Pastor Bob Roberts waded Monday night straight into the discomfort that has existed at times between his evangelical, Baptist beliefs and those of Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Soon after the two leaders sat in chairs on a stage in the Washington Hilton ballroom during the Global Faith Forum dinner, Roberts made a confession.

“You know, (when) I grew up, we didn’t say nice things about LDS and Mormons,” he said. “We didn’t. We disagree, but it bothers me that we did it in a disagreeable manner.”

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Roberts is a well-known bridge builder, the co-founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, a group committed to promoting religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships. It quickly became clear this chat before hundreds of people was his way of modeling a way to work with anyone for the religious freedom of all people.

By the end of a colorful, 16-minute talk, Roberts had invited Elder Soares to Texas for some barbecue, and Elder Soares had invited Roberts to Utah for a personal tour of the Salt Lake Temple during the public open house that will follow its renovation.

They also shared three things each admires about the other’s religion.

Their discussion happened about 90 minutes after Elder Soares delivered the kickoff speech at the opening reception of the International Religious Freedom Summit.

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The biggest laugh

Roberts is an affable Texan with big energy who loves to be called Pastor Bob. He is the Senior Global Pastor at Northwood Church outside Dallas.

Elder Soares stopped the pastor at one point early on to tell him the terms LDS and Mormon are out.

“We love to be called members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because we praise Jesus Christ,” he said. “He is our focus. He’s the center of our belief.”

Several minutes later, as Roberts respectfully used the full name of the church for a second time, he stopped and said, “Man, we got to do something shorter than that.”

Pastor Bob Roberts and Elder Ulisses Soares laugh at the Global Faith Forum in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3, 2025.
Pastor Bob Roberts and Elder Ulisses Soares laugh together during an onstage chat between a Baptist and a Latter-day Saint at the Global Faith Forum at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. | Tad Walch/Deseret News

Elder Soares broke up laughing right along with the crowd. With a smile he said, “You may say just, ‘members of the Church of Jesus Christ.”

From a narrow view to ‘You matter to me’

Earlier in the day, Pastor Roberts finished a conversation with an imam by saying, “If we can listen to each other and learn and connect and love, we can become friends with just about anyone.”

It proved easier to build relationships with Jewish and Muslim leaders than one with a Latter-day Saint, he later admitted.

“I wanted to have you on the stage and visit with you because I grew up in a very small town and I had a very narrow view of people,” Roberts said to Elder Soares.

He built deep relationships with people of many faiths as he came to see them as human beings, including Imam Mohamed Magid: “We argue all the time, but I love him, and he’s one of the closest friends that I have on the face of the earth.”

It wasn’t until 20 years ago, though, that Roberts had his first conversation with a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, BYU law professor Brett Scharffs. He blamed stereotypes and said it can be harder to embrace those “maybe a few degrees different from us versus somebody opposite from us” because of fear.

“It hit me one day,” Roberts said, “‘Why don’t we do the same thing between evangelicals and people that are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?’”

Roberts and Elder Soares eventually met at a dinner in Dallas.

“You matter to me,” Roberts said to Elder Soares on Monday night. “You matter to God. You know that, and I just want you to know that I care about you, and I want a relationship with you. We’re going to disagree. We can have fun talking about those disagreements.”

A vulnerable question

After his confession, Pastor Roberts asked a vulnerable question.

“I’m just curious,” Roberts asked Elder Soares, “were you ever impacted by Baptists like me, who didn’t know Latter-day Saints and they gave you a hard time?”

He said he would ask his forgiveness if he’d ever been wounded by a Baptist or an evangelical.

The apostle said no, he may have been misunderstood but was never mistreated.

“My experience with Baptists, evangelicals, Catholics and many other religious affiliations has been overwhelmingly positive, pastor,” said Elder Soares, who is from Brazil. “You need to know that I really value the connections I have made with all those people. I grew up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I was educated in a Catholic church. My father studied the Bible with the Baptists in São Paulo. That gave him the base of his beliefs in God and Jesus Christ.”

The common ground they found

Roberts made a clear statement to evangelicals that he still disagrees with Latter-day Saint theology but relishes the common ground they’ve found.

It also was a regular theme at the Global Faith Forum. Imam Ahmed Alamine closed his remarks with a play on the Geico commercials about how spending 15 minutes could save you 15% on car insurance.

“A one-minute conversation could change your whole perspective,” the Muslim leader said.

Pastor Roberts himself closed the one-day forum on that theme: “Now go love somebody different than you. Let them know you care about them, and let’s make a different country and a different world.”

Elder Soares agreed.

“We as a church and as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we are eager to work with anybody in the world, with Baptists, with evangelicals, with Catholics, with Jewish people, with Muslims,” Elder Soares said. “That’s what we have been doing around the world. We want to engage in any good cause to help relieve pain in the world. There are countless opportunities that we can work together to bless the lives of people.”

That commonality grows naturally out of what one observer has called Latter-day Saint civic theology.

Elder Soares said learning different points of view also strengthens one’s own beliefs, grows respect for others and “helps us to be more safe in the way we do things.”

“I don’t believe that differences in opinion or theology or the way we think should cause us to be enemies or unfriendly to each other,” Elder Soares said. “I see differences as an opportunity for us to love each other even more. I see that as a blessing.”

3 things they like about the other’s religion

Pastor Roberts shared three things he likes about the Church of Jesus Christ:

  • “I love your morals. I’m sure you have some bad people in there somewhere, but I’m impressed with you morally.”
  • “I love the way you call your people to service. I’ve been stunned around the world with what you do with crises.”
  • “I love the BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies that Brett Scharffs and Cole Durham have led for years for religious freedom.”

Elder Soares shared three things he likes about Baptists:

  • “I love your natural desire to share your witness of Jesus Christ.”
  • “I love how well you know the Bible and that you are not afraid to really share what you know; it’s beautiful.”
  • “I love your purpose in life, your focus on Jesus Christ. I think you are committed to follow Jesus Christ.”

Having a little fun

The chat actually began with a short exchange about what an apostle is in the Church of Jesus Christ. Apostles are called for life, so they serve until they either become the senior apostle and president of the church or until they live out their lives.

“So, you’re a real live apostle,” Roberts began with a friendly smile.

“That’s what they say,” Elder Soares said, generating good-natured laughter.

“So the next stop,” Roberts said, “is either to be president or go to heaven.”

“Well, I hope I go to heaven first,” Elder Soares said, smiling as people laughed along with him. “It’s a major responsibility to be the prophet of the church.”

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They finished with their joint invitations.

“In two or three years, we are going to have a big open house for the Salt Lake Temple, our iconic temple that you have seen from outside, because it’s going to be rededicated,” Elder Soares said. “I will be pleased to (take you on a) tour you personally.”

Pastor Roberts wrapped up the discussion with, “I love your spirit. I love your heart.

“Let’s go to Texas and get some Texas barbecue.”

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