Beginning in 1991, when I was appointed dean of Religious Education at BYU, and continuing well past my retirement from BYU in 2014, my interactions with men and women of various faiths have profoundly impacted me. They have broadened my horizons dramatically and reminded me—a sobering reminder we all need once in a while—that we are all sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father.
Sign up to be notified when we publish new content, including interviews with scholars like Robert L. Millet, N. T. Wright, and Robert Alter.
Why Interfaith Dialogue Matters to Latter-day Saints
We may never resolve our differences on the Godhead or Trinity, the spiritual or corporeal nature of Deity, or the sufficiency of the Bible in this life, but at least with our Christian friends, we can agree that salvation is in Christ and that the ultimate transformation of society will come only through applying the teachings of the Savior and His ordained servants to pressing social, family, and moral issues.
I am fully persuaded that by reaching out and seeking to better understand our neighbors of other faiths, we can be fully committed Latter-day Saints and need not compromise one whit of our doctrine or our way of life; indeed, our strength, our contribution to the religious world, lies in our distinctiveness.
We are who we are, and we believe what we believe.
At the same time, we can and should look for opportunities to build bridges of friendship and understanding.
A Divine Presence in Dialogue
There have been some unanticipated blessings in my life associated with outreach and with interfaith dialogue. Some of these people have become my friends, beloved and cherished associates. I have grown to appreciate them, admire them, and love them.
Over the more than twenty years of interfaith dialogue, I have felt a kind of superintending divine presence in our midst, and on many occasions, the words of the Savior have come into my mind and heart:
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20.
Learning from Billy Graham
Decades ago, I read Billy Graham’s autobiography, Just As I Am (Zondervan, 1997). It was a life-changing experience. Having grown up in Louisiana, I had watched many Billy Graham crusades with my father. Dad was a devoted Latter-day Saint father and priesthood leader, but he loved listening to Reverend Graham.
I was not, however, prepared for what I learned in his book. His influence for good among rich and poor, black and white, high and low—including serving as spiritual adviser to several presidents of the United States—was almost overwhelming to me.
As I laid the book down, I let out a rather loud “Wow!”
The more I read, the more I became acquainted with a very good man, a God-fearing and Christ-affirming man who had felt called to take the message of Christ to the ends of the earth.
And he did just that. It is estimated that he testified of Jesus Christ to some 215 million people in over 185 countries.
I remember sitting in my chair in the living room and finishing the last page of the 700-plus-page book. No one else was in the house except for my wife, Shauna, who was also reading. As I laid the book down, I let out a rather loud “Wow!”
Shauna responded with “What did you say?”
I replied: “Wow! What a life!”
I remember being very emotional at the time, sensing deep down that God had worked wonders through this simple but submissive North Carolina preacher.
A Vision of Shared Labor
Not long after I read the Graham autobiography, one of our faculty members drew my attention to a general conference address by Elder Orson F. Whitney in 1928.
Referring to persons of other faiths, Elder Whitney declared:
Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of His Church to help it along. They are among its auxiliaries, and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else. . . . Hence, some are drawn into the fold and receive a testimony of the truth; while others remain unconverted. . . the beauties and glories of the gospel being veiled temporarily from their view, for a wise purpose. The Lord will open their eyes in His own due time.
Conference Report, April 1928, 59.
Now, note this particularly poignant message:
God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous for any one people.
Conference Report, April 1928, 59; emphasis added.
Elder Whitney then affirmed that we have no quarrel with those of other faiths who love the Lord. “They are our partners in a certain sense.”
Seeing God’s Hand in Other Faiths
I am immeasurably grateful for the fulness of the gospel—for the keys of the priesthood, for living apostles and prophets, for the ordinances of salvation and exaltation, and for mind-expanding and soul-sustaining doctrine.
But I have found myself, more and more often, looking into the eyes of those of other faiths, sensing their goodness, perceiving their commitment to the Almighty, and feeling strongly that God knows them, loves them, and desires for me to love, respect, and better understand them.
After being involved in interfaith engagement and academic dialogues for more than thirty years, I have never been more committed to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ than I am now.
At the same time, I find myself rather taken by the words of the prophet Mormon:
For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore, ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
(Moroni 7:16; emphasis added)
Comprehending the implications of this verse broadens the mind and expands the soul.
Being involved with outreach means complying with what Elder M. Russell Ballard called the “doctrine of inclusion.”
“Our doctrines and beliefs are important to us,” he taught, and then continued:
We embrace them and cherish them. I am not suggesting for a moment that we shouldn’t. On the contrary, our peculiarity and the uniqueness of the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are indispensable elements in offering the people of the world a clear choice. Neither am I suggesting that we should associate in any relationship that would place us or our families at spiritual risk.
“The Doctrine of Inclusion,” Ensign, November 2001.
Elder Ballard then emphasized that ours is “a doctrine of inclusion…. Of all people on this earth, we should be the most loving, the kindest, and the most tolerant because of that doctrine.”
Convicted Civility and the Influence of Richard Mouw
One of the great joys of my life has been to come to know and love Professor Richard J. Mouw, for twenty years the President of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
Rich and I have been together on scores of occasions and have traveled around the country attempting to persuade people of the value of respectful conversation on matters religious and spiritual.
Rich has written:
As Martin Marty has observed, one of the real problems in modern life is that the people who are good at being civil often lack strong convictions and people who have strong convictions often lack civility.
Richard Mouw
Richard then added that what is desperately needed in our society is what he called convicted civility. His discussion of this topic can be found in his book, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (InterVarsity, 1992). It is a great read.
A Doctrine of Inclusion
President Gordon B. Hinckley appealed to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
We can respect other religions and must do so. We must recognize the great good they accomplish. We must teach our children to be tolerant and friendly toward those not of our faith. We can and do work with those of other religions in the defense of those values which have made our civilization great and our society distinctive.
“We Bear Witness of Him,” Ensign, May 1998.
In the words of President Howard W. Hunter, our charge is to “seek to enlarge the circle of love and understanding among all the people of the earth.”
Did You Enjoy This?
About the Scholar
Robert L. Millet is a pioneering figure in Latter-day Saint interfaith dialogue. A Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, Millet has spent decades building bridges between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and broader Christian communities. He is the author or editor of more than 70 books, including Bridging the Divide: The Continuing Conversation between a Mormon and an Evangelical, co-authored with Greg Johnson. He currently serves as a senior missionary instructor at the Southern Virginia Institute of Religion.
Further Reading
- Why Did Eerdmans Publish a Book on Latter-day Saint Theology?
- How Do I Receive and Recognize the Holy Ghost?
- How Do Latter-day Saints Approach Biblical Theology?
- How Does the Book of Mormon Reinterpret the Bible?
- Grace vs. Works: Has the Pendulum Swung Too Far?
Latter-day Saint Interfaith Resources
- Dr. Richard Mouw and Dr. Robert Millet at the May 2012 Faith Angle Forum (Ethics & Public Policy Center)
- Mormons and Evangelicals: Answering the Hardball Questions (Religion News)
- Interfaith Relations: An Interview with Robert Millett by Stanley J. Thayne (BYU Religious Education Review)
- The New Revolution at BYU (The Daily Universe)
- What Is the Point of Interfaith Work? (In Good Faith)