One Lesson

Tonight, I was thinking about why I came to Notre Dame. One of the main reasons was to learn things I may not be able to learn living where I was living. I’d like to share one of those things with you.

I recently finished reading The Presidents of the Church by Truman G. Madsen. This paragraph struck me, and I didn’t understand it:

"Some people have been surprised to learn that the Prophet and his successors taught that in the Millennium there will be many faiths, many different points of view. A pluralism will hold, even in the Millennium…"(pg 110)

I had a hard time understanding this. I was always taught that my church was the only true church upon the face of this earth.

I went to a Catholic retreat about a month ago. We talked about our relationship with God and our fellowmen. We discussed a lot about Catholic social thought, and how to treat each other. We then lit candles at The Grotto for someone we love. I was amazed at the dedication of my fellow students. I had to ask myself, “will these people be part of the Millennium?” I’m no judge, but I would hope so. And I hope they bring with them some of the teachings and traditions of the Catholic faith, so we have that pluralism of ideas, and learn from all. That is when I learned what the above quote meant.

I’m grateful to be here in South Bend, learning so much from people not quite like me. I hope I am becoming more aware of the world around me, and more tolerant of people’s beliefs. I firmly believe that the Muslim, the Jew, the Catholic, the Buddhist, and even the Atheist will all live on my Millennial Street, and I will learn from all of them.