Joseph Smith once said: “Have the Presbyterians any truth? Yes. Have the Baptists, Methodists, etc., any truth? Yes. They all have a little truth… We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.”
That was my mindset when I decided to take a religious studies class at my university – to treasure up the good. As part of the course, our professor asked that we attend the religious service of a faith other than our own. We had recently been studying Buddhism in the class, and our professor had managed to get in contact with a local group of Buddhists who welcomed students coming to meditate with them. I had always had a curiosity for Buddhism, especially after serving a Chinese speaking mission. I figured this was the perfect chance to better understand the 350 million or so people that follow the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
I walked into the rather plain meetinghouse and was warmly greeted by the leader of this small group of Buddhists.