Item Detail
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3312
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2
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2
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English
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Spinning Gold : Mormonism and the Olympic Games
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Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought
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Spring 2003
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36
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1
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133-49
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In the wake of the Olympics, Shipps examines the consequences of the international event for the Church, Salt Lake City, and Utah. The Church greatly benefited in the massive, mostly positive publicity it received. Several dogged stereotypes about the Church were demolished. The Church benefitted greatly by it's attempt to be gracious hosts rather than zealous missionaries. She discusses the widely-held opinion that the Church was heavily involved in garnering the Olympic bid and describes the pre-Games media coverage. She looked closely at a few of the major articles which did both good and poor jobs of describing Mormonism. It is evident from the Main Street Plaza controversy that the Olympics did not have a lasting effect in changing the deep cultural and religious divisions and stresses in Salt Lake and the state.