When opportuniy Knocks...

When opportunity so conveniently knocks on your door, do you let it in? I have been thinking for many years now about a certain topic on which I'd like to state my opinion. I think there is erroneous thinking going on within the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when it comes to members of other faiths. I am not sure what clicked in my brain that made me make the switch in thinking some 10 years ago. Perhaps it was the fact that I was now married with my own life and a desire to structure it in my own way. I recall when I was young, that when the Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on our door we were quick to shut it. "We're not interested!", my parents would say and close the door just as fast as humanly possible. Why do we do this? It makes no sense really. Maybe we are not interested in converting to their faith. But have we ever paused to think what we might be able to share with them? Or should we just sit on our high horses and keep the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ourselves? Better yet, have we considered that we just might learn something by inviting them in for a gospel discussion? I know I have. We don't have to agree to get along. We all interpret the scriptures differently and it is quite enlightening to discover that people of other faiths are not just a bunch of crazy wayward nutcases, but do in fact, have reasons (just as we have) for believing what they believe. This does not mean that I have to believe them to be right, but rather, that I recognize that most of them are just good people trying to serve the Lord in the best way they know how. How can we expect to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, however, when the opportunity knocks right on our front doors and we shew it away? We don't have to feel threatened by such encounters, but look at these individuals as our dear Brothers and Sisters in the Gospel, as friends, and communicate with them on that level. There is no need to get our panties in a ruffle when we disagree. We can politely carry on discussions in a manner that each party recognizes that we differ in our beliefs and interpretations but are interested in one another and why we believe what we believe. Though doctrinal differences can be a sensitive topic, those who truly seek the mind of God need not fear such differences in opinion. So...if you've ever slammed the door on a Jehovah's Witness, gotten in a tizzy with an Evangelical, or cursed the Muslims for their Islamic Extremists, I invite you to wake up. People are not so cut and dried. There is a better way. The world is full of the good and the bad, and there is no particular religion that can successfully be applied to either. I invite you to open your eyes and see what you may have missed before. Opportunity!