I saw this interesting photo in the Deseret News today, and just had to share.
Air Force Acadamy at Utah football game 10/24/2009
In the paper edition of the Deseret News, President Monson was “honored as the distinguished University of Utah fan of the game.” Pres Monson’s attendance may have been a deciding factor–the Utes won 23-16 in Overtime over the Air Force Falcons. Meanwhile, BYU suffered a loss without Pres Monson, getting crushed 38-7 at home in Provo to TCU (Texas Christian University.)
I recently learned that the University of Utah was designated as “the School of the Prophets” by Brigham Young, according to a Deseret News article from Dec 2, 1867.
Back in July, the University of Utah football team signed a player out of California by the name of Joseph Smith. I joked that with his signing, and President Hinckley and President Monson’s status as alums of the U, that it was the “School of the Prophets.” (Joseph Smith had originally set up a School of the Prophets to teach the LDS leadership back in the Nauvoo days.) Well, it turns out that it’s no joke, and comes straight from the mouth of none other than Brigham Young!
I just finished Forgotten Kingdom, and I want to quote from page 261.
School of the Prophets
To implement a unified move in this direction, Brigham Young on December 2, 1867, resurrected an organization from an earlier period of his church’s history. He announced that day before an assembly of Mormon leaders that the University of Deseret, parent of the University of Utah, would be reorganized and “hence, it may properly be called the ‘School of the Prophets.’” [Deseret News, December 2, 1867. While Young considered School of the Prophets to be the proper name and role of the University of Deseret, the institution's existing name remained the same. In 1872 the larger School of the Prophets was dissolved due to a lack of attendance and the inability of many to keep its affairs secret.] Since it was founded in 1850, the university had seen few students but served primarily to publish and distribute the Deseret Alphabet.
Who knew?
