Most people were horrified by the attack on a Mormon church in Michigan. A man who claimed to believe in Jesus took the lives of others, and felt justified doing so because he believed their faith was illegitimate.
When God told the Jews in Deuteronomy 7:2 that they were to “defeat” the people living in the promised land, “devote them to complete destruction”, and “show no mercy to them”, it might sound like this is what God wants all His followers to do all the time to anyone who does not worship Him. That is a mistake. This command by YHWH was for a specific time and place, where certain people groups were being judged for their evil (to include child sacrifice).
We know that Christians are not to destroy all non-believers because we have the example of Christ. Jesus wooed everyone from Jews to Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor. He didn’t kill anyone for their lack of faith. In fact, He taught the opposite, saying in Matthew 5:39, “But I say to you, ‘Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.’”
More importantly Jesus demonstrated this way of living through His own death. He did not resist Judas, or the Sanhedrin, or Pilate. He never fought back, though He didn’t deserve any of it. The only blood Jesus shed was His own.
Are LDS beliefs wrong? Yes. God was never just a man like us, and we will never become gods. There is only one God for all places and all times. Jesus and Satan are not brothers. But would Jesus have killed them or demonstrated His love for them? The day of judgment is coming. At that point, those who refused the call of Jesus will receive their eternal punishment. That includes those who redefine who Jesus is. But judgment does not come at the hands of Christians. That is not our role. As the body of Christ, our role is to continue the work He started on earth—to love and to sacrifice for the good of all.
