Escape Clause

I went to the Mesa Temple this morning to go through a Spanish session.  It was a lovely experience and I was very happy to find that I understood pretty much everything.  My friend Shannon came with me and informed me that I was "so cool" because I didn't need an English headset.  Cool is totally what I was going for.  Mission accomplished.  After the session we went to have an organic breakfast at a place called The Farm.  Surprisingly enough, it is a farm where they grow all the food they serve.  Basically, it is amazing.  As we sat there discussing various topics I looked around at the peaceful atmosphere of the farm and thought that this is how life should be lived.  The morning was refreshing and peaceful.

On our way back I picked up my car from the shop and ended up having a conversation with a guy who is friends with the shop owner.  He explained that he is a Christian minister without any direct affiliation to a particular church and that he is very well versed in the Mormon religion.  I found this intriguing so I asked if he had read the Book of Mormon.  Parts of it.  He admires the dedication of the members and the good we do.  He actually attended seminary with friends.  So what was his reservation?  He told me that we do not believe in the same Jesus Christ.  I explained we believe in the Bible so I was confused how we couldn't believe in the same Christ.  He simply said that we believe in two different people.  I made it clear that there is only one Jesus, so if there are two different statements being made about him that contradict each other, only one of them can be true.  He agreed but failed to make his point.  He simply admitted to believing in the Trinity which I reminded him was created by the Nicene Creed.  He didn't feel like explaining that one.  I then stated that we believe Christ is the literal son of God and that he came to earth to atone for the sins of the world.  Apparently this is not what he believes.  According to this man, Christians believe that everyone but Christians will go to Hell when they die.  How depressing!  Mormons, however, are different because they have an "escape clause" to this.  We sure do! It is absolute madness to believe that God, the father of all mankind, would allow a majority of his children to come to earth without the opportunity to hear the gospel and then tell them too bad after they die and send them straight to Hell.  That is unjust and quite frankly, pointless.  God's main objective is for all of His children to return to Him and all will have the opportunity to do so in this life or the next.  So yes, in a manner of speaking we do have an "escape clause." 

He also told me that if the Mormons are right, then we have a very serious and solemn responsibility.  I agreed and said that I was sure happy to have it.  He mentioned something about the fact that I can take comfort from it right now, but I explained that I am pretty sure it will always make me happy.  He concluded that by either religion he should be okay because he is Christian so he won't go to Hell, and if the Mormons are right then he should end up in the third kingdom and I will go to the highest because I've been a member all my life and I served a mission.  I tried not to laugh and informed him that's not exactly how it works.  I ended the conversation by telling him it was interesting to see how the Church is viewed through the beliefs of someone else.  Overall, it was a good discussion, and I left thinking how lucky I am to have the peace and knowledge that I do.