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Discover why the Mormons play a major role in global genealogy and how their archives benefit all enthusiasts.
No, it’s not those who travel by carriage and dress in clothes straight out of Little House on the Prairie (those are the Amish, and even though they are completely different, they are confused 70% of the time). It’s the Mormons!
Even though the Mormons encourage genealogists to come and conduct their research in Salt Lake City, they derive very little profit from it.
Most places to visit are at Temple Square, the true “Vatican of the Mormons.” It welcomes millions of visitors each year. The tours are free, guided, with guides in 30 different languages, all volunteers.
It’s the first tourist destination in Utah, and it boosts the local economy with hotels and restaurants, but not directly the Mormon church itself.
The tours are conducted by missionaries, only women. The fact that they are missionaries and therefore volunteers allows the church to offer these tours for free, without incurring expenses (and also, let’s not hide it, to talk about their faith to visitors).
The temple itself is not open to the public. In Temple Square, there are “visitor’s centers” for tourists, aiming to teach them Mormon history and inform them about their beliefs.
Today, there is an increase in tourism, especially from other states due to what is called the “Mormon Moment,” illustrated by an increase in interest in this religion partly due to Mitt Romney, the Mormon candidate for the White House against Barack Obama in 2012.
Another major tourist spot in Salt Lake City: the Family History Library, managed by FamilySearch. It is also open for free to the public, who believe it is their duty to do this genealogical work and help people do it. It offers 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, microfiche... And provides many tools for researchers: microcomputers, microfilm readers...
About a hundred genealogical experts are present full-time for free to help you with your research, as well as 400 volunteers.
Thanks to this, the library is a popular destination for genealogists, so the Air France Establishment Committee Genealogical Group organizes a trip from Paris to Salt Lake City for European researchers.
The library welcomes about 2000 visitors per day. Thanks to this genealogical reputation, they organize Rootstech, the largest genealogical event (more than 30,000 participants).
The question is legitimate: microfilms cost money, the equipment to use them, the trips of the members in charge of making them, the premises, etc.
It should be known that Mormons are often criticized for having a completely opaque policy regarding their finances, indeed, they have not published their financial statements since 1959 in the USA. However, it is known that one of their sources of profits is DMC, a company that manages radio, TV, or insurance companies.
But their main revenues actually come from their own members: these must pay them a tithe equivalent to 10% of their income, as well as what they call the “young man’s donation,” which is a donation representing the value of 2 meals per week. These two elements would allow them to collect 8 billion dollars each year. It is estimated that the Church would have over 40 billion dollars today.
But apart from the indirect revenues generated by genealogical tourism, which remain relatively low, Mormons do not make money from genealogy. Their website familysearch, one of the most visited, is free, unlike its competitors like MyHeritage. The body that deals with the church’s genealogical issues, the Genealogical Society of Utah, has the status of “non-profit,” so the centers are prohibited from selling or valuing information, offering research services in exchange for money, etc.
There you go, now you know everything about the Mormons!