by Delisa Hargrove | Aug 2, 2013 | About Mormons
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often inadvertently called the Mormon Church, strongly advocates the Cub and Boy Scout programs for boys and young men. Principles of discipline, interpersonal relationships, moral fortitude, and self-reliance learned in Scouting can positively affect the Scout’s future life.
As a woman, and a Latter-day Saint, or Mormon, I appreciate the character strengthening principles of Scouting! My three brothers are Eagle Scouts. I watched them learn skills—from survival skills to interpersonal skills which increased their confidence. I noticed their maturity as their attitudes turned more from “What’s in it for me?” to “How can I make a difference?” They still did crazy teenage boy things, but Scouting provided an opportunity for them to learn to value service to others. For example, one brother’s Eagle project included organizing police and other county health officials to enable parents to get identification tags from the county and information about their children into the county’s database. Kidnappings were prevalent at the time, so children were fingerprinted and photographed to document their identity. (more…)
by Charlotte Wilson | Jun 27, 2013 | About Mormons
Since the qualifying age for Mormon missionary service has been lowered, more Mormon youth are postponing college attendance in order to serve missions.
Areas of the world where there are a lot of Mormons have noticed a change in some of the graduating high school seniors of the class of 2013. Many youth have been postponing their college education to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a faith often inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church). This phenomenon was preceded by an official announcement by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ in October 2012, where the age requirement for serving full-time missions was lowered for both men and women. As a result, many Mormon youth graduating high school this year have opted to serve missions before diving into their college careers.
The Church of Jesus Christ Lowered the Missionary Age
In October 2012 during the semiannual worldwide conference held by The Church of Jesus Christ, the prophet and president of the church, Thomas S. Monson, announced that the age requirements for missionaries would be lowered to 18 for men (previously 19) and 19 for women (previously 21). Soon after, local church leaders around the world fielded calls from excited prospective missionaries ready to begin the application process. (more…)
by Delisa Hargrove | Jun 7, 2013 | Mormons in the News
Recent flooding caused a state of emergency to be declared in Radisson, Maidstone, and Borden, Saskatchewan. City officials concerned about the remaining snow levels still to melt, felt even more flooding was inevitable. [1]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often inadvertently called the “Mormon Church,” provided volunteer support from its local congregations.
Don Tanner, Radisson’s mayor and a member of the Church, said that the missionaries have made a significant contribution to the flood-control effort. “The missionaries worked in wet running shoes or boots in snow, rain and high winds for 12 hours. What is more, the missionaries’ cheerful attitude and willingness [to help] lifted the mood and helped everyone work just a little bit better.” (more…)
by Charlotte Wilson | Jun 3, 2013 | About Mormons
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church) is well known for its worldwide missionary work. Many people recognize the young missionaries by their nametags and Sunday-best dress. For decades the age for men to enter full-time missionary service was 19, with the women able to serve at 21. Last year, the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ changed the policy so that now young men can leave at 18 and young women at 19. This age change has had a 
swift and significant impact on Mormon missionary service throughout the world. One of those changes is that more Mormon women are opting to serve missions, and that change has had an impact on the Church’s entire missionary program.
Women Now Account for Half of Full-time Mormon Missionary Applications
In October 2012, the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ, President Thomas S. Monson, announced the missionary age change, a change that sent ripples of excitement throughout church membership. Now that women are permitted to serve missions two full years before they otherwise would have been, applications from Mormon women have been flooding the Church’s missionary department. Where a year ago, applications from women constituted only about 15 percent of all incoming applications, today 50 percent of missionary papers are submitted by women. (more…)
by Lisa M. | Feb 18, 2013 | About Mormons
Mormons, or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that prophets, or leaders of the Church, are chosen and called of God. Prophets and apostles are called to serve the Lord for the rest of their lives, as were the apostles in Christ’s ancient Church. A prophet’s resignation is always possible, because Mormons believe in the divine gift of choice. A more accurate question is: Would a Mormon prophet ever resign?
The first thought that comes to me is the story of the ancient prophet Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach to the Ninevites. Of course, the first things that pop into my head are the bright and cheery songs from the Veggie Tales’ movie. But the reality is a bit more serious. In Jonah 1, God instructs the prophet to go to Nineveh and tell the people to repent or be destroyed. Jonah 1:3 records his response: “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” He bought passage on a boat sailing in the opposite direction of Nineveh. A great storm arose, and the mariners on the ship were scared. They cast lots to see which person was causing this evil, and the lot fell on Jonah. He admitted that he had fled from the Lord. To save themselves, the mariners cast Jonah into the sea. The sea stopped raging, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. (more…)
