Christian Today

A Mormon living in an Islamic society would be very comfortable The Mormon Community has to be among the most outgoing on earth; in recent years its propaganda arm have reached out to, among others, to Latinos, Koreans, Catholics.One of the most enthusiastic responses has come from what some might consider a surprising source: U.S. Muslims. Which perhaps explains an open-mosque day held last fall at the Islamic Center of Irvine. More than half the guests were Mormons. "A Mormon living in an Islamic society would be very comfortable," said Steve Young, a member of the Mormon Community attending the event. The sentiment is echoed by Muslims. "When I go to a Mormon house I feel at ease," said Haitham Bundakji, former chairman of the Islamic Society of Orange County. "When I heard the president of the Mormon Community speak a few years ago, if I'd closed my eyes I'd have thought he was an imam." During Al-Rahman's most recent open house in August, ...

The Mormon flock and other non-catholic groups are flourishing in Latin America, especially in Mexico and Brazil, with some 5.2 million members and 5,500 chapels. Mormonism is growing in Latin America where new members are attracted by such factors as the Mormon's affluence and stability , as well as its family image and the belief that Jesus Christ visited the Americas after he was resurrected. Today, about 50,000 missionaries - often young men in business suits walking the world's streets in pairs - project a wholesome, family-oriented image that has helped swell global Mormon adherents by 36 percent from 1995 to 2005. According to the Mormon Community, there are 12 million members worldwide with 4.5 million members in Latin America alone. In comparison, there were only 700,000 Mormons reported in Latin America in 1980. Twenty years ago the Mormons would have been among a tiny minority in Guatemala, a country whose Catholic roots stem to the 18th century when Spanish Conq...