Grand Canyon & Missions

I was talking with an old classmate, who had just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. She was talking about her tour trip to the Grand Canyon, and I saw an opportunity to talk about my mission since one of my areas covered the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and I had gone to church there.

Tithing and Garments

Our neighbours had us over for a backyard barbecue, and at one point, the husband asked us about tithing. We talked a bit about it. Just before we left, he asked us about garments. Apparently, our 6 year old has been talking about garments when playing at their house.

Mormon Men

A classmate said that my being in the class has completely changed her outlook on religious men.

This goes back to my two reasons of why I share the gospel in everyday conversation: to brand myself as a Mormon in order to encourage friends to come to me with questions, and to convince people that Mormons are not homogenous.

Taking the bus to church

I take the bus to church for my early morning meetings Sundays. This way my family can use our one vehicle to get to church, and I don’t need to go back to get them.

This morning, when I was getting ready to disembark, the bus driver asked if I were going to church. When I affirmed I was, she pointed to our church, which is across the street from the bus stop, and asked if that was the one where I go. I said it was. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to talk about it further since I was getting off the bus, but she is my weekly bus driver, so maybe there will be something next week.

Mormonism Class

A classmate told me she is going to take the Mormonism class next summer. She took North American Religions from the same professor this summer, but I like to think some of my comments in class helped her make that decision.

Drinking

A classmate related to me how he thinks he drank too much at a wedding this weekend because one of the hotel’s staff threatened to call security. He said to me, “You know how it is when you can’t piece together what happened to you the night before.” Sometimes, I just wonder if Heavenly Father loves throwing these opportunities into my lap. Nevertheless, I explained how I have never drank alcohol in my life.

Why I share the gospel in everyday conversation

Some of my readers might ask why I try to take advantage of opportunities in everyday conversation to mention the LDS Church. I actually do it for two reasons:

First, I’m a bit quirky. Whatever stereotypes people have about Mormons, I guarantee I don’t fit them. As a result, if people know I am Mormon, they might change any stereo types they might have about us.

Second, it’s sort of about personal branding. If I regularly mention the church in passing, eventually when someone wants to know more, they will come to me and ask. This has happened a few times.

I never try to be overbearing or evangelical. I just try to let the conversation take its natural course. If it fizzles out, I let it go, even if there is more I want to say.

Missionary discussions

We had the missionaries over for supper tonight. We had my brother-in-law, who has been away from the church for several years, over, too. The missionaries taught him a discussion, and he has agreed to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and come to church this Sunday.

Toilet paper & Crying

In class today, we were discussing roommates expecting each other will buy the groceries. I shared how on my mission, every time a missionary got transferred into a new area, (s)he was expected to buy the toilet paper.

We also discussed how it’s acceptable for women to cry in public, but not for men. I explained how that in our church, crying while speaking publicly is a sign of spirituality, but it’s still more acceptable for women to cry than for men to.

Fasting & Missions

A conversation about McDonald’s at school today prompted me to share a story about McDonald’s from my mission. Also, I was talking to a Muslim classmate about Ramadan, and we spoke a bit about fasting in Islam and Mormonism.