Mormon Videos Blog – MormonVidz.com

This arrangement is dedicated to Jon Schmidt’s daughter Sarah. Sarah who loves the song Love Story by Taylor Swift. Because of a common rhythm element between the tunes, Jon decided he could mish/mash the two. Jon’s great friend Steven Sharp Nelson (cello percussion) really makes this tune. (http://stevensharpnelson.com ) The download will be available from jon site (http://www.jonschmidt.com ). The entire album which will be titled “Bonus Tracks” will be available on iTunes summer 2009. Sheet music will also be available at my site May 2009.I am an unsigned recording artist and composer. All songs from all my albums can be listened to for free on jon site: http://www.jonschmidt.com have transcribed many of them for piano. 

Watch the Video of Jon on Mormonvidz.com

Montage about the need for living revelation by Jeffrey R. Holland in 178th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is an apostle of Jesus Christ today. He is not paid for his service in the church, and never has been. Not elected to his position but called, as apostles in the time of Christ, were called. The words he has spoken here are but a few of many spoken to promote understanding and love of the Savior.How badly I want everyone to understand how much I love the Lord and His teachings. Without Him we would be helpless, but with Him and through ONLY Him we can return to our Heavenly Father and gain eternal life.For more information about the Savior and Modern Revelation please visit the official church website of www.mormon.org or feel free to send me a message. 

Watch this Video on the Living Revelation on MormonVidz.com

 This video is dedicated to the Polynesian Saints.The Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. The temple sits on a small hill a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Lāʻie, 35 miles (56 km) from Honolulu. Along with Brigham Young University Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Laie Hawaii Temple plays an important role in the town of Lā’ie, with the temple Visitors’ Center attracting more than 100,000 people annually.Laie Hawaii Temple was the first LDS Church temple built outside of the continental United States. The temple is also the oldest to operate outside of Utah, and the fifth-oldest LDS temple still in operation. The site of the temple was dedicated by Church President Joseph F. Smith on June 1, 1915, and the completed structure was dedicated by Church President Heber J. Grant on November 27, 1919. Laie Hawaii Temple was formerly known as the Hawaiian Temple or the Hawaii Temple until a standard naming convention for LDS temples was adopted in the early 2000s. 

Watch this Mormon Video on the Laie Hawaii temple on MormonVidz.com

President Monson related a story how a young man in the congregation was copying his every move. He decided to put the young man to the ultimate test. When he got up to address the congregation, he wiggled his ears at the young man…and then demonstrated this while speaking at the priesthood session. It was hilarious.

Anyway, the point of the story was how the youth look to and copy their parents and leaders.

Check out the video of President Monson Wiggling those ears.

We love Glenn Beck here is the ABC’s 20/20 Profiles on Glenn Beck – the latest profile on Glenn Beck by ABC news. He talks about his life, being a mormon, his radio and tv show and more

Mormons in Music – This Mormon Vidz channel is covering all types Mormon Music or Mormon recording artist.

Armed assailants attack and rob a Latter-day Saint Apostle, his wife and two other couples in the African nation of Mozambique. Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, were on a Church assignment when the incident happened.

According to Church spokesman Scott Trotter, the wife of the mission President Blair Packard suffered a broken arm. She and others also have cuts and bruises.

Elder and Sister Nelson traveled to Mozambique for these weekend meetings with Church leaders there; Elder William and Sister Shanna Parmley of the Africa Southeast Area Presidency, and Pres. Blair and Sister Cindy Packard; he is the President of the Mozambique Maputo Mission.

The country is located in the southeastern part of the African continent on the Indian Ocean; Maputo is the Capitol.

The Church Statement says: “On Friday evening they were having dinner together in the mission president’s home when armed assailants entered the home and robbed them. We don’t have complete information yet, but we understand that Sister Packard’s arm was broken. In addition, she and others suffered some superficial injuries, mainly cuts and bruises. Elder and Sister Nelson will continue their assignment over the weekend as planned.”

The Church statement also includes information that authorities in that city are investigating the matter.

Former missionaries to Mozambique who we talked with Saturday tell us that they were warned to always be cautious and told about the dangers of life in that African nation.

Deseret News
If you’re surprised to learn that not one but two couples on the second season of “Here Come the Newlyweds” are from Utah, you’re not alone.

“We were shocked,” said Jed Hinkins of Cedar City, one-half of one of those couples.

“Totally shocked,” his wife, Sarin, agreed. “When the other couple (Andrea and Matt Smith) walked in, Jed and I turned to each other and said, ‘They’re Mormon.’ We didn’t know if they were from out of state. And then when they said they were from Utah, we were just totally shocked.”

As were the Smiths, who live in Cottonwood Heights.

“It was surprising,” Andrea Smith said. “We were, like, ‘Wow! More Mormons on here.’ ”

“High-five!” Matt Smith added.

There have been lots of Utahns on lots of reality/competition shows of late, ranging from “Survivor” to “American Idol” to “So You Think You Can Dance.” The most recent season of MTV’s “The Real World” featured two Utahns (out of eight cast members).

But, given that thousands of couples applied to be on “Here Come the Newlyweds,” the odds would seem to have been against the four Utahns.

“I mean, nine couples and two of them happen to be from Utah?” Sarin Hinkins said. “How weird is that?”

“Newlyweds,” which begins its second season tonight (Monday) at 9 p.m. on ABC/Ch. 4, is sort of a cross between the “Newlywed Game” and “Survivor.” The nine couples compete in a variety challenges, adding money to a pot that grows from week to week. (Last year, it ended up totaling $465,000.)

One couple is voted off each week; the winner takes home the cash.

But “Here Come the Newlyweds” is a kinder, gentler reality show. There’s a bit of drama, but it’s pretty much all in fun.

Both Utah couples watched the show last year and saw the notice encouraging people to apply.

“We filled out the application, not really expecting anything. We just kind of thought we’d do it for fun,” Sarin Hinkins said. “And then it took off from there.”

“We thought our chances were one in a million, but we ended up getting on,” Andrea Smith said. “We just thought it would be a fun experience.”

Matt Smith didn’t take the application process particularly seriously. Not even after filling out the long written application and getting an e-mail from the producers asking for an audition video.

“I told Andrea, ‘There’s no way I’m going to make an audition tape,’ ” Matt Smith said. “No. It’s not happening. I’m not going to embarrass myself.”

But then the producers called and asked for a tape, which is “when I kind of got serious about it,” he said.

All four are native Utahns. The Smiths are from Sandy (he went to Brighton High; she went to Alta). Sarin Hinkins is from West Jordan (West Jordan High); Jed is from Orangeville (Emery).

The Hinkinses, who got married in July 2007, both took a semester off from Southern Utah University to do the show, which was filmed last fall in California.

The Smiths, who wed in August 2006, did the same — Matt Smith from Utah Valley University and Andrea from Weber State University.

“It put me a little behind, but it was, like, this is just too big an opportunity to pass up,” Matt Smith said.

With a few reservations, their families were supportive.

“My mother was like, ‘What are you doing exposing yourselves?’ ” Sarin Hinkins said with a laugh. “But it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and our families were just totally supportive and encouraging us to go have fun.”

Andrea Smith said some members of her family were “a little sketchy at first” about her being on a reality show.

“I’m like, ‘It’s a family show,’ ” she said.

“They’re not going to make us look stupid — I hope,” Matt Smith added with a laugh.

“We’ll still be married after it,” Andrea Smith said.

And all four Utahns couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they had on “Here Come the Newlyweds.”
“I just couldn’t stop myself from smiling the whole time I was there,” Matt Smith said. “I mean, it was just such a fun experience. Everybody was just so nice and good to us.”

Andrea Smith said it was “a little bit hard at first” because she’s “really camera-shy. But they make it so easy for you to feel so comfortable. It was an awesome experience.”

The Hinkinses came away feeling equally positive.

“We went just hoping to have a good time,” Jed said. “It was a blast. We both had a lot of fun. The money — I don’t think that was a big issue. We made a lot of good friends, and all the other couples were really great to be around.”

Both couples said that, while filming the show last fall, they formed friendships with other couples.

“We were really close with a lot of them. But I think there were two or three couples that we particularly bonded with,” said Jed Hinkins. They still talk and e-mail — they even went to visit one of the other couples in Tennessee and the other couple is planning to visit Utah.

“It seems like all of us are still talking,” Matt Smith said. “I actually helped start a business with one of them.”

And, while it wasn’t a huge factor, the subject of their religion came up.

“Oh, constantly,” Sarin Hinkins said. “Every night we would have cocktail parties and enjoy each other’s company. And, obviously, Jed and I live a different lifestyle, so it was constantly being brought up and questions asked. No judgments or anything either way, though.”

“Everyone was just curious,” Jed Hinkins said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions about what we believe and things.”

When one other couple asked if he had “other wives or something,” Jed Hinkins jokingly replied that he’d have “a different wife here every day on the show.”

Neither couple is sure how much it played into them being cast on the show, but Matt Smith said he and his wife “really tried to play up the Mormon thing” when they applied to be on the show, hoping that it would help get them on the show.

“We weren’t portrayed as a really Mormon-y couple, but we were asked a little bit about that,” Andrea Smith said.

Each of the four said they’d be on the show again if they had the chance. Right now, the couples, their families and friends are excitedly anticipating the premiere of “Here Come the Newlyweds.”

“It’s just surreal,” Matt Smith said. “It’s crazy to think that something like this could happen to us. We’re just average people. It was just such a shock to even get on the show. It’s just weird that we’re actually in this position.”

The Boston Globe wrote the following article.

CAMBRIDGE – One minute, Martha Paxton was sitting attentively inside the packed church. Next, she found herself among the crowd gathered on the front lawn, watching flames ravage the nearly 60-year-old building.

“Every fire alarm in your life is always a drill,” said Paxton, 27, of Melrose. “But once we got out, we knew it was serious.”

The three-alarm fire broke out at 10:37 a.m. yesterday during a meeting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outside Harvard Square in Cambridge, sending members spilling out onto the street and displacing three different congregations, called wards. No injuries were reported.

The blaze, the third in 30 years to strike a Mormon church in Eastern Massachusetts, began in the attic of the building at 4 Longfellow Park, off Brattle Street, Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon said. The cause is still under investigation, but it did not appear to be suspicious, he said.

In two hours, flames had gutted the building, leaving behind a skeleton of red brick walls and white window panes.

The roof collapsed and smoke billowed from the charred remains, but the steeple stood fast as firefighters doused it from several angles. The smoke drifted over the Harvard Square area, its odor permeating the air up to a mile away as church members stood in Longfellow Park watching the building burn.

Fire departments from nearby Belmont, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown provided assistance, Reardon said. The fire, which re quired 22 engines, seven ladder companies, and about 80 firefighters to extinguish, finally died out about 1 p.m.

The building had working smoke detectors and alarms, Reardon said.

Grant Bennett, director of public affairs for the Cambridge stake (similar to a diocese) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the destruction was particularly devastating because of the church’s position as the first in New England.

“There’s a lot of history to this church,” he said. “It’s very sad but we absolutely will rebuild.”

About 350 Mormons had gathered at the church yesterday to watch a satellite broadcast of a major conference taking place in Salt Lake City, Bennett said.

The gathering began only a half-hour before the fire broke out.

Micaiah Masterson, 30, a church member from Somerville, said those inside the church didn’t smell smoke, but were alerted to the blaze by an alarm.

“We thought it was just a drill, so everyone sort of made their way out calmly,” he said. “Then we saw fire, and it just didn’t stop from there. Smoke was coming out from every vent.”

The church also houses the Family History Center, a genealogical research center that serves as a satellite to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the largest genealogical library in the world, according to its website. The center did not lose any vital information because the office in Salt Lake City keeps backup files, according to Rebecca Sansom, the center’s director.

Sansom said the church is a crossroads for local college students who express an interest in Mormonism.

“It’s terrible, sad, horrible to watch it burn down like this,” said Sansom, 29, of Cambridge. “This has been a centerpiece of LDS in New England for a very long time.

“But we’ll rebuild it, and it’ll be OK,” she said. “It won’t be the same, but it’ll be OK.”

Mark Johnson, 35, of Belmont, who is a second counselor of the Bishopric, said members were grateful no one was injured. Their faith will get them through the loss, he said.

“We’re all strong in faith,” he said. “First and foremost, we’re glad that everyone got out safe.”

But, he said, “there are some real emotions coming through. It’s a historic place for us.”

The building was built and dedicated in the early 1950s, according to Bennett, and it houses three wards.

The first ward consists of single undergraduates from area colleges, and the other two wards are made up of young adult singles, ages 25 to 30.

It also houses the Institute for Religion, a center that provides local college students with the resources to research religious topics.

Paxton, who remained by the church as the blaze died down, joined a human chain that worked to salvage the building’s collection of texts and fine art.

The chain stretched from the church to a Quaker meeting house across the lawn, whose leadership offered to temporarily house the church’s materials.

“It’s not a great thing that this happens,” Paxton said, “but it’s a miracle when people come together to help each other. . . . The heavenly father definitely blessed us with service today.”

US President Barack Obama has named the Republican Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, as ambassador to China. Mr Huntsman, 49, is a fluent speaker of Mandarin, which he learnt while serving as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan.