Mormon wikipedia users, help!?

Question

There's some critical mistakes about the LDS Conference Center in wikipedia. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lds_conference_center ). In the part of the "Feature", it states "While essentially Modernist in architecture, the Conference Center has a distinctly Pre-Columbian appearance. This reflects both the church's increasingly Latin American composition--from the mid-1990s onward, the majority of the church's membership has been from countries outside the United States, dominated by Mexico, Central America, and South America--and the now-prevalent belief that the events of the Book of Mormon took place in Central America." Most of all, most members are from the United States, not outside. Also, I was stunned when I got to the part that Conference Center's design was influenced by members from Latin American cultural sphere. I know that church is fair to every member from all parts of world, not depending one from which cultural background he or she has.

Because I was so shocked, I even asked to a missionary on-line if it is true that Church is influenced by certain culture and he said it is not. I know that something's wrong with the article in wikipedia. I tried to edit it as "While essentially Modernist in architecture, the Conference Center has a distinctly Pre-Columbian appearance, which reflects the era which the Book of Mormon takes place". But for some reason, it would be changed into original one. I'm an amateur so I need help from LDS. Seriously, who would think that Church is open to every kind of people if they read the troublesome article? I know that it is wrong.

Answer 1

Maybe this will help:

Architecture of office and conference centers is not dictated by the voice of God. We are allowed to make choices for ourselves, and that includes the First Presidency.

"The Brethren" chose to celebrate the cultural background of Latin America, which is where 2/3 of the growth has come in this generation. The article is correct in pointing out that over half of the Church's membership is from outside of the United States. The US is home to just under 6 million of the world's LDS population. Since the Church's total membership has just exceeded 13 million, that would mean over 7 million members outside of the US. Of these 7 million, 1.1 million are from Mexico, 1 million are from Brazil, and at least 2 million more are from the other Latin American countries. That would make over 4 million members in Latin America, which is nearly as many as in the US, plus the Latin American membership is expanding at a far-superior growth rate.

The Conference Center was built for the future, and not for the past. In the past, Utah was home to the large majority of members. Now, Utah houses just more than 10% of the LDS membership. Within 10-15 years, Latin America will surpass the US as the largest culture within the Church.

Although the "doctrines" may not necessarily influenced by the culture of the members (and even this point is HIGHLY debatable, given the concessions regarding polygamy, blacks and the Priesthood, Blood Atonement, pre-1990 Temple Oaths, etc.), the processes and policies within the Church most certainly are.

Lastly, the missionaries are not the authority on gospel doctrine. In my mission (albeit before I was there), missionaries contracted polygamous marriages with the Sister Missionaries, changed the name of the Church, and kept tithing money for themselves in many branches and wards. They went completely apostate. Granted, the Presidency of Brigham Young was also completely apostate (not to mention Joseph Smith in Nauvoo), but these situations are much more rare than with individual missionaries.

Also, unless you are versed in the architecture of the conference center and that of Latin America, I really don't think you should be editing such a paragraph on a Wikipedia article. Additionally, your edited sentence doesn't make sense in correct English. It is also worthy of note that the article isn't "wrong" by any means; it simply contradicts your opinion. In this particular case, the articles reported facts are vastly more correct than your opinion. Encyclopedias have a responsibility of being free of opinion and reflecting only facts, which this article has done.

My recommendation: live and let live, and maybe study up on the statistics too, before getting your panties in a twist about where the membership of the Church is. There are much more embarrassing statements regarding the Church that you could/should be fighting than this one.

Answer 2

In designing the building, the approach was to “extend the influence of Temple Square,” said architect Bob Frasca of Zimmer Gunnell Frasca Partnership, Portland, Oregon. He admired what Latter-day Saint pioneers had done originally in building Salt Lake City, and he wanted the new Conference Center to complement the current picture—to be distinguished in its own right yet blend well with the Salt Lake Temple and other nearby structures both on Church and private property.

Thus the Conference Center is terraced away from the street, so it does not overwhelm passersby or seem too competitive visually with the temple. Still, the south and west faces of the building’s granite exterior are commanding. On the north and east sides of the building, however, nearby residents see terraces with planted trees and flowers. Apartments and homes uphill from the building overlook four acres of roof gardens that help the Conference Center blend into the landscape. A large section of the rooftop is planted to look like an open meadow, but there are also landscaped garden areas, planters, trees, and two fountains.

One of the fountains flows out from under the Conference Center’s spire and cascades down the front (south face) of the building into a pool from which it is recycled. Water from the other fountain flows through a system of channels and pools amid planted areas and then is also recycled. The flowing water theme is repeated at street level. Water from City Creek, which comes out of a nearby canyon, gurgles over rocks in a channel on the southern edge of the Conference Center block.

Nine skylights on top of the building pass light into the auditorium to help enhance the feeling that it is a place of worship. (The skylights are covered when light must be limited for a performance.) Recognizing the importance of gathering for Latter-day Saints, the architect made it one of his objectives to give the auditorium a feeling of “home,” and members who gather there may indeed find a feeling of intimacy despite the vastness of the auditorium when it is empty. Seated among the congregation during a conference session, it seems easy to feel a sense of common faith and commitment with everyone else in the room; numbers pale in comparison with purpose.

Answer 3

Like The Penguin said, there have been more members of the Church outside than in US for some time. I wouldn't be too concerned about what inspired the architecture of the Conference Center. It's a beautiful building, and had to be based on something.

Answer 4

I don't know that I can really help you much, other than to say that for several years now the membership of the church has been that there are more members outside the US (and maybe Canada, but I think the statistic is the US only) than inside it.
I do use wikipedia, but I've never tried to edit it.

Answer 5

Actually, there are more members of the LDS church OUTSIDE the United States than in.

Answer 6

well, my only guess is that wikipedia is an open to the public for editing... which is good & bad. in this case, bad. REALLY BAD. i would advise that not only should you bring this to the publics eye (as you did here), but also try emailing the people who run wikipedia.