Day 41- Temple Square (Salt Lake City)

Total Mileage: 4,425

Song of the Day: “Losing My Religion” (R.E.M.)

Somehow, I had forgotten:

Never go to Temple Square if you’re feeling even remotely antisocial.  You will not be left alone even for a second.  The people there are very very friendly, so it is not a place to seek solitude.

I did a lot of driving yesterday, not to mention a lot of writing.  In fact, I even woke up early and wrote a little more this morning too.  I was still sort of processing the whole “I got kicked out of church” thing from Sunday, and I was still dreading having to finish my Focus on the Family write-up (which, at this point, is little more than a series of tirades that I need to knit together into a narrative somehow, so I’m afraid it won’t be up any time soon).  I’ve even still got some New Life material to finish up, and I have no idea how the posting order is going to go on these-- might just have to put them up one-by-one and do another table of contents to establish chronological order later.  I need to get to the Mark Driscoll stuff ASAP since I have an entire book to read before Sunday morning, and listening to The Purpose Driven Life on audiobook sort of feels like drowning in an ocean of baby formula, but more on that later.  Also, after more than a month on the road, it might be that I’m getting a little homesick for Durham.  All this to say: I sort of wanted to go through Temple Square in Salt Lake City without drawing too much attention to myself.  I wanted to go in, get the information I needed, take some pictures, and leave.  That is not exactly what happened.  Right now, I’m sitting in Starbucks, and I’m wiped out.  I’m tired.  I’m a little cranky, and I have to write down my Temple Square experience before I forget it all, so this might come out a little . . . angsty.

My GPS has a new trick: the suction cup appears to have worn out, so it now takes great pleasure in falling off my windshield at random intervals, and though my catlike reflexes almost always enable me to catch it, I’ve given up and started just leaving it on my dashboard instead.  Of course, now it slides around the dashboard, and I still wind up having to catch the stupid thing before it falls somewhere beyond my reach on the passenger side of-- see, didn’t I say this might get angsty?  That’s it.  I’m starting over . . .

My sadistic GPS spat me out somewhere in Taylorsville, so it took some figuring to make my way to downtown Salt Lake City and to Temple Square.  Once that twisted little chunk of metal, plastic, and evil was safely stowed under my seat, I got out of my car to explore the area around the main temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (more commonly called “Mormons,” but properly described with the abbreviation “LDS”).  Though I could not enter the temple myself (as I am not a part of LDS), I was able to look around the exterior and check out the many visitor attractions surrounding the building.  Temple Square features the main temple, a smaller assembly hall, two visitors’ centers, and more statues, gardens, and information displays than I could possibly count.  Even beyond the Square itself, the Church of LDS has a number of office buildings in the area and offers shuttle service from Temple Square to its other key locations around the city.

I walked in and took a few pictures of the main square before going to the smaller of the two visitors’ centers on the south side, where I was immediately greeted by a young woman from . . . wow, in retrospect, I have no idea where she was from.  Another country.  Somewhere in western Asia I think.  She had a nametag that also bore the flag of her home country, and I think it was . . . I got nothing.  This is why I normally try to take notes everywhere I go, but I think she would have thought it strange if I whipped out my notebook interview-style.  I just remained polite and answered her many questions about where I was from and the reason for my visit and all of that.  You see, Temple Square is staffed by some of the most aggressive greeters you will ever encounter, and they’re all so friendly that it’s hard to blow them off.  I would say that, of the hour and a half I spent looking around, at least one hour was spent just talking to greeters.  They do not leave you alone, and while I applaud their hospitality, it borders on pushiness.  I finally managed to get out of the conversation and walked through a few exhibits.  LDS is very big on promoting time with family, and this was communicated through a series of funny advertisements playing on a loop in one of the visitors’ center hallways.  There were also computers set up where you could research your own family tree, as LDS does have one of the largest genetic history databases in existence.

This wing of the visitors’ center also had a cutaway model of the temple and a series of interactive displays that enabled you to see inside.  Back in Memphis, I had once toured an LDS temple that had not yet been dedicated, and one of the things that struck me as interesting was their massive baptismal pool, a hot tub-sized pool which rested on the backs of twelve golden oxen (representing the twelve tribes of Israel).  I’m still trying to understand LDS baptism, and I’m not sure I really comprehend the baptism of ancestors, but that’s not really why I came to Temple Square, so I’ll let it slide, but I recommend looking it up if you’re curious.

I walked around the temple itself --almost accidentally walking into a wedding picture on my way-- and arrived at the north visitors’ center.

Walking in, I was greeted by another aggressive greeter and had the same exchange as last time (where I’m from, why I’m traveling, etc.).  I don’t know why, but for some reason, I just felt inclined to hide the nature of my project from her.  Perhaps I was worried that I would be bombarded with information rather than getting to explore the visitors’ center and find it for myself.  After all, I want to write a few pages and maybe lay the groundwork for later research, not write a whole volume.  I managed to break away and headed downstairs to this building’s exhibits.  While the other visitors’ center had focused on the temple and on LDS’s family emphasis, this one was dedicated more to biblical history, the history of LDS, and to the mission of LDS in the world (which was housed in a multi-room exhibit with the simple title “Love Your Neighbor”).  Given the nature of my research, the Love Your Neighbor exhibit caught my eye immediately.  Right up front was a pair of manikins reenacting the parable of the Good Samaritan, and just inside was a hallway with pictures of LDS members lending a hand in their communities-- visiting the elderly, helping stranded motorists, all the things that good neighbors ought to do.  A little further in was a short film detailing LDS involvement in the response to Hurricane Mitch back in 1998, and as I watched this film, two greeters flanked me and waited for the film to end.  They were both young women, one of them from Brazil and the other from . . . um . . . see, this is why I normally try to write everything down.

After the film, I walked deeper into the exhibit, and the two greeters followed me, asking my name and what brought me to Temple Square and the usual questions, and though I was getting tired of playing twenty questions with every single person I met, I thought these two greeters might be a useful source of information.  (See what I mean about me coming off a little angsty this afternoon?  Never go to Temple Square tired and cranky.  It will make things worse.)  We arrived at a display on the LDS food distribution center, and I was impressed.  The greeters filled me in on how the Church of Latter-Day Saints has its own food packaging and distribution center to send supplies all over the world, and all able-bodied LDS members are required to do service on at least a monthly basis.  Sweet!  Mainline and evangelical protestant churches could learn from that model!  I asked a bit more and said something that I probably shouldn’t have: “This is the sort of thing I’m interested in hearing more about.”  I quickly discovered that, unless you are legitimately interested in joining LDS, you should never tell a Temple Square greeter that you are interested in hearing more.

They ushered me over to the next exhibit, which showed some of the other LDS humanitarian efforts going on around the world: medical supplies, clothing, teaching, etc.  I asked about the teaching aspect and whether that meant that LDS efforts include teaching people to be self-sustaining rather than depending on foreign aid, and the greeters confirmed that this was the case.  Good!  They also pointed to a quote on the wall from Joseph Smith, and though this seemed a little odd to me, they asked me to read it aloud.  I assume that the request to read may have been due to their own language difficulties, as both of them were from non-English-speaking countries originally, so I went ahead and read, “A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”  Hmm . . . not a bad quote, but then the greeters asked me what I thought it meant.  Okay, perhaps this is just my crankiness shining forth again, but I really didn’t appreciate being quizzed on the reading.  I explained that it was a calling to spread God’s love, and this answer was met with approval.  I’m still sifting through exactly what followed.

One of the greeters told me quite plainly that, when Jesus ascended to Heaven in the Bible, he took the true church with him, leaving only a false church to grow in its stead.  The true church did not return to earth until Heavenly Father spoke to Joseph Smith, and the Church of LDS is that true church.

Okay, I’m not a fan of being told that my church is false, but I’ll tolerate it.  It’s your belief, and we’re both still down with Jesus, so whatever.  I had told them earlier that I was studying to become a Baptist minister, so the greeter asked, “Why do you want to be a minister?”  I answered succinctly, “It’s not really about wanting it.  It’s a response to a calling.”  “Well, Joseph Smith had a calling from Heavenly Father to lead the true church . . .”  Oh, here we go.  Look, I love the stress on humanitarian efforts in LDS.  I love the focus on unity of the family and on strengthening communities.  I love the idea that helping your neighbor is a mandate rather than an option.  In fact, I think that the world needs more of what they’re preaching, but that doesn’t mean that I’m looking to join, and if there’s one thing that sets me off, it’s proselytizing.  Yes, I was on their turf, but I was there for information, not conversion.  I kept my composure, but I was getting frustrated.  My crankiness was rapidly turning into full-blown anger, but I kept it under wraps with a mental repetition of “Must remain tolerant.  Must remain tolerant.”  The greeter may have called my church false and hinted that I’m not really a full Christian, but I must remain tolerant.  Finally, after wrapping up her sales pitch, she reached a rather pointed question: “So why do you choose the Baptist church?”

Hey, in my defense, she did ask.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me that the church is broken.  Trust me, I am fully aware of that.  It’s like Augustine once said: the church may be a whore, but she’s still my mother.  I know that the church I serve isn’t perfect, and I know that I am just one man and cannot fix a whole institution, but after a lot of prayer and discernment, I feel like God is leading me to work with the church and the people in it and the people outside it.  I feel like God is leading me to join in the process of lifting this world up, so the Baptist church may not be perfect, but it’s the vehicle through which I serve.”

                                                                                                                                                             

There was an awkward silence, so I continued.  I pointed around the room and explained,

“This is all wonderful.  I believe that the church should be doing exactly what you’re doing.  These humanitarian efforts are nothing short of amazing, and I believe that your church is doing phenomenal things to help this world.  I want the church I serve to do similar things.  I know about Joseph Smith and the priesthood of Melchizedek and all of that, but I’m just not interested in signing up.  I’m here to see what you’re doing and to praise you for that, but I’m not here to join.  I serve a different part of the body.”

I felt better.  Had I been a little forceful?  Yeah, probably.  Still, I had argued my case well, and I hoped that the greeters would respect that.  We talked a bit more about the mission of LDS, and I said that I was going to head off on my own and look around and take a few pictures if that was okay.  The greeter who had asked the pointed question now produced a card with a set of lines for information on it.  She asked if I would take it and fill it out so that we could continue the conversation, and she suggested that maybe someone could come by my house and talk to me more about LDS and what it had to offer.  I gave her my “Dude, for real?” face.  Either she hadn’t understood my whole spiel about the church (which was not outside the realm of possibility), or she was just dismissing it outright.  Regardless, she was persistent, and I didn’t really feel welcome anymore.  I felt like a statistic.  I felt like I was part of her quota or something.  Is this how people feel when I talk about my religious convictions?  I hope not.  I’m a big believer in helping people and in trying to spread the Gospel, but I don’t think God likes it when people become numbers, and that’s how this felt.  Sometimes, I struggle with the line between missions and evangelism and if one ought to precede the other, but in this case, it seemed like this greeter had one focus: winning me over to LDS.  She continued, “I’m sure we’ve got someone in your area who could talk to you more about Heavenly Father’s plan.”  I realized that she wasn’t going to let up, so I told her plainly, “I think I would prefer to pull the information from your website, but thank you.”  The greeters parted from me and headed back out to an information desk in the main lobby of that floor, telling me where they would be if I wanted to talk further.

I pulled out my camera to take a few pictures of the exhibits, and I had not gone five steps before a petite young blonde woman with a thick accent approached me.  Her greeter badge signified that she was from the Czech Republic.  “What’s your name?” she asked with eager eyes.  Having learned my lesson, I replied flatly, “I’m an unpaid independent researcher just looking to take some pictures.  That’s all.”  She let me be, and I took a few more pictures before heading back out to my car and then coming here to Starbucks to vent my angst in the most constructive form possible: distempered blog posting through the semi-anonymous veil of the internet.

In spite of the attempt at proselytizing, there were a lot of other things that impressed me.  The Church of Latter-Day Saints may have some unusual theological beliefs, but their ability to mobilize for missions really is uncanny.  There’s quite a bit to be learned here, and I think this might also further my point that larger churches are able to do bigger things on an international scale.  The Church of Latter-Day Saints has international relief and development nailed, and the resources that they devote to these efforts are incredible.  LDS has one of the most impressive pools of resources (both human and financial) out there, and they really do make an effort to use them effectively for relief, development, and outreach, even when that outreach gets under the skin of one Temple Square visitor.

Peace and Blessings,

Tom

PS-- Couldn't resist a picture with Jesus.  I thought about asking someone to hold the camera for me, but at this point in my visit, I was looking to avoid any unnecessary human contact.