He said some Christians in Utah "were surprised and disappointed by the apparent bad faith reflected in the LDS Church's post-event coverage; others, including myself, expected it on the basis of the conviction that, contrary to the belief and hope of many Evangelicals, the LDS Church does not appear ready for, nor does it seem to really desire, authentic dialogue with Evangelicals. What the LDS Church certainly does seem to desire is mainline respectability."

He said the church "appears to be interested in 'dialoguing' only with evangelicals who lack an in-depth knowledge of Mormon history and doctrine, and who are thus more likely to take at face value the representations of its PR people."

Huggins wrote that two weeks after Mouw's remarks, he and about two dozen local Christian leaders met with Standing Together director Greg Johnson to discuss the event and expressed their feeling that Mouw's apology "was both ill-advised and inappropriate; a significant number of those present (again including myself) felt it was highly inappropriate."

As for Standing Together, Huggins wrote that "evangelicals associated with that ministry have developed unhealthy, lopsided relationships with the Mormon apologists. Several years ago I came up with a name for this 'evangelistic strategy' — the 'Pander/Slander' method: 'If you want to pander to the Mormon apologists not ready for real dialogue, the cost is going to be a willingness to slander the Christian brethren that went before you.' "

The Rev. Johnson said he told the group concerned about Mouw's apology, "if the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it."

"I would not accuse Mouw of hubris or arrogance or being proud. Did he fully appreciate the ramifications of his statement? Probably not. I'm sorry that his words and presentations were such a distraction to the purpose of the evening."

While he acknowledged the remarks were "very bold, they were his words, not mine. I wouldn't invite a Christian leader of his stature to the podium and ask him to submit the speech to me. Some have said I should have."

Despite the criticism, the Rev. Johnson said he believes "there were a whole lot of people thrilled with that evening."

As evidence, he said Standing Together has received more than 400 orders for a DVD or CD of the event. "We get a lot of notes now from people who have watched it and heard about it," noting it's been the subject of several radio programs across the country with "a lot of extremely good feedback."

"I've tried to say to people 'get the DVD and judge it for yourself.' Focus on the Family just ordered today 100 sets for their student leadership forum. They just called to get them. That's a nice thing."

---

E-mail: carrie@desnews.com