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SALT LAKE CITY — Journalists are welcome and encouraged to visit a Mormon ward on Sunday before reporting on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Church Public Affairs managing director Michael R. Otterson writes about that in his recent blog for the Washington Post titled "What makes Mormons Tick?"
"Writing or reporting about Mormons from a desk and a keyboard without a field trip to a Mormon ward is like covering Congress from Kalamazoo," Otterson writes. "You have to be there. You have to feel the pulse. You have to understand the perspectives, the nuances, the motivation deeply rooted in belief. Then you'll be better able to explain what makes Mormons tick so enthusiastically."
He points out that Harvard Business professor and faithful Mormon Clayton Christensen recently told a group of prominent journalists, "If you want to understand Mormonism, you have to understand the ward."
"Along with families, wards are the hub of Mormons' religious life, the place where most of the action happens," Otterson writes.
He invites them to "put the blogs and books and web searches aside for a few days, and come to church on Sunday."
He points out that visitors can observe without feeling a need to participate and refers people to find a meetinghouse near them at mormon.org/worship.
