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Just got in from a long trip to Salt Lake City which is a goodly distance from where I live. My wife dragged me there as a result of a former stake president indicating each family should have an annual spiritual experience. I dragged my feet, but when I got there, it wasn’t too bad, notwithstanding my trial of commitment. In fact, I felt no guilt the whole time there. It was as if I was experiencing the Church from a new angle, almost like a non-member would. I was fascinated the whole time with how much the early pioneers must have believed the message of the restoration to make the sacrifices they did.
I was in awe of how some families raised as many as 14 kids in a small log cabin that didn’t seem much bigger than say, 350 square feet and was uninsulated. And I was fascinated with the This is the Place pioneer villiage and the lifestyle they lived back then. Most of all, I was pretty impressed with how the pioneers faced the possiblity of death in crossing the plains, and settling in an area where there were no amenities,distant supply lines, and probably non-existent medical care, and no real idea how they would earn a living for a while. Also, how they cooperated to help each other to get started with homes, and farms, etcetera.
There were two also same-sex (male) couples that went on a tour with me, and I viewed them in a far more positive light than I used to before I started posting here. They were snapping pictures and were there for the experience, and I didn’t hear a single negative word from them about the Church — only sincere questions.
I couldn’t help but feel some angst however, as the tremendous wealth I saw in downtown Salt Lake, as well as the infamous City Creek mall across from Temple Square (if that was indeed the mall the Church bought recently — I couldn’t remember the actual name of it). Someone had said the area was declining so it was needed to buy the mall to keep the downtown beautiful (I think it was GBH). However, the area looked fine and beautiful — perhaps it had been fixed up. But the impression it left me with was that a very large and wealthy organization was behind all that well-kept real estate.
And I wasn’t aware of the existence of the Desert Alphabet until I ate at the Pantry, which is under Brigham Young’s Lion House. Add a couple Apostle-sightings (Elder Nelson and Uchdorf) and it was an interesting trip.
It was also a different experience than when I was last there — as a tender missionary and recent convert several decades ago. Funny how one changes over time. Last time I was there, I believed everything hook, line and sinker, and felt this overwhelming sense of pride about my religion and what I was about to do — preach it to the unconverted. This time — I was there for the culture — only.
I don’t expect any real responses, but though all you introspective individuals might find the report interesting.
Truly interesting. Thanks for sharing. I did the Mecca pilgrimage at least twice a year for twenty-five years. Many Californians can relate. I knew every twist of the highway, every tiny Utah village (often with strange names). I always felt the spirit (be it tourist related). I have avoided SLC for the last decade. All my immediate posterity live here in California now and there simply is no need. Paradoxically, my apostasy/unrest has grown. Perhaps Mormonism needs to be visually fed by more than three hour blocks, wards could have “bus tours” for their members, even as ward campouts used to create a close bond with the other members… 
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/1860_Utah_%2410_gold_piece.jpeg [/img] “An 1860 $5 gold piece, with inscription “Holiness to the Lord” in the Deseret alphabet”
I have a Book of Mormon and a Second Grade Reader in Deseret script, circa 1860. I bought them at Deseret Books while at a general conference around 1959. They were being sold as keepsakes for 50 cents each. I think you were limited as to how many you could buy. Of course I was a poor college kid and probably didn’t have much more than a dollar to spare anyhow. Years later (college finished, career in place), I bought the complete 29 volumes of Truth (the fundamentalist magazine) for $125.00, direct from Joseph Smith Jessop, Short Creek leader at the time. I have an unusually interest in Mormonbilia. It gave me a kick/push toward my current apostasy… SilentDawning wrote:Just got in from a long trip to Salt Lake City which is a goodly distance from where I live.
My wife dragged me there as a result of a former stake president indicating each family should have an annual spiritual experience.I dragged my feet, but when I got there, it wasn’t too bad, notwithstanding my trial of commitment. …I couldn’t help but feel some angst however, as the tremendous wealth I saw in downtown Salt Lake, as well as the infamous City Creek mall…the impression it left me with was that a very large and wealthy organization was behind all that well-kept real estate…
It was also a different experience than when I was last there…Funny how one changes over time. Last time I was there, I believed everything hook, line and sinker, and felt this overwhelming sense of pride about my religion… One thing that stands out to me about temple square and Brigham Young’s house is all the sister missionaries there asking for investigator referrals now. I don’t remember it being like that before.
Quote:One thing that stands out to me about temple square and Brigham Young’s house is all the sister missionaries there asking for investigator referrals now. I don’t remember it being like that before.
Yes, they asked us that. One thing we noticed was that when they found out we were members when we first entered the house, they weren’t really that interested in showing us the house or giving us the tour! It was written all over their faces. They kind of half did it and didn’t give us the speel with it. That was our unanimous perception when it was over. I felt a bit disheartened by that, come to think of it, because we had travelled a very long distance to see our heritage. I left feeling the organization was again, more important than the individual.
However, the excellent food in The Pantry restaurant below, and also, learning about the Deseret Alphabet was also interesting and worthwhile. I also liked seeing how they lived back then — the rope bed supports, the straw mattresses, the heating systems, bathtubs etcetera, as well as the preponderance of music — multiple rooms had old pianos in them.
Quote:One thing that stands out to me about temple square and Brigham Young’s house is all the sister missionaries there asking for investigator referrals now. I don’t remember it being like that before.
Yes, they asked us that. One thing we noticed was that when they found out we were members when we first entered the house, they weren’t really that interested in showing us the house or giving us the tour! It was written all over their faces. They kind of half did it and didn’t give us the speel with it. That was our unanimous perception when it was over. I felt a bit disheartened by that, come to think of it, because we had travelled a very long distance to see our heritage. I left feeling the organization was again, more important than the individual.
However, the excellent food in The Pantry restaurant below, and also, learning about the Deseret Alphabet was also interesting and worthwhile. I also liked seeing how they lived back then — the rope bed supports, the straw mattresses, the heating systems, bathtubs etcetera, as well as the preponderance of music — multiple rooms had old pianos in them.
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