The Final Week of Tennessee

The internet in my apartment has started working so I will write again as I promised.

I made a sale on Friday night to a lady named Jean. She invited me in and gave me a glass of ice water while we filled out the paperwork. I asked her where she goes to church--Kyle thought up that question as a gospel sharing ice breaker--and she said she's Lutheran. She knew I wasn't from around here because the way I talk is "smoother", as she put it, than the way the Southerners talk. I told her I'm from Utah and that I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints--did that primary song just pop into your head? It did in mine! Then the discussion started:

"So what have you heard about our church," I said.
"Well," she started, "I know you guys go to church on Saturday and there was some guy, Smith?"
"Yeah, Joseph Smith."
"Yeah, this Joseph Smith guy found some plates in the dessert. But that's all I've really know."

I was immediately relieved that she didn't straightway condemn me to damnation because the Book of Mormon is "adding to the Bible" and going against what is said in Revelation 20:18: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." I can't count the number of times people have told me this. "You Mormons are adding to the Bible! It says 'no adding to the Bible' in Revelation! That book is adding to the Bible!" Just smile and walk away, that's all I can do at that point without "Bible bashing"--which is a waste of time and makes things worse than before.

I continued, "Well we actually go to church on Sunday just like everyone else."
"Really?! I thought you were like the Seventh-Day Adventists."
With a slight grin and shake of the head I responded, "No, we're a little different."

I went on to tell her about the First Vision (should that be capitalized? It's a specific event so I would think so. I wish I had English-major-Meridith here to help me with some of the punctuation.) I explained what the Book of Mormon is about and how Joseph Smith came to get it. I told her that salvation can come to all men through Christ and through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel and then further expounded on baptism and the restoration of the priesthood.

There's only one inconvenience with sharing the gospel: choosing the "right" topics to talk about and not going on tangents. It all fits perfectly like a million different strands woven into a beautiful tapestry. It's nearly impossible to start at one and continue on without "getting lost" in another strand.

The perfect gospel. This is what we have. We don't claim ancient apostles as the head of our church. We aren't reading the Bible and trying to copy the organization as best we can. We have had and will continue to have direct revelation from our Lord God. That's what makes us so different. Isn't it great to be a peculiar people? :)