At the beginning of October, I traveled to Utah with the rest of the fellows’ class to continue our study of worldviews. Over that week, our worldview study focused on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We stayed at a beautiful mountain camp called Big Canyon Ranch. On our first excursion, we went to Temple Square, where we toured the visitor center to see what the temple looked like and what happens inside. Over the next three days, we visited BYU and Snow College, which many LDS members attend. While we were there, we had the opportunity to seek out conversations with LDS members and share the true Gospel with them.
Every conversation I had was so different. The first day at BYU highlighted how much more I needed to learn to defend my own worldview. I left that day feeling like I couldn’t lead the conversations anywhere fruitful because of my own lack of knowledge. Everyone I was able to engage with that day was incredibly sweet and willing to have deep conversations. The next day, when we went to Snow College, I was much better prepared. I honestly expected the complete opposite of the first day at BYU. I got my wish, but not in the way I had hoped. That day, my friend and I had only one 3-hour conversation with someone who was incredibly willing to talk with us but really pushed hard on our worldview.
It sounds from the outside that it wasn’t very fruitful, but it strengthened my faith more than I ever could have expected.
Afterward, I talked with my teammate, debriefed the whole conversation, and found the holes in his arguments, which was incredibly healthy for my faith. I think the Lord highlighted during the trip that the LDS are not a monolith, and he showed me how much their beliefs can differ, even amongst themselves.
Moving forward, I want to apply what I learned by continuing to study my own worldview and learning to defend what I believe more effectively. This trip showed me that knowing what I believe matters, but understanding why I believe it matters just as much. I want to be better prepared for conversations with people who challenge my beliefs, not to just prove them wrong, but to have meaningful conversations that point them toward the truth. I also want to be more intentional about understanding what others actually believe instead of making assumptions based on what I have heard about them. Just as I learned that the LDS community is not a monolith, I want to approach future conversations with an open mind and a willingness to listen. Ultimately, I hope to use what I learned to grow in my own faith and become better equipped to share the Gospel with others.
Ethan Coppedge, Class of 2027
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