Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — An article in an Ohio newspaper highlights the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the devotion of its members in Ohio.
The article, titled "Local Mormons committed to their faith" was originally published in the Akron Beacon Journal, and later republished in several papers including the Kansas City Star, The Bellingham Herald in Washington state, and the Deseret News.
Author Colette M. Jenkins' article begins by focusing on a family whose teenage son attends the early-morning seminary class which his mother teaches. It also touches on the history of the church, the Relief Society and other church programs, and missionary work.
Jenkins interviewed Elder Craig C. Christensen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, for the report.
"We believe in Jesus Christ, and we believe in the Bible as the word of God," Elder Christensen said in the article. "We also believe that prophetic words come in our time. We invite people to get to know us — we welcome visitors — and they will find that we are traditional, conservative Christians, faith-filled people trying to live out our faith."
Jenkins also spent a great deal of time interviewing local church members and leaders, according to Mormon Newsroom. A stake Relief Society president in Ohio, Lynn Watkins, told the newsroom Jenkins attended a stake conference and called church members in order to accurately report on the religion.
"All this had to have contributed to the accuracy of the article. We were so grateful for the opportunity to tell our story," Watkins said.
