Letter: Respect LDS Church employees

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I've seen it online: on blogs, message boards, and social media.

Employees of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are stupid. "Sheeple." Bigots. Blind followers.

If they are anything like me, I beg to differ.

I am scheduled to start as a social media and digital content intern with the church on January 6.

I pray that people will be thoughtful in their assumptions. Sure, in the first year back from my mission, I didn't think too often about what possibly made the church not the "only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." (D&C 1:30)

Since, however, I've thought often about these "truth claims." I've thought about how it compares with other religions. I've thought about its political involvement, including (especially) its approach to social issues. I've thought about mistakes church leaders have made in the past.

I can't believe that many, if not most, of the church's employees have not had experiences similar to mine. So why do they work at the Church Office Building? Because they truly do believe in the religion, and thus want to use their time, talents and resources to build the kingdom of God on Earth.

Rhett Wilkinson

Murray