Week of 20240218 - Destination #1, We're Off! - Seeing Utah Together; Touring Church Facilities

Week of 20240218 - Destination #1, We're Off! - Seeing Utah Together; Touring Church Facilities

We drove to the ward for our location to attend church; we could have walked there in seven minutes. Zooming out, a map showing meeting places near us in red looked like chicken pox.

Chinatown Market featured very unusual food and a mechanical trio of horses rolling through and outside the building: adult driving, kids riding. Imagine banana bread shaped like a banana, twisted soda, and a self-heating hot pot container: just add water.

We heard a pin drop in the Tabernacle; a missionary demonstrated that for us. The Tabernacle has marvelous acoustics even though it was built in 1867. Structurally, the roof is an upside-down boat 150 feet wide and 250 feet long with no support columns. Balconies added later do have columns. When we saw it, a temporary stage had been placed in front of the pulpit.

We spoke at length with missionaries in the Conference Center. The main auditorium is large enough to fit a Boeing 747 airplane; its balconies are supported from the back, without columns. It contains much artwork, including a copy of the Christus statue. We spoke at length with missionaries, who also give virtual tours on request, using a face-high selfie stick. A view from an upper floor shows the Salt Lake Temple, undergoing reinforcement, almost unrecognizable under scaffolding; it’s being reinforced to withstand earthquakes.

We toured the Humanitarian Center. I teared up several times as we saw the needs satisfied by the church worldwide regardless of religion, including the need to prepare for employment. Individuals in this facility sort bale clothing for half the day and study for the other half. Volunteers currently tie quilts as in the past. Special “rough rider” wheelchairs helped people be independent in rough terrain in 41 countries.

Training and equipment for neonatal resuscitation saved lives in 27 countries.  The church provided materials for residents in 26 countries to build and maintain clean water projects.  Families in 15 countries, including here in the United States, were helped to be self-sufficient in food production. 

Emergency response was provided to 65 countries. (Stephanie and I have done this in the States with his and hers chainsaws.) The church refined a recipe for Atmit, an Ethiopian porridge mixture; in 2003, it shipped 600 tons to rescue individuals so malnourished that they could not digest regular food. 

We toured Welfare Square, one of many facilities that produce and distribute food to people in need. The iconic grain elevator, still used when needed, is the only remaining original construction.

The tour started at the Bishop’s Storehouse, where volunteers fill Bishop’s orders for food and supplies from what looks like a small grocery store; Stephanie used to draft such orders when she was a Relief Society President. Other volunteers stock it from the back. 

Church-owned farms provide much of the food, which is then sorted and prepared by volunteers. Items at this facility go into jars on an industrial scale. 

And the results are analyzed for quality. 

The facility also produces milk products, notably cheddar cheese. The bakery produces up to 2000 loaves of bread a day. 

A Deseret Industries facility is included in Welfare Square. It is similar in function to Goodwill, where individuals gain attitudes and behaviors that employers expect. There was also an intake facility that we did not visit, a place where individuals’ needs are assessed.  

John and Angela Bytheway, who had served in Montgomery, drove us to the Jordan River temple, where we did a session. After a session there, the Turleys, another couple that had served in Montgomery, joined us for a meal. 

 

At the FamilySearch museum, the person who greeted us knows the man we sat with on the plane from Atlanta! And, FamilySearch records going back to the mid-1600s revealed that she, Peggy Hunt, is my ninth cousin!  

At the Church History Museum, we learned more about Joseph Smith Jr’s extended family, the first vision, and the expulsion of the Saints from various locations until they settled in the Salt Lake valley. The item with a wheel is a rodometer that measures the distance traveled by a wagon. 

There was also a place for children to experience pioneer stories and pretend they’re speaking in Conference. The remainder of the second floor had displays of items from the lives of the prophets of the church.  

Most of the second floor displayed works of Minerva Tichert, who died in 1961 after chronicling life in the Western frontier and creating many religious paintings, some of which are featured in our temples. It also had biographical displays (not shown here) about presidents of the church. On the lower level, we had expected to focus on pioneer displays but instead were invited to attend a talk by Elder Kyle S. McKay, Church Historian and Recorder and Executive Director of the Church History Department: very thought-provoking.  

On Saturday, we entered the Missionary Training Center and received our badges. There will be many activities on Sunday, but our formal training will begin Monday.  

We love and miss you, 

Marty and Steph