https://author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/sltrib/b23adb51-3a3c-4c38-8a46-5a9db80696a1.png

Tamarra Kemsley

Religion reporter

Tamarra Kemsley has been a reporter at The Tribune since 2021 but has been covering religion and politics since 2019. Her work has appeared in Religion News Service, the New York Post, and Religion & Politics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Brigham Young University and a master’s in Islamic studies from Hebrew University.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The World Food Program runs the homegrown school meals program in Haiti where half the population struggles to find enough food to eat. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced an $8 million donation to assist in the efforts in 2024.

While the Trump administration targets foreign aid, the LDS Church remains all-in

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 23, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Un fiel toca un retrato del Papa Francisco en la Catedral de la Magdalena en Salt Lake City el lunes 21 de abril de 2025. Los católicos de Utah dicen que Francisco, quien murió el lunes, deja un legado de cuidado por el planeta y los pobres.

Los católicos de Utah lamentan la pérdida de un papa que atendió a quienes viven al margen

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 22, 2025, 6:44 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A worshipper touches a portrait of Pope Francis at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 21, 2025. Utah Catholics say Francis, who died Monday, leaves behind a legacy of care for the planet and the poor.

Utah Catholics mourn loss of a pope who ministered to ‘those living on the margins’

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 22, 2025, 1:28 a.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Two Latter-day Saint meetinghouses near the border of Lehi and Saratoga Springs.

We need your help — Tell us about how one of Utah’s diciest LDS divides impacts you

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 21, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Emily Prisbrey and Tiffany Sowby in West Bountiful on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

How obeying LDS Church teachings can leave some women in poverty

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 20, 2025, 7:36 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bishop Oscar Solis celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. This year, all of Christendom will observe Easter on the same day, the first time in nearly 10 years.

For the first time in almost 10 years, Christians of all kinds will celebrate Easter on the same day

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 18, 2025, 7:16 p.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) A general view during General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 6, 2025.

‘Mormon Land’: Amid all the ‘encouraging’ news about church growth, the ‘biggest concern’ hasn’t been solved

By David Noyce | Tamarra Kemsley | April 16, 2025, 3:29 p.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) President Russell M. Nelson greets 8-year-old Ella Hadley, from Syracuse, at the conclusion of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 6, 2025.

LDS conference highlights: President Russell Nelson calls for more charity, less hostility, in a repeated plea for peacemakers

By Peggy Fletcher Stack | Tamarra Kemsley | David Noyce | Mark Eddington | April 7, 2025, 11:00 a.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Salt Lake Temple is seen past a statue of Jesus Christ at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 6, 2025. The church announced 15 new temples Sunday.

President Russell Nelson has now announced 200 temples. See where the latest 15 will go, including in, yep, Utah.

By Tamarra Kemsley | April 6, 2025, 11:38 p.m.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) President Russell M. Nelson greets wife Wendy at the conclusion of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 6, 2025.

Full summary of Sunday’s LDS General Conference: President Nelson calls charity the ‘foundation of a godly character,’ announces temples

By Peggy Fletcher Stack | Tamarra Kemsley | David Noyce | April 7, 2025, 6:46 a.m.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf speaks at General Conference on Saturday, April 5, 2025.

Full summary of Saturday’s LDS General Conference: Uchtdorf says a church can make ‘mistakes’ and still be of God; Andersen bemoans abortion

By Peggy Fletcher Stack | Tamarra Kemsley | David Noyce | Mark Eddington | April 6, 2025, 5:31 p.m.

(Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)

IVF and the plan of salvation — When LDS parents turn to science to enact God’s (and their) will

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 30, 2025, 1:33 p.m.

(Lisette Poole | The New York Times) When it comes to the creation and growth of the traditional, nuclear family, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is all-in — with a few exceptions.

Where the LDS Church stands on IVF, surrogacy and sperm/egg donation

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 30, 2025, 1:30 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pastor Ken Krueger leads worship services at The Mountain Church in Sandy on Sunday, March 16, 2025. In Utah and nationwide, Assemblies of God congregations are experiencing growth, making them an outlier among other Christian faiths.

In Utah, former Latter-day Saints are helping to fuel the growth of this Christian denomination

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 28, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist's rendering of the originally proposed McKinney Texas Temple, with its taller steeple.

See how the design for this disputed LDS temple changed with a shorter steeple

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 26, 2025, 5:23 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Church Office Building, shown in 2023, in Salt Lake City is the workplace for many employees of the global faith. The church has updated its handbook to protect membership data.

LDS Church: Misuse of members’ personal data could cost a person a place in the faith

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 26, 2025, 1:59 p.m.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The World Food Program runs the homegrown school meals program in Haiti where half the population struggles to find enough food to eat. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced an $8 million donation to assist in the efforts on Sept. 24, 2024.

LDS Church vowed to up its humanitarian aid in 2024. It did. See by how much.

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 25, 2025, 4:12 p.m.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Bonner family performs in Salt Lake City's Conference Center at a 2018, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the lifting of the priesthood/temple ban on Black members. The church has issued a new webpage on race within the faith.

LDS Church urges members to call out racism in their congregations

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 24, 2025, 4:47 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Women in The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square sing at General Conference in April 2024. Apostle Dale Renlund says Latter-day Saint leaders “haven’t done as good a job as I think we can” to address gender inequities in the faith.

Latest from Mormon Land: ‘We’re going to do better’ for women, says apostle; church buys more property

By David Noyce | Tamarra Kemsley | March 20, 2025, 12:21 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Valerie Hamaker via Religion News Service) Nathan and Valerie Hamaker, co-hosts of the popular “Latter Day Struggles” podcast, have resigned their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a livestream Wednesday, Valerie explained that "as paradoxical as it may seem, it's because we care about this [faith] tradition that we are opening our mouths.”

‘They couldn’t see it’: Valerie Hamaker on her efforts to convince LDS leaders they were on the same side

By Tamarra Kemsley | March 20, 2025, 6:03 p.m.

search by queryly Advanced Search close