Recently, a family of eight, including six children, visited the Church Office Building in downtown Salt Lake City. Greeting them with a friendly smile was a Church Building hostess.

Stepping into an elevator with the family for the 26-floor lift to the observation deck, the hostess explained that this was one of the buildings comprising Church headquarters. At this point, a 5-year-old boy looked up at her and asked, "Is this where Heavenly Father lives?"The hostess replied, "No, but He looks after the building."

Church headquarters may not actually be heaven, but to the some 500 hosts and hostesses of the Church Building Hosting Department, working in Church headquarter buildings can be heavenly. Their feelings are probably best described by Virginia Jensen, director of Church Building Hosting: "There's a spirit in each one of the buildings, and we feel it. Visitors feel it. They may not understand it, but they feel it."

Sister Jensen, who has served in her calling since October 1995, is helped by three assistant directors, Sylvia Flynn, Toni F. Ogden and Donna Rae Barlow.

Termed by Sister Jensen as "a great army of people," the hosts and hostesses serve for three-years as Church service missionaries. The 48 shifts a week includes four hours per week for each volunteer, who greet people of diverse faiths, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. They conduct tours in the Church Office Building, The Relief Society Building and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where the movie, "Legacy," is shown and where the FamilySearch Center is located.

For people with questions about Church doctrine, the volunteers refer them to full-time missionaries on Temple Square.

Sister Jensen explained that hosts and hostesses not only act as Church representatives, but also "as unofficial ambassadors of the city and state, providing information about activities, programs and tours visitors may take. "We may be the first and only contact visitors have with a member of the LDS Church," she said. "We strive to open doors and warm hearts."

Continuing, Sister Jensen said: "We have such a unique story to tell. There's so much in the story of Utah and the Church and the settling of the state - the sacrifices of the pioneers. In these buildings, we are able to share history. We go up on the 26th floor of the Church Office Building and show the view. We show the canyon where the pioneers came into the valley in 1847. It's a non-religious and a religious story.

Telling people about the story of the Church and the history of Utah certainly keeps the hosts and hostesses busy. In 1995, 102,960 volunteer hours were donated. According to the most recent available records, from January to July 1995, more than 13,000 guests entered the Relief Society Building, some 92,691 went to the observation deck of the Church Office Building, and 397,747 viewed "Legacy," while 242,120 used the FamilySearch facilities.

The hosts and hostesses are becoming as diverse as the guests they greet, Sister Jensen noted, referring to education and careers. And there's variety in ethnicity - Caucasian, Asian, hispanic and African-American.

"We are trying to be completely diverse so that anyone who walks in the door will say, `There's a place for me in this Church,' " Sister Jensen noted.

Regardless of the volunteers' background, she added: "They are all temple worthy, and as they serve they become the most gracious, polished hosts and hostesses you can find anywhere." To Sister Jensen, the most important part of volunteers' training is learning they are personally important to the program - and that the work brings personal joy.

"The by-words of my leadership are joy and excellence," she said. "I want the people who serve here to have joy, and I want them to have a joyful experience, and I believe it is. And I want them to have excellence in the service they give, so it's felt as people walk in the door."

During a Church News interview, Phyllis McMullin, a hostess in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, said: "Sister Jensen's whole attitude is to make people feel welcome and loved, and it starts with the volunteers."

And each host or hostess seems to have a unique story to tell. Reid and Barbara Jones have served as a hosting couple in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building since the structure was dedicated in 1993 after extensive renovation. For Sister Jones, being able to serve as a hostess has special meaning. During the 1970s, she had a serious bout with cancer, from which she has since recovered.

Today, when people express amazement at the countless hours she serves without pay, she responds, "I'm just paying back a debt," referring to her recovery.

For hosts and hostesses, poignant experiences are frequent. Rewards range from the smiles of a family from India that, because of help from hostesses, was able to get a shuttle back to their hotel at a nearby ski resort, to watching the influence of the Spirit in someone's life. (Please see articles on this page for more experiences of Church Building Hosting.)

One couple from Norway, after taking a Church headquarters tour, returned home to receive missionaries - and the gospel. Another young man from Sweden claimed to be an atheist. After visiting Salt Lake City, he said: "I felt like all my troubles and cares were gone. I felt good inside." He added that he would be more receptive to LDS missionaries in the future.

These accounts are indicative of the value of Church Building Hosting since its inception in 1973, a year after the Church Office Building was completed. Phyllis Sandberg was called as the first director of Church Office Building Hostesses. Twelve women were called as hostesses. Today's program now includes men, since couples began serving in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Speaking of this history, Sister Jensen said, "Here we are 20-plus years later and some 488 more hosts and hostesses than the original 12, but still with the same focus, still the same wonderful people volunteering to give service."