Are we as open as we ask others to be?

[SouthernMo]

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

[bluebell]

Just now, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

Probably not.  I'd invite them in and discuss stuff with them, and even read their stuff (I have in the past with the JWs) but I probably wouldn't pray about it because I have already specifically prayed about which church has the gospel of Christ and have gotten an answer to that specific prayer.

I feel like the request from missionaries to find out the truth is meant for those who haven't ever said that prayer or gone to Him in prayer with that question.

[Storm Rider]

On my mission in France I had several good conversations with Catholic priests - more of an ecumenical exchange. The individuals we were seeking were those who were looking for answers to their questions. 

This seems like a question more in search of a problem rather than anything else. 

[The Nehor]

27 minutes ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

I would take the book and use it as a sympathetic link to unleash magicks upon them according to the principles of hermetic sorcery to convert them to my faith. Suckers.......

[SouthernMo]

22 minutes ago, Storm Rider said:

This seems like a question more in search of a problem rather than anything else. 

I’m not sure if it’s a problem. What do you think?

[Jane_Doe]

32 minutes ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

Completely.  I always welcome them in (frequently to their great surprise).  I also talk with preachers found other places, and regularly visit other places of worship to learn more about what they believe.  All of these greatly increase my love of other people, and my understanding of God (which may involve agree or disagreeing with another person).  

[bluebell]

3 minutes ago, Jane_Doe said:

Completely.  I always welcome them in (frequently to their great surprise).  I also talk with preachers found other places, and regularly visit other places of worship to learn more about what they believe.  All of these greatly increase my love of other people, and my understanding of God (which may involve agree or disagreeing with another person).  

I'm the YW president in my ward and our Mia Maids recently attended Ashe Wednesday at the local Lutheran church for a class activity.  I thought it was a wonderful idea and so important for the girls to learn early that other people of faith are just as sincere in their relationship with God as they are.

[Jane_Doe]

3 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I'm the YW president in my ward and our Mia Maids recently attended Ashe Wednesday at the local Lutheran church for a class activity.  I thought it was a wonderful idea and so important for the girls to learn early that other people of faith are just as sincere in their relationship with God as they are.

Awesome!   Even better if they had s Lutheran friend there to explain things to them and share his/her love of God.  Fantastic!

[Calm]

45 minutes ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

Probably not at this point just because my life is not set up to do so, in the past I have invited in.  Always take material and read it.  I pray generally to find truth wherever it is.  If in my reading I felt moved to pray about it, I would do so.  If not, I probably wouldn't.

[bluebell]

5 minutes ago, Jane_Doe said:

Awesome!   Even better if they had s Lutheran friend there to explain things to them and share his/her love of God.  Fantastic!

I was with the Laurels who had been invited to a RS activity so I wasn't there, but I saw the pictures after the fact and it looked like the girls and Mia Maid leaders were able to visit with the parishioners and minister (is that the right term?) after the service.  My counselor had emailed the minister and let him know that they were coming beforehand so they were prepared for them to be there, which I thought was a great idea.

My counselor is an amazing woman who teaches religion classes at BYU and she has helped the girls have so many great experiences.  She was able to explain a lot about the symbolism of the ashes and the cross to the girls, and she even participated in the event herself and received a cross on her forehead.  

[Storm Rider]

42 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I'm the YW president in my ward and our Mia Maids recently attended Ashe Wednesday at the local Lutheran church for a class activity.  I thought it was a wonderful idea and so important for the girls to learn early that other people of faith are just as sincere in their relationship with God as they are.

This would be particularly a good thing to do given the recent incident at a school where the teacher made a boy wash off the ashes on his forehead. I think helping our children understand other religions is helpful and assists in making the world a better place. 

[Maestrophil]

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

Probably not.  I'd invite them in and discuss stuff with them, and even read their stuff (I have in the past with the JWs) but I probably wouldn't pray about it because I have already specifically prayed about which church has the gospel of Christ and have gotten an answer to that specific prayer.

I feel like the request from missionaries to find out the truth is meant for those who haven't ever said that prayer or gone to Him in prayer with that question.

YES!  This is how I got my first big testimony moment on my mission in Belgium/France.  I street contacted a JW, who accepted my BOM and said he would pray about it, if I would do the same about his book (A little red book about Jesus and who would be saved).  I almost instinctively said "Are you kidding me?" , but then reflected on the fairness of what I was asking, and happily agreed.  

 

I took that book home that night, read it cover to cover, prayed to ask if the teachings in the book were true - and in ALL honesty asked if I should be paying attention to the religion that produced it. I promised in my prayer that if the spirit to ld me it was true, I would follow wherever it lead.

 

I didn't feel good, I didn't feel bad - I felt - nothing at all.  I tried asking a few different ways, with the same results.  After a while on my knees, I replaced the book on my bed where I was kneeling with the BOM and asked "Please let me know if this book it true." and BAM - I had never before and rarely since felt such a palpable feeling of the spirit.  I continued milking that moment by asking about Joseph Smith, the restoration, the (then) current prophet etc.  With the spirit attesting to the truth of it over and over.  

 

It is still a bedrock moment for me.  So I feel we should welcome these 'trial' experiences.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Maestrophil
Spelling

[not_my_real_name]

2 hours ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

Once I found my wife, there was no need to continue to wander through the lot kicking tires. The same applies to the Restored Gospel. I have found the truth; no reason to test drive some other message. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by not_my_real_name

[MiserereNobis]

5 minutes ago, not_my_real_name said:

Once I found my wife, there was no need to continue to wander through the lot kicking tires. The same applies to the Restored Gospel. I have found the truth; no reason to test drive some other message. 

Your mixed metaphor is amusing

So, are you fine with people turning down the missionaries because they already have a faith? Or do you think that non-LDS religious people should read the Book of Mormon when offered by the missionaries?

I'm fully settled in my faith but I really enjoy coming here to learn about Mormonism and discuss things. It's also interesting to see the intra-Mormon disputes.

[CV75]

2 hours ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

It depends on how the Spirit prompts me. I think it best to be open to the Spirit and not to mere notion or impulse. It is also a good default to be open-minded within context of our available resources and wherewithal, which I think gives the Spirit plenty of room to work.

[not_my_real_name]

7 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

Your mixed metaphor is amusing

So, are you fine with people turning down the missionaries because they already have a faith? Or do you think that non-LDS religious people should read the Book of Mormon when offered by the missionaries?

I'm fully settled in my faith but I really enjoy coming here to learn about Mormonism and discuss things. It's also interesting to see the intra-Mormon disputes.

I believe the Book of a Mormon to be the most correct book on earth. A person will come nearer to Christ by reading it and living by the precepts taught within its pages, more so than any other book. Of course I would not be okay with people turning down an opportunity to come closer to Christ, but I respect their right to choose. 

[Storm Rider]

1 hour ago, MiserereNobis said:

Your mixed metaphor is amusing

So, are you fine with people turning down the missionaries because they already have a faith? Or do you think that non-LDS religious people should read the Book of Mormon when offered by the missionaries?

I'm fully settled in my faith but I really enjoy coming here to learn about Mormonism and discuss things. It's also interesting to see the intra-Mormon disputes.

There does seem to be a lot of room everyone for theological conflicts/disagreements or just taking a different emphasis. I used to read Catholic Patheos....but have given up with it. That site seems to be controlled by those with a liberal interpretation of Tradition and Doctrine. I mostly stick to reading Crisis Magazine now. It is interesting to see such broadly different approaches to Catholicism. Funny, I don't have near the same appreciation when I see it within Mormonism. 😃

[JLHPROF]

6 hours ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

My mother always invited the JW's in and took their magazines.  As for me, probably not.  Not because of them, but because of me.

[Waylon]

7 hours ago, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

I have done it occasionally in the past.  That said, I am not really receptive to door to door contact.  I am a very private person and I do not like the loss of control inherent in inviting strangers in. 

I have exhaustively done my own research on Catholicism, protestantism, Islam, and atheism, including reading their own missionary materials, and came out with a much stronger testimony of the Church.  But I have honestly examined other religions to see if there is anything more true there than the Church.  I have said the sinners prayer, prayed for the gift of tongues, prayed about the Quran, deeply thought about atheism, and delved into Catholicism.  And every time all roads led me to the conclusion that the Church is true.

I didn't want to knock doors on my mission, because I felt it was invading others privacy.  However, it appears to be the best way of reaching some, so I put a lot of my negative feelings aside and did it.  

Edited March 9, 2019 by Waylon

[Bernard Gui]

On 3/8/2019 at 11:19 AM, SouthernMo said:

If messengers from another faith knocked on your door, gave you a book and asked you to read it and ask God if it is true, would you invite them in to learn more?

The only knocks on my door are Jehovah’s Witnesses. I always listen to them and take and read  their magazines. It’s been a while since any stopped by.

We had a dear friend was a Missionary Baptist. We had lots of friendly religious discussions with her. One evening I asked her why we call God our Heavenly Father and who does she think is listening when we pray. She wanted some backup, so she phoned her father to come over to talk with us. He was the MB preacher. He came to our door with his associate pastor and they came in holding their Bibles over their hearts.  We had an interesting discussion. They were good, sincere Christian people. I did not become a Missionary Baptist.

 

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by Bernard Gui

[MustardSeed]

Personally I have no problem with all my friends who are as satisfied with their own religion as I am with mine. 

I listen to others beliefs in curiosity, not for searching.  I think many do the same with me.  

But I know the audience your asking the question to, and I’m not it.

[cherryTreez]

I tried to be polite and nice about it when some came to my door. My dog hated them  and she loves everyone. I had never seen her like that. I tried to be nice because I had family on missions and hoped others would be nice to them. The men were jerks and wouldn't listen to my saying no thank you. I was perfectly happy with my faith.

 

My good friend says that he doesn't do all that he should with his religion, why would he be better with theirs? They never go back to him. 

[Navidad]

10 hours ago, Waylon said:

I have done it occasionally in the past.  That said, I am not really receptive to door to door contact.  I am a very private person and I do not like the loss of control inherent in inviting strangers in. 

I have exhaustively done my own research on Catholicism, protestantism, Islam, and atheism, including reading their own missionary materials, and came out with a much stronger testimony of the Church.  But I have honestly examined other religions to see if there is anything more true there than the Church.  I have said the sinners prayer, prayed for the gift of tongues, prayed about the Quran, deeply thought about atheism, and delved into Catholicism.  And every time all roads led me to the conclusion that the Church is true.

I didn't want to knock doors on my mission, because I felt it was invading others privacy.  However, it appears to be the best way of reaching some, so I put a lot of my negative feelings aside and did it.  

Oh my, you skipped the Anabaptist faiths! You missed the best! 🙂

[Navidad]

10 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

The only knocks on my door are Jehovah’s Witnesses. I always listen to them and take and read  their magazines. It’s been a while since any stopped by.

We had a dear friend was a Missionary Baptist. We had lots of friendly religious discussions with her. On evening I asked her why we call God our Heavenly Father and who does she think is listening when we pray. She wanted some backup, so she phoned her father to come over to talk with us. He was the MB preacher. He came to our door with has associate pastor and they came in holding their Bibles over their hearts  we had an interesting discussion. They were good, sincere Christian people. I did not become a Missionary Baptist.

 

 

Did they become Mormon?

[Kenngo1969]

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I think that's the best thing going, faith-wise and belief-wise and paradigm-wise. I assume that the same is true of the devout who adhere to other faith traditions. The short answer to your question is that if a person feels there is something wanting in his current paradigm or belief system, obviously, he's more likely to be receptive when an alternative is presented. If, however, he is content to remain as he is (and, while others' mileage might vary, in my mind, that includes former, lapsed, or disaffected members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) then my advice to him would be to do the absolute best he can to adhere to whatever belief system he espouses.

Would I listen—would I be more receptive—if I felt there were something wanting in my current belief system? Quite likely. And, as I say, I think that's probably true as a general rule for most anyone in the same situation.

https://www.greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/lds-who-join-other-churches/

https://www.greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/a-word-about-lds-disaffection/

https://www.greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/of-doubt-faith-questions-and-choices/

https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2018/11/09/usefulness-of-multiple-paradigms/

https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/toward-interreligious-oneness/