This Week in Latter-days

The "Teaching: No Greater Call" manual is on the outs, replaced by "Teaching in the Savior's Way." But there's nothing new here, and we'll explain to you why.

How much do you want to hear about babies born IN temples? You know you do.

According to Elder Maynes of the Seventy, multiple accounts of the First Vision are, in fact, a good thing and not an example of the entire thing being a fabrication. It's a great perspective that we'll talk about.

Our dear friend, colleague, and exemplar appears on the now-unfunny The Daily Show to talk about his obsessions with Donald Trump. Al LOVES it.

Another friend, Jamesthemormon, had a pretty great week on the iTunes charts. Good on him.

Elizabeth Smart revisits the old "chewed gum" analogy, arguing against abstinence-only sexual education because of its detrimental effects on victims of sexual violence.

Bryce Harper signs the largest endorsement deal in MLB history, still won't tell us what happened with his engagement.

Neon Trees' Tyler Glenn is quite upset with the LDS Church, so much that his new video is one big takedown of Mormonism.

Other news: a scam on grandparents of missionaries; 3 reasons to talk to your kids about difficult Church topics; super swanky temple bags and other temple news; and should men dump women who want to work?

The Huntsman family opts to buy the Salt Lake Tribune, potentially opening the door for greater autonomy and a severing of the paper's relationship with the Deseret News.

Church spokesman Michael Otterson is retiring after 40 years of PR employment with the Church. His replacement, Assistant Church Historian Richard E. Turley, does not come from the ranks of PR professionals. Will this mean a new approach to public relations for Mormonism? Potentially. Stay tuned.

Brigham Young University buys Provo High School, enlarging the flagship campus for unknown purposes.

Tom Hanks appears on NPR's "Fresh Air" and talks about the role of religion in his upbringing. It's short, but interesting. And don't be a Tom Hanks hater.

One of the missionaries injured in the Brussels attacks returns to his home in St. George, and receives a hero's welcome!

Our friend Jamesthemormon released an EP, and it's doing quite well on the iTunes charts! Huzzah for James.

Tennessee's governor vetoes the bill that would have made the Bible the official state book. #missedopportunity

An Instagram post on the Mormon Channel leads to a guy stalking a single mom. Love ensues.

Other news: Australian media can't get enough of now-Elder Peter Meurs; Brian Regan really opens up his wallet for Orem; two weeks after her mission, a darling lass is crowned the queen of the Days of '47 parade; an LDS family builds weird treehouses and TLC cares; and the top 10 names in Utah. It's very serious!

Editor's Note: Geoff erroneously referred to African American spirituals as "slave hymns," which in no way was meant to be insensitive. He merely endured a stupor of thought regarding the term for a vital component of the American musical canon.

 

Utah declares pornography a public health crisis. Does this carry any weight or is it an empty gesture? Our resident net neutrality experts weigh in on any potential legislative issues surrounding such a declaration and discuss potential ways forward.

After the press raked BYU's Title IX office over the coals last week, BYU President Kevin J. Worthen calls for a reassessment of Title IX reporting process and structure, saying, "The university's overriding concern is always the safety and well-being of its students."

Ecuador's earthquake kills hundreds, including at least six Mormons.

In other calamity news, we have updates on the last injured missionary remaining in Belgium following the Brussels attack.

Also some classic Mormon stuff about temples surviving natural disasters. We are impervious!

Jana Riess via PEW argues that Millennials are leaving the Church more than their forebears. Why? Also, some very interesting insights into Apostolic Twitter.

In quick news: TWiM is now on Google Play Music, so you can stream to your heart's content! California's governor honors the Church for service; a new interactive site with the writings of George Q. Cannon; how a standing US senator joined the Church (and via which other standing US senator?); some awesome illustrations of missionary standards; and a new bishop's storehouse in Palmyra is somehow worthy of reporting.

Links:

* UT declares porn a public health crisis

* BYU to reexamine Title IX reporting

* Millennials leaving Church more

* Mormons die in Ecuador, missionaries OK

* Update on missionary injured in Brussels

* Jerry Brown loves Mormons!

* New bishop's storehouse in Palmyra

* Great missionary standards illustrations. No mullets! 

* Who will start at BYU football????!!!

* TWiM is on Google Play!

* Interactive writings of George Q. Cannon

* How a US Senator joined the Church

* Stories of temples surviving natural disasters

Our lead story this week comes from reports that victims of sexual assault at BYU can come under Honor Code discipline if the incident occurred during or due to an Honor Code violation. We find this confusing. It's a sensitive subject with a number of variables at play, but we want to talk about this. How can we combat sexual assault at BYU when the victims are too afraid to report it?

Marie Osmond is the gift that keeps on giving. Following her glorious Alex Boyé-partnered video in "Europe" (*cough*Vegas*cough*), Marie returns with some sort of drug allegory, or a tirade against the pharmaceutical industry, or native advertising for Segway robots, or a tacit endorsement of Bicentennial Man with "Music Is Medicine," a declarative tale on the healing power of music.

Tennessee might make the Bible the official state book. Church and state, together at last.

Other than that, this is a week of mentions and random stuff, so you can check out further details in the show notes, which will take you to the articles, which will make you happy, which will make other publishers happy.

Links:

* Rape victims and the Honor Code

* Ground broken for Durban South Africa Temple

* Vermonters do not want Joseph Smith's master-planned city

* Dieter Uchtdorf and the German Ambassador to the United States are besties

* Tennessee loves the Bible

* Open house and dedication dates for Sapporo Japan Temple, Freiberg Germany Temple, and Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple

* We have found Al's future wife. Again.

* Missionary serving in Taiwan killed

* How to pray so God can answer

* Meetinghouse in Washington vandalized

* Original plat of SLC up for sale

It's time for our semiannual General Conference recap podcast. We hope you'll join us as we discuss our favorite talks, insights we took away, and hopes we have. It was a wonderful General Conference all around, from topics of fatherhood, faith, opposition in all things, and maximizing our conference experience, to remarks on forgiveness and our responsibility to help refugees. Great stuff!

There's a little bit of news, too. It's linked below.

* Relief agencies inundated with inquiries following General Women's Session

* Upworthy picks up on refugee push

* Primary General Presidency is down with the Power Rangers

* Teens vandalize Oregon church building, leaders forgive

General Women's Meeting went down last weekend, and we were all schooled in learning how to help others, especially refugees. This all culminated in the launch of the I Was a Stranger initiative, a Church website devoted to helping refugees in your community. It's awesome. It was a landmark evening and we're excited to talk about it.

Building on that, how about some General Conference predictions? What topics shall grace our eyes and ears? We're excited, and we hope you'll join us on Twitter and Slack throughout the weekend.

Also, with conference, comes temple predictions! Will any new temples be announced? If so, where? We've got you covered.

Elder Renlund has some interesting counsel about how to not be jerks to those who don't share our faith or values. It seems obvious, right? But perhaps many of our faith do have trouble not maligning others.

The Star Valley Wyoming temple will be dedicated later this year, a whopping 18 months after breaking ground. The Hartford Connecticut Temple will also be dedicated in November.

Also, Utah creates the first-ever white collar crime database because Mormons get duped by affinity fraud. It's incredible.

There's other news, but you can link to it below and hear about it on the show!

* The 10 best things about the Women's Meeting

* Neylan McBaine loved the Women's Meeting

* Women's Meeting choir composed of refugees

* Irene Stone on why helping refugees is important

Church launches I Was a Stranger

* Temple announcement predictions

* Elder Renlund wants us to be nice

* Open houses and dedication dates for temples

* Vandals damage church in Australia

* Salt Lake to build a mosque, church to host parking

* Rexburg shut down over machete Wal Mart man

* White collar crime database

* TEDx at BYU

* Politicking from the pulpit

This music video by Marie Osmond and Alex Boye is amazing.

Presidential politics hit the Intermountain West. You had one job, Utah! One job! And it wasn't to give the state to Ted Cruz!

Either way, there have been some compelling news pieces this past week about why Mormons loathe Donald Drumpf and how Drumpf's candidacy could very well break the GOP's stranglehold on the Mormon vote. Very interesting stuff all around.

To cap it all off, an enterprising and tasteless super PAC has put out an "ad"---we generously call it that because it's little more than a meme---attacking Donald Drumpf's with, Melanie, as some sort of softcore porn artist, which was intended to turn off LDS voters and push them to Ted Cruz. Did it work? Yay for super PACs.

Brussels was attacked by terrorists on March 22. Three Mormon missionaries were among the injured, with later news confirming a fourth. If you're into international relations, tune in. After all, this stuff is Geoff's day job.

LDS Living accidentally published an article about Thomas S. Monson's death. In 2020. The future. They have the gift of prophecy!

Some white people are angry about a white man making a painting of a black Eve because it has slavery connotations. This is a very interesting perspective on the issue, and we call upon our network of experts to opine, accordingly.

In happier news, the Provo City Center Temple was dedicated on Sunday, March 20 by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Congrats, Provo. Many congrats. We celebrate your culture.

A blogger felt guilty over not living the gospel well "enough," and this guilt almost led her into inactivity. But her bishop had some sound advice that turned the whole thing around. Let's talk about it.

Lastly, a man weaves clothing from LEGOs. Yup.

Links:

* Three missionaries injured in Brussels

* Drumpf could end GOP hegemony over Mormons

* Mormons really don't like Drumpf

* Slut-shaming Drumpf's wife

* Anger over black Eve

* Taking offense and complaining

* Provo City Center Temple dedicated

* Pressing the Testimony Reset Button

Salt Lake City gets robbed of a GOP debate thanks to Mr. Trump (and sort of thanks to Mr. Kasich). Poor Utah. What does this MEAN?

Do you know any stay-at-home dads within Mormonism? They are rare breed, indeed. One writer talks of his experiences with it and how Mormons can be less obtuse about the whole thing.

Elder Holland warns of an "epidemic" of pornography at a large, anti-porn gathering.

The Church has started its Easter campaign, aptly dubbed #Hallelujah. Look, we ran out of hashtags, OK?

Blogger Mette Ivie Harrison has a few things to say to her daughter's seminary teacher. Then a former CES instructor weighs in.

Kansas weighs passing a religious exclusion law that would allow publicly-funded groups at public universities to discriminate on who can join. The ugly side of religious freedom.

Al is in CA and has had In-N-Out thrice thus far. Therefore, an In-N-Out-vs-Shake-Shack debate is due.

Links:

* No GOP debate in Salt Lake

* Stay-at-home dads are the best

* A letter to my daughter's seminary teacher

* A warm rebuttal to a letter to my daughter's seminary teacher

* Mormon father and son open stuff on YouTube, attract millions

* Holland warns against porn "disease"

* Kansas wants to exclude

This episode comprised sixty one-minute individual episodes, so join us!

Lots has gone around this week about Eliza R. Snow being gang raped, and while it is likely true, the historian behind the research wants to make her findings and conclusions clear instead of letting the Salt Lake Tribune run with a slanted piece. That said, there's some powerful stuff here.

Mental Floss uses dubious methodology to declare Mormonism the second-largest religion in most states, including Utah. How???

Why exactly did Brigham Young have the Deseret alphabet developed? What's the deal there?

Harry Potter, Interstellar, and Star Wars are all gospel stories. It's true. One author really wants us to understand that.

Speaking of, Geoff is full of Harry Potter knowledge as it relates to media. Let him guide you through the world of intellectual property.

Other stuff, Mitt Romney reads mean tweets on Jimmy Kimmel; BYU finalizes the purchase of Y Mountain; BYU is the best college in the universe; factoids about Howard W. Hunter; an Australian dude rejoins the ballet.

Also, a weird aside into fast food.

And lastly, Al goes after Chick-Fil-A employees.

Links:

* Mormonism the "second-largest" religion

* Interstellar: a gospel story

Dude rejoins ballet after mission

* BYU owns the mountain

* BYU is THE BEST

* Eliza R. Snow was or maybe was gang raped

* NPR covers MoTab's virtual choir

* Hinckley family donates valuable books to Hinckley Center

* 11 facts about Howard W. Hunter

 

In this week's top story, female temple garments have been resized and readjusted. You may now get low riders, ladies. This is the dream.

During a training for CES instructors, Elder Ballard instructs everyone that we can't just answer difficult questions with a simple, unrelated testimony. Gone are those days. It's time to step up.

Perhaps more controversial have been some remarks from Elder Bednar about there allegedly not being an homosexual Mormons. Of course, when taken out of context, he said just that. So what is the contest? What's Elder Bednar getting at?

US Vice President Joe Biden receives his genealogy from Elder Christofferson. Irish and Catholic, wethinks.

A BYU student stake asks its members to write positive reviews of the Book of Mormon on Amazon. Al and Geoff have wildly disparate views on this one, except Al's audio cut out so it's a four-minute Geoff rant. Love it, folks. Love it.

Can the Church trademark "Mormon"?

Our own Joseph Peterson writes about five things he loved from the recent "A Savior Is Born" campaign, sort of a post-mortem on one of Boncom's better campaigns for the Church.

It turns out the caffeine in your Coke comes from coffee. D'oh.

Also, updates on what it's like to dig at Nephi's Bountiful in Oman (hint: it's a lot like digging anywhere with dirt and rock); Mitt Romney has some mysterious news to deliver at the University of Utah; can teachings on LDS.org be considered "prophetic" when not delivered by a prophet? Where are the most famous stars of Mormon cinema now? And Vocal Point celebrates 25 years of dreaminess.

Links:

* Female garment changes

* An evening with Elder Ballard

* Elder Bednar meant good things

* Joe Biden finds out he's Irish

* Mormon® or ­Mormon or Mormon

* Where are Mormon cinema's finest actors now?

* BYU ward trolls Amazon

* Joseph Peterson loves A Savior Is Born

* Caffeine comes from coffee

* Digging in Oman

* Vocal Point after 25 years

* "Prophetic"?