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where a brief video was shown outlining tenets of the Mormon faith.
Tourgoers were then asked to don paper slippers before beginning a silent tour of the temple. Inside they viewed the baptistery, meeting rooms and other areas of the building.
The tour concluded with individuals invited into a tent, where refreshments were served and literature was available, including free copies of the Book of Mormon. Church members were also present to answer questions and distributed cards asking visitors for the name and address of they wanted more information.
Loggins said the cards are evidence the Mormons hope the open house will serve as a recruiting tool. “You can rest assured every single person who filled out a card will get person who filled out a card will get a visit from Mormon missionaries in the next six months,” he said.
A Christian Response
Baptists from area churches, as well as some from Anniston and Gadsden, worked with other Christian churches in distributing “Vantage Point,” a publication produced by Watchman Fellowship. “But we do have responsibility to make the truth known. We were simply providing information.”
In addition to groups distributing literature on street corners, Watchman Fellowship erected a tent where those who went through the temple could ask questions about what they had seen. Waldrep said a member of the Mormon Church who visited the tent agreed with Watchman that information in the literature was correct.
“He said ‘the real problem is, this is our audience and you’re out here addressing our audience,’ “ Waldrep said.
Waldrep said those attending were not the Mormons’ audience saying if the open house were only for Mormons there would not have been a problem. However, he said community and even placed invitations for the open houses in several Gardendale Baptist churches and First Baptist Church, Trussville.
Harold McClendon, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Gardendale, led a group in distributing literature each day. McClendon said some 20 volunteers spoke with passing motorists while another 10-15 prepared food for their group.
McClendon said he is not opposed to the Mormons placing a temple in Gardendale, repeating Loggins’ contention they have a right to be there. But he said their presence calls for the need for witnessing to them and assuring they do not receive others.
“Clearly, they’re not teaching the Word of God accurately,” McClendon said. “I am concerned they will lure in people who are not strong in their biblical beliefs.”
Following the temple’s dedication Sept. 3, Waldrep said only 25-30 percent of Mormons will be allowed inside the temple to observe rituals, leaving the remaining 70 percent unaware of what occurs there.
“So they don’t know what happens there any more than non-Mormons,” he said. “It’s secret rituals.”
In addition to recruiting new converts, Waldrep believes the open house was a public relations tool to desensitize the community to the presence of the temple and portray the Mormons as a good neighbor.
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