Take a Stand

On Friday evening, I met the missionaries in my ward for a teaching appointment.  I almost didn't accept their invitation to go with them -- I was really annoyed with them because they almost exclusively text me and they're really vague, which means that I have to text them several times asking questions before I know what's going on -- but I didn't want to punish their investigator for their faults.

When we got to the place of our appointment, the investigator met us with warmth and enthusiasm.  At first, I thought that meant that he was accepting the gospel, but I later decided that he was just being friendly.  The lesson was unusual and the Elders seemed lost every time we veered off course.  I did my best to pick up their slack, which they thanked me for afterwards.  The gentleman we were teaching, Dan, was uncomfortable with declaring anything with certainty.  The Elders brought up the apostasy and Dan said that there probably some bits of truth somewhere in the world.  I pointed out the New Testament makes clear the importance of Apostles and that without them, we don't have a complete church and while Dan didn't say he disagreed with that sentiment, I noticed that he didn't agree, either.

Later on, the Elders ask Dan to read the Book of Mormon, which he agreed to.  They then asked if he reads and prays about it and gains a testimony, would he be baptized -- which is all part of the pattern that I was taught to use while I was on my mission.  When the challenge was extended, Dan became very uncomfortable.  He talked about how he was Catholic and how that was fine and how our church was fine and how other churches were fine; different churches existed because that's what people needed.  Basically, he was espousing a form of moral relativism.  He seemed to be afraid of committing to any belief, perhaps because if he committed, he'd feel obligated to live by it.

In the end, Dan promised to read the Book of Mormon (with the caveat that he'd take his time and it might take him more than a year to finish) and the Elders asked him to call them when he was ready to talk more about it.  I was surprised that they let him go so easily, but maybe they felt a victory just in him accepting to read.

I'm happy that I went with the Elders to teach because it was good to be reminded that we need to take hard stances on our beliefs.  We can still be polite about it with other people, but we need to decide for ourselves what we believe and stand by it.