Prophets, Baked Beans, and Pulled Pork

Happy Memorial Day a little late! Monday, Clark and I went to a barbecue at the home of one of his co-workers. That would be normal enough, but you need to know that Clark and I were the only non-Mormons in the whole bunch. The ONLY non-Mormons. I love meeting new people, Clark can be a social butterfly when he chooses to be, and Emma is always up for a party, so this little LDS detail put an interesting spin on things. Clark and I came away from the barbecue feeling like the Baptist church has much to learn from the Mormons. They go to a certain church based on where they live, so there is no church-hopping or leaving because you don't like the music. They spend TONS of time together in and out of church, so this barbecue felt more like a regular family get together. Most of the couples had at least one baby, but everyone took care of everyone elses children, like really loved aunts and uncles. There were no observable cliques, everyone seemed to get along, and everyone seemed to really enjoy being together. I was thinking what a benefit this is to their kids. Not only do they have all these kind, loving adults to mentor them, but they are safe among children who have shared beliefs. During their most formidable years, they are pretty well sheltered and surrounded by people who will train them up in their faith. If we as Baptists were this dedicated to spending quality time with one another, with raising our children up in our faith together, with being a body of believers versus church-hopping individuals, imagine the effect we could have on our communities for Christ. I was impressed by these Mormons. And the pulled pork was fantastic.