Densho Digital Archive - Ted Nagata Interview (denshovh-nted-01-0015)

<Begin Segment 15>

MA: I wanted to ask you about the Mormon church in Salt Lake City, and what the interactions were like, if there were any, with the Japanese American community and the Mormon community?

TN: Well, actually, I was a, all of my friends were Mormons, the Caucasian friends, and I would, I actually went to their Boy Scout troop meetings, and went to a few Sunday morning worships. And to me, it was, the Mormons were nice people. And as I grew up out of my Caucasian friends and into my Japanese friends, I kind of left the LDS church behind and actually joined the Japanese Church of Christ, which is a Presbyterian church.

MA: Were you actually a member of the LDS church, or just sort of informal?

TN: No, I never actually joined.

MA: Okay.

TN: But I did participate. But I did get baptized into the Presbyterian church.

MA: And that, the Japanese Church of Christ is one of the two Japanese churches in Salt Lake City, right?

TN: Right, the other is the Buddhist temple, and it's right across the street, and that's where my wife went to church. And when we got married, we actually got married in the Buddhist temple, and over the years, we somehow gravitated back to the Presbyterian church, and that's where we go now and my children go also.

MA: Do you know of many Japanese Mormons, or Japanese Americans who became Mormons?

TN: Oh, yes. Right after the war ended, there were very many legislators who were saying, "We don't want the Japanese people in our state. I mean, we'll take 'em for a short time, but we want them to just ship out." But the Mormon church did not take that stance, and they were very friendly to the Japanese internees. And as a result, many of them actually joined the Mormon church. And today, I would say there are more Japanese Mormons than there are Buddhists and Presbyterians combined.

MA: Oh, that's interesting.

TN: And the Mormons are a good group because they're very family-oriented. I may not believe in all their customs, but as a family group, you can't beat 'em.