Pastors stand for civility

There will always be theological differences among Utah's diverse churches and faiths. That's healthy, so long as people of diverse ideas and beliefs can disagree agreeably and respectfully.

This was the plea of some two dozen evangelical pastors who congregated near The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Conference Center this past week to decry the actions of street preachers who desecrated clothing sacred to LDS Church members during the faith's recent semiannual conference. The street preachers also carried protest signs and used bullhorns to denigrate church members during the faith's October conference.

The evangelical pastors are to be commended for taking a stand against the street preachers' outrageous conduct, which has become more about self-promotion and propaganda than genuine Christian witness or behavior.

Spewing hateful, lewd speech, desecrating clothing a faith holds sacred and otherwise mocking a church is tantamount to discrimination and hate, according to some of the pastors who spoke at the gathering.

What street preachers like Lonnie Pursifull, Utah director of the World Wide Street Preachers Fellowship, fail to understand is, there is a world of difference between heat and light. The former inflames and divides. The latter can bring unity.

If anything, the street preachers' actions may ultimately galvanize Utah's religious communities against those who lack the capacity to conduct a civil exchange with the people and entities with whom they disagree.

Credit Salt Lake's evangelical community, too, for attempting to reach out to Pursifull to speak to him privately. He was reportedly disinterested. This was highly regrettable, if only because such a meeting would have enabled the street preachers to witness how people of differing points of view can treat one another with respect and dignity.

As Jeff Nellermoe of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church explains, "The best way to support and encourage a person is through prayer rather than confrontation."

Well put.