by Pa Rock
Wandering Agnostic
Travel is always a learning experience, and this week in Salt Lake City has certainly proven the rule. One subject that I have been immersed in during my stay here has been Mormonism, or, more properly, the religion known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mormons are extremely quick to explain that their religion follows the teachings of Christ and is a "Christian" religion.
The basic way in which the religion differs from main stream Christianity is that it focuses on the time after the crucifixion when Christ supposedly did his North American tour. One of the early Mormon saints wrote the story of the visit on golden tablets which were then buried and remained underground for several hundred years until a fellow named Joseph Smith dug the tablets up and translated them into modern English - and a new religion was born. Smith, who had an eye for young girls, made polygamy a basic tenet of his new religion, but the practice of multiple wives did not sit well in the communities beyond Smith's church. In fact, Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by an angry mob in Carthage, Illinois.
Succumbing to outside pressure, the Mormon believers packed up and left multiple communities before finally traveling way out west to the Great Salt Lake Valley in July of 1847. There, on a patch of land that is now downtown Salt Lake City, the group's new leader, Brigham Young, climbed down from his ox-drawn wagon and declared "This must be the place." And it was.
Within three years of the Mormons' arrival in the area of the Great Salt Lake, enough other people had shown up in Utah for it to officially form itself into the Utah Territory, with Brigham Young serving as the first governor - along with his fifty-some first ladies! Forty years later when the prospect of statehood was on the horizon, the elders of the Mormon religion officially gave up polygamy, a practice that was abhorrent to most citizens of the United States.
Speed forward to today.
The Mormon's have a strong sense of public service and are adept at promoting and spreading their religion around the world. Most of the young men become "missionaries" at the age of nineteen and work for two years in voluntary service to the Church - often in foreign countries where they proselytize and try to recruit new members. These young men are called "Elders" - Elder Smith, Elder Jones, and so forth. Occasionally Mormon girls become missionaries as well, and these girls go by the title of "Sister."
Many of the young helpers in the Mormon Library are actually "missionaries" in service to the Church. When I donated my book, the collection of "Rootbound" columns, to the Church this week, I was assisted in the paperwork by Elder Shaw, an extremely knowledgeable and capable young man who could not have been more that a week past his nineteenth birthday. Later in the day Elder Thomas, who looked like he could be attending a local junior high school, spent about an hour helping me to print a legible copy of an old document.
Some of the older guys are also called "Elders," but they are "priests" of the Church, an earned position.
All of the elders have one thing in common - they are very agreeable and helpful, and exceptionally good faces for their church. They are so nice in fact, that I am dutifully ashamed of myself for occasionally referring to them as "elderberries." God will get me for that!
Gene Taylor, a former congressman and retired car dealer from southwest Missouri, once told me that he never passed up a bathroom. I'm the same way with bookstores. It I see one, I have to roam in and look around - even religious bookstores like Deseret Books in downtown Salt Lake City. Most of the volumes in the large structure relate to the Mormon Church and its history. There are a couple of monstrous piles of a new book of "teachings" by the Church's current president. There are also toys, primarily with a religious theme, and a nice selection of candies, The one incongruity that I encountered in the store was the complete Harry Potter collection which was prominently displayed in an area dedicated to children. The Mormons must regard Harry as a "good" witch, like Glenda.
One more place of interest here in Salt Lake City: Johnny Rocket's! I was surprised and delighted yesterday evening when I came across the 1950's themed hamburger and malt shop. The last one I had visited was in Toronto six years ago. I'm pleased to report that it is still a great place to eat!
Heading home tomorrow - early! Daddy's coming, Rosie!
Wandering Agnostic
Travel is always a learning experience, and this week in Salt Lake City has certainly proven the rule. One subject that I have been immersed in during my stay here has been Mormonism, or, more properly, the religion known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mormons are extremely quick to explain that their religion follows the teachings of Christ and is a "Christian" religion.
The basic way in which the religion differs from main stream Christianity is that it focuses on the time after the crucifixion when Christ supposedly did his North American tour. One of the early Mormon saints wrote the story of the visit on golden tablets which were then buried and remained underground for several hundred years until a fellow named Joseph Smith dug the tablets up and translated them into modern English - and a new religion was born. Smith, who had an eye for young girls, made polygamy a basic tenet of his new religion, but the practice of multiple wives did not sit well in the communities beyond Smith's church. In fact, Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by an angry mob in Carthage, Illinois.
Succumbing to outside pressure, the Mormon believers packed up and left multiple communities before finally traveling way out west to the Great Salt Lake Valley in July of 1847. There, on a patch of land that is now downtown Salt Lake City, the group's new leader, Brigham Young, climbed down from his ox-drawn wagon and declared "This must be the place." And it was.
Within three years of the Mormons' arrival in the area of the Great Salt Lake, enough other people had shown up in Utah for it to officially form itself into the Utah Territory, with Brigham Young serving as the first governor - along with his fifty-some first ladies! Forty years later when the prospect of statehood was on the horizon, the elders of the Mormon religion officially gave up polygamy, a practice that was abhorrent to most citizens of the United States.
Speed forward to today.
The Mormon's have a strong sense of public service and are adept at promoting and spreading their religion around the world. Most of the young men become "missionaries" at the age of nineteen and work for two years in voluntary service to the Church - often in foreign countries where they proselytize and try to recruit new members. These young men are called "Elders" - Elder Smith, Elder Jones, and so forth. Occasionally Mormon girls become missionaries as well, and these girls go by the title of "Sister."
Many of the young helpers in the Mormon Library are actually "missionaries" in service to the Church. When I donated my book, the collection of "Rootbound" columns, to the Church this week, I was assisted in the paperwork by Elder Shaw, an extremely knowledgeable and capable young man who could not have been more that a week past his nineteenth birthday. Later in the day Elder Thomas, who looked like he could be attending a local junior high school, spent about an hour helping me to print a legible copy of an old document.
Some of the older guys are also called "Elders," but they are "priests" of the Church, an earned position.
All of the elders have one thing in common - they are very agreeable and helpful, and exceptionally good faces for their church. They are so nice in fact, that I am dutifully ashamed of myself for occasionally referring to them as "elderberries." God will get me for that!
Gene Taylor, a former congressman and retired car dealer from southwest Missouri, once told me that he never passed up a bathroom. I'm the same way with bookstores. It I see one, I have to roam in and look around - even religious bookstores like Deseret Books in downtown Salt Lake City. Most of the volumes in the large structure relate to the Mormon Church and its history. There are a couple of monstrous piles of a new book of "teachings" by the Church's current president. There are also toys, primarily with a religious theme, and a nice selection of candies, The one incongruity that I encountered in the store was the complete Harry Potter collection which was prominently displayed in an area dedicated to children. The Mormons must regard Harry as a "good" witch, like Glenda.
One more place of interest here in Salt Lake City: Johnny Rocket's! I was surprised and delighted yesterday evening when I came across the 1950's themed hamburger and malt shop. The last one I had visited was in Toronto six years ago. I'm pleased to report that it is still a great place to eat!
Heading home tomorrow - early! Daddy's coming, Rosie!
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