The bus doors open, and out stream dozens of matching-tee-shirt-wearing LDS pageant-goers. They quickly traverse the short distance to become part of a bulky and growing line at temple lawn gates. A little wait, and they'll be able to pick the best seats, and save them for later when the Mormon Miracle Pageant begins. But for now, they happily chat and enjoy the ambiance on the road directly east of the temple grounds.
Next to this line of temple visitors another, much smaller, group is beginning to form. These folks are holding Bibles, and they are here to try to engage loitering Mormons in conversations about the LDS religion and the Bible. They hope to be able to find people who will hear the gospel of Christ, and accept Him as the Lord and Savior of their lives.
The public road on which they are all standing (which hereafter I'll call "100-East" for brevity) has served for the last 20 years as a place where evangelicals and Mormons can meet, in the relaxed, summer-evening atmosphere, and exercise their constitutional rights to free speech, and freedom of religion.
A few years ago, county government proposed that a convention center and fairgrounds be built near the Manti temple. A traffic-impact study was done, and based on that study, UDOT (the Utah Dept. of Transportation) concluded that traffic moving north off of 100-East would present a problem for that kind of new development. The city closed 100-East to vehicles (but not pedestrians) at the north end. Oddly, it seems that there has been a reversal on those plans, and neither a convention center nor fairgrounds is being built, but still the road remains closed. (Also, the question is begged, where was the project money coming from)?
Local ranchers have been using 100-East for as long as Manti has been a city; it is an important part of their most natural and least problematic cattle-moving route. The north-end closure structure does not hinder the ranchers currently, but they ARE discouraged to know that the church will not allow any further such use of 100-East once they own it. The LDS church has already bought up the property on the other side of the street from the temple, and after ripping up the pavement at 100-South, will be able to further expand and beautify the temple grounds.
The ACLU has gotten involved because of the constitutional issues. This legal body may not succeed, however, because although it hopes to defend a small rural town from a corporate religious giant, the Manti City Government is itself composed of members of the LDS church. Also, because the Church financed Salt Lake City's legal battle with the ACLU, it is reasonable to expect the Manti community to receive similar financial incentive/aid.
If the LDS church purchases 100-East, Christians can expect to be forced to leave (or worse) for attempting to engage Mormons in any fashion (also see here).
There may be things that can be done to prevent the Mormon Church from buying the Manti road; there may be things that can be done to ensure that they will not kick Christian evangelicals off of it. This blogger doesn't deem it likely - but perhaps getting the word out to more people will do some good. In the meantime, we will continue to pray knowing that God is in control.
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15 comments:
Only a minor inconvenience even if the LDS do win this battle. It just means we need to be more imaginitive. Tell Jim to contact me if you would like an example, as he knows how to get ahold of me.
This kind of proselyting is obnoxious, outmoded, and largely ineffective.
You can almost view this as the LDS Church doing the protesters a favor.
Seth, the very generalization of the Manti evangelists as protesters is itself an obxnoxious, outmoded way to understand what goes on during Manti Pageant evangelism. For starters, 98% of what they do is one-on-one and small group conversation (Rob Sivulka and I are the only street preachers, and even that has toned down).
Consider for a moment that you don't know what you're talking about.
Also, consider for a moment that you're acting like a troll who hovers over Google Reader all day long ;-)
As a Mormon missionary in France, I visted the Catholic shrine at Lourdes. I did not proselyte while I was there. I prayed with fellow Christians for the welfare of sinners who did not know the Lord. I enjoyed and appreciated the deep reverence that Catholics felt for the place. I respectfully observed all these things without disturbing the peace of the pilgrims.
I did not hand out anti-Catholic tracts. I didn't shout at people as they knelt before images of Mary, calling them idolaters or anything like that. I did not share many of the Catholic beliefs, but I was willing to celebrate what we did share--faith in the Lord Jesus and a desire to serve and worship him.
Why do Evangelicals feel they must harass and disrupt Mormon temple dedications, open houses, and pageants? Live and let live. Appreciate the similarities. Work together for good.
If we must buy up property to protect ourselves and feel secure, what does it say about the actions of anti-Mormons who threaten our peace? Their works are certainly not of God.
Can you imagine a Christian church posting a sign that said “NO PROSELYTING OR EVANGELIZING ALLOWED "????
Seth, I disagree that it is ineffective since that kind of evangelism like Aaron does (and others) led me to question my LDS faith and eventually leave it.
Hey Seth, Have you personally been to the Manti Pageant and interacted with the Christian evangelists? I would warn anyone who has only experienced it through YouTube that is not the full picture. It always surprises me when the Christian missionaries are referred to as "protesters" because although we would disagree with the LDS church, our intent is to engage Mormons in meaningful dialogue, not push them away. Unfortunately, simply by showing up we are labeled "protesters." Those that have left Mormonism (I know MANY, only God knows how many more) as a direct result of the interactions with Christians at Manti would disagree with you Seth that this approach is outmoded or ineffective.
One huge difference I've found between being a Mormon and being a born-again, Bible-believing, Jesus-lover, is the nature of the ground I'm standing on.
When I was Mormon, I'd learned to say/try-to-believe that the church was true - I believed it because it was MY religion, and because that it was true was what I had always been taught. But when confronted about it, or when trying to share it, the answers I gave were ones I made up out of my head. In other words, I was standing on shifting sand.
Sharing or defending the Bible is a completely different experience. The deeper you dig into it, the truer it gets. The further you investigate it, the more it proves itself trustworthy. Going up to complete strangers to proclaim Jesus and the good news is literally like standing on solid Rock.
Hey G. West, It would be unimaginable that the apostle Paul could had given comments similar to yours.
As a missionary of The Way in the many cities I visited, I visted the many religious centers. I did not proselyte while I was there. I prayed with them for the welfare of sinners who did not know the true God (I am sure they did not realize that we worship different gods). I enjoyed and appreciated the deep reverence that Pharisees, Baal worshippers, etc., felt for their holy places. I respectfully observed all these things without disturbing the peace of the pilgrims.
I did not reason with them from the scriptures or give convincing proofs. I didn't call them to repent or anything like that. I did not share many of the religious leaders, Pagan, Gnostic, etc., beliefs, but I was willing to celebrate what we did share--faith in a deity (or deities) and a desire to serve and worship them.
Now imagine a Pharisee writing about the early apostles who would come to the temple (see the book of Acts).
Why do these followers of Jesus feel they must harass and disrupt Jewish temple activities? Live and let live. Appreciate the similarities. Work together for good.
If we must use our power and influence to protect ourselves and feel secure, what does it say about the actions of anti-Jews who threaten our peace? Their works are certainly not of God.
Some complaints never change.
I am not against the people standing out there proselyting. I would venture a guess that the LDS Church had received some feedback about the other Christian participants and wanted to provide a greater buffer.
I think it's folly to assume it is simply about censorship and more about the comfort and enjoyment of the patrons who go for the experience of the Pageant.
This is hardly a 1st Amendment issue as the ACLU would have people believe. If the land may be purchased legally the church is well within it's right under that Amendment to purchase the land for their own private use.
Surely if this land is purchased, those who seek to engage a dialogue with the Mormon patrons would just find another spot whereby they can seek to share their message.
Update from Aaron Shafovaloff:
"News coverage begins of Manti street issue: http://bit.ly/dqTfuU http://bit.ly/bd9Iph http://bit.ly/915my2 http://bit.ly/cGDJLR -- In one of the videos the Mormons were quite forthright: they wanted the LDS Church to buy the street so they could control the situation. Most of the reporters seem bent on generalizing the evangelists as "protesters." Sale is being considered... at only $100,000!
One reporter was absolutely correct in describing the street as having a "festival-like atmosphere" during the Pageant.
Some of the news outlets are using pictures from my Flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronshaf/sets/7215762443134...4623/"
Look, the LDS church calls us protesters but thats not what we are. I can speak from experience. I went with our church youth group this year to Manti, UT to share the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ in a loving way. We dont go and protest anything, in fact we have a genuine heart for the mormon people.
We want to declare the love of Christ to them. We try to show them that they cannot be perfect as their doctrine teaches. We try to tell them that they need a Savior and that they cannot save themselves by their own works (i.e. keeping the law) but that they can be saved through what Christ did on the cross for everyone who believes.
Titus 3:5(KJV)- Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.
Rom 10:9-10(KJV)- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Jonathan posted: "We want to declare the love of Christ to them. We try to show them that they cannot be perfect as their doctrine teaches. We try to tell them that they need a Savior and that they cannot save themselves by their own works (i.e. keeping the law) but that they can be saved through what Christ did on the cross for everyone who believes."
Jesus Christ also taught "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48) All Mormons know the perfection in this life is impossible. We look for that status sometime in the eternities.
Also, as a life long member of the LDS church, I've never met one member who thought they could get to heaven by good works alone. That is a anti-Mormonism fallacy propagated by those who are too lazy to actually study LDS doctrine and beliefs. Every Mormon I know--including me, of course--realizes that Jesus is the only way to heaven. The Book of Mormon teaches it along with the Bible.
JediMormon, please consider reading the following blog post:
http://pleaseconvinceme.blogspot.com/2010/01/gospel-fulness-was-restored.html
Also, I'd like to hear your take on Spencer W. Kimball's "Miracle of Forgiveness" if you wouldn't mind.
Hi JediMormon - you said, "Also, as a life long member of the LDS church, I've never met one member who thought they could get to heaven by good works alone. That is a anti-Mormonism fallacy propagated by those who are too lazy to actually study LDS doctrine and beliefs. Every Mormon I know--including me, of course--realizes that Jesus is the only way to heaven."
No one (including the comment from Jonathan A.) is saying that Mormonism teaches that salvation is by good works alone. Would you agree that exaltation is earned through your good works and that belief in Jesus is not sufficient by itself?
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