I decided to attend a religious service for my civic engagement project.

I attended the Community of

Christ (formally known as the Reorganized Latter Day Saint Church) located at 2747 Craig Drive, Salt Lake City,
UT on November 15, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to a little past noon. Right when I walked in the door, I was
greeted by Seth, the assistant pastor. He then led me to the main area where Sunday school is normally held
where they were having breakfast instead of study. I was introduced then to the pastor of the Ogden
congregation and his wife. I then met Ben who was a former member of the LDS church and he was able to
give me a lot of information about the church. I was able to shake hands with many others and at the end of
the service, I was able to speak with the pastor, Robin.

I think I was able to learn the most about the specifics of the religion from the members. As I spoke
with Ben and a few others at the breakfast table, I learned that most of the members of the community were
former Brighamite Mormons who felt disconnected with their faith. I learned that the Community of Christ
does not hold many of the same values or beliefs as that the LDS church holds today. The Community of
Christ does not claim that their church is the one true church; rather, the Community is hoping to be a true
church. I was surprised to see a woman at the head of the congregation as well as LGBT members. Some of
the members there didnt even hold a strong belief in God, seeing themselves as agnostic. At the end of the
sermon by the pastor, the assistant pastor approached the smaller podium and collected tithing. The
philosophy on tithing was very foreign to me but the ideas behind it were very secular. Seth cited some
verses from Malachi 3 that, in lesser words, said that if you give money to God, you will be blessed. But Seth
countered that verse with teachings of Jesus that say the rain falls on both the good and the wicked. He then
said that you may receive blessings from tithing, but it should be looked at as a sign of gratitude rather than a
desire for blessings.
During the middle of the church service, a message was delivered about The Church is the
Community. The presentation was done with the help of the young children of the congregation (from ages
4-8 or so). The message was that if there was no physical church building to meet in, there would still be a
church because the building is there only for convenience purposes only. During Pastor Robins sermon, she
reaffirmed this idea by stating that materialism was not the way to true happiness. While Americans in
general gravitate towards materialism, I found it so fascinating that a religion founded in America would
condemn materialism while its counterpart, the LDS church, chooses to preach a prosperity gospel.

I can interpret the idea of civic engagement in many ways. The definition of civic in this case is of or
relating to the duties or activities of people in relation to their town, city, or local area. I would go as far and
include community in that definition. Civic engagement to me is simply being engaged in a community.
Everyone is part of a community of some kind, whether its a city or a group. It can be something as simple as
a Facebook group that joins likeminded people together. It can be something as big as a metropolitan area.
For this project, I was introduced to a small community of people who shared their beliefs with one another. I
was welcomed in as a stranger off the street and was able to meet with the members of this community and
form relationships immediately. The experience allowed me to learn about this small pocket of believers.
Though I was only there for two hours, the experience was very positive and I plan on being there again.