Today has been a very enlightening day for me. It is sometimes difficult to share what happens in my everyday life because there is so much that happens that I don't write about. So many small things that eventually add up to mean a great deal to me. Yet, without explaining every detail, the events won't have as big of an impact on the reader as they have had on me. Regardless of this, I will do my best to explain why today was so enlightening to me.
There is this guy in my pod who is very vocal about religion. I would almost brand him an anti-Mormon, but not quite. I have mentioned several of my conversations with him in this journal. He is the one to whom I gave a Book of Mormon. I challenged him to read it at the end of of one his "attacks" on the church. Today he brought a book to my attention that he had on cults. One of the cults that the author went into ( in great detail) was the "Mormon" church or "Mormonism."
He shared with me that he had stopped reading the Book of Mormon after the first two books because he felt the core basic beliefs could not be backed up by the Old Testament. For anyone who knows me well, knows I do NOT run from gospel discussion. I will fight valiantly for the truth. I can be very persuasive with logical arguments. I did not go into attack mode right away, although my mind DID balk at his reason for quitting.
He said that he also stopped reading because there is no architectural evidence of the civilizations in the Book of Mormon. Then he told me that this book on cults goes into such great detail that he could not explain it as well as the author did. He asked me to read it. At first I said no, but he asked me again with an imploring look. I could tell that this was important to him. I had asked him to read the Book of Mormon, so it would only be fair if I read his book.
As I write this, I can imagine some cringing in terror. I can hear you shouting, "Don't read anti-Mormon literature!!" "It will poison your mind!" "Beware!!"
I want to assure you all that I am absolutely, positively, 100% converted to my Savior. I have had the personal witness of the Holy Ghost that:
1. The Book of Mormon is true
2. That Joseph Smith is a prophet of God
3. That Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Son of God and that He is my Redeemer
It would not be humanly possible for me to deny any of these three truths. I just couldn't do it. If someone put a gun to my head, and I was told that if I denied any of those three things, I could live; I would tell them they would have to pull the trigger. I know that is an extreme example, but having had that witness by the Holy Ghost, it is undeniable to me. Of all the uncertainties in life, those are the ONLY three things I know are absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, true.
So back to the cult book... I read the beginning and noticed some false information, right away. I could also tell that the author was extremely biased against the Latter-Day Saints. It was very pretentious, but also filled with a lot of interesting facts. Pretty soon, I was just scanning it because it was so blatantly biased against my faith. There were many sections that went into great detail as to why the Book of Mormon was false. They listed the scientific reasons and other various reasons that had been disproved since the time that this book had been published in 2003.
When I was done, I returned the book with my battle plan laid out in my mind. I proceeded to shut down every argument he had. An example:
He said that if it wasn't mentioned in the Old Testament, then it couldn't be trusted. (He said Joseph Smith wasn't mentioned in the Old Testament, therefore he was false.) I then responded that if that were true, then he would have to throw out the New Testament. the Apostles who wrote it are not mentioned any where in the Old Testament. He said that Jesus gave authority to the apostles' words. I asked him if Jesus wrote any of the books in the New Testament.
This went on and on with every point you can imagine: The definition of a cult, the "unity" of Christians, requirements for salvation, etc. When I would logically defeat his argument, he would change subjects. after a while, I could tell it was going no where and decided to do the only thing I had left. I bore my testimony of the Savior to this man. I expressed the joy I feel in my soul in knowing that He has saved me from myself. I shared my deep love of god and my testimony that He loves us more than we can imagine.
After I had borne my testimony to this man, he told me that he hoped that was true as well. I thought "hoped"??? What the.... I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I told him that after a witness of the Spirit that something is true, it is almost impossible to deny it. You just KNOW, without a doubt, that it IS true. He said that he prays, prays and prays - every day - that Jesus really did what the New Testament says He did.
I was absolutely shocked. Dumbfounded. He was so passionate about what he believed was not true, yet he doesn't even know if what be believes - is true. He is 100% convinced that the LDS is of the Devil, yet he doesn't know if Jesus is his Savior.... After I expressed my dismay, he said, "Come on, you can't tell me that sometimes you don't doubt, even just a fraction, just for a second..." I replied, "I have never doubted since God gave me the witness I prayed for, not even for a second."
I never realized how in the dark most people are. They don't know the true Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Ghost is a mystery to them. I am so GRATEFUL. I have been SO blessed with a believing heart. I don't have to pray to believe. I have to pray that I obey!! I guess that's probably a lot worse!
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