I am in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I just enjoyed three nights at the Renaissance Hotel, which is owned by Marriott. I usually read scriptures on-line when traveling, but I was very pleased to find a Book of Mormon in English when I arrived at my hotel room. This of course raises all kinds of interesting questions for me.
1)Why wasn’t the Book of Mormon in Portuguese?
Even though Renaissance is a business hotel often used by foreigners, the majority of the guests there were Brazilians. The chances that they will read a Book of Mormon in English are very small. I’m hoping it’s just an oversight. The message is not a good one for a country like Brazil with a million members.
2)This story on an increasing interest in religious material in hotel rooms is pretty interesting. It includes the following nugget:
Researchers for the American Hotel & Lodging Association have found an increasing percentage of hotels providing religious materials in their rooms. In 1998, 79 percent of hotels surveyed said they carried such materials; that figured jumped to 95 percent in 2006.
3)On the other hand, there is a hotel chain in Europe that has pulled the Bible because one person was offended. It’s nice to know that religious tolerance is alive and well in the land of Luther and Guttenberg.