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Carole Mikita ReportingA new program, called 'Grounded', is helping young people of many Christian denominations relate to their Latter-day Saint friends and classmates. The Salt Lake Theological Seminary created this five-week course specifically for teenagers to help them better express what they believe.
Sunday School for this group of Presbyterian teenagers changed focus a few weeks ago. Their new course aimed to help them relate to kids of Utah's majority faith.
"When all is said and done, how do you share your faith with your LDS friends?"
Ann Ingerson, 'Grounded' Curriculum Teacher: "LDS teens are a great example to us as far as sharing their testimonies. We want to equip and challenge traditional Christian teens to do the same."
Faith begins, they say, with knowing what they believe.
Kaily Gumpper, Age 16, Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church: "It causes you to have a firmer ground on what is in your heart and what God is telling you, rather than just being like, 'Oh, this is what they tell me in Sunday School'."
Latter-day Saints make up half the population in some of their schools. That, they say, can be intimidating.
Daniel Zimmer, Age 13, Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church: "It's made my faith a lot stronger, taking this class. I feel a lot better, I feel like I'm more prepared, like in school and everything else, in handling these situations."
Part of this week's assignment was expressing how they feel about God and Jesus Christ.
"He can talk to you through little actions or words that other people say..."
"God loves me that much and really wants to be in a relationship with me."
Ann Ingerson: "What they find out, I think, is that if they open up, they'll find the similarities and common ground with their friends, making a bridge immediately."
These young people have completed this course and expect to have more of a dialogue with Latter-day Saint teens.
