Updated May 10, 2002 (first published May 8, 2000) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article)

The ecumenical movement has many aspects but in its broadest sense it has no borders. This is evident by efforts in recent years to add Mormons to the ecumenical stew. Consider the following examples:

MORMONS WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ECUMENICAL MARCH FOR JESUS ON MARCH 22, 1999, IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. On the day of the March, local organizer Maggy Fletcher said: "Over a dozen churches of various denominations are directly involved with the march, but many more churches have shown an interest in coming . . . Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Assembly of God, non-denominational, charismatics (and) LDS [Mormon]." She said that though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not endorsed the event, individual Mormons have expressed interest in participating "and are welcome to do so" (Salt Lake Tribune, Sat., May 22, 1999). According to Fletcher, Mormons are part of the "body of Christ." She said: "The March for Jesus unites believers, regardless of color, race or denominations, into the Body of Christ. The names on the church buildings don't mean a thing." The national coordinator of March for Jesus, Tom Pelton, echoed Fletcher's sentiments, saying, "It's time to move beyond church walls to connect with one another and the community."

IN NOVEMBER 1998, ASSEMBLIES OF GOD PASTOR DEAN JACKSON PRESENTED MORMON LEADERS IN PROVO, UTAH, WITH "A FORMAL DECLARATION OF REPENTANCE FOR PREJUDICE AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF LATTER DAY SAINTS." The document was signed by more than 160 members of Jackson's Canyon Assembly of God Church in Provo, and roughly 100 Mormon visitors were on hand to receive the official apology (Charisma News Service, March 1, 2000, citing Deseret News of Salt Lake City). The declaration of repentance was also endorsed by the regional presbytery of the Assemblies of God. When attendance dropped by half in Jackson's church following the reconciliation ceremony, Jackson said: "Some just couldn't handle it. You can't spend your whole life hating people and then be told you should start loving them." That is a foolish and slanderous statement. It is not hatred which motivates Bible-believing Christian people to obey God's commands to separate from those who preach a false gospel. Did the Apostle Paul hate the Galatian legalizers when he warned that they were cursed of God because of their false gospel (Galatians 1)? Of course not. In another place, Paul said he was willing "to be accursed from Christ" for the sake of the stubborn, unbelieving Jews who denied and perverted the gospel (Romans 9:1). Following in the footsteps of his Master, the Apostle Paul loved even those who are enemies of the truth, though he did not draw back from condemning their error. To expose and separate from those who preach false gospels is not hatred; it is obedience to God. The ecumenical crowd is extremely confused about Christian love. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3).

IN APRIL 1998 MORMON PROFESSOR ROBERT MILLET SPOKE AT WHEATON COLLEGE ON THE TOPIC OF C.S. LEWIS. In the June 1998 issue of Christianity Today Millet, dean of Brigham Young University, is quoted as saying that C.S. Lewis "is so well received by Latter-day Saints [Mormons] because of his broad and inclusive vision of Christianity" (John W. Kennedy, "Southern Baptists Take Up the Mormon Challenge," Christianity Today, June 15, 1998, p. 30).

IN NOVEMBER 1997, FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER, IN A TELECONFERENCE INTERVIEW WITH SEVERAL RELIGION WRITERS FROM ACROSS THE NATION, SAID THAT MORMONS ARE CHRISTIANS AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE THE TARGETS OF "PROSELYTIZING" (Carrie Moore, "Are Mormons Christians," Deseret News, Nov. 15, 1997). During the interview, Carter, a Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher, said that SBC leaders are wrong in characterizing Mormons as non-Christians. "Too many leaders now, I think, in the Southern Baptist Convention and in other conventions, are trying to act as the Pharisees did, who were condemned by Christ, in trying to define who can and who cannot be considered an acceptable person in the eyes of God. In other words, they're making judgments on behalf of God. I think that's wrong." Carter testified that "the people in my own local church have no interest in trying to condemn Mormons or trying to convert Mormons to be good old Baptists like me." Carter criticized SBC leaders for becoming "narrow in their definition of what is a proper Christian" and for believing "that every verse in the Bible has to be interpreted literally."

IN A JANUARY 21, 1997 INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KING, EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM SAID HE HAS A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH MORMONS. Larry King asked, "What do you think of the other [churches] ... like Mormonism? Catholicism? Other faiths within the Christian concept?" Graham replied: "Oh, I think I have a wonderful fellowship with all of them."

THE 1996 NATIONAL COORDINATOR FOR MARCH FOR JESUS IN CANADA, MARTY KLEIN, ALSO TESTIFIED THAT MORMONS WERE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MARCH. Alan Sharpe of Ottawa wrote to Klein on May 2, 1996, via e-mail and asked, "I am interested in the March for Jesus. Can a devout Mormon who loves Jesus march in the march?" Klein replied: "ALL are welcome to join us. However, we make it clear that this is a march FOR Jesus. It is not a protest--we are not promoting anything, but a person (Jesus) and we will not allow Christians or otherwise to parade their various causes."

IN 1995, MORMON LEADERS IN PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, PUBLICLY VOICED THEIR SUPPORT FOR PROMISE KEEPERS. This was stated in a report in the Los Angeles Times for May 6, 1995, which stated that Mormon leader Chip Rawlings and others were urging Latter-day Saints members to participate in Promise Keepers. Rawlings said: "The Movement's Seven Promises are like something straight out of the men's priesthood manual for the [Mormon] church."

IN MAY 1994, A UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA, INVITED LOCAL MORMON LEADERS TO SHARE THEIR FAITH AND TO PRESENT A CONCERT. "David Wiggs, the church minister of education, said he wanted church members to better understand their Mormon friends' faith. He stated that he considers Mormons to be Christians. A four-member panel of Mormons led a sharing and question time. After several probing questions about 'exaltation,' an elder admitted that Mormons believe that they can become gods" (The Evangel, May 1994).

ALSO IN 1994 MORMONS BECAME PARTICIPANTS IN AN ECUMENICAL VENTURE IN THE SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, AREA. The project is a Lenten lunch-and-worship gathering which has been sponsored by a group of San Antonio churches since 1984. The participants include Southern Baptist, Church of Christ, mainline Protestant, and Roman Catholic. In 1994, for the first time, a Mormon congregation participated. Vernon Burrow, pastor of Stone Oak Presbyterian Church, who invited the Mormons, said: "Some people have prejudice toward the Mormons, but I can remember when we treated Catholics and Pentecostals the same way" (San Antonio Express News, Feb. 19, 1994). Burrow said the Mormons are Christ-centered people and that theological differences should not keep Christians apart. He said: "We have to be concerned about presenting a united front in fighting evil in our society, not quibbling over differences among ourselves." That is precisely the reason given by Evangelicals such as Chuck Colson for uniting with Roman Catholics. Mormon bishop Dick Lacy agreed, noting that he was excited about participating with other Christians and clearing up "some misunderstanding about our teachings."

IS MORMONISM BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY?

To claim that Mormonism is biblical Christianity is incredible spiritual blindness. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adds its own fantastic writings to Scripture, teaches that salvation is by faith plus works, denies the Trinity, claims that God was once a man, that Jesus Christ was a created being, that he had many wives, that he is the brother of Satan, that men have pre-existent souls, that the living can be baptized for the salvation of the dead, that those who endure faithfully in this life will be gods in the next. In fact, Mormonism denies or corrupts most cardinal doctrines of the New Testament faith.

Baptist missionary to Utah Cooper Abrams wisely observes: "One question that I would ask all Mormons is this: 'If I accept you as a Christian, will you accept me as a Mormon?' Would you accept me as a Mormon if I reject Joseph Smith and all the LDS prophets as being prophets of God. If I do not believe in the Book of Mormon or the LDS Scriptures, baptisms for the dead, the temple endowments, the LDS gospel, would you accept me as a Mormon? The answer is obviously, you would not. In like manner, when Mormonism denies the Bible and every Christian doctrine do you think that Biblical Christians should accept Mormons as Christians? Again the answer is very obvious, no we will not. You cannot legitimately claim to be Christians when you refuse to accept what the Bible teaches and what a true Christian believes" (Abrams, "Are Mormons Christians?").

THE ROOT PROBLEM: REFUSAL TO JUDGE EVERYTHING BY GOD'S WORD

The root error of the ecumenical movement is the unscriptural non-judgmental philosophy that permeates end-time Christianity. Former president Jimmy Carter, who is a Sunday School teacher at a Southern Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, defined his personal philosophy as a nonjudgmental, reconciling type of spirituality. This sounds right and proper to this present generation, but in reality it is rebellion against the Word of God. The Bible plainly commands God's people to "prove all things" by the Scriptures (1 Thess. 5:21; Acts 17:11; 1 Cor. 14:29; 1 John 4:1; Jude 3; Rev. 2:2; Prov. 14:15; Isaiah 8:20).

At least Jimmy Carter is consistent in his philosophy. If one holds the philosophy of non-judgmentalism, one cannot consistently judge ANYTHING AT ALL. If one has the right to judge something by God's Word; one has the right to judge everything! If ecumenical leaders have the responsibility to judge Mormonism, they have the same responsibility to judge Catholicism and Modernism and infant baptism and every other thing that is contrary to God's Word.

LOVING WHAT JESUS?

The ecumenical movement's doctrinal carelessness is evident by its refusal to carefully test things by God's Word. According to the Bible, it obviously is not sufficient that someone merely "love Jesus," because we are warned that there are false christs. Consider some of the false christs that are in the world today and that are potential participants in ecumenical projects:

1. The Wafer Jesus who is worshipped in the Roman Catholic mass.
2. The Mormon Jesus who was a polygamist.
3. The Modernist Jesus who was not born of a virgin.
4. The Unitarian Jesus who was not Almighty God.
5. The Universalist Jesus who will not send anyone to Hell.
6. The Prosperity Jesus who was wealthy.
7. The Laughing Jesus who "slays" people with his spirit and causes them to laugh uncontrollably or to stagger like drunk men.
8. The Self-esteem Jesus who never called man a sinner and who came merely to build up his self image.
9. The Revolutionary Jesus who was the founder of Liberation Theology.

These are just a few of the false christs in the world today. Beware of those who refuse to identify false teachers and who refuse to expose false christs and false gospels. It is impossible to love the true Jesus without hating every false "Jesus." Those who claim that God has called them to preach only a positive message and not to enter into controversy are greatly deceived.

"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. WHOSOEVER TRANSGRESSETH, AND ABIDETH NOT IN THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST, HATH NOT GOD. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 7-9).

"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort YOU THAT YE SHOULD EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).

"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him" (2 Corinthians 11:4).

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For a look at Mormon doctrine see the article "Are Mormons Christians" under the Cult section of the End Time Apostasy Database at the Way of Life web site -- http://www.wayoflife.org/