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A team of former Navy Seals and CIA operatives splash beer on their faces as they prepare to play the part of American sex tourists. They’ll have to maintain laser-sharp focus as they engage in negotiations with some of the world’s dirtiest criminals. One suspicious move or remark could put their whole team at risk and prevent the rescue of dozens of innocent children. This team, known as Operation Underground Railroad, works to prosecute child sex traffickers and to rescue the victims. Heading the team is Tim Ballard — a husband, a father of six children and a BYU alumnus....

A BYU football recruit is accused of sexually assaulting an alleged prostitute. Charles West of Coppell, Texas was arrested last week—two days after Signing Day. Police say West called a female escort to his family’s home, held a knife to her neck and demanded sexual favors. He is also charged with drug possession. West chose to play for the Cougars in October after receiving a dozen offers from other universities.

Open bowl thread Late second quarter, refs wave off a BYU defensive pass interference after claim ball was tipped. (Instant replay -- no tip at line...only tip by BYU interception player...result? Free ref-provided td for BYU) Otherwise...hi-scoring first half. BYU...first 1 1/2 quarters...an unsportmanslike conduct penalty...an unnecessary roughness penalty...a facemask penalty...A real testimony, I would say. Commentators mentioned penalties been an issue for BYU during season.

One of the most significant ongoing tributes to the Prophet Joseph Smith is the annual Joseph Smith Memorial Firesides...These...began in 1944 and have been held each year since, as close as possible to December 23, Joseph Smith’s birthday...Brother Chase...published a ...volume titled Joseph the Prophet, As He Lives in the Hearts of His People. SNIP ...William E. Berrett...“It is an appropriate thing to remember the birthday of...Joseph...This is the birthday of our greatest countryman. Joseph Smith is the only American whose birthday is heralded around the world...People of every land and of every race are coming to honor the birthday...

PROVO — Police at Brigham Young University are investigating whether any laws were broken after professors discovered a voice-activated recording device stuck under a chair in a lecture hall on campus. Two professors were working on a PowerPoint presentation in the Joseph Smith Building two weeks ago when they discovered a digital recorder stuck to the bottom of a stool with Velcro, police said. After attempting to play back the recordings, they grew concerned and began searching other classrooms in the building. Upon discovering similar Velcro setups under chairs in other classrooms, the professors called police. The investigation, however, has...

The alleged “BYU Groper” Nathan Fletcher made a brief appearance in a Provo courtroom Monday afternoon. Fletcher has pleaded not guilty to two counts of class A misdemeanor sexual battery. His attorney told a judge Monday that they plan to file a motion to suppress certain evidence from begin presented to jurors at trial. A Dec. 22 date was set to argue on that motion. A five-day jury trial is also expected to be scheduled on that day. During a September preliminary hearing in 4th District Court, 23-year-old Fetcher was identified as the jogger who allegedly assaulted two of 16...

The Department of Theatre and Media Arts is releasing the first public screening of the student film “Pride and Faith” on Oct. 24. The documentary, written and directed by BYU alumnus Scott Raia, explores the complex lives of two LGBT students as they reconcile their identity and faith. Raia filmed “Pride and Faith” during his senior year for his capstone project as a film student. He hoped to become an ally of the LGBT community after broadening his awareness on the subject. “As I prepared for graduation, I looked to my future and some of my friends and their futures,”...

SALT LAKE CITY — Sexual assaults in Utah are going underreported, but the work of a BYU professor is helping to convince lawmakers and law enforcement to pay more attention to prosecuting such cases. Julie Valentine, a sexual assault nurse examiner and nursing professor at BYU, found that only 6 percent of cases in Salt Lake County have been prosecuted. Valentine examines rape victims and collects forensic evidence for cases. As she examined victims for prosecution, she would not hear back about any follow-up and wanted to find out why. “We would do these examinations — we’d do hundreds —...

An arraignment hearing has been set for a former BYU-UVU part-time faculty member charged with sexual abuse. Michio Zushi, 55, is set to appear on July 14 on charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child after the victim recently came forward to talk to investigators. According to 4th District Court records, Zushi inappropriately touched her beneath her clothing. The incidents occurred between August 2010 and August 2011, and police arrested Zushi in March. Zushi taught Japanese calligraphy at both BYU and UVU but is no longer employed by either university following his arrest. If he is convicted, the presumptive...

...For eight years, I had been a professor at Brigham Young University... I looked down on Christians...They had part of the gospel, but I had the fullness of it. I kept the laws and ordinances of Mormonism. Three weeks before the end of his two-year mission, Micah called to tell us he was being sent home early—a horrific disgrace in Mormon culture. He had been reading the New Testament. There he encountered a different Jesus than the one I was taught about in Mormonism—a God of grace, not of works, so that no one can boast... To a roomful of...

[URL=http://s208.photobucket.com/user/gahamm_photos/media/mormon/moxmas.jpg.html][IMG]http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb254/gahamm_photos/mormon/moxmas.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Mormon MOxmasDecember 12, 2005 photo of the Joseph Smith nativity scene in the main lobby of the BYU administration building. The caption under Smith's image is enlarged in the upper right hand corner. In the crib is a doll representing baby Joseph Smith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipatGHIF4Z0&feature=youtu.beA group of neighbors and concerned citizens gathered in a home in east Provo Nov. 22 to discuss concerns about proposed anti-discrimination legislation, the so-called “Bathroom bill.” The citizens oppose the bill, which they believe infringes on their “First Amendment rights” to free exercise of religion by imposing a “sexual rights” mentality on the state of Utah. Many were parents and grandparents who said the bill, if passed, would infringe on children’s safety at school and right to privacy. Utah Sen. Steve Urquhart, a Republican, is sponsoring the bill, which adds onto existing non-discrimination legislation. A law passed in 2009...

Last month, after being sure to get his caffeine fix at Starbucks, Southern Baptist leader Richard Land went where few evangelicals had dared to go before: the Provo campus of Brigham Young University, the intellectual heart of Mormonism. After lecturing on "family, faith, freedom and America," Land attended a BYU football game with LDS leaders and joined them to hear James Taylor sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Days later, George O. Wood, the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, also visited BYU, followed by the Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptists’ flagship seminary. Is there...

A former Brigham Young University professor is sharing the story of how she and her husband, along all of with her children, left Mormonism for Christianity through God’s work of grace in their life. Lynn Wilder is the author of the book Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way out of the Mormon Church, released in late August of this year. Until March 16, 2008, Wilder was a professor at Brigham Young University and a dedicated member of the Latter-Day Saints. In a recent article in the Daily Beast, Wilder provided a condensed overview of her personal...

SALT LAKE CITY — Quintin Fullmer Smith, 33, walked down a 3rd District Court hallway Monday, flanked by family members. Minutes earlier, the group huddled outside the courtroom, several of them weeping. Smith has four days to turn himself in to Davis County Jail, where he will serve a term of 180 days on work release for two counts of attempted securities fraud, a class A misdemeanor, and begin paying restitution. His father, Michael Kay Smith, 66, was sentenced to serve one year in the Salt Lake County Jail for two counts of attempted securities fraud, third-degree felonies amended to...

Yes, BYU football fans are like football fans everywhere. They may not drink as much alcohol but when they get frustrated, they can do some ridiculous things. Saturday night proved to be a perfect example. Cougar supporters, incensed by what they perceived to be an erroneous no-call on what should've been a pass interference penalty on the final play of the game, were caught on camera peppering the officiating crew with trash and other items as the referees left the field. We all do things in the heat of the moment that we wouldn't do if we were able to...

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Princeton Review released its 2014 edition of "The Best 378 Colleges" book Monday, which includes the lists of the Top 20 party schools and the Top 20 sober schools. TOP 20 PARTY SCHOOLS

Annual Summer Seminar on Mormon Culture, June 3-July 12 The Annual Summer Seminar on Mormon Culture “Workings of the Spirit and Works of the Priesthood: Gifts and Ordinances in LDS Thought and Practice.”Brigham Young University June 3 – July 12, 2013In the summer of 2013, the Neal A Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University, with support from the Mormon Scholars Foundation and the Jack and Mary Lois Wheatley Institution, will sponsor a summer seminar for graduate students and junior faculty on “Workings of the Spirit and Works of the Priesthood: Gifts and Ordinances in LDS Thought and Practice." The seminar...

...Follow me on Stand up comic, Dave Ackerman, goes to Brigham Young University to find out what BYU students know about Black History Month.

MessageToEagle.com - Normally, as a matter of personal preference I don’t get into politics, but when we have a presidential campaign that begins to cross over into the strange twilight zone of religious weirdness that centers on the one person who’s going to control the most powerful government and army on the face of the earth, well, it brings up some unusual scenarios to wonder about. It is being reported in the media today that former presidential candidate Mitt Romney only wrote a victory speech for Election Day; presumably a harried, last minute scramble to revise his speech was being...