by Keith L. Brown | Feb 20, 2014 | Mormons in the News
As part of a larger study on religious values, diversity, and immigration, the Public Religion Research Institute released an infographic which shows the age range of religious affiliations throughout America. Concerning the infographic, Tony Jones in his blog post on Patheos titled “Bye-Bye Millenials” stated,
Here, in living color, we see the church’s failure to engage an entire generation.
You’ll notice that it [the infographic] also undermines the evangelical claim that they’re doing better with younger generations than progressive Christians. You’ll see that’s not true. In fact, the evangelical drop is more precipitous than the mainline drop — they’ve also got further to fall. [1]
Evangelicals Experience Decrease, Other Faiths Witness Increase in Number of Millenials
While the evangelicals may be experiencing a decrease in the retention rate of the younger generations, other Christian groups are maintaining their numbers, and even in some cases, are increasing in the number of members of their congregations who are a part of the younger generations. Jana Riess in her article, “Mormons gaining ground in the 18 to 29 age group,” commented, “Black Protestants are holding steady; nonwhite Catholics are exploding; and Mormons (of all ethnicities combined) have moved from a 2% share in the 65+ age group to a 3% share among that generation’s grandkids.” [2] She also carefully notes that one of the main differences between Mormonism and other mainline religious groups is that the trend of disaffiliation within Mormonism often occurs later than sooner in life. (more…)
by Keith L. Brown | Feb 16, 2014 | Famous Mormons
Whitney Permann, Brooke Stone, and Soni Muller are three musically-talented moms who love to share their faith and testimony through the gift of music. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others) and have had music as a part of their lives since a very early age. Together they create the beautiful melodic sounds of the group known as Mercy River.
They have been a part of the music scene for a few years, and to date they have three successful recordings on Deseret Book record label Shadow Mountain Records to their credit, “Mercy River” (May 2008), “Beautiful Dawn” (March 2010), and “Higher” (February 2012). Even though they love singing and making music, family is a big part of each of their lives – in fact, the most important part of their lives – and among them, they have 13 children.
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by Keith L. Brown | Feb 8, 2014 | Famous Mormons
A new, fresh sound has arrived on the music scene. The music group consists of four vocal artists from the Rocky Mountains – McKay Crockett (Sandy Utah), Keith Evans (originally of San Francisco, California), Joseph Moore (Littleton, Colorado), and Ross Welch (Cody, Wyoming) – who are collectively known as Hudson Lights. Together they create “a fresh fusion of contemporary pop and jazz like you’ve never heard before.” [1] Their self-titled CD “Hudson Lights” containing 11 songs debuted in November 2013 and features “classic covers of legends like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles along with two original songs.” [1] Their single “Good to Me” was released on iTunes in September.
by Keith L. Brown | Jan 30, 2014 | About Mormons
Darrell Bevell was born on 6 January 1970 in Yuma, Arizona. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others). He is a returned missionary, having served two years in Cleveland, Ohio.
Bevell is also a four-year collegiate starting quarterback for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently wrapping up his third season as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, and the big news is that he is headed to Super Bowl XLVIII.
A True Football Legend
Bevell graduated from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. After high school he attended Northern Arizona University (NAU) where he redshirted as a freshman quarterback under offensive coordinator, Brad Childress. Shortly after that, he left for his two-year LDS mission.
He had received scholarship offers from NAU and Utah, but made the decision to play for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin-Madison. In 1993, he was named starting quarterback, and led the Badgers to become “co-champions of the Big Ten and securing the school’s first Rose Bowl invitation since 1963” [1] with a year-end record of 10-1-1. The team ended the season with their first ever Rose Bowl victory by defeating the UCLA Bruins in the 1964 Rose Bowl with a final score of 21-16. (more…)
by Keith L. Brown | Jan 24, 2014 | About Mormons
Catherine M. Stokes graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in nursing. She served as vice-chairman of the board of trustees of the InnerCity Youth Charitable Foundation in Chicago from 1990 to 2006. In 2006, she retired as a Deputy Director for the Illinois Department of Health.
After moving to Utah, she served on the board of the Utah AIDS Foundation, and currently serves as the membership chair of the Utah Chapter of the African-American Genealogy & Historical Society. She is featured in the book, Mormon Women: Portraits & Conversations, and was recently named a member of the new Editorial Advisory Board for the Deseret News.
Finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Stokes first became acquainted with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in June 1978, while flying to a nurses’ convention in Honolulu, Hawaii. The pilot had suggested that those visiting the islands should visit the Hawaii Temple, which had just been renovated and was open to the general public. The temple was closed the day Stokes went there. She did meet a pair of missionaries at the visitors’ center who were unable to satisfactorily answer the questions that she had, so she filled out a referral card, requesting more information. (more…)
