Y. Symposium to address Mormon Media Moments on Nov. 8-9
PROVO — David Campbell, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, will be the featured keynote speaker at the academic symposium "Mormon Moment(s) and the Media" at Brigham Young University's Conference Center.
The symposium is Thursday, Nov. 8, and Friday, Nov. 9, and is free. Registration is not required and the public is welcome to attend.
Campbell, who is a co-author with Robert Putnam of "American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us," will speak on "The Mormon Dilemma: The Pros and Cons of Being a Peculiar People" Thursday at 11 a.m.
The symposium will also feature paper presentations and panel discussions by communications practitioners and professors on a wide variety of topics, including media coverage of religion, Mormonism and Romney during the 2012 campaign; the "I'm a Mormon" advertising campaign; "The Book of Mormon," the musical; media literacy and media use in LDS families; Internet use by Mormons; and LDS musicians, music, radio and television. Several LDS-related documentaries and films will also be shown during the two-day event.
For more information and to pre-order lunch for the event, visit the website at ce.byu.edu/cw/mmstudies. Lunch also can be ordered by calling 801-422-8925 before noon on Wednesday, Nov. 7.
Conference to help write life story
For those interested in writing their life story, the Utah Association of Personal Historians is hosting a conference and seminar at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City the weekend of Nov. 2-3.
The pre-conference seminar on Friday, Nov. 2, will include training sessions for those interested in developing a personal history business.
Featured keynote speakers at the event include Mary O'Brien Tyrrell and Dawn Thurston. Tyrrell is the author of "Become a Memorist for Elders" and has helped hundreds of seniors publish their life stories. Thurston, author of "Breathe Life into Your Story," has taught life story writing classes and seminars for years.
Participants may also choose from workshops on how to prepare a book, connect their stories to history, write life stories or record stories with electronic media.
Participants may register at www.utahaph.blogspot.com. The registration fee includes a printed syllabus and luncheon. Those who bring a friend receive a discount if registered before Oct. 24. For more information, including prices, email myutahstory@gmail.com or call Dave Homer at 801-641-4617 or Paulette Stevens at 801-261-5203.
70 million new indexed records, images added to Familysearch
SALT LAKE CITY — More than 70 million indexed records and digital images have been recently added to the growing searchable collection at FamilySearch.org.
The new searchable collections are from nearly two dozen countries, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, England, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United States, Ukraine and Wales, according to a news release.
The collections from the United States include those from more than a dozen states, including Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Washington state and Wisconsin.
In six new collections, more than 8.3 million new browsable images from all across Italy were added.
Some of the collections include more than 4.6 million images from "United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913," more than 2.6 million records and 211,998 images from "United Kingdom, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941," and more than 2.2 million images and more than 555,000 records from "United Kingdom, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915."
For collections from the Netherlands, more than 2.6 million images were added to "Netherlands, Census and Population Registers, 1645-1940" and more than 2.1 million images added to "Netherlands, Noord-Brabant, Church Records, 1473-1909." More than 2.2 million images were added to "Germany, Hessen, Civil Registration, 1874-1927." About 1.74 million images were added to "Moldova, Church Books, 1811-1936."
To search these collections or to volunteer to index, go to familysearch.org.