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The Rev. Al Sharpton Visits Church Headquarters
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Elder
M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
— the second-highest governing body of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints — hosted the Rev. Al Sharpton
and his associates at a dinner Monday night, concluding Sharpton’s
visit to Church headquarters.
The evening before, Elder Ballard greeted
Rev. Sharpton upon his arrival to Salt Lake City and gave him a
personal tour of Temple Square.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Elder M. Russell Ballard
of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles shake hands after eating dinner together Monday evening.
© 2007 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
“I was very touched,”
Rev. Sharpton said of his first visit with Elder Ballard. “He
took me over to the square, where we both visited the Christus
statue, which is a very moving thing for me.”
Rev. Sharpton had the opportunity to
attend a family home evening at the home of Jorge and Debbie Beccera.
He was able to see firsthand the Monday-night tradition where Mormon
families gather together to have spiritual lessons, discuss issues
important to the family or simply enjoy a fun activity.
“It was an honor to have the
Reverend Sharpton be a part of our family,” said Debbie Beccera.
“I will never forget looking up and seeing the Reverend Al
Sharpton sitting with my family, taking his turn reading from the
scriptures.”
The family night concluded with everyone
singing “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Charlie King met with the
Beccera family on Monday evening to conclude his visit to Salt Lake
City.
© 2007 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sharpton’s visit to Salt Lake
City came following a personal pledge on his radio network to learn
more about the Church firsthand.
Church leader Elder Robert C. Oaks,
one of the presidents of the Seventy hosted Sharpton and his associates
on Monday. The group was able to tour the Humanitarian Center —
from which the Church’s relief supplies are sent worldwide
— as well as Welfare Square, the Family History Library, the
Conference Center and the Tabernacle.
Talking to reporters after his tour, Sharpton said his visit was
an effort to find “common ground” and “things
we should know about each other that we did not know and areas,
possibly, we can work together for the betterment of humanity.”
This article was prepared by
the LDS Newsroom at lds.org.
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© 2007 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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