The first thing to visit in Salt Lake City is Temple Square, 35 acres surrounding the Salt Lake Mormon Temple. The Temple itself is not open to the public, but we were able to enjoy an organ recital in the Tabernacle. The choir only performs on Thursday nights, but for us the organist was enough.....just beautiful.
We then went to the North Vistors Center which had three levels of biblical vignettes of the old and new testaments, as well as information on the program run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for the poor and those who need help. The sheer volume of the food and clothing available in their distribution center blew us away. But their main focus seems to be on helping people to help themselves by finding jobs for those who are unemployed.
After we looked around on our own for awhile, we enlisted the assistance of the volunteer tour guides to take us to the Conference Center for a tour of the roof. The view of the city and mountains was amazing. The gardens and waterfalls added to the setting.
This was a miniature (sort of doll house) of inside the Temple. It appears to be quite oppulent and fancy........it would be nice to see in person, but again, it is not open to the public.
And here is the real thing. By the way, we saw two Brides and Grooms -- on a Tuesday!
We continued our tour of the city by walking up a long hill to the State Capitol, after getting a map and hugging a bull. We hooked up with a tour that was just starting and saw everything, except the "Gold Room" where there was a ceremonial signing of a bill taking place.
One thing we learned is that the members of the House and Senate work only 45 days a year starting in late January. The rest of the year they have real jobs -- not a bad idea for all politicians!
No comments:
Post a Comment