Why study world religions?

According to our in-class discussion, what is "Holy Envy"?

being willing to recognize elements in the other religious tradition or faith that you admire and wish could, in some way, be reflected in your own religious tradition or faith

admiration for the best parts of other religions

During our first class, I discussed four reasons why I have spent decades studying world religions. What were the four reasons I gave?

-Convert

-Building bridges is essential

-Mission: That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you

-Faith is often misunderstood

On the first day of class, I offered numerous quotations from various General Authorities and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—with the intent of showing what the Church's "official" position has been on non-LDS religious, and the role those traditions have in God's overarching plan. In essence, the point I made with those various quotations was what?

The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals."

God gives wisdom to all people. We should learn wisdom in all things that are good

Why, according to D&C 78-80, should we learn as much as possible about as many things as possible?

That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you

According to our in-class discussion, what two LDS Articles of Faith have a bearing on the Latter-day Saints' view of those of other religions or religious traditions?

13: If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good repour or praise worthy. we seek after these things

11: "and allow all men the same privilege let them worship how, where, or what they may"

Which of the aforementioned Articles of Faith did we say is more applicable to the Saints' ability to learn from other faiths?

13

According to our in-class discussion, what are the implications of 2 Nephi 29:10-12 on the Latter-day Saint search for truth?

and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.

other religions have truth too, so we should seek it out

In class, we discussed the experience of Dr. Dale LeBaron (who was mission president in Africa and who interviewed 400 converts his missionaries had during his time as mission president). What was it that President LeBaron learned/realized about other religions (through the survey he conducted)? And how did that change what he had previously believed about other religions?

...

During our in-class discussion, I listed a handful of "cautions" for when we are interacting with(or learning about) those of another faith tradition. What were those cautions and why did I say that they are important for us to heed?

- A "Why?" questions can be a loaded question

○ Runs the risk of sending the message " why the heck would you do that

○ How or what questions are better

○ Just say something like, "I've always been so interested on ... Why do you do this"

○ Preface

- Avoid media sensationalism

○ Probably bias, wrong, skewed, offensive, insensitive

○ Sex sells

○ Click bait

- Don't stare at those who are different

- Avoid loaded terms, like "cult" or "normal"

○ Recruit, orthodox

- Be realistic about "cultural appropriation"

○ Borrowing things from another culture, religion, tradition (that are not native to you), strip them out of their context to display it and get personal gain

○ Be careful about taking it so far that you think its offensive to ad things to your prayers

- Don't step on already bruised toes

- Know your own beliefs before you study others

What is meant by the phrase, "Don't step on already bruised toes" (as used in class)?

Don't purposely pry on already politicized topics. Like asking a Mormon how many wives they have

According to our in-class discussion, what does the Greek word "canon" mean, and what does it have to do with studying other religions?

Measuring rod or measuring stick. The scriptures is the thing by which you measure doctrine. Everybody has a personal cannon

In class, I shared a handful of things Latter-day Saints should do in order to show respect for other religions. What were the things I shared?

-Treat their religious articles and practices with respect

-Observe customs

-Never ridicule

-avoid arguing

-Be kind

-remember they are sons and daughter of God

According to our in-class discussion, if a man enters a Roman Catholic cathedral (in Latin America) what should he remove? If a woman enters that same cathedral, what should she do?

Man: remove a hat

Woman: cover her head

According to our in-class discussion, "closed-mindedness" about other religions is really a sign of what?

insecurity, weakness, and not showing love

I offered a couple of "Keys" for comprehending the doctrines of other faith traditions. What were those "Keys" I offered during our in-class discussion?

1. What question is this doctrine trying to answer?

2. latter-day saints and Jehovah's Witnesses are unique (missionary work. and everything needs to believe the same thing)

3. keep an open mind and be objective

In class, we quoted Moroni 7:12 ("All things which are good cometh of God"). What did we say the implications of this verse are on our study of World Religions?

religions are good. they're of God

God is involved in other religions