Panel:  Dr. Jeffrey Silliman (President, Salt Lake Theological Seminary), Pastor Ray Smith (Sr. Pastor, Salt Lake Christian), Jordan Barrett (Grad student, Wheaton College), John Zarbock (LDS bishop, Sandy, Utah), Jerry Hansen (Professor, Brigham Young University – Idaho), and Jacob Farnsworth (Student, Brigham Young University)

Topic:  Is Anything Changed?  Evangelical and LDS perspectives of changes and how they impact the churches today.

I found this extremely jarring when Dr. Silliman stated, “Doctrines [LDS] are not changing.  But this is alright.”  I wasn’t impressed at all.

I really appreciated when Jerry mentioned, “We do want to convert each other.  Let’s be honest with that.”  (Sitting behind him in the last session tonight, we actually met each other.  This is the professor who has been teaching “Christian History” to all the BYU-Idaho students.)

Speaker:  John Morehead, M.A. Christian Theology, Salt Lake Seminary

Topic:  Are We Ready for This?  Critical Reflection on Mormon-Evangelical Dialogue and Its Critic

John handed to each of us a three page handout (front and back) on his subject, outlined with these main categories:  introduction, perspective of workshop, importance of dialogue, definitions of dialogue, types of inter-religious dialogue, the “dialogue decalogue” of Richard Swidler, challenges to Christian dialogue with New Religious Movements, need for an interdisciplinary perspective for analysis: The Missional Helix, missions and interreligious dialogue, and conclusions. (more…)

I will backtrack on sharing sessions;

but Bob answers a college student’s question right now on what are key differences: (more…)

Interesting note to this conference:  Greg Johnson mentioned there are about 20 different student representations from educational facilities

 Session One:  A Historical Review of Evangelical / Mormon Relations:  After 177 years what have we learned from our past interactions? 

Dr. Craig Hazen (Professor of Comparative Religion and Apologetics at Biola University) (more…)

“There are not many people that are both convicted and civil” – Robert Millet

“I asked my dad, what does it mean to be saved by grace?  My dad replied, ‘We don’t believe that because the Baptists do.’ “ – Millet

“Neither one [Millet and Johnson] of us had a particular agenda” – Greg Johnson

“We are historically driven to convert one another. . . . [Yet this] It is not about converting one another but opening our hearts up to one another and building relationships” – Johnson

Krister Stendahl shares three things about good dialogue.  Go to an active member.  Compare their best with your best.  Always leave room for holy envy. – Millet

John Stackhouse says winning an argument is not as important as winning a friendship – Johnson

The local news is here at the Salt Lake Christian Center.

If you catch you me on television.  I am sitting in the second to back row in the middle.  Green sweater.  Blue levis.

Rolling into the city, I just caught Greg Johnson on KSL News Radio 102.7 FM.  He was talking about Dr. Robert Jeffrey’s (spelling?) latest comments on Mitt Romney.

Greg mentioned 350 are registered for this conference.  We have five BYU scholars with us.

This is going to be interesting.

[Btw, I loved listening to the hymn, Thou Art Worthy, on 91.7.  So does anybody listen to 95.5?  Yes, it is just a tad more traditional than K-love. 🙂 ]

To the readers:  I am selecting one more member among others in our church family before I branch out for a short spell to other former-LDS individuals.  It is a new experience for me having some of my own church family in the spotlight.  Obviously, my love for them kicks into overdrive when seeing them exposed to public critique.  I don’t rehearse with them on what to say, in order to fit the political correctness of the predominant Idaho Falls culture.  I let them speak freely whatever they are thinking.  Lisa is active in our church family here in Idaho Falls, and is a continual joy in her kind service to others.  Alongside her busy schedule in the Bonneville County office, she faithfully assists in one of our fun weekly children’s ministries, Patch the Pirate Club.  After we had this interview last night, she is eager for LDS friends to ask any questions or make any comments that they would like.

Todd:  Lisa, thanks for opening up a window to your life and sharing some of your heart today with me on HI4LDS.  As I understand, you were not for too long of a period, active within the LDS Church?

Lisa:  That’s right, just about three years.

Todd:  What was it that initially attracted you to the LDS community? (more…)

Check here, if you haven’t read it already.

But maybe some LDS would rather not highlight Romney being backed by Christian fundamentalists.  🙂

My family took a walk, yesterday, on 12th Street in search of beautiful leaves. They are all over the place. And now we have leaves stuffed in encyclopedias all over our house. Chris Leavell has captured beautifully the shades of red glory, framing some of God’s intricate design.

The Bible speaks of leaves. Without Christ, I once was elon, “whose leaf fadeth”. But I am thankful for the redemption through Christ’s blood. And I look forward to these words in the last chapter of the Holy Bible:

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the
street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of
life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every
month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

Today, I am thinking about shades of red glory, offering healing to the
nations of the world.

Jettboy pigeonholes me thus: “You are the ultimate example of the wolf in sheep’s clothing vs. just a wolf.”

When reading Paradox’s post over at the Waters of Mormon about anti-Mormons, I couldn’t help but think about the distaste some LDS have for preachers who hold to historic evangelical doctrine.  Reading some of the recent books published by LDS, targeting both America’s teens and the upper educated literate, I have found the historical preacher to be highlighted as the enemy or at least a poor connector to human culture, decency, true understanding, and compassionate love.  Would you like some examples? (more…)