my wife and i have been on a long trip to visit some of the national parks in utah. we drove over 4,000 miles across several states going there and returning. we saw some amazing natural wonders and marveled at the world's beauty. though we had read and been told how beautiful bryce canyon and zion national parks were, words can't describe their majesty. we would liked to have visited the two other national parks in utah that we haven't seen, but time and energy prevented us from going to capitol reef and canyonlands. maybe another trip will take us to those two parks someday.
one of the things that always strikes me when i visit utah is the pervasive influence of the lds church. in talking with residents of the state, we were often asked if we were member of "the church." utahans are invariably congenial and outgoing, but i'm always left with the sense that their interactions with others is motivated by a missionary zeal to convert non-lds visitors to their vision of the truth.
when we spent a day at the temple square in salt lake city early in our trip, we were invited to take a tour of the lds conference center there. since we had some time to kill between two concerts we wanted to attend in the temple area, we accepted the invitation for a tour. we expected to learn something of the history of the building and some interesting facts about it. instead two young women, one from mexico and one from taiwan, spent a couple of hours showing us some rather bad paintings of the purported history of the western hemisphere that are described in the book of mormon and some other lds-influenced artwork. we heard glowing reports of the conferences held in the huge meeting hall and the history of their and their families' conversions to the mormon religion. while they were invariably amiable and eager, we didn't feel that they cared about us as people but rather that they viewed us as "fresh meat" for conversion.
perhaps i'm being unfair at drawing conclusions about others based on limited interaction with them. maybe the lds adherents we encountered were what they appeared to be: outgoing individuals who were truly interested in us as human beings. because of the missionary emphasis of the lds church, i may be overly suspicious of all members of that faith. at any rate, we enjoyed our time in utah. the beautiful concert by the tabernacle choir in temple square was a wonderful experience. provo, orem, and salt lake city were stunning with the mountains surrounding them and spring blossoms everywhere. the majesty of bryce canyon and zion national parks is indescribable.
may each of us have the opportunity to experience such natural wonders. may we not be quick to judge others based on preconceived notions. may our love overcome our prejudices. shalom.
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