church and religion

i'm at work in the bookstore and i'm not supposed to be on blogger, but i am...

i've been having these awesome conversations on facebook with a girl who's mormon. i have a lot of friends who are LDS, but they never really were able to explain their faith the way she does. right now, i'm struggling with knowing her faith, mine as well, and how i can keep a relationship going to be able to evangelize. however, the more i talk to her, a struggle of whether or not i even need to be evangelizing occurs. she already made a statement of faith, explaining her belief in Jesus, the son of God, His life, death, and ressurection. however, she believes that it is the works that we do daily that "push us" in the direction of heaven. "After all we can do, it is God's grace that puts us in celestial heaven". her works-centered belief alone might not get her to heaven, but her basic belief in Jesus will, according to the Bible and rosenbladt. i think the only thing i can do now is wait and see what even happens with our conversations.

the most difficult for me to see is when christians profess the damnation of all LDS members. i think that to overgeneralize this is fallacy. i had a great friend growing up who was mormon and her older sister, my babysitter and friend, passed away a few years ago from a drunk driver. is she in heaven? her belief was in the saving grace and sacrifice of Christ, but she also believed in becoming like Jesus. i am torn because i want to see her and my friend in heaven someday, especially since they had faith that Jesus lived, died, and rose.

how much faith do we need to get to heaven? a mountain? a mustard seed? what about the prisoner on the cross next to Jesus? he had the smallest faith recorded in the Bible and is now in paradise. who can judge? why is it necessary for us to feel like we need to be the judge of someone else's spiritual life? eternal life? i definitely do not want that responsibility!

so, please pray for my friend. pray for everyone else, christians and non-believers alike who may be struggling with their faith and relationship, or lack thereof, with God.

blessings <><