Serenity of visiting Temple Square
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From the far reaches of the world they come. Every Sunday. Like clockwork. Week after week. The languages may vary, but the scene is the same.
Visitors by the bus load convene on Temple Square to hear the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and enjoy the serenity of the grounds.
With so many international visitors, the Seagull Monument becomes something of an international gathering place.
On this Sunday in August, in the cool of the shade, with dapples of light shining through the trees, a large contingent of Italian tourists gathers on one side of the fountain, while a Spanish-speaking group assembles on the other.
Up and down the sidewalks the visitors meander, sometimes craning necks to see the top of the Temple, other times hunching over to smell a flower. No one seems in a hurry and, while most are strangers, there is a sense of familiarity, like the tourists from Dallas, Texas, who were pleased to share the same hometown with their missionary guide.
More than 3,000 visitors toured Temple Square on this August Sunday. Each heard the presentation in his language. Nearly 250 asked for missionaries to visit their homes, including a businessman staying in Salt Lake City over the weekend.
Out for a morning jog in shorts and tank top, he unwittingly turned onto Temple Square. While wondering where he was, two sister missionaries approached and invited him to tour the sites.
He said he felt a peace he'd never known. After apologizing several times for his casual attire, he returned the next day in a suit for a second visit and asked for missionaries to visit him in his home in Missouri.
Following the choir's weekly broadcast each Sunday, the Tabernacle doors swing open and throngs of people flood onto the grounds. Many gather near the flag pole where several dozen sister missionaries are standing, each holding a sign denoting her language.
One by one, the sisters step forward to greet the visitors in their native tongue. Following a cheerful greeting, they assemble by language and tour the grounds. Among the hundreds of visitors are people from the former communist countries of Russia and Poland, a family of four from Paris, France, Asian cousins from California, and a Portuguese couple now residing in New Jersey.
Among those on Temple Square this day is Yuval Rotem, Consul General of Israel stationed in Los Angeles. He has visited Temple Square in official capacity several times before, but on this vacation to Yellowstone, he wanted his extended family to experience Temple Square.
Also in the visitors center, not far from the Rotem family, are 25 appellate court judges from China and their families. Visiting New York for the past few months to learn English, the group flew to Utah where they were hosted by Brigham Young University, which helped sponsor their language program.
Some visitors, like recent groups from Yemen, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, visit Temple Square while in Salt Lake City at the encouragement of the U.S. State Department.
The most common visitors to Temple Square this year are Mandarin-speaking Chinese and Koreans, who, at times, have four bus tours a day.
"On Temple Square you see a broad section of mankind," said President Arlen B. Crouch of the Temple Square Mission. "Here people come to us, unlike other missions where missionaries go to them."
E-mail: shaun@desnews.com
