Emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy teaches BYU-Idaho students how to be Christian

Elder Alexander B. Morrison, an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave the Brigham Young University-Idaho devotional address Tuesday, June 27, teaching students how to be Christians.

Elder Morrison said many religions do not consider The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be Christian, which confuses many members who profess to believe in Christ.

"Many Latter-day Saints are both puzzled and frustrated by this rejection," he said. "After all, we say, the name of the Church alone should indicate who we are, and whose we are.  The Church bears the name of Him whom we proclaim to be its leader."

He said that the purpose of his address was to help members of the Church realize that they are, in fact, Christian.

"Are Mormons Christians? The answer, to me, is simple. Yes, indeed we are Christians, though our views on many important doctrines differ from numerous of our brethren, whose Christianity we in turn do not dispute," Elder Morrison said.

In order to help students understand the differences between the Church and mainstream Christianity, Elder Morrison recounted several events in history that caused a divergence in doctrine from Christ's original church. Some of these included the councils and creeds of the Dark Ages, which gave rise to concepts such as original sin and the Trinity.

While the Church does not accept those doctrines, Elder Morrison said, it should not lead members of the Church to shun people of other faiths.

"...although we disagree with other Christians on numerous significant doctrinal issues, we should take special care to avoid the name-calling and invective which too commonly takes the place of respectful and reasoned dialogue between Latter-day Saints and those not of our faith," he said.

This mutual respect and love is part of being a Christian, Elder Morrison said. It is what characterizes the people of other Christian faiths.

"This, the doctrine of inclusion, remains the standard which must govern our actions towards others not of our faith. We quickly find, as we reach out to others in love and respect, that those not of our faith are, in the main, good and honorable people, as we should be," he said.

The true measure of Christianity comes from how we treat others. Morrison emphasized that recognizing other people as eternal brothers and sisters will lead to a desire to help them, not judge them.

"I assert again that there is much more which unites us than divides us from others. Perhaps of greatest importance is the reality that we are all the children of God and thus, in the most profound sense, brothers and sisters. And thus, we carry in our hearts, as should all men everywhere, a desire to succor the poor and needy, to help the widow and orphan in their distress, to lift the burdens from the backs of the suffering, and to bring a healing balm of Gilead to all who seek solace from alienation, discrimination, bigotry, poverty and hopelessness," he said.

Elder Morrison concluded by calling on students to put aside differences and help others as Christ would.

"My plea, then, is that we reject the too-common tendency to fixate on our differences and avoid obsessing on so-called ‘divides.' Rather, let us work together with others of good will and good hearts, building the bridges which unite us and further the common good," he said.

Next week's devotional speaker will be Jennifer O'Farrell, chair of the BYU-Idaho Department of Dance.  Devotionals are held every Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium with additional seating in the Taylor Chapel.  Devotionals are broadcast on KBYI-FM 100.5 at 2 p.m. and rebroadcast Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.