We finally got visited today. Cassie was at work, so I had to entertain our first Mormon missionaries. I let them in to talk for a bit. I started off by telling my own story, and then they did their spiel. It was odd. I don't know who more uncomfortable, me or them. I didn't challenge them on all the weird ideas that their church has, because I couldn't even get them to tell me what they were. All they wanted to talk about was the authority of the prophet and the true church, and if I would only pray about it then the holy ghost would confirm that it was true. So I stuck to that issue, and tried to explain to them that the whole hierarchy thing goes against the teachings of jesus and his apostles, because we all have access to god through the holy spirit. I asked them several times how their doctrines differed from hours, what they believed that wasn't already in the bible, but other than the authority of their prophet, they either didn't know or didn't want to tell me. So to wrap things up, I prayed for them before they left.
I feel a little sorry for those guys. They're so young, and it seems like they've been manipulated and indoctrinated. I can only hope that disillusionment will come soon and lead them to true life. If all they have to go on is the feeling they had when they prayed about whether their church is true or not, then either disillusionment will come or their passion will fade. If their passion merely fades, they'll become stuck in a morass of mediocrity. If they are disillusioned, they will be forced to come to grips with everything that bothers them.
These two guys in particular didn't seem all that knowledgable about their faith. They certainly didn't know the bible well, other than a couple of key verses (strangely similar to the ones Roman Catholics use to support their own heirarchy ideas). And they didn't reveal anything about the doctrines of their church. From what I've heard about those, I'm not even sure these guys would know what they are. Either that, or they've been instructed to stick to the message and not get into anything too controversial.
One thing that bothered me was their smugness. It wasn't like they acted incredibly superior, but they were so convinced of their own rightness, that there was little interest in what I had to say. I reminded me of many christians I've known. Anyway, that was my experience. It wasn't all that special, but I hope I had some kind of effect on those guys. I'd hate to think they came in here for nothing.
2 comments:
I hope you did, as well. and I'm grateful you care enough to try. it gets old, sometimes, being a part of it my whole life-you kinda give up, you know? I have so many friends and acquaintances who simply don't care, and are perfectly content to live in their ignorance. It makes me sad.
Good job, Jake!
Remember "The Parable of the Growing Seed"?
Mark 4:26-29
He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
It's up to us to plant seeds. Then God's job is to make them sprout and grow. Sometimes he lets us in on the harvest and sometimes he lets us harvest the seeds that someone else has planted.
Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
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