I have contacted you previously. I have Mormon neighbors on either side of me. My husband and I are Christians and my children attend a Christian school. My daughter has developed a friendship with the Mormon neighbor. This evening my daughter came to me and asked if she could go to a baptism at her friend's church. Her friend said that her father told her it would be ok for my daughter to go to the baptism at the church if it was ok with me.

My first reaction was almost a bit of panic. My daughter said it was a baptism of some of the children, They would be put underwater. That is all I know about it. Do you have any idea what this would be? I wonder if I could use this as an opportunity to ask my neighbors a few questions about what they believe and share with them what I believe. They know we are Christians, in fact they allowed their daughter to attend the Treasure Valley Revival with us. I do not want to lose the friendship we have with our neighbors nor do I want my daughter to lose her friendship. My daughter has been planting many many seeds with her friend.

Thank You,

Teresa

Teresa,

In general, I am opposed to letting our kids get involved with any Mormon activity. It is always viewed (by the Mormon Church) as an opportunity to proselytize them.

I do understand your concern about reciprocating in these matters. It is a tough call.

Frankly, the odler your daughter gets, the more dangerous having Mormon friends becomes. In high school we lose lots of Christians to Mormonism because of the circle of friends. As the child begins to undo the family apron strings she finds herself surrounded by the Momron culture.

What is the correct balance? In my opinion I like to keep the DIVISION between Mormonism and Christianity very visible in all relationships. If that distinction is clear from the beginning, your child is safer. But how, you may ask, will we win Mormons with this attitude? I believe it will not affect your results one bit. If you are loving, yet up front about your concerns with Mormonism, I think you will actually have more genuine and meaningful interaction with Latter-day Saints. They will respect your honesty and they may even reconsider when they are tempted to you deceptive means to proselytize you daughter.

Jim