by Terrie Lynn Bittner | Dec 20, 2012 | Mormons in the News
Paul Lamarr, also known as Cactus Jack, has created a Christmas musical that is capturing hearts in Utah. “A Time of Forgiving” is a musical about a man who has left his family. It is Christmas Eve, their anniversary and their daughter’s birthday. The wife depends on everyone thinking her life is perfect—and it’s about to become obvious it isn’t. Their daughter is going to learn about forgiveness whether or not there is a happy ending. And the husband will learn that he has to take responsibility for his own problems. Despite all the programs this family faces, the musical is uplifting and warm.
Many aspects of the program come from Cactus Jack’s own life. He was born in Utah, but moved to Australia in 1988, where many feel he became entirely Australian. Two years ago, he decided to sell everything he owned, return to Utah, and start carrying out his dream of writing and performing music. He rented a cabin in Park City and created a music studio for his guitar, grand piano, and violin, all of which he had taught himself to play long ago. On December 1, 2011, he took his first CD, a Christmas album to Deseret Book, which is Mormon owned. Lamarr is also a Mormon. They gently explained that it was too late to start selling his Christmas music this year. It took too long to get into the system, distributed, and promoted. He went to nearby Temple Square, the home of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, to sooth his sorrow and to reflect on what to do next. While there, he received a call from executive Debbie Simmons, an executive at Deseret Book. She had just listened to his CD and fallen in love with it. She asked for 2000 copies of it immediately. The CD became a Deseret Book best-seller, topping the chart in the number one position. They happily purchased his next CD as well and he began touring. (more…)
by Terrie Lynn Bittner | Dec 13, 2012 | Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
Prayer is a powerful tool that can help us with all our life tasks, whether it involves employment, religion, or personal life. We can’t know everything, but when we need to do something important and moral, God stands ready to help us succeed. We do what we can and He makes up the difference.
The translation of the Book of Mormon into the Africaans language is an example of how we can appropriately use the power of prayer.
As the population of Mormons began to grow in Africa, it became important to translate the Book of Mormon into the native languages. Mormons—a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—accept both the Book of Mormon and the Bible to be scripture. (more…)
by Terrie Lynn Bittner | Dec 8, 2012 | Do Mormons Celebrate Holidays?
A new Gallop poll shows seven in ten Americans consider themselves very or moderately religious. Mormons are the most religious of any other religion, which has been backed up by a myriad of other studies. Forty percent of those people consider themselves very religious, attending church regularly and considering religion an important part of their lives. More people are choosing not to identify with a specific religion.
The study notes that older Americans are more religious than younger Americans, with eighty-year-olds being the most religious and twenty-three-year-olds the least religious. Women are the most religious at any age, and this is true in most other countries as well. There are also differences in race (blacks are the most religious race), geographical location (southerners are more religious than northerners), and income levels (the wealthy are less religious, but attend church as often as those with less money).
As Christmas approaches, this statistic becomes particularly meaningful. Although many get caught up in the rush of Christmas shopping, parties, and other secular aspects of the holiday, those who have faith in Jesus Christ also take time out to remember the Savior’s birth, which is the actual reason for the holiday. (more…)
by Terrie Lynn Bittner | Dec 6, 2012 | Mormon Beliefs: Christian Values
It’s always a challenge for Mormons when someone asks them if they are saved. The answer isn’t a simple yes or no, because Mormons don’t believe you can be saved by saying the right words and being done with it. It is a life-long event for Mormons, and so they might more correctly answer, “I’ve taken the first steps and now I’m working on continuing faithfully to the end.”
In 1998, Dallin H. Oaks, a Mormon apostle, wrote a response to this question that effectively outlines how Mormons (a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use the word saved. In order to understand another faith accurately, you have to “speak their language.” I’ll be referring to Elder Oaks’ talk as I discuss this topic. You can read the complete talk here: (more…)
by Terrie Lynn Bittner | Nov 26, 2012 | Mormons in the News
A recent interfaith discussion held in Lubbock, Texas recently helped students better understand four faiths. Represented on the panel were Mormons (a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Baptists, Jews, and Muslims. Each spoke on basic principles of their faith or about famous members of their faith.
Mormons have long held that the best way to dispel prejudice against any group of people is to provide information and personal contact. Studies have shown that people who know practicing, believing Mormons are less likely to hold negative views of the religion or to practice discrimination. When people receive authentic information on Mormon beliefs, rather than the gossip often spread by people who are not qualified to speak on the faith, they generally realize that many Mormon beliefs are not as different from the beliefs of other Christians as they thought and for those beliefs that are different, they are more likely to understand the appeal or even the reason for the beliefs. (more…)
