Today's "Getting It Right" features a New Zealand journalist's account of visiting a Mormon worship service, and San Antonio Magazine asks eight local religious leaders — one of them a Mormon bishop — to talk about their faith and how it is perceived by others.
The New Zealand Herald: Visiting a Mormon worship service to learn what makes Mormons tick
In an August 2012 article in the Washington Post’s “On Faith” forum, Church Public Affairs managing director Michael R. Otterson invited journalists to come to Sunday Mormon worship services to better understand “what makes Mormons tick.” We are grateful to the dozens of journalists who have accepted this invitation — including, recently, Geraldine Johns of The New Zealand Herald.
As part of an article about several churches in New Zealand, Johns visits a Church service in Takapuna. In addition to describing the simplicity of a Latter-day Saint worship service (wooden chairs, organ music and a tissue box on the lectern), Johns includes quotes from three members who describe why they choose to attend a Mormon worship service.
One woman says the Church helps her come closer to Jesus Christ; a 19-year-old woman who will soon be a missionary says “there’s such a strong spirit” in these worship services, and “it’s uplifting”; and a 31-year-old man says he likes “the security and constancy the Church provides — the teaching of Christ in a world so insecure and uncertain.”
- Read Johns’ entire article.
- Also read Michael R. Otterson’s Washington Post piece, “What makes Mormons tick?”
- Watch and share the video, "What to Expect at Church Services."
San Antonio Magazine: What does Mormonism teach about living peacefully in a pluralistic society?
In its December 2012 issue, San Antonio Magazine asks eight local religious leaders — one of them a Mormon bishop — to talk about their faith and how it is perceived by others.
Author Elizabeth Guajardo correctly notes that a Mormon bishop “works with the youth, visits members’ homes and helps them with personal, financial and other issues.” Among other things, Guajardo asks Eric Williams, a bishop for the Church’s ward in Alamo Ranch, what Mormonism teaches that can help citizens live peacefully in a pluralistic society.
“Jesus taught that loving our neighbors is second only to loving God,” Williams says. “We should get to know our neighbors, look for what we have in common and find ways to work together to improve conditions for everyone. The best and most important things happen in our homes and then in our neighborhoods.”
- Read Guajardo’s entire article at SanAntonioMag.com.
- Also read “Religious Values in the Public Square,” a Mormon Newsroom commentary that says our pluralistic society makes space for peaceable coexistence and cooperation between diverse people of good will, including the religious and nonreligious.