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Coming Sunday: A special LDS General Conference section

(Francisco Kjolseth | Salt Lake Tribune file photo) An empty plaza outside the Conference Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City in October 2020. The April 3-4, 2021, conference will also be all-virtual due to the pandemic.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah and around the world prepare for the faith’s Easter weekend General Conference, its third straight all-virtual global gathering, The Salt Lake Tribune will bring readers a 24-page special section in Sunday’s print edition on topics surrounding the state’s predominant religion, including:

• The rising debate among students, alumni and some orthodox Latter-day Saints about whether the church’s flagship — and famously conservative — school, Brigham Young University, is becoming “too liberal.”

• An extended Q&A with a leading architect about the faith’s track record in preserving its historic buildings, especially in the wake of the recent removal of murals from the iconic Salt Lake Temple and plans to do the same at the pioneer-era Manti Temple.

• Speaking of temples, vicarious religious rites for dead ancestors have been virtually shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, but family history work has been booming nonetheless as millions of people, stuck at home, turn to their computers to connect with long-lost kin.

• The pandemic also has blessed Latter-day Saint food bloggers with an expanded audience as more and more people turn — and return — to home-cooked meals.

• In addition, news columnist Robert Gehrke explores the political tightrope Latter-day Saint higher-ups must walk to rein in political extremists in the pews, while sports commentator Gordon Monson poses the question: Will the faithful — in sports and religion — return to arenas and churches when the pandemic passes?

These stories also will be appearing in the coming days at sltrib.com.