Washington Post Points to Mormon Values of Community Building

In a Washington Post opinion piece about social mobility in the United States, columnist Fareed Zakaria says “cities with strong families, civic support groups and a community-service orientation do well on social and economic mobility.” He notes that this is “why Salt Lake City — dominated by Mormons — has mobility levels that compare with” countries in northern Europe that “do better at moving poor people up the ladder than the United States does." Salt Lake City may not be “dominated” by Mormons, but the Latter-day Saints there consider it a religious duty to help their neighbors.Zakaria calls this fabric of community relationships “social capital,” and it’s one of the values that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lives by. What’s more, this same “social capital” is greatly boosted by religion. Several commentaries on MormonNewsroom.org explain how Mormon faith and practice help create strong families and robust communities. But it’s not only Mormons. All people of faith nurture social capital in their efforts to make the world a better place.

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