Mormons, Mormons, We are the Mormons

Since we are in Utah, there are lots of Mormons.  Now, contrary to what some believe, they don't wear badges that say, Hi, I'm a Mormon.  I was surprised to learn that there are actually two portions of each Mormon church:  The tabernacle (open to anybody), and the temple (only Mormons allowed).  The Logan Temple is on top of a hill and surrounded with an 8 foot high decorative fence.  The hill location is by design.  More on that later.....after I've toured the biggie in Salt Lake City.  The tabernacle and temple are totally separate buildings.  The Logan Temple and Tabernacle are the second oldest ones in Utah; only St. George's religious buildings are older.  They were started in the 1870's and were finished in the 1880s.  Piecing together other information I've gleaned, this church is very formal, and dictates not only behavior, but also WHERE you attend church.  The temple isn't used for regular Sunday morning services.  There are what we Methodists would call 'churches' all over town.  You're assigned to one of these 'churches'.  These all like visitors, and have banners out front - saying 'Visitors Welcome'!  I could have taken a Get to know your Mormon Neighbors class as a summer citizen, and now I wish I had.      

Logan's tabernacle is the home of the daily concert.  Remember, I told you that in the summer there are more things to do than you can possibly imagine?  One of the 'things' is a daily concert at the town's Mormon Tabernacle.  So far we've been going to two or three a week.  This is all local talent.  They draw on the USU staff, and students.  Today there was  a trio (guitar, drums, bass) playing jazz.  It was cool, it was hep, it was sublime.   The group leader, the guitarist, is actually a music professor at USU (last time I'm telling you this - pay attention:  USU = Utah State University).  We have also seen a young couple - she plays the violin and the piano.  He plays the piano, saxaphone, guitar, clarinet and the banjo.  He also composes music.  In addition to lots of talent they had that 'we're young, we're newly married, and we're so in love' thing going for them.  We also saw a string quartet that is the string faculty at USU - they have an international reputation.  Then there was Banjo Man and Company - a retired Theriot employee who makes music with his family (wife on the bass and son on the violin).  Our other favorite was the Lightwood Duo (guitar player paired with clarinet/bass clarinet player).  These guys are also on the faculty of USU, and they have been playing together for 40 years.  The got their start in heavy metal, thus, their current group name is the antithesis of that.  The feature of the tabernacle is this phenomenal organ which we haven't had a chance to hear yet, but a concert is coming up.    

The concerts have Ushers who answer any and every question you can think of to ask including "Where do you get your hair cut?"  I spotted a woman usher who wears her hair extremely short like I do.  I've discovered that's my best source for hair dressers are strangers with short hair.  She was happy to share her operator's name with me.  I'm also trying to get a tour of the new temple being built in Brigham City through her.  Once the Mormon temple is dedicated, non-Mormons are not allowed.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Another feature of Mormon life is children, lots and lots of children.  In my class most of the other students seem to come from large families -the winner on that front:  a young woman shared that she has 10 brothers and she's the only girl in the family.  As she put it, 'Pretty, Pretty Pony' was rarely the game chosen for family play.   Walmart sells childrens' cereals in dog food sized bags Can you imagine 25 lbs of Lucky Charms?  The childrens' clothing departments seem twice the size I'm used to.  It's most usual to see a pregnant woman holding a baby on her arm, with a toddler in a stroller being pushed by a child barely tall enough to see over the handles.  Truthfully, after being in Sun City the home of the decrepit, it's been refreshing to see so many children.