Busted Halo » Neylan McBaine

Myth Busting in the “Mormon Moment”

Neylan McBaine — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:05:49 +0000

Since I wrote for Busted Halo about Mitt Romney’s first run for president in 2008, much has changed in the public landscape regarding knowledge and perceptions of Mormonism. Americans today find themselves swept up in a “Mormon Moment,” thanks to Romney’s second run, Jon Huntsman Jr.’s candidacy, and popular media coverage of The Book of [...]

The Eternal Temple in the Eternal City

Neylan McBaine — Thu, 05 May 2011 05:05:23 +0000

There was tenderness and reverence in his voice as Thomas S. Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), said the Mormon temple being built in Rome, Italy, "uniquely, is being built in one of the most historic locations in the world, a city where the ancient apostles Peter and Paul preached the gospel of Christ and where each was martyred."

Monson, considered a prophet by Mormons, addressed millions of members around the world in a biannual satellite broadcast in April. Recalling the Rome groundbreaking on an overcast day in October 2010, attended by Italian senator Lucio Malan and Rome's vice-mayor Giuseppe Ciardi along with many Italian members of the LDS church, he said that as the choir sang, "one felt as though heaven and earth were joined in a glorious hymn of praise and gratitude to Almighty God. Tears could not be restrained."

Why was this occasion so special in the heart of the Church's leader? What is it about a temple -- any Mormon temple and specifically the Rome temple -- that causes Mormons from around the world to celebrate its construction?

Moral Partnership

Neylan McBaine — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:00:30 +0000

Catholics and Mormons haven’t always clung to each other as partners in faith. In the early 20th century, for example, Mormon tradition held that “the great and abominable church” spoken of in The Book of Mormon represented the Catholic Church. On the other hand, Catholic Church members have published tracts and now websites promoting the [...]

Mormon Revolution

Neylan McBaine — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:38:49 +0000

What does it take to shatter a stereotype? Advertising executives have their own recipe: cook up a snappy creative campaign, stir in a few press releases, serve in major media centers. This may work for consumer products, but changing the popular perception of a cultural or religious group is a social study of enormous proportions. [...]

Latter Day Relief

Neylan McBaine — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:16:28 +0000

The Wall Street Journal called it “laudable.” The New York Times called it “tragic.” So what do I think of Mitt Romney’s speech about religion in America last Thursday? As a Yale-educated Mormon woman raised in New York City, I might be expected to think something sophisticated and grand, like “historical” or “inspirational.” My word [...]