In the News

Book of Mormon “Changed America”

Book Magazine recently named the Book of Mormon on its list of “20 Books That Changed America.” The magazine compiled the list in honor of the United States 227th birthday and included it in its July/August 2003 issue.

“We set out to find the twenty novels and nonfiction titles that have had the greatest impact on the history of the country: the ones that led to concrete, definable changes in the way Americans live their lives,” wrote Jerome Kramer in Book Magazine.

Of the Book of Mormon he stated, “The book provides the theological underpinnings for one of the world’s most vibrant religions.”

Conference Center Earns Landscape Award

The American Society of Landscape Architects has recognized the Conference Center in Salt Lake City with a Design Merit Award for excellence in landscape architecture. It was one of 33 award-winning projects selected from 436 entries. The awards are presented according to quality of design, functionality, context, environmental responsibility, and relevance to the profession, the public, and the environment.

Designed by Olin Partnership of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the landscaping of the Conference Center features trees, grasses, and wildflowers native to Utah.

Cardston Temple Wins Beautification Award

The town of Cardston recently recognized the Cardston Alberta Temple in Canada with one of the city’s annual beautification awards—the first time the temple has been honored in such a way.

Stan Johnson, former Cardston mayor and a counselor in the temple presidency, said the award is one indication of the “tremendous contribution that is made to the overall beautification of our community by the temple.”

The Cardston Temple was the first temple to be designed without a tower or an assembly hall. It was dedicated by President Heber J. Grant in 1923 and rededicated in 1991 by President Gordon B. Hinckley, then First Counselor in the First Presidency, after extensive remodeling.

Memphis Temple Wins America in Bloom Award

Officials from the city of Bartlett, Tennessee, surprised Memphis Tennessee Temple President Boyd Lee when they announced that the temple, located just northeast of Memphis, had won an America in Bloom award. The reason for the surprise: no one from the temple had entered it in the contest.

Local America in Bloom committee members entered structures in their area that they felt should be in the contest. Pat Casey, one of the committee members, logged hundreds of miles driving around the city taking pictures of churches that she felt should be entered. When the national America in Bloom representatives were in town, she took them to the temple.

“You just have to see this building in person,” she told them. “It is beautiful.”

School of Management Moves Up in Rankings

Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management recently advanced to number 26 in The Wall Street Journal’s 2004 rankings of top business schools worldwide.

The newspaper also ranked BYU second behind Yale University in the new “Emphasis on Ethics” category as “best for hiring graduates with high ethical standards.” In addition, BYU’s Marriott School ranked third in the “Hidden Gems” category, a ranking of 10 schools that “don’t receive the respect and attention they deserve.”

Earlier in the year, Financial Times of London advanced the Marriott School of Management to 51st in its global ranking of the top 100 MBA (Master of Business Administration) programs.

BYU’s business and law schools are also among the top 50 in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools issue. The Marriott School of Management was ranked 29th for the second straight year, and the J. Reuben Clark Law School advanced to 31st in the magazine’s rankings.

Church News contributed to these reports.