Tad Talk
Someone should write a factual book about situations where the construction of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been opposed, why it happened in each place and what the outcome was.
When I wrote last week’s newsletter, I did not know I would be flying to Germany on Sept. 7, finally returning to the place where I served my own mission in 1986-88 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I’m writing this from my hotel room in Friedrichsdorf, Germany, home of the Frankfurt Germany Temple, and it has been an incredible pleasure to have work assignments from both the Deseret News and the Church News bring me back here. Once I’m back in Provo, I’ll write a column about what the experience has meant to me.
For now, I’ll share something else. I learned nothing of German politics during my mission, so I was stunned yesterday to learn that the city council here — in a town of fewer than 25,000 people in 1983 — voted 24-10 to approve the controversial construction of the Frankfurt Germany Temple. I think few Americans could imagine their city or town with that many representatives.
The Church News soon will publish a story I wrote today on Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s role in the temple’s open house and dedication and its upcoming open house and rededication after a major renovation. The story includes an interview with a man who has been on the city council for 51 years. Yes, half a century. I could have written a separate story on him and a second city council member I interviewed. |
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Let me share just a little more of what they told me here.
Karl Günther Petry won his city council seat for the first time in 1968. I was a year old. When I asked why he voted to permit the temple, he shared several reasons. One that didn’t make it into the story was this: He remembered how the Americans in World War II protected Heidelberg from all the bombing they did in the war’s final year because they already planned to use it as a headquarters after the war.
“I thought when the Mormons have their temple here, the Americans will protect Friedrichsdorf, too, because the Mormons have incredible influence in the United States,” Petry told me.
He and the other city councilman, Klaus Bernhard, said the choice was between the temple or a subdivision for 300 more people. The council gave the church three conditions. One, it had to protect the historic 1890s villa on the property. Two, the Angel Moroni needed to be lower than the Lutheran spire in town. Three, there could be no fence around the temple grounds.
The result, Bernhard said, is a “Mormon park that really delights many people.”
“The temple was a unique opportunity to beautify Friedrichsdorf,” he added. “It was a good decision for Friedrichsdorf. The temple grounds are a beautiful, well-kept park right in the center of the city. The temple visitors are always friendly, enliven the cityscape and bring business to the small shops and restaurants. In the many years since, we’ve never any problem with the church. The temple with its park is firmly anchored in the city today.”
Concerns about what some called a strange religious sect led to two reactions by the council. One, the majority felt religious freedom needed to be preserved, especially in a place settled by the Huguenots, French religious refugees. Two, the council undertook a thorough investigation of the church’s Bern Switzerland Temple in Zollikofen, Switzerland. Some, like Petry, visited Zollikofen. Bernhard said the trip included a visit with the Swiss immigration enforcement agency.
“After heated debate,” Bernhard added, “in which questions of religious freedom played an essential role, the city council on Nov. 4, 1983, voted 24-10 to approve the development plan.” |
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What I’m Reading ...
I love movies. I watch as many as I can. This story says the more people go to theaters, the more they binge watch shows online at home. That’s not my experience. I don’t binge-watch very much. (Although, my favorite binge-watching of all time is “West Wing.” My wife and I love “Madam Secretary,” too.) This piece looks at the state of the movies today, and this paragraph stood out to me:
“In 2017, the Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings identified the company’s biggest competitor as ‘sleep.’ That much-quoted bit of executive bravado expresses an exemplary big-tech ambition. Amazon wants all your shopping. Google aspires to own your searches and calendars. Facebook seeks to dominate your news consumption and your social life. And Netflix, not to be outdone, is angling for a monopoly on your waking consciousness.”
This story popped into my Google Alert for Brigham Young University-related stories. I’ve been watching stories like this for over 15 years, since I was the higher education reporter at the Deseret News, assigned to cover BYU and Utah Valley University. With more women and fewer men earning college degrees for decades now, consequences were inevitable. I don’t think many of us recognized the impact on marriage. This line stood out:
“One implication is that promoting good jobs may ultimately be the best marriage promotion policy rather than marriage education courses that teach new relationship skills.”
OK, this is a fun read. Turns out the tape of the very first game ever broadcast by ESPN, a professional slow-pitch softball game, was lost. I love playing slow-pitch softball, so that caught my interest. So did the loss of such history. The story contains quite a surprise.
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