The First Church of Christ, Scientist in downtown Salt Lake City became only the 32nd Christian Science church in the world when it was built in 1898.
The structure was only the second Christian Science Church placed on the National Historic Register when it earned that status in 1977.The local congregation had only about two dozen members when Utah received statehood, but the church is recognized today as one of 14 "centennial congregations."
That's quite a legacy, but no guarantee for the future.
By the 1930s, the 650-seat church at 352 E. 300 South was regularly filled to capacity. Members were active in the community, and the First Church remained a growing and vital part of Utah's religious fellowship for decades.
Today, members still give free Christian Science lectures, contribute to local charities and offer support to the six other Christian Science congregations in Utah.
But the growth of the past has tran-sitioned into decline.
Beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, membership in the First Church began to dwindle. Urban flight and subsequent growth in the suburbs were partly to blame. As members moved out of the downtown area, many joined either the Second Church of Christ, Scientist at 1165 S. Foothill Drive, or the Third Church, 1306 E. Spring Lane in Holladay.
Those two branches are thriving, and Park City's Christian Science Church is in the midst of a growth spurt. Churches in Ogden, Orem and St. George are alive and well.
But the First Church, while strong in spirit, is struggling in membership. The church's Board of Directors is considering closing the church's doors, bringing an end to its 98 years of service.
"It's saddening, certainly, because we were such an active church for so many years in the valley. We feel we're a part of Salt Lake's religious history," said Bill Smith, chairman of the board for the First Church and one of its three readers, the title given to church members who conduct services.
But the church wants to be a part of Salt Lake's future as well. Members have decided to keep the church going for now, even though Sunday morning and Wednesday night services sometimes attract fewer than a dozen worshipers.
"In our particular branch church, we haven't been getting a lot of new members," Smith admitted. "A lot of people have moved away or passed away."
The church, built for just $18,200 and renovated in the 1980s for more than 10 times that amount, was placed on the Utah State Historic Site register in 1973.
Its Richardsonian-Romanesque architecture appealed to 26-year-old Andrew Kastello, who joined the church last week. A newcomer to Utah, Kastello was raised in the Christian Science faith back East and has attended First Church since his arrival in September.
"It's a beautiful building, but I think it's more why we're there rather than what the place is for me," said Kastello, who lives near the church. "For me, it's what we're studying in terms of what our concept of God is, that God is love and truth - not that God is something that has those qualities, but that God is those qualities."
The Christian Science Church, founded in 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy, derives its beliefs from the Bible and Eddy's book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Weekly worship services are identical across the country, dictated by the church's headquarters in Boston. The church does not ordain ministers but instead employs lay clergy, the readers, to conduct services.
A local group of Christian Scientists of 11 people first met in July 1891 after Eddy asked Mrs. N.A. Bagley to come to Salt Lake City. The group met in various locations until the church building was completed in 1898.
The church is perhaps best known for its belief that prayer is the only way to treat illness. Members shy away from the organized medical establishment, although local church spokeswoman Michele Newport said parishioners are not forbidden to use medicine. They would not be excommunicated should they choose a treatment other than prayer, she said.
"Generally, every Christian Scientist comes into it because they've had healing through prayer," said Newport, a Sandy resident and a member of the Third Church. "So when we choose not to go to a doctor or take medicine, it's because we have a pretty good record of knowing prayer does heal."
The belief in spiritual healing, however, has landed the church or its members in the courtroom more than once. Last year, a Minnesota appeals court overturned a $9 million award against the church for the death of a boy whose mother treated his diabetes with prayer. The boy died in 1989. Newport stressed the parents, ordered by a judge to pay $1.5 million in compensatory damages, did not know their son had diabetes before his death.
Smith said the church's emphasis on spiritual healing was way ahead of its time and has been echoed in the general population in recent years.
"There's a change in public thinking regarding spiritual healing," he said. "At one time it stigmatized the church to near pariah status, where today people are looking more and more into prayer as a means of healing. I think as that trend continues, more and more people will seek out Christian Science as a method of healing."
And at least in downtown Salt Lake City, there's plenty of room for new members.