Like to hear your views when you have completely read it.
First, Neuhaus is writing as an advocate of interreligious cooperation. He makes a hopeful note on at least two occasions, IIRC, that given enough time, even the Mormons will realize their religion is antithetical to what Jesus actually stated His purpose was for living, being crucified, and rising from the grave:
"Increasingly, at least among some Mormons, the claim is that they are Christians in substantively the same way that others are Christians.
It is a claim we should question but not scorn. Such a claim contains, just possibly, the seed of promise that over time, probably a very long time, there could be within Mormonism a development of doctrine that would make it recognizable as a peculiar but definite Christian communion."
Perhaps the larger picture of this essay is that any man-made religion can make claims of 'being a more pure form of some parent religion', but the proof of same is found through comparative application. In Joe Smith's case, he founded Mormonism with the assertion that Christianity --during the age of the Catholic Church carrying the Gospel to all the world! no less-- was absent from humanity until Smith's god re-established the gospel through the sexual predator, Joseph Smith and his subsequent sexually degenerate leaders.
While I am all for interreligious cooperation where the principles of freedom of expression and 'do no harm' dictate the common goals, I find it interesting that Neuhaus begins his essay as an interreligious pleading, but draws it to a close with a cautionary note:
"I am skeptical about the more dramatic projections of Mormon growth in the future.
It depends in larger part on developments internal to the LDS and transformations in its self-understanding and self-presentation to the world. The leadership of the LDS will have to decide whether its growth potential is enhanced or hampered by presenting Mormonism as a new religion or as, so to speak, another Christian denomination. Sometimes they seem to want to have it both ways.
As for the rest of us, we owe to Mormon Americans respect for their human dignity, protection of their religious freedom, readiness for friendship, openness to honest dialogue, and an eagerness to join hands in social and cultural tasks that advance the common good. That, perhaps, is work enough, at least for the time being."
The fundamental problem in interreligious apologetics is the tolerance of anti-Christian doctrine and assertions. Jesus was not so tolerant, IIRC. And He made it plain that He had not come to dwell among us in an effort to promote interreligious cooperation or pernicious tolerance where the eternal destiny of the human soul/spirit is at stake.
Surely it has not escaped your attention that there are folks who post to these threads on Mormonism who are mightily concerned for the eternal destiny of good people trapped in Mormonism's heresies. For their efforts they are maligned by atheist who post regularly and spat upon by Mormonism apologists who work assiduously to divert attention from the facts dug out of the myriad of Mormonism heresies.