Growing Demand at Fort Worth Food Pantry Fuels Unexpected Friendship

Latter-day Saints and Buddhists Unite in Service

As demand grows at local food pantries, a unique interfaith relationship buds between Buddhists and missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Latter-day Saint missionaries serving in Fort Worth have joined with the Buddhists at the Chùa Hương Đạo temple’s food pantry in serving neighbors for over a year.

 “We get to work side by side with all the wonderful Buddhist monks and get a taste of their culture,” Elder Brown, a Church of Jesus Christ missionary, said. “It’s a wonderful way to spread love and joy to everyone.”

“It’s awesome to see similarities between our beliefs. It’s also fun to learn about things that are different between us. To be able to see what their culture is like. They teach us a lot about meditation and having peace within ourselves,” Elder Brown said.

Elder Bartholomew said, “They’ve shown me how simple life should be. I love learning about how they worship and how they pray. It’s so sacred and beautiful.”

Elder Willey added, “I have loved learning about their culture, and I never realized how many similarities we have in our religions. I love the worship and the sincerity that they have towards their God and others as well. They have taught me so much.”

The two groups have come together not just in service but in celebration.

Most recently, local leaders, members, and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attended a weekend festival at Huong Dao Temple for the stone laying ceremony of the expansion of the Buddhist site to be built in Fort Worth.

“It is a great honor for us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to support our Buddhist friends today as they celebrate the announcement to construct the Ancient Sacred Buddhist Scripture Stupas right here in Fort Worth,” Fort Worth Stake President BrandonEllison said.

“We have had just a wonderful experience with the monks and other patrons here at the Huong Dao Monastery, as our full-time missionaries and members have volunteered with their food distribution events – they have been so kind and gracious to us. Our shared beliefs include loving our neighbor and lifting burdens where possible, and we look forward to continued efforts to do so as Latter-day Saints and Buddhists here in east Fort Worth,” Ellison said.

Inviting other religions to join our temple cornerstone is a way to respect one another and is part of practicing freedom of religions as we support one another. It’s wonderful to see all our brothers and sisters attend today as we believe religion is a choice.

Sophia Ngyuen, a Buddhist Temple Host

The Vesak Festival and the Laying First Stone Ceremony Sunday kicks off the construction of “The Ancient Sacred Buddhist Scripture Stupas.” Members of the monastery placed the first stone, which will house 840 more sacred relics on the site.

“We certainly appreciate the significance of sacred sites and how meaningful they can be to improve the goodness and relations of a community. We expect that same impact in this community as a result of this project,” Ellison said.

In January 2022, the Fort Worth Church of Jesus Christ missionaries attended New Year’s Celebration at the Buddhist Monastery.

Jeffrey Chapman, president of the Texas Forth Worth LDS mission, described the New Year’s Celebration together. “We had the opportunity to visit with the Abbot of the Huong Dao Temple monastery, the Venerable Buu Duc. He was very welcoming and described the history of the monastery and temple. We also discussed the shared principles of Buddhism and Christianity, a focus on love for others.

“Later, we met with the young monk, Tue Nhan Bhikkhu, who oversees the temple’s twice-monthly food bank benefitting the local Fort Worth community. Our missionaries in Fort Worth are helping with that food distribution as part of their weekly service hours.”

President Chapman continued, “Tue Nhan says that without the young missionaries’ help, they could not carry out the work. The missionaries help with the heavy lifting and loading of food into people’s cars.

“The monastery leaders invited the missionaries to attend on this night of celebration as their guests, serving them a tasty meal.”

“Serving with the people at the Chùa Hương Đạo temple has been such a blessing to me! We were able to help out so many families in the East Fort Worth area,” Elder Cooley, Church of Jesus Christ missionary, said. “I would like to thank Bhante and his people for always being so welcoming and friendly to us. It’s cool to be part of the group that found the service opportunity and see how our two communities can continue blessing the Fort Worth Community!”

“The service we render at the Buddhist temple is a blessing each time we come. All of the Fort Worth zone missionaries love helping,” another Church of Jesus Christ missionary, Elder Hawes, said. “Each week, we help at the food pantry with everything from sorting food into boxes, loading them into vehicles, breaking down boxes, and putting away empty food pallets.

“It’s a joy to be a part of the whole process. Not only that, but they are so kind as to feed us lunch every time we help. The ladies at the temple always make delicious Pho!”

Elder Rocknak, who serves with Elder Hawes, said, “It’s truly a joy to serve the monks and our other Buddhist brothers and sisters and to be reminded that when “[we] are in the service of [our] fellow beings, [We] are only in the service of [our] God.”