Thursday, March 10, 2011

Evangelicals, Mormon Search for Common Ground in Utah


A group of prominent evangelicals will meet with a Mormon leader Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, for dialogue to better understand each other's faith.

Some of the evangelical leaders involved in the dialogue are: Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary; Craig Williford, president of Trinity International University; and David Neff, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today; among others.

"We hope this time of dialogue with LDS leaders will deepen our understanding of the Mormon faith and contribute to the ongoing work of evangelicals in Utah," said Leith Anderson, NAE President. "For the sake of Christ and his kingdom, we seek to represent biblical evangelicalism to those who wouldn't hear or know. We also look for common ground on issues where we can work together."

The meeting between evangelical figures and a leader from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) takes place during the NAE semiannual board meeting. Board members, who include the CEOs of 40 denominations and representatives from a broad array of evangelical organizations, are gathering in Park City and Salt Lake City for the one-day meeting.

Galen Carey, director of government affairs for the NAE, clarified in an e-mail to The Christian Post that the NAE itself is not officially involved in the religious dialogue with the Mormon leader. Rather, some of the organization's members will participate in the separate talk, he explained.

This is the first time a NAE board meeting is held in Utah, where about 60 percent of the population are members of the LDS church.

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