The Salt Lake Cemetery: South Zone

There is a treasure trove of Mormon history in the middle of Salt Lake City. It's tucked away on 250 beautifully kept acres in the largest city-operated cemetery in the United States. Eleven prophets and more than 30 apostles are laid to rest there, along with about 120,000 other people. The first burial occurred in September 1847, about two months after the first Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. This mission mom decided that our missionaries needed to get a little church history, so during this transfer, each of the six zones in the valley took a field trip to the cemetery. The best part of our field trips was the gentleman below. He is the most wonderful tour guide a group could ever wish for! Paul Smith volunteered an entire week of his time to tromp up and down the hills of the cemetery with our missionaries and tell us stories of the people who once lived where we are now serving. Brother Smith has a quick grin and an even quicker step! Though he is past 70, every one of our strapping young elders had a hard time keeping up with him, and we were all sucking air by the time we reached the top of the hill! Besides getting some good exercise, we were all enlightened and entertained by the stories that Brother Smith rattled off, one after another. It was a fabulous adventure.

For example, this is the headstone of Alexander Neibaur, the first Jewish man to join the church. Alexander's father wanted him to be a rabbi, but he decided to become a dentist, along with learning to speak seven languages. When Mormon missionaries came to Preston, England, Alexander joined the church after reading the entire Book of Mormon in just three days. He emigrated to the United States in 1841, where he established a dental practice. One of his patients was Joseph Smith, and Alexander fixed Brother Joseph's chipped front tooth that had given him a "whistle" when he spoke. Eventually, the Neibaurs moved west to Utah. His great-grandson was Hugh Nibley.

If I wasn't busy being a mission mom, I'd for sure pick up six more languages and go to dental school.

What are these two thinking about?

This is what happens when the missionaries hijack the camera.

If you want to see more pictures of the South Zone in the Salt Lake Cemetery, click here:

2011.06.08: Salt Lake Cemetery South Zone