Keith Atkinson

A Newport Beach pilot who said he spent nearly half his time ferrying politicians in his company's corporate jet filed suit Friday against his former employer, alleging that he was fired because he refused to contribute to a political donation fund. Keith Atkinson, a former pilot for Iranian arms merchant Adnan Khashoggi, said his $72,000-a-year job with Indianapolis-based Superior Training Services Inc.

A Newport Beach pilot who said he spent nearly half his time ferrying politicians in his company's corporate jet filed suit Friday against his former employer, alleging that he was fired because he refused to contribute to a political donation fund. Keith Atkinson, a former pilot for Iranian arms merchant Adnan Khashoggi, said his $72,000-a-year job with Indianapolis-based Superior Training Services Inc.

Re "Annul and Void," Aug. 20: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints places great importance on marriage and family relationships. Marriage partners are encouraged to work together to try to solve any problems that are interfering with the family's happiness and stability. The church also recognizes that there are instances where divorce will occur. In such instances, church members do not automatically lose their membership status. A marriage partner's membership may be affected when he or she has been involved in a serious moral transgression such as abuse or adultery.

Veteran director Ken Annakin ("The Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines") starts production late this month in Ohio on "Joseph and Emma," the story of Mormon church founder Joseph Smith--and the Church of Latter-Day Saints would like to see the script. But Annakin, calling the project "a big love story and a wonderful piece of American history," said he's proceeding on his own, without church involvement.

The Mormon population in the San Fernando Valley--estimated to be about 20,000--has leveled off even as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown strongly in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys and elsewhere in Southern California, church officials say.

Mormons, whose health codes direct them to abstain from alcohol, coffee, tea and smoking, are "very excited" about a UCLA study showing dramatically lower death rates from cancer and heart disease among their leaders, a church spokesman said Tuesday. "It corroborates what they have preached for years," said Keith Atkinson, Mormon Church public communications director for California, which has as many as 750,000 members.

The president of the Mormon History Assn. said Saturday that it is less likely that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will disavow 19th century teachings that linked African American skin color to Biblical curses because of publicity about that possibility. Armand L.

You want to join a 155-year-old singing group that has recorded five gold albums and won both an Emmy and a Grammy? You want to be part of a group that has as many as 150 gigs a year, including hosting the longest-running weekly radio broadcast in American history? You love singing in really cool robes? Then you'll want to apply to join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But you'd better be able to do more than just sing.

The Mormon Church has to be among the most outgoing on Earth; in recent years its leaders have reached out to, among others, Latinos, Koreans, Catholics and Jews. One of the most enthusiastic responses, however, has come from what some might consider a surprising source: U.S. Muslims. "We are very aware of the history of Mormons as a group that was chastised in America," says Maher Hathout, a senior advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles.

As opposition to the planned release of "The Last Temptation of Christ" reached a sharp new pitch this week, its producer, Universal Pictures, countered with full-page newspaper ads defending the film.