Transcript A Christian Look at the Mormon Faith

1
A Christian Look at
the Mormon (LDS) Faith
September 15, 2013
By David Skarshaug
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A Snapshot of Mormonism


The Mormon Religion is a Mission Religion & has grown rapidly

From 1831 – 1947 (6 people to 1 Million)

From 1947 – 1983 (1 Million to 3 Million)

From 1983 – Present (3 Million to nearly 15 Million)

Growth has leveled recently, & modern Mormons may/may not know their history
The Mormon Religion has evolved & is evolving

From their start until very recently, they prided themselves in NOT being Christian
or “Sectarian” (what they call the Christian churches/denominations)

Their modern marketing strategy is to sell themselves as a branch of Christianity
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A Snapshot of Mormonism


Mormonism is either a Cult or a Religion (depending how you look at it)

To older Mormons, it is VERY DIFFERENT from Christianity

To younger Mormons, they might view it as Christian
Mormonism is less than 200 years old but it is a family-oriented faith

Many families are 5th and 6th generation Mormons

Many can trace their ancestry back to Joseph Smith & Brigham Young

To leave the Mormon faith is to leave your family, ancestors, & risk “outer
darkness”
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Why Look at the Mormon (LDS) Faith

The Mormon/LDS Church (in huge contrast to the AALC/LCMS) is among the wealthiest &
fastest growing organizations in the world.

There are about 14 million Mormons, they dominate the state of Utah in nearly every
regard, they own/operate banks, universities, hotel chains, etc. They have 165 divisions.

Nearly all of us know or will know Mormons or have Mormon friends.

Most Mormons claim to be Christian, and many Christians take them at their word.

Many things about Mormons are attractive to Christians: they appear sincere, religious,
clean (free of vices), conservative, family-oriented, patriotic, model citizens…basically nice
people. They are the largest sponsor of Boy Scouts in the US (17,000 troops).

Mormons are a Mission people, who seek to convert all people to their faith.
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Why Look at the Mormon (LDS) Faith

The Mormon/LDS Church is NOT Christian; It is either a Cult or a different
religion from Christianity.

The Mormon/LDS Church does not accept Christian Churches as the true
church. They teach that all churches outside of the Mormon Church are
apostate (false).

While selling themselves as “Christian” by using Christian phrases (which
mean different things to Mormons) and side-stepping their controversial
history & teachings, Mormons deny virtually every basic tenant of historic
Christian teaching.
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Things Mormons say that sound “good”.

“Christ is our Redeemer and our Savior. Except for him there
would be no salvation and no redemption, and unless men
come unto him and accept him as their Savior, they cannot have
eternal life in his presence.” (Sounds good until you understand
what they mean by terms in red.)

Mormons freely use “Christian” terms like God, Jesus Christ,
grace, virgin birth, salvation, heaven & hell, scripture, the Bible,
born again, the Aaronic priesthood, the priesthood of
Melchizedek, etc.
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Why Look at the Mormon (LDS) Faith

Mormons teach their children (4 yrs of formal daily “seminary”), 2 yrs of mission
work, to aggressively convert strangers and “friends” like you & me. Seventy-five
percent of converts to Mormonism come from protestant churches.

The Mormon Church is large, well financed (biggest financial institution west of
the Mississippi River), well-connected, and increasingly accepted by Christian
leaders who should know better.

The Mormon Church is a dangerous organization that is actively leading people
to an eternal separation from God.

Still, Mormons--like all of us--are people God loves who need to be directed to
the Biblical Jesus Christ.
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Why Look at the Mormon (LDS) Faith

As Christians, we need to know the truth about Mormon Beliefs.

We need to recognize false teachings when we see them, and we need to
recognize when our faith is under attack.

We need to be prepared to defend our faith when it is attacked by
Mormons (this is what they are doing when they ask you pointed questions
about your faith).

We need to be prepared to share the truth with Mormons about the true
Christian faith.

Now, let’s watch part 1 of a video that discusses more of this.
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What is Authoritative?


Mormons Claim

Scriptures: (1) The (King James) Bible, as correctly translated*, (2) The Book of
Mormon, (3) Doctrines & Covenants, (4) The Pearl of Great Price (includes The
Book of Abraham)

Their Prophets (past and present), so revelation is seen as evolving

Your testimony via “A Burning in the Bosom” that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet
The Truth

God’s Word, as written in the Bible

All things taught are compared to God’s Word
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Who is God?
 Mormons
Claim
God (Elohim) is one of many Gods.
 He was born of other Gods, lived as a man, and became a
God himself
 He lives on a planet that circles the star “Kolab”
 He is sovereign over the Earth (his planet) as other Gods are
sovereign over their planets
 We can become Gods/Goddesses also

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Who is God?

The Truth




God (the triune Godhead) has existed for all eternity
In the “beginning” God created all things
God is sovereign over all things
There are no other Gods (nor will there be)…period
 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no
god was formed, nor will there be one after me. -- Isaiah 43:10
 “This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I
am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. – Isaiah 44:6
 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.
I will
strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, -- Isaiah 45:5
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Who is Jesus?

Mormons Claim

Jesus is the Old Testament “Jehovah” and also the first spirit child of Elohim, who
made a special earthly appearance to physically impregnate the “Virgin” (they
believe she was virgin only up to this point) Mary to create the baby Jesus.

Jesus is the “spirit brother” of us, one of many children of God

Lucifer (Satan) is another “spirit brother”

These “spirit children” were born of God (Elohim) and his wives in order to
populate the earth

Jesus became a God because of his good works on earth (including his marriage)
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Who is Jesus?

The Truth



Jesus is the only begotten son of God (John 3:16)
Jesus is God
 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
– John 1:1
 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” – John 20:28
 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who
is God over all, forever praised! Amen. -- Romans 9:5
 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, -- Colossians 2:9
 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, -- Titus 2:13
Jesus, together with God, & the Holy Spirit have existed forever
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What is the Trinity?

Mormons

Reject the concept of the Trinity, claiming (correctly) that the word “Trinity” never
appears in the Bible

They view God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit as three Gods of this world. Hence, in a
sense they are “Tri-theistic”

Technically, Mormons are “henotheistic”, that is, worshipping a primary God
(Elohim), while accepting the existence of many gods.

Still others, argue Mormons are the most crazy polytheistic religion in existence, in
that they believe there are an ever-increasing number of Gods, and they
themselves are hoping to become Gods that will populate planets and be prayed
to by their own spirit children offspring.
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What is the Trinity?

The Truth: The Trinity is a device used to explain 3 persons exist in 1 God



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GOD is ONE: As we’ve seen, the O.T. clearly says there is one God (Isaiah 43, 44, 45, etc.)
 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. – Deut. 6:4
The Father is God: John 3:16 show us that God is Jesus’ Father
The Son is God: As we’ve seen in previous slide, Jesus was identified as God also
The Holy Spirit is God
 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the
Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it
belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?
What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” – Acts 5:3-4
God refers to himself in plural form (Gen. 1) and Jesus calls for trinitarian baptismal formula
 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, -- Genesis 1:26a
 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, -- Matthew 28:19
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How do we obtain Eternal Life?

Mormons Claim


Mormons hold to the “Law/Plan of Eternal Progression” (will go over in detail on slide 20)
They believe in numerous eternal destinations
 Upon death, folks go to 1 of 2 holding places: (1) spirit paradise & (2) spirit prison
 To get to Spirit Paradise, you need the “4 Fundamentals of the Gospel”
 Faith
 Repentance
 Baptism by Immersion (by someone holding the Aaronic Priesthood) or Baptism of Dead*
 Laying on of Hands (by someone holding the Melchizedek Priesthood)*
 To get to Spirit Paradise, you also need Continued Obedience to the “Gospel Rules & Principles”
 The rest of us go to Spirit Prison
 Most of us await judgment
 Those who have never had a chance to believe are witnessed to by Mormon Missionaries from
Spirit Paradise (opportunity to have faith & repent, & receive Baptism & Hands while dead)
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How do we obtain Eternal Life?

Mormons Claim

There are 3 Heavenly Kingdoms, derived from Joseph Smith’s peculiar
interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:40-41:

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory
of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for
one star differeth from another star in glory. – 1 Cor. 15:40-41 (KJV)

For clarification, Paul was addressing a question posed about what kind of
bodies people will have in heaven. He’s saying the sun, moon & stars are all
glorious in their own way, and like wise our resurrected bodies will be different
from our earthly bodies.
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How do we obtain Eternal Life?

Mormons Also use Paul’s words in 2 Cor. as “proof” of 3 levels
of heaven:


I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third
heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God
knows. – 2 Cor. 12:2
Again, for clarification, folks in Paul’s time understood there to be 3 levels
of heaven: our atmosphere, outside the earth’s atmosphere, and God’s
abode. So Paul was not dividing God’s heaven into 3 parts, but rather
explaining things in the understanding of his day.
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How do we obtain Eternal Life?

Mormons Claim


Upon Christ’s return & Millennial Reign, there is the judgment…
 Mormons in Spirit Paradise proceed to God’s presence in the top of the 3 levels
(or Kingdoms) of heaven: the Celestial Level (the sun level)
 Within the Celestial level, the top level is reserved for perfect Mormons who are
destined to become Gods & Godesses & populate their own planet with spirit
children for all eternity
 “Good” non-Mormons go to the 2nd level: Terrestrial Kingdom (the moon level)
 Bad folks go to the 3rd level: the Telestial Kingdom (the stars level)
The worst eternal location to a Mormon is hell or “the outer darkness” reserved for
Satan, Demons, and Mormons who leave the church. Hell is not eternal for most
people, but a temporary purgatory.
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How do we obtain Eternal Life?

The Truth


There are two eternal destinations determined by the relationship you do or don’t
develop with Christ during your one earthly life. Name them.
Believe in Jesus Christ & Receive Him as Your Personal Savior
 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. -- Eph.
2:8-9
 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus
answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” -- John
6:28-29
 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
– Luke 23:43
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Who controls entry to Heavenly Kingdom?

Mormons say Joseph Smith


They say the true church became apostate shortly after Jesus’ death (the “Great Aposty”)
Joseph Smith “Restored” the true church 1800 years later and possesses the keys to heaven
 “I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to
keep a whole church together since the days of Adam…Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever
did it. I boast that no man ever did such work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him;
but the Latterday Saints never ran away from me yet.” -- Joseph Smith
 “Verily I say unto you, the keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you, while thou art in
the world, neither in the world to come.” -- Doctrine & Covenants 90:3
 “…that no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God
without the consent of Joseph Smith.” -- Brigham Young in Journal of Discourses Vol. 7, p 289
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Who controls entry to Heavenly Kingdom?
 The
 “I
Truth says Jesus Christ
(Jesus) will build My church and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.” -- Matt. 16:18
 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. – Matt.
28:18
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But Mormons believe in Grace, right?
 The

LDS says…
“Grace consists of God’s gift to His children wherin He gave His Only Begotten Son
that whosever would believe in Him and comply with His laws and ordinances
would have everlasting life.” – Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pp 353-354
 The
Bible Teaches…

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be
grace. – Romans 11:6
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Grace is a proportional thing, right?
 The

“Grace is granted to men proportionately as they conform to the standards of
personal righteousness that are part of the gospel plan. “ – Bruce McConkie, Mormon
Doctrine, p. 339
 The


LDS says it’s in proportion to our works…
Bible Teaches it is in proportion to our sin…
The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace
increased all the more, -- Romans 5:20
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be
guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also
to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. -- Romans 4:16
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And Jesus seems to see love proportionally
too…

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he
said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five
hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him
back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have
judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water
for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You
did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped
kissing my feet. – Luke 7:40-45
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So Grace is sufficient when?
 The

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all
ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with
all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you…” – Moroni
10:32, The Book of Mormon
 The

LDS says…
Bible Teaches…
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9
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What makes justification operative?
 The

LDS says…
“As with all other doctrines of Salvation, justification is available because of the atoning
sacrifice of Christ, but it becomes operative in the life of an individual only on
conditions of personal righteousness” – McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 408
 The
Bible Teaches…

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. –Romans 3:24

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, --Titus 3:5
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Are you a “saved-by-grace-alone” fanatic?
 The

“Certain saved-by-grace-alone fanatics flatter their followers into believing they
can be saved through no act other than confessing Christ with their lips.” –
McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 287
 The

LDS says…
Bible Teaches…
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 (written by Paul,
the original “saved-by-grace-alone” fanatic)
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What is the archaeological evidence?

The Book of Mormon





Tells of ancient peoples (Jaredites, Nephites, & Lamanites) in Americas
 Jeredites supposedly came to America around 2200B.C. after Tower of Babel & died off around 600 B.C.
 Israelites, led by Lehi, came to America around 600 B.C.
 Lehi’s clan split into two great peoples:
 The white-skinned Nephites who were good
 The Lamanites were cursed with dark-skin (descendants of American Indians)
 These 2 peoples received the resurrected Jesus
 Around 400 A.D. the Lamanites killed off all the Nephites
No names, cities, civilizations, locations, languages, or artifacts have been validated
Materials, plants, & animals listed in the book did not exist in the Americas
DNA Evidence fails to link any Native Americans with semitic peoples.
The Smithsonian, National Geographic, & even Many LDS Archaeologists confirm the lack of any archaeological or
genetic evidence of these
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What about the Prophecies of Joseph
Smith?

Joseph Smith revealed that there were inhabitants on the moon, who were
tall and dressed like Quakers.

Brigham Young followed this by saying there were settlers on the sun.

Joseph Smith also prophesied that Jesus would return to the New Jerusalem
(and corresponding temple) to be built near Independence, Missouri in the
1800’s. It was not. (Perhaps he had it confused with World’s of Fun.)

Joseph Smith prophesied that Christ would return in his generation.
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What about the Prophecies of Joseph
Smith?

Scripture tells us…

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces
to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has
spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not
known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that
prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you
love him with all your heart and with all your soul. – Deuteronomy 3:1-3

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been
spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does
not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That
prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. – Deut. 18:21-22
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What about the Prophecies of Joseph
Smith?

Scripture tells us…

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one
we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! – Galatians 1:8

All this talk about angels appearing to people with another gospel, brings us
to our next step concerning how Joseph Smith started the entire Mormon
faith.

Let’s watch part 2 of the video segment…
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What do Mormons need to have to leave
Mormonism? (According to a former Mormon)
1.
A reason to doubt the truth of Mormonism
2.
A Reason to believe in the reliability of the
Bible
3.
A Knowledge of what the Bible teaches about
God, Christ, & Salvation
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Reasons to Doubt Mormonism
1.
Joseph Smith was a false prophet
2.
The false nature of The Book of Mormon
3.
The changing teachings of the LDS
4.
The contradictions with Scripture
36
Reasons to Believe the Bible
1.
The consistency of manuscripts
2.
Outside proofs like archaeology
3.
Inside proofs like scripture
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A Knowledge of What the Bible Teaches
1.
God is one eternal, spiritual being
2.
Man is a created being
3.
Salvation by Grace Alone through Faith Alone
in Christ Alone (The 3 Solas)
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Six Reasons for Hope
(Perspective of former Mormon)
My forgiveness comes BEFORE I do any good works.
1.

For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to
believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that
we are saved, after all we can do. – 2 Nephi 25:23

“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” Is this
blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been
saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what
circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was
not after, but before! – Romans 4:7-10
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Six Reasons for Hope
(Perspective of former Mormon)
I don’t have the ability to be perfect.
2.
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful
nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot
carry it out. – Rom. 7:18
 If we claim ourselves and the truth to be without sin, we
deceive is not in us. – 1 John 1:8

40
Six Reasons for Hope
(Perspective of former Mormon)
Christ saved me as a sinner
3.
And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin to
your charge; go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who
sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God. –
Doctrine & Covenants 82:7
 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous
man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:6-8

41
Six Reasons for Hope
(Perspective of former Mormon)
4.
True Freedom from sin in Jesus
 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so
great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the
east is from the west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us. -- Psalm 103:11-12
42
Six Reasons for Hope
(Perspective of former Mormon)
5.
Eternal security in Jesus
 In the Mormon faith, your eternal life is dependent
on your works rather than Christ’s atonement
 I give them, eternal life and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of my hand. – John
10:28
43
Six Reasons for Hope
(Perspective of former Mormon)
6.
Hope has new meaning in Christ
 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not
be condemned; he has crossed over from death to
life. – John 5:24
44
Concluding Tips on witnessing to Mormons

Witness in Love (BUT, avoid “Missionary Dating” where you try to convert a boyfriend or girlfriend)

Know your stuff & their stuff, because they might* (Comment)




Have a plan (road map) of what you want to cover & stick to it





They need reason to doubt Mormonism (& different Mormons will know different things)
They need reason to believe Bible
They need to understand the plan of salvation
Don’t assume common word meanings—be prepared to explain & back up with scripture
Stick to the basics: God, Man, Jesus, Salvation
Avoid insulting them with side issues (underwear, temple rituals, polygamy, etc.)
Don’t get distracted by side issues they present – say, “I’ll get back to you on that”
Remember it is a long (family) road from Mormonism to Christianity, so give it time
45
Resources

www.lds.org --access to official LDS website. Note: this is a PRO-LDS site.

www.mormonthink.com -- Site written by LDS members who question church teachings. Gives both
sides of controversial Mormon issues, including current summaries & details of “arguments” used
by both sides.

aomin.org – Alpha & Omega Ministires, website for Dr. James White, Christian expert on LDS/Cults.
100 Verse memory system.

www.MoreTruthFoundation.com -- Great listing of helpful videos, podasts, websites, etc.

www.utlm.org -- Lighthouse Ministry, Ministry site of Sandra & Jerald Tanner, former Mormons

“Living Hope Ministries” Videos on YouTube – Excellent videos explaining problems with Mormon
teachings.