In the January issue of the Liahona, there was a great article by Elder Dallin H. Oaks that you can share with your non-mormon friends. It is titled, “Fundamental to Our Faith“. He begins the article by showing some startling statistics about what Americans think of Mormons as published in the recent book, How Americans View Mormonism, by Gary C. Lawrence. He says, “Three-quarters of those surveyed associated our Church with high moral standards, but about half thought we were secretive and mysterious and had “weird beliefs.”
Did you know that only 14 percent could say that our main claim in the mormon church was some sort of restoration or establishment of the original Christian religion? Although many did view us as people with high moral standards, strong belief in families, and honest, is that really enough if they don’t know the fundamental beliefs that we hold?
I cannot tell you how many times someone has argued with me that I was not Christian. Yet, I believe in Christ. I believe He is my Savior, and He is the only way I can get back to live with God again. What about that makes me NOT a Christian? Hearing about these statistics makes me think, what do my neighbors really think when they see me walking to church? How about some of my close friends that are maybe afraid to ask me deeper questions?
Elder Oaks’ article, is a great way to start the conversation. He outlines 3 fundamental elements of our faith. We should make sure our friends, family, neighbors, and even acquaintances know that this is what we believe. Why not share this article with them, as a way to open up the door to some of those deeper questions they might be too afraid to ask. After all, maybe if they hear our answers about our core beliefs, then the percentage of people that think we are just blind followers might decrease. By the way, the percentage of people that think that is 45.
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