Word: mormon
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...statistical measure, Spencer W. Kimball's reign as President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was a triumph. During his twelve-year ministry, the Mormon church nearly doubled its world membership (to 5.8 million) and its force of short-term missionaries (to 30,000). He ordered the addition of 31 temples to the 16 that stood when he took charge. Kimball, who had been an invalid for four years, died in Salt Lake City last week at the age of 90. Certain to succeed him is the senior among the church...
...landmark of Kimball's reign was a 1978 decree that opened the priesthood to blacks. In the Mormon system, which has no clergy, virtually all twelve-year-old males receive the priesthood, a prerequisite for holding any church office. After assiduous prayer, Kimball announced that he had experienced a revelation about the new status for blacks. Mormonism holds that such divine disclosures are unique to the church President. The new policy, as important and radical a departure as the abolition of polygamy in 1890, added legitimacy to proselytizing efforts overseas. In nondoctrinal matters, Kimball also took a strong lead, firmly...
...church that Kimball leaves behind is expansive and rich (rumored annual contributions: nearly $1 billion). But lately, it has been shaken by the mysterious bombing murders of two people connected with the sale of historical documents that cast doubts on official teachings about the origins of the Book of Mormon. Some Mormons are also anxious about the intentions of Benson, the 13th Prophet-President. A wavemaking, pepper-tongued right-winger, Benson acquired some notoriety in the 1960s for praising the John Birch Society and calling the civil rights movement Communist influenced. Other Benson targets: the U.N., the Supreme Court...
...included about 14% of people who called themselves "unaffiliated believers," "seculars," or "atheists, agonistic." Only 6 members of the House of Representatives called their religious beliefs "unspecified" and no Senators did. In addition, the Senate has 11 Jewish members (about 3% of the electorate is Jewish) and 5 Mormons (fewer than 2% of Americans are Mormon...
...live act, Low are a breath of fresh air. Alan and Mimi, as practicing Mormons, lead a quiet lifestyle worlds removed from most of their groupies-n-gin peers. Shining through in their lyrics and in their relationship, this faith that sets them apart also brings their sound to a new level. Although less minimalist than their first release (every song title on I Could Live In Hope is one word), The Great Destroyer is just as bare and beautiful as the rest of their albums. The music, although not conducive even to foot-tapping, rewards patience and silence with...