:yes:
This reminded me of a chance encounter that had great impact on my spiritual life.
An acquaintance of mine introduced me to a bearded man with the most intense countenance and 'burning' eyes I have ever seen. When this person was introduced to someone, that someone immediately absorbed his entire focus, which was simple and profound in a way I have never experienced before.
It was like being in the presence of someone who had lived a very long time, or who had lived a very long time ago.
He was a missionary, just returned from years in Papua New Guinea where he lived in the remotest villages. He would enter a village, and find someone to help him learn the language. He lived the simplest life the village had to offer, working alongside the people and forming bonds of friendship, then kinship. He ate what they ate, wore what they wore, suffered what they suffered. All for Christ. When he was able to share the simple Gospel message with all, he would invariably (some would say 'coincidentally') be called to a new, more remote area to live and share in another village.
One day a government official arrived and told him he had to leave the country immediately or face imprisonment or worse. He knew he was in grave and imminent danger, but the spirit told him to stay one more day.
The next day, after he had given away every thing he owned (including his poor worn sandals) a hush fell over the villagers that had crowded around to say their goodbyes. As the crowd parted, a stranger walked directly to him. The man wore only the mud painted on his face, and carried a tall spear. In a strange dialect, he asked "are you the white one I am seeking?" When the missionary questioned him further, the tribesman answered: "Last night as I slept in my hut, a man in a white robe and eyes like the sun appeared to me. He told me to get up and come here to find the man with hair on his face, and that you would tell me who he is. He said his name is Jesus".
The tribesman was completely "uncivilized", that is he didn't know anything beyond his own tribe's limits and lived as his people had lived a thousand years ago, never approaching a town or settlement out of fear of the tribal taboo. His people were primitive hunter-gatherers and had no contact with the outside world.
Yet he ran all night through the jungle to what he believed was certain death, knowing if it was the last thing he would ever do, he must find the bearded man and learn about Jesus.
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As we sat down to eat, he prayed "Father Creator, thank you for making us. Thank you for making the sun, the moon, the stars and the world we live in. Thank you for sending your son to save us. Help us to be good children. Amen".
I have never seen nor felt nor heard such a simple, profound, intense faith.
Of such is the kingdom of heaven.
). But I actually started this thread for the purpose of exploring the dilemma that exists (or at least should exist) for those who believe that the Bible has all the answers. Is God a loving parent, a non-respecter of persons, who wants to have all of His children with Him in Heaven? Yes, if you believe what the Bible has to say about Him. But does salvation come to us solely through the Atonement of Jesus Christ? Again, yes, at least that's what the New Testament has to say. So what about those who didn't have the chance to believe during their lifetime, and how do non-LDS Christians reconcile this dilemma?
