How to Witness to Latter-day Saints
Effective Strategies from an Insider
We all know who the True Christians are: they are the ones who belong to your group of course. That probably means Baptists, Methodists, and Lutherans. It may also include Episcopalians, Pentecostals, and members of the Church of Christ and the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths…though those groups may also be heretics who are going to hell. That’s a little unclear. But still, everyone knows that you are a True Christian, whoever you are, and as a True Christian, it is your responsibility to witness to all of those Fake Christians out there and bring them to True Christ. Again, the Fake Christians may or may not include some of the groups mentioned above…that is a little unclear…but everyone knows that the Fake Christians do include Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and especially Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. “Mormons”).
Witnessing to Latter-day Saints can be tough, though. After all, it has been shown that, on average, they know the Bible better than True Christians.
Awkward. Also, there is the fact that Latter-day Saints just have a reputation of being nice and courteous people and have humanitarian and disaster relief programs that have proven extensive and effective. It’s natural that they would take pride in their position and in being members of their church. However, as we all know, this is obviously the work of Satan, tricking people into thinking that the tree must be good just because we see that the fruit is good.
The resistance of True Christians to the Latter-day Saints has been strong from the beginning. From Executive Order 44 from Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs, which called for the “Mormons” of his state to be “exterminated”, to the killing of Joseph Smith and other early Latter-day Saint leaders by mobs of True Christians, to the concerted propaganda efforts of True Christians like Ed Decker (whose publications, though highly inaccurate, have nevertheless been quite compelling), there has been no shortage of zeal in opposing this threat to True Christianity. However, anyone who has actually tried to witness to an active Latter-day Saint can attest that the experience can be very frustrating. This tends to be because the strategies used, while effective at helping others to develop a healthy hatred of the LDS faith, tend to not be very effective at causing Latter-day Saints to hate their own faith.
To give True Christians the tools that they need to bring these False Christians to True Christ, in this article, we will run through a list of important points to help guide True Christians in their witnessing efforts as they interact with Latter-day Saints. Rather than being drawn from something written by a True Christian minister whose understanding of the Latter-day Saints is based completely upon things said by other True Christian ministers, this list of points comes from the perspective of someone who has actually lived within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years, and it outlines the things that do and do not actually work in influencing their perceptions.
Cite Actual Doctrinal Sources
In fighting this spiritual war, many of our brethren have found it effective to criticize points of belief that the Latter-day Saints do not actually hold. This can be an effective tactic when it comes to inspiring hatred and fear among True Christian congregants toward the Latter-day Saints. However, it is less effective when used against actual Latter-day Saints, because they tend to have a better handle on their actual doctrine than True Christians do, so they will soon lose interest in what you have to say if you claim that they believe things that they do not.
It has been common for True Christians to criticize Latter-day Saints for believing things such as the following:
- Jesus Christ was not divine.
- Jesus Christ was not born divine, but became a god later in life.
- Jesus Christ did not create the physical universe we know.
- We are saved by our own good works rather than by Christ’s Atonement.
- Joseph Smith is greater than Jesus Christ and is our Savior.
- Good “Mormons” will get their own planets when they die.
- Temple garments are “magical”.
- God the Father had bodily, physical sex with the virgin Mary.
The reality, though, is that these are not actually points of doctrine for Latter-day Saints, and many of them will be able to give direct quotes from the Book of Mormon or elsewhere showing that they actually believe the opposite.
Again, it can be very useful to talk about such things in a safe environment, with only True Christians present, as such things have proven very effective in instilling True Christian laity with negative feelings toward Latter-day Saints. However, active Latter-day Saints tend to know that this is not their actual doctrine, so bringing these points up can be problematic when witnessing to them.
As a general rule, when talking about their doctrine and how it is different from True Christian doctrine, try to quote from the following sources:
- The Book of Mormon
- The Doctrine and Covenants
- The Pearl of Great Price
- True to the Faith
In particular, try to avoid any source that relies on second- or third-hand information. Just because someone claimed that a leader of their church said something, this does not mean that said leader actually did say that thing. Courts do not admit hearsay as evidence, not even from friendly sources, and there is a reason for that. (So no, please don’t talk about how Joseph Smith supposedly said there were Quakers on the moon. Sadly, that nugget doesn’t come from a reliable source.)
Do Not Appeal to Creeds and Councils
In telling Latter-day Saints that their interpretations of the Bible are incorrect, it may be tempting to appeal to things such as the Nicene Creed or Athanasian Creed or various councils that have occurred since the time of the Apostles to prove that such is the case. However, let us remember:
- Latter-day Saints do not recognize the legitimacy of these creeds and councils and therefore do not feel beholden to them.
- These creeds are not in the Bible. We criticize them for basing their doctrines on extrabiblical sources, and they may see this as an example of us doing the same. (Of course, it is different, but it can be difficult to explain how it is different, and they are unlikely to appreciate any distinction we may make.)
- We may disagree among ourselves as to which creeds and councils we recognize, and it can become easy for Latter-day Saints to point to this disunity as a weakness on our part.
It is fine to stick with the Bible — the King James Version in particular — but other doctrinal sources are as meaningful to them as the Book of Mormon is to us.
Do Not Make Arguments Based on Historicity
It is natural that we would think it ridiculous that Latter-day Saints believe in things such as the idea that a prophet (Nephi) could build a big boat in a period prior to when that was technologically feasible, even if he did supposedly have God’s guidance. We would never believe something like that.
Remember, though, that some things in the Bible also lack historical evidence, so a Latter-day Saint may not feel that such arguments are compelling.
Specifically, do not cite the arguments of scientists who would also say that our beliefs are suspect. For example, do not quote geneticists who contest the idea that Native Americans have some Israelite ancestry, because those same geneticists would also say that it is impossible for us to have all descended from Adam and Eve roughly 6,000 years ago. Best leave that point alone.
Do Not Call Their Beliefs “Ridiculous”
Of course, we know that their beliefs are ridiculous because they obviously are because they are. Everyone knows this. However, it may not be constructive to bring this up, because they will likely say that we believe in things that are equally “ridiculous”, if not more so. It may be difficult to explain why it is ridiculous to think that Jesus would appear to people in America after His resurrection but not ridiculous to believe in His resurrection. It may also be difficult to explain how talking snakes and donkeys are not ridiculous but ancient Israelites crossing the ocean is ridiculous. It may also be difficult to explain how the seer stones used by the seers of the Old Testament were not ridiculous while Joseph Smith’s seer stones were ridiculous.
Yes, we know that their beliefs are ridiculous while ours are not, but it may be difficult for them to see the difference, so it would be best to just not mention it.
Give a Solid Basis for Pure Religion
In order to make any kind of argument about divine truths, one must begin by giving a clear and working standard for how such truths can be known. A Latter-day Saint leader named John Taylor had the following to say about this:
We believe that it is necessary for man to be placed in communication with God; that he should have revelation from him, and that unless he is placed under the influences of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he can know nothing about the things of God.
I do not care how learned a man may be, or how extensively he may have traveled. I do not care what his talent, intellect, or genius may be, at what college he may have studied, how comprehensive his views or what his judgment may be on other matters, he cannot understand certain things without the Spirit of God, and that necessarily introduces [the] principle [of] the necessity of revelation. Not revelation in former times, but present and immediate revelation, which shall lead and guide those who possess it in all the paths of life here, and to eternal life hereafter.
A good many people, and those professing Christians, will sneer a good deal at the idea of present revelation. Whoever heard of true religion without communication with God? To me the thing is the most absurd that the human mind could conceive. I do not wonder, when the people generally reject the principle of present revelation, that skepticism and infidelity prevail to such an alarming extent. I do not wonder that so many men treat religion with contempt, and regard it as something not worth the attention of intelligent beings, for without revelation religion is a mockery and a farce.
If I can not have a religion that will lead me to God, and place me en rapport with him, and unfold to my mind the principles of immortality and eternal life, I want nothing to do with it.
The principle of present revelation, then, is the very foundation of our religion. The Christian world rejects that, and says the Bible is all-sufficient. I can remember in my younger days searching its contents very diligently. It is a glorious book to study, and I earnestly recommend it to the attention of our young men and women, and of our old men and old women. “Search the scriptures,” was the command of Jesus, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39.)
I would not only search the scriptures we now have, but I would search every revelation that God has given, does give, or will give for the guidance and direction of his people, and then I would reverence the Giver, and those also whom he makes use of as his honored instruments to promulgate and make known those principles; and I would seek to be governed by the principles that are contained in that sacred word.
Of course, we know that this is preposterous. The heavens are closed, and God no longer speaks, because we have the Bible. Latter-day Saints do not accept that fact, however: they truly believe that God still speaks to prophets today in a very real sense just as He did in old times, and they also believe that God speaks to faithful individuals in a very real sense so that they may know which prophets and which books of scripture to believe in.
When we tell Latter-day Saints that they should not pray to God to ask if the Book of Mormon or the Bible is true, but should simply trust us instead, it may be difficult to sell that idea. We may feel compelled to quote from the Bible to show that the Bible is true. Many quote 2 Timothy 3:16, which says that all scripture is “God-breathed”. However, this amounts to circular reasoning. Yes, circular reasoning is permissible in this case because faith, but Latter-day Saints are unlikely to buy that.
Something that Latter-day Saints are likely to point out is how much we True Christians disagree among ourselves on how the Bible should be interpreted. They will say that only a living prophet who receives real revelation from God is qualified to issue authoritative interpretations of scripture, and that such disagreements are inevitable when religion is led by non-prophets. They will then say that they know that their prophets are true prophets because the Holy Spirit has manifested that much to them personally.
While they admit that they do not have answers to every argument, Latter-day Saints will say that they know that their religion is true because of such personal revelation from God. That idea is at the core of every other argument that they make: according to Latter-day Saints, the only rational basis for pure religion is personal revelation from God, and everything that is not based on that is just conjecture in the end.
Of course, we know that this idea is preposterous. So if we can show that pure religion can somehow exist in the absence of real, ongoing revelation from God, that is the single most important thing we must do in witnessing to Latter-day Saints. Once we have done that, everything else becomes easy.
And how can we do that? Well…you will probably have to ask someone else.
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