Mormonism

Q: What is the right approach or response to Mormon boys that come to your door in the freezing weather at 7:00pm? What is the most simple straight-forward response?

A: To answer your first question, I think you have to prayerfully consider the situation and make a decision. It is important that we give an account for our faith in Jesus Christ and that we are ready in season and out of season to do so; however, that does not mean that we have to always invite the Mormon missionary into our home. It may be that on a particular night it is not right for you to do so. I would say that to always shy away from them is not the best approach. I believe God place people in our path for a reason. If God has placed Mormon missionaries in your path, maybe the Lord wants you to engage them on some level. Maybe the Lord wants you to learn more about the Mormons and what they believe so that you can have an intelligent conversation with them that might lead to a fruitful exchange.

Hospitality is a big deal to God. I think that it is important that we open our doors to people simply to show Christ’s love. I also think that through us following this model God will open opportunities for us to share Christ with the people who are visiting our home.The difficulty I have found with inviting Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses into my home is that they have a very clear agenda and very strong convictions that what they believe is absolutely right. This poses a problem for any real dialog or openness to new ideas. In other words, they are probably not real interested in what you have to say. I realize that this is an assumption on my part, but this is based on my experience and interaction with both groups.

A Mormon missionary is well versed in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, so if you are going to have a discussion with them, it is important that you don’t enter into that conversation lightly. I would encourage you to read a little about Mormonism before you invite them into your home. They are extremely sharp and know their material. It is amazing to me that they know the Bible better than a lot of Christians. I suspect this is a great opportunity for you to learn more about Mormonism and also about your own faith in Jesus Christ.

Mormonism is a cult and by definition they have taken the truths of Christianity and twisted them to fit there agenda. There are tons of books written on and about Mormonism. A recent booklet entitled, The Mormon Mirage: Seeing Through the Illusion of Mainstream Mormonism might be a nice little read in order to better understand the differences. I would also encourage you to go to http://www.equip.org/ and simply search the word Mormon or Mormonism.

Here is a short excerpt from Hank Hanegraaff’s treatment of Mormonism:

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was birthed back in the 1800s by an alleged vision in which two celestial personages appeared to Joseph Smith and claimed that all existing churches were wrong, that all their creeds were an abomination and that all their professors were corrupt. According to this vision Smith was chosen to restore - not reform - a church that, in his view, had disappeared from the face of the earth. The Mormon doctrines that evolved from this vision compromise, confuse, and contradict the nature of God, the authority of Scripture and the way of salvation. In fact, while Christians believe that they're going to stand before God dressed in the spotless robes of Christ's righteousness, Mormons contend that they're going to appear before heavenly Father dressed in fig leaf aprons holding good works in their hands. According to the Latter-Day Saints just about everybody qualifies for heaven. The world's vilest people will make it into what's called the telestial heaven. Lukewarm Mormons and religious people are typically going to enter a terrestrial heaven; and temple Mormons are going to make it to a celestial heaven. Only those who are sealed in secret temple rituals will make it to the third level of the celestial kingdom and then become gods of their own planets. These and many other doctrinal perversions are why we exclude Mormonism from rightly being called Christian.”