Mormonism-Unveiled provides a discussion of Latter-day Saint (Mormon) doctrines, practices, and current events from the pro-LDS point of view. In Mormonism-Unveiled, note that I speak only for myself and do not officially speak on behalf of the LDS Church. Get all the facts before you join. Mormonism may not be for everyone - but it might be for YOU.
President Packer, 86, was assisting President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, who was presiding over the re-dedication of the Longfellow Park chapel, which was gutted by fire on May 17th, 2009, causing an estimated $1.9 million in damage. The cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction. President Packer was once president of the New England States Mission, and President Eyring attended church in that meetinghouse while he was working on his doctoral degree at Harvard. It is unusual for more than one General Authority to participate in the re-dedication of a chapel. The re-dedication took place about three weeks ahead of schedule; in February, it was projected for July 3rd.
President Packer is said to be in declining health, although specifics have not been provided through official Church channels. Nevertheless, his mind is still alert and fully functioning, and he can express himself well. He is frequently portrayed as an "iron-rodder" (hardliner) on the Quorum, although this reputation is exaggerated by those discomfited by his vigorous defense of traditional marriage and his fervent promotion of strict abstinence outside of marriage. One person posted a comment to the Deseret News story indicating that President Packer had a soft heart beneath that seemingly-gruff exterior:
Mike Richards | 7:00 p.m. June 19, 2011 South Jordan, Utah:
Elder Packer holds a special place in my heart. One of his first assignments after he was ordained an Apostle was to my mission in Belgium. He was a kind and influential man who helped us understand even more fully our duties.
When I was released from my mission, I flew to London and changed planes. Elder Packer was on the plane that I took from London to Salt Lake City, with one stop in between. He treated us four returning missionaries as royalty on that flight. When we learned that Salt Lake was fogged in and that we would be spending the night in Denver, Elder Packer took care of us as if we were his own sons. He had each of us call our families and report that we were safe and that we would be leaving Denver the next morning.
Because he had to be in Salt Lake as early as possible, he took the first available flight, but before leaving, he had arraigned our transportation to the airport and our flight.
There was nothing that he could have done that he did not do.
Good news! The chapel is well on its way to being re-constructed, and on February 18th, 2011, a key milestone was reached when the new steeple was place atop the chapel at 10:30 A.M. Elaine Huff watched as the steeple was positioned, and summed up the feelings of members when she said that the building, because of its age and proximity to Harvard University, played an important part in the lives of many young people. The chapel's central location also attracts people from many different locations.
Reconstruction of the building itself continues, and a rededication is tentatively planned for July 3rd. Meanwhile, a new stake center opened up just three miles away back in June 2010 to provide more meeting space. One local resident notes how the LDS Church has grown in the area, writing "The original Cambridge Branch...was one branch 54 years ago. That one branch has divided, and divided, and divided again — and 30 wards and branches now exist in this region because of the faithful service and diligent action of that original Cambridge Branch".
Update June 19th 2011: Chapel re-dedicated, President Boyd K. Packer suffers fainting spell but is recovering. Updated post HERE.
Update February 18th 2011: Steeple re-attached to chapel, reconstruction proceeding apace. See updated post HERE.
Today was the Cambridge Chronicle's turn to cover the LDS Church fire in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After inspecting Sunday’s four-alarm fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints chapel at 2 Longfellow Park in Cambridge, fire investigators have ruled it accidental. What actually sparked the fire is still under investigation, according to Cambridge Deputy Fire Chief John Gelinas. Gelinas said all that's left to preserve is the church's exterior walls and the steeple, which miraculously did not fall. Meanwhile, Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon met with city inspectors to estimate the damages done to the building, and determined that $1.9 million in damage was done. Church spokesman Grant Bennett said they plan to rebuild. Mitt Romney and his wife briefly stopped by, although they are members of a different ward nearby.
May 18th stories from the Boston Herald, which claims that the number of congregants was as many as 500, and the Boston Globe are also available. See my previous post for a detailed account of the fire and for links to several photo collections. From this May 17th Chronicle story, which contains its own pictures of the fire, we get a YouTube video of news coverage not previously posted, which is embedded below:
Another Chronicle article provides some informative background on the LDS Church, and is written accurately and thoughtfully. They disclose that there are five distinct congregations, or wards, in the city of Cambridge and two in Somerville. Three of them met at the Longfellow Park church, which burned down on Sunday morning. The other two congregations lease a meetinghouse in Kendall Square.
A third space, under construction on Binney Street in East Cambridge, will be completed in the next year and a half and cost $20 million, according to Church spokesman Grant Bennett. The new meetinghouse will house four congregations: the two currently leasing space in Kendall Square and two in Somerville. Bennett also disclosed that the Church in the local area is growing by an average of 75 to 100 new members annually.
The now-burned Longfellow Park church, the first LDS chapel in the greater Boston area, was dedicated in 1951. The average congregation in Cambridge is approximately 175 members. When the church grows, it forms new congregations, creating five in the area today holding approximately 875 members. The Cambridge LDS Stake is the umbrella over 14 congregations north of the Charles River. The stake’s administrative offices will be housed in the new Binney Street structure. The stake center is temporarily located in Belmont.
Unfortunately, the quality of the Chronicle's coverage is offset somewhat by their publication of a guest commentary column written by Ronald Lee Fleming, an architectural critic whose most recent book is entitled “The Art of Placemaking: Interpreting Community Through Public Art and Urban Design.”. Fleming is an ardent proponent of traditional colonial architectural styles, and he expressed his hope that the replacement chapel would better fit that motif. Except that he expressed himself in a manner highly insensitive and disrespectful of the tragedy overtaking the LDS congregation. Here's the pertinent excerpt:
It was quite a fire this Sunday morning. Big red engines blocked traffic on several streets. And when it was over, the brick and white clapboard Mormon church on historic Brattle Street just west of Harvard Square was gutted. Only the steeple, so slim it could have been a minaret, remaining, awash in the spray of a half dozen hoses. Well, too bad, of course, we all regret the loss of private property, but what an opportunity those flames present. Here was a church that was not so much neo colonial in design, as it was just an out of scale concoction with laughable proportions, its barn-like nave, and slender steeple seemed a parody of colonial revival.
Here was a faux style, alas repeated around the country by Mormon temples that look like simplistic illustrations in cardboard, that instantly communicate banality and proclaim a know nothing policy. Perhaps unconsciously they reflect the dubious mythology of Joseph Smith’s golden tablets...
And to add insult to injury, Fleming stated toward the end of his commentary that "as the flames rose, it was hard to repress a grin, for out of this disaster is visual release, and out of calamity is visual opportunity".
A grin? Excuse me, but Fleming thinks somebody else's tragedy is funny? No wonder a number of people left some very hostile comments in response to his screed. His attitude undoubtedly is also motivated by his ideological bias against LDS doctrine. The fact is, the LDS Church is quite aware of the existence of the Historic District Commission in Cambridge and has a successful track record in working with such groups to ensure church buildings meet community standards.
However, media coverage of this tragedy indicates that Fleming's attitude is clearly the exception. On the contrary, a Quaker congregation just across the street from the burned chapel offered to allow the Mormons to temporarily store the church records rescued from the fire until they found another location. In addition, the Friends Meeting house, First Church and the Episcopal Divinity School have all offered to host services in the interim. So the greater community has responded sympathetically and offered assistance.
Update June 19th 2011: Chapel re-dedicated, President Boyd K. Packer suffers fainting spell but is recovering. Updated post HERE.
Update February 18th 2011: Steeple re-attached to chapel, reconstruction proceeding apace. See updated post HERE.
Update May 18th: Fire investigators rule the fire accidental, but have not isolated the cause. Damage estimated at $1.9 million. Updated post HERE.
On May 17th, 2009, a fire began during morning services at an LDS chapel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and quickly spread through the decades-old building. About 300 people were inside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Longfellow Park meeting house at the time for a regional stake conference, but officials say it appears everyone was able to make it outside safely. Primary media story from the Boston Globe; other media stories from WBZ Channel 38 with non-embeddable video, and from WCVB Channel 5 with non-embeddable extended raw video. Here's an embeddable video from NECN.com:
Here's a YouTube video which shows more dramatic (and depressing) footage:
Fire officials say the blaze, which began around 10:37 A.M. EDT on Sunday, started in the building's attic and quickly reached three alarms. Witnesses say attendance at the church was larger than usual because the parish was part of a national teleconference with LDS church leaders in Utah. The roof collapsed and the 60-year-old building was gutted, but the steeple still remains standing as of this post. According to Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald Reardon, the fire, which was fought with 22 engines, seven ladder companies, and about 80 firefighters from a wide variety of surrounding communities including Belmont, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown, was brought under control sometime after noon. Reardon said the fire started in the attic, but he did not know the cause, although speculation is growing that an electrical short in the attic may have sparked a fire which smouldered unnoticed long before the alarms sounded. According to one story, it was only 20 minutes from the time the alarms first sounded until the roof collapsed.
Three congregations, or wards, have been displaced by the fire. The first ward consists of single undergraduates from area colleges, and the other two wards are made up of young adult singles, ages 25 to 30. LDS officials in the area have expressed the desire and intent to rebuild. Many of those commenting to the two blog sources cited below express the hope that the chapel will be rebuilt exactly the way it was; one commenter in particular expressed the hope that it would not be replaced by a typical "McChapel" (in reference to the standard design model generally used for all new LDS chapels).
Photos of the fire posted on the following sources:
The Faith Promoting Rumor blog, which has also posted several pictures of the chapel, tells us that the chapel was constructed in the 1950s just outside of Harvard Square in one of the most beautiful parts of Cambridge, just across the street from the Longfellow House. Other unofficial LDS reaction has also been posted on By Common Consent and My Imaginary Blog.
There have been a disturbing number of church fires starting in attics, including the Brayton Drive LDS chapel fire in Anchorage, Alaska in March 2007 (it took nearly a year and a half to rebuild). This trend warrants increased recurring inspection of attics by local church officials.
