Messaging App

[gdubs2013]

So this is my first foray with a Samsung phone that isn't the Nexus, and I am trying out the stock messager app to figure out if I like it or not. But I use group messages a lot and there is a banner at the bottom of each convo that says it's group and if I want to convert it from MMS. Is there anyway to hide that? I've been digging through settings to find something without any luck. Hangouts was great with group conversations, but having the ability to reaponsed with the notifications is making me want to not jump back just quite yet.

Does anyone have a solution to this or another app that works great for texting? I usually don't test new apps so not sure what's good out there either.