You know hanne_line? She is from Norway. She was visiting the United States. Since she was coming so far, she wanted to meet as many LDS.net members that could make it to the gathering.

I sat across from HiJolly (and I found out that he and I are shirttail relatives!). Honor was on my right hand, and skalenfehl’s lovely wife was on my left. pam was diagonally across from me. The rest of the friends at the table were VisionofLehi, Fernni, hanne_linne, skalenfehl, Elphaba, Strawberry Fields, Nyal (and Nyal’s brother – not an LDS.net member – yet!), AND prisonchaplain (who was vacationing in Utah with his family and seeing Temple Square for the first time; prisonchaplain is from Washington). Honor even had checkerboy on the cell phone for a minute or two for a shout out. Jonathan, Karen and Richard from More Good Foundation were also there. (I’m sorry if I missed noting anyone’s presence – let me know!)

HiJolly and I both got seafood alfredo. I learned a little about skalenfehl’s wife during conversation. I smiled and chatted with Honor. I discussed with HiJolly. I listened in on talk happening farther down the table, especially as Jonathan and crew talked about their excitement in sharing the gospel online.

And it came to me.

There were men and women around the table. There were persons who were married; some not. There were persons in their twenties all the way to persons in their fifties. There were at least three different ethnicities represented, including hanne_linne who is Norwegian. There were different body types, hair and clothes. Most were members of the Church, but there were differences among us as to our relationship to and history with the Church and to the gospel. There were long time members of the Church and relatively recent converts; there were those with their struggles perhaps. There was an atheist. There was a member of the Assembly of God. We all had different marital status, economic status, geography, health conditions, life situations, political views. Some of us got along better than others on the Internet. Some of the people there were in the leadership of the website, some were just people who enjoyed the site. One gentleman isn’t even on the site.

But there we sat together around a feast table and in the bonds of charity. We didn’t need to change who we were to experience charity and Zion. We just had to be willing not to be at war/enmity with one another. I joyed in the unity of Zion that the Internet had brought about, or our use of the Internet in a godly way, according to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Later when I got home, I read a great essay on LDSBlogs.com (another More Good Foundation site). At the Olive Garden in Sandy, I had seen in action what blogger Alison Palmer says: “Everyone has different backgrounds and environments. There are so many good things that come out of the diversities of religion in the world. I can honestly say that any church can bring about tremendous amounts of good. It’s a step in the right direction, no matter which congregation you find yourself in, if your purpose in being there is to be as close to Jesus Christ as possible there’s nothing bad about that at all. But, without offending, may I suggest that the path extends further still. Eventually, I’d hope your desire would be to become even closer, to find those things that speak to your mind and heart even more clearly. It may seem a little pretentious, but to me that closer focus is found within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe it to be founded on the church established by Jesus Christ. I believe there is nothing lacking. I believe that within its doctrines and practices I can find myself truly honoring the will and purposes of my Heavenly Father. Fully and completely. That’s the most rewarding feeling for a disciple of Christ.”

I hope as members of LDS.net we will have further opportunity in the future to meet around the feast table. Until then, I find myself very grateful to be gathered at the Internet table of faith and friendship.

D&C 58:11; 2 Corinthians 13:11

I fondly refer to my position at More Good Foundation as “The best job, ever.” Never before in my life have I grown so much spiritually and gained so much knowledge. Each day is different, each project takes me to a new level, and those special moments when I see the work I’m doing help change someone’s life for the better, surpasses any other job I could be doing right now.

What happens when you bring together a Latter-day Saint whose politics are far to the right, and an atheist whose politics are as equally far to the left?

What happens is the Latter-day Saint and the atheist develop a friendship that rises above their differing beliefs, polarized as they may be. A friendship that defies the odds, and demonstrates it is possible to come to respect each other, for who we are as well as who we aren’t.

I am the atheist, and my dear friend PaleRider is the Latter-day Saint, and we have become great pals, which would have been unbelievable ten months ago.

When I joined the LDS.net board (LDSTalk at the time), our respective opinions resulted in some serious conflict. Politics was our boxing ring, and we never let up on each other.

I would write a diatribe about Bush, and Pale would respond with a diatribe about Clinton. Additional posts about a variety of political issues continued our dislike of one another. Our posts were never rude or petty, as both of us would be loathe to stoop so low. But they did reflect the reality that neither of us would ever agree with the other. In fact, if someone had told me I would one day hold Pale in such high esteem, I would have shaken her silly and told her to snap out of it.

Then the day came that changed everything,. Pale had written a post criticizing Clinton, and he really thought he had me this time! But to his shock, I adamantly agreed with him. His response? “I just punched a hole in my wall!” Once I came out of my shock, I actually laughed out loud, waking up the cat and my next-door neighbor.

I do not know whether he did, indeed, punch a whole in his wall, and I suspect he did not. But his post was an apt allegory of our budding friendship, and our relationship was changed.

The “hole in his wall” has been a running joke between us ever since. I even told him I would send him a pair of boxing gloves–purple boxing gloves with fru fru on them, to protect his wall. I think he was hoping I was serious.

One day, months later, my admiration for Pale turned into something more profound, and my affection for Pale became a sweet, tender thing.

I had always loved the Church’s teaching that charity is the ultimate love for our fellow man. It resonated with me, and I always perked up when it was the class subject. So one day when charity was the chosen topic, I was riveted–and then taken aback.

The teacher explained it was not true charity if it wasn’t given anonymously. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. To me, there was no point to charitable acts if you didn’t get the credit for them. And for the next thirty years, I pondered what he had meant about charity and anonymity.

Finally I came to understand. My own life experiences had given me the lesson I needed, and my comprehension was an epiphany.

Pale had read my posts about charity, which were voluminous both in number and length. It was difficult for some to grasp my meaning, but not Pale. He understood what I was trying desperately to convey, and in response, he sent me a message I will never forget.

Pale understood what my teacher had taught me so long ago, and his message was a touching example of such. My esteem for Pale grew, and from that moment on I considered him a colleague. And believe me, I am a snob when it comes to colleagues.

Let me just say after reading his message, I knew, without a doubt, that Pale is a kind man, a thoughtful man, and a perfect example of charity, though I doubt he would admit it. But I know it is so, and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

Then there is Pale’s sense of humor. If you are the least bit funny, he laughs. No, “laugh” is not exactly right. Belly laughs is more like it. But how do you belly laugh on the internet? Like this:

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The more exclamation marks, the funnier he thinks you are. But sometimes I think his LOL is just a courtesy laugh when I have written a post I think is hilarous, I suspect he is protecting me from knowing everyone else thinks my humor is dumb as dirt, and I appreciate his thoughtfulness. But the few times I have really written a cracker of a post, his dizzy exclamation marks span the page, and I am complete. How clever is Pale that he found a way to actually belly laugh on the internet?

There is so much more I could say about Pale, including how much I adore him, but brevity demands I finish this up. And so I conclude the story of the engaging but obnoxious right winger, and the insufferable but lovable atheist who met on a Latter-day Saint message board, and whose disdain for each other evolved into an endearing friendship and profound respect.

Now if I could only think of something really funny so I can show you the belly laugh again. How about this: It is simply impossible for me to stop writing political posts that annoy Pale. Yet the next time he writes a diatribe about Clinton, I may just agree with him, astounding him such that he is seconds away from punching yet another hole in his wall. Then it’s purple fru fru to the rescue.

Can I get a LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ephaba