Invitation to Gary Lawrence Luncheon (Paid Event)

The BYUMS/LDSBA are publicizing their April "Networking Luncheon" presentation by Dr. Gary Lawrence, author of "How Americans View Mormonism." A detailed flyer is linked here.

Date: Tuesday, April 14
Time: 11:45 am to 1:00 pm
Location: Capitol City Hotel, 2600 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento
Cost: $20 online by April 13. $25 at the luncheon

Register online at http://ms.byu.edu/sacramento by finding the event on our chapter calendar. Please invite your friends to attend.

Treaver Hodson
President, Sacramento Chapter

March 29th Interfaith Event: Family Watch Int'l & ProtectMarriage.com

Sharon Slater is President of Family Watch International (www.FamilyWatchInternational.com). She has spent her life fighting for the family at the UN, national and international level.

She is speaking this Sunday (March 29th) at an interfaith event. We are delighted that Andy Pugno (lead counsel for Protect Marriage.com) will be a guest speaker as well.

This hour will open your eyes to things few people are aware of...and things you can do now to help our cause. Please help spread the word to people of all faiths who care about the future of the family.

Click here for a flyer for the event.

Temple Video Popularity on YouTube

On Saturday night, March 14, the Google Videos search page ranked this video as the number one “Hot Video." Read the full story.

Sacramento Area Members in Temple Video

From Lisa West:

I have an exciting story to tell you....waaaay back in June 2006 a Church film crew came to Sacramento and filmed several segments of interviews with members of the Church from our region in preparation for the Open House for the Sacramento California Temple.

Some of those interviews were seen on the short video presentation that visitors to the Sacramento Temple Open House viewed just before going on a temple tour.

We were told there was always the possibility some of those interviews that didn't make it onto the Open House video could possibly turn up in the future since they were archived in Salt Lake - and now they have!!!

Please watch the attached YouTube video posted by the Church under "Mormon Messages". This video is about "temples" and it features four members of the Church from the Sacramento temple district. They are Luis Lugo (Chico), Michael Collins (North Stake), Sara Little (Citrus Heights), Dianna Hall-Boyce (Folsom), and Claudia Oshida (Sacramento Stake).

Official News Release on Publicity & HBO Big Love Series

The Publicity Dilemma

SALT LAKE CITY 9 March 2009 Like other large faith groups, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes finds itself on the receiving end of attention from Hollywood or Broadway, television series or books, and the news media. Sometimes depictions of the Church and its people are quite accurate. Sometimes the images are false or play to stereotypes. Occasionally, they are in appallingly bad taste.

As Catholics, Jews and Muslims have known for centuries, such attention is inevitable once an institution or faith group reaches a size or prominence sufficient to attract notice. Yet Latter-day Saints – sometimes known as Mormons - still wonder whether and how they should respond when news or entertainment media insensitively trivialize or misrepresent sacred beliefs or practices.

Church members are about to face that question again. Before the first season of the HBO series Big Loveaired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous. And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies.

Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.

Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.

Examples:

• During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States , commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.
• When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.
• When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.
• In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California , which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple . Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.

Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.

If the Church allowed critics and opponents to choose the ground on which its battles are fought, it would risk being distracted from the focus and mission it has pursued successfully for nearly 180 years. Instead, the Church itself will determine its own course as it continues to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

La Sierra Ward Reunion April 25-26

All former members of the La Sierra Ward (Carmichael California), come join us on April 25-26, 2009 as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ward’s creation. Well start with a “bring your own” picnic at Carmichael park Saturday afternoon, then a more formal dinner at the Garfield building at 6:00. Sunday morning will be a special Sacrament Meeting with former bishops of the La Sierra ward speaking. The weekend events will conclude with an open house at the Rosenlof’s Sunday afternoon. Visit the website at www.LaSierraWardReunion.com to RSVP and to get the latest information.

Further information can also be obtained by contacting

Arnold Loveridge
ArnoldVL@surewest.net
916-485-0150
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=54108712556

Electra Price to Provide Keynote for Roots Seminar

BY: LISA WEST

SACRAMENTO, CA: Black families find strength and unity by searching for their roots and they will come together again for the 4th Annual African-American Family History Seminar on Saturday, March 14, 2009 in conjunction with Black History Month. The seminar is FREE (there is a nominal charge if participants wish to obtain printed materials and lunch). It is sponsored by the California Black Chamber of Commerce, Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Sacramento Regional Family History Center, 2745 Eastern Avenue, Sacramento, California is hosting the seminar. The center has been providing free services to Sacramento’s metropolitan genealogists and the public since 1962 and is one of only 13 centers in the entire world. The facility provides access to records from the largest family history archives in the world, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Extensive British, Canadian and U.S. Census records, book and family history collections, numerous computer stations, Social Security Indexes and Pedigree Catalogues are just a few of the items contained at the center.

The theme of the African-American Family History Seminar is “Families Are Our Strength”. Roots Author, Alex Haley once said, “In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage – to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainment in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.”

There are countless reasons to search out ancestors. Many people simply wish to learn and gain an appreciation for their heritage. Others want to satisfy their curiosity about their roots or preserve family, cultural and ethnic traditions. Still others hope to assemble and pass down a family history book and provide themselves and their children with a sense of who they are and where they came from.

Electra Kimbal Price, a life long resident and native of California with paternal and maternal roots in Arkansas and Georgia, became active in genealogy research in 1988 when she first started documenting her own family history gathered from oral interviews with her mother. As the 2009 Keynote Speaker for the African American Family History Seminar, Price comes with an impressive resume including a Distinguished Service Award from the Genealogical Society of Utah. She is the 1995 founder and charter member of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California.

“Genealogy is one of the worlds most popular hobbies”, noted S. Dennis Holland, Sacramento’s LDS Regional Director of Public Affairs. “The Church has been gathering genealogical records worldwide for more than a century to promote family history research. Those in the African-American community previously experienced significant difficulties in researching their ancestors prior to the Civil War – due in part to slavery. Databases are being updated on a regular basis and we are excited to provide these resources to help anyone who is anxious to search out their ancestry”.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in an 11-year project to document the ‘Freedman Bank’ records which dramatically improves the ability of African-Americans to move forward in continuing to research their heritage. The Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company was created in March 1865 to enable soldiers of the United States Colored Troops and other newly freed slaves to deposit their savings and military pay at the close of the Civil War. The Church produced a CD-Rom listing 72,000 Freedman’s Bank depositors alphabetically, with cross-references to spouses, children, parents and other kin – 480,000 names in all. It is a remarkable resource for African-American genealogists.

In past years, family history enthusiasts and genealogists used to search through rolls and rolls of microfilm with varying degrees of success. “Now with just a few keystrokes, people all over the world can search through millions of records by connecting to the internet, and in particular www.FamilySearch.org ”,concluded Holland. The Church launched this website in May 1999 and in the first year alone the free website had received over 3 billion hits.

The seminar will provide a variety of beginning, intermediate and advanced classes on African-American genealogy presented by Jackie Chauhan, Eric Thomas, Barbara Tyson, Linda Bradley, Karen Burney and others - none of which are members of the LDS faith - but all have generously donated their time and are well-qualified in African-American genealogy and research. Directors of the Sacramento LDS Regional Family History Seminar, Ronald and Lynette McDowell will offer tours and instruction on how to use the center.

The seminar will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and there is no charge to attend. However, if participants wish to receive workshop materials, pre-registration is encouraged and there is a $20 fee for the materials with lunch. Materials for the workshops without lunch will cost $14. The cost increases $5 after March 1, 2009. Priority seating is reserved for those who have pre-registered. For pre-registration or further information, please call (916)487-2090 or (916)966-3460.

FOR ADDITIONAL MEDIA INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Lisa West
Sacramento Region Public Affairs
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
E-mail: sacpublicaffairs@comcast.net

Updated: El Dorado Family History Symposium March 21st, 2009

The El Dorado Family History Symposium will take place March 21st from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. We are very pleased to have Ugo Perego, Director of The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (http://www.smgf.org) as the keynote speaker. His topic is, "The Power of DNA: Discovering Lost and Hidden Relationships."

The Sorenson Foundation is furnishing free DNA kits to anyone with a 4-6 generation pedigree chart. Ugo will also be presenting two workshops on using DNA for genealogical purposes and Other workshops topics include, getting started in family history research, using tax records and the federal census in research, making the most of Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and other great internet sites, German research, Hispanic research, repairing and restoring photos, writing family histories, and evaluating genealogical information and resources.

Our website, www.eldoradofamilyhistorycenter.org will provide more detailed information about the free DNA kits that will be available, the symposium schedule, workshops and presenters, registration forms, and directions to the Family History Center located at the LDS Chapel at 3275 Cedar Ravine Road, Placerville .

New “MormonMessages” YouTube Channel from Church

David Nielson, the Managing Director of the Audiovisual Department of the Church, has posted a good discussion of why the Church is putting videos now on YouTube and the creation of a YouTube "channel."

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2009/02/26/mormon-messages-youtube-channel-update/

Also you'll find videos from LDS Public Affairs and from the New Era.

Here's a sample video from Mormon Messages.