Free Republic

This is based on a genealogy table I made. Had a bit more trouble than I should have tracking down the first round results, wth.

“God has always been discriminatory.” So says Randy Bott, a professor of religion at Brigham Young University... Why did the church withhold the priesthood from blacks for over a century? Among the reasons trotted out by church leaders—including church presidents...Black people are the cursed descendants of ancient Biblical figures; black people committed pre-mortal perfidy; black people lacked the intelligence and personal integrity... Such past beliefs have never officially been repudiated. And the failure of the church to repudiate them helped set the stage for the comments made by Bott, perhaps the most popular professor at BYU... The Mormon Church’s own...

Racist apologetics by a popular Brigham Young University religion professor are sparking controversy, as election-year scrutiny sheds a revealing light on the persistence of racist belief among LDS Church members. On Tuesday, Randy Bott, a BYU professor of religion, told the Washington Post that the LDS Church’s historic prohibition on priesthood ordination for men of African descent was a “blessing” to blacks because they were not “ready” for priesthood authority. “God has always been discriminatory” when it comes to whom he grants the authority of the priesthood, says Bott... Bott compares blacks with a young child prematurely asking for the...

A YouTube video of a white comedian who painted his face black and quizzed Brigham Young University students about Black History Month has brought some unwanted attention to the Mormon-run school. Observers have called some student responses ignorant while others criticized the comedian's use of the 19th century theater technique considered racially offensive by black people.

Being Valentine's Day, it might have been hoped that an impromptu letter would be filled with admiring comments and sweet remarks. Unfortunately for one young woman she was passed a note by a fellow student.. offering some stern words about her sense of style. Brittany Molina, 21, who studies accountancy at Brigham Young University, Utah, was walking through campus when a young man approached her with a sheet of paper - and then dashed away. On Valentine's Day, Miss Molina posted on Twitter: 'So this boy came up to me... I thought he was giving me a love note. Turns...

Updated. The first time I read this, I thought it was parody: Independent Brigham Young University publication The Student Review reports that BYU-Idaho has banned skinny jeans as part of its honor code guidelines against "form-fitting clothing." Skinny jeans: trousers of the devil? Don't tell Mitt Romney. "It's useful for us to realize that fashions will come and go. There will always be some tempting new style," University Vice President Henry J. Eyring explained in September. Fun fact: According to Wikipedia, Eyring is a member of Romney's extended family. Anyway, I'm 95% sure that this Student Review article is not...

Merry Smithmas? Quoted: "We are the beneficiaries of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, a work which had its earthly commencement with the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, in the hills of Vermont on a December day in 1805. As we commemorate the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, the Savior of the world, may we also remember his emissary, Joseph Smith, and consciously rejoice in his life and sacrifice, as well." (Larry C. Porter, "Christmas with the Prophet Joseph", Ensign, Dec. 1978, 9)

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) In the latest issue of Sunstone magazine, Gary James Bergera has a very interesting article, “The Moniteering of BYU Faculty Tithing Payments, 1957-1963,” that involves yet another historical nugget of mirth created by the university’s late president, Ernest D. Wilkinson. Wilkinson, upon assuming the presidency of BYU in the 1950s, was outraged that some BYU professors paid only a partial tithing, and some paid none at all. (I digress here to admit that I too, was surprised that there were/are tithing shortfalls among BYU professors. I would have...

NOTE: This was originally written and published back in 1999. Unfortunately, it is still very pertinent. ----------------------------- What an interesting development this is! Forty-one years after publication, an article titled "Current Communist Goals", which is an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” written by Cleon Skousen in 1958, is beginning to receive national prominence. W. Cleon Skousen, we should add, was an FBI agent, the police chief of Salt Lake City and a full professor at Brigham Young University. Skousen was also the head of the National Center for Constitutional Studies and the author of a number of other books and...

Ex-Mormon Australia native Helen Radkey is a spiritual consultant and educator, soul reader, past-life therapist, prayer therapist, marriage celebrant, writer and researcher, but is best known as that rabble-rouser who’s been keeping close tabs on the LDS Church’s temple ordinances for the past 18 years. City Weekly caught up with Radkey to find out what she's been keeping tabs on lately. Why do proxy baptisms matter to people who don’t believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Alive or dead, people deserve to be treated with respect. Proxy baptism is a disrespectful attempt to reframe a person’s...

The BYU football team lost by three on Saturday. Not on the scoreboard, of course. That showed a 44-point spread -- Utah 54, BYU 10. The collateral damage was to BYU's three cardinal values, the ones that are inscribed on all its paraphernalia, its marketing material and (new this year) on the turf at LaVell Edwards Stadium: Tradition, Spirit, Honor. • Tradition: Seven turnovers is not traditional; BYU has a tradition of success. This was the worst home defeat to Utah in school history, and it was among the Cougars' worst defeats ever. Saturday witnessed the destruction of tradition, and...

In a recent letter to the editor, the author of “The right vs. the law (5/26)” compared illegal immigrants to the early leaders of the church. He observed the early church members violated the law to practice polygamy and those men were still doing what was right, therefore there are cases when it isn’t wrong to break the law. This is all true. But then he implies by this same reasoning, illegal immigrants may not be doing something wrong. This is a false analogy, because the two situations are not the same in the relevant way. What made the church...

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) I spent some time re-reading the late Richard S. Van Wagoner’s excellent book, “Mormon Polygamy: A History.” The 19th century tales of harems and never-ending teenage-girl hunting were, of course, lies to excite Eastern U.S. readers. Polygamy was a contradictory doctrine, and extremely dysfunctional. Brigham Young once said that he wished it wasn’t a doctrine, but later also raged that those who disbelieved in polygamy — and even monogomous LDS men — were in danger of damnation. And polygamy led to divorce among LDS elite leaders in numbers...

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.)-After receiving assistance from both the Brigham Young University and University of New Mexico athletic departments, the Mountain West Conference has completed a thorough analysis of an incident which occurred during a baseball game between the Cougars and Lobos this past weekend at Miller Park on the BYU campus. During the April 23 game, a fight broke out between the two teams and certain players on both sides attacked umpires. Thus, three-game suspensions have been handed out to the following players, for BYU: first baseman Ryan Bernal, a senior first baseman from Grand Junction, Colo., Bret Lopez, a...

A former BYU student convicted of using a stun gun to kidnap a woman was denied parole earlier this month, and will spend at least four more years in prison. Stetson Geo Hallam, 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and obstruction of justice in July. On April 13 the board of pardons and parole reviewed the case, but opted to deny Hallam the opportunity to leave prison. Spokesman Jim Hatch said Stetson will have a new hearing in 2015, at which time he could be granted release or be required to spend more time in custody. Documents related to Hallam's...

Matthew Neil deserved better. He should have been the center of attention. The talk of the town. Instead, the talk following BYU's 1-0 win over New Mexico on Saturday afternoon was about an ugly post-game brawl that erupted just before both teams were preparing for the customary post-game handshake. It was a shame the talk couldn't center on BYU's best pitching performance of the year. Neil's complete game shutout was the first time a BYU pitcher had thrown a shutout at Miller Field in three years, and it was the first complete-game shutout Neil had pitched since Little League. But...

Success in the fight against pervasive negative influences comes from three factors: assessing whether media preferences are leading toward or away from goals, assessing personal media consumption and actively using technology to serve God’s children, according to Tuesday’s devotional speaker. Derek Marquis, managing director of BYU Broadcasting, spoke on media and its impact on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Marquis gave a brief history of media in the Church... ...Marquis encouraged those listening to use technology to further the gospel... SNIP As an object lesson, he had students with electronic communication devices — laptops, iPhones,...

This gallery depicts almost every BYU athlete we found with an honor code incident since 1993. (Certain players have been excluded to protect our sources.) The information in the gallery comes from media reports, BYU profiles, and interviews with athletes. It is by no means definitive. Many of these incidents were shrouded in secrecy. Many of the athletes could not be reached to confirm what we learned. If we have included bad data — whether due to inaccurate news stories, the faulty memories of interview subjects, or our own error — we are happy to correct it. If readers can...

Over the past month, BYU has been held up as a symbol of all that is decent in college sports for its unsparing treatment of Brandon Davies, the African-American basketball player who violated the school's honor code by reportedly having sex with his girlfriend. Davies was suspended shortly before the NCAA tournament, and a braying mainstream press lauded BYU for sticking to its principles. Sports Illustrated's website even wondered if a values-driven, "non-hypocritical" BYU was "on the verge of becoming America's team." The reality isn't so appealing. While it's impossible to know how many students disobey BYU's honor code, which...

...So that's the end of Jimmermania. Saw it for myself. Caught the closing act. Not impressed. SNIP You can take off those "Romney-Fredette in 2012" T-shirts now. Except for a stretch...Fredette was brutal. Yes, he scored 32 points, but...took 29 shots...He seemed to be wearing a blindfold from the 3-point arc -- 3-for-15...committed six turnovers and wandered aimlessly through the lane on defense like Moses in the desert. I've seen dead people play better defense. At least they occasionally trip people. SNIP "He's a little Maravich," a guy in a BYU shirt told me. No! No, he isn't! He's not...

NEW ORLEANS - Florida survived a 32-point night by BYU's Jimmer Fredette for a thrilling 83-74 overtime victory in the Southeast Regional semifinal on Thursday in New Orleans.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images It was reported yesterday that BYU starting center Brandon Davies was let go from the team for the remainder of the season for violating Brigham Young's honor code. Today, 1280 The Zone in Salt Lake City is reporting that Davies' girlfriend is pregnant with his child. The honor code does not allow sexual relationships unless you are married, among a hefty list of other rules. Davies is averaging 11.1 points per game and a team-high 6.2 rebounds, and not having him available for the NCAA tournament will be a major issue for Mr. Fredette and the Cougars....

The BYU Democrats and Republicans met to debate last week, but rather than take their usual stances, the two groups argued for issues opposite their political beliefs. Democrats took the side of laissez-faire capitalism while Republicans championed democratic socialism. While members of both clubs had to argue for ideas they didn’t necessarily believe in, they also found common ground. “Everybody has the capability to move on and be successful,” said Colleen McDermott, a member of the BYU Democrats from Las Vegas, arguing for the benefits lax government regulations in capitalist economies. McDermott cited President Obama and Democratic Senate majority leader...

If historians ever try to pinpoint the game that transformed Jimmer Fredette from player of the year candidate to bona fide basketball icon, Wednesday's 71-58 victory over previously undefeated San Diego State would be an ideal choice. The unassuming BYU star scored 43 points on 14-for-24 shooting, a mesmerizing performance that inspired a "You got Jimmered" chant from his appreciative home crowd and elevated him to a level of nationwide fame few college players ever achieve. Three different Jimmer-inspired hashtags each became national trending topics on Twitter. Highlights of his performance and a subsequent live phone interview led "SportsCenter" for...

Editor's note: For more than a year, Deseret News reporter Sara Lenz has investigated the life of Martin MacNeill. The information in this story comes from court documents, 911 calls, police reports, an autopsy report, a search warrant affidavit, psychology reports and dozens of interviews with investigators, attorneys, police officers, neighbors, victims and family members detailing why some believe MacNeill may have killed his wife, Michele.SNIP Martin worked part time at the BYU Health Center while earning a law degree. He graduated from BYU's law school in 1990... SNIP He started working part time for the BYU Health Center, but...

PROVO – Did unreported factors contribute to the demise of Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign? How did the news media cover the 1967-68 presidential campaign of his father, George Romney? Two research projects presented to an audience of more than 100 people at BYU's Mormon Media Studies Symposium recently compared the two Romneys' campaigns. BYU professors John Gee and Louis C. Midgley titled their paper, "Under the Media's Nose: Overlooked Factors Undermining the Presidential Campaign of Mitt Romney.

Senator-elect Mike Lee has tapped one of Utah’s most prominent lobbyists to lead his Washington staff and coordinate his transition from candidate to senator. Spencer Stokes doesn’t officially become a Senate staffer until Jan. 5, but he plans to bounce between Utah and Washington in the coming weeks as he tries to hire staff, set up the Senate office and ramp down his lobbying activities. “It will be an exciting time to be back in D.C.,” said Stokes, who believes American voters used November’s election to protest government overreach. He said Republicans are now positioned to make an impact on...

REXBURG - Rexburg police say they have cited three Brigham Young University-Idaho students for malicious injury to property for throwing a smoke bomb into a student apartment on campus. Capt. Randy Lewis said the device did not cause major damage, but did burn a small area on the floor of the apartment in Lamprecht Hall. The students, Jacqueline N. Matthews, 18, Terry A. Wilson, 18, and Kevin R. Kunz, 18, were each given misdemeanor citations and will have to appear in court Nov. 2. "The consequences of playing pranks that involve any type of explosives is a serious matter," said...

(PROVO)-Although vast strides have been made in alleviating slavery throughout the world, in the United States it is alive and well in various shapes and forms, Kevin Bales said in a human trafficking conference at Brigham Young University Thursday. Bales, the president of the nonprofit Free the Slaves, said in modern times, slavery occurs more in recruiters showing up in villages around the world offering jobs. Since many people are living in dire straits, despite the shady visage recruiters have, many people take a chance in order to give their families a better life. Currently, what may be the largest...

Just when the furor over the BYU-San Diego State replay mess seemed to be subsiding a little bit, a San Diego sports radio host, Chris Ello, threw fuel on the fire with his hate-filled diatribe directed at BYU. Props to Patrick Kinahan of KFAN Radio (1320 AM) in Salt Lake City for catching the remarks (made Thursday) and replaying for his audience this morning. Here's the link to Ello's diatribe, which are as disturbing as you will probably ever hear on the radio. It will be interesting to see if this guy keeps his job. Ello later apologized for his...

AMERICAN FORK -- Stetson Hallam, a former BYU student who used a Taser on a woman in an attempt to kidnap her as part of what he said was a prank, was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison on Wednesday. Fourth District Judge Christine Johnson said she agreed with Adult Probation and Parole's assessment that Hallam, 20, was a danger to the community given the disturbing nature of the offense and that if his victim had not screamed and fought back, what Hallam said was a prank could have turned into something far more serious. "It gravely concerns...

To begin his series titled “Myths and Realities about Mormonism,” Robert L. Millet, professor of ancient scripture and former dean of Religious Education at BYU, addressed the myth that Latter-day Saints disrespect, reject and contradict the Holy Bible. After quoting extensively from an April 2007 general conference talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, titled “The Miracle of the Holy Bible,” Millet explained that part of the public’s misconceptions about the LDS view of the Bible might be a result of church members spending too little time with it. “The fact of the matter is...

<p>PROVO — The former BYU student accused of attacking a woman with a stun gun pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lessened degree of aggravated assault.</p> <p>Stetson Geo Hallam, 20, had been charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, following an April 6 incident that he claimed was an April Fool's joke, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.</p>

Provo • James Tissot had painted chic Victorian debutantes, shopgirls and sirens, caught in unchaperoned picnics and flirtatious poses. The French Impressionist visually documented the love matches of the upwardly mobile, all set in the gilded materialism of the age. How, then, could such a hedonistic artist make the leap from earthy motifs to a celestial subject? How could he express the divine nature of Jesus? Such was Tissot’s dilemma after an epiphany vaulted his art from domestic scenes to the Christian savior. His solution? Luminescence. Tissot’s Jesus literally glows in a new exhibit of 124 watercolors at Brigham Young...

Three months after local parents accused Brigham Young University of advancing socialism in local schools, BYU has axed the program in question but kept ties to its controversial founder. In April, a group of parents said both university officials and Alpine School District were participating in "a deliberate course of action to subvert the moral fabric of a society with the goal to eliminate the worship of deity and replace it with the worship of man." Both the university and the district, they claimed, were either wittingly or unwittingly part of a nationwide socialist movement led by an educator named...

Somebody with a bigger brain than mine once said, “Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies.” Well, with Utes everywhere grinning huge grins these past few days, Pac-10 grins, a lot of Cougars are feeling lonely, left out, greener than green, bluer than blue, and something even worse — jobbed. What’s good for BYU’s rival is devastating for them. For Utah, what’s good has never been greater. Fresh off their invitation into the Pac-10 on Thursday, including a stunning celebration/news conference at Rice-Eccles Stadium, at which a dream became a reality, the Utes blew straight past happy...

PROVO — Over the past 30 years, BYU has won a national championship in football, expanded its stadium to 64,000 seats... Yet, when it comes to conference realignment, the Cougars remain on the outside, looking in. It's arch-rival Utah, not BYU, heading to the greener (read: money) pastures of the Pac-10. The man who served as BYU's athletic director from 1976-93, Glen Tuckett, remembers a time when the Pac-10 — at least on an athletic director level — coveted the Cougars. Adding the Utes didn't seem like even a remote possibility. "In those days, Utah was struggling. They weren't a...

Growing up in Massachusetts, I used to see the BYU Bookstore as the epicenter of Mormon culture — and in a lot of ways, I guess I was right. Whenever I was in Utah...I would make it a point to stop by the bookstore and stroll down the aisles, filled with titles I couldn't believe existed: "Mormon Mythellaneous," "How to Stay Chaste While Being Chased" and "Book of Mormon Sleuth." I overheard college students casually inserting words like "calling" and "RM" into their conversations. I watched them buy LDS-theme neckties and personalized CTR rings and scriptures with their names emblazoned...

A former BYU football player who was charged in connection with a rape case in 2004 has been arrested on a murder charge in Dallas. According to the Dallas Morning News, Karland Bennett, 25, and another man, Robert Dale Knox, 22, are suspected in the abduction, robbery and shooting of 27-year-old Louis Adam Barajas. Witnesses reported seeing Bennett, Knox and another man force the shooting victim into a car. When he was found, the man had been shot multiple times. He died at a hospital, the newspaper reported. Bennett was one of four former BYU football players charged in an...

REXBURG - Several indecent exposure incidents on the afternoon of April 30 have led to felony charges against a Rexburg man. Travis Lee Martin, 22, a Brigham Young University-Idaho student, was charged Monday with two counts of sexual abuse of a child under 16, both felonies. He was also charged with three misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure. Capt. Randy Lewis of the Rexburg Police Department said the incidents occurred at Smith Park, Porter Park, Tuscany Apartments parking lot and on College Avenue. Lewis said witnesses stated that Martin was masturbating in his car and the door was open. Martin has...

While most conversations about Brigham Young hoops generally start with Jimmer Fredette, one of the interesting ancillary characters in the Cougs' cast was Michael Loyd Jr...Loyd...came on late in the year. He had 19 points in a narrow loss to New Mexico when Fredette couldn't play in the second half of a critical game. He had 18 points in next game against Utah and most importantly, he put up 26 points in BYU's tourney win against Florida. That's great momentum to carry into Loyd Jr.'s junior season at BYU, right? Nope. He's leaving the program. The Salt Lake Tribune provides...

It was not many years ago when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints curbed its use of the term “Mormon.” With recent appearances of church-affiliated programs using the word “Mormon,” members may wonder whether referring to themselves as LDS is still the protocol. The “Mormon Channel,” owned and operated by the LDS Church, launched in 2009 as its official radio station. The Church also manages a channel on YouTube called “Mormon Messages,” displaying more than 40 short, inspirational videos. The Church features the website mormon.org, as the central location for online missionary efforts, while members are directed to...

Some local parents are leveling serious charges against Alpine School District and Brigham Young University. Parents are saying district and university officials are participating in "a deliberate course of action to subvert the moral fabric of a society with the goal to eliminate the worship of deity and replace it with the worship of man." These parents acknowledge their argument is both complex and far-reaching. If true, the charge means the school district is either wittingly or unwittingly part of a nationwide socialist movement. Parents say it is the manifestation of a specific warning given by LDS Church President Ezra...

PROVO -- A former Brigham Young University employee will serve jail time for stealing $200,000 from the school. Allen Scott Harris, 40, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 150 hours of community service Thursday for four second-degree felony charges of theft and communications fraud. Prosecutors say as part of Harris's job at BYU Broadcasting, he bought laptops to give to employees between June 2008 and February 2009. In all, nearly 50 laptops, 80 computer monitors and 175 printer cartridges were bought with university money and sold for more than $200,000. Harris's attorney, Don McCandless, asked for an alternative...

PORTAGE -- Two college students heading to Salt Lake City were hurt when a gun discharged inside their vehicle near the Utah-Idaho border. Four male students from Brigham Young University-Idaho were traveling south on Interstate 15 to attend the LDS General Conference in Salt Lake City, authorities say. Around noon, in the front passenger seat, a man identified as Sterling Glines, 24, of Arizona, was examining his .40-caliber Glock. The vehicle had just crossed the border into Utah, and Glines reportedly was explaining how the gun wouldn't fire if the slide was pushed back when the weapon discharged a single...

Most BYU students know what it is like to be in the religious minority. They spent their high school days fielding awkward questions about polygamy and the Word of Wisdom... For a few students, the trend is reversed. According to the university Web site “Y Facts,”...439 non-LDS students enrolled at BYU during the Fall 2009 semester. The number...fluctuated between...350 to 550 throughout the decade, changing as students graduate or are baptized and as new students come in. In a student population of nearly 33,000, that’s not very many. SNIP Lee Aguirre...chose to come to BYU after getting offered a football...

(LAS VEGAS) – Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada canceled giving his testimony at an LDS fireside last Sunday night because of angry calls, e-mails and even threats. The Democratic Senator is a member of the LDS Church and was invited to offer remarks at an LDS fireside at the Tule Springs Stake in Las Vegas. The fireside on “Why I Believe” was canceled after the threats were made. His press secretary said there were no threats of violence initiated against Reid but he canceled because of the threats against his invitation to speak. Sen. Reid received a warm welcome at...

It wasn’t a typical Tuesday devotional. At 11:05 a.m. on September 11, 2001 — just hours after terrorists intentionally crashed planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon — Merrill J. Bateman, BYU’s president at the time, stood to address the student body. The title of his talk: “Hope for Peace.” “The world’s peace is on your shoulders because you have the only message that gives hope for eternal peace,” he said. SNIP Elder Bateman told BYU students they had the responsibility to lead the world to righteousness. “The world depends on you,” he said. Over the past...

(OREM) – A former advisor to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher says scientists and the media have falsified data and exaggerated conclusions suggesting that mankind is behind climate change. Speaking at a forum at Utah Valley University on Tuesday, Lord Christopher Monckton attacked a Brigham Young University geochemistry professor and his colleagues, who have taken state lawmakers to task for over-relying on climate skeptics, like himself, for their information. He accused the BYU scientists of being terrified of “non-political” and scientific arguments refuting mainstream climate science and said “post-normal science” is being practiced the way science was done under Hitler’s...

As major holidays go, Easter sometimes gets overlooked. Despite its significance in Christianity, many people prefer to focus on Christmas, or even New Year's Day. But this week, Brigham Young University will be helping people have a more earnest Easter. On March 27, BYU's Center for Religious Studies will host the 2010 BYU Easter Conference. The conference will...aim to emphasize the importance of the oft under-appreciated holiday to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christians. BYU encourages the public to attend. "It is my view that we don't celebrate Easter enough in the church,"...