I’M FRUSTRATED! HOW CAN I GET THROUGH TO MORMONS?
“I’m discouraged. To me, it just seems like there is NO WAY to reach Mormons for the real Gospel. As an evangelical Christian, I do not want to slam my front door in their faces like some people do. I really do want to talk to them, but not on their terms—only on my terms.
After all, the burden of proof lies with the one making the claim. They must prove to me that the Book of Mormon is God’s inspired Scripture and that Joseph Smith was indeed a true Prophet of God. They must prove to me that God was once a man and that men can become ‘gods.’ I have stayed awake at night trying to figure out a way to reach these people with convincing and powerful arguments from both the Bible and their own Book of Mormon. Yet, every time, regardless of whether they can answer my questions or prove their points, they always go back to bearing their ‘testimony’ and telling me that they ‘prayed’ about the Book of Mormon so they ‘KNOW’ it is true. Perhaps you can give me insight into how I can break through their blindness with the real Truth of God’s Word.”
OUR RESPONSE:
Dear friend,
We truly do understand your frustration. We’ve been there many times. The mistake people often make when trying to reach out to Mormons is to think that LDS believe what they do because it makes sense. While this may be true to some extent, it is only partially true.
Over the years of ministering to LDS, we have discovered that most Mormons who were not raised in Mormonism joined the Mormon Church because someone took the time to minister to their needs one-on-one. As they were enticed into the LDS Church, they set aside doctrinal logic to embrace a “feel good” spirituality that appealed to their need for approval, acceptance and love. The emphasis within the LDS Church upon wholesome family values along with an emotional appeal to follow “Jesus Christ” by sustaining the guidance of LDS leaders fosters a superficial “Christian” image where doctrinal differences and irreconcilabilities are minimized.
In this setting it is not uncommon to hear Mormon leaders admonish current members and potential converts to follow their feelings and ignore rational thinking because “faith doesn’t have to make sense.” Some have even gone so far as to claim that if the Book of Mormon could be verified by empirical evidence, it would not longer fall within the realm of “faith.” Thus, essentially LDS are more in love with their feelings about Mormonism than they are with facts, reason and evidence. This is why the old adage that states, “Once a person has given his heart, he has given his mind. Until the heart is won, the mind will remain unconvinced” is so true when it comes to Mormons. If you want to be effective in reaching your Mormon loved one, you must first work to win his or her heart before intellectual arguments will have much effect. We advocate the following approach:
- Appeal to them in truth with the love of God and attempt to win their heart by asking questions to cause them to feel the hopelessness of the LDS Gospel and their need to embrace the true Gospel of the Bible.
- Challenge the false authority of the LDS Church by engaging in intellectual questions to stimulate rational thinking. These will help them come to the conclusion that Mormonism is a counterfeit.
- Remove false doctrinal premises with Biblical truth.
The following articles on our site will equip you to competently reach out to your Mormon friends in truth and love:
- HOW TO WITNESS EFFECTIVELY TO MORMONS— Breaking the LDS Authority Barrier Step-by-Step
- QUESTIONS TO ASK MORMON MISSIONARIES –- A Step-by-Step Guide for Christians Witnessing to LDS Missionaries at the Door
- QUESTIONS FOR LDS ON THE IMPOSSIBLE GOSPEL OF MORMONISM — A Verse-by-Verse Presentation from LDS Scripture
- QUESTIONS FOR MORMONS
- CHRISTIAN BUSINESS CARDS FOR WITNESS TO MORMONS
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