Religion

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. 

In his concession speech, Governor Mitt Romney prayed that the president will be successful in guiding the nation.  Shortly after that, LDS Church leaders invited Americans  - whatever their political persuasion - to pray for the President and the new Congress.  Now LDS Democrats are calling for a day of prayer.  Caucus chair Steve Olsen told KUER the prayers are directed at leaders on both sides of the aisle. 

Circling the Wagons held its 2nd annual conference over the weekend for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Mormons in Salt Lake City.  The event is intended to be a supportive place for LGBT Mormons and their families, but some were offended by some of the invited speakers, and chose not to attend.

The controversy centered around speaker Josh Weed, a family therapist from Seattle.  He’s an out gay man, and devout Mormon, who says he is happily married to his wife.   Circling the Wagons organizer Anne Peffer said she knew inviting Weed to speak would upset some. 

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir launched its new YouTube channel on Tuesday, October 30th.  The new channel includes performances of traditional hymns that you'd expect from the Tabernacle Choir, but also a new music video featuring soloist Alex Boyé, shot in what was once a slave trade fortress on the coast of Ghana.

The new channel will include concerts and past broadcasts of the weekly Music and the Spoken Word program.

The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a change in the minimum age for missionary service Saturday morning in the opening session of the church’s General Conference.  President Thomas S. Monson says young men will now be eligible to serve at age 18, provided they’ve graduated from high school.  The previous minimum age for missionaries from the United States was 19, but Monson says the church has had good experience with younger men from 48 other countries.

The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy is wrapping up a four-month tour through Southeast Asia called Pacific Partnership.  Among the 1200 military and civilians aboard the ship there are eight volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They include Nate Leishman, the church's manager of humanitarian disaster response, who says the opportunity to participate began several years ago when the Navy called to say the church could add volunteers to the humanitarian supplies it had donated on previous missions.