Be like children, Huntsman Sr. advises

HOLLADAY — The sweetness of childhood provides a good model for adults, says Jon Huntsman Sr., a member of the LDS Fifth Quorum of the Seventy for the Utah Salt Lake City area. Children can play together peacefully without regard for racial differences, and when they have disputes, they can forgive and move on.

The founder of a great petrochemical empire, a philanthropist, and father of Utah's governor-elect, Huntsman spoke Sunday night at an interfaith Thanksgiving service, held at the Holladay Stake Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The center was filled with participants, estimated by the stake's President Franklin L. Child at close to 1,000. Speakers, readers, leaders of prayers and singers included members of the LDS Church; the Jewish Congregation Kol Ami, the First Congregational Church, the Holladay United Church of Christ, the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, Our Saviour's Lutheran Church and the Presbyterian Church.

Huntsman said he is the grandfather of a 5-year-old girl who was born in an orphanage in Shanghai, China. Most of his other grandchildren are blue-eyed and blond. But they all play together harmoniously, without any hint of conflict over looks.

"They have never been taught" prejudice, he noted.

Why can't all children of God have this same unity and cooperation, he wondered. Children harbor no ill will; they sometimes cry about the hurts of others. "They forgive easily and move on," he said.

They play "in an atmosphere of honesty and respect."

Huntsman said adults too should be respectful of all, regardless of ethnic background or race. Children try to share what they have, he noted.

"Every citizen in this great community deserves the respect and love of one another," Huntsman said.

He called upon Utahns to build communities of respect and caring. He said he hopes that Utahns will open hearts to others, "that we may always treat one another with love and respect" even when there are differences.

"No exercise is better for the human heart than reaching down and lifting another up."

Thanksgiving is a marvelous time to reach out to others, according to Huntsman. "May we walk hand in hand through potential barriers of division," he added.

Jonathan Howe, a member of the Holladay LDS Stake, related the history of the religious settling of the area. The area was founded soon after Mormon pioneers founded Salt Lake City, and Holladay quickly had a building that served as a church on Sunday and a school the rest of the week.