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By Kent Larsen
New York Times Looks at Missionary Work in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- An article in today's New York Times looks at the
LDS Church's missionary efforts in Utah, saying that the effort is due to
two trends -- the growth of the LDS Church worldwide and the boom in Utah's
population, which has raised the non-Mormon portion of Utah's population to
30%. Looking at missionaries in Utah, reporter Gustav Niebuhr discovers that
they are like missionaries elsewhere, but they get more referrals from local
members.
According to the article, the LDS Church began placing missionaries in Utah
in 1975. Now the state has five missions and the number of missionaries has
doubled in the past dozen years. Niebuhr interviewed Salt Lake City South
Mission President James A. Stephens for the article. His mission covers just
the southern suburbs of Salt Lake City, and includes 180 missionaries.
But unlike missionaries elsewhere, Stephens and his missionaries get a lot
of support from the community. LDS home builders let the mission know about
new home developments, so missionaries can approach the new arrivals. When
Stephens speaks in local church meetings, members tell him about new
neighbors. Along with the Salt Lake City North mission, baptisms reach 1,800
people a year, and Stephens estimates that each missionary may talk to 25
prospects a week.
Like missionaries elsewhere, however, the missionaries in the Salt Lake City
South Mission face rejection. They are told to be curteous and advised not
to argue over religion. And, they are expected to be bold, approaching
people on the street to talk about religion. Neibuhr spent an afternoon with
two missionaries, Elders Enkhtogtokh Yura of Mongolia and Elder Adam Whitney
of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, noting that "their cold-calling is not for the
faint-hearted." But, he says, the missionaries take it in stride, telling
him that the week before they had baptized a resident of the same building
they were tracting.
Source:
Mormons Intensify Missionary Effort in Utah
New York Times 29Mar01 N1
By Gustav Niebuhr: New York Times
[Thanks to Romney Biddulph for passing this on to Mormon News]
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