A big write-up in a national publication is making waves in Utah even before the magazine hits the newstands.
The article appears in the September 10th edition of Newsweek.
It's called "Mormons ... a changing but still mysterious religion gets ready for the Olympic Games."
But The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it's less than accurate.
Religion Specialist Carole Mikita shows us why.
It was inevitable... with the Olympic Games come journalists with a desire to zero in on Utah's predominant religion.
It's not the first or the last, but Kenneth Woodward's Newsweek cover story is certain to bring Mormons and their beliefs to dinner talk conversations and internet chatrooms.
In a telephone interview, Woodward admitted he hasn't been to Salt Lake City in 20 years. He was struck by the church's new Conference Center and from that concluded a new emphasis on Christ.
Voice of: Kenneth Woodward/Newsweek religion editor/"WHERE YOU SEE HUGE MURALS OF JESUS CHRIST ALL OVER THE PLACE, YOU HARDLY CAN FIND A PICTURE OF JOSEPH SMITH. AND THIS INDICATES SOME REAL CHANGES GOING ON IN EMPHASIS WITHIN THE CHURCH."
Odd, say church members, that Woodward missed the Joseph Smith Memorial Building across the street, with a nine-foot statue of the church founder in the lobby.
Church spokesman, Michael Otterson, responded by saying: "Ken Woodward cheapens the real motivation of most members, their deep personal conviction that Christ is the divine Son of God."
Woodward's many-paged article delves into church history, misidentifying Joseph F. Smith as founder, beliefs and doctrine which he says sets Mormons apart from mainline Christians.
"THE MORMON IMAGINATION TURNS OUT TO BE VERY LITERAL, VERY PHYSICAL, VERY CONCRETE. WE WILL BUILD A ZION SO THAT CHRIST MAY RETURN... GOD HAS A BODY."
Church spokesman Otterson says what's really changing is the world's perceptions of church members - and what the world will find here are friendly people, simply part of the diverse fabric of American life.
Carole Mikita reporting/"And public reaction to the article is yet to come. The magazine hits newstands and will be in the mail on Tuesday.
It's on the Internet now.
Links
Newsweek Article Online
www.msnbc.com/news/NW-front_Front.asp
Church Responds in Letter-to-the-Editor
http://www.lds.org/media2/letters/0,10599,1592-1,FF.html
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
www.lds.org
