One of the places Heather and I visited on honeymoon was Salt Lake City – a fairly vast city built solely for the purposes of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (or LDS for those in the know, or those who want to express their faith through their license plate). Salt Lake City is a beautiful place, their architectural style is very striking, and (on the whole) the people there are very friendly. Almost too friendly.

Since SLC is a place of pilgrimage, it is not surprising that there are tours available. There are also a number of “tour guides” who wander freely amongst the tourists to offer any ‘help’. For some reason, this made me feel very edgy. I felt that they had an alterior motive – that they were using this opportunity to convert as many people to LDS as they possibly could – starting with me. When I mentioned to one girl that I was on honeymoon I was immediately presented with a sheet of paper explaining the church’s beliefs in marriage. When I asked about the LDS’ view on woman in the church, the reply that came was very informative, but somehow a little too rehearsed. At the time I felt a little like they wanted me to cast-away my Anglican beliefs and immediately embrace their way of thinking. However, in hindsight, I think I was a little too paranoid.

It occurred to me that what I was presented with at SLC was not all that different from what I was presented with when Heather and I went on cave tours in Nevada and Montana. The Tour Guides on the cave tours were very eager to express how important the caves were, why we should treat them with respect, and what we can do to help maintain the caves. The Guides told us about how the different formations were formed, unbelievable as it sounded (”Really? It’s just dripping water!?”), and when I asked a question, the reply that came was very informative, but a little too rehearsed. I’m sure that if I had asked something in the visitor center, I would have been promptly presented with a handy pamphlet telling me all I wanted to know and more.

I don’t really know how to draw a conclusion from this post. It was just a thought I had, that I have now shared with you. Do with it as you want.