Better, But Not So Much Fun

In the past few weeks, I have been tracted into by 2 different sets of Missionaries.  The first was a set of Elders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It was a very hot day, and as Hod was at work, all I could do was offer them a drink of water.  They were kind, we chatted for a minute, but seeing as I go to their Church services every week, they didn't have too much to say to me.  After a brief chat they went on their way.

This morning I had another set of missionaries come to my door.  They were not of my religion.  Now, having served an 18 month, all day, every day, mission for my Church, I understand a bit about these ladies.  They wanted to share an article from their magazine, "The Watchtower" with me.  These ladies belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses.  I found their wording quite interesting.  During my time as a missionary, I spent quite a bit of time talking to JW's.  I accidentally stumbled upon a way to trick every one of them up, and "prove" that I had no need for their religion in my life.  I am sad to admit that I used to "Bible Bash."  And I was good at it.  However, fighting with someone by quoting different verses of the Bible to try to prove someone wrong is not a good thing.  I didn't do it much on my mission, though I really wanted to.  But here is the problem:  You will not convince someone that they are really wrong.  You will not convince someone that they should stop what they are doing and join your church.  When you go about with a spirit of contention, then the Holy Ghost leaves.  It is the Holy Ghost who testifies of truth.  So then, if you do say something true, they can't feel the Spirit telling them that it IS truth, because you kicked the Spirit out a long time ago.  But, I so enjoy it.  It is not Christ-like, but it brings me some joy.  Especially because I figured out how to box JW's in the corner.  When I realized what religion they belonged to, the child inside of me started to salivate and gear up for a good "bashing" session.  The adult in me took over.  When they asked me if I was "confused as to why the hearer of prayer allows bad things to happen," instead of letting that be my opening to insult them, I just calmly said, "Actually, I feel like I know God's plan, and I understand."  This seemed to surprise them.  They didn't have much else to say, so they offered me one of their magazines, which I declined, and left on their way.

I guess it's a really good thing that I was nice.  They were nice too, so they deserved it.  But it wasn't nearly as much fun.