent continued to rise in the greater Salt Lake area.
- Title
- Will the Sundance Film Festival leave Utah? #utah #sundancefilmfestival #parkcity
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The Sundance Institute announced it will begin exploring possible new locations for the celebrated film festival for its 2027 season onward.
Video by Kelly Cannon of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Title
- What happens inside LDS families when a loved one leaves the faith
- Runtime
- 54:40
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Few conversations are as fraught as those among family members who disagree about ideas they hold dear, and none more so than religion.
Such exchanges can be especially painful for believers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a faith that can be all encompassing with strong teachings about here and the hereafter, especially about family relationships, and practices that reflect those teachings.
So what happens in families when some hold firm to the faith and others walk away? How do parents, children and siblings respond to those who have chosen a different path? Can they still love one another or does judgment make that impossible? Do they talk about it or do they slink away in silent agony?
Utah Valley University’s Kimberly Abunuwara, director of the humanities program, came up with an unusual way to explore these questions. She enlisted a group of students to interview various families about how their attachment to — or dis...
- Title
- Here's what living in Utah's Daybreak community is like
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- While the master-planned community draws ire online, residents keep finding reasons to stay.
- Title
- Salt Lake Tribune food reporter starts the Redwood Road Challenge
- Runtime
- 0:59
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The Salt Lake Tribune’s food reporter, Kolbie Peterson, aims to visit and eat at every local restaurant on Redwood Road in 2024. In order for a restaurant to qualify for the “Redwood Road Challenge,” the restaurant has to be locally owned and have Redwood Road in their address. What restaurant should she try next? Comment below and make sure to sign up for The Tribune’s Utah Eats newsletter. Every Wednesday, we bring you the latest food news, restaurant openings and updates on Utah’s alcohol regulation. sltrib.com/utah-eats
- Title
- Temples. Sealings. Garments. Aging leaders. A conversation about General Conference.
- Runtime
- 47:14
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- The recently completed 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may merit no more than a mere mention in the history books of Mormonism. There were no theological breakthroughs, no major policy changes, no sweeping shake-ups among the top echelons.
But the sessions did feature significant speeches, memorable moments and notable nuances. A British church leader delivered his debut conference sermon as an apostle. A longtime apostle returned to the conference pulpit after an extended absence. A Black general authority rose in the ranks to a historic level. Speakers publicly addressed the private wearing of so-called temple garments by the faithful. And the church’s aging senior leadership, led by a prophet-president inching ever closer to the century mark, made conspicuous accommodations to conference procedures.
On this week’s show, Emily Jensen, web editor for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and Patrick Maso...
- Title
- Skis on the snow, ‘forever chemicals’ in the water: Study finds links between wax and PFAS levels
- Runtime
- 1:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Study finds soil at ski areas have elevated levels microplastics believed to be left by ski and snowboard wax.
Some 15,000 human-made chemicals are classified as PFAS — short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals for their resilience to breakdown.
Read more:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2024/04/15/skis-snow-forever-chemicals-water/
- Title
- Here's how special interests use free food to get face time with Utah lawmakers
- Runtime
- 3:03
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- A range of groups provides meals, snacks, events and receptions during the 45-day session.
