Visit to the State of Utah (Part 3). Salt Lake City
It was impossible to visit the state of Utah without seeing its capital, Salt Lake City, so early in the morning on Saturday, we set off for the main city of the Mormons. Generally, Mormons were associated with polygamy in my mind. It turns out this was long ago and was a distinctive feature of many early Mormons. Polygamy was abolished in 1890, and maintaining several wives in the modern world is very expensive 🙂 In general, a traditional Mormon family in the state has many children, and here is the highest birth rate in America. You often see families — mom, dad, and three or four kids close in age. Interestingly, almost all the children have white, flaxen hair. Mormons follow a strict law of chastity that requires fidelity to one’s partner. Therefore, Mormons marry young. Homosexual relationships are prohibited among them.
In the state of Utah, alcoholic beverages are not sold in regular stores. They are sold only in specialized liquor stores. Their religion practices abstinence from consuming alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea, tobacco, i.e., addictive substances. However, the use of medical marijuana is permitted in the state 🙂
Salt Lake City is the largest and most populous city in Utah. The modern city is no different from most cities in the USA. A notable landmark of the city is Temple Square, which houses the Salt Lake Temple — the main building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the largest of the temples of this religious organization.
We set out to see this square and its buildings. Unfortunately, this famous temple has been under renovation since December 2019, but even in scaffolding, it is a beautiful and majestic structure.
Besides the cathedral, there were many beautiful and unusual buildings related to the Mormon religion, and many museums telling the history of this religion and the Church, but all of them were closed due to the coronavirus. We often encountered pairs of young women walking around the square, cheerfully greeting everyone they met. They were dressed in what I would call old-fashioned dresses. These were missionaries. In Russia, there was a time when we often encountered LDS missionaries — young men in dark pants, white shirts, ties, and badges on their chests. In Utah, we mostly saw female missionaries. The Mormons have a very strong missionary activity. Due to high birth rates and the conversion of new members, the number of Mormons in the world has increased from three million to fifteen million over the last decade.
Salt Lake City Temple Assembly Hall
Salt Lake City Temple Assembly Hall
Salt Lake Temple
Cathedral of the Madeleine
Mother and son
Justice Hall
the Capitol of Utah state
the Capitol of Utah state
Government building
A very beautiful structure, built by the Masonic fraternity from 1891 to 1894, now houses the city and county hall. The height of the main tower with the clock is 78 meters, topped with a statue of Columbus.
The Utah State Capitol was located on a hill near Temple Square and externally resembled the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Congress meets.
It seemed that the entire ideology in Utah revolved around the Mormon religion, but at the same time, while passing through the city of Provo, we saw a huge Orthodox church with golden domes. In the center of Salt Lake City, there is a Buddhist temple and a Japanese Christian chapel. Near Temple Square, we saw the Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene — a very beautiful building.
In general, in this part of the city, even residential houses had old, unusual architecture. The streets of old Salt Lake City are quite straight and wide. It is said that when the Mormons built their city, they specifically designed the streets to be wide so that horse-drawn carriages could pass freely without quarrels, as their religion dictates. After sightseeing some attractions around Temple Square, we headed towards the salt lake.
