Since we were within a 2-hour drive from Salt Lake City, we decided to go and check it out. We drove through the town of Brigham and saw our first Mormon Temple within the area and then one on every corner thereafter. The town is named after Brigham Young who was the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and was the founder of Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City wasn't what I'd expected it to be - I thought it would be a lot grander but it is an average American city with a downtown area plus sprawling suburbs.
The city is the head quarters for the Mormon religion and they own a large part of the city. There is a block that is enclosed and is known as the Temple Square and its surrounded by a high granite wall. Inside this area is the Tabernacle where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings, 2 visitor areas, an Assembly Hall, and the Temple which is off-limits to visitors because its considered sacred and holy.
When we went into the Temple Square we saw a lot of Mormon missionaries walking around in pairs and most of them were women. They were young women dressed in long skirts, flat shoes and jackets, carrying the Mormon Bible. They stopped visitors to talk to them about Mormonism and we avoided them as best we could although it would have been fascinating to watch Warren and the missionaries discuss their beliefs because Warren is known to debate for 2 or more hours with Mormons in our neighborhood.
Conference Center that seats 8,000 people.
The Tabernacle where the choir sings.
Inside the Tabernacle.
The Salt Lake Temple.
WHAT I LEARNT ABOUT MORMONISM:
The Mormons believe and honor Joseph Smith, claiming to be the prophet who came to restore the Kingdom of God. In the late 1820s, Smith said an angel had given him a book of golden plates engraved with a religious chronicle of ancient American peoples in an unknown language. The gold plates are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith.
Smith's followers believe he was a great prophet who saw God and angels, and they regard his revelations as Scripture. The Mormons believe that Jesus came to die to save us but they also believe that salvation is faith PLUS works whereas the Bible teaches that Christ's death is sufficient and works comes as a result of becoming a Christian.
They also believe that Jesus isn't God but is merely God's Son and Satan is Jesus' brother.
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