Religion: Mormonism Enters a New Era

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Such family nurture is the province of the Mormon woman. "Because they are expected to be a mother of eight, a charming hostess, the perfect housekeeper with no help, and supportive of their husbands in all things, there's a lot of stress," says Mormon Housewife Mona Daniels. The church is honoring its women with a new sculpture garden at a restored village in Nauvoo, Ill., one of the Midwestern communities where raging mobs drove out the Mormons in the mid-19th century after Prophet Smith was shot to death. Despite the gesture, the church is adamantly opposed to the ERA or other concessions. Kimball states that unlike blacks, it is "impossible" that women would ever attain priesthood.

The feminist issue may one day come to afflict the church, but for the present, Mormonism is booming. Growth is fueled by members, who give 10% of their gross income, and profits from such church holdings as a good chunk of downtown Salt Lake City, 326,500 acres elsewhere, insurance companies with $383 million in assets, the Salt Lake newspaper, eleven radio stations and two TV stations, $36 million in Times-Mirror Co. shares (3% of the total company stock), and controlling interest in a department-store chain and a beet-sugar firm.

The income will go into four more temples (in Seattle, Tokyo, Mexico City and American Samoa) and 600 buildings under way around the world—all to be paid for in full before dedication. All Mormon young men are supposed to devote two years to missionary work between their education and their careers. For many of the 26,500 now in the field, the task will broaden horizons and hone speaking and selling skills for advancement in business.

Mormon evangelism even extends beyond the grave. The church believes that people who have died can only have an opportunity to accept the "restored Gospel" if Mormons on earth are baptized on their behalf in the temple. To make this mammoth task possible the church is collecting literally billions of names in its huge genealogical files, and members are baptized repeatedly in the names of ancestors and even nonrelatives. In April Kimball's administration arranged a speedup of such temple "work".

As for those who are now living, Mormonism has been diligent and successful in spreading its message, with one vast exception: black Africa. The church could hardly have functioned there without anyone eligible for priesthood. Despite June's revelation, Kimball says careful consideration will be necessary before he dispatches the first mission teams in history to the area. But ultimately, Kimball has a broad vision: "The Saviour said, go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and that's what we have been working toward." The Mormons have a long way to go, but as a result of Spencer Kimball's innovations, new classes and cultures may yet penetrate Brigham Young's mountain-ringed fastness.