SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) As Americans celebrate the nation's founding, some Mormons may outdo their neighbors this week in fireworks, fanfare and frenzy to express their outsized patriotism. Other Mormons caution against linking political perspectives on American exceptionalism to specific theology or teachings. Peggy Fletcher Stack.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Gay Mormon men who are married to women don't claim that their path is the right one for all Mormon gays, and the LDS Church has stopped officially recommending it as a "cure" for homosexuality. Still, as support group numbers indicate, many devoutly religious members still see it as the way to go. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney. The matchup is both thrilling and complicated for one particular group - black Latter-day Saints. "I've been black my whole life and a Mormon for 30 years and never thought either of these (candidacies) would happen in my lifetime," says Utah attorney Keith Hamilton. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

 (RNS) In the North American Old Catholic Church, priests practice a brand of Catholicism that most Catholics wouldn’t recognize. There are married gay priests, open Communion and no allegiance to Rome. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) In his new book, evangelical scholar and seminary president Richard Mouw argues that understanding Mormonism isn’t just about being nice, it’s a Christian mandate. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) If you suspected the newly released U.S. Religion Census overstated the Mormons' growth rate, you were right. That’s because, this time around, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed the way it reported its membership to the researchers. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.