What is the difference?

I'd like to start out by asking a question.  What is the difference
between us and radical Muslim terrorists?  Heck, what is the
difference between any two religious beliefs?  This has bothered me
for some time now.  One person gets born into a Mormon family, another
into a Hindu family, another into a Muslim family, another into a
terrorist family, etc.  How can a person know which message has truth
and light and which does not?  From a doctrinal standpoint, it's
difficult to make an objective argument.  Christians certainly can't
claim that jihadists are wrong for wanting to kill those who don't
share their beliefs when Jehovah commanded the Israelites to do the
exact same thing in the Old Testament.  Furthermore, the scriptures
talk about justice being handed out not just in the life to come but
also in our mortal existence as well, particularly during the Second
Coming.  So how can we find light?

I have come to one conclusion.  For those who exemplify truth,
integrity must come before the message.  What I have found alarming
over the years is how so many passionate members of faith sacrifice
some of the principles they believe in, and frankly we should all
believe in, for the sake of their message.  Honesty and kindness
should be the foundation of who we are, particularly for those who
claim to follow spiritual truth.  The same thing applies to all of the
many activists in the world.  How many activists are willing to "put
it all on the line" so to speak for their cause?  How many read
nothing but propaganda and then try to convince others they have the
truth?  How many choose to smear and defame the opposition because
they are certain their cause justifies the means?  As a Mormon,
honesty, kindness, respect for the agency of others, and the constant
pursuit of all truth must come before my religious message.  I hope I
never forget this because once I do, the words that come out of my
mouth will no longer have the power of truth behind them.

A book I recommend is the autobiography of Malcom X.  His life story
is a great example of someone who started out poorly but through
constant searching for truth, eventually found what he was looking
for.