The Mormon Land newsletter is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly highlight reel of news in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Join us on Patreon and receive the full newsletter, podcast transcripts and access to all of our religion content.
The magnificent seven
It’s quite the fashion statement that four of our most-read stories from 2024 dealt with articles of clothing that faithful Latter-day Saints put on under their outerwear.
Altogether, our top seven stories racked up more than a million page views. Here’s the tally:
1. The church’s new sleeveless, full-slip and half-slip temple garments — available right now in hot climates — wears the crown as this year’s most-read story.
2. This year’s bridesmaid is closely related: news that the latest garment designs are expected to reach U.S. members in late 2025.
3. The unveiling of a shortened “endowment” — the fourth significant change to Latter-day Saint temple rites in the past five years — finished third.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An ordinance room in the Manti Temple.
4. We’re not done with garments yet. The governing First Presidency updated the temple recommend questions to emphasize that devout members should wear this symbolically sacred underclothing “day and night.” (“When it must be removed for activities that cannot reasonably be done while wearing the garment,” a revised statement advises, “seek to restore it as soon as possible.”
5. In the fifth spot, a general authority Seventy teed up all this garment focus when he lamented before a congregation of California Latter-day Saints that too many younger women were donning this covenantal clothing only when entering the faith’s temples or attending Sunday services.
6. Readers also gravitated to senior apostle Dallin Oaks’ Christmas sermon in which he urged members young and old not to shun friendships with those outside the faith.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency speaks at the annual Christmas Devotional on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
7. Rounding out our top seven stories was the transfer to a Salt Lake City federal court of a handful of tithing lawsuits accusing the church of fraud over its finances and seeking class-action status.
A knock on the door knockers
A favorite foil for satirists — think The Babylon Bee and “The Book of Mormon” musical — remains Latter-day Saint missionaries.
Last week, The Onion got in on the act with a farce about God locking up heaven’s gates after spotting a pair of the church’s proselytizers pacing around outside.
“Maybe if we turn off all the lights and pretend no one’s here we can get rid of them,” the piece quoted the Almighty as saying. “This is the last thing I need right now. I’m just trying to enjoy a quiet afternoon in my kingdom.”
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Young love
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Steve Young, speaking in 2022, has a new book titled "The Law of Love in Action."
Steve Young isn’t done talking about the “law of love.” In his latest book, the NFL Hall of Famer lays out a game plan for putting this law into action.
Listen to the podcast.
Russell Nelson at the keyboard
The church’s centenarian president, Russell Nelson, shared a 2022 video of himself on Instagram playing “Silent Night” on a Nativity-adorned piano and wishing all a “merry Christmas.”
From The Tribune
• The First Amendment forbids current or disaffected members from suing the church over how it spends — or doesn’t spend — tithing donations. So argue lawyers for the faith in the latest court filings in a federal fraud lawsuit. Church lawyers also point to stepped-up temple building and humanitarian aid as examples of how “prudent” investment is helping to further God’s work.
• Actor Dennis Haysbert and Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles headlined this year’s Christmas concerts with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. “I could never have imagined,” Miles said, “that one day I might be on the stage and performing with [the choir].”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles performs with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square during the 2024 Christmas Concert at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
• The main message reinforced in the newest additions to Latter-day Saints’ repertoire of hymns, says Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess, is “we’re Christians, we’re Christians, we’re Christians.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The global faith currently plans to release “Hymns—for Home and Church” in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French by the end of 2026. Up to 50 additional languages will be published by 2030.
