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To
Americans, Utah means
"Mormons" - one of the most surprising religious groups in the USA. To
this day,
Mormons largely run Utah, as they have done
since their ancestors first colonized the state in the 19th century.
And even
if, today, there are more and more non-Mormons living in Utah, it is
still
Mormons who govern many aspects of life in this part of the Mountain
West.
Churches
tend to play a major role in American life; while religion plays a
relatively
small part in people's lives in modern day Europe, it is still a major
force in
the USA - and perhaps no more so than in Utah, in the mountains of
America's far west.
Salt Lake
City, the capital of Utah, is a remarkable
city, one whose center is not a high-rise business quarter, but a
temple. The Great Temple, the
heart of the
city of Salt Lake, is the
building
around which the whole city was designed, and the spiritual
headquarters of one
of the strangest, yet most active churches in America, the Church
of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day
Saints. To many people, this church, which has four million
followers in the USA, is
considered more
as a sect, and better known, simply, as "the Mormons".
There
are plenty of weird and
wonderful religious groups in the USA;
the quest for religious
freedom was, after all, one of the reasons that caused the first
pilgrims and
colonists to leave Europe
in search of a new life beyond
the Atlantic. Since those days, religious freedom has been a
corner stone of American societies, and many unusual religious groups
have been
established over time.
The
Mormons are one of the more surprising of these. This church, with its
peculiar
mixture of Christianity and apparent mythology, has survived and
prospered,
becoming one of the most powerful churches in America, controlling (as
it
always has done) the state of Utah, and possessing
enormous wealth. The Mormon
church itself has an annual income
estimated at $8.7 billion (enough to make place it among the biggest 60
corporations in the USA!). Furthermore, Mormons
control a number of the biggest corporations in the USA, including
the
Hyatt and Marriott hotel chains.
For
an outsider, Mormonism may seem like an absurd (or a worrying) joke.
The
introduction to the "Book of Mormon", the third testament of the
Mormon Bible opens with these words: "The Book of Mormon is a volume of
holy
scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings
with the
ancient inhabitants of the Americas." For
a non-Mormon, the story of the book of Mormon is somewhat hard to
believe.
According to the legend, the book, engraved on plates of gold, was
discovered
by a man called Joseph Smith in 1823, on a mountain top near New
York. Inspired by God,
Smith was able to translate these books written in an unknown language,
into
English, and bring the translation down from the mountain.
Unfortunately for
the credibility of the Mormon
church, Smith then hid the
"golden tablets" where he found them, leading many people to
concluded that he was really just a rather slick
power-hungry
charlatan. No-one else ever saw
the tablets, and no part of the original text in the mysterious
language has ever been revealed!
Be
that as it may, Smith quickly managed to persuade thousands of people
that he was
authentic, and soon built up a strong band of followers, whose devotion
to
their leader was total.
Persecuted
and often ridiculed by other Americans, Smith led the Mormons on one of
the
biggest and most remarkable internal migrations in the history of the
United States. After settling
initially in Missouri, he was later
forced to move his people on to Illinois, where his
megalomania became even more apparent. His decision, in 1844, to run
for the US
Presidency provoked a surge of
anger against the Mormons, as well
as criticism from his own followers; and after a riot
in the
Mormon city of Nauvoo, the father of Mormonism was executed by local
militiamen.
Smith's
place was taken by a new leader, Brigham Young, revered as a saint by
Mormons,
mocked as a dictatorial tyrant by their opponents. Saint or tyrant, he
was
certainly not a calm and gentle man, but a leader who was willing to
push his
followers to the limits, and would not tolerate opposition to his views.
He
it was who decided to uproot the Mormons once more, and take them in
search of
"the new Zion", a land in which they
could
establish their own independent state, undisturbed by anyone
else. And thus, under his orders,
thousands and
thousands of "Latter Day Saints" trekked on foot with their carts
across
the American West, eventually reaching one of the driest and most inhospitable
spots in the whole of North America, the shores of the Great Salt Lake.
Here,
Young decreed that they would establish their new Zion,
in the place he
named Deseret. The Saints were astonished at the
news, as they had
been led to believe they were going to fine farming country. Yet thanks
to
Young's determination, and to the streams flowing from the mountains,
the
settlers did actually manage to turn the desert into green pastures,
and before
long, a prosperous and well ordered community grew up.
In
1853, once the community was well established, the first stone of the
great
temple was laid: forty years later, in 1893, the building was finally
completed.
Since
then, Utah, largely
populated by Mormons,
has become a prosperous state, and the Mormon church one of the richest
organizations in the USA.
If
the founders of Mormonism appear
to many observers as successful
charlatans, their followers tended to be very devout
people, and
remain so to this day. Most Mormons live very sober lives, respecting
strict
codes of moral behavior, and giving a tenth of their income to the
church.
Visitors to Salt Lake City may complain that
they find it hard to buy alcoholic drinks, but they appreciate the
city's low
crime rate and its clean streets, and are full of praise for Mormon
hospitality
and helpfulness. On
the negative side though,
Utah has one of the highest rates
of suicide and depression in the United States
Many
non-Mormons find it very hard to understand how it is that so many
rational,
intelligent and sincere Americans can, in today's world, follow a
religion
(many call it a "sect") whose beliefs are founded on a basis as dubious
and implausible as the story of
Joseph Smith.
WORDS:
Charlatan:
fraud,
person
who is not what
he pretends to be- credibility:
facility of
being
believed - devout:
religious - dubious:
doubtful -
founder:
creator - holy:
divine, sacred
- implausible:
improbable - inhospitable
spot: place that is not
suitable for living in - riot:
public
disorder - slick:
smooth,
clever,
smart - surge:
wave -- weird:
bizarre - wealth:
riches -
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Exercises:
Make
up
one correctly structured sentence for each of the groups of words
below. Keep
as close as possible to the meaning of the original article. You can
use the
words in any order, but do NOT change the verb tenses.
a
The
Great Temple / the Mormons / spiritual headquarters / Salt
Lake City / four million
followers / considered a sect.
b church
/ most powerful / wealthy / controls / Utah
/ corporations.
c Joseph
Smith / legend / discovered / 1823 / New
York / Book of
Mormon
d the
fact / "golden tablets" / have never been seen /
anyone else / conclusion / Joseph Smith / charlatan.
e migrated
/ Missouri
/ Illinois
/ local
militiamen
/ executed / Joseph Smith
f Brigham
Young / became / leader / took / trek
g settler
/ desert / green pastures / determination / streams
h forty
years / to complete / Temple
i average
Mormon / soberly / respect / a tenth / goes / church
j visitors
/ a hard time / alcoholic drinks / however / crime
rate / clean streets /
2.
Relative pronouns: Replace the missing relative pronoun in these
sentences:
(which, or whose?)
1. Salt Lake
City is a remarkable
city, one__________ center is not a high-rise business quarter, but a
temple.
2.
The Great Temple,
the heart of
the
city of Salt
Lake,
is the
building
around________ the whole city was designed.
3. To many
people, this church,______ has four
million followers in the USA,
is considered
more
as a sect.
4.
Smith built
up a
strong band of
followers, _________ devotion to their leader was total.
MORE ABOUT THE
MORMONS
Comprehension
questions relating to the background article.
1.
In what way have
people's perceptions
of the Mormons changed over time?
2.
Why are there a
lot of Mormons in the
CIA ?
3.
What problems
have Mormon missionaries
encountered in some parts of the world?
4.
Why have Mormons
had to rephrase part
of their "Book of Mormon"?
5.
What is hidden
deep in a mountain in Utah,
and what is
its
purpose?
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