Two weeks ago, I read a bold letter to the editor about the need for Mormons to remember their roots when considering others’ beliefs. Being a Latter-day Saint, I agreed with this man’s opinion 100 percent.
No one has to make others wrong to validate their own beliefs.
I believe every bit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I still love to and feel responsible to be open about another’s point of view.
As I stood by my bike at a busy intersection in Georgia, dressed up in my LDS missionary attire, a man driving by rolled his window down and yelled: “You’re going to hell!” I appreciated his input and vowed to never be so intolerant.
After that, I realized how wrong it was for me to go door to door inviting others to my church without being willing to visit theirs upon invitation, or even curiosity. So I started visiting the church services of other faiths on occasion.
What a wonderful experience that was, not only because I realized that I could consider the beliefs of others without feeling threatened, but because others then saw the Mormons were not close-minded, arrogant people.
We Latter-day Saints are taught the story of Joseph Smith and the process he went through to get an answer to his prayer, but sometimes we skim over and forget the first step he took. He visited and considered dozens of different kinds of churches and beliefs, after which he prayed.
If people are unwilling to set aside being right to find what is right, they do not deserve the truth anyway. If people are the kind of people who would not have been tolerant and open-minded enough to find the LDS Church had they not been born a member, what makes them think that “the luck of the draw” will save them?
I invite every preacher of every faith to profess what they believe and do it boldly. If others’ sharing their beliefs causes you to feel threatened, it is not because you are threatened. It is because you are not convinced enough of your beliefs. Why that might be is up to you to decide.
Maybe you care more about being right than doing right, which shows you don’t believe in the LDS church at all.
An old, wise man once told me to be open-minded, but not too open-minded, or my brain might fall out.
I don’t think it is wise to be lazy and unconcerned with what we believe. We should thoughtfully decide what we believe, then stand by and live it, because he who stands for nothing falls for anything.
Now, if I’m standing by something, that doesn’t mean it’s going to fall down unless I shoot everything else dead. Sophistry will die naturally on its own.
