Finding Common Ground

Oh say, what is Truth?

As we've seen in a flurry of media recently, there are tons of opinions and articles about the culture and beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that make Mormonism a hot topic right now. On the one hand, it can be rough to read inaccurate and highly circulated reports but on the other hand, I think it's a great opportunity to share information and have some rich discussions about what we believe. For me, finding common ground and shared beliefs is helpful and I wanted to post and not only share a few helpful talks I've enjoyed to help me think about the common ground I share with those of different faiths, but I would also love to read or hear YOUR ideas and resources about this topic.

The first resource I wanted to share comes from a lesson I once had from a convert while growing up. It's a speech that was given at a BYU Devotional a loooong time ago, but I find that the testimony, logic, and faith expressed in it by Hugh B. Brown (assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address was delivered at Brigham Young University on 4 October 1955), is excellent. You can read it here or listen to a clip of it on this YouTube clip below.

I really like the approach that Hugh B. Brown had in this discussion because he asks what his friend believes and they have a good discussion from there. What are other approaches to gospel discussions and belief that you've find allow you to share the gospel while also respecting and discovering the belief of others?

Book Club Meeting #4: January 17th, 7:30pm

Our next Jesus the Christ Book Club meeting is Tuesday night * Jan 17th, 2012 @ 7:30pm* at Anisha's apt. All are welcome (readers or not!)

Here are the chapters we will be talking about:
Chapter 18 - As One Having Authority
Chapter 19 - He Spake Many Things Unto Them In Parables
Chapter 20 - Peace, Be Still
Chapter 21 - The Apostolic Mission, and Events Related Thereto
Chapter 22 - A Period of Darkening Opposition
Chapter 23 - The Transfiguration

Audio files:
http://www.archive.org/details/JesusTheChrist

Mormons in America

This is an interesting study that was just released by the Pew Foundation on Mormons in America. While it's in no way spiritual (or even all that representative of actual beliefs) I thought some of you might be interested to see what a non-church-related and reputable research group just published:
http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-infographic.aspx?src=prc-headline#.Tw70WuMwGS8.facebook