It all started Sunday night, when I met Ali, the Muslim who just moved into my ward boundaries. He's from Kenya and he is currently in the accounting program at BYU. Well, he, Marian, and I hit it off and started talking about culture, travel, and food. Then he invited us to go to one of the mosques in Salt Lake City. Of course, we accepted. So eleven hours, eleven people, and three cars later, we were heading to SLC for an adventure.
First stop: Temple Square. We first went to see the Joseph Smith movie in the Legacy Theatre at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB). My car arrived first so we wandered around the JSMB and listened to a brief history of the building thanks to one of the kind old ladies who works there. For example, I never knew that the JSMB used to be the Hotel Utah and it didn't become the JSMB until after I was born. Also, we saw the chapel where the Prophet attends church. Cool, huh? Then the rest of our party arrived and we filed into the theatre for the movie. I am so amazed by all the wonderful talent in the church. The cinematography was beautiful. I was amazed at the life of Joseph Smith. He faced so many trials. I teared up when he got the leg surgery at age 7 and when Alvin died. But the end of the movie made me bawl. I haven't cried like that in a long time. Overall, the movie strengthened my testimony in the restoration and inspired me to be a better person.
After Temple Square, we headed to a mosque. I have to say it was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. There are two floors, the first floor is a large room where the men say their prayers. At the borders of the room were bookcases with Koran, both in Arabic and English. I took a seat and read a little bit out of the Koran. It was interesting, but very confusing-- very similar to Isaiah to the untrained reader. The imam of the mosque came to talk with us and answer questions. I was in awe, I was talking to an imam!! How cool is that! Then, we headed to the second floor where the women go and where they have the equivalent of Sunday school. On the white board, there were lots of doodles and scribbles not unlike the white boards and chalkboards in my church building at home. Good to know that Muslim and Mormons teens are not that different after all.
After we left the mosque, Ali, Heather, Allison and I went to Kneader's for lunch. So delicious. Definitely one of the best sandwich places I've ever been to. Once we filled ourselves to the brim with scrumptious food, we piled back into my little Honda and drove back to Provo, finishing our M&M day.
