Bible Study

On Monday we had the opportunity to go to the Dolphin's bible study. I kind of reluctant but since it was being held at our friend's house the Feely's I felt like I should be supportive and go. I felt like why would anyone want to hear anything about our religion if we are not willing to listen to them. For some reason I had in my mind that I was headed into exactly what I didn't want, a "Bible bash", us vs. them. It was nothing like that. It was a non-denominational study so anyone who wanted to come could. It turned out to be more of a couples study of how we can communicate and become closer to one another and God through the Bible. Who can't benefit from that? It was the first night of the Bible study so it was more of an introduction to what they planned on doing for the study.

Having grown up in Mesa, a predominately Mormon community, and then attending BYU and living in the "bubble" for the last 6 years, moving to Florida was quite a new experience. I wouldn't say that I was naive to being the minority out here but more surprised at how many people had NO idea what Mormons are or how many outlandish misconceptions there are about what we believe. I was blown away at how many people think we are Amish. What??? Are you serious? The very first thing John was asked by his teammates is,"How many wives do you have?" Luckily, John has been able to reach a lot of people through his job in his own way, the "not-in-your-face-get-to-know-me-and-see-that-I'm-not-a-weirdo" way. We've made a lot of friends who have been curious as to why we live our lives the way we do. Guys on the team have quietly asked John general questions that they have about the gospel. Here's my favorite question that one guy asked..."So where exactly does it say in the Bible that you aren't supposed to cheat on your wife?" To which he so patiently and nonjudgmentally responds with,"uhhh....the ten commandments...". That night we read a couple of passages from Ephesians chapter 5. I was trying to follow along and kept thinking I had the wrong chapter but then I realized they were using a different version of the Bible that was translated into simple terms. For example verse 18 of Ephesians says, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;" In their Bible it would read, "Don't drink too much." I brought my quad so I am sure they were wondering why my "bible" was so big.

All in all, it is going to be an interesting experience. I am definitely not ignorant to think that I won't learn something from it. Stories to come...