Take what you already know and we will add upon it
So over break I had the opportunity to go to a Japanese steakhouse for the first time in my life. It was FANTASTIC! I don't know if this is typical of all Japanese steakhouses but at this particular one they cook the stuff right in front of you. Imagine that. Fire. Big fire. In your face. AMAZING! If anybody is ever in Richmond and craving for some steak... you got to go to Kabutos.
Anyway, so I went with my mom. We pull up and I can't help but notice that the place is insanely boring on the outside. Just a big white wall with a big Japanese themed door. That's it. No windows, no nothing. Needless to say my first impression was a little disappointing. However, immediately upon opening the doors you walk over one of those arched bridges that typify a Japanese garden. There was a small pond beneath the bridge and the audible sound of running water hit you as soon as you cracked the door open. Then I started to get excited.
We continued to the front where they greet you and were led by a young girl to our seats. Our seats happened to be toward the very back of the restaurant. This allowed me to really soak in the atmosphere. It was awesome. They had Japanese scrolls and paintings all over the place. I'm certainly no architect but I feel it had some authentic, architectural elements of Japan. There was even samurai armour modeled on a figurine in a corner if memory serves correctly. I also couldn't help but notice every time I passed a table that the people were smiling and happy. Like, infectiously happy. The ambiance was incredible.
Now going into the place I knew they cooked the food right in front of you but I had no concept whatsoever of how that was really implemented. Well, I quickly realized that they have these massive 8-10 people tables with a grill on one side for the cook. If you run the math 8-10 seating placements is way more than just what me and my mom need. So they ended up sticking us at the end of a table that already had several people at it. There was an older couple at the far short end and a family of four on one of the long sides. So, we got placed at the closer short end. It was a little weird for me being placed to eat beside several other people that I didn't know. Ok, I'm not gonna lie... it was crazy weird. Luckily, the waitress, a 20 year old girl maybe, quickly came over and took everyone's drink order starting at the far end with the older couple. That left me last in line to order and then she took off to the back to get everything. With her gone, everyone still kind of eye balled each other and tried figuring each other out. There was hardly any communication from party to party. The old couple kept to themselves. The family of four kept to themselves. My mother and I kept to each other and that was it. So it was kinda awkward. Eventually, the ice broke and the older couple began talking to the parents of the family at the table. They were getting along well enough. Yet I still felt pretty weird being isolated on the other end of the table. My mother and I still hadn't said a word to the others at our table.
After a good 10 minutes the waitress finally came back with our drinks. I was itching to get my Dr. Pepper and just like before she started with the older couple on the opposite end of the table leaving me last. Now, to fully understand what happens next you have to understand how small our waitress was in comparison to the table. The girl is a whole 5 foot 2 inches and no heavier than 120 pounds. Just an itty bitty thing. Now think of a 10 person table that also contains a massive grill on one side... there's a big difference! So when trying to hand us our drinks she would have to lean and stretch a bit. With the older couple, being on the end, she didn't have to do too much to get them their drinks. However, for the family, she had to lean over and reach all the way across the table. So she goes to hand out the first drink for the mother of the family. Here, I noticed the mother stiffened up. I couldn't help but wonder why and assumed the waitress brought the wrong drink. I looked at her drink. It was a cup with a clear liquid that had no bubbles. Yeah, that's a water just like she asked for. What happened? By this time the waitress had grabbed the drink for the father of the family and went to give it to him. In an obvious attempt to get her attention, the Mother quickly put her hand down on the coaster before the waitress could set the cup down. The Mother then goes on to grab her own shirt and yank up stating loud enough for the whole table to hear "You need to pull your shirt up!".
Here we were, in the middle of a restaurant, and this mother was sternly advocating modesty. I was blown away. She didn't know my mother and I were members. We hadn't said a word to each other yet! Yet here she was calling the waitress out on modesty. You could tell the waitress got really embarrassed and the tension at the table became almost palpable. I didn't know what to do. Do I support the mother by commenting on it further? No, that would only embarrass the waitress even more. Do I try and comfort the waitress? No, that doesn't send the right message either. So being in this state of confusion and shock I tried escaping the awkwardness at the table by turning away and looking around the restaurant. I quickly noticed that every single one of the tables had a family at it. Every single family was trying to enjoy each other’s company. I noticed a chef at the opposite end of the room. He was entertaining the 3 children sitting across from him by throwing food in the air for them to catch with their mouths. This man was literally throwing food in a restaurant! I then shift my glance over to another table where the chef is once again trying to entertain the kids at his table. He had built a volcano like hill out of some onions which then proceeded to spew out soy sauce from the center. I was going nuts!
The waitress then got my attention in order to hand me my drink so I turned back to our table and just sat there completely dumbfounded. The night continued and things went super well. Our chef entertained us in delightful fashion with his own tricks and songs. The tension at the table loosened up significantly and by the end of the night everyone at the table had talked to each other. We found out the older couple had a son at VT. We found out the family of four were Christians of some sort themselves. It was a blast.
As I left, several images from the night were ingrained in my memory. The mother advocating modesty, the numerous families, the chef's playing with kids. I couldn't help but realize how similar many people of the population are like us LDS members. They want strong family ties. They want to bond and always be with each other. They even stick up for moral issues. Which led me to the question of why is it so hard to share what we know? It’s not too terribly different than what they already know. They strive to live the exact same things we do. Deep down they know the exact same things we do. Maybe not all of the principles, but the basic ones at least. I don't remember who said this quote but paraphrasing it roughly is "take what you already know and we will add upon it". We don't have to change people's minds! We're too similar to need to change their minds. Many, many people already have a solid foundation. The beauty of the restored Gospel is that all we do is ADD onto that foundation. Deep down people are fantastic and already love the lord. They already know what's right.
The fullness of the Lord's doctrine is on the earth once again. It touches and saves lives. God sent his son here on Earth to teach it and fulfill the eternal plan through the atonement. Christ is our savior. May we all have the courage and the strength to know when to help those around us learn even more of his restored truth.
