Editor's Note: At one point in the episode, Geoff accidentally says “Toledo” when referring to the mass shooting in Dayton. We regret the error and any unintentional insensitivity that may have caused.
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]osie Gleave joins us from the other side of the world to bring her international perspective on the week's happenings. And, boy, what a week for having some of that non-American perspective on the news.
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Alright, on to the news. The Church announced a few new name changes as we move to a post-"Mormon" future. This time around, LDS Charities and LDS Family Services have been renamed Latter-day Saint Charities and just Family Services, respectively. The latter is perhaps the most confusing. Why no "Latter-day Saints" to identify it among a sea of faith-based family services organizations? It makes no sense.
Keeping with that theme, Jana Riess adroitly analyzed Google Trends to see if there's been any change in web search traffic for "Mormon" and "Latter-day Saints" in the past year. The results aren't altogether shocking, but it's interesting to see trends, however small, develop.
President Nelson is on one of them that world ministry tours again, this time hitting Latin America. Aside from a Deseret News article that is strangely concerned with how many miles he's traveling, it's cool to see the prophet bring his personal touch to the region. Josie wonders why the prophet doesn't stay longer and what the value is in these quick stops, but the Church news mentions President Nelson's personal need to visit the saints in person as best as he's able.
Our other big story is the one that divide us no matter how much we say "Follow the Prophet." Recently, the Church quietly updated Handbook 2 to expressly forbid firearms within meetinghouses and other places of worship. We broke the story over the weekend and the rest of the media picked up on it a few days later. Gun rights hit close to home for many, and it's been pretty surprising to see how many faithful Latter-day Saints are flatly refusing to abide by this regulation. It's interesting how choosy we can all be when it comes to selective obedience. Also, hat tip to the Salt Lake Tribune for quoting Geoff's article!
How about that Mike Pence, eh?