Zion or Vegas?

[thebigcheese]

Next weekend, we're going down to Las Vegas for a wedding, and we're trying to decide what we should do. We have some pretty strict time constraints, and we're trying to decide if it would be fun to stop by Zion's on the way there. If we do stop, it will cut down on our time in Vegas. But we would have about 4-5 hours to play with, and we could probably squeeze in one or two decent hikes. If we don't stop at Zion's, we'll probably just spend a few extra hours in Vegas. I've heard that Vegas is really boring during the day, so I'm tempted to squeeze in the Zion's trip. I've never visited either place, so I don't really know what would be best.

For those who have been there before, which would be more fun? Zion or Vegas?

[C is for]

I've never been *to* Vegas so I can't say. But my family is a hiking family, and Zions would be the bigger draw for me (even though I haven't tried hiking since last spring and might not be able to do it, that's still what I'd say). It's pretty beautiful there, too.

[Waldorf and Sauron]

Unless you have an attraction in mind that you want to see in Vegas, I'd definitely recommend stopping in Zions.

[wired]

The thread title made my mind jump back to something. Elder David R. Stone gave a talk called "Zion in the Midst of Babylon" in General Conference a while back. (http://lds.org/general-conference/2006/ ... of-babylon) In it, he says, "...my wife and I were driving cross-country one night and were approaching a great city. As we came over the hills and saw the bright lights on the horizon, I nudged my wife awake and said, 'Behold the city of Babylon!' Of course, there is no particular city today which personifies Babylon. Babylon was, in the time of ancient Israel, a city which had become sensual, decadent, and corrupt. The principal building in the city was a temple to a false god, which we often refer to as Bel or Baal."

A member in my ward had gone to Russia about a month before general conference. Elder Stone had given his talk there, letting everyone know at the outset that he was prepping for General Conference. Thing is, he said "As we approach Las Vegas" and omitted the part "no particular city today...." So, Las Vegas is Babylon. Go to Zion.

(Disclaimer: I don't think and I don't think Elder Stone thinks that Vegas is really Babylon. I think he was trying to humorously illustrate a point. Also was surprised that he spoke about Vegas in Russia, but the ward member's story antedated the talk in General Conference so I believe it.)

[thebigcheese]

Unless you have an attraction in mind that you want to see in Vegas, I'd definitely recommend stopping in Zions.

I'm up for suggestions, if anyone thinks there's a particularly cool attraction in Vegas. We already have tickets to see Blue Man Group, but that's about the only thing we've planned.

[thebigcheese]

The thread title made my mind jump back to something. Elder David R. Stone gave a talk called "Zion in the Midst of Babylon" in General Conference a while back. (http://lds.org/general-conference/2006/ ... of-babylon) In it, he says, "...my wife and I were driving cross-country one night and were approaching a great city. As we came over the hills and saw the bright lights on the horizon, I nudged my wife awake and said, 'Behold the city of Babylon!' Of course, there is no particular city today which personifies Babylon. Babylon was, in the time of ancient Israel, a city which had become sensual, decadent, and corrupt. The principal building in the city was a temple to a false god, which we often refer to as Bel or Baal."

A member in my ward had gone to Russia about a month before general conference. Elder Stone had given his talk there, letting everyone know at the outset that he was prepping for General Conference. Thing is, he said "As we approach Las Vegas" and omitted the part "no particular city today...." So, Las Vegas is Babylon. Go to Zion.

(Disclaimer: I don't think and I don't think Elder Stone thinks that Vegas is really Babylon. I think he was trying to humorously illustrate a point. Also was surprised that he spoke about Vegas in Russia, but the ward member's story antedated the talk in General Conference so I believe it.)

Heh. But what if you visit the temple in Vegas? It's like a paradox...

[TheAnswerIs42]

If you've never visited Vegas at all, it might be sort of interesting. Each hotel has its own theme, and I thought it was fun to see how they did that theme. You can see mini Egypt, New York City, and everything inbetween in a few hours. That involves just wandering around the lobby of each hotel, and making sure you see the Bellagio water fountain show a couple of times. But in order to do that, you battle traffic to find somewhere to park, crowds, and invariably end up wandering through a lot of casino areas to see all the cool themed hotels. I've never stopped at Zion's, so I cant' offer any comparison.

I have three brothers that live in Vegas, so for me personally, I did that a few times when I was younger, and now just drive right past it all and visit them. We usually stop in St. George for lunch at a park so the kids can burn some engergy, and try to wander around the Temple grounds a bit just to relax.

On a related note, I recommend the restaurant in Beaver on the West side of the 2nd (Southern) freeway exit. It is a sit down place with a Monte Cristo sandwich that I love. Not fast food prices or anything ($8 or so), but we like the break to sit down and get hot food along the way.

[Wisteria]

Going to the temple in Vegas would be the epitome of Zion in the Midst of Babylon.

[thebigcheese]

So we decided to stop in Zion on the way down, and I'm really glad we did. Vegas is trashy to the max!

I would recommend two things though: Blue Man Group was funny (I was expecting them to be more musical...but they were actually more comical, visual, and interactive) and this sandwich place called Earl of Sandwich was really really good.

[TheBlackSheep]

Going to the temple in Vegas would be the epitome of Zion in the Midst of Babylon.

Hey now hey now, Vegas really isn't that bad. Contrary to popular belief, prostitution is illegal in Vegas and everything else is regulated. All major cities have booze and strip clubs, and casinos aren't exactly rare. The only difference between Vegas and other major cities is that one street in Vegas (which, actually, isn't even IN Vegas) advertises it, quite successfully. Off-Strip and outside of downtown Vegas, the Las Vegas area is just like any other town of a couple million people, except that those couple million people can see as many different versions of Cirque du Soliel as you can imagine.

thebigcheese, I'm sorry for not replying to this thread, cause what you need is a local. Suburban hell? Yes. Trashy? Eh, not too much, if you do it right.

I still would have picked Zion's, though.

[thebigcheese]

Off-Strip and outside of downtown Vegas, the Las Vegas area is just like any other town of a couple million people, except that those couple million people can see as many different versions of Cirque du Soliel as you can imagine.

I'll grant you that. We went to a wedding reception up in the NW corner of Vegas, and that area was very typical of a suburban area with normal houses and shopping centers. However, the Strip itself was definitely trashy -- ESPECIALLY at night.

[TheBlackSheep]

It's true that I'm more used to the porn hander outers than the average person (don't look at them, don't look at the ground in front of them, don't look at chain link fences). Still, if you know where to be after dark, you can avoid it, more or less. They have their favorite spots to be. Also, Sirens of TI? Don't do it, y'all.

[Wisteria]

Hm. Apparently my humor doesn't always come across well online. Which I know is not an uncommon problem. I've been to enough areas of Vegas away from the Strip (although not for extended periods of time) that I know it's actually a pretty normal big city. I spent a pleasant weekend there last March visiting one of my old roommates, her husband and their three kids. So when I say that going to the temple in Vegas is the epitome of Zion in the midst of Babylon, it was almost entirely tongue-in-cheek.
Although I've never been near the Strip at night. That does sound rather frightening.

[TheBlackSheep]

Sorry, Wisteria, I have heard that sentiment expressed sincerely one too many times, it seems.

I still maintain that the Strip can be awesome at night. That's when it's all lit up and when the Bellagio fountains look the best, yada yada. And the porn hander outers are easy to avoid, what with their neon shirts and click-click-click-ing. I think Vegas looks more waaaay more dingy in the daylight.

The ironic thing about all of this is that I don't have any particular affinity for Las Vegas. I meant it when I called it suburban hell.

To sum up: I'm glad you picked nature. Las Vegas isn't so scary. The end.

[Indefinite Integral]

I was just going through clearing all of my unread threads, and when I saw this one the title first made me think it could be a question about getting married in the temple (aka Zion) or getting married in Vegas. Just wanted to put that out there.

[Katya]

I was just going through clearing all of my unread threads, and when I saw this one the title first made me think it could be a question about getting married in the temple (aka Zion) or getting married in Vegas. Just wanted to put that out there.

Why pick? There's a temple in Las Vegas.

[Ineffable]

Uh, this is way late, but Angel's Landing in Zion's is the coolest hike and it takes about 4-5 hours.

[thebigcheese]

Uh, this is way late, but Angel's Landing in Zion's is the coolest hike and it takes about 4-5 hours.

We wanted to do that one, but the rangers said it was really icy up there. It was the first week of March, after all. So...we decided not to risk it. But we'll go back.