SALT LAKE CITY — A polygamous sect is asking the Utah Supreme Court to overturn a state court decision that stripped the religious purposes from its communal land trust.

In a court filing, attorneys for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints argue that making the United Effort Plan Trust secular was a violation of the faith’s constitutionally protected religious rights.

Valued at more than $110 million, the trust holds most of the property in Hildale, Utah; Colorado City, Ariz.; and Bountiful, British Columbia — communities that are homes to FLDS members.

The UEP was formed in 1942 on a religious principle known as the Holy United Order, which calls for the sharing of assets for the benefit of all who follow the tenets of the faith.

Utah’s 3rd District Court seized the trust after allegations of mismanagement by church leader Warren Jeffs in 2005. Judge Denise Lindberg later approved a reworked version of the trust with secular goals, including private ownership of homes and an expanded class of trust beneficiaries. The changes have allowed former church members to return to the communities to claim a share of the assets.

The FLDS want Utah’s Supreme Court to declare the changes to the trust unconstitutional, remove court-appointed accountant Bruce Wisan as the trust’s manager and halt any pending sales of property or other management activities under way.

The appeal comes after a year of failed attempts by FLDS members to gain legal standing in 3rd District Court proceedings. A settlement attempt that would have returned control of the trust back to the FLDS also failed. Some trust parcels are now at risk of being sold or lost to forfeiture.

Notre Dame trustees elect Jenkins to a second term as president

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Rev. John I. Jenkins, who came under fire for inviting President Barack Obama to the University of Notre Dame campus, has been re-elected to a second five-year term as president of the school.

The trustees also approved a resolution expressing their “respect and full confidence” in Jenkins, saying he has nurtured an environment where “the Catholic faith and intellectual tradition are celebrated and lived.”

Jenkins faced widespread criticism last spring from Catholic bishops and anti-abortion activists after inviting Obama to deliver Notre Dame’s commencement address and receive an honorary degree.

Opponents objected to Obama’s support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, positions that contradict church teachings.

Jenkins said last month that he planned to travel to Washington in January to take part in an annual anti-abortion march.

Attorney says 10 Commandment displays in Ky. are legal

CINCINNATI — Attorneys for two southern Kentucky counties contend that their planned courthouse display of the Ten Commandments is for educational and historical purposes.

Their new argument in the 10-year dispute follows a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision that McCreary and Pulaski counties had a predominantly religious purpose for the display. However, the court has also ruled that religious materials could be allowed as part of an educational or historical display.

The counties’ lawyer told a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in conference call arguments that the revised display the counties want to use satisfies the high court’s requirement.

“They have done everything possible to wipe away the past,” said attorney Mathew Staver. “They have indicated their purpose is completely and wholly secular.”

The display titled “Foundations of American Law and Government,” also has the Declaration of Independence, the Star-Spangled Banner, the Bill of Rights and other historical documents. Staver said rulings in courts since 2005 have upheld the same display elsewhere.

American Civil Liberties Union attorneys say the counties’ goal is to promote religion and they made changes only to improve their chances in court.

“This was a lawyer telling a client, ’You’ve got a better chance of winning if you do this,”’ said ACLU lawyer David Friedman. “It was a litigation-driven resolution … We have to look at the rest of the history.”

Tribe expects sect to vacate reservation land

FORT HALL, Idaho — Most members of a religious sect that hoped to set up a permanent base on a tribal reservation in eastern Idaho now have until the end of the month to vacate the property.

Tribal leaders say they don’t expect problems with members of the Church of the Firstborn and the General Assembly of Heaven meeting the Oct. 29 deadline.

Tribal attorney Mark EchoHawk said the sect’s leaders told tribal officials they intend to move to another location and will abide by terms of an earlier agreement.

“Make no mistake, if they don’t, the tribe is going to be right on top of them. We’ll go straight to court,” EchoHawk told the Idaho State Journal.

Members of the sect set up residence on the reservation earlier this year after moving from Utah in hopes of establishing a broader presence. On its Web site, the Church of the Firstborn of Heaven said the sect was started by Terrill Dalton, who was excommunicated from the Mormon church.

About 10 members were living in a single-family residence. But about 20 more arrived this summer after moving from Utah, adding a handful of trailers to the site.

The sect then sought permission to build a structure designed for a single family comprised of 35 people that sect leaders say are sealed together spiritually as one family. The sect’s application called for building a three-story, 18,000-square-foot structure on nearly 4 acres.

Those plans were dealt a blow last month when the tribe’s Land Use Policy Commission rejected a permit to build the structure, telling sect leaders that such plans would be in violation of the laws and regulations of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and could overburden the septic system.

The commission also ordered the sect to cease future misuse of the residential property.

’Bible castle’ deeded to couple’s church

VICKSBURG, Miss. — Vicksburg’s “Bible castle” is being taken over by a local church that hopes to preserve it.

The colorful home of the Rev. H.D. and Margaret Dennis is painted red, pink and yellow and is decorated with Bible verses, scrap iron columns, sculptures and welcoming signs of God’s love. It was decorated more than 25 years ago by the couple.

They sold the home to Cool Springs M.B. Church. The church sits directly behind the home.

Leslie Maxwell, mother of Cool Springs pastor Byron Maxwell, said that one condition was that the couple be allowed to live there as long as they were able. Margaret Dennis died Oct. 5 at the age of 94. Herman Dennis has lived at the Vicksburg Convalescent Home for years.

The home that was once Margaret’s Grocery was turned into a sort of biblical castle 25 years ago when Margaret met and married the Rev. H.D. Dennis. The two were both 69 at the time, and Herman Dennis turned the store and home into a tribute to his wife and their faith in God.