While we were in Salt Lake City, we took a tour of the Temple Square. We are not Morman, so we were not worthy to enter the most holy Temple, but we toured the square and the historic chapel. On the tour, our tour guide, Sister Cliff (who was about 18) told us a little about the Morman faith. We patiently listened to the founding of the church, the beliefs of the church, and the most sacred possessions and places of the Morman faith...and the only thing I thought the whole time was, "Are you kidding me?" I didn't know much about the church until that tour, but doesn't common sense negate most of the principles they base their entire faith on? To give a brief overview, one family escapes the Babylonian invasion of Judah and travels to America and there they record for 1,000 years, the acts of God and the Holy Spirit in the Americas and write this down in reformed Egyptian which would later be the scripture known as The Book of Morman. Joseph Smith in 18something receives direct authority from God to find these scriptures buried in upstate New York and translate it to English from which the newfound faith was born. Joseph Smith was the first prophet of the new age and there have been 23 consecutive prophets since then receiving and acting upon the direct authority God grants them. There are things about the Christian faith to some are unbelievable, like the immaculate conception, the flood, Adam and Eve, etc. but they all compliment each other in the grand scheme of things through the fruition of the symbols and promises of the old and new testaments leading the way to understanding the "mystery" of the universal church through Jesus Christ. While these may seem fantastical, they still have meaning and logic through reason and faith. The Morman faith is riddled with holes and contradiction, even during the question and answer session with the girls, when they could not completely answer a question that someone raised, they beat the bush and changed the subject. We all noticed this and it was very annoying. Sadly, these missionaries are more equipped than most to convert the foreign nations, the congregations whole heartedly preach this news of expanded authority to the world as we sit by and watch. Even though it may seem ridiculous to us, they are reaching people that we are too scared to talk to, and even reformed Egyptian buried in upstate New York is believable to those desperate for answers.

That must have been a very interesting tour. I didn't know that much about the Mormon church either. I do know that one of the main draws to it is the importance they put on family values, definitely a huge appeal to most conservative people.
I've always admired the "missionaries" on their bicycles, two by two. You know that must take so much courage to do that. Dad said he heard in a sermon once, that these young Mormons may not convert many people, but having done their stint, they've converted themselves for a lifetime. You're right, we can learn from them!

This is Jessica but I thought that "Mom G" needed to be on here at least one more time on this page. I miss you my seester and can't wait to see you when you get home. You need to try on the bridesmaid dress. It's purty.

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