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Show Hinckley defends LDS faith as Christian at conference SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Wishing followers safe travels, peace and harmony in their homes, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints closed a two-day biannual conference Sunday by reminding the faithful to treat each other with care. "Husbands, love and treasure your wives. They are your most precious possessions. Wives, encourage and pray for your husbands. They need all the help they can get," president Gordon B. Hinckley said. "Parents, treat your children with great kindness. They are the coming generation who will bring honor to your name." Earlier the 96-year-old Hinckley told Latter-day Saints he is in good health despite "rumors to the contrary." "Skillful doctors and nurses keep me on track and some of you may go before I do," the 96-year-old Hinckley said, drawing laughter from those gathered in the downtown conference center near church headquarters. Hinckley is the 15th president of the church and has served in its top leadership circle for 49 years, at times acting as the de facto president when his predecessors took ill. He ascended to the presidency in 1995. Members revere the leader of the church as a prophet of God. The April 2006 conference was underscored by speculation about Hinckley's health. Then 95 and recovering from colon cancer surgery, he told Latter-day Saints he was in the "sunset" of his life. On Sunday, Hinckley repeated a favorite joke, saying that at his age, "the wind is blowing and I feel like the last leaf on the tree." He then offered followers his testimony of faith, defending the church's central text, the Book of Mormon, as a valid account of Christ's dealings with ancient Americans. Mormons believe church founder Joseph Smith translated the text from a set of gold plates delivered to him by an angel. "This is all recorded in detail in the Book of Mormon," Hinckley said. "I would think that every Christian would welcome this second witness of the reality of Jesus Christ. Strangely, they do not." Some mainline religious faiths discount Mormonism as not being a Christian faith, in part because of its reliance on Smith's text. Doctrinally Mormons also differ from other faiths, believing in a preordained existence and that man can progress to a God-like state in heaven. The debate is a sore spot for the church which in 1995 even altered its logo to place more emphasis on the inclusion of the words "Jesus Christ" in its name. "I am puzzled by any who question this church's belief in the Bible and our position as Christians," said M. Russell Ballard, a top church leader who added that church leaders quoted from the book more than 200 times at the last conference. "We not only believe in the Bible, we strive to follow its precepts and to teach its message." Other speakers called for couples to avoid divorce, serve others, tithe and strive for forgiveness despite the anger and bitterness that can follow tragedy. "Most of us need time to work through pain and loss. We can find all manner of reasons for postponing forgiveness," an emotional James E. Faust, one of Hinckley's two counselors. "If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt, and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well being." The 12.5 million member Utahbased church holds general conference twice yearly, gathering more than 100,000 followers at the conference center to hear spiritual direction and words of inspiration from church leaders. The April and October proceedings are broadcast on television, radio, satellite and over the Internet to 85 countries, simultaneously translated into 89 different languages. This weekend's event - the 177th for the church founded April 6,1830 - was marked by Saturday's reopening of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Closed since 2005, the home of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir has undergone renovation work and seismic retrofitting to preserve the 140-year-old building and prevent damages in the event of a major earthquake. Saturday's service there was the first since 1999, when the church opened its 21,000-seat conference center nearby allowing more Latterday Saints to attend the biannual meetings in person. With the Tabernacle's reopening, the choir is expected to return there for its weekly television and radio broadcasts of "Music and the Spoken Word," one of the longest, continuous running programs in broadcast history. DISSERTATION From page 1 satisfying to see the growth of the ESL program at local high schools. She admires the teachers' dedication to the program and believes that is what makes the ESL program successful. Coles-Ritchie developed a love of teaching ESL while she was in college. She wanted to travel but didn't have a lot of money to doit. Speak Up "Each experience I had teaching students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, made me realize how much more I needed to learn so that I could become a better teacher" Marilee Coles-Ritchie, USU lecturer "I heard that American university students were teaching English in Taiwan, so I bought a plane ticket and saved $100," ColesRitchie said. "I got a variety of jobs teaching English as a foreign language," A year later she was off to rural Africa to teach high school in Kenya. She also taught in Taiwan and on the Navajo Nation. She was hired to teach in USU's secondary education department eight years ago and continues to lecture in the education department. She also supervises clinical experiences in the schools for secondary education students getting an ESL minor. "Teaching at the university has been very rewarding," she said. Coles-Ritchie said the more she studied for classes and lectures the more she wanted to learn about diversity in education and how to better prepare teachers for the school landscape. After a year or two of teaching at the university she began her doctoral program at the University of Utah. She received her doctorate in 2006. "Each experience I had teaching students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, made me realize how much more I needed to learn so that I could become a better teacher," Coles-Ritchie said. "That cycle has propelled me to continue meeting people from different circumstances than my own." Briefs Latino oral history project beginning In recent years, Special Collections and Archives has been involved in several oral history projects, and a new project is about to begin. The new collection — the Latino Voices Project — joins a number of earlier oral history projects, including the recent Veterans History' Project. Randy Williams, folklore curator for Special Collections and Archives, heads the new project. The Latino Voices Project joins Northern Utah Speaks, an umbrella collection that includes oral histories from the Grouse Creek Cultural Survey, the Fife Mormon Collection, Basque Women and Foodways in Southern Idaho, the Providence, Utah, TAirkeySauerkraut Tradition and Cache County Women During the 1930s. The collection is an ongoing effort by Special Collections staff and volunteers to include the voices of all northern Utah communities. Williams said the project will hire a bilingual community project assistant. It will also train and pay bilingual community members to conduct the oral history interviews. While preliminary work has begun, the project officially begins in May. The collected oral histories of Latino men and women will be transcribed and translated into English and Spanish and made available to all interested parties through USU's Special Collections and Archives. They will also be available online as part of USU's Digital Library. The original recordings will be retained in the language of the interview. Anyone interested in participating in the Latino Voices Project or providing financial support should contact Williams at (435) 797-3493. Percussion ensemble starting spring show USU's Percussion Ensemble and the Caine Percussion Ensemble, both under the direction of Dennis Griffin, are featured in concert Monday, April 2, in the Kent Concert Hall. Concert time is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and admission is $5 for the public and students are free with an activity card. The spring concert features several soloists accompanied by the ensemble. Tristan Wardle will play the "Suite for Solo Drumset and Percussion Ensemble" by David Mancini. Alissa Kirk, Robyn Peterson, Mike Hylton and Sam Bryson each perform a solo movement in Rosauro's "Concerto for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble." Griffin said families are invited to the concert. "The concert represents a wonderful way to acquaint the listener with the exciting world of percussion instruments," he said. AP photo • Compiled from staff and media reports GORDON B. HlNCKLEY, CENTER, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is helped by Michael Watson, right, back to his seat after Hinckley spoke during the church's semi-annual general conference in the Tabernacle, Sunday, April 1,2007, in Salt Lake City. At age 96, Hinckley is the oldest leader the Mormon church has ever had. Contact USU Police at 797-1939 for non-emergencies. Anonymous reporting line: 797-5000 EMERGENCY NUMBER: 911 Blotter tfoljce News Friday, March 23, 2007 Sunday, March 25, 2007 • USU police received a report from a university employee that someone had used his phone to contact someone in Colorado and left obscene messages on the individual's voicemail. Police are investigating. • USU police responded to the Stokes Nature Center to assist Cache County Sheriffs Department with a juvenile problem. Upon arrival police were able to diffuse the situation. • Parking employees found a parked vehicle that had an unauthorized parking pass inside of it. The individual using the pass was identified and police are investigating possible theft charges. • USU police responded to the ropes course on a report of suspicious persons walking around their car. Upon police arrival, no one could be found in the area. Monday, March 26, 2007 was seen standing very close to windows on the first floor and looking into the rooms. When Police arrived, the suspect had already fled the area. Wednesday, March 28, 2007 • USU police responded to a delayed report of an assault that took place at the In-Tech High School. Upon arrival police spoke with school administrators, the victim, the suspect and several witnesses. One juvenile male was arrested and booked into the Cache County Attention Center. Saturday, March 24, 2007 • USU police responded to a report of a vehicle accident in front of the HPER building. On arrival police found that both vehicles had pulled out of traffic. Both drivers were uninjured and both vehicles are still operable. Driver#l was cited for failure to yield while making a left turn. • USU police responded to the USU Townhouses to assist two North Park police officers in investigating a possible driving while intoxicated complaint. No arrests were made at this time, however, two people were warned not to drive. • USU police received a report that a young child is being left unattended at their residence in Aggie Village on occasion. Police responded to the residence and spoke with the mother and the child. The child was safe and well. Tuesday, March 27, 2007 • USU police received a report of individuals illegally entering a room in an engineering building and conducting suspicious activities. Police are investigating. • USU police responded to Snow Hall on a suspicious person report. An individual wearing all dark clothing Thursday, March 29, 2007 • USU police assisted the Utah Highway Patrol in locating information on a student that was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Sardine Canyon. After the Utah Highway Patrol completed a death notification USU police notified the University Administration of the fatality. • A student contacted USU police to report that she thinks she is being stalked by someone on campus. Police advised the caller and are attempting to find the suspects name and other personal information. Compiled by Di Lewis. |
