Baptists Begin a Barrage in Utah

Here in the Mormon heartland, the Southern Baptist barrage is beginning.

Billboards, airwaves and mailboxes are filling with the evangelical message of the Southern Baptists, who expect about 12,000 people at their annual convention Tuesday through Thursday and a host of other events before and after.

“Our sole intention is to share the good news of Christ’s love of people. Period,” said Bob Reccord, president of the Southern Baptists’ North American Mission Board, which oversees the faith’s missionary work.

That the sharing is in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been headquartered since Mormons arrived 151 years ago, is fortuitous for the Southern Baptists.

They try to meet outside the Bible Belt every four or five years to reach new audiences.

Southern Baptists believe Mormon doctrines are not Christian and contrast the belief systems in a video and workbook called “The Mormon Puzzle.” The video has triggered public defenses by Mormon church leaders who say the church is quintessentially Christian.