What Lies Beneath

I have been thinking a lot lately about my opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people in my life who are not LDS. Certainly since I was born and raised in Maryland, lived the next part of my life in Utah and Idaho and am now back in Pennsylvania, I have had hundreds of opportunities to share what I know to be true. I think that I have been pretty good at sharing what I know but maybe the best way to do that is just to live the gospel and let people see it through my life.

The reason I have entitled this post "What Lies Beneath" is not to play on a movie title but to bring attention to something that is usually right beneath the surface of a person's personality or character and doesn't always come blasting out in a big way. It is just calm, measured and ever present in a subtle way. It is a testimony of Jesus Christ.

A testimony can be shared in many different ways. It can be verbally expressed, it can be shared by example in the way one lives their life, it can be written in the pages of a journal, letter or book and it can be sung in beautiful musical tones. But there is another new way to share a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is so simple and hi-tech, you just can't pass it up. It is the Mormon Messages on Youtube!

My husband is the Institute teacher at Bucknell University and also at Susquehanna University here in Central Pennsylvania. He uses one of these videos each week to open up the class and bring the students into a more spiritual tone for the class. They have been a great tool and I think that the kids really like them. I know I do!

At various times I have felt the need to share these little snippets of joy and peace with others around me too. Since there are hundreds of videos on various topics and they are so well produced I can pretty much pick and choose a video to complement a particular situation or person. I wish that these had been around when I was a teenager!

I have a friend who is a Christian but not LDS. Our basic beliefs are very similar but I feel like she misses a lot of the goodness and simpleness of the gospel because her church seems to make things complicated and mystical. You really would have to have a religious degree to understand the things she is being taught and I just feel so sad for her. I wanted to help her to see that God wants her to understand and to follow His ways, that through study and prayer, she can know for herself and find a way back to His presence one day.

I sent this friend one of these Mormon Messages and the response I got was amazing. She talked about how she loved the sweet story and the music that was the backdrop for the video and she also mentioned the warm feeling she had as she watched the video more than a few times and she wants to learn more! She also mentioned how she had such a calming and very subtle feeling come over her as she watched it (this is where the "What Lies Beneath" happens!)

This started a conversation about why LDS people live the way they do. We have talked about the peace that comes from living the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, how He is visible in the countenance of people as they try to abide by the principles of the gospel. We also discussed how having a knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father helps to keep us on a correct course.

This friend has seen in me and others of our faith the joy and happiness that seems to be a part of our lives. Yes, we have problems. Yes, we struggle and are sometimes unhappy but it is how we deal with these struggles that I think really gets peoples attention.

Now I am certainly not saying that LDS people have it all figured out because I certainly do not think that I do and I don't know anyone else of my faith that does either. In fact, there are many things I fall short in and I may never get quite right. But I believe it is all in how you live your day to day life. A positive attitude helps and a firm belief in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ certainly make up the difference.

These things aren't flamboyant, loud and obnoxious. They don't come from the mouth of a person who has spent years in a levitical school. These peaceful, gentle beliefs and convictions are lying right beneath the surface so that His influence can be seen in all that we do and say.