i Thought I Practiced Pluralism

I thought I practiced pluralism. Then mom read about President Nelson for 35min. Out loud. (We're Ismaili Muslim...)

In case you're not familiar:
President Nelson led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until he passed away yesterday at the age of 101.

My mom wanted to know EVERYTHING about him.

Heart surgeon.
7,000 operations.
Spoke 11 languages to reach people in theirs.

Mom wasn't being respectful from a distance.
She was learning. Deeply.

Because something in his life spoke to her own faith.

And even though I'm now 41 years old...I'm STILL learning from my Mom.

The lesson?

Pluralism isn't tolerance.
It's the ACTIVE pursuit of wisdom across traditions.

Mom's Ismaili faith isn't threatened by studying an LDS prophet's life. It's deepened by it.

And the 'aha moment' that made me give Mom a HUGE hug?

Mom recognizes that Truth appears in many forms.
And learning from another path doesn't betray yours.

We can stay true to our path AND learn everything we can from others'.

Because the learning doesn't weaken our faith. It reveals the universal Truth(s) that transcend them all.

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To my LDS friends: holding you in my thoughts as your community mourns the loss of a leader, and moves through transition.

And a quick P.S. that might be controversial...I think this principle of pluralism extends to those who don't believe in or belong to ANY faith as well. There's something universal about the human experience to be learned from ALL engagement across difference.

P.P.S - I made the image before I wrote the post... This experience of mourning a beloved leader is one that's been widely shared in 2025