Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah) Saturday, November 15, 1997 ARE MORMONS CHRISTIAN? CERTAINLY, CARTER SAYS By Carrie A. Moore, religion editor Jimmy Carter calls things as he sees them. And he just made a call that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention won't like. Arguably the highest profile member of the Southern Baptist faith, the nation's 39th president told reporters this week that SBC leaders are wrong in characterizing Mormons as non-Chris-tians. "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 said his personal philosophy includes a nonjudgmental, reconciling type of spirituality with which he acknowledged many people --including leaders of his Southern Baptist faith -- disagree. When questioned by the Deseret News about the SBC's characterization of Mormons as non-Christians, Carter said his church's leadership has become "narrow in their definition of what is a proper Christian or certainly even a proper Baptist." "They believe that every verse in the Bible has to be interpreted literally. They are inerrantists, (meaning) there cannot possibly be any error in even a translation of a Bible down through the centuries." While Mormons believe in the Bible, they do so only "as far as it is translated correctly." Latter-day Saints also revere three other books -- the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price -- as scripture. These, among other points of LDS doctrine, have been grounds for Southern Baptist leadership to characterize members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as non-Christian. Consequently, SBC leaders are preparing their members to proselyte Mormons in Salt Lake City next summer [1998] when they bring the annual Southern Baptist convention here. But according to Carter, Mormons aren't the only ones that Southern Baptist leaders find troubling. "They're much more rigid in defining who is an acceptable fellow Christian. There is a movement in the Southern Baptist Convention, now at the leadership level, even to criticize, condemn and even withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance, which is an alliance of Baptists. "So, I think that the worst thing that we can do, among the worst things we can do, as believers in Christ, is to spend our time condemning others, who profess faith in Christ and try to have a very narrow definition of who is and who is not an acceptable believer and a child of God. "I think this is one of the main reasons that Christ not only said once, but repeated on other occasions, that we should not judge others, we should let God be the judge of the sincerity of a human mind or a human heart, and let us spend our time trying to alleviate suffering, opening our hearts to others, learning about the needs of others, being generous, being compassionate and so forth." He said taking the good news of Christ's gospel to all the world is "a mandate that has guided Baptists as well as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others all down through the centuries. I think that that's part of my own life commitment, is to tell others about Christ, and to offer them, at least, the word of God, and to let the Holy Spirit decide, or ordain the results of those intercessions. So, I think that that's a very worthwhile effort." Carter has reservations, however, about Christians trying to convert other Christians, as will undoubtedly happen in Utah next summer as Baptists seek to share their message and Mormons return the favor. "The only thing I'm hesitant about is exactly what you mean by proselytizing. If you mean should we Protestants devote our time to converting Catholics to be Protestants, that's something with which I generally disagree. I think, though, that if people don't know about Christ, I have a mandate directly from our Savior to try to share the message that he espoused both through his own words and through his own actions." As for members of his own 30-family congregation, "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's comments came during a teleconference this week with several religion writers from across the country. In a politician-turned-pastor fashion, Carter has used the bully pulpit of his past presidency more powerfully in recent years than he could in the White House when it comes to pushing issues of faith and moral consistency. He's recently put his feelings about those issues on paper with two books -- last year's spiritual autobiography, "Living Faith," and a new book "Sources of Strength: Meditations for Daily Living." The latter is based on 52 Sunday School lessons he teaches at his religious home, the Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga. Culled from some 1,600 lessons he's taught over the years, the book gives readers a taste of what they could expect to hear if they happen to attend his weekly class. Carter said it isn't unusual to have several hundred people -- many of whom confess they've never before set foot in a church -- join with his tiny congregation. Readers and visitors alike come away with new insights on a president lauded as much for his diplomacy as he was derided for his indecision. It becomes clear that the diplomatic skill he displayed for the world at Camp David may well spring from his commitment to Jesus' admonition to "love one another" and his perceived indecision from a Christian quest to "resolve issues peacefully." A tireless advocate for the downtrodden, Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, spend much of their time these days with the "theology of the hammer" as volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. In addition to building homes for the less fortunate, Jimmy Carter is chairman of the nonprofit Carter Center in Atlanta, which promotes peace and health worldwide. © 1997 Deseret News Publishing Co. From the Deseret News Archives