Some of my favorite buildings in Salt Lake City are...

religious. Who would think that in Salt Lake City, home to the LDS Church headquarters, there would be so many awesome other religions and beautiful religious buildings! We just moved offices at work, so we are now downtown, baby. We are directly across from the Energy Solutions Arena (where the Utah Jazz play) and some of our offices have views of Temple Square. Since moving here, I have gotten to explore a little more of this part of the city, and have been discovering new little treasures. Just down the street from us is a Greek Orthodox Church, called the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

 It is beautiful! I mentioned this discovery to my co-worker who did her undergrad at University of Utah, and she said that she interacted quite a bit with the Greek community at school. Many of the Greek students were born and raised in Salt Lake City and their families formed a tight-knit circle here, preserving their traditions and customs. She said they also do a huge Greek festival every September with food and dance. AWESOME. I took World Religions at BYU from a professor who was raised Greek Orthodox and he instilled in me a great admiration for the religion. The term “religious envy” refers to liking or respecting something in another religion. I caught the envy fever. The Greek Orthodox pray after their meals, giving thanks for what they just ate. That has always stood out to me as something I find admirable in their religious practice.

Just down the street in the other direction is the Buddhist temple. I have driven by it for a week now and just finally noticed it yesterday! It sits on the corner in the shadow of concrete and pavement, with quiet dignity and poise. Its face is that of Japan, making it a stark contrast to the rundown buildings next door (and even weirder that it took me so long to notice it!) After doing some research, I discovered that it is a specific sect called Jodo Shinshu Honganji Ha, or Nishi Honganji. Their Mother Temple is located in Kyoto, Japan.

The legend of Siddartha, who later went on to become the Buddha, has always impressed me: Raised as a prince, his father attempted to shield him from the realities of life. As a youth, however, Siddartha occasionally ventured out of his palace to see how the people around him lived. It was in these excursions that he discovered an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic striving for enlightenment.  All of these things began to trouble him, spawning questions about life. And so, leaving everything behind, Siddartha set out on his journey of enlightenment, evolving into the Buddha.

Along with these two nearby buildings, Salt Lake City also boasts two gorgeous cathedrals on South Temple, the Cathedral of the Madeleine, built in 1909 for the Catholic Church, 

and the St. Mark’s Cathedral, of the Episcopal Church.

We’ve been to a concert at the Episcopal Church and have walked around the outside of the Madeleine. Both are incredible.

In addition, there are two mosques, a synagogue, and a myriad of other religious represented. I have always been interested in other religious and love visiting their services. I hope to be able to visit many of these services and understand just a little bit better who these people are, what they believe, how they put those beliefs into practice. Amen and amen.