Elder M. Russell Ballard
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"Occasionally I hear of members offending those of other faiths by overlooking them and leaving them out. This can occur especially in communities where our members are the majority. I have heard about narrow-minded parents who tell their children that they cannot play with a particular child in the neighborhood simply because his or her family does not belong to our church. This kind of behavior is not in keeping with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."
It has never been the policy of the church that those who choose not to listen to or accept the gospel should be shunned or ignored. The opposite is true.
There are three simple things Latter-day Saints can do to avoid making anyone feel excluded:
"First, get to know your neighbors."
"Second, I believe it would be good if we eliminated a couple of phrases from our vocabulary: 'non-member' and 'non-Mormon.' Such phrases can be demeaning and even belittling."
"And third, if neighbors become testy or frustrated because of some disagreement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or with some law we support for moral reasons, please don't suggest to them — even in a humorous way — that they should consider moving someplace else. I cannot comprehend how a member of our church can even think such a thing.
"If our history teaches us nothing else, it should teach us to respect the rights of all people to peacefully co-exist with one another."
