Dustin McNab

SALT LAKE CITY (BP)--The "Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith" DVD distributed across Utah and other parts of the country this spring was intended to be upsetting, the co-director of the DVD said.       "I was offended when I was told these same things when I was a Mormon," Randy Gavin said.       "The reverence I held for Joseph Smith kept me from taking a critical look at him," Gavin said. "If you're going to trust your salvation to something, you need to take a critical look at it."       The DVD has elicited responses from within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in other religious circles. An LDS news release said the church has weathered similar attacks throughout its history and is not surprised that groups are trying to restrain its growth.

SALT LAKE CITY (BP)--Talking to Mormons in Utah during spring break was frustrating at times and humbling, these collegians said, but it strengthened their walk with God.

WASHINGTON (BP)--It’s not fair for taxpayers to pay the legal bills for organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), says Sen. Sam Brownback.       The Kansas Republican has reintroduced the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), which seeks to change how attorneys’ fees are granted in cases involving the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.       Current law allows attorneys to recover their fees in many kinds of cases, including suits against government dealing with civil rights and the Establishment Clause, which says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” For instance, if an attorney wins an Establishment Clause case asking a city government to remove the Ten Commandments from a courthouse, the city may be required to pay for the removal and the legal fees for both sides of the case.       “Currently, many small towns comply with the demands of the ACLU rather than risk going to trial and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to the ACLU if they lose the case,” Brownback said.

WASHINGTON (BP)--The federal government’s battle against obscenity is insufficient to help families deal with pornography, a pro-family leader says in a new report.

WASHINGTON (BP)–An organization advocating legalization of marijuana for medical use is suing the federal government over alleged inaccurate information used to warn of the drug’s dangers. Opponents of marijuana for medicinal purposes, however, note that there are justifiable reasons for not legalizing the drug in such instances. Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a pro-medical marijuana […]

WASHINGTON (BP)--A controversial women’s rights treaty may have gained new life in Congress, but pro-life and pro-family advocates have initiated an effort to contest the treaty’s pro-abortion implications.

WASHINGTON (BP)--Chinese officials are changing religious regulations as the 2008 Summer Olympics approaches, but some of those changes have proved detrimental to people of faith, witnesses said at a recent Capitol Hill hearing.