Oddball Ways to Start a Religious Conversation

All of us have heard stories how people became interested in the Church for unexpected and even unusual reasons.  A friend of mine was walking down the hall of his high school and as he passed a group of girls he knew were Latter-day Saints overheard one of them say, “I can’t imagine getting married anywhere but in the temple.”  He wondered what’s so special about a temple.  Why not near a beautiful forest or on the beach at sunset or in your own backyard?  He couldn’t get the thought out of his head; ended up as a counselor in our stake presidency.  And the girl who made the statement probably doesn’t know what she put in motion.

Then there’s Karl G. Maeser, eventual founder of Brigham Young University, who was introduced to the Church through a vile piece of anti-Mormon literature.  What was put in motion for him was the thought that if a church could arouse such intense opposition, there must be something to it.  (Hmm, come to think of it, maybe we should distribute such literature and point out the stupidity of their attacks.)

The point is, might there be new angles to put in motion thoughts about the gospel?

Here are three ideas to tinker with if you like to experiment.

The Ice Cream Truck

An imaginary story kicks it off:

Let’s say you’re driving along the highway a little faster than you should and a guy in an ice cream truck waves you over.

You pull off to the side of the road thinking the man has noticed something wrong with your car and wants to bring it to your attention. 

But instead of helping you, he issues you … a speeding ticket.

Would you pay it?

Your conversation friend will reply, “Of course not,” to which you could say that the ice cream truck driver claims he’s authorized to issue speeding tickets because he feels called to help his community.

The parallel is obvious.  It shouldn’t be difficult at this point to introduce the need for authority in religious matters and that such authority can only come from the top down as set in motion by the Savior Himself. 

Feelings, no matter how firmly held, are insufficient. 

Sorry, But Your Baby Was Born at Home

This conversation starter may offend some, but then, so does Moroni 8.

Let’s suppose that a mother loses a four-year-old daughter in an accident.  And let’s say this child was born in a home, not a hospital.  Someone comes up to the mother after the burial, expresses condolences, and then says, “It’s too bad your daughter will have to spend eternity in hell.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if a child isn’t given the special treatment that only hospitals can administer, that means hell instead of heaven.”

“I’ve never heard of that.  Why should she be punished for something she wasn’t even aware of?  In fact, why should activities at birth have anything to do with whether someone ends up in heaven or hell?  It’s not fair.”

“Doesn’t matter.  Those are the rules.”

Now substitute baptism for special treatment. Does it make sense, you might follow up, to assign people to heaven or hell depending on whether they were born in a hospital or at home?  Sound like something Christ would endorse?

More to the point, what about people who have never heard about Jesus Christ?  Are they out of luck? 

What If God Held a Televised News Conference?

In today’s 24/7 blanket of news stories, opinions and analysis, this question might feel more comfortable.  The continuation would run something like this:

Would you watch it?  And if you did, do you feel you would learn something new … or … that everything our Heavenly Father would say is already found verbatim in the Bible – that is, He wouldn’t say anything new?

If your conversation partner opts for the latter, then the next question is simple:  Who do you think will win Saturday’s football game? 

But an open-minded person will realize that we are still learning, that God can tell us something new, and that ongoing revelations and additional scriptures are not only possible, but logical. 

Got a few favorite stories you could tell him?  Perhaps explain the 9th Article of Faith?

* * *

Authority, infant baptism, revelation.  In short, take a risk and try something new. 

You never know what might work.

Gary Lawrence is the author of “The Magnificent Gift of Agency” available at Deseret Book and on Amazon, and the new website “Where-Do-We-Agree-Survey.com” which includes the above news-conference question.