Religion

  Frances Monson, the wife of President Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away early this morning at the age of 86.

A news release from the church says Sister Monson never sought the spotlight, but President Monson said she was the practical partner in their 64-year marriage.  Speaking at the church’s General Conference in 2008, he recalled the moment when she woke up in the hospital after living in a coma for almost a month.

When Rabbi Joshua Aaronson arrived in Utah eleven years ago, Temple Har Shalom was a small Reform Jewish congregation meeting in rented space in Park City. Today, it’s in a beautiful new building with three times the attendance and a vacancy to fill. Rabbi Aaronson is moving on to Temple Judea in a suburb of Los Angeles – and leaving behind a lot of people who will miss him.

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is endorsing a proposed policy change by the Boy Scouts of America that would let young gay men participate as members, but would still exclude gay adults from leadership positions. The current policy excludes both gay adults and youth.

  Utah's Catholic bishop, John Wester, was out of town when the church elected a new pope earlier this month. He's had a lot of people ask about it since, and that also offered the opportunity to talk about a number of other issues involving the Catholic church in Utah.  On Friday March 22nd, I asked Bishop Wester what he's learned about Pope Francis since the conclave.

  Members of Clearfield Community Church are working to keep their church going after a fire almost destroyed their building yesterday.

The church will hold its Sunday worship service in rented space just a few blocks away at Wasatch Elementary School for a few weeks.  But former pastor Richard Axmann says the home-school group that met in the church will have to find another place to meet, along with several other programs.

  Utah Catholics are welcoming Pope Francis I with high expectations. 

The bells at the Cathedral of the Madeleine were ringing this afternoon as Utah Catholics welcomed the news of the selection of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as pope.

Stephanie Olmstead was watching the news with a group of students at the Newman Center just off the University of Utah campus.  She’s hoping the new pontiff will continue Benedict’s use of Twitter to communicate with the faithful around the world.

Utah's Roman Catholic bishop, as well as some non-Catholic religious leaders, were stunned by today's announcement that Pope Benedict the 16th will resign at the end of February.

Bishop John Wester met Benedict the 16th on a couple of occasions during his eight-year papacy and said he was always impressed by Benedict's kindness.  Wester says he was also impressed by the pope's commitment to speaking the truth and by the way he confronted the most difficult issues facing the church.

  The national leadership of the Boy Scouts of America has put off a decision on allowing gays as Scout members or leaders, and a legal question could be part of what's holding that up. 

Retired U.S. Army Major General Peter Cooke was the Democratic Party nominee for governor of Utah in the 2012 election, but lost to the Republican incumbent, Gary Herbert.  He says it was a surprise when church leaders asked him to be a mission president a few days ago.  He doesn't yet know where he'll be assigned among the church's 350 missions worldwide, but he says his wife Heather and their four children are delighted with the opportunity to serve.

A group that helps families leaving polygamist communities is hoping to buy a big house to help their effort, and they're asking for donations to make it happen.