Evangelist to speak at Tabernacle

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has opened its signature pulpit to an evangelical Christian preacher in what organizers see as a watershed event for promoting good will and discussion among Utahns of various faiths.

The event is two months away, but it is already generating discussion in the state's faith community.

Ravi Zacharias, an internationally known apologist, philosopher and author, will speak at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in November as part of a three-night speaking engagement in Utah. Some have compared Zacharias' style and tone to that of Christian philosopher C.S. Lewis. He has addressed audiences worldwide in international venues including the United Nations, the White House, Harvard, Cambridge and Princeton.

Zacharias is listed as an editor of the most recent version of a book called "The Kingdom of the Cults," which classifies the LDS Church as a cult along with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Bahai and Jehovah's Witnesses. The book is widely regarded by evangelicals as "the authoritative reference work on major cult systems for nearly 40 years." Written by Walter Martin, it was first published in 1965.

The planned event has a few locals —both evangelicals and Latter-day Saints — wondering whether the other side is "using" its counterpart to try to smooth over what has in recent years been disputed territory as to whether Mormons are Christians.

The event is co-sponsored by Standing Together Ministries and the Richard L. Evans Chair for Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University. It is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, and is open to the public.

Word of the event has generated some discussion locally among both evangelicals and Latter-day Saints, according to Pastor Greg Johnson, who leads Standing Together Ministries. When Johnson asked Zacharias several months ago whether he would be willing to speak in the Tabernacle if it could be arranged, the two discussed some of the concerns such a visit might raise.

"I think some of our folks would think you're playing into the hands of the 'enemy' and that the Mormon Church is going to use you," Johnson remembers telling him. Zacharias is not only aware of the Mormons-as-Christians discussion but knows about the nationwide series of discussions that Johnson and Robert Millet, a BYU religion professor, have teamed up for in recent months over the relationship between Mormons and evangelical Christians.

They also discussed whether there might be an agenda on the part of some Latter-day Saints to use the event as a way to say to the evangelical community, "See, we're Christians, too."

Despite those questions, Johnson sought the Tabernacle pulpit as a venue for Zacharias in a letter earlier this year to the First Presidency of the LDS Church. He believes they agreed, in part, because of the press conference and quiet outreach campaign that local evangelicals staged outside the Conference Center last spring during LDS general conference, designed to counter attempts by self-proclaimed Christian preachers who have sought to antagonize Latter-day Saints.

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