Mormons...yeah...

[Saint Kevin]

What have I done? I know I probably shouldn't have given them the time of day, but I told some Mormon "missionaries" that they could come back and talk to me about Jesus Christ. Honestly, I do want to show them that their Jesus is not the same Jesus that I claim as Savior and Lord, but I really don't know how to do it. Pray for me, and if you have any resources you'd like to link, I'd appreciate that as well.

[Rogie]

I don't really have advice, but I'll pray that you'll be able to witness to them if and when they return to talk to you.

[SManBeyond]

I understand that you must be anxious about witnessing to them. Mormons can be very difficult to convert. On the other hand, this is a tremendous witnessing opportunity for you, and God will use it for His will.

Prepare, but when the time comes, don't be afraid. The Holy Spirit WILL be with you and give you words. If I could give you any advice, it's this: Remember WHY you believed and chose Jesus out of all the other gods, and speak with tact (1 Peter 3:14-16).

In the meantime, we will be praying for you. Let us know how it turns out...

I don't have any resources offhand, but Vyse has links to a couple of good websites pointing out contradictions in the Mormon texts. You could ask him...

[Slater]

ja... ooooh ja... Mormonism sux dude... One of my best friends (well, I can't call her much of a friend now that she hates me) claimed to be a Christian until I found out that she was a Mormon. That pretty much destroyed the relationship because I loved her too much just to let her sit in Satans trap like that without saying something. As a result, I have learned a ton about Mormonism. I encourage you to IM me sometime so I can share with you what the Lord has taught me about this matter! and I will be praying.

[Rev. Doc]

If you will go to this site on the North American Mission Board, you can browse on the right and see a number of links with information about Mormons and their beliefs with guides I believe to witnessing to them.

http://www.namb.net/evangelism/iev/Mormon/default.asp

[CDLviking]

I like to concentrate on one topic at a time. One of the easiest and most important topics to discuss is the Trinity. Mormons do not believe in the Trinity, but in Three seperate gods, and they do not deny the possible existence of other gods.

First point out that Jesus is God (obvious, I know, but I try to keep it to very easy logic), clearly seen in John 20:28. Then go to the OT, there are numerous places where God clearly states that there are no other gods but himself (I don't have my Bible with me so I can't reference the particular verses, but a searchable Bible program should do it easily enough). Logicly, if there can only be one God, and Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are all shown to be God, then the only explanation is the Trinity.

[Vyse]

I like to concentrate on one topic at a time. One of the easiest and most important topics to discuss is the Trinity. Mormons do not believe in the Trinity, but in Three seperate gods, and they do not deny the possible existence of other gods.

First point out that Jesus is God (obvious, I know, but I try to keep it to very easy logic), clearly seen in John 20:28. Then go to the OT, there are numerous places where God clearly states that there are no other gods but himself (I don't have my Bible with me so I can't reference the particular verses, but a searchable Bible program should do it easily enough). Logicly, if there can only be one God, and Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are all shown to be God, then the only explanation is the Trinity.

CD... while that might work, just be aware that the mormons belive that the Bible has been "tampered with" and they have a version where every instance where Christianty conflicts with mormon doctrine... they altered it

[Arbre]

If you ever want to know about Mormon beliefs, and maybe a bit about the Mormon view of the world and of "other" Christianity (any Mormon today will tell you they're Christian too), you can IM me. I was born and raised in Mormonism. I've also been starting to try to bring up points with family who are still in that religion. I haven't had much experience at all with that, but I can tell you what some common obstacles are.


A huge thing with trying to explain the Trinity is that they believe in three seperate people/gods that made up the Godhead, which they explain is one in purpose. So with that, any verse that mentions unity or being one, they say that it is an example of the unity of them working together, not that they're one God.

Mormons do not believe in the Trinity, but in Three seperate gods, and they do not deny the possible existence of other gods.

CDLviking's right. But not only is a plurality of gods not denied, it's actually taught as doctrine. The Trinity is taught as three differnet people, it's taught that there is a Heavenly Mother in addition to the Father. It's taught that people can become gods and goddesses because of the belief in eternal progression and in the belief that we are literally (very literally) children of God in spirit, and that our spirits were placed in these mortal bodies at birth. There's also a saying that is quoted fairly often. "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become."


A single or couple verses may not be enough to convince them. Another Mormon belief is that the Bible has been mistranslated, corrupted, changed over the years. It's taught that "plain and precious things" were taken out of it over the years, some by error, other by malicious intent. The idea of the Trinity and salvation by grace are taught as being some incomplete attempt by uninspired, though mostly well meaning, people to understand a mistranslated book. So, Christians are viewed as generally good people (except for preachers. >_> They teach that it's evil to accept money for teaching the word of God), who are misguided or don't know the truth.


If you're going to show them where the Bible shows salvation by grace, you need to be aware of the difference in meaning to that term.

To Mormons, there isn't simply Heaven and Hell. It's complicated, and I can't even go into it all here. It's too involved. There is the celestial kindgom (those worthy to be gods/goddesses are to go there, it's taught, and that is where God dwells), the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom, and then there's outer darkness where the Devil and his angels and the worst people go. Actually, to get to outer darkness, you have to have known the truth, then rejected it. I guess that's where apostates of Mormonism go. Those who die without a knowledge of "the gospel" (mormonism) will have the chance in the next life to accept it. Mormons perform baptisms in temples in behalf of their ancestors so that they can have baptism if they accept. Anyways...
To them, salvation is a term that means that people are resurrected. It does not mean Heaven. It just means that your spirit and body will be there in the next life. Yes, there is a lot of importance placed on the body in Mormonism... 'Cause of the whole progressing to godhood, having spirit children throughout the eternities thing.
FYI: "Exaltation" means godhood. That is their idea of Heaven. The celestial kingdom. Anything else means no godhood, so although it may be an ok place to dwell for eternity, it's gonna be miserable because you'll never be gods and you'll be servants to those with more glory than yourself. And you won't be with your family forever. Only the celestial kingdom has family units in it.

So, because salvation to them means life after this life, it is said to be a free gift made possible to ALL, because Jesus was resurrected after His death. So, yeah, they will agree with you that salvation is a free gift, made possible through Jesus Christ. But they won't mean the same thing that you do by "salvation."

The grace part? For them, it's by Jesus' grace that you be forgiven, but only after all you can do. It is conditional.


Mormon missionaries have a lot of pressure on them to continue in their mission. If they lose their faith and go home early, people in their ward (congregation) will know. It's an embarassment. For some guys, their girlfriends from before leaving are pressuring them to finish their missions, too, and that kidn of pressure is very strong as well. So, in addition to the normal "if i'm having doubts about mormonism, i'm wrong, and i have to push these doubts aside and just accept the leaders' counsel and teachings", there's pressure not to leave because of the situation they're in. They're still young-- only 19-21 years old if they're male, 21-22.5 if they're female). This is often their first time away from home.
They're often hundreds or even thousands of miles from their families, isolated from anyone or anything familiar, and if someone comes along who challenges their faith, it's gonna be easier to just hold on to mormonism more firmly, because it is what's familiar there. That's in addition to the normal fears of leaving a religion like that. I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just telling you, they will not want to leave their faith easily. It is their entire life at this point, even if they're secretly having doubts.
But, even if they still complete their two years out in the "mission field", they may not forget what you say. Even if you don't see any changes, that's no reason to think that your efforts, aided by God and prayer, won't make a difference somehow.

Any hint of contention (or apparent intent of contention), and they may leave, though, so be nice to them.

Pray a lot. I will be too.

Edit: Try to focus on the very basics. There are so many things you could counter from their beliefs, but try to find what is most important, and what God wants you to say. Don't let them change the topic too much.

[Arbre]

CD... while that might work, just be aware that the mormons belive that the Bible has been "tampered with" and they have a version where every instance where Christianty conflicts with mormon doctrine... they altered it

It's not their version of the Bible that was changed. They use the standard KJV with footnotes and chapter headings (which summarize the chapter according to what MOmronism teaches). But the actual text has not been altered.

There was a Joseph Smith Translation that was started, but it isn't officially used by Mormons. It wasn't completed. It is occasionally referenced in the footnotes and index, though. If there is a "correction" noted in the footnotes, that translation of the verse is what is read in Sunday school or seminary or whatever. It does come into play a bit.

They have other books of writing that they consider scripture. The Book of Mormon is said to be more correct than any other book. The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of Joseph Smith's writings and things he claimed God told him. The Pearl of Great Price is mostly writings that Joseph Smith claimed to have translated from ancient Egyptian papyrii that so happened to be writing of Abraham. There's also an alternate account of the Creation and a few other things.
Mormons also claim to have a prophet who speaks for God today, and his words can override any previous scripture, although the thought is that it would never do that because it's all supposed to compliment what other prophets have said.

It's not that the Bible they use is changed. It's that it is interpreted through a viewpoint built upon so many other sources, and they consider the Bible full of errors, so it is not as trustworthy to them for doctrine. They rely instead upon the words of the current president of their church and other leaders since the organization of it in 1830.

Their interpreation of the Bible is unique.

If a Mormon leader says something that contradicts the Bible, it is the leader's word that is trusted.

[Vyse]

There was a Joseph Smith Translation that was started, but it isn't officially used by Mormons. It wasn't completed. It is occasionally referenced in the footnotes and index, though. If there is a "correction" noted in the footnotes, that translation of the verse is what is read in Sunday school or seminary or whatever. It does come into play a bit.

Actually I remeber a mormon using it against me when I was trying to witness =/

[Slater]

http://www.chick.com/reading/books/126/126cont.asp
That site is a very good place to read if you want to learn more about Mormonism. It points out several faults, etc.

But plz remember... the world's most convincing argument is not going to convert a Mormon over to true Christianity. Pray in everything you do to try to convert the person and make sure that the words coming out of your mouth are not your words but the words given to you by the Lord.
And I will continue to pray for this cause!

[Arbre]

Actually I remember a mormon using it against me when I was trying to witness =/

That surprises me, even though I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe because I wouldn't try to prove Mormonism by an obviously altered verse, even if I believed it was true...

http://www.irr.org has some things about mormonism
http://www.carm.org does too, but it's a little harsh...