|
|
|
|
| 1892 |  Out of small things proceedeth that which is greatThe beginning of the Bureau of Information H. Wallace Goddard Published in ENSIGN February 1996: {right, The first Bureau of Information building on Temple Square opened in 1902.) A home mission Since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was first established the Latter-day Saints have sent missionaries to spread the good news of the restoration. It is ironic that one of the poorest places to get an accurate report of Mormon beliefs was early Salt Lake City. While we were sending hundred of missionaries far away to teach the truth and to allay prejudice, the strangers within our gates, and even residents who are not members of the Church, were mostly left to draw their information from non- and often anti"Mormon" sources.1 When tourists stopped in Salt Lake City at the train station they were charmed into tours of the city by hack drivers. As the drivers toured their fares around Salt Lake City in horse-drawn buggies, they entertained them with fantastic stories of Mormon doings.2 They hinted at human sacrifices in the temple, rampant crime in the city, and evil doings by leaders of the church. James Dwyer, a local bookseller, had tried to combat the disagreeable propaganda by making available small cards with the Articles of Faith on one side and a view of the temple on the other side.3 He spent an hour every day handing out the cards on temple square. But many visitors to the city heard only the story of terrible Mormon doings. At a home missionary meeting in 1898, Ben Goddard suggested that an effort be made to present the message of the church to visitors to the city. For at least three years the idea was discussed without a clear plan being formed. The situation was brought to a head by an experience of LeRoi C. Snow, son of then-prophet, Lorenzo Snow. LeRoi was in the vicinity of the Eagle Gate in Salt Lake City (State Street and South Temple) when he overheard one of the hack drivers telling stories to his tourist customers. As the driver approached the Beehive House, he hinted at ominous doings: "This is the Bee Hive House, where Lorenzo Snow, the president of the Church lives. The building is kept closed from the public. No one is ever permitted to go in there. We do not know what goes on there." LeRoi approached the driver, thanked him for giving him a chance to hear the misleading stories first hand. He introduced himself to the tourists and invited them to go through the Bee Hive House and meet his father, the President of the Church. They were surprised and undecided. When the driver attempted to rush them on, the issue was settled. They accepted LeRoi's invitation. LeRoi lead them through the house, introduced his mother to them, answered questions, and took them to his father's office where they met the President of the Church. The visitors to the city were impressed. The Snows were committed to take action to make the Mormon story available to visitors. It was recommended that a bureau of information be built on temple square.4 The Bureau of Information The first Bureau of Information, an octagonal building 20 feet across, was built at a cost of $5005. [PHOTO 1] The building was placed just inside the south gate of temple square and began service August 4, 1902. A committee of four men was called to take charge of the work with 105 members of the M.I.A. called to help. The brethren were given the strict charge that the work was to be financially self-supporting. [PHOTO 2] None of the workers was paid and the work of the bureau was sustained by donations of members. Ben Goddard, who had suggested such an idea four years previous, was to take the lead. [PHOTO 3] Within the first two weeks of service, over five thousand people had signed the register. Volunteer guides welcomed visitors to the city, provided pamphlets, explained LDS beliefs, and answered questions. The work of the Bureau grew so rapidly that in 1904, less than two years after the work began, "a new, commodious building of granite foundation and brick walls was erected on the south side of [temple] block"6 . [PHOTO 4] Even the new building was not big enough for the expanding work. Additions were made to the building in 1910 and 1918. During the summer of 1920, 400,000 visitors were served by the expanded Bureau. As the work progressed the bureau required the leadership of a full-time director. Ben Goddard moved from volunteer to employee. While the original Bureau had been built to provide information about the church, it soon assumed additional roles. The Bureau became a museum with collections of church, historical, and Indian artifacts. Souvenirs from all over the world were made available to tourists at the Bureau. Missions throughout the church wrote to the Bureau for pamphlets. Beautiful books about Utah and her people were given to visitors. The Bureau produced pamphlets to correct misunderstandings about the church and its members. For example the Bureau produced a publication on the war record of Mormons in order to dispel the myth that Mormons were not patriotic citizens of the United States. The Bureau also provided church supplies such as sacrament trays to wards.7 Members wrote asking about employment prospects in Salt Lake City. The Bureau even provided an overflow when General Conference attendance outgrew the Tabernacle. Unlike current overflow sessions which pipe the tabernacle program to other locations, sessions at the Bureau provided their own program. Saints sang songs and speakers were drawn from among the General Authorities for these alternate sessions on the steps of the Bureau of Information.8 In the few years of its operation, the Bureau had grown to be a distribution center, Chamber of Commerce, public information service, museum, and tourist center. Ben Goddard directed the work of the Bureau from its beginning in 1902 until his retirement in 1929; 27 years of dedicated service. It is estimated that during that time "two millions of God's children were met courteously, escorted through the grounds where, though they might not believe its teachings, they might at least sense the spirit of 'Mormonism.'"9 Now the church has 16 visitors' center in locations all around the world. Temple Square alone hosted almost 5,000,000 visitors in 1990, putting it ahead of Yellowstone Park and Grand Canyon as a favorite tourist attraction10. The modern visitors' centers specialize in teaching the history and doctrine of the church. But the growth of the Bureau as an institution is only half of the story. The other half of the story is the human saga of the small, reluctant convert from England who started and directed the work for almost three decades of its earliest service. Ben Goddard Joseph Merrick Nield and Jane Standring Nield were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by the preaching of missionaries in England. They decided to immigrate from England to Utah to join the saints. But they were saddened that their three daughters had no interest in the church and refused to go with them to Utah. Joseph and Jane prayed that the girls would not have peace until they decided to join them in Utah.11 At home in England the girls had no peace. Reluctantly they decided to join their parents in Utah. But a young man by the name of Ben was very fond of one of the daughters, Martha Alice. So he followed the girls to Utah where he and "Allie" were soon married. The Nield family settled in Central Utah. Ben traveled the state of Utah selling school supplies. As he traveled to various settlements, the saints would preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to him. In the course of his travels he was finally baptized by Bishop Price in Goshen. During Ben's life he received four patriarchal blessings. The messages of a loving Heavenly Father that Ben received in his patriarchal blessings provide real understanding of the struggles of a man growing in the gospel and seeking guidance from heaven. In the first patriarchal blessing12, received one year after joining the church, Ben was told that "all doubt shall be removed." He was promised great blessings in the temple. Only five days later the same patriarch gave a blessing to Ben's infant son, J. Percy Goddard, in which Percy was promised that he would "become a Mighty man in Israel and be a counsillor [sic] among thy brethren." Percy later served more than 12 years as a bishop and almost 15 years as a stake president in Salt Lake City. Ben lived in a time when polygamy was practiced in Utah. About four years after marrying Martha Alice, Ben also took her sister, Emma Jane, to wife. Over the years Ben tried a variety of jobs to support his family. He made bricks in an adobe yard. He sold Bible commentaries. He sold school supplies. He taught school. His school teaching job illustrates his pluck. He was only 5'3" tall. As he began the job some of the tough kids set about to "get" that little Englishmen. Ben prevailed on the ring leader and convinced him how much he needed schooling. Next day the ring leader served notice on the other students that if they were going to get Goddard, they'd have to take him on first.13 Nine years after his first blessing Ben received his second patriarchal blessing14 in which he was told that he had a gift and that "Thou wilt be called and chosen to declare this gospel of the kingdom from land to land and from sea to sea." He was also promised that none of his posterity would be lost. In 1892, at the age of 40, Ben was called to leave his two wives and his teenage son to serve a mission in New Zealand. In order to support his family, Ben wrote articles from the mission field for the Deseret Evening News. Allie took in sewing. Emma worked at a cooperative. Ben wrestled with the Maori language but loved the Maori people. After 3 With the family settled in Salt Lake City, Ben worked at ZCMI, gave many speeches about the gospel, and taught missionary classes at LDS Business College. [PHOTO 5] But he was still looking for the fulfillment of his promised role in blessing nations. In 1901 Ben received his third blessing.16 It was shorter than earlier blessings. In it he was promised the desires of his heart and he was assured that all previous promised blessings would be fulfilled. "Thy name shall be honored in the earth." Ben was only a few days short of 50. His adult life had been filled with a variety of odd jobs. It is easy to imagine that Ben longed to do a more meaningful work. He may have wondered how he would ever have reason to be "honored in the earth." Yet just one year later he was called to take charge of the new Bureau of Information. In his service at the Bureau he would organize and train volunteers, edit and distribute pamphlets about the church, design and print booklets about Utah and the Mormons, oversee the collections of the museum, and, in general, inform and care for all visitors to Temple Square. In 1918, after 16 years of directing the work at the Bureau, Ben received his fourth17 and final patriarchal blessing in which he was told that "in the mission that you have performed in the midst of the nations of the earth...He has confidence in your integrity and devotion to the work which you are called upon to carry out; and He will bless you and lengthen out your days upon the earth..." Ben was in charge of the expanding Bureau work from the time he was 51 until he was 78. During the 27 years of Ben's service, millions of visitor were blessed by kind temple block missionaries, millions of pamphlets were distributed, and the work grew dramatically. The small, reluctant convert from England had responded to a call and had been used by his Maker to bless many. George Albert Smith wrote to Ben at the time of his retirement from the Bureau: In the departments of the Church you have occupied a place all your own. You have watched over the Bureau of Information in its infancy and cared for it in its mature years until it has become a power for the dissemination of truth equal to any mission. You have performed a great work and have earned an honorable release from your arduous labors. I join with your many friends in congratulating you on your retirement with the appreciation of your associates and the blessing of the Lord. Affectionately, Geo Albert Smith18 It was appropriate that, after his retirement from the Bureau, Ben was called to serve as a temple worker. The closing months of his life were spent serving in the beloved and hallowed temple that he had spent decades explaining to the visitor, the foreigner, and the truth-seeker. When he passed away on December 5, 1930 his funeral was held in the Assembly Hall on the beloved Temple Square. Family, friends, and co-workers paid tribute to the man who had dedicated his life to removing prejudice and testifying of the glorious restoration. Like Ben, each of us has a work to do. The work may be less dramatic or the effects less apparent than the work that Ben did at the Bureau of Information. God does not ask us to judge the outcome; He asks us to trust him. God will use us to do marvelous things if we allow him to guide us. But all things must come to pass in their time. Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. D&C 64:32-33 NOTES 1 Improvement Era, "Bureau of Information and Church Literature," September 1902, p.899. |
 |
 |
 |
|