Upcoming events in the LDS community

Symposium will explore life, teachings of President Taylor

PROVO, Utah — To commemorate the 200th birthday of John Taylor, third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the third annual Religious Studies Center Church History Symposium will explore President Taylor's life and teachings. The event is Oct. 10 from 1-5 p.m. at the Brigham Young University Conference Center. Admission is free and the public is invited.

"When compared to other presidents of the Church, there is a vacuum of scholarly research surrounding John Taylor due to his exile during his administration," said Mary Jane Woodger, an associate professor of church history and doctrine and chair of the symposium. "This symposium will attempt to fill that vacuum by giving attendees a better understanding of his life and teachings within a historical context."

Speakers will include religious education faculty members Susan Easton Black, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Andrew C. Skinner and Fred Woods. The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation is co-sponsoring this event. For more information, contact Mary Jane Woodger at 801-422-9029 or maryjane_woodger@byu.edu.

LDS sports lecture today

PROVO, Utah — Jessie L. Embry, associate director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at BYU, will discuss the LDS Sports and Recreation Oral History Project and her new e-book, "Spiritualized Recreation: Mormon All-Church Athletic Tournaments and Dance Festivals, 1908-1971."

The lecture will be today at 2 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium on the first floor. A reception honoring the people interviewed for the project will immediately follow the lecture. The public is invited.

For the last five years, Embry has researched recreational activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, conducting oral history interviews with original participants. Her research will also be displayed in a special exhibit in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections.

Embry's book can be downloaded at no charge at reddcenter.byu.edu/spiritualized.dhtml.

For more information, contact Embry at 801-422-7585 or jessie_embry@byu.edu.

Mothers' Weekend at BYU-I

REXBURG, Idaho — Mothers' Weekend, usually held only during winter semester at Brigham Young University-Idaho, will break tradition and be held in the fall — on Oct. 10 to 12.