Denver, CO: Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as “the Mormons”) collected and wrapped over 1000 gifts for Meals on Wheels recipients to receive on Christmas morning. Church members have been participating in this program as a group for the past 12 years. “It gives our families a chance to give back knowing that each gift will mean something special to someone who will be alone on Christmas morning,” said Pat Robinson to a writer for YourHub.com. Robinson headed up this year’s effort.
Associated Press: Andrew Hatch, a quarterback for the champion Louisiana State college football team, recently discussed his road to the team with the Associated Press. As reported in the Boston Herald, Hatch originally planned to play football at BYU. When coach Gary Crowton left the school, Hatch changed his plans and went to Harvard for a year instead. Following that, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was cut short, though, due to an injury that required surgery.
Back home, he again talked to Gary Crowton, who was now an offensive coordinator at LSU and told him he might be able to make the team. Hatch hadn’t previously considered the school. “I’d never been to Louisiana,” he said. “It wasn’t on my radar.” However, he finally walked on to the team and ended up with a scholarship.
Provo, UT: Did you realize that a significant number of students at Brigham Young University are actually not Latter-day Saints? According to a story on BYU NewsNet, most of these are international students, and among their reasons for choosing BYU are “sports, safety, price of tuition and recommendations from alumni.” Adjustment to life on the BYU campus can be daunting to those not familiar with the Latter-day Saint religion. Fortunately, BYU offers a course just for them, “Introduction to the LDS Church,” that helps them understand the basic beliefs of the Church. (“Religion 100 Introduces LDS Beliefs to Students,” BYU NewsNet, 8 Jan 2008)
