Looking back I was blissfully unaware of the propaganda that I was exposed to on a daily basis, mostly I was enamored by their very pretty daughter who enjoyed hanging out with us for some crazy reason. (I think it was a light attraction to our Southern accents and a stronger desire to share her Mormon beliefs) We would usually end the day around their piano in the living room, where I would play some of the more popular songs that I could remember and they would sing along. We would end up with twenty plus people gathered in their living room and afterward we would just talk, play games and hang out. On most days we would take trips to local attractions like the Mormon Temple, several museums, a local amusement park, Donut Falls, the Capital building, Salt Lake, the Bonneville drag races, explored a couple of the ski resorts that surround the city, played hide-n-seek in a ghost town, and visited a huge copper mine (?). But the attraction that stood out the most during my time in Salt Lake City was the Summum Pyramid.
At the time of my visit, the pyramid was less than 1 or 2 years old, having been completed in 1979. I don't remember the fence being in place that surrounds the property in more current photos, I remember we parked on the street alongside the pyramid, got out of our car, and were met by the owner of the property, Claude, who after a brief introduction mentioned that he was changing his name to Amon Ra after experiencing a visit from an alien race. This revelation naturally prompted some serious question and answer time until he excused himself, but not before saying that we were welcome to take exterior pictures of his pyramid, but were not allowed to go inside. Looking back, I had no idea that this ex-Mormon was the the founder of the Summum religion that still exists today. He was not anyone that I recall having a physical demeanor that would stand out in a crowd, if I'm remembering correctly he was soft-spoken, seemed to be a patient man, and despite our conversation, didn't convey a sense of crazy. In fact, just the opposite. Not someone that you would think of as inspiring a cult-religion that still exists to this day.
The pyramid itself was awe-inspiring, partly based on its surroundings. I mean, you just don't expect to see Egyptian architecture in a middle-class suburban setting. The "temple" as Claude referred to his building, was 40 feet square, and 26 feet high, I vaguely remember him talking about mummification, ancients secrets, and northern points before he discerned our growing lack of interest and bid us goodbye. But not before he invited us to drink from his "Divine, Consecrated, and Santcified" water from a nearby spigot. (I don't recall the water tasting any different but that could also be due to my fading memories . . . ) Of course, it is not much of reach to describe the water on your property as sanctified if you are going to name your religion after the Latin description of Summum, or "the highest".
All in all it was a weird experience that I had almost forgotten until recently. For some reason an image of the Summum pyramid popped up in my news feed and I learned that after Claude had died in 2008, he was mummified and now resides in the interior of his temple. (Now that would be a site to behold)
But viewing that encounter, from an older, spiritual perspective, it never ceases to amaze me that there is no limit that people will seek to discover, even going so far as to create their own religion, how they can fill the God-sized void that exists in each on of us.
Less than thirty-five years before I visited the Summum pyramid on that hot day in June, a science-fiction writer named L.Ron Hubbard was quoted, “You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.” Which he promptly did, and maybe you've heard of it, the Church of Scientology? Or how about the young teenager who in 1820, said that he saw God in a vision who directed him to start his own church, which is today known as the Church of the Latter Day Saints (or the Mormon Church).
Or how about Gautama Buddha, who was born in 400 B.C. and started his own religion which we know today as Buddhism. Years of travel, fasting, meditation and self-reflection led him to the discovery that is all up us to achieve our desire for the Divine. And finally, maybe you've heard of the prophet Muhammad who was born in approximately 570 AD in Mecca. When he was 40, Muhammad reported being visited by the angel Gabriel in a cave and received his first revelation from God. In 613, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, teaching that he was a prophet and messenger of God, and today is known as the founder of Islam. And there are hundreds more of those origin stories that make up a large part of the religions of the world.
Studying the different belief systems in my twenties reinforced for me my belief in Christianity. One of the primary reasons I believe is because Christianity is nothing like any other religion on the planet. For instance, it is not a religion founded by one man's dreams and visions. In fact, it is based on 66 books that make up the Bible, which were written by over 40 different authors over the course of over 1,500 years. The Bible, which despite being penned by different authors over 15 centuries, does not contradict itself and does not contain any errors. The authors all present different perspectives, but they all proclaim the same one true God, and the same one way of salvation—Jesus Christ. One common theme that stood consistent across hundreds of years of different civilizations, ideas, and people.
Or how about the fact that in every other religion of the world it is all about what man can do to work toward a relationship with the divine or to achieve nirvana through his own efforts. Christianity says the opposite, that there is nothing that we can do to work our way toward God, yet in His divine grace, God made a way to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. Not to mention the evidence through ancient architecture, writings, and my own testimony of what Jesus has done for me.
So in closing, what are your thoughts on the religions of our world?
