In Memory of Ravi Zacharias

It was an honor to know Ravi Zacharias and to call him a friend. I was privileged to meet him as a Denver Seminary student in 1991 and to invite him to minister in Utah four different times, in 1994, 2004, 2014, and for a private dinner engagement in 2019 last December. Sitting behind Ravi on the stand as he preached inside the Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square, not once but twice in 2004 and 2014, will always be unforgettable. It was epic and historic! Arranging two different lecture opportunities for Ravi at BYU in 1994 and in 2014 was simply incredible. Ravi believed in the Mormon/Evangelical Dialogue and he put his reputation on the line with those who were critical of building a relational bridge to the LDS community. Ravi's personal support and encouragement to me personally in this effort gave me the confidence to believe that God was using the dialogue to accomplish his work. He hosted two LDS Apostles in his Atlanta office in 2011 and in 2015, showing that loving others who believe differently than we do is not a compromise but an opportunity to let God do the work that only He can do. Ravi was a mentor, an advisor, an encourager, and a hero in the faith to me and he will always be so!