The class at a Mormon school in Utah was having a serious discussion about religion. The topic was hell. Brandon,* the instructor, didn’t believe in hell and made it known to his students.
During the discussion, a student remembered seeing a billboard about heaven and hell and mentioned it in class. Brandon gave him permission to call the number on the billboard.
With the phone on speaker, the student dialed our toll-free number and began asking questions about hell. Our phone team member started sharing truths about eternity. He was soon interrupted by Brandon who said he didn’t believe in hell because of the teaching of the prophet Joseph Smith.
By now, our phone team member realized he was speaking to an entire classroom. Not wanting to disrespect Brandon in front of his students and realizing the tremendous opportunity to share the Gospel, he chose his words carefully.
“Brandon, do you believe that God is a God of truth?” our team member asked. “Do you think that truth actually liberates humanity?”
“Yes,” Brandon replied hesitantly.
Our team member told Brandon that he answered correctly. He then continued to speak about truth and quoted Scripture to Brandon and the class, pointing them to Jesus.
Even though the discussion of hell was not the main topic, our team member shared the salvation message that points to the truth about heaven and hell.
What a wonderful opportunity to plant seeds in the hearts of an entire class! Did they ever hear the Gospel before? We don’t know, but we pray that the words from Scripture would go deep into the hearts of these Mormon students, creating an interest to keep searching for truth.
