Knock Knock. Who’s There? Mormons. Silence. Hello?
Now repeat this everyday for 2 years.
Every wonder why Mormons do this? Why spread the word of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints? Well, I did. So on one insignificant day, I talked to two young Mormons while walking around in Tenerife. One was from New York and the other one was from Sweden. Elder Hinkley and Elder Holstrom. I didn’t ask them about their underwear or anything weird like that. I just wanted to have some company and know about the Mormon religion.
Science and Religion – Do They Mix?
Having a science background, I believe in evolution, dinosaurs, Pangea, Darwinism, and so much more. I can’t think of a way to explain how Adam and Eve would fit into these scientific histories. Yet, I believe Jesus was a real person. I believe he was performed miracles and died for our sins.
Growing up, I went to a Christian Baptist Church for most of my childhood. I had a Precious Moments Bible. Thursday Youth nights and Sunday school sermons. I got excited for new dresses for Easter. I sang songs like –
Father Abraham, Had Many Sons. Many Sons had Father Abraham… I am one of them, and so are you….
So What happened between being 13 singing songs of Christianity and Now?
Belief versus Faith versus Truth
Belief
I drink water from the faucet because I believe that it’s clean. I haven’t checked the mineral levels, or completed any tests. I simply drink the water because everyone drinks the water. No one has gotten sick. I believe that it’s clean. If I were to test it or google test results, I could prove that the water is clean (or not clean), and that would change the water safety to a truth. I don’t bother because I haven’t gotten sick, and I don’t care. That’s my belief.
Faith
My Dad loves me. I have faith that he will love me no matter what I do or happens in life. I can do countless tests, but there variations are infinite, so is there a way to 100% truth that my dad loves me? Not really, but I I have faith that he does. Faith can be tested but never truly proven true or false. The tests would only make one lose or gain faith.
Truths
Science related. Truths are things you google verify on snopes. Is it a truth that Eve bit the apple? Some say yes. But to me, that is not a truth. That’s your belief.
Joseph Smith – Prophet of God
Why do they do this?
Missionaries – A once if a lifetime opportunity to go on a trip for 2 years to preach about religion. Every 6 weeks each “elder” meets another Elder. The two learned Spanish prior to arriving to Tenerife and worked 6 days a week preaching the gospel of Mormonism. Thinking back to when I was 18-20, it would have been really interesting to go on a trip abroad and meet someone with similar beliefs every 6 weeks. Tenerife, not a bad place to live for 2 years. See the world. Tell people about your loved prophet, Joseph Smith and the son of God, Jesus Christ. Help people.
Our first meeting, I took the two Mormons to a local coffee shop. I drank coffee while we chatted for an hour. We started in Spanish, but all the words were too complicated for me to understand. So they switched to English. The hour went by quickly. I stayed at the cafe and they went to their next appointment.
Walking around La Laguna. Meeting new people. Practicing Spanish. Telling people about who you love and believe in. Now compare this to your job. Is it better or worse? I’m sure they have good days and bad days. But each time I met with the Elders, they were in good spirits and talked about their Faith energetically.
Reading the Book of Mormon
Before this month, I never opened the book of Mormon. I was actually surprised about how “readable” the text was. The first reading the Mormons gave me was the intro. It explained that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and provided testimonials validating the information he found on the gold plates. (The gold plates remind me of the 10 commandments Moses brought down from God, but these gold plates included in the information we find in the Book of Mormon today).
The Elders really wanted to explain to me that this was Truth. They believed it. They had faith in it. Is it scientifically proven? No. ummmmmm…. However, I believe they take it as a truth. I respected their religion and point of view and decided not to fight it.
Going to Hell
As I continued to read different passages in the book of Mormon, I became more and more interested. Mormons have three kingdoms after death. Kids and babies that aren’t baptized aren’t going to hell. They believe that a child under the age of 8 does not have the reason or knowledge to be judged and shouldn’t be judged unfavorable in the afterlife. They go to a heaven where good people (that aren’t Mormons) go. Same thing for the Dali Lama. If I continued to be a “good” person, I would go there too even if I wasn’t baptized in the Mormon faith.
This made sense to me. One of the challenges of Christianity for me is thinking that good people would go to Hell if they weren’t baptized. No one can say in all certainty what happens after we die. But I want to believe that no matter what, our spirits will go to good resting places depending on how we live our lives on Earth. I want to be able to see my grandpa and reconnect in the afterlife.
So what did I learn?
Missionaries are just people out on an adventure. These two guys didn’t miss coffee or alcohol, because they never tried it. They didn’t care about it. They spread the word of Mormonism because they believe it to be True. Saving people and helping others. They aren’t annoying salesman. They aren’t as ridiculous as the Book of Mormon Play or how South Park portrays them to be.
Imagine the feeling you would get from helping a person find faith and improve their outlook on life. Thats their goal. Perhaps someone lost or lonely or depressed – and you were the one to be there to help.
Chatting with Door Knocking People
I had time to spare and I hope I helped to make two young missionaries have a good day. After a couple of meetings with the two white shirts, I learned about Mormonism without being pressured to convert. I got to ask some silly questions about coffee and their temples. They got to dispel false rumors. I didn’t stop drinking coffee or alcohol, and it was nice to find out I wouldn’t be going to the Mormon’s version of hell.
Religion in time of need
About two years ago, a friend of mine, offered me her story of how God was there to help her when she thought she was all alone in the world. She didn’t know how to get out of an abusive relationship. Didn’t know how she would find a place to live or get a job to support herself. Then someone from a church reached out to her and helped her find a place to live. She found a job. She became part of the church community and felt safe. She asked me to open my heart and let Jesus in to help. With my heart open, I could start a new and better life.
I think she could see that I wasn’t in a happy place. I had just left my career and relationship. There was something off about me. Then I wondered if the Mormons had sensed something off about me. I was just wrapping up my teaching experience in La Orotava, living in a new neighborhood with most of my American friends gone. Juggling loneliness and anxiety. Had they seen something in me where religion could help?
Why is religion so important in some people’s lives versus others. I think about how alone I am in Tenerife and realize that if I didn’t have friends or coworkers that I may have joined a church for a sense of community. Someone to accept me and spend time with. Maybe from there, I would read stories about what happened in the past and use that to help make future decisions. If things got better in my life, would it be because of the Church and Jesus? Maybe I could find a modern church somewhere that believed Gays were normal, abortions were ok, and Noah didn’t really have an ark. Would it be that weird?
My New Faith in Jesus
Honestly, I believe that their is a higher being out there that has an impact on our souls. Whether his name is Allah, Yaweh, or God. I do not know. I call him God and I believe his son was Jesus. That’s my faith. I believe that I can live my life on a set of good morals and go to heaven or maybe be reincarnated. The afterlife will never be known to the living.
If I am ever lost without hope, I can turn to religion for help. Am I at that point? No. I’m still okay with living my life the same way. I know things will always workout. Things happen for reason I can’t explain. I just go with the flow. In the same mixed Faith with traces of Christianity, Buddhism, and Science.
