World News
Bishop talks about Catholicism to crowd of Latter-day Saints students
Published: September 20, 2012
OREM, Utah (CNS) -- More than 1,000 students at the Orem Institute of Religion at Utah Valley University packed a lecture hall Sept. 18 to hear Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City speak about the Catholic faith. Bishop Wester's visit was at the behest of the university's LDS Student Association Interfaith Committee, which was formed this year. "One of the purposes of the Interfaith Committee is to form those bridges between religions and let the students come and learn more about those religions because there is a lot of ignorance when it comes to other faiths," said Spencer Bennett, co-chairman. "This is a way that we can come together and to ask questions that we've had and to learn about them." In addition to students and faculty members, the event was attended by dignitaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the First Quorum of Seventy and Elder Steven J. Lund, a regional LDS leader. Bishop Wester opened his remarks by saying that the gathering of students and Elder Clayton's presence "are wonderful signs of our ongoing collaboration and friendship and mutual desire to stand shoulder to shoulder as we give witness to Jesus Christ as his disciples." This hasn't always been so, Bishop Wester said, pointing out that religious conflicts are ongoing in many parts of today's world, so interfaith gatherings are important. "I believe that what we're doing today is to help us be open to the different ways in which God acts in our lives in our different religions, and to see the ways that we can work together," he said.
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