News Brief... Happening Now

[JANADELE]

Mormon Tabernacle Choir: The record of a century
A new CD includes the choir's most-requested songs and some historical treasures.
By Catherine Reese Newton
Salt Lake Tribune    06/03/2010
   
Audio technology has been reinvented several times since members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir huddled around two 5-by-2-foot acoustic horns to make their first recording on Sept. 1, 1910. But what strikes music director Mack Wilberg is how much the essence of the choir has remained the same.
"They recorded music of the masters, they recorded hymns, they recorded a little popular inspirational music of the day," Wilberg said of the choir's earliest efforts. "That is essentially what we continue to do."
The choir will release "100: Celebrating a Century of Recording Excellence" on Thursday, June 10. The two-CD set features 32 of the choir's most-requested songs, four of them newly recorded for the project. An accompanying CD/DVD includes a recording of then-director Evan Stephens' anthem "Let the Mountains Shout for Joy" from that 1910 session, along with other audio and video clips of historic significance.
"I heard that original recording, and it was pretty scratchy," Wilberg said. "I was amazed at what modern technology is capable of doing ... to clean it up."
More than 175 albums later, "performance style and the concept of sound have evolved over the years," he said, "but there's a common essence about all of them."
Wilberg imagines the singers' sense of wonder as they gathered in the Tabernacle on that day in 1910. Though Thomas Edison's phonograph had been around since 1877, turn-of-the-century record companies had been unable to record large choirs.
Equipment was sent to Salt Lake City by train, and Columbia Phonograph Company engineer Alexander Hausmann made a test recording of organist J.J. McClellan playing the Tabernacle Organ on Aug. 30, 1910. He repeated the feat with the 300-voice choir singing the LDS hymn "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" two days later. "It was like a miracle to them," Wilberg said.
Those old-fashioned wax cylinders gave way long ago to acetate, then to analog tape. and then digital technology. Audio engineer Trent Walker said the Mormon Tabernacle Choir always has been at the technological forefront.
In the 1950s, for example, the choir was recording in stereo, a good decade before that technology became mainstream. "The quality of those recordings is amazing," Walker said. Even the turn-of-the-century recordings "sounded incredible ... especially for the time period," he said.
Now the choir broadcasts its long-running weekly program, "Music and the Spoken Word," in 5.1 surround sound. "It's all about the audio," said Walker, whose engineering résumé also includes concerts by acts as diverse as AC/DC, the Beach Boys and Cake.
The goal on "Music and the Spoken Word" is to "give listeners, as best we can, what they would get if they were [in the Tabernacle]," Walker said. "We use everything at our disposal to try to do that."
That means an abundance of microphones onstage -- typically, 67 for broadcasts in the Tabernacle and more than 100 in the larger Conference Center -- each recording to its own track. "In the Tabernacle, we mike the sections -- strings, woodwinds -- but in the Conference Center, we mike every instrument," Walker said. He and his team recorded last December's concerts with guest star Natalie Cole on 214 tracks.
It isn't just the weekly broadcasts and the choir's concerts that are preserved for posterity. The regularly scheduled Thursday-night rehearsals also are recorded, so Wilberg and the Tabernacle organists can suggest adjustments to the Sunday sound mix.
The choir produces a new "Music and the Spoken Word" every week; on rare occasions, such as when Christmas falls on a Sunday, the program is taped in advance. So the 360 volunteer singers -- and the 110-member Orchestra at Temple Square, which has accompanied the choir since 1999 -- are old hands at recording. They release two, and sometimes three, commercial recordings every year.
"We stand on the shoulders of many, many people who have come before," Wilberg said. "Listening to those old recordings, watching that historic video, we have a fantastic tradition and legacy that we have to live up to."
creese@sltrib.com
100 years of highlights
"100: Celebrating a Century of Recording Excellence" features 32 of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's most-requested songs, including:
"The Lord's Prayer"
"God Bless America"
"Call of the Champions"
"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
"Hallelujah" from Handel's "Messiah"
"Come, Come, Ye Saints"
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
"God Be With You Till We Meet Again"
"Battle Hymn of the Republic"
"Danny Boy"
A bonus CD/DVD includes historical audio and video highlights, such as:
The choir's first-ever recording, "Let the Mountains Shout for Joy," made in the Tabernacle on Sept. 1, 1910.
"Worthy Is the Lamb" from Handel's "Messiah," a selection from the choir's first electrical recording, made in 1927.
"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," broadcast from Mt. Rushmore as part of the first formal transatlantic satellite television broadcast on July 23, 1962.
"Battle Hymn of the Republic," recorded during Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Parade on Jan. 20, 1981.
"Hallelujah" from Beethoven's "Christ on the Mount of Olives," recorded during a 1992-93 tour of Israel.
Messages from Richard L. Evans, J. Spencer Kinard and Lloyd D. Newell, the three men who have served as announcers on the choir's long-running "Music and the Spoken Word."

[JANADELE]

Cebu temple rites: LDS church President Thomas S. Monson leads dedication in Philippines
By Gerry Avant
Deseret News
Sunday, June 13, 2010
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700040020/Mormon-church-Pres-Thomas-S-Monson-dedicates-Cebu-Philippines-Temple.html?s_cid=Email-4   

CEBU CITY, Philippines — LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Cebu Philippines Temple on Sunday, proclaiming it "a beacon on the hill" that brings light to the world.

"It is a beautiful Temple, a House of the Lord," he said.

In offering the prayer to dedicate the 133rd Temple in operation by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Monson expressed gratitude for the missionaries who served in the Philippines, beginning nearly half a century ago, and for "the thousands of missionaries who have followed in their footsteps."

The church gained official recognition in the Philippines in 1961.

Three of the four missionaries who put the church's roots down in Cebu attended the dedication. Two live in Utah — Richard Thorson of Layton and Tom Pearce of Hunter. The third, Paul Wright, traveled from Piedmont, Calif. The fourth missionary, Don A. Asay of Concord, Ore., had business commitments.

When they arrived, the four young missionaries found only one Filipino and five U.S. servicemen who were Latter-day Saints. Now, 43 years later, they were surrounded by thousands of members at the dedication of the Temple. Proceedings of the dedication were broadcast to LDS chapels throughout the Philippines.

The Philippines Temple District serves some 200,000 members living in the Visayas and Mindanao island groups in the southern part of the Philippines. The 400,000 other Latter-day Saints in the Philippines are served by the Manila Philippines Temple, which was dedicated in 1984.

During a ceremony to seal in place a symbolic cornerstone, President Monson expressed gratitude for the Filipino people and sacrifices they made during World War II.

President Monson also said he enjoyed being in the Philippines and particularly at the dedication of the Cebu temple. "I felt the spirit of the Lord" today, he said.

Other LDS general authorities who traveled from Salt Lake City for the dedication were President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy. Elder Walker is the executive director of the Church's Temple department. Other members of the Seventy who attended included Elder Keith R. Edwards, president of the Church's Philippines area, and Elder Won-Yong Ko and Michael J. Teh, first and second counselors in the area presidency.

[Henry Hawk]

When you're real good at something, you don't have to practice.

I gotta admit, THAT made me actually, snort out loud......

[followsthewolf]

Wow. Don't fornicate at all?

Holy ..........

Must rely strictly on converts.

[JANADELE]

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has announced the open house and rededication dates for the Laie Hawaii Temple as follows:

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE:
Friday, October 22, 2010, through Saturday, November 13, 2010, excluding Sundays

CULTURAL CELEBRATION:
Saturday, November 20, 2010

REDEDICATION:
Sunday, November 21, 2010 in three sessions

[JANADELE]

The Cebu City Philippines Temple, dedicated on Sunday, June 13, is the first in the Visayas islands group.

Located on Gorordo Avenue in Lahug, it will serve more than 200,000 members in Visayas and Mindanao.

The Cebu City Philippines Temple is the 133rd temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints worldwide and the second in the Philippines.

The Temple's exterior is faced with Mountain Grey granite from China. Interior stone is from Italy and Greece. The spire rises 140 feet and is crowned with a gilded statue of the angel Moroni.

The interior features Sapele Mahogany from Africa. Several native flowers are used in patterns of fabric and the decorative art painting. The most widely featured motif is the pearl, harvested throughout the Philippines and reflective of scriptural references to pearls and their symbolic value. Two large paintings were commissioned for the temple by Filipino artist Adler Llagas. Most of the furniture was produced locally from Philippine Mahogany.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/59440/Cebu-City-Philippines-Temple-Information-nuggets.html   

[Palehorse]

. . .
If the Book of Mormon is true, then there would be certain logical consequences:

   Studies of the blood types, facial shape, and genetic makeup of modern-day Native Americans would show that they were related closely to the ancient Israelites, and thus to present-day Jews. Some DNA evidence among a minority of Native Americans has been found that shows the likelihood of a migration of individuals from Europe and Asia Minor to America. However, their arrival date in the new world was about 10,000 BCE or earlier. Thus, the migration is unrelated to activities in the Book of Mormon. No evidence has been found for a migration during the time span that the Book discusses. 18
   Archaeologists could go to the remains of ancient Native American towns, excavate down to the levels that were active between 600 BCE and 385 CE, and uncover evidences of Nephite or Lamanite writings, domesticated horses, old world plants, chariots, inscriptions, metal objects, etc.
   Excavating the Hill Comorah should reveal countless artifacts left by the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died there in two major battles.
   One would expect names from the Book of Mormon to be present in inscriptions left by the Nephites or Lamanites. Thomas Ferguson wrote:
"The important thing now is to continue the digging at an accelerated pace in order to find more inscriptions dating to Book-of-Mormon times. Eventually we should find decipherable inscriptions ... referring to some unique person, place or event in the Book of Mormon." 16 

Quite a few pious forgeries have been planted and "discovered." However, no convincing evidence was ever found that has been accepted by non-Mormon archaeologists.. .

Thomas Stuart Ferguson:

In 1952-OCT, Ferguson, a lawyer, organized the New World Archaeological Foundation (NWAF). He was a devout believer in the LDS faith, and thus in the validity of the Book of Mormon. He reasoned that if the validity of the Book could be proven, then countless individuals would flock to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), as the true Christian church. He was convinced that the Book of Mormon was an accurate historical document and that it would be relatively easy to uncover artifacts to prove its validity. The NWAF was initially funded directly by the LDS. As each year passed, the Foundation's scientists were unable to find any evidence that would support the Book of Mormon. The LDS church reorganized the NWAF under Brigham Young University in 1960. As of 1999, it consists only of a director and assistant, active in only one excavation. 14

In a book review, Duwayne Anderson commented:

"In 1993 Michael D. Coe, professor of anthropology at Yale University, summarized the situation by saying: 'I have seen no archaeological evidence before or since that [1973] date which would convince me that it [the Book of Mormon] is anything but a fanciful creation by an unusually gifted individual living in upstate New York in the early nineteenth century.' "

Ferguson eeventually became convinced that the Book of Mormon is a work of fiction, whose contents bear no relationship to the reality of Native American civilization prior to 385 CE. The NWAF "failed to find evidence to prove the Book of Mormon, and the man who organized it...ended up losing his faith in the church."

Other observations skeptical of the Book of Mormon:

   DNA evidence: Genetic and blood testing studies have found that Native Americans are related closely to the inhabitants of Siberia and not to the ancient Israelites, as the Book of Mormon states. Thomas W. Murphy, 35, is chairperson of the anthropology department at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, WA. He wrote a chapter in the anthology "American Apocrypha" in which he uses genetic data to discredit the Book of Mormon's claim that American Natives are heathen descendents of ancient Israelites. The essay is taken from his doctoral dissertation at the University of Washington. He faced a church disciplinary council on 2002-DEC-8 at which he might have been excommunicated for his beliefs. It was cancelled shortly before it was to have been taken place. More information. 19,20
   Finding of artifacts: "No unusual artifacts have ever been found at or around Hill Comorah." 4 No evidence of the remains of domesticated animals have been found prior to the European invasion in the late 15th century. Similarly, there is no evidence of barley or any other old world plants in North America at that time. "...Bows and arrows...were not invented in America until A.D. 1000." Although there are remains of Natives who made use of meteoric iron and native copper, there are no indications that Natives smelted metals during the time interval covered by the Book of Mormon. There are no indications of the remains of sanctuaries, temples or synagogues. One would not expect to find synagogues, because none are known to have existed in the Middle East until after the Babylonian exile - decades after after the second emigration, as described in the Book of Mormon.
   Inscriptions: Some Mormons have promoted some records and inscriptions such as the "Bat Creek Stone, the Kinderhook Plates, the Newark Stones and the Phoenician Ten Commandments."  All were pious forgeries. 5 No names of individuals mentioned in the Book of Mormon have every been found in ancient inscriptions.
   Comments by scientific groups:
   The National Geographic Society maintained in 1998 that:
   "Archeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere's past and the society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon." 6
   The Smithsonian Institution prepared a form letter in 1996. It seems to have been in response to a rumor that the Smithsonian had used the Book of Mormon as an archaeological guide book. Their letter says, in part:
   "Smithsonian archeologists see no direct connection between the archeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book [of Mormon]."
   "The physical type of the American Indian is basically Mongoloid, being most closely related to that of the peoples of eastern, central and northeastern Asia."
   "...none of the principal Old World domesticated food plants or animals (except the dog) occurred in the New World in pre-Columbian times. American Indians had no wheat, barley, oats, millet, rice, cattle, pigs, chickens, horses, donkeys, camels before 1492."
   "Reports of findings of ancient Egyptian, Hebrew and other Old World writings in the New World in pre-Columbian contexts have frequently appeared...None of these claims has stood up to examination by reputable scholars.". . .

http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_migr.htm

[Palehorse]

Eastern Subarctic, Eastern Woodlands, Plains and Southwest Cultures

Native religions in these areas share some similarities, and differ significantly from Inuit culture described above. Tribes also differ greatly from each other. Spiritual elements found in some (but not all) non-Inuit native religions are:

   Deity: A common concept is that of a dual divinity:
   a Creator who is responsible for the creation of the world and is recognized in religious ritual and prayers
   a mythical individual, a hero or trickster, who teaches culture, proper behavior and provides sustenance to the tribe.
There are also spirits which control the weather, spirits which interact with humans, and others who inhabit the underworld. Simultaneously the Creator and the spirits may be perceived as a single spiritual force, as in the unity called Wakan-Tanka by the Lakota and Dakota.

   Creation: Individual tribes have differing stories of Creation. One set of themes found in some tribes describes that in the beginning, the world was populated by many people. Most were subsequently transformed into animals. Natives thus feel a close bond with animals because of their shared human ancestry. Dogs are excluded from this relationship. This bond is shown in the frequent rituals in which animal behavior is simulated. Each species has its master; for example, the deer have a master deer who is larger than all the others. The master of humans is the Creator.
   Emergence of the Tribe: This is a concept found extensively in the Southwest. The universe is believed to consist of many dark, underground layers through which the humans had to climb. They emerged into the present world through a small hole in the ground - the world's navel. Other tribes believe that their ancestors have been present in North America as far back as there were humans.
   Sacred Texts: Many tribes have complex forms of writing. Other tribes have preserved their spiritual beliefs as an oral tradition.
   Afterlife: In general, Native religions have no precise belief about life after death. Some believe in reincarnation, with a person being reborn either as a human or animal after death. Others believe that humans return as ghosts, or that people go to an other world. Others believe that nothing definitely can be known about one's fate after this life. Combinations of belief are common.
   Cosmology: Again, many tribes have unique concepts of the world and its place in the universe. One theme found in some tribes understands the universe as being composed of multiple layers. The natural world is a middle segment. These layers are thought to be linked by the World Tree, which has its roots in the underground, has a trunk passing through the natural world, and has its top in the sky world.
   Shamans: Although the term "Shaman" has its origins in Siberia, it is often used by anthropologists throughout the world to refer to Aboriginal healers. Spirits may be encouraged to occupy the Shaman's body during public lodge ceremonies. Drum beating and chanting aid this process. The spirits are then asked to depart and perform the needed acts. Other times, Shamans enter into a trance and traverse the underworld or go great distances in this world to seek lost possessions or healing.
   Vision Quest: Young boys before or at puberty are encouraged to enter into a period of fasting, meditation and physical challenge. He separates himself from the tribe and go to a wilderness area. The goal is to receive a vision that will guide his development for the rest of his life. They also seek to acquire a guardian spirit who will be close and supportive for their lifetime. Girls are not usually eligible for such a quest.
   Renewal Celebrations: The Sun Dance amongst the Plains Natives is perceived as a replay of the original creation. Its name is a mistranslation of the Lakota sun gazing dance. Other tribes use different names. It fulfilled many religious purposes: to give thanks to the Creator, to pray for the renewal of the people and earth, to promote health, etc. It also gave an opportunity for people to socialize and renew friendships with other groups. A sweat lodge purifies the participants and readies them for lengthy fasting and dancing. It was successfully suppressed in most tribes by the Governments of the US and Canada. However, it survived elsewhere and is now being increasingly celebrated.
   Sweat Lodge: This is structure which generates hot moist air, similar to a Finnish sauna. It is used for rituals of purification, for spiritual renewal and of healing, for education of the youth, etc. A sweat lodge may be a small structure made of a frame of saplings, covered with skins, canvas or blanket. A depression is dug in the center into which hot rocks are positioned. Water is thrown on the rocks to create steam. A small flap opening is used to regulate the temperature. As many as a dozen people can be accommodated in some lodges.
   Hunting ceremonies: these involve the ritual treatment of a bear or other animal after its killing during a successful hunt. The goal is to appease its spirit and convince other animals to be willing to be killed in the future.
   Prophets: The main Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) trace their development through a series of patriarchs and prophets. Native religions do not have as many corresponding revered persons in their background. Some Native prophets include Handsome Lake in the Iroquois Confederacy, Sweet Medicine of the Cheyenne, and White Buffalo Woman of the Lakota & Dakota tribes.
   Traditional housing: There were many variations across North America: conical wigwams or tipis, long houses, and cliff dwellings. The shape of the structure often represents a model of the cosmos.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/nataspir3.htm

[Palehorse]

Religion

The phenomena referred to by the term Native American religions pose an interesting and complex problem of description and interpretation—one that has consistently captured the imagination of European immigrant peoples. These phenomena have been misunderstood, maligned, romanticized, and misappropriated. In almost every case the authoritative and definitive analyses of particular Native American religious traditions have been written by non-Indians, and thus nonadherents, who lacked any lifelong experiential basis for their analyses. It seems that now, at the end of the twentieth century, deeply held Indian traditions and beliefs have been politicized—on the one hand by academic experts, and on the other by New Age aficionados who have mistakenly seen Indian spirituality as a new trade commodity. It has become increasingly clear that those phenomena we call Native American religions were and are yet today very complex socially and philosophically and are therefore not easily represented or described by means of either popular interpretation or the critical categories of academic analysis, especially when those categories have been constructed in a cultural context alien to the traditions themselves.

Most adherents to traditional American Indian ways characteristically deny that their people ever engaged in any religion at all. Rather, these spokespeople insist, their whole culture and social structure was and still is infused with a spirituality that cannot be separated from the rest of the community's life at any point. The Green Corn Ceremony, the Snake Dance, kachinas, the Sun Dance, sweat-lodge ceremonies, and the sacred pipe are not specifically religious constructs of various tribes but rather represent specific ceremonial aspects of a world that includes countless ceremonies in any given tribal context, ceremonies performed by whole communities, clans, families, or individuals on a daily, periodic, seasonal, or occasional basis. Whereas outsiders may identify a single ritual as the "religion" of a particular people, the people themselves will likely see that ceremony as merely an extension of their day-to-day existence, all parts of which are experienced within ceremonial parameters and should be seen as "religious."

For instance, among the Ni U Konska (Osages), what ethnographers would classify as "religion" pervades even the habitual acts of sleeping and putting on shoes. All the ceremonies and prayers of the Osages reflect the principle of the simultaneous duality and unity of all existence. Prayers commonly begin with an address to the Wakonda Above and the Wakonda Below (manifested in Sky and Earth, respectively), the two great fructifying forces of the universe. This principle is mirrored in the architectural structure of Osage towns and in the marriage customs of the people. Each Osage town was divided by an east-west road into two "grand divisions" representing Sky and Earth. Just as Osages perceived the necessity of these two forces coming together in order for life to be sustained, so too they saw the two grand divisions of the people as sustaining the life of the whole. To insure that the principle of spiritual and political unity in this duality would be maintained, Osages were mandated by social custom to marry someone from the other grand division. To further enforce this religious sense of wholeness, members of each of the two grand divisions developed distinct personal habits that helped remind them of their own part in the communal whole. For instance, those from the Honga grand division customarily slept on their right side and put on the right shoe first, whereas those from the Tsizhu grand division functioned in the opposite manner. As a result, even in sleep the two divisions performed a religious act that maintained their unity in duality as they lay facing each other across the road that divided the community.

Thus the social structures and cultural traditions of American Indian peoples are infused with a spirituality that cannot be separated from, say, picking corn or tanning hides, hunting game or making war. Nearly every human act was accompanied by attention to religious details, sometimes out of practiced habit and sometimes with more specific ceremony. In the Northwest, harvesting cedar bark would be accompanied by prayer and ceremony, just as killing a buffalo required ceremonial actions and words dictated by the particularities of tribal nation, language, and culture. Among the Osages the spiritual principle of respect for life dictated that the decision to go to war against another people usually required an eleven-day ceremony—allowing time to reconsider one's decision and to consecrate the lives that might be lost as a result of it. Because to be successful the hunt required acts of violence, it was also considered a type of war. Hence the semiannual community buffalo hunt, functioning on the same general principle of respect for life, also required a ceremony—one that was in all respects nearly identical to the War Ceremony.

Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of American Indian religious traditions is the extent to which they are wholly community based and have no real meaning outside of the specific community in which the acts are regularly performed, stories told, songs sung, and ceremonies conducted. Vine Deloria, Jr., described the communitarian foundations of American Indian existence in his 1973 book God Is Red, his point being that ceremonies are engaged in not primarily for personal benefit but rather for the benefit of an entire community or nation. The most common saying one hears during the Lakota Sun Dance is "That the people might live!" This sentiment becomes the overriding reason for and purpose of this ceremony. Likewise, violations of the sacred become threatening to the whole community and not merely to the one who commits the error. The communitarian nature of Indian ceremonies represents a key distinction between Native American religious traditions and modern Euro-American New Age spirituality, with its emphasis on radical individualism.

Some would argue that the so-called vision quest is evidence of the quintessential individualism of Plains Indian peoples. However, just the opposite can be argued, because in Plains cultures the individual is always in symbiotic relationship with the community. This ceremony involves personal sacrifice: rigorous fasting (no food or liquids) and prayer over several days (typically four to seven) in a location removed from the rest of the community. Yet in a typical rite of vigil or vision quest, the community or some part of the community assists the individual in preparing for the ceremony and then prays constantly on behalf of the individual throughout the ceremony. Thus by engaging in this ceremony, the individual acts on behalf of and for the good of the whole community. Even when an individual seeks personal power or assistance through such a ceremony, he or she is doing so for the ultimate benefit of the community.

Unfortunately, the traditional symbiotic relationship between the individual and the community, exemplified in ceremonies such as the vision quest, has become severely distorted as a shift in Euro-American cultural values has begun to encourage the adoption and practice of Indian spirituality by the general population no matter how disruptive this may be to Indian communities. The resulting incursion of Euro-American practitioners, who are not a part of the community in which the ceremony has traditionally been practiced, brings a Western, individualistic frame of reference to the ceremony that violates the communitarian cultural values of Indian peoples. The key concern for Indian people in preserving the authenticity and healthy functioning of the relationship between the individual and the community is the question of accountability: one must be able to identify what spiritual and sociopolitical community can rightly make claims on one's spiritual strength. In the Indian worldview, this community—this legitimate source of identity—is intimately linked to, and derives directly from, the significance of spatiality, of space and place.

In God Is Red Deloria clearly identified and described another characteristic feature of American Indian religious traditions: spatiality. Indian ceremonial life and all of Indian existence are rooted in a profound notion of space and place. The spatial layout for any ceremony takes on paramount importance. As with the structure of the Osage village, most Osage ceremonials are structured around a north-south, Sky-Earth division. In a similar manner, the structure for a Green Corn Ceremony, the subterranean location of a kiva, the design of a sweat lodge, or the direction one turns in a pipe ceremony all have tribally specific cosmic representational value that reflects the spiritual relationship of a particular people with the spatial world around them. This understanding of the importance of spatiality also emerges in the longstanding identification of places that are known to a tribe to be particularly powerful spiritually. For most Indian communities, there are one or more such places that they have long identified as powerful: the Black Hills for the Sioux Nation; Blue Lake for Taos Pueblo; Mount Graham for the San Carlos Apaches; the mountains that mark the territorial boundaries of any pueblo—to mention but a few examples.

Indian peoples, then, tend to locate sacred power spatially—in terms of places or in terms of spatial configuration. This is in stark contrast to European and Euro-American religious traditions, which tend to express spirituality in terms of time: a regular hour on Sundays and a seasonal liturgical calendar that has become more and more distanced from any sense of the actual flow of seasons in particular places and is therefore both more abstract and more portable than Native American traditions. In the Southern Hemisphere, for instance, Christians celebrate Lent (named for springtime and the lengthening of the days) and Easter during the antipodean autumn. It would be an exaggeration to argue that Indian peoples have no sense of time or that Europeans have no sense of space. Rather, spatiality is a dominant category of existence for Native Americans whereas time is a subordinate category. Just the opposite is generally true for European peoples.

The identification of places of particular spiritual power points to yet another important aspect of Indian religious traditions: these places are experienced as powerful because they are experienced as alive. Not only are they sentient; they are intelligent manifestations of what Native Americans call the Sacred Mystery or the Sacred Power. The Sacred Mystery, sometimes simplistically and badly translated as "the Great Spirit," is typically experienced first of all as a great unknown. Yet this unknown becomes known as it manifests itself to humans spatially: as the Mystery Above and Mystery Below; as the Mystery (or Powers) of the Four Directions; as the Sacred Mystery in its self-manifestation in a particular place, in a particular occurrence, in an astronomical constellation, or in an artifact such as a feather. All of the created world is, in turn, seen as alive, sentient, and filled with spiritual power, including each human being. The sense of the interrelationship of all of creation—of all two-legged, four-legged, wingeds, and other living, moving things (from fish and rivers to rocks, trees and mountains)—may be the most important contribution Indian peoples have made to the science and spirituality of the modern world.

In conclusion, the religious traditions of Indian peoples are communitarian and have no meaning outside the particular community of reference. Unlike Euro-Americans, Indian people do not choose which tribal religious traditions they will practice. Rather, each of them is born into a community and its particular ceremonial life. Indian traditions are fundamentally spatial in nature and in configuration, which makes them peculiarly difficult for temporally oriented peoples to understand. Because of cross-cultural misunderstandings, distortions are now threatening Native American religious traditions on several fronts. Many Native American religious traditions are undergoing a transformation under intense pressure from New Age would-be adherents. The modern Euro-American appropriation of native traditions is introducing a mutation that is now shaping those traditions in the image of European individualism. Moreover, the systemic pressures of the colonial experience, which have worked variously to eradicate, suppress, or at least erode Native American religious traditions, continue today in the legal and economic activities of corporate and government interests; for example, American Indians have little legal recourse for protecting places of traditional spiritual value to them. Yet the religious traditions and indeed the cultural whole of many Indian peoples continues today to give those peoples hope and life.

http://web.archive.org/web/20050330085408/http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/naind/html/na_032600_religion.htm

[JANADELE]

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/06/15/aerobic-fitness-training-trumps-walking-programs.aspx
 

Many people think of exercise as a tool for weight loss, but it is so much more than that.

For starters, it is one of the most powerful tools available to drop your insulin levels, and elevated insulin levels are one of the primary drivers for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, weight gain and many other chronic conditions.

Properly performed exercise is far more powerful for controlling these symptoms than any drug yet developed. Exercise can also:

• Reduce your cancer risk

• Slow the aging process in your body

• Boost your immune system

No matter your age, exercise can provide enormous benefits for your health, but if you happen to be over 40 it's especially important to either start or step up your exercise program. This is the time of life when your physical strength, stamina, balance and flexibility start to decline and exercise becomes indispensable.

Even while sitting, lying down, or standing waiting... just moving various body parts is exercise.

[JANADELE]

BRIGHAM CITY -- Kerry Nielsen, an architect for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the LDS Church has been very focused on making the proposed Temple "the Brigham City, Utah Temple," using many of the city's historical designs for both the building and the landscaping.

"It has features in the classical historical design found in the Logan, Manti and Salt Lake Temple," Nielsen said.

The city planning commission gave its approval for the proposed design and found it to be consistent and in compliance with the city's commercial and general plan for the area.

The proposed 110-foot-by-72-foot building will stand across from the existing tabernacle, with the top of the Angel Moroni 14 feet higher than the highest point of the tabernacle. Overall, the temple will be an estimated 9,000 square feet.

The parking area will consist of roughly 120 stalls on a main level and 130 stalls underground. Parking on the main level will be accessed from 200 and 300 South, and the underground parking will be accessed from the west.

Fencing will go around the temple grounds, but not around the parking lot. There are plans however, to maintain the current curb and gutter, which will allow the Temple grounds to maintain control of the parking lot.

The outside of the Temple is proposed to be precast concrete limestone.

"It will actually be a warm white color. The limestone puts texture and gives soft earth tones," Nielsen said.

Planning Commissioner Joan Peterson said she was greatly relieved to see the west side of the temple was as detailed as the east side.

"That will be able to be seen from the freeway," she said.

Nielsen agreed and said each time he comes to Brigham City he has taken a different road, to get a feeling for how the Temple will be seen from the west.

Planning Commissioner Larry Jensen complimented Nielsen for his plans for the landscaping of the Temple grounds.

"I want to congratulate you for planting fruit trees. What a nice touch to this area," Jensen said.

Nielsen said city staff has received mixed input regarding the Church's leaving the sycamore trees that line Main Street.

"It is our intent to respect the Main Street corridor," Nielsen said, adding that a goal is to create "the same open space feeling as at the Tabernacle."

When asked about lighting, Nielsen said the church typically lights the Temple from within, and the Church will typically light the front steeple.

http://www.standard.net/topics/religion/2010/06/15/brigham-city-temple-draws-citys-history

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/15226/Brigham-City-Temple-draws-on-citys-history?s_cid=email     

[JANADELE]

SALT LAKE CITY 17 June 2010 Whether for seasoned researchers with years of experience or curious family history newcomers with simple questions about their ancestors, a new FamilySearch Library in Riverton, Utah, is making it easier and more convenient for south valley residents to look into the branches of their family tree. The new Riverton FamilySearch Library is a state-of-the-art family history research centre equipped with a treasure trove of tools and resources.

The library replaces 24 smaller family history centres that had been operating in Latter-day Saint stake centres (meetinghouses) in the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley until earlier this year. Consolidating the smaller centres into a larger facility will enhance the experience of patrons significantly. In the new library, visitors will enjoy extended hours, broader research assistance and access to significantly more genealogical resources.

"Once fully stocked, the new library will be home to 50,000 microfilms of most interest to researchers in the area," said Sharon Hintze, acting director of the Riverton FamilySearch Library. "If we don't have a specific film, a patron order can be delivered the very next day."

When the library opens officially on Monday, 21 June 2010, the library and its resources will be available free to the public (a small fee may be incurred for computer printing or photo copies). Patrons are invited to participate in free training and research classes. In fact, the library is equipped with a state-of-the-art computer training lab and four multipurpose training rooms.

The library staff is anxious to assist patrons. "Bring in your tough family history questions and dead ends," said Hintze. "Our research staff is ready to help. We love the excitement patrons experience when they make a discovery or find something unexpected."

The public is invited to an open house, 17–19 June 2010, at the new library. Open house activities will include ongoing orientations, a video tour of the Granite Mountain Records Vault, opportunities to explore FamilySearch's newest products and services, and hands-on demonstrations of the process and technologies used to digitally preserve and publish historic records online. There will also be fun family history–related activities for children 8 years of age and older.

The library is located on the main floor of the Church-owned Riverton Office Building at 3740 West Market Centre Drive (13400 S. Bangerter Highway).

Open House Dates and Times
Thursday, 17 June 2010          1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, 18 June 2010              1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, 19 June 2010          10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-re...

[The Troll]

  Fleece the sheep to build the temple.  For what.

[JANADELE]

BP CEO Tony Hayward told members of Congress that his company is working to make sure that a spill like this "does not happen again." And they have a great plan in place. They're going out of business.

Jimmy Fallon

[JANADELE]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38733.html

Romney gives $42,000 to Haley
By: Andy Barr
June 18, 2010 02:37 PM EDT

Former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Mitt Romney has contributed $42,000 to Nikki Haley's campaign for governor in South Carolina, POLITICO has learned.

Political action committees are typically capped at giving $3,500 per cycle, but lawyers for Romney's Free and Strong America PAC discovered that multiple PACs sharing the same leadership and office space are able to contribute $3,500 each per cycle in South Carolina, according to a Romney source.

With one federal PAC and five statewide PACs each maxing out at $3,500 for Haley in both the GOP primary and general elections, Romney has contributed a total of $42,000.

The tactic was approved by South Carolina's Ethics Commission, which sent Romney's PAC an opinion confirming their finding.

In addition to his federal PAC, Romney has statewide PACs set up in Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

"Endorsements are nice, but Governor Romney understands that money wins elections," Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told POLITICO. "He wanted to do everything he could to help Nikki Haley spread her conservative reform message and fend off negative attacks."

Romney announced the contributions after stumping with Haley on Friday ahead of her runoff election Tuesday for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination.

Haley spokesman Tim Pearson told POLITICO, "We appreciate everything that Governor and Mrs. Romney have done for the campaign - from coming out for Nikki when she was still, as she says, 'Nikki-who?', to traveling with us today, to the financial support. They've been a tremendous asset to the campaign, all the way around."