08-05-2025
Opinion: The living legacy of Utah's Jewish and Latter-day Saint friendship
In 1903, a remarkable scene unfolded in Salt Lake City beneath a canopy of American flags. Members of the Jewish community laid the cornerstone for Utah's first Orthodox synagogue, joined by civic and religious leaders from across the city.
Among the speakers that day was President Joseph F. Smith, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He praised the Jewish community's 'fidelity and earnestness of purpose,' extending a hand of fellowship and calling them 'brethren.' His remarks, published in the Deseret Evening News under the headline 'Jewish People Congratulated,' offered a vision of kinship between faiths — one that, even today, feels strikingly generous. At a time when religious differences elsewhere sparked violence, Utah's civic life told a different story: one of solidarity and shared hope.
Utah's early history offers a remarkable but often overlooked example of interfaith support.
In part, this solidarity grew from shared experience. In the 19th century, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints understood their own story through the lens of biblical Israel, seeing themselves as a people in exile, seeking a promised land. Having faced suspicion and exile, Utah's early Latter-day Saints often showed respect for the Jewish story. While the relationship between Latter-day Saints and Jews was not always simple, these early moments of kinship — forged through shared ideals of covenant and perseverance — challenge assumptions about the American West and offer lessons for today's world.
These ideals soon found concrete expression. In the 1860s, Brigham Young deeded land to Utah's emerging Jewish community for the establishment of the state's first Jewish cemetery — a rare gesture of civic inclusion at the time. In 1884, Salt Lake City's first synagogue, B'nai Israel, opened its doors to a Christian Bible class taught by Rev. F.T. Lee, reflecting a reciprocal spirit of religious hospitality. By 1891, when the congregation dedicated a new temple, they invited 'people of all churches, denominations and beliefs' to attend. Contemporary accounts praised the event as a civic celebration, noting that political leaders, businessmen, and religious leaders from across traditions filled the pews. Today, a successor to the congregation, Kol Ami, continues Jewish life in Salt Lake City.
President Smith's remarks emphasized a bond of civic goodwill and spiritual kinship. 'You are descended from Judah,' he told the Jewish community. 'Many of us are descended from Joseph through the loins of Ephraim. We therefore consider you our brethren and we ought to be friends.' His blessing, reported in the Deseret News, captured an extraordinary moment: a religious minority celebrated, not merely tolerated, by the dominant faith community.
This pattern continued into the next generation. In 1921, when the Jewish community of Ogden laid the cornerstone for their new synagogue, civic and religious leaders again gathered in support. Speakers included Mayor Frank Francis; Reverend John Carver, a Presbyterian minister; James Wotherspoon, a local Latter-day Saint leader; and former Governor Simon Bamberger — one of America's first Jewish governors. Today, Brith Sholem remains Utah's oldest synagogue.
No history is without tensions or imperfections. But at a time when Jews elsewhere faced violent pogroms — as in Kishinev, Russia, in 1903 — the public solidarity shown in Utah stands out. Across generations, Utah's Jewish and Latter-day Saint communities cultivated a civic friendship rooted in dignity, religious freedom and shared public life.
That example is especially worth remembering today. In a time when interfaith bonds are tested around the world — from campuses to city halls — Utah's story reminds us that solidarity is possible even amidst difference. Recent headlines tell of strained faith relationships, but also a yearning for peace.
The foundations laid in Utah more than a century ago show that bridges can be built even in uncertain times. Latter-day Saints and Jews, each a religious minority in their own way, found ways to honor one another publicly and participate together in the building of civic life. They proved that respect and shared hope are living traditions, renewed whenever communities choose to see each other with dignity.
That is a legacy worth carrying forward.
