As someone who helped with church tours on the first Tuesday of each month, I thought it would be good to share a few stories. One that stands out is when an LDS youth group came through a few years back. I can’t remember all the details, but I’ll never forget the story told by the man who accompanied them—an LDS Army chaplain.
We had just finished speaking about Juan Diego and the Communion of Saints at the foot of Our Lady of Guadalupe when he asked if he could share something with the group. We didn’t know what he was going to say, but we replied, “Yes, of course.”
He reminded them that he had served as a chaplain in Iraq. While there, a Catholic friend invited him to attend Midnight Mass on base for Christmas. He accepted—and it was his first time attending a Catholic Mass. He told the youth how beautiful it was, and that he genuinely felt the Spirit of God.
Then he told them this:
“After the Mass ended, I decided to stay a while longer and pray. I was scared—not for myself, but for my wife and children back home in Logan. I had this deep feeling that something was going to happen to me, that I might not make it back. I was worried about what would become of them if I died there in Iraq.
While I was praying, the priest came in from the back and asked if everything was okay. I told him what was on my mind. We spoke for a few minutes, and then he asked me to hold out my hand. I did.
He took my hand, opened it, placed something inside, and then closed it gently and said,
‘You hold on to that. Everything will be okay.’When I opened my hand, I saw a small cross.
It was the best gift I could have received at that moment.”
Needless to say, not knowing what he was going to share with the group, we sighed in relief—and were deeply moved. It was good to be there that night. Knowing how the LDS faith often distances itself from the symbol of the cross and the suffering Christ, the moment was… curious, to say the least.
Another moment I’ll never forget happened after the tour had ended. An LDS man I knew came up to me and said:
“Please don’t take offense at what I’m about to ask you. I ask with sincerity.”
I responded, “I won’t take offense. Ask anything you like.”
He said:
“It seems that Catholics focus more on the Crucifixion—the death of our Savior—rather than on the Resurrection. Is that true?”
As someone who had been Catholic for twelve years and had helped with RCIA for just as long since my own baptism, I was prepared for that question. But still, a certain sadness came over me. I knew I couldn’t explain the fullness of our faith in just a few sentences. But I had to try.
“I spent the first 39 years of my life attending Easter with my LDS family. We had wonderful dinners and great Easter egg hunts—so many fond memories and cherished pictures.
But when I was baptized Catholic, after the incense and the Easter Vigil candles were put out, I realized that I was actually celebrating Easter for the first time.
Twelve Easter seasons later… how do you explain the joy that the risen Jesus has brought into your life?
How do you answer that in just a few sentences?
Well… you just do the best you can.”