Mormon Missionaries Confront Protesters with Hymns and Scriptures

Salt Lake City, UT – More than 100,000 Mormons from around the world gathered at Temple Square to listen to sermons from apostles and prophets, and that attracted a small group of protesters who wanted to let Mormons know they are wrong and attempt to incite a confrontation.

They were attending a weekend-long conference, held in five separate sessions, and broadcast to Latter-day Saint congregations around the world to enable the more than 13 million members to participate wherever they live. It was the 179th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Out-of-state protesters holding banners and shouting derogatory claims about Joseph Smith, who founded the Church in 1830, spent all day on Saturday and Sunday doing their best to get a reaction from the crowd of worshipers present on Temple Square, without any significant results. The passing crowds either ignored them, or smiled as they passed.

Sunday afternoon during a lunch-time break of the conference, a group of about 24 missionaries from the Utah Salt Lake City Mission gathered on the opposite side of the sidewalk from the protesters and began to sing hymns. The missionaries loud singing was enough to deaden the shouts of the protesters.

A crowd of Mormons, the nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gathered to watch and to join in the hymns. There were many cheers and applause from the crowd at the end of each hymn, but no one spoke to the protestors or acknowledged them in any way – with the exception of the press.

Police moved in as the crowd of spectators and hymn singers grew louder and larger. The police told spectators that they had to keep moving. The missionaries continued to sing, and the protesters continued to shout.

"It´s about Jesus. the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus of Mormonism," shouted Kevin Degan, a protester from Buffalo, NY.

The missionaries sang traditional Christian hymns and recited scriptures in unison, but did not confront or respond to the taunts and statements that some would think were intended to incite a confrontation or even a fight.

"Someone´s in the barn with 16-year-old Betty," mocked Rod Warner, a protester from Orange County, Calif. It was a lengthy made-up song. It ended with the taunting line: "Emma said it was Joe," a reference to Joseph Smith and his wife Emma. Both are revered by Latter-day Saints.

When asked if he was attempting to provoke a fight or argument, Warner said, "I´m not trying to incite a fight or mock anyone, except for Joseph Smith who was a liar."

When asked what he thought of the way the missionaries used hymns to prevent his shouts of protest from being heard by the crowd, Warner said, "I loved it. This is the best I have ever been treated by Mormons. They sent the choir."

Warner said he has come to every conference for the past 23 years, and for the most part is ignored by the people he says he has come to warn.

Degan said he comes to Temple Square to protest because it is a commandment and he wants to be obedient, and he wants to warn people so they will not go to hell. During an earlier session of the conference, Elder Quentin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, explained that Hell is not what many people think that it is.

Other groups of Latter-day Saints gathered in two places across the street where they also sang hymns.

The group of missionaries sang the words: "Stand firm and be true." Degan shouted in response: "When are you going to be faithful? You´re phony. You´re hypocrites. When are you going to be faithful and true?"

When the missionaries sang the words: "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," Warner shouted out: "You´re not right. God says your sin is big."

At the conclusion of each hymn, the crowd cheered, then the police moved them along. Within moments a new crowd formed as more worshipers continued to join in singing with the missionaries. Sometimes the missionaries recited scriptures, but most of the time they sang.

After more than 30 minutes, two Church security officials huddled with the missionaries and about a minute later the missionaries departed. Asked why he asked the missionaries to leave, one of the security guards said, "We´re just trying to keep a nice, quiet, reverent atmosphere here."

The protestors did all they could to get Mormons to confront them, debate with them, and perhaps even fight with them. They tried to make people angry with their shouted attacks. The only thing they were able to do was to get a group of missionaries, most of them ages 19 to 22, to sing hymns.