The sound they create is inspired: lush, dramatic, intensely personal. But for The 5 Browns, playing Gershwin or anyone else is more than an exercise in making music. It is their keyboard testimonial. More →

January 25, 2008

“Kennedy talked more about separation of church and state, because that was the attack that was launched against him. Romney’s problem is different in the sense that people see his Mormonism as exotic or esoteric, and he has to knock that down without being too explicit about what Mormon doctrine really is,” says Shaun Casey, associate professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary. More →

December 7, 2007

Polygamy was outlawed by the Mormon Church more than 100 years ago, but it has survived in pockets, largely isolated on the edge of Mormon society and the law. The recent trial and conviction of Warren Jeffs shed some light on the practices of the polygamist group he led, called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Jeffs case has galvanized efforts to rehabilitate children leaving these communities who number anywhere from 600 to 1,000. Correspondent Lucky Severson provides a glimpse into their lives. More →

November 2, 2007

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Mormons — barred African-Americans from full membership until 1978. Since then, the church has increased its outreach to African-American communities, but has yet to repudiate its old teachings that blacks were cursed by God as descendents of Cain or Ham. More →

March 31, 2006

Missionary work is something of a rite of passage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over the course of 18 months to two years, young men and women will work 16 hours a day, six days a week. On average, each one will convert ten persons during that period. But with 60,000 missionaries in the field, that is enough to produce 300,000 new converts a year. More →

August 3, 2001

A century and a half ago, Brigham Young led 600 Mormon settlers to the Salt Lake Valley and predicted it would blossom as a rose. Today, the valley is headquarters to what may be the fastest-growing church in the U.S., blossoming so fast it is continuously redefining itself. More →

March 2, 2001