If not knowing a lot about Church history is your reason to fail to share the Restored Gospel and in your mind it is a valid reason, what does that say for all the thousands of young missionaries throughout the world? I think you missed my point, which wasn't about some fear in sharing the Gospel, but a personal fear in being willing to learn about the Church and by attachment, the Gospel. "Ignorance is bliss" is one way of saying it. For me, the more I learn the greater my testimony grows and is sustained that it is indeed true. Not all learning is from history books, either. Fast Meeting is an example of such learning.
New converts are some of the better individuals for sharing the Gospel because they have come into a new spiritual light and understanding and their knowledge of the Church is small, yet their experience is fresh and life changing. They have enthusiasm for sharing it.
Douglas E NadybalJuly 1, 2019
That might be another myth, that you have to know a lot about Church history to share the gospel.
Paul HJuly 1, 2019
Along this same line of hesitancy, is a fear of learning about Church history. "People are afraid they might learn something about their religion" is a phrase I used to tell my teenage children. "Never fear a study of the Restored Gospel will weaken or destroy your Testimony" was my follow-up statement. But learn from a true source, not some internet site that specializes in anti-LDS thought. The Joseph Smith Papers are an excellent source for those with inquiring minds that want to learn in detail about the subject. There is nothing that is worthy of fearing or from which you need turn away in the Church's history, even though no member is perfect.
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Paul HJuly 1, 2019
If not knowing a lot about Church history is your reason to fail to share the Restored Gospel and in your mind it is a valid reason, what does that say for all the thousands of young missionaries throughout the world? I think you missed my point, which wasn't about some fear in sharing the Gospel, but a personal fear in being willing to learn about the Church and by attachment, the Gospel. "Ignorance is bliss" is one way of saying it. For me, the more I learn the greater my testimony grows and is sustained that it is indeed true. Not all learning is from history books, either. Fast Meeting is an example of such learning. New converts are some of the better individuals for sharing the Gospel because they have come into a new spiritual light and understanding and their knowledge of the Church is small, yet their experience is fresh and life changing. They have enthusiasm for sharing it.
Douglas E NadybalJuly 1, 2019
That might be another myth, that you have to know a lot about Church history to share the gospel.
Paul HJuly 1, 2019
Along this same line of hesitancy, is a fear of learning about Church history. "People are afraid they might learn something about their religion" is a phrase I used to tell my teenage children. "Never fear a study of the Restored Gospel will weaken or destroy your Testimony" was my follow-up statement. But learn from a true source, not some internet site that specializes in anti-LDS thought. The Joseph Smith Papers are an excellent source for those with inquiring minds that want to learn in detail about the subject. There is nothing that is worthy of fearing or from which you need turn away in the Church's history, even though no member is perfect.
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