I chose to live in Utah, even though I'm not a Mormon. I had never even heard of Mormons when I was sent to school at Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant to "reform." But afterward, I stayed in the state to attend college at the U and then Westminster.

I love our vistas, our small businesses, our history and my Mormon neighbors. I've lived here so long now that when I go out of state and a server asks me if I want a cocktail, I reply "shrimp" or "fruit" because—for so long—ordering booze from my table was a legal no-no around here and I was programmed from Utah law not to do so.

But times changed, as you may recall. Utah's hosting of the 2002 Olympics particularly caused a shift in ordering liquor at clubs and restaurants.

I've learned over the years that the Latter-day Saints are amazing at passing a balanced budget at the Legislature, raising families and contributing to the poor here and around the world in an amazing system of volunteerism and donations.

But! (There's always a "but," right?) What I don't get is why a religion so enamored by procreation and raising families doesn't offer daily child care at their churches. The local Catholic Diocese offers preschool and child care centers, as do St. John's, Christ Lutheran, First Baptist, St. Paul's, St. Thomas More and Mt. Olympus Christian. Jewish Preschool of the Arts offers pre-kindergarten and child care in the Salt Lake area, with others offered by churches in Provo, Ogden, Logan, Cedar City, St. George, etc.

The Mormon work ethic is to volunteer time and energy to their church and community. Their wards and stake houses often take up massive amounts of land, with real estate and parking lots that sit vacant most of the weekdays. The landscaping could certainly accommodate playgrounds while the building spaces could do the same with nurseries and child care facilities.

Another strong tenet of the faith is that Mormons are to place a strong emphasis on the family unit, raising their own children and encouraging large families. Yet in 2024, a Bankrate study found that 75% of Utah exists in a child care "desert," where there are not enough daycares to serve our population. In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that child care issues create around a $1.36 billion economic loss for Utahns every year.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle attempted to address this issue in the most recent legislative session, with a House bill providing an income tax credit for employer-provided child care and another in the Senate addressing child care shortages by converting unused state-owned buildings into child care facilities. Both bills failed to pass.

Child care isn't cheap, of course, but it is vital for a community because it supports the healthy development of children, enables parents to work or pursue an education of their own, strengthens the workforce and fosters a thriving local economy.