Episode 82: The Saints of Las Vegas (Fred Woods)
Y Religion
BYU Religious Education
4.8 ā¢ 1.7K Ratings
šļø 15 June 2023
ā±ļø 51 minutes
šļø Recording | iTunes | RSS
š§¾ļø Download transcript
Summary
The city of Las Vegas is known for its casinos, but there is also something to be said for its communities of Saints. In the mid-1800s this city was a hub for Latter-day Saints and others travelling from California to Utah. Today, a temple stands in Las Vegas with a second one on its way. In this episode, Professor Fred Woods takes us through the history of this vibrant religious community, and how Latter-day Saints have lived, worshiped, and influenced the culture of Las Vegas for good.
Publications:
Bright Lights in the Desert: The Latter-day Saints of Las Vegas (University of Nevada Press, 2023).
Bright Lights in The Desert: The Latter-day Saints of Las Vegas (BYU TV documentary video)
āBright lights in the desert: How Latter-day Saints have shaped Las Vegas culture, community, and politicsā (LDS Living, 2023)
Click here to learn more about professor Fred Woods
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Heather, my wife, religion friends, Professor Anthony Sweat here from BYU Church History |
| 0:03.8 | and Doctor, and welcome to another great episode of the podcast. Many of you have likely visited |
| 0:09.6 | or heard about Las Vegas, Nevada. Some of our listeners likely, in fact, live there right now. |
| 0:16.7 | Well, when you hear Las Vegas, what comes to your mind? Most likely, the Las Vegas strip, |
| 0:24.0 | casinos, gambling, buffets, entertainment, and the like, am I right? |
| 0:28.8 | I remember as a kid, the first time I visited Las Vegas. I was 12 years old, |
| 0:34.6 | and I went there to play in a basketball tournament. And to get to our team hotel, |
| 0:39.5 | we had to walk through a casino in the lobby. As a simple Utah boy, I had never seen so many lights, |
| 0:47.8 | slot machines, and cigarettes, nor heard so many noises and clinking coins, all emanating from one |
| 0:54.4 | place in my entire young life. The experience is seared into my memory, and for most of us, |
| 1:02.0 | that's the Las Vegas that we know. But we need to know something more than that about Las Vegas, |
| 1:08.7 | particularly about its roots that had nothing to do with casinos, but everything to do with communities, |
| 1:14.8 | including Latter-day Saint communities. Many do not know that the Latter-day Saint pioneers were |
| 1:21.0 | part of the first communities who helped settle Las Vegas in 1855. For decades, Las Vegas |
| 1:28.2 | served as a way station to resupply immigrants between California and Utah. Although known today |
| 1:35.5 | as Sin City, originally Las Vegas could have been called Saint City. |
| 1:41.6 | Professor Fred Woods of BYU Trait history and doctrine has recently published a great book |
| 1:46.8 | through the University of Nevada Press called Bright Lights in the Desert, the Latter-day Saints of |
| 1:52.1 | Las Vegas, that chronicles the history and influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day |
| 1:57.6 | Saints in Las Vegas. You know, there's over 100,000 Latter-day Saints in the area, and at one time |
| 2:04.7 | there were more churches in Vegas than any other city in America. So, you know, they care about |
| 2:11.8 | their families. This is a vibrant religious community. In this episode, Dr. Woods helps us see |
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