Jean Funk moved with her husband from Saratoga Springs to Nanjing, China, to teach English for a year. For one of her classes, she invited her college-aged students to think of one question they would ask a wise man. Among the lighthearted questions, several questions stood out: “Where did I come from,” “why am I here,” and “where am I going.”
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Funk said she wanted to answer them by sharing her beliefs. However, because foreigners can’t proselytize to Chinese citizens, she thought of something else to say.