Am I open minded? Do I care to truly know something before I make a decision? These are just a couple of the questions that went through my mind yesterday afternoon. My daughter came home and told me that one of her best friends was not allowed to play with her anymore. Her answer when I asked why was sort of a surprise to me but at the same time not really. She told me that her friend's parents told her not to play with my daughter because of her religion. Apparently we worship a statue and do not believe in the Bible. Ugh../slaps forehead. I have heard these statements and ones like them all my life. I can deal with them and respond to them without issue. But it breaks my heart to see something like this hurt my daughter. She was very upset about losing a friend. We had a nice discussion about what happened and how to respond in the future. What was really nice is that this was not a religious discussion with her. We talked about not judging others, about not discussing something as a fact if you really don't know, and so many other things.
I served a mission for our church in the wonderful country of Argentina. I lived there for two years. I lived in there communities, ate their food, and visited with families day after day. One of the many things I learned is that people are the same everywhere. All parents worry about providing for their families and keeping their children safe. We may not all believe the same thing but that does not make us bad people. I have learned so much in my life by listening to those around me. Especially those that believe and think differently then I do. To those people I say "Thank-you".
For the record, we do not worship a statue and we believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. For a brief list of our basic beliefs you can read our Articles of Faith.
-Charles
