3+ week, 5+ day ago (381+ words) More than a century ago, Japanese immigrants left their homes a world away and crossed the ocean only to arrive as strangers in a strange land " Salt Lake City. They built Japantown, bounded at the time by South Temple, State Street, 300 South and 700 West. At its peak around World War II, the population swelled to about 5,000 and the area teemed with noodle houses, hotels, variety stores, laundries, grocers, fishmongers, tofu makers and other vendors catering to the needs of Asian immigrants. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lorraine Crouse, shows contents from the time capsule, during a ceremony at the Japanese Church of Christ, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. At the core of Japantown were two faiths " Buddhism, which brought notions of peace and enlightenment to a little garden near 100 South and 200 West, while the Japanese Church of Christ created an oasis…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (1032+ words) (The Salt Lake Tribune) From left, Latter-day Saint apostles Ulisses Soares, Patrick Kearon and G'rald Causs'. None of them uses a middle initial. The Mormon Land newsletter is The Salt Lake Tribune's weekly highlight reel of news in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Join us on Patreon to receive ad-free podcast episodes, the full newsletter and access to all of our religion content. What do Ulisses Soares, Patrick Kearon and G'rald Causs' have in common? Yes, they were all born outside of the United States. They are all in their 60s. And they are all Latter-day Saint apostles. But here is something else the latest trio to join the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares: Unlike the 13 apostles above them, none of them uses a middle initial in their church callings. The propensity for top church…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (441+ words) The elevation of 62-year-old Frenchman G'rald Causs' to apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints drew widespread praise from members inside the global religion and even from observers outside the Utah-based faith: "The main surprise here is that it puts a third person from Western Europe in the quorum in an era when Western Europe represents a very small percentage of church membership with no real immediate prospects for growth. It suggests that President Oaks was looking more for a highly trusted and capable leader than one who represented a particular demographic." [Read more about Causs's call to the apostleship.] " Patrick Mason, scholar of Mormon history and culture, Utah State University. "I feel this camaraderie of being French with him. He really cares about people and reaching out to people. This is true of his wife as…...

4+ day, 23+ hour ago (341+ words) Decades before there was a wing of Mormon studies dedicated to female leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a handful of pioneering historians mined the archives for records of and stories about prominent women in the faith. Maureen Ursenbach Beecher was one of those trailblazers. Under the leadership of church historian Leonard J. Arrington, Beecher, who died Nov. 18 at home in Ottawa, Canada, at age 90, was hired as the faith's expert on Eliza R. Snow, the poet, preacher and plural wife of church founder Joseph Smith and his immediate successor, Brigham Young. It was Beecher, for instance, who first recognized the importance of the unpublished 1842 minutes of the women's Relief Society founding in Nauvoo, Illinois, and shared them with the General Relief Society Presidency 150 years later. A 1987 volume of essays, "Sisters in Spirit," co-edited by Beecher and Lavina…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (383+ words) (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Temple Square in Salt Lake City is pictured on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. The north tower crane, a fixture for more than four years, has been removed. Turns out, the latest subtraction at the Salt Lake Temple is a real plus for the yearslong project renovating the pioneer-era landmark. Crews have removed the 270-foot-tall north tower crane, marking yet another milestone toward the planned 2027 reopening of the most iconic building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Construction of stairs on the west side of the Salt Lake Temple on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. The large crane on the left was dismantled the week of Oct. 27. The crane " which loomed over the temple for more than four years and helped lift and place large stones, structural components and…...

1+ day, 23+ hour ago (1677+ words) (Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune) In 2014, Latter-day Saint apostle David A. Bednar rose in front of a packed Marriott Center at Brigham Young University and issued a call for church members to embrace social media as a tool for spreading the faith's teachings everywhere an internet connection can be found. "Beginning this day," Bednar said, "I exhort you to sweep the Earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth " messages that are authentic, edifying and praiseworthy " and literally to sweep the Earth as with a flood." More than a decade later, it's fair to say that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have delivered, leveraging existing accounts and launching new ones to share their testimonies and go post-for-post with naysayers about their beliefs and practices. But Bednar may have gotten more than he bargained…...

2+ week, 12+ hour ago (837+ words) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The artwork "Believe in Him," now on display at the St. George Temple Visitors Center. St. George " A lapsed Southern Baptist who says she has not attended church in years, Allisa Clark still felt compelled to check out the majestic white St. George Temple during her return home from a hiking excursion in Zion National Park. Entranced as she was with the temple, the Las Vegas resident said what really drew her attention was "Believe in Him," an expansive seven-panel artwork in the adjoining visitors center that portrays Jesus Christ and depicts scenes from his mortal ministry in the Holy Land. "It is breathtaking," Clark said about the 20-foot-by-7-foot exhibit. "The [New Testament] Gospels stories it portrays are so moving, and the colors in it are so vivid, I feel like…...

5+ day, 12+ hour ago (853+ words) (Jacob Oman) Latter-day Saint Jacob Oman shows off his latest tattoo. It's no secret that tattoos have been under scrutiny by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for decades. But is that stigma changing? In a Pew Research Center survey, approximately 85% of U.S. Latter-day Saints agreed that over the past 20 years, society has become more accepting of tattoos. That begs the question: Are more Latter-day Saints actually getting them? Ryan Burge, a professor and religion analyst at Washington University in St. Louis, studied the data and noted that 20% of Latter-day Saints reported having at least one tattoo. Only Jewish adherents ranked lower at 17%. Although 80% of the nation's Latter-day Saints avoid tattoos, some observers believe that number is on the decline. (Ethan Gregory Dodge) Ethan Gregory Dodge showcases his tattoo honoring his Latter-day Saint pioneer ancestor. Freelance journalist…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (219+ words) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Missionaries share a message with a family living in Philippines. The country will receive five new missions, the second most of any country after the United States, set to gain 14. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently announced plans to add 55 missions across the globe next year. That's the most since the Utah-based faith of 17.5 million members created 58 missions in 2013 and brings its total tally worldwide to 506. At the same time, the current corps of full-time missionaries has topped 84,000 and, according to apostle Quentin Cook, convert baptisms during the first six months of 2025 ran 20% higher than the first half of last year. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Missionaries in class learning and teaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will add two missions in 2026. So what…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (530+ words) (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Past and current BYU Presidents Merrill J. Bateman, left, Cecil O. Samuelson and Kevin J Worthen listen to Shane Reese speak at during a devotional at the Marriott Center in Provo on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Provo " In honor of Brigham Young University's sesquicentennial celebration, the Provo school's current president joined three past ones Tuesday and discussed their favorite experiences while leading the flagship campus of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With a combined experience of almost 30 years leading BYU, current President C. Shane Reese and his predecessors " Kevin J. Worthen, Cecil O. Samuelson and Merrill J. Bateman " reminisced at a Marriott Center devotional about their tenures and important moments in the university's history. Bateman, who was president from 1996 to 2003, spoke of BYU's unique spiritual component that rests at the core of its students' education. "Brigham Young University is…...