A Week of Interfaith in Utah

Sacrificing Spring Break for Dialogue and Prayer

I’ve made the trip thirteen times now, from Alabama to Utah with evangelical college students sacrificing their spring break to dialogue with Latter-day Saint—or “Mormon”—college students.

Why in the world would they do that? is the question I always get. Spring break on the Gulf Coast means the first warm, sandy beaches we’ve seen since October. But these students apparently prefer cold, wet mountains.

Why?

Because they understand that the Greatest Commandment calls us to two things: to love your neighbor enough to understand them, and love God enough to tell them what He’s done in your life.

This year’s trip, I was able to witness just that, and more.

Personally, it included podcast appearances to discuss my book 40 Questions About Mormonism, catching up with old friends, making new ones, and hanging out with one of the most genuinely diverse group of people I’ve encountered in over a decade of doing this. I was even able to have a brief exchange with the Church’s newest apostle.

But, honestly, the highlight of the trip for me was seeing so many students in prayer so often. In all my times to Utah, I’ve never witnessed so much of it. Our students prayed alongside Latter-day Saint students, whether it was before meals or after hard conversations or one-on-one for reasons I don’t know. I never coached them on it; they just did it. And, I think, it brought a sort of peace and reverent weight to the whole thing.

I was especially impressed with one encounter, in specific. While most of the Latter-day Saint students we encountered were confident in their Church, one person our students met had grown uncertain in some of the particulars of the LDS faith, but not in the Lord Jesus. That’s a scary place to be, I imagine. It’s that moment when the floor feels ripped out from beneath you, and yet, you don’t want to let go of Christ. The students saw this person in their struggle and responded with empathy, gentleness, and grace. I think that moment alone was worth the trip because to meet and minister to someone in their faith struggle is an incredibly holy thing.

Over all, these students engaged with curiosity, conviction, and respect. They sat across from Latter-day Saints who hold their faith firmly, and rather than retreating into argument or obfuscation, they leaned in with curiosity, conviction, and respect. I can tell they asked questions worth asking, listened well, and left Utah with a richer understanding of lived Mormonism than most evangelicals twice their age will ever develop.

In the end, these students were pushed in what they believed, stretched in what they knew, and—I believe—sanctified in the process.

Cold mountains and all, I’d take this spring break over Gulf Coast beaches any day.