Connective Cube

A visit to Salt Lake City wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Temple Square.  Is Salt Lake City the new Jerusalem? Will it become another Mecca where not just millions, but billions of people congregate on a bi-annual basis?  The answer to those questions fall outside the scope of this post.

Instead, I will introduce the Conference Center.  To go inside the main temple, you must be Mormon and have permission.  Us other mere mortals can access the recently constructed Conference Center. My very Mormon 90-year old granddad wanted to take what may have been his last walk through the building.  It gave me an excuse to walk around without feeling overly blasphemous.

We walk into the Conference Center and are immediately greeted by three women in skirts. Our host was probably no more than 20.  She said working at the conference center was part of her mission training.  Her enthusiasm for the scripture and the sites mystify me.  Lindsey is one of five sisters, and she keeps asking whether she can adopt my little brother.  Her little brother needs another man in the family, but she sure isn’t going to take mine.  After all, the younger ones are easier to convert.

The actual conference center houses more than 21,000 seats.  This is where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gather twice a year to celebrate.  What a spectacle!

Outside of the main arena is a small gallery of paintings depicting the story contained within the Book of Mormon. Many of the paintings within the conference center were constructed in the past 100 years, and the majority of them look like they belong in the Renaissance wing of a major museum. The paintings revise the dominant focus on Jesus while prominently featuring his figure in redeeming humanity.  Other paintings depict the emerging religion behind the landscapes of Utah buttes, mountains, rivers and streams.

My lack of expertise in Mormon scripture begs this question as the tour unfolds: How did Jesus communicate with the prophets of this new religion? After touring many churches in Upstate New York, Adam Smith became upset about the lack of consistently in interpreting The Bible.  Adam Smith saw God and his son Jesus in the woods, and they told him he would be the new prophet to spread the truth of Jesus’ word.  What God – commonly known as Heavenly Father – and Jesus said to Adam Smith is transcribed on golden plates that are buried somewhere.  It would be amazing to see people with beach comblng equipment scouring the mountains for these plates.

Perhaps the tackiest yet strangely satisfying part of the tour is looking at the green iridescent star structure on the first floor and then again on the third floor.

The final room was statues of all the Presidents as well as portraits of the main apostles of the Church.  There is nothing important to mention except the multitude of white and male faces.  The portraits feature all of the men in the standard suit and tie, stalwart images of pure American leadership.  I was relieved to enter the elevator.

At the end of the tour, we go to the top of the conference center.  A large granite image greets us at the end of the tour.  If you get close enough, you are supposed to see your image among all of the other faces of the Mormon religion.  I elected not to take a picture with my face among the many other faces.