Baptist next door

[Mbowman]

ok My family and i joined the church about two months ago and we just had my daughters baptism yesterday and she was confirmed a member today. she was playing with the neighbor kids and they are not members but this did not worry me. my daughter began to sing while playing the hymn she was singing was I am a child of God the neighbor kids father said dont sing no mormon songs at my house and then one of his kids told my daughter they were going to heaven and my daughter said so are me and my family and the neighbor kids said no you and your family are going to hell cus your mormon. what do i do or say plz help

[EruditioSalvatus]

There's nothing you can do about this. You could try and speak to the parents but I doubt it'll amount to much. Having lived in the south east of the US for the last several years, and part of my childhood, (southern baptist central) and not being of a 'normal' religion I get the 'you're going to hell' line a lot.

Sadly my advice is learn to deal with it and teach your daughter to learn the same.

[jameslentz]

It is amazing how this is said by people so often. I have lived in the bible belt (south) my whole life and served my mission to Arkansas, so I have been around it a lot. The thing to remember is that we know that we are not the judge of anyone...and it is very seldom that you will find an LDS member telling any other person that they are going to hell, mostly because it is not for us to say. Love thy neighbor.... :) ok, that was not intended, but still with Love you can let them say what they will. They are usually very strong in this belief and no matter what you might say to try to change their mind it will not do much....what is better is to show them that what they are saying does not affect you or your family and your testimony.

I guess because I grew up around it, it has become second nature to just ignore it....and if you don't let it bother you then your daughter will follow your example. And one day, maybe your example will make a difference to your neighbors and they will investigate because of how you lived and loved.

Good Luck!

[Dr T]

I agree with what James said. It is for God to decide.

[Jbs2763]

i was gonna suggest a flaming bag of dog poop....

[James_Fryman]

Yeah as much as it stiinks to say this the only thing you can do is deal with it and live and act the way a follower of christ should act eventually theyll accept it and keep there mouth shut around you. But dont let it bother you I hear that everytime I comment on youtube, and were here for you dont forget that

[NeuroTypical]

Love thy neighbor, and teach your kid that some people just believe dumb things, and that's ok.

[Wingnut]

Love thy neighbor, and teach your kid that some people just believe dumb things, and that's ok.

And thou shalt also teach thy kid not to tell thy neighbor that they believest dumb things.

[Jbs2763]

where i grew up i was the only LDS in my high school...got it all...and it did wear on me, was inactive for 8 yrs...

hopefully the brainwashing of the nieghbor kid will pass...but not likely

[EruditioSalvatus]

hopefully the brainwashing of the nieghbor kid will pass...but not likely

I've gotten just as much crap from LDS people as I have from other christian sects.

It's not brainwashing, it's believing in what they've been told. Saying someone is brainwashed for stating their beliefs is just as bad as someone saying another person is going to hell.

This is what happens when everyone says their religion is the 'right and only' religion. Catholics do it, baptists do it, mormons do it, and so on and so on. Very few religions are, at the end of the day, truly tolerant to the point of believing that following another religion is just as good as following its own.

[mlbrowninwa]

My parents are baptist as well as one of my mother's sisters. My parents have been very supportive of my decision and asked lots of questions. However, members of their church are not supportive at all and some of them have even made comments to them about the LDS church. I have told him that it does not bother me and they are entitled to their own opinion. The baptist will be surprised in the end when they get to heaven and find us as well as members from all sorts of denominations worshiping Heavenly Father together as one in some fashion.

My parents are questioning now if they want to stay in the baptist church. Not just because of this but i don't think some of the comments helped matters. I told him the LDS ward in his area would be happy to have them visit anytime.

[Bissell50]

I agree with James. Teach your child the truth, that it is for no man to judge-find a quote from the scriptures to memorize, maybe put it in a simpler language. Whenever faced with the intolerance and prejudice she can run the scripture through her mind. Scripture is part of our armour.

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Romans 14:10

Now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are not always just. Mosiah 29:12

My heart aches for these wee-ones whose hearts and intentions are pure.

[prisonchaplain]

Today our LDS volunteers couldn't make it in. So, I was going to have the group watch a church-produced video, such as Legacy. One of the gals picked out a Max Lucado (evangelical) movie and asked if they could watch it. I looked at her a bit perplexed, and she says, "Well, we're Christians too, right? Right?" Of course, my issue was not who is and is not a Christian, but rather that I, the evangelical chaplain, was not about to impose on the rest of the group a viewing of an evangelical movie during the LDS program time.

It's a tough matter. Parents do not want their kids changing religions, and get nervouse when they befriend those of other faiths. Part of it is location, too. We live in an area that is 63% religiously unaffiliated. So Southern Baptists are just as strange as LDS to most Seattlites. :-)

[Guest Alana]

If it's not the 'you're going to hell' line for being in the 'wrong' religion, it's the 'you belong to a cult' line because I'm part of a religion (west coast) or when I was living in Missiouri it was all of the above. Oh and did you know that we, according to two history teachers I had in school, still practice polygamy? Sigh, no.

[StallionMcBeastly]

My first reaction after reading your story was anger - but after thinking about it, you should just tell your children that everyone has different beliefs, and some belief bad things of us.... but that we're all God's children and he loves all of us, even your neighbors.

You should just be the most pleasant and nice people to your neighbors. Be a good example.

[Just_A_Guy]

I notice MBowman is in Salt Lake City. The irony here is that those Baptist parents are probably among the myriads who complain about how Mormons "shun" outsiders, and never let their kids play with non-Mormon kids . . . ad nauseum.

[Guest TheLutheran]

. . . you should just tell your children that everyone has different beliefs, and some belief bad things of us.... but that we're all God's children and he loves all of us, even your neighbors.

You should just be the most pleasant and nice people to your neighbors. Be a good example.

This is what I would suggest you share with your daughter:

"Not everyone believes exactly the same things and we often misunderstand the beliefs of others. It is important to be respectful of other people's beliefs so we should be kind and loving to our neighbors. We are all God's children and He loves all of us."

Bake something yummy and head over to the neighbors to diffuse this rift before it goes any further. I'm sure your daughter was hurt and confused by the tactless interaction with her friend and the friend's father. Doesn't it make you fiesty when your child has been hurt? Set that aside and, with love in your heart -- not bitterness or resentment -- approach your neighbor to work out how your children of different beliefs can be friends and how you can be good neighbors to one another. Good luck!

[pam]

Great advise.

[pam]

and some belief bad things of us.

While I understand the intent of what you are saying..sometimes this can backfire. Strictly speaking in the case we are discussing. The child then has negative thoughts about the neighbor.

I like TheLutheran's advise.

[Islander]

In other cases however, certain people are already predisposed to and antagonize others regardless. I was recently in Utah at a retail store in the books section talking to another customer who was interested in getting the book sign by the author that was there. A woman approached, her face all twisted in a mask of disgust, and in the most sour of inflections said to the group: "how come there are no (other denomination) authors or books sold here at the store? Not everybody in SLC is a Mormon, you know?"

I think some made up their mind long ago and civility is not part of their vocabulary.

[its_Chet]

So many great people have already posted here, I can't believe nobody's said this yet.

I would take this as an opportunity to teach your children about some of the beauty of our religion. The SBC makes occasional trips to Salt Lake City where they have a convention, hand out anti-Mormon literature, and make what we might consider feeble attempts at proselytizing. They are probably responsible for more anti-Mormon propaganda these days than any other organization.

You'll never find pamphlets in an LDS Church that describe how evil another religion is, but I saw them when I used to go to Church of Christ. Our missionaries don't make the ridiculing and derision of other faiths a part of their teaching, but I've seen on various denominations’ official websites all kinds of that type of thing directed right at us. When a Protestant Church in Salt Lake City (can't remember which one) was about to have to close its doors because it was out of money, the Church stepped in and donated money to it. This may be because the Church knows how it feels to teeter on the financial brink, as a result of mobocracy driving innocent Saints out of their homes and Temples time and again. Joseph Smith once said

"The Saints can testify whether I am willing to lay down my life for my brethren. If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a Mormon, I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholic or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves."

Contrast this with the story I heard from a member of my ward who said that during his mission two missionaries in a nearby area were dragged from their beds in the middle of the night and one of them was nearly beaten to death, and this was in a supposedly "civilized" country. Even in our own country, Joseph Smith Jr. was murdered by a mob that was partly composed of ministers of Protestant sects, and we've already seen Joseph's attitude toward those of other religions.

I say this not to boast of how much "better" we are, but I make no apologies for the supremacy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the marvelous effect it has on the soul, or my testimony that it has been correctly taught in this dispensation only through the ministry of Joseph Smith Jr., those he ordained, and their successors. In other words, the Church is true, and by its fruits will you know it.

And while the Church teaches the reality that there is one God we worship, and thus one true religion, we also teach that every last one of Heavenly Father's children will be given the chance to hear it and accept it before being judged. And the Church also teaches that rather than "going to hell", those who refuse to accept the Gospel when they have had a proper chance (according to God's terms), will be assigned to a lower kingdom that could in a way still be considered part of Heaven. And the Church teaches that we will be judged for what we have done, good or bad. We will be accountable for our own sins, rather than admitted to the Celestial Kingdom on the simple basis of membership in the Church. And the Church teaches that our fate is not set in stone, that if we wish to shed our sins and draw near to Heavenly Father, we can repent and cleanse ourselves from the blood of this generation.

I am as far from ashamed as one can be of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. We teach, believe, and know such beautiful things. I would remind your daughter of them, and encourage her to view persecution as a sign of the Church's authenticity. Persecution is not the hallmark of a Prophet of God. The leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints doesn't engage in that behavior. This is how your daughter can know that she is where she needs to be. I don't know if it will be enough to comfort her at her age, but I'd give it a try.

If you're interested in diplomacy, you might tell your neighbor that you and your daughter were unaware the hymn would be found offensive to them and that you have instructed her to not sing hymns on their property ever again. If they're reasonable people, I think this will cause them to quietly reflect in a moment of private introspection at some later point in time. At least it might get them to ease off the defensiveness a bit.

In the end, persecution is something we have to be willing to endure, if it is permitted to measure our faith. In such circumstances we must do all we can to see that our faith measures up.

[StallionMcBeastly]

While I understand the intent of what you are saying..sometimes this can backfire. Strictly speaking in the case we are discussing. The child then has negative thoughts about the neighbor.

I like TheLutheran's advise.

Yes, Lutheran said it better than I did. I meant to imply to tell the daughter that some people disagree with us, and that's okay. We love everyone.

[freckleface]

I applaud your post, Its_Chet. Wooohoooo!!!

[Moksha]

Might be good to have these Baptists over for a barbecue. When we get to know each other as people, our judgments become kinder.

[bytor2112]

Might be good to have these Baptists over for a barbecue. When we get to know each other as people, our judgments become kinder.

LOL....I was going to post the same thing. I thought about that silly movie.