A Real Problem

...Huckabee the front runner is only now beginning to face new scrutiny. A speech he gave in 1998 is likely to come up again. Addressing Southern Baptist pastors gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Huckabee, then governor of Arkansas, said that he "got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives … I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ." Link

To outsiders, the Southern Baptists -- who are arriving by the planeload for a national convention in Salt Lake City -- and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem to have a lot in common. They are both politically conservative, morally pious and hungry for converts. They both praise Jesus, condemn alcohol and fight gay rights.

But when they start talking about doctrine, ``I love you, brother'' quickly turns into ``You'll burn in hell, sister.''

...Most of the Baptists' door-to-door crusade will take place today. Called ``Crossover Salt Lake City,'' the $600,000-evangelical blitz also includes TV and radio spots and a direct mail campaign to reach 400,000 homes in the region. The annual Baptist convention, which is being held at the Salt Palace Convention Center, begins Tuesday and concludes Thursday.

Neither Morrison nor other Mormon leaders seem very concerned that some 20,000 Southern Baptists are coming to town over the next week, preceded by an advance team that has been spreading the word that Mormons are a polytheistic ``counterfeit Christian movement'' promulgating heresy and offering only false hope for eternal salvation.