Every once in a while there’ll be one or two Jehovah’s Witnesses standing at the base of the hill south of campus, handing out copies of The Watchtower, and it’s interesting to watch people’s reactions. This morning there were two men, each covering one of the stairways (well, the stairway and the pathway). A small number of the students who passed by them (it was impossible to avoid them) took a copy, but most raised their hands in silent refusal. Some even looked like they recoiled in disgust, as if it were Communist literature or something immoral.
It reminded me of President Hinckley’s devotional address, The BYU Experience, which I was reading yesterday in between General Conference sessions:
Mr. Shimon Peres called on us last Wednesday in the Church Administration Building. He is one of the elder statesmen of the world, the former prime minister of Israel. He has seen much of conflict and trouble in his time. He is a wise and able man who speaks with the spirit of a sage. I asked him whether there was any solution to the great problems that constantly seem to divide the people of Israel and the Palestinians. He replied that of course there is. He said an interesting thing. As I recall, he said, “When we were Adam and Eve, we were all one. Is there any need for us to be divided into segments with hatred in our hearts one for another?” He told a beautiful story that he said he got from a Muslim. The Muslim told of a Jewish rabbi who was conversing with two of his friends. The rabbi asked one of the men, “How do you know when the night is over and the day has begun?” His friend replied, “When you look into the distance and can distinguish a sheep from a goat, then you know the night is over and the day has begun.” The second was asked the same question. He replied, “When you look into the distance and can distinguish an olive tree from a fig tree, that is how you know.” They then asked the rabbi how he could tell when the night is over and the day has begun. He thought for a time and then said, “When you look into the distance and see the face of a woman and you can say, ‘She is my sister.’ And when you look into the distance and see the face of a man and can say, “He is my brother.’ Then you will know the light has come.” Think about that story for a minute. What a wonderful truth it tells.
As I crossed the street and walked up to the pathway, the man closest to me extended a copy of the magazine and said, “A message about the Resurrection.” And as I took the magazine, I thought to myself that although I don’t agree with all of their teachings, they are trying to follow the teachings of Christ and how can I find issue with that? Sure, they’re trying to convert us, but heck — we’re trying to convert them! I can’t fault them for doing the same thing I did as a missionary. :) They’re trying to do good and build the kingdom, and that’s fine by me. Now, if they were propagating something that goes quite against the teachings of Christ — like Soulforce’s homosexuality push — then that’s another story…
[tags]tolerance, Jehovah’s Witness, Christianity, Soulforce[/tags]
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