The presentation of truth unfolding, places scripture of all the various revelatory paths on the table, and now allows us to see the diversity of the universe with the lens of all paths able to coexist, unify, and gather together, if the seeker so chooses to allow such melding of creation to occur. Scriptural topics can be augmented by bringing together, similar concepts, to flesh out a greater understanding. Thus, the ability to now truly fulfill the seeming paradoxes of:

  1. Joseph Smith saying, “I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief”
  2. Moroni 7:14-15 RAV, 7:16 OPV “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.”
  3. Article of Faith 13 CJCLdS, 14 CJCCF states that “we believe all things…”
  4. We can now love all our brothers and sisters, regardless of doctrine, belief, or tradition
  5. This affords us to truly allow others to worship, how, where, or what they may, without a tug of war of sects.

Imagine the following scenario: Your family gathers at the funeral of your grandmother, a world traveler. Your relatives tell familiar family stories about her world adventures. You notice several other groups of mourners at the funeral home. As you listen to them, you realize they are talking about your grandmother as if they knew her well, yet you have never heard some of the stories they are telling. These new stories are not insulting to her memory, though some ring more true than others. Indeed, these groups seems to have as high an opinion of your grandmother as you do. What do you do?

Do you invite them over to meet your family? That is a tough call. Many of your relatives will dispute the credibility of these stories, and some might make a scene. Others who think the stories are true will feel left out—why didn’t grandma tell us? The funny thing is, though, that these other groups know all of the stories your family likes to tell about the deceased, and the stories they add to the mix sound more like mythic embellishments of her character than outright lies. Clearly, the several groups have a lot to talk about!

However you decide to handle the situation, there is no need for you to change your love for your grandmother. There is also no need for you to react to these other group’s love for her as if they are intentionally threatening or dishonest. Whether or not you decide to expand your family to include these groups, you can still welcome them as promoters of your grandmother’s memory. And the more you love your grandmother, the more you will be drawn to discover for yourself whether these new stories make any sense.

Do we minimize our neighbors belief in Christ, trying to maximize our own? Most friendships don’t thrive under this kind of basis. Is it possible to honor another’s perspective? If we soften our hearts, we will find more peace in Christ. Many religions claim the ability to encompass all truth. If so, is there any better foundation for common love? As we can clearly see, references of Christ in other literary works are enormous, and deserve the same consideration that Mormons “demand” of the Book of Mormon. Can we co-exist with other believers in Christ? If so, how?

As for me and my house, I will personally choose to honor and sustain, ALL things that teach of Christ, and that persuadeth to do good. I believe in Christ, I have hope in Christ. To me, all things testify of Christ. I choose to use this as my foundation, by which to find common ground with all men. Anything which persuadeth me to believe in Christ, and to do good, I will believe. If I believed too much, at the last day, God and Christ can set me straight.