Ryan and Me: Chapter Eight

As time went on Ryan and I continued to email extensively. On July 30th, he sent me an email and in it he explained to me why he considered himself to be "agnostic theist", which is someone who believes in God but admits to having no definitive knowledge of his existence. He then went on to explain that this is why he has been "subjecting" himself to all kinds of books: scientific, philosophical, etc. In reading them he hoped to find the answers he was looking for. He even mentioned that he also downloaded the Bible to his iPhone.

After reading that email I knew that this was my opportunity to ask him to read the Book of Mormon, but I was so nervous to say anything. I didn't want him to feel, in any way, that I was pushing my beliefs on him. But I took a death breath, gathered my courage, and started to type. Here is some of what I said to him:

I am going to say something now and I hesitate slightly because I'm not sure what your reaction will be but...I think that as long as you are "subjecting" yourself to these different books, I wonder if maybe you could "subject" yourself to the Book of Mormon as well? I would like you to read it. Now before you get your panties in a bunch, I am not trying to push anything on you here. All I'm saying is that it is a religious text, much like the Bible, and just like any book on science or philosophy, it could also offer you additional insight into the existence of God. I'm not asking you to believe it, I'm just asking you to open your heart/mind to it in the same way that you have opened your heart/mind to the other books you have been reading. But it's just a suggestion. Please don't hate me for suggesting it. :)

I eventually sent the email and then I waited. I kept praying, "Please don't let him be upset" or something along those lines. I was so worried that he would feel I was being pushy. It turned out, however, that I completely underestimated just how open-minded Ryan really was. Within about 30 minutes I had a reply:

First off, don't worry about suggesting the Book of Mormon to me. I forgot to mention that I actually downloaded a copy of it to my iPhone as well. As I have stated, I am open now to all interpretations so it would be folly for me to discount its relevance...

Wait...what?!?! He "forgot" to mention he already downloaded the Book of Mormon to his iPhone? How does someone just "forget" to mention that? Well, I asked him. And I asked him exactly that way. He just laughed at me and said something about how he really did forget. All those nerve wracking minutes I went through and for what? He had it on his phone that whole time!Well, despite the fact that he put me through that for no reason, I was still so happy that he had done it! He did it all on his own and that was a very good sign! I couldn't wait for him to start reading it.

The next day, July 31st, Ryan and I hung out. After he dropped me off at my house he came in and we talked a little bit. He ended up downloading the entire LDS Gospel Library onto his iPhone. He then told me that he didn't like reading the Book of Mormon on his iPhone so he was going to wait to read it until he could get a hard copy. "Oh", I said, "I happen to have one upstairs!" Then I ran upstairs and got it and brought it down and handed it to him. I don't think he was really expecting that, but at least I knew he now had no more excuses. He said he'd read it and there it was sitting in his hands. Now all I could do was wait and see if he would actually follow through.