Mormon Media Observer: Top 10 LDS newsmakers of 2009

Mormon Times ^ | Dec. 30, 2009 | Joel Campbell

[Colofornian]

The Mormon Media Observer looks back at the year filled with LDS newsmakers. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., tops the list, based on a newsmaker's frequency in the news as well as the significance of their stories.

1. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada

The Senate Majority Leader led the battle to push through health reform in the Senate. News coverage of Reid made a household name and the divisive debate made him out to be both villain and saint. He may still face a tough battle in his home state of Nevada to save his seat.

On Christmas The New York Times wrote:

"WASHINGTON -- It was the pinnacle moment of his political career. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, on the verge of making history by shepherding through far-reaching health care legislation, was called upon by the clerk to cast his vote. And Mr. Reid, who had fought tirelessly for months to get the health care bill adopted, looked up from his desk and said, "No." ...Mr. Reid's oh-no vote capped one of the more remarkable stretches in what is shaping up to be one of the more remarkable careers in American politics, characterized in no small part by the sheer inscrutability of much of what he says and does. In the end, of course, Congressional leaders are judged on one thing alone: whether they come up with the votes. And Mr. Reid -- the miner's son from Searchlight, Nev., the amateur boxer who worked his way through law school as a Capitol Hill police officer, who has a knack for mumbling and off-the-cuff gaffes -- had the votes."

2. Stephenie Meyer

The release of "New Moon" attracted media attention around the world. Here's a sampling of the some of the worldwide headlines: "New Moon takes biggest bite," "Vatican denounces the 'deviant' Twilight Movie," "Mormon who put new life into vampires."

The Sunday Mail of London wrote: "Her teenage vampire books outsell Harry Potter -- but she's a devout Mormon who lives modestly in Cave Creek, Ariz., and eats at the local burger joint. For a woman who has sold more than 85 million books and has been hailed as the new J. K. Rowling, it is a remarkably modest home. Set down a dusty dirt trail, the four-bedroom property blends seamlessly into the desert landscape -- low and sand-colored with just a few cacti for decoration. Only a high-tech camera and newly installed metal gates give some hint of the occupant's desire for privacy."

3. Elizabeth Smart

The young woman endured brutality and came to court this year to face her abuser, Brian David Mitchell. After attending Brigham Young University, she is preparing to serve a mission in France. She was named Utahn of the Year by the Salt Lake Tribune. The excellent tribute by Trib columnist Peg McEntee reads:

"She had wanted to confront Mitchell with her eyes and words, but, predictably, he sang his hymns and was removed from the courtroom. When it was over, Elizabeth Smart strode, tall and straight, into the rest of her life. For so many of us, her astonishing homecoming restored hope when there seemed to be none, and the knowledge that even terrible times can end, and end well. And she taught us this: Faith, whatever its source, can make amazing things happen."

4. Jon Huntsman Jr.

President Barack Obama named Utah's former governor U.S. Ambassador to China. He took his post in August. Huntsman played host to Obama during a visit to China in November. Chinese media lauded Obama for the choice for Huntsman's understanding of Chinese language and culture. Huntsman previously served a U.S. ambassador to Singapore.

5. Orrin Hatch

Sen. Orrin Hatch was a key opponent to health care reform and taken on foes like the Bowl Championship Series. He also played a role in honoring the Sen. Edward Kennedy at his death. Over the years, the pair made an interesting senatorial odd couple. Along with speaking at Kennedy's memorial service, Hatch penned this piece in Newsweek. He also penned a Hanukkah song which was both complimented and parodied on "The Tonight Show."

6. Glenn Beck

The firebrand talk show host continued to attract attention on his national radio and TV shows, through his books and in the news media. The picture of Beck sticking his tongue out made it on the cover of Time magazine and parodied on several comedy shows. Here was Time's assessment:

"Glenn Beck: the pudgy, buzz-cut, weeping phenomenon of radio, TV and books. Our hot summer of political combat is turning toward an autumn of showdowns over some of the biggest public-policy initiatives in decades. The creamy notions of postpartisan cooperation -- poured abundantly over Obama's presidential campaign a year ago -- have curdled into suspicion and feelings of helplessness. Trust is a toxic asset, sitting valueless on the national books. Good faith is trading at pennies on the dollar. "

7. Mitt Romney

Emboldened by conservative supporters, Romney is keeping his eyes on 2012 presidential prize. Romney has been delivering a lot of keynoters and political endorsements around the nation and is getting ready to launch a book-promotion tour. A National Public Radio blog recent said this about who is a GOP frontrunner for 2012:

"Answer: No one so far. Mitt Romney, the venture capitalist and former governor of Massachusetts who ran a pretty good campaign in 2008, remains the class of the field but kept a low profile in 2009. Mike Huckabee led in some polls of Republicans that also found Sarah Palin popular. But Huckabee ended the year uncertain about running (and damaged by a clemency scandal from his days as Arkansas governor). Romney remains too much a general election candidate, a problem for the Democrats to be sure but far from the average Republican activist's cup of tea. His past positions on social issues were too styled to Massachusetts, and his Mormonism still leaves the party's religious base lukewarm at best."

8. Max Hall

BYU football quarterback Hall got his 15 minutes of national fame after the BYU-Utah football game when he said: "I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them," Hall said. "I hate everything about them. I hate their program. I hate their fans, I hate everything. ... I think the whole university, their fans and their organization, is classless." He later issued an apology and was sanctioned by the Mountain West Conference.

9. John Yettaw

The Missouri man widely noted in international media for his Mormon faith was held for a time in a Burmese prison charged with crime related to a swim across a lake to one of the world's best-known democracy figures, Aung San Suu Kyi. He left Myanmar with a U.S. senator. Despite his good intentions, Yettaw gave an unfortunate impression of Mormons to the world.

10. Michael Otterson

He was the spokesman behind the LDS Church statement at the Salt Lake City council meeting in early November that appears to be changing the politics in Utah for gays.

"The Church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage. They are also entirely consistent with the Church's prior position on these matters. The Church remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman. I represent a church that believes in human dignity, in treating others with respect even when we disagree -- in fact, especially when we disagree."

[Elsie]

I will accept your lack of denial as an admission.

Your Honor:

I request a new attorney!

[Elsie]

 

All these fundamentalists without the courage of their convictions.

 

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In a landscape far, far away (For a Hoosier boy, 50 years ago - Denver was QUITE foreign), walking back to Lowry Airbase after midnight on a cool late fall night morning, ruminating over the late night TY show (something about miracles at Lourdes), I found myself stating what I'd heard in school: Big Bang, Evolution, etal - I dismissed the show as fiction; a religion advertisement, a sawdust trail appeal.

Looking up at the brilliant pinpoints of light, sparkling in the high plains air, I thought of how they came to be.

Einstein's formula - E=Mc² floated up from memory...

Knowing that the equation can be turned around to M=E/c² I thought, "Yeah! All that MASS up there now shining down - it appeared after the tremendous energy burst of the Big Bang! The rest is history."

Almost back at the gate, confident that I'd figgered it out; an almost audible thought(?) came to me...

"Where did the ENERGY come from?"

At that time; I had no answer.

[Elsie]

Are you willing to defend your beliefs or do you want to run away?

And I don't play defense.

[Elsie]

I will not play your game.

The TarBaby will NOT be happy!

[Elsie]

...and his sister fell over!

[Elsie]

I have asked this question before from the Mormon apostates, but have never gotten an intelligible answer.

Oh... I'll bet you HAVE; it's probably just that you didn't AGREE with their answer.

[Elsie]

 I was enrolled in a “Mission Preparation” class at BYU.

 

 

Did you get to hear THIS fellow?

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Professor Robert Millet        teaching at the Mission Prep Club in 2004  http://newsnet.byu.edu/video/18773/  <-- Complete and uneditted

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Timeline...    Subject...

 

0:59            "Anti-Mormons..."

1:16            "ATTACK the faith you have..."

2:02           "We really aren't obligated to answer everyone's questions..."

3:57           "You already know MORE about God and Christ and the plan of salvation than any who would ATTACK you."

[Elsie]

Either the principles, teaching and oaths were eternal or they were not.

[metmom]

Or probably just not the answer he wanted to hear.

[metmom]

No kidding.....

[LeGrande]

Thank you for your reply. It actually helped answer a few questions.

I also found your comment about the difference between converts and BIC to be enlightening, but I think in my case I was a born skeptic and a slow learner : )

I too found the difference between the beliefs and facts to be disconcerting. That is why I left, but I have continued to be amazed by the same disconnect everywhere I look.

[LeGrande]

"Where did the ENERGY come from?"

Which is another way of saying where did the mass come from? They are equivalent. Energy and mass are simply waves of nothing.

If you take it one step further to QM you will see the answer in the spontaneous pair production. In the final equation it all balances out.

The big bang, expansion of the universe, energy, matter, etc. Can all be explained from the particle anti particle spontaneous creation that occurs all the time. The energy balance stays the same though, zero. : ) Something really does come from nothing and it will go back to nothing too.

[metmom]

Something really does come from nothing ....

So the Bible really is right. Imagine that....

[LeGrande]

Something really does come from nothing ....

So the Bible really is right. Imagine that....

Which part of the Bible says that?

[metmom]

John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

[LeGrande]

I naively thought you were going to refer to Genesis.

John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Where is the something from nothing there?

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

This is actually the more interesting part and confirmed by Einstein, light, life and matter are one and the same.

You may find this of use someday : ) Mormon teachings directly conflict with ex nihilo doctrine. The Mormon God does not create something from nothing. Ergo the Mormon God is not omnipotent.

[Elsie]

Something really does come from nothing and it will go back to nothing too.

Ah...

FAITH!

[Elsie]

This is actually the more interesting part and confirmed by Einstein, light, life and matter are one and the same.

I've missed this part...

[Elsie]

This is actually the more interesting part and confirmed by Einstein, light, life and matter are one and the same.

I've missed this part...

[Elsie]

The Mormon God does not create something from nothing. Ergo the Mormon God is not omnipotent.

How do you know he COULDn't if he WANTED to?

Maybe he be layin' low 'til something REALLY fancy is needed!

(Thanks for the tip though.)

http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/exmormonatheists/forum/topics/antidepressant-use-in-utah