Conversion

Before I begin this post, I'm writing this as viewed from my eyes, a Catholic who's pretty cool with everybody else, no matter what you believe in. It's always good to keep an open mind, because you never know...

At my job at the warehouse of a nationally-known chain of video game stores, I was a refurbisher. I checked that the battery of a certain device was in good working order. Next to me was a person who formatted the phone version of this popular device, six at one time. When I landed the job, I didn't talk with him or the lady next to me. As the next day came, I talked to them and even befriended the guy on Facebook after we learned of many many coincidences. Seriously. Three degrees of separation; literally.

While talking to my formatting co-worker, who I'll name Adam, we got around to talk about somethings. One of them was education. I asked if he was going to school, and he said "yes", and that he was going to a university that was run by the Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormons. He only said the three-letter acronym, and as I set another phone to test, I thought, "Huh, why does that sound familiar?" DirecTV has a channel named the same three-letter acronym, with "tv" after it. That's where I knew it from. Maybe. He walked over to the supervisor.

As he walked back to his station, I said, "That three letter acronym wouldn't happen to mean Brigham Young University, would it?" He said, "Yeah, it does." I replied, "Oh, but isn't that run by Mormons?" And he replied that it was, and that one would go if one was a Mormon. Then it struck me like when a loaf of bread falls out of the cupboard and hits you in the head.

"You're a Mormon?" I asked. He replied that he was.

"Holy sh**" I thought. "This is so cool."

To read a summarization of the information available on Wikipedia about the history of the Mormons, click here.

After he affirmed he was Mormon, I started asking questions as if I had I just landed in a different country. I asked what they believed in, if there were any restrictions on behavior, and their stance of those decisive issues like gay marriage and abortion. He answered the questions to my satisfaction, and were just like the Catholic Church on those last two issues... there goes my life. (Wait, what?)

I forced three days of conversations out of him, which I'm not sure annoyed him or if he was just glad to answer. Talking about one's religion is a pretty no-go area, but I'm an open-minded individual, Democrat in thought, liberal in beliefs. I figured that we has O.K. with it since he hadn't stopped me, or that I hadn't offended him. I offend people easily somehow, like Bill Maher. 

As I kept asking questions, he told me some interesting things. For example, he told me how the Church sub-divides areas. He told me that there are wards within stakes. Wards are a group of people, maybe an individual temple, or as he told me in Utah, "this neighborhood is a ward, this one is a ward." These wards are in stakes, like a schools in a school district. Those stakes are in areas, an aggregate of stakes in a geographical area. A little confusing, but it's not hard. 

I found this to be weird, but also a bit cool because it's like being in a certain grade in school. You and all these people gather and get to know one another, and that's what I told him. He mentioned that that is how he knows most of his friends was through this way. Wish I knew that many people... He told me that he was leader of a youth group, and also a helper of a bishop, the guy who oversees his ward. What girl doesn't love leaders? What guys don't like leaders? I don't know... but let's keep on reading.

I then explained about the subdivisions in the Catholic Church, although the only two I know are the diocese and archdiocese. Bluffed my way through that.

I absolutely loved knowing what his religion was all about because most people I know are Catholic or some Christian denomination, but knowing a Mormon is cool.

I should just say now that I shouldn't make such a big deal about him being a Mormon. What matters is what kind of person he is... and believe me, he makes me look like a potato.

Honestly, he's so awesome, I called him a "carrot." What the hell was I thinking?

Seriously, if you were there, you'd be all like, "OMG, and what do I do all day, tweet and tumblr? This guy does all these things and I can barely do school." That's how I felt, but I have serious balancing issues, so most of what he does I can't do.

I really can't say anymore because I didn't ask his permission to write about him, so I hope he's not angry. Sorry Adam.

Anyway, enough like feeling like a potato. On Monday, after being picked up and being dropped off, I told someone about meeting this really cool guy who was a Mormon. Then I told them that I was interested in seeing the inside of the local Mormon church, since there's one located in the center of town. I've always driven past it, and most times, it seemed as if there wasn't anyone there. 

Sitting at the kitchen table, I told someone that I was interested in seeing how things worked. Then the most unexpected thing happened. They said that I shouldn't do that, that I should mind my own business. I was shocked, because I had never heard this before. I jokingly said "I'm not gonna convert!"

They wouldn't talk anymore about it, but I don't blame them. I told Adam the next day and he said he's seen worse reactions, like someone telling him he's not a real Christian. If you're religious, I bet that's a big thing to say. Not sure if there's a Catholic equivalent, but that hurts nevertheless.

But I would like to see the inside of a temple (I believe that's what Adam told me their churches are called... but I forget like a North Carolinian at the polls.) After all the Adam told me, I'm genuinely interested on seeing how things work, although I think I'll stick to Catholicism. I mean, if Bill Maher can go into a truck stop chapel, I think I go into a temple and not piss anyone off. Because when Bill Maher walked into that chapel, he pissed like three people off. 

My plan is to piss off ZERO people.

If I do go into one, I'll write a follow-up post to it, I promise. Unless someone wants to take me. 

Coming Soon... intro

Talking about another religion has 

someone's panties in such a twist!

Coming soon to the ESF!