The first time I heard that some people did not view members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints as Christians was when I was a teenager and that concept seemed unreal and almost comical to me. Christ is the author of our faith, the corner stone of the church, our Savior and Redeemer. Everything we do revolves around Him, so that thinking was not logical to me. As a twenty year old I was lucky enough to travel around Europe and the Middle East. At one point I flew on a small chartered flight from Rome to Israel with a large group of American non-denominational Christians touring Christianity’s historical sites. It felt comforting to be around so many openly Christian people once again and I quickly found myself in enthusiastic conversations with them about our Savior and His gospel. Naturally it came out that I was a “Mormon” and as soon as it did the main reverend, who sat behind me, changed his demeanor from friendly to a pouncing tiger. A scriptural and here say attack on my faith ensued. I really didn’t mind and enjoyed the opportunity to share my beliefs. I understood that many of my beliefs may seem different to others at first but knew they are at the core of Biblical Christianity and as a good seminary student, compliantly and peacefully I countered his points with scriptures. Finally out of frustration he said, “It doesn’t matter. You Mormons aren’t even Christians!” At that point I had no peaceful rebuttal. I was shocked. Me, not Christian? What were we just talking about for the last two hours? What was my whole life about? Speechlessly I turned around and cried to myself. People can say what they want about Joseph Smith, our belief in modern revelation, prophets, temples, etc, but to say that I was not Christian struck something within me that had never been hit. It was the first time someone had deeply hurt my feelings with their attacks on my beliefs. After composing myself and praying that I could speak with the Spirit, I turned around to face my brother in Christ and tell him that I knew that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, our Creator, His Savior, my Savior, everyone’s Savior and my friend. In everything I do I try to remember and emulate His teachings. Our Church bears His name, The Church of
JESUS CHRIST of Latter Days Saints, and He is our head and leader. The Book of Mormon is another Testament of CHRIST and every page of the book attests to that. It is written to bring people to Him. I then handed him a church magazine with some words from one of our Apostles addressing the World Conference of Religion and laying out our beliefs. Shaking inside and hoping it wasn’t visible, I turned back around and sat silently. I felt like a vulnerable baby. I never knew I was so sensitive. Behind me I heard various southern accents saying, “Oh, Reverend . . . . , you hurt that poor girl’s feelings. You need to apologize!” After a few minutes he did so and we continued our conversations, but in a more subdued fashion. That experience has always stayed with me for it was the first time that I had to stand up and be counted as a Christian to another Christian. Since then, if the non-Christian accusation is made I do not break down into a blubbery mess, but my message is still the same; Christ is my Redeemer and Exemplar; everything about me and our faith should point to my belief in Him.
We are all God’s children, thus spiritual siblings and should treat each other with such respect. My Christian friends of various sects and friends with no set religion inspire me and have changed my life for the better in ways that only people inspired by God can. They give me a new perspective and we strengthen each other in our resolve to seek for what is good. We Christians or people any religion and regardless of ideological differences, need to band together to speak out the causes of good and righteousness in our society. Separately our voices may be strong, but united they can be an unsurpassable wall to stem the tide of evil and indifference in our society.
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