Guest post by David Metcalfe

 

I recently saw a post on social media of two missionaries in Africa playing soccer with some local teenagers, and under the video were some normal comments like “that’s so cool!”, but then some inevitable, bizarre diatribes about how evil the church is. If you use social media, you’ve definitely seen this concept before. A normal, nice, uplifting video about the church doing a charity project or a quote about being kind to others, and somehow, there are always a few comments from someone who feels the need to write an argumentative attack against the church.

I cannot imagine seeing a post from a Muslim or Catholic person and writing: “your faith is wrong and terrible for x reasons!”

But sometimes we forget how incredibly blessed we are to have our doctrine regarding our approach to people of other faiths. Right from the beginning of the church, it was revealed to Joseph Smith that we are a tolerant faith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” (Articles of Faith, #11). This has been repeatedly affirmed in Conference talks from that time, right up to our current time.

I grew up in the evangelical church. Their doctrine is a little different on that topic. I remember when I was a teenager, we drove by an LDS church building, and I said to my dad, “What does that church believe?” and he said, “They have false teachings, and they’re going to hell.” That wasn’t a unique opinion; that really is the common doctrine in the evangelical church: believe what we do and go to heaven, or believe differently and be condemned to hell.

For me, that view never felt right. It didn’t seem like a good way to view other people, or think about the world, or think about the nature of God. In my twenties, I studied other faiths- I visited a mosque, a synagogue, a Catholic Church, multiple Protestant denominations (everything from ultraconservative to ultraliberal). And of course, I studied the LDS church. What I found with the LDS church is that they had the same teachings that I always found good in the evangelical church—the life, teachings, and atonement of Jesus Christ—but without the extreme view of heaven and hell, and without condemnation of other faiths. The 11th article of faith (respect for other faiths) was a notable part of my faith journey.

Because a large part of my family and friends are evangelical, I’ve been told at least 100 times that I’m going to burn in hell as a result of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’ve been told basically every possible criticism of the church that someone can think of. But there are two things I always remember in the face of attacks against our faith.

One, as I mentioned, is the 11th Article of Faith. We have to understand that even though some members of other religions think that part of their faith needs to involve attacking the faith of others, we can still exercise tolerance. We can respectfully accept their opinion but disagree.

The second thing I think about is how Jesus handled the “haters.” During Jesus’ trial, torture, and crucifixion, he was mocked and harassed. They accused him of being a fraud, of teaching the false idea that he was the Messiah. Even knowing the horrendous persecution he would face, he never relented in his truth. Jesus embodied extreme conviction. In his last moments on the cross, it would have been completely rational for him to say, “I will enact vengeance upon you!” But he didn’t. He actually said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34.)

Many people in the world today have decided to be enemies of the church. Jesus told us exactly what to do with our enemies: “Love your enemies, and do good to those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44.) Christ-like love is not showing love to people who agree with you; that’s just normal love. Christ-like love is radical; it goes past normal social concepts and says, “No matter how much you criticize me or my beliefs, I’m going to love you anyway.”

We don’t need to defend the church against criticisms. There’s no verse, no Conference talk, that ever says we need to become super intellectual and argumentative, trying to justify our faith to others. 1 Peter 3:15 says that we are to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that we have. Our testimony of Christ’s work in our lives is sufficient reason. What we are constantly urged to do—through scripture, Conference talks, and exemplified in the life of Jesus—is to hold strong in our conviction—never relenting—and show a powerful, Christ-like love to others.

When we see an angry criticism on social media disparaging the church without any provocation, we can have compassion. We can remember that we are very fortunate to have a doctrine of tolerance towards others. We certainly don’t need to respond (no need to fuel the fire—let it burn out in silence). We are confident in our faith and don’t need to go to great lengths in justifying it. However, if we do respond, we can do so in a way that demonstrates we are not intimidated or rattled by criticism, and we can extend an olive branch. Displaying conviction and kindness will do far more to convince someone of the goodness of our church than any argument ever will.