Here I present to you a paragraph that blew my mind: "A warm feeling came into Dani’s heart. She knew Heavenly Father was telling her He loved all His children and heard all their prayers, even if they went to a different church and didn’t have the fulness of the gospel."The story is available on lds.org.When I've seen miracles in other faiths I've felt that that is only possible because God loves all His children regardless of which church they attend if they even do.I've talked about how I feel that God answers prayers according to His will and regardless of church affiliation. And I am thrilled to find such an open hearted story in a church publication.Jesus said this: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."It is by our love for God and all His children that we will make ourselves known as His disciples not by our church affiliation. It's not that doctrines are unimportant, it's that the spirit of the law must be cherished more than splitting hairs over the letter of it.I've always thought that other faiths worship the same creator they just have different ideas about the nature and personality of our creator.I've read scripture from every world faith and I have grown closer to God and strengthened my faith in the process.
Joseph Smith said this about truth; “Mormonism is Truth… One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 199)
Later, Joseph bolstered this sentiment with this statement, “We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 316). We are encouraged to seek out truth where ever it is and I feel it is all around us. Jesus taught His disciples to continually seek truth.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Matthew 7:7-8
We spend our lives and I would say our after lives always learning. Otherwise what would be the point of living forever?
I say go to other churches, other synagogues, Buddhist Temples, Mosques and Hindu Temples and relate to others of a different faith and connect with them with a common faith in God and the better Angles of His all children.
Go to other houses of faith to learn about how faith is the same and how it is different to learn better how to approach faith. Faith is a gift, it is not earned so cherish that gift by learning more about it in yourself and in others.
In Salt Lake City there is a Hare Krishna Temple just off 3300 south and 9th east. Every spring they hold the "Festival of Colors" where people eat and listen to a concert and speakers and throw packets of color at each other to celebrate spring.
And every fall they hold the Diwali Festival which is a Festival of Lights.
Wikipedia puts it this way: "Diwali or Divali also known as Deepavali and the "festival of lights", is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn every year.[5][6] The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.[7][8][9] The festival preparations and rituals typically extend over a five day period, but the main festival night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid-October and mid-November."
It is observed not just by Hindus but by Sihks and Jains. It is truly multicultural.
I think we would love more and hate less if we knew others by name rather than by gender or race or faith or nationality.
And we would be more comfortable with the differences of others if we understood those differences and we would do better to understand what we have in common above those differences. There is more that binds us than what divides us.