Jun
29
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! If you'd like to write for Helaman's Army, please use the contact form and let us know!
I am not someone who sets out to bash. I have had less than a handful of incidents where I felt that combative feeling come out when confronted with people who had views opposed to my LDS beliefs. And such feelings are always met with regret. One of the people was someone who I liked and had only recently starting teaching. He was not bashing but rather sharing another religion that he had considered and I think how they felt Saturday was the Lord’s Day. I made a snide remark about pork or something. I felt bad and apologized. Later, I would learn a lot more about a denomonation who considers Saturday to be the Lord’s Day and gain so much respect for them after watching their network.
I think bashing removes us from the humanity of the other person. While it may not have been bashing per say, I have an older friend who said that she told the missionaries knocking on her door that she was already saved. As an LDS missionary, I remember having conversations and feelings about this and sometimes they were not so kind. The missionary retorted in what she felt was a rude way that he was going to heaven too or something to that effect. This woman had been a friend of my family for years. My dad worked with her husband. We socialized as a family and they had a daughter my age. She is very religious. Family is so important to her. She has expressed such care for me though we don’t talk much. I was hurt for her.
Sometimes I think bashing comes from insecurity or thinking we have to prove things. God is able to do his own work. And in the end, faith is always required to have any religious belief as you cannot prove it. You can help people with concerns and often bring out facts or help with false information.
I recall seeing President Gordon B. Hinckley be interviewed by Larry King years ago. The interview went well. There was mention of something of the Church and blacks and the Priesthood. President Hinckley pretty much said that was the past and we needed to look at the Church’s current postion. I would have probably have given some long drawn out explanation.
There was a sister missionary who according to a mutual companion was the hardest working of all missionaries. She also had such a love for her pioneer ancestor who crawled during part of the stretch of her Pioneer journey. I think she had a strong testimony. When someone confronted her about a belief, I think that according to this mutual companion that she was calm and did tell them that was what we believed.
I also have a side of me that likes to argue and win at times. I have to keep it in check. Usually I am very noncombative. Sacred truths are not a sport. We need to share with love and concern with a person and love them. I have had a couple of well-meaning people get under my skin as they tried to discuss my beliefs. One man was clearly trying to show me the error of my ways. My heart was not as it should have been in those moments. If love goes out the door, the conversation needs to end. Period.
Last 5 posts by bkb
- Belonging and Being Safe - September 15th, 2008
- To Know That We are Blessed - September 7th, 2008
- My Changing Feelings About God - July 27th, 2008
- Respecting Nonmember Family - June 8th, 2008
- Take Another Look - May 22nd, 2008
Comments
2 Responses to “Defensive About Beliefs”
Leave a Reply
Now Reading
Planned books:
None
Current books:
-
Hearing the Voice of the Lord by Gerald N. Lund
Recent books:
None
-
I think at times we all get caught up in the zeal and excitement of the Gospel. Instead of sharing it with the Spirit that the Lord intends sometimes we bash or say something that isn’t quite right (that offends not intending to.)
I know recently I talked to some friends of mine that I had worked with as a teen. She is an older lady (in her late 60’s) and a devout Catholic. We have always been very open with each other about various matters. She asked me about the temple- mainly why some people couldn’t enter. I thought for a moment how to phrase it. I presented it from a worthiness standpoint- that just as you have to be clean and pure to enter heaven, you have to be clean and pure to enter the temple which we believe is the house of the Lord. We have chapels but those are for use of blessing the communion, instruction and a meeting place for the members. She was still confused a bit, and asked me why my dad couldn’t come and see me married- so she was feeling my dad’s pain of not being able to see me get married. I suddenly understood where she was coming from. I told her while I wanted my dad to be able to come in, that I wanted to be sealed to my husband forever and that the temple was the only way to do this. Sometimes we don’t know what people are really after for answers until we are patient and try in love to explain what we believe. I’ve had many botched experiences where I was arguing instead but I wanted to share that one.
Linds, I think that you did it the best way. You listened to them and answered their question when you understood where they were coming from. By the way, I was offline as far as my home computer for a couple weeks. I have a lot of catching up to do. I hope to send you and email soon, Linds.