Post #213: In Which Jennifer Gets Religion

I imagine this blog post catches most--if not all--of you by surprise. "What?" You're saying. "That blog's still active?!!" Your second thought is probably something along the line of "Jennifer gets religion? Huh? Did she not before?" or "Jennifer and religion? This is new." Either way, I figured I've confused every one of my (few) readers by the title alone. And thus my ridiculously circuitous plan is one-fourth complete!

Seriously, though, I don't talk much about religion much. I've always considered it to be a rather private and personal matter. Those of you who have seen my Facebook profile may have been tipped off to this by my religious beliefs being listed as "Fiercely Private." And as such, I am a horrible missionary. I do not keep Books of Mormon stashed about to hand out, I do not pray to have missionary experiences, and I do not engage others in conversations about their religious beliefs. I have always had the mindset that if someone wants to discuss it, they can come to me.

And thus I was approached about two weeks ago by a Chinese girl. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her. She said she was very interested in my religion. I was floored. Based on our short conversation, I couldn't tell if she meant interested in a religious way or interested in a just curious way. We agree to meet in two days to discuss whatever she wanted to know. So two days later, I found myself trying to explain the whole "Apostasy and Restoration" thing, plus basic Christianity, how the Angel Moroni is on the top of temples (not our God), the Protestant Reformation, and the concept of the light of Christ.

It turned out she was interested in a religious way! Throughout the conversation it seemed like she was looking for two things. First, that she could receive help from divine beings. Second, that she could find something that explained how to live life. She was Buddhist, so I think that was why she was interested in those things--they're some of the few things Christianity and Buddhism have in common so they were more easily relatable.

I haven't talked to her much since then--I found the Chinese equivalent of Mormon.org and directed her there to learn more. I also located a Book of Mormon in simplified Chinese and some pamphlets that cover the first three missionary discussions, which I need to actually get from said missionaries.

I don't know if she's still interested or even if I did a good job of answering her questions. I am comforted knowing that if she really is interested in the Church, the Lord will send someone else to help her along the way. She also seemed to understand the light of Christ idea and that makes me happy. I had a religion teacher once say that it was his personal belief that eventually all people sincerely searching for God and happiness would find them. I think that makes sense with how I believe God operates. I hope she finds what she's looking for.

And that's how Jennifer got religion.