Time to Learn

My name is Jeremy and I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints often referred to as Mormons. This evening at our Family Night I gave a short lesson. (The church has asked members of the church to set aside Monday nights if at all possible to spend doing wholesome activities with our families. As I am single and live far from home, the young single adults in my ward meet together weekly) As a church we are often misunderstood. As members we are often misunderstood. There are those who are enemies of the church, and those who simply don't understand the church and our teachings.

Often I feel, members of the LDS church are equally ignorant of the beliefs of other religions, and I truly feel that if we desire to be understood and respected by others we must first be willing to understand and respect others. We have a great message which we wish the whole world would listen to and accept, but we need to also be willing to listen. As part of the lesson I had the members of the ward (these single adults mentioned earlier) discuss what kinds of things they could do to be more informed and less ignorant about other religions and the beliefs of their friends and acquaintances. I'm going to list here some of the things which were talked about, some more relevant than others but all important.

• Some members come from places such as Utah where there are large LDS populations. Well not everyone is LDS, don't simply assume people are LDS simply because they live in Utah.
• Something essential is to simply listen. We so often want to be heard without taking the time to listen to what others have to say.
• We can find out a lot about by reading different materials. There are many "world religions" books available. There is a book called "Religions of the World A Latter-day Saint View" which gives some interesting comparisons of our religion and many others.
• It is important to realize that often the best source of information is straight from the source. There are many biased materials which may be inaccurate or dishonest.
• Many people don't know what they believe, or they don't agree with all the points that their religion teaches. It is important to remember this, focusing at times on the beliefs of the individual.
• It is also important to remember that religions are complicated and often have many different factions or splinter groups. One group may have significantly different views or beliefs than another.
  
• A great way to see what other people believe and how they worship is going to other churches and services. Many churches have an open door policy just as ours does.
• Do not assume you are the only one entitled to truth. We can all learn pieces of truth from each other.
• Remember that while you have great faith in your religion, others also have great faith in theirs. Be respectful of that and of their feelings.
• Keep you mind open.

Well it is my goal then to learn more of other religions, from study, prayer, and participating in other religions in ways that are appropriate. This blog with track this journey, my religion journey.