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By Kent Larsen
Washington Post Looks at Volunteer Nature of LDS Missionary Work
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today's Washington Post looks at LDS missionary work in
the region, talking to the men and women that lead the missionary efforts
there and marveling at the effort's volunteer mature. Reporter Hamil Harris
seemed particularly impressed with the qualifications and careers that some
leaders have left behind.
The Washington DC Visitors Center director, David Salisbury, is a
Stanford-trained lawyer who graduated near the top of his class, which
included current Supreme Court justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day
O'Conner. Mission President Gary William Farnes was an executive at Holy
Cross Hospital Corp., before serving as mission president. And the
Washington DC Temple President is former Marriott Corp. General Counsel
Sterling Colton.
In addition to these men, others that serve in local leadership positions
are also accomplished. Marriott Corp. Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott Jr.
spends much of his time speaking and preaching to Church members nationwide.
[The article also mentions that his daughter and son-in-law are currently
serving a full-time mission in Europe.] Also mentioned is Visitors Center
missionary Elder Paul Maxwell, who ran a regional accounting firm in Salt
Lake City, and Sid W. Foulger of Potomac, Maryland, an architect who
designed the Washington DC Visitor Center's new theater and renovated
facilities.
Sister Eleanor Colton, the Temple Matron, adds that many women also serve
missions. "So many of these women have large families. Many have
grandchildren, but they are willing to leave for 18 months."
Without exception, these missionaries and members express gratitude for the
chance to serve the Church. "My hope is for the visitors' center to be a joy
for thousands of people," said the building's architect, Foulger. "I am just
glad that I was involved in something that is a blessing in the lives of
other people." Temple President Colton agrees, "This is our Heavenly
Father's plan by which we are able to return something to him."
Source:
Mormons Live, Work To Spread Their Faith
Washington Post pgT08 11Jan01 N1
By Hamil R. Harris: Washington Post Staff Writer
Members Put Mission, Volunteering for Church Ahead of Own Careers
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