EVANGELICALS SPEAK AT MORMON TABERNACLE

FOR FIRST TIME IN A CENTURY

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA

Friday, December 10, 2004

Historic event in Salt Lake City stirs controversy, raises hope for change
by Mark Ellis Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LA MIRADA, CALIFORNIA  (ANS) -- Noted Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias and other evangelicals shared the stage November 14 with leaders of the LDS church for the first time since D.L. Moody preached there in 1899. (Pictured: Ravi Zacharias speaking at a different venue).

The joint event—dubbed “An Evening of Friendship,” was organized by ex-Mormon Greg Johnson, director of Standing Together Ministries, a coalition of evangelical churches working to improve relations with the LDS church. He worked alongside Robert Millet, the prolific LDS author and professor at BYU, to put on the evening.

The Tabernacle was filled to capacity with 7,000 tickets distributed. Some estimate one-third or more of the audience was Mormon; evangelicals made up the balance.

“We’re amazed this happened, period,” said Craig Hazen, professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, who gave the closing prayer. “The Mormons have been changing a great deal since the 19th Century,” he noted. “The changes in Mormonism made this possible.”  (Pictured: Temple Square as seen from the 26th floor of the Church Administration Building. To the right, the dome-shaped building is the Mormon Tabernacle, home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; to the left and rear of the Temple is the Assembly Building, used for small conferences and meetings).

The evening was not without controversy. In brief introductory remarks, Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Seminary, apologized to Mormons for misrepresentation of Mormon theology by evangelicals. “I am now convinced that we evangelicals have often seriously misrepresented the beliefs and practices of the Mormon community,” Mouw said. “Indeed, let me state it bluntly to the LDS folks here this evening: we have sinned against you.”

“The God of the Scriptures makes it clear that it is a terrible thing to bear false witness against our neighbors, and we have been guilty of that sort of transgression in things we have said about you,” he continued. “We have told you what you believe without making a sincere effort first of all to ask you what you believe.”

Mouw’s conviction stemmed from “lengthy closed-door discussions” he and a small group of evangelical scholars have held over the last six years with their LDS counterparts, he said.

Several evangelical pastors in the audience took offense at Mouw’s comments, and the subsequent controversy caused him to clarify his remarks in an email sent to Baptist Press News. “I certainly did not mean to imply that every evangelical has sinned in this regard,” Mouw wrote. “In none of this am I saying that Mormons are ‘orthodox Christians.’ But I do believe that there are elements in Mormon thought that if emphasized, while de-emphasizing other elements, could constitute a message within Mormonism of salvation by grace alone through the blood of Jesus Christ.”

The focal point of the evening was Ravi Zacharias’s message “Defending Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The Christian apologist—originally from India—received a standing ovation for a message that emphasized the sufficiency and exclusivity of Jesus Christ. He described the resurrection of Jesus as mankind’s only hope, and also taught about the Trinity.

“When Ravi spoke in the Tabernacle he was right down the line—really clear,” said Dale Fincher, a staff writer and apologist with Ravi Zacharias Ministries International. “He said only Christ can rescue us from our fallen condition and only through Jesus is there salvation,” Fincher said. “He said our goal is to see the face of Christ, not necessarily to go to our own heaven.”

Mormon leaders sat on one side of the stage and evangelical leaders sat on the other. “After many of the points people would applaud,” Fincher observed. “The Mormons applauded on almost every point except for one,” he said. “When Ravi said, ‘The only way to find unity in diversity is in community in the Trinity,’ the Mormon scholars sat there with their hands on their laps.”

Fincher was initially concerned about the strength of Zacharias’s voice, because of some recent difficulties. “I heard Ravi use his voice in the Tabernacle unlike any time in a decade,” he said. “There were some climaxes in that sermon that just shook the roof. It was amazing.”

Christian singer and songwriter Michael Card led five worship songs for the evening. “It was surreal to see evangelicals worshiping in Spirit and Truth at the center of Mormon power and influence,” reported Biola’s Craig Hazen. (Pictured: Craig Hazen, professor of Christian apologetics, Biola University).

Some months ago Greg Johnson, president of Standing Together, sent a personal note to Gordon B. Hinckley, 94, the current head of the LDS church, seeking approval for the event, which included two other evenings at local colleges. Some were shocked when the LDS leader approved. “God has put him there for such a time as this,” Fincher believes.

“They want to be recognized as Christians,” said Hazen. “But Christians are monotheistic, and until Mormons embrace that we can’t talk about it.”

Hazen sees a possible parallel in the recent history of the Worldwide Church of God, which embraced orthodoxy after the death of its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong. “The changes in that body has given us new vigor and hope,” Hazen said. “It’s recharged our batteries in terms of dealing with LDS.”

On the one hand, Hazen sees November’s event as a “spiritual earthquake” that will be featured prominently in future historical accounts. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to “overblow” what happened. “To think this is a turning point or Mormons are going to repent or get rid of all the craziness in their past—it’s not going to happen overnight,” he noted.

Hazen is among a handful of evangelicals engaged in ongoing discussions with Mormon scholars. “We’re having rich discussions right now,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what God does next.”