CAMDEN, N.J.

On Monday (Sept. 12) my children and I began our family home evening with the scripture Jacob 5:22. It was remarkable to me that my youngest daughter requested it because she is 5 and has not yet begun to read but felt very strongly about it. “Momma, I want to read from the Book of Jacob.” Honestly, I didn’t know if there even was a book entitled Jacob. (We have only been members of the Church for a little over two years and I don’t have the [names of the] books in the Book of Mormon memorized yet.) My oldest son promptly began a song he learned in Primary naming the books in the Book of Mormon and told me Jacob follows 2 Nephi. As I whispered it to my little one she repeated it aloud:

“And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.”

I reread it to myself and the verse before it and was astonished that this verse reminded me that just three days before we witnessed the groundbreaking of a new meetinghouse in Camden, N.J. A city regarded by some as the poorest spot of ground in the Garden State has yielded an ever increasing number of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency crossed the bridge from Philadelphia to return to his roots in New Jersey on Sept. 17, 2011. He was asked to preside over the ceremony and join the several hundred members gathered. Just a few hours earlier that Saturday and a few miles away he, along with Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder William R. Walker, executive director of the Temple Department, and Elder Robert B. Smith, an Area Seventy, broke ground on the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple. The Church Leaders were also joined by several state and local government officials and community leaders for the Camden meetinghouse groundbreaking.

President Eyring spoke about his youth in New Jersey, serving as a young deacon. The branch in Princeton started in his home. The family dining room table was the sacrament table. He joked with those in the audience, “You can’t skip church when it is in your own home.” He also spoke of the great work being done in Camden by the members of the Church and the blessings that will come to the City of Camden because of the members there. The Camden ward started as a small branch much like the one President Eyring attended in his youth. Over 60 years ago it began in a rented hall and grew into the Cherry Hill New Jersey Stake with 15 units and over 4,300 members. With the building of a meetinghouse beginning this spring the life-long members like Bishop Doug Johnson, who gave the opening prayer, and who was a member of the 1950 branch, will see the fruit of their labors come full circle. The new meetinghouse will accommodate both a Spanish-speaking ward and English-speaking branch but its members will be from diverse backgrounds.

Pennsauken Mayor Jack Killion, State Senator Donald Norcross, State Assemblyman Angel Fuentes and Congressman Robert Andrews also attended, along with a member of the local board of education and pastor. Mayor Killion remarked at the event that he enjoyed learning more about the Mormon faith. Reverend Eric Dobson commented on the faith of those present and was appreciative of the church’s presence in his community. Congressman Andrews was touched by the ceremony and spoke to members of his constituency at public events later that week about the groundbreaking and about Mormons, according to his wife Camille Andrews, associate dean at the Rutgers University’s School of Law-Camden.

Unlike some others in the media recently, Congressman Andrews did not focus on the differences in doctrine; instead, he focused on the essence of who we are as Mormons — we do good because it is the right thing to do and because we follow the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ.

President Eyring and the other members in attendance not only crossed bridges that Saturday to answer life-long prayers but they built bridges in the Camden community too.