Jesus Christ

Thanks to TV Times (in some editions Dec. 3) for devoting a full page to Charles Schulz's richly deserving classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas." In a sea of Santas, Frostys and Grinches, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has been the rarest of television fare: an acknowledgment of Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ. Congratulations should also go to CBS for having the courage to continue the broadcast of this story during the current intolerant PC period. I remember vividly a letter to TV Times a few years ago that objected to the Christian message being contained in this program!

Jurors sentenced a member of a polygamy group to 10 years in prison for the sexual assault of a child. Raymond Jessop, 38, also was fined $8,000. He was the first member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to face a criminal trial since authorities raided its complex in Eldorado last year. Prosecutors say the girl in the case entered a "spiritual" marriage with Jessop at 15, and became pregnant at 16.

I am shocked and outraged by the recent defeat of the AIDS anti-discrimination ordinance by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. I'll be sure to remember them at the next election. I am equally shocked and outraged by the Board of Supervisors being swayed by groups which purport to be Christians and yet who seem to be closer in line to the biblical Pharisees rather than to Jesus Christ. Didn't Jesus Christ emphasize the importance of truth and isn't that a fundamental part of Christian theology?

In Lawrence Christon's article on "The Last Temptation of Christ," he stated that "nothing in the Bible . . . contradicts what director Martin Scorsese struggles to explore about the nature of Christ," and that the sex fantasy scene protests are missing the point (" 'Temptation': Protest and the Pain Beneath," Aug. 21). I believe that Christon has missed the point. The uproar over this movie is based on the direct contradictions it makes to the true Jesus Christ of the Bible, especially in the blasphemous dream sequence.

Re "Vatican Will Not Accept Mormon Baptisms," July 20: I was amazed to read that some say I am not a Christian. For many years each morning before school my wife and I read the New Testament with our children and then prayed together in the name of Jesus Christ. Each Sunday at church, we partake of a small piece of bread and cup of water that reminds us of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As we partake, we recommit ourselves to try to live according to the teachings of Jesus. I admit that we are not always successful, but we keep trying.

Mormons sometimes refer to themselves as a "peculiar people," a reference to what they believe is a unique covenant with God. Yet as they bask in what has been called the Mormon Moment — and may soon be the Mitt Moment — a new survey suggests that many also hold uncommon views about their place in American life, feeling deeply rooted but outside the mainstream. Nearly half the Mormons believe they are victims of discrimination, and many feel particular enmity from evangelical Christians, according to the survey released Thursday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Pilgrims shouting "See her! See her!" say they saw visions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ in the clouds during an evening Mass, but the pastor of the church where they gathered said real miracles should touch the soul, not the body. The Mass outside St.

To many, the solar or Gregorian calendar is more than just a system of tracking days, weeks, months and years. Christians, in particular, believe it has religious and spiritual connotations. And many give this new year greater significance than just the start of another thousand years. A handful of local pastors and religious leaders agree that the new millennium is a good time to reflect on the teachings of Jesus, around whose birth the solar calendar evolved.

Mohave County Atty. Matt Smith filed a motion to dismiss two of 10 sexual assault charges against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs because an alleged victim refuses to testify. Smith said that he received a letter from the woman's attorney explaining that she doesn't want to take the stand against Jeffs, the president, or prophet, of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "She does not want to have to deal with all the family and community pressures to be involved in this case," Smith said.

With all of the hype, hero worship and plain, old animosity resulting from the release of a couple of Bruce Springsteen albums, we must stay cool (Letters, April 12). Perhaps the old philosopher Billy Joel (as quoted in The Times in November, 1986) said it best: "When the press gets behind you, they can make you a star, a hero. They can go a little too far sometimes too. Look at Bruce Springsteen. They've made him like Abraham Lincoln. This is a rock 'n' roll star we're talking about here.