At all times, and in all places
Thursday, February 26th, 2009In Mosiah, Alma taught us about the covenant that we make with God when we’re baptized by teaching that we will ‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that (we) may be in, even until death‘. If you take just a second and think about that, that covers everything you do in your life. We’re taught to never be ashamed of our testimonies, of who we are, what we stand for, and never back down because the truth might not be mainstream.
On Sunday I was shown a video from Harvard Faith Week a few months ago. On one of the days a panel was setup with 5 or 6 students from varying religions. They were basically going to sit in front of everyone and be interviewed about their beliefs, how school has affected their beliefs etc. And, being Harvard they had enough clout to recruit Sally Quinn to be the moderator. Let’s put her one paragraph resume here (from the Washington Post)
Washington Post journalist, author and Washington DC insider, Sally Quinn founded and co-moderates On Faith, a blog from the Washington Post and Newsweek. Co-moderated by Newsweek editor and bestselling author Jon Meacham and hosted by a panel of renowned religious scholars of all denominations, On Faith is the first worldwide, interactive discussion about religion and its impact on global life. While researching an article about religion in Washington prior to the 2000 presidential campaign, Quinn noticed that while religion had an enormous influence on worldwide politics, it was a taboo subject in our nation’s capital. Following 9/11, Quinn’s interest in religion grew and her passion to understand it from a personal and political perspective took on new urgency and focus. Over the past decade, Quinn has pursued a religious education with the same drive and rigor she once gave to politics. Leveraging her rolodex from 30 years as a columnist, she sought out spiritual mentorship from religious leaders and scholars such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reverend Jim Anderson, Father Bryan Hehir and John Esposito. To gain emotional and spiritual perspective, she traveled to many of the world’s holy sites in Rome, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tibet, Delhi, Cairo, Ethiopia and Istanbul, and began attending several religious services and ceremonies a week at churches, temples and mosques. Quinn has written four books: “We’re Going to Make You a Star,” about her short-lived experience as a co-anchor for “CBS Morning News”; “Regrets Only,” her first novel; “Happy Endings,” its sequel, and “The Party,” in which Quinn offers an insider’s look at Washington entertaining and a personal view of the value of friendship. She is currently working on a book about religion in Washington
Suffice it to say, she’s been around the block interviewing, and interviewing big people. Would you be intimidated by her if she were to sit you down and ask you about your religion and beliefs? Would you be bold and strong in testimony, fearless to speak the truth no matter what she asks you? How would you react to obvious controversial questions, to being baited into argument? Would you hold your cool?
Enter Rachel Esplin, a 20 year old junior at Harvard from Idaho. She’s the president of the Harvard LDSSA and was picked to be on the panel. Sally started with her first, and from the first comment made you can hear the disrespect she has for the LDS faith. But Rachel shined. At least I think so. I’ll let you come up with your own opinion. Please note this is about 20 minutes long.
