Though I can’t speak for your friend, I suspect he was just trying to share his beliefs because he cares about you.

We believe strongly in the concept of agency - that is, that we are free to choose. No one truly can be (or for that matter SHOULD be) compelled to believe something by force. However, I think there’s benefit in taking the time to talk about the deep stuff with people - and it takes listening as well as talking.

I had an awesome conversation about faith the other day with one of my Muslim students. I was really impressed as he spoke about his efforts to be a good Muslim, and how good he felt when he went on the Hajj last year. This is a kid who is REALLY trying to live a good life, and though he and I may disagree on points of doctrine, I am grateful we were able to have the discussion in the first place. I think both of us gained a new perspective on each other.

I have a book of Mormon Progress Tracker if anyone wants it! It is a really easy to use excel tracking application where you put whatever chapter you are on in the dropdown box and it tells you how many chapters you will need to read each day to make this goal, how many per week, how many days ahead of schedule you are (or behind) how many chapters you need to get caught up, etc…it also has links to the online chapter that you are on. (once you put in your current chapter, you click a button and it brings up your chapter online) contact me at jquigley@fcsoft.com if you want a copy. (It’s free of course. =P) I am thinking of setting up a website with this utility online. What do you think? (Oh by the way, I am on Mosiah 18)