We just concluded an international academic conference hosted by the Brigham Young University, the famous Mormon educational complex, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Held at the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress, Washington DC, this was attended by about 150 visiting religious leaders, academicians, writers, including LDS elders and bishops led by Elder Dallin Oakes. All the guests stayed at JW Marriott Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Salt Lake City began as a dream — a utopia in which the persecuted Latter-day Saints would have the freedom to create a Kingdom of God on earth. Because of religious persecution, members of the restored Church had relocated several times. In 1844, Joseph Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. Their prophet Brigham Young succeeded Joseph Smith as President of the Church. He led thousands of Latter-day Saints on a 1300-mile trek from Nauvoo, Illinois across unsettled American frontier to the Salt Lake Valley.
The bleak valley, covered with sagebrush and inhabited mainly by lizards, could best be described as the ‘land nobody wanted’. Many Mormon settlers preferred to continue under Young’s leadership to the rich lands of California, but the latter saw the value in staying. Young had declared, "the Kingdom of God should be independent of gentiles, and this land’s remoteness would protect them from enemies."
In 1936, to relieve the widespread suffering of members of the Church and others from the effects of the worldwide economic depression, LDS inaugurated a coordinated welfare plan. President Herbert J. Grant explained, "Our primary purpose was to set up a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift, and self respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to HELP THE PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES."
The result — the ten-acre LDS Welfare Square complete with the Bishops’ storehouse, the Granary, Deseret Cannery, Deseret Dairy Products, and Deseret Industries. It is symbolized by the figure of the beehive, which is the showcase of this invitation:
"Come to Salt Lake City and visit Welfare Square. Your eyes will glow a little brighter, your heart will beat a little faster, and life itself will acquire a new depth of meaning."
Since there were a great number of unemployed men at that time, William Ryberg, a general contractor and member of the General Church Welfare Committee employed them to demolish the buildings. They transported the salvaged materials, which were at least 60 years old and worth about $20,000 then, to the south end of the vacant property. Fourteen thousand hours of volunteer work were contributed to this unusual venture. Meantime, at Welfare Square, another group of workers was assigned to pull nails out of the boards and clean the bricks and other materials, which could be used in the construction of new buildings.
The first structure on Welfare Square using the salvaged materials was the ROOT CELLAR. It was large enough to store 50 railroad carloads of potatoes and other commodities. Almost before the cellar was completed, truckloads of potatoes arrived for storage. This root cellar served for 37 years before it was torn down in 1975 to allow for other construction.
The second building, also built from the salvaged materials, was a large CANNERY. In connection with the cannery a heating plant was erected to take care of all the needs of the buildings to be built. In 1941, a small milk-processing plant was completed beside it.
The THREE-STORY STOREHOUSE, finished in 1939, was to be used both as a central and regional storehouse by bishops in the entire Salt Lake Valley. The first floor housed the bishops’ storehouse, including a MEAT MARKET, two walk-in coolers, and a GROCERY DEPARTMENT, as well as a CLOTHING AREA. The second floor was mainly used as a CENTRAL WAREHOUSE to supply other storehouses. The storehouse was replaced in 1976 with a larger one, but was torn down later to make room for the present Deseret Industries building that was erected in 1983.
In 1940, a GRAIN ELEVATOR was constructed by 640 men and boys contributing to 70,151 hours of labor with 90 percent of the labor donated. Since this served as a central location for the Church’s welfare storehouses, this was built close to the railroad so that railroad cars could be unloaded into the basement of the elevator and then elevated into the concrete bins. This fine structure is the only structure that has survived from the early days of Welfare Square.
"As a bishop, the storehouse filled hundreds of orders for my people. We worked in the cannery, and we helped build the milk plant. As the stake president, I helped raise money to build the storehouse… To me, the Welfare Square is one of the most sacred places in the whole world," Verlyn Thomas, regional welfare chairman, stated.
When the husband of Maria, a Mexican, died she was left with three children and no job experience. Although she lived in Utah, she did not speak a word of English. Before long, she and her family became destitute and about to lose their apartment. Maria went to the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center where she began to be trained as a receptionist. Members of the Church taught English to her and her family. The Relief Society gave food and picked up the children from school. They even taught her how to live on a budget. After a year, Maria accepted a position as a bilingual secretary in a company.
"My bishop sent me to work at Welfare Square one Christmas. I was unemployed because of ill health and I was told I could do no work. However, I began to work and worked on for 6 years. A man can do twice as much if he enjoys the work and if it is for the Church, than if he is getting paid for it." (Axel Kjelstrom)
Zora Mae was in her early eighties when she heard that newborn infants in the upland of Latin America were being taken home from the hospital wrapped not in blankets, but in newspapers. Although, she was legally blind, she made quilts that she gave to the Latter-day Saints Humanitarian Center for distribution throughout the world. Zora Mae was in her nineties when she died last month. She made more than a thousand quilts, which has been sent to hospitals in developing countries.
The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are required to contribute 10 percent of their salary as tithe and fast for two days monthly. Others give ten times more like the Marriott family, owners of the hotel chain.
Today, there are about 60,000 "volunteer" Mormon missionaries spreading the "Word" in 165 countries. They are generally young men between 19 and 26 (every male is expected to serve two years as a missionary and pay their own way). The monthly subsistence expense of US$375 to $400 comes out of the volunteer missionary’s own pocket or from his family. More and more young women, they told us, are volunteering too, but are expected to do missionary work for a shorter period of 18 months.
Such zeal has jumped the Church of Latter-Day Saints to No. 4 in the ranking of Christian sects in the United States (they recently overtook the "Church of Christ") — and now they have 12 million Mormons worldwide with over half of that number overseas. Their apostolic zeal, quite clearly, has paid off.
They have attained many of the highest offices in the land. Dallin Oaks, member of the Quorum of 12 Apostles, was a Utah Supreme Court Justice. LDS Director of Hosting, Norman Shumway, was a former Congressman of California for 12 years, before he and his wife became volunteers in Japan for eight years — 3 1/2 years as "president" of the Mormon missionaries in Japan. Former Vice President of Nordstorm, John Hart, now the LDS Assistant Director of Hosting, was a volunteer in Brazil for three years.
(For more information or reaction, please e-mail at exec@obmontessori.edu.ph or pssoliven@yahoo.com)