The Davis County Commission welcomed a special guest at Tuesday’s meeting. Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism who gave an opening prayer. Zed is from Nevada but travels all over sharing his message at city councils and commission meetings. 

“I’ve been to the Utah State Senate and House and 30 commissions,” he said. “I went to the American Fork City Council and Provo City Council and BYU.”

Zed also took a tour of the Missionary Training Center in Provo. “It was great,” he said. “Everyone was excited to go. We met the president of the Missionary Training Center. I spoke to one of the classes of religious education at BYU and we met the faculty of religious education.”

The purpose is a spirit of education, said Zed. “We want people to know about Hinduism, right? We have a temple in South Jordan and another one in Salt Lake City and one in Spanish Fork.”

Zed said he has opened the Utah House and Senate with the Hindu prayer. “I go around the country. I’ve opened 361 legislative bodies.”

Utah is very welcoming, he said. “They’re very accepting. Although they don’t understand us they accept us. Other places maybe not but it is here. What is great is I have been to the smallest cities, like a population of 200 in Utah, and Provo which is the biggest city that has prayer.”

Salt Lake City has no prayer (at their meetings), said Zed. “Salt Lake County used to open with prayer. But I tried to talk to them but they said ‘we have no prayer.’ I think they don’t usually have prayer here (commission). They said that I could do it, so that is wonderful.”