I used to work for a Catholic college as a graduate assistant. At one point during my time there, the nuns that lived in a house on campus moved out and the college decided to house all the grad assistants there. The first weekend we lived in the house, we held a weekend-long party in the house, committing all manner of sin throughout the house (we figured the house had some catching up).
I'd say the chapels and temples will be good for something like that...
Wedding chapels rented to folks who want a chapel to wed in, a reception room to have the party in. Same sex marriages would be especially appropriate. The kitchens could actually be used and the Relief Society rooms could be used by brides to get dressed in.
In my city, all of the chapels are in decent or very good residential neighborhoods with access to public transportation. The buildings themselves are crap, but the land is probably worth tens of millions. If the church collapsed, whoever takes it over could make a killing just on the land under the chapels here.
johnstockton12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What could be some good uses for the chapels if > the church all the sudden collapses?
As I recall, they all belong to the Corporation of the Bishop, and not to the Church itself.
The sole trustee-in-trust is the Corporation of the President, and it (he, actually) has unlimited power over all LDS property.
Seems like the Corporation of the Bishop would relinquish ownership to the Corporation of the President in a total collapse of the Church.
Assuming that the collapse was indeed TOTAL, the President would turn apostate and be left owning all the temples and chapels. Perhaps they could be renovated to become brothels, or gambling casinos, or sold outright to the Scientologists.
Man, I would hope there would be some kind of law suit and former members could get the buildings. I personally would like to see the buildings being used for community buildings. Adult education classes, boy and girl scouts, basketball, etc...
+1 But I don't think therer will ever be total collapse. If they don't have enough believers to fill the buildings, they are good enough at business to use the real estate for something lucrative.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 07:15PM by alyssum.
I once read a book that asked, What business is McDonalds in? One assumes it's the hamburger/fast food business, right.
Wrong, McDonald's is in the real estate business. They own thousands of prime real estate lots around the world. Anyway, that was the author's premise.
We could say that the LDS Church is supposed to be in the faith/salvation business but wrong, they own more real estate than Donald Trump, Ted Turner, The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service combined. LDS = Real estate business.
(I may be exaggerating on their holdings but they are massive.)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 03:51PM by cricket.
The old LDS chapel in N. Idaho got converted into a community theater. It is actually a pretty cute building now with the classrooms offices, costume storage and such. . .
There is a theatre in an old church in the Avenues of Salt Lake City as well. A conversion to "theatre in the round" might work in the newer buildings, but the stage area is useless.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 07:24PM by releve.
This is all fantasy, but if the church collapsed, then most likely you would see most of the larger wards try to become conventional Christian congregations, or independent New Order Mormon groups. There would probably be a huge legal battle over who actually owned the chapels and land, but in the end, the remains of the corporate church would probably end up selling the old chapels to these new order Mormon groups.
Very few of them have any architectural value. They are cookie cutter and not made from the finest materials. Most of them would be bulldozed to repurpose the land. Few other churches would want them and they do not have the historical value of a Catholic cathedral. Even most of the temples are not worth saving.
Only those from the early days of the church really have much value as artifacts.
I know at least the exteriors are made with high quality materials. The specifications are well above industry standard. Most people I have known that work on church buildings would consider it overkill. Two groups that I know of specify and build like they are spending someone else's money - the government and the LDS church.
I always thought it would be neat to renovate an old church into a house, but I can't see doing that with a Mormon chapel. They're just too damn ugly and corporate. Forget it. Just bulldoze them and put in a Wawa.
I live in Oklahoma where there are Protestant churches on every corner. Several years ago, I was in our ward building on a Saturday, doing my calling and a man walked in, introduced himself as a local Baptist minister and asked if he could take a tour our building.
He said that his congregation was in the planning stages of building a new church, and he had wanted to see the interior of our building to get ideas.
I walked him through the various rooms; the chapel, cultural hall, RS room, storage closets, stage, etc and I even showed him the baptismal font and the button that lowers the baskeball hoop.
He was really impressed with the functionality and layout of our church. He couldn't stop talking about all the things he liked about our floorplan.
In my opinion the church does design cookie-cutter, boring churches. That being said, LDS chapels quite functional and good at moving Mormon herds in and out. That is why many LDS buildings can have 3 or 4 congregations on a Sunday and not miss a beat.
After seeing how this minister loved the layout of our building, my guess is that when the LDS church loses members and closes units in the future, they will sell off chapels to other churches for a nice profit.
Many Baptist ministers would love to have an old LDS building for their flock. All they would need to do is destroy the 'COJCOLDS - visitors welcome' sign; hang some crosses up; have an exorcism to get rid of the evil mormon spirits left behind; add a drum set and loud speakers behind the podium so everyone can rock out at church and finally turn the kitchen into a trendy coffee bar.
You know, it's the attention to functionality that really highlights why I find Mormon churches so unappealing. There's nothing that inspires religious feeling. It's all prefab, lowest common denominator, boring corporate efficiency. No stained glass. No stone work. Mass-produced art. Electronic organ. No individuality or anything really impressive that inspires religious feeling or worship. And I'm sure there are bunches of other churches that would snap these buildings up, like you said. It's a shame.
The Mormon church could really use a makeover. How about incense? Priesthood garb? Candles? Beautiful music. And trinkets! All of the really good religions have trinkets. This shoddy printing of books has just got to stop. If it's good enough to read, then it should be good enough to print in a quality edition that feels good in your hands. Religious worship should be a celebration of the greatness of your deity -- not a place for MBA's at any level.
I guess I don't really understand protestant austerity.
The one in my town put up a big granite sign with the name on it. It looks like a head stone. It will look great when the church dies. Headstone, already in place, just need to fill in the date of the deceased
Generally, the churches built since the 50's are built like public schools. The interior walls, with the possible exception of the chapel, are painted cinder blocks. Some rooms may have a bit of wood trim or partial burlap-type wall covering. They actually could be used as small private schools, but that's about all. They aren't inspiring in any way. A very utilitarian architecture , just as boring as the services held in them.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 06:10PM by rationalist01.
Create mental hospitals for all the members who go crazy and lose their minds when the cog dis hits once they realize that the church has lied to them all these years.
I've never seen the inside. There is one in Honeyville or Deweyville that is a home. These older ones were smaller than the newer stake centers. I would think they weren't that easy to convert into a home.
There is also a very old one on main street in Logan that has been sold many times. It is now owned by another religion.
There is a furniture store close to here that is in an old church..they named it Steeple Furniture. Another town has a restaurant in an old church...this is an old old one..but they kept the stone work and stained glass windows and it's pretty neat.
Or as another poster suggested small private schools.
My vote goes for community centers. You could have a great senior program, small day care program, youth basketball games, soup kitchen for the downtrodden and emergency shelter.
anybody ever been to the church nightclub in Denver? its awesome! a old cathedral turned night club serving drinks at the alter. Mormon ward houses wouldn't have the same appeal
george - great idea! Most of them have gyms in them with basketball courts. They have hardwood floors. Could do an old fashioned roller skating rink in there. Also how about a place for concerts? They already have the organ.