TheBeehive Standard Weekly is a conservative political and cultural news service for members ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and for those curious about theMormon culture.
It originates from a newsletter calledThe Beehive, which began in 1975 as a 12-page circular inLas Vegas, Nevada, started by Charlene and Richard Taylor for a group of local women who attended the same congregation. At first, it covered only local religious events and activities. Circulation increased throughout theLas Vegas Valley, and in 1990 the Taylors' son Russell took over.[1] In 1993, he used resources from Arizona's defunctLatter-day Sentinel publication[2] to create a branch of theBeehive Newspaper referred to as theArizona Beehive.[1] TheNevada Beehive was still widely available for free at convenience and grocery stores, or by paid mail subscriptions, and expanded distribution throughout Utah in 1993.[2] In 1994, readership was around 75,000 and the paper planned to debut the quarterlyBeehive Singles News.[2]
In 2002, theNevada Beehive was acquired by Las Vegas-based attorneyRob Graham who continued the growth of the publication as well as its readership base by providing popular content for a more general audience. The Taylor family continued to print theArizona Beehive inMesa, Arizona, independent of theNevada Beehive, expanding to 25,000 copies distributed by mail or at businesses owned byLDS members.[1]
TheNevada Beehive became theBeehive Standard Weekly in 2005. In 2006, the organization shut down its hard copy newspaper to focus primarily on providing original online news content and political commentary.
The Beehive endorsedMitt Romney and followed his campaign in 2007–2008, often defendingRomney's religion and religious views from attacks. The organization was the first to suggest that Mormons might have been disaffected from theRepublican Party by how Romney's religion was treated by Evangelical Christians from the southern states and how Mormons might swing towards supportingBarack Obama in the general election given his plea for civility and inclusion.
Though not authoritative, the Beehive does make commentary relating to Mormon doctrine and does explain theMormon culture to non-Mormons. The Beehive also defends the Mormon faith from attacks byAnti-Mormons.
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