February 28, 2007
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S--OR YOUR--DOOR
I thought this picture was amusing because it seemed to present the opportunity of knocking on Mormons' door and asking if they'd like to talk for a few minutes. It's from an article in The New York Sun about a new Mormon church that opened recently on East 87th St. While Mormons normally proselytize by travelling door to door in pairs, asking residents if they've heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, there's been a wise adaptation for the NYC market in building their 39,000 square foot, five-story structure.
The multimillion-dollar, Gothic-style structure, which opened to worshippers in October, houses two wards, or congregations: One is composed largely of young families, and the other is made up of singles ages 18 to 30. The brick church was built with ambitious expansion plans in mind — it could easily accommodate at least two more wards, each made up of 300 or more people.
Offering affordable housing in Manhattan almost seems like dirty pool for gaining converts.
While Mormonism is primarily associated with Utah, the religion (and I'm going to classify it as a separate religion apart from Christianity) actually got its start in New York. When Joseph Smith's foray into selling magic stones petered out, he was fortunately visited by an angel who told him the whereabouts of some buried golden plates. No one but Smith ever saw the plates but he translated them into English and came up with The Book of Mormon. Mormon's were generally persecuted in the early 19th Century and locals around the Eastern U.S. eventually chased them all the way to Utah, where they attempted to form their own sovereign territory. There were multiple scuffles with the law, a massacre of passing-through pioneers, and stand-offs with federal troops, but eventually everyone settled down and now the Mormons are the respectable people you might find on your front doorstep today.
For a hilarious but fair account of Mormonism's founding and its current practioners, see this episode of "South Park".
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at February 28, 2007 7:25 AM
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