Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
April 24, 2002
Workshop responds to life's biggest questions
Mormon convert offers workshop on divisive faith issues
Will you go to heaven when you die?
No topic is more important and none causes more religious division than salvation. Catholics seeking to enter into meaningful dialogue with people of other faiths must understand and be able to articulate the Church's teaching, according to Tom Smith, a seminarian who will address an April 27 workshop at St. Mary Parish in Littleton addressing justification and salvation.
Before converting to the Catholic faith and entering formation for the priesthood, Smith was a seventh-generation Mormon who converted to Protestantism and was ordained a Baptist minister in 1992. A popular speaker at national gatherings, Smith now limits his public addresses in order to focus on his studies.
Smith will address key topics, among them: Are we saved by baptism or by faith? Why do many believe that Catholics are not really Christians? Is it possible to earn salvation?
"We are saved by Christ through grace alone, by a living faith working in love," explains Smith. "In other words, our salvation is from Christ alone, through grace alone, by faith and works done in love, only and always by the Holy Spirit."
Smith is quick to add that his approach to the complex theological issues that will be addressed during the morning workshop will be through personal stor-ies.
"My experience is that people respond to `story' first, then unfolding of doctrine is personalized and has context," he explained. "That's the pattern in the Church. For example, the first Christians `experienced' the Trinity in encounter and story hundreds of years before doctrinal formulas regarding the Trinity emerged."
Smith says that Catholics do not "impose" their beliefs on people of other religions, but they must always be ready to "propose" the fullness of the teaching of the Church, less an opportunity to give the life-giving message of the Gospel be lost.
"In the context of my conversion I will walk the audience through my thought process, scriptural study and prayer, which led me from the Mormon concept that grace is what is needed "after all we can do has been done," to my views as a Protestant and sola fide, and finally to the fullness of the Scriptures, which is the Catholic position," he explained.
The April 27 workshop titled, "Justification: The Topic that Divides Christians," is sponsored by Forming Families for the Third Millennium, a Catholic family support network that sponsors workshops and an annual summer convention in Denver.
Workbooks and small group practice sessions also will be included in the workshop. The cost of the event is $15. For questions or registration, call 303-703-9603.
The event will take place in the Ave Maria Room at St. Mary Parish, 6853 S. Prince St. in Littleton.
Contact Us
