Sharing the Gospel with Latter-Day Saints

What do we do when someone claims to worship Jesus, but in reality, this Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible? This is the challenge my team and I encountered when we took a mission trip to Utah this summer. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a religion that alleges to provide another testament of Jesus Christ in addition to that of the Bible. While Latter-day Saints, formerly called Mormons, insist they are Christians, their doctrine actually reveals an entirely different Jesus.

Differences Between LDS and Christianity

Latter-day Saints have many significant theological differences with evangelical Christians. Studying these differences prior to the trip aided in several evangelistic conversations I had in Utah. Firstly, the Mormon church teaches that God used to be a man who became God. Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of the church, said, “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may become” (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2012). This is a sharp contrast with Christian doctrine, which teaches God is eternal and immutable (unchanging). Psalm 90:1 says, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God,” and Isaiah 40:28 reads, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary.”

Secondly, Latter-day Saints believe Jesus is a created being. They hold that Jesus is the firstborn son of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. The Bible, however, teaches that Jesus is eternal, has always been God, and the world was created through Him. John 1:3 says, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made,” and Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Furthermore, they teach that Lucifer is Jesus’ brother and that Jesus was chosen to be the Messiah because His plan of redemption was better than Satan’s.

Finally, the LDS church teaches a different method of salvation than the Bible. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” However, the Book of Mormon adds works as a requirement for salvation. 2 Nephi 25:23 says, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” Thus, Jesus’ work of atonement is not fully sufficient if one must do all they can to receive God’s grace.

The Mormons’ views on salvation were especially prevalent in the conversations I had with Latter-day Saints in Utah. One young man, when asked how one receives salvation, said that one had to “grow and get closer to Jesus.” I could not help but wonder how close one has to get to Jesus to receive His grace, and how anyone would know if they had grown close enough to Jesus. This young gentleman did not have assurance of his salvation. I explained that the blood of Jesus fully atones for our sins, and it is entirely His grace that saves us apart from any work of our own.

However, this young man appealed to personal experience to show how his version of God was right. This recent high school grad was a leukemia survivor, and he told me that God had gotten him through those hard times. What our team discovered in Utah is that Latter-day Saints are often emotionally driven. They will appeal to “personal testimonies” they have received from God as evidence that their faith is legitimate. Our team was puzzled as to how to get through to these lost individuals with the true gospel.

Sharing the Gospel with Mormons

The local church taught us several tips for sharing the gospel with Latter-day Saints. Firstly, “contend without contention.” The Book of Mormon tells Latter-day Saints to leave a conversation if it is contentious: “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29). Therefore, our evangelistic efforts with Mormons need to be friendly and nonconfrontational.

Furthermore, we must pray when sharing the gospel. We need to trust our conversations to the Lord and ask that he would open the hearts of the people in Utah to receive Christ as Lord. This reminds us that God saves people, not us. Moreover, since Mormons still accept the Bible, pointing to the differences between the Bible and the Book of Mormon is highly effective. Finally, we need to show gospel hospitality and community. Leaving the LDS church often results in people losing their community, so inviting people into a new, better community under the headship of Christ is essential.

But what about the young man’s appeal to his testimony? Our trip leader, Dr. Landers, taught us that if Mormons appeal to emotion, then why can’t we? We have the greatest story of all: the true gospel of Jesus Christ! Using our personal testimonies of how Jesus changed our lives can be meaningful to a Latter-day Saint. Mormons often hide their sin in shame, but being honest about our sin struggles comes across as real and authentic.

While on our trip, my friend Joey and I had a chance to put these tips into practice in our conversation with an LDS missionary. We began by asking about his life, the conversation naturally leading to gospel questions. As the young man shared, I prayed. Joey used his personal testimony to appeal to the missionary, and when he asked more, Joey shared the full gospel with him, appealing to the Bible. I pointed out the difference between Ephesians 2:8-9 and 2 Nephi 25:23. Finally, Joey and I invited him to connect with the local pastor we were working with. While the missionary had not given his life to Christ right there, we walked away with the peace that we had shared the gospel with him and left him in the hands of a capable, healthy church which would continue to pour into the young man.

These principles are not just effective with Mormons, but they certainly helped as one night our entire team of twelve people was able to share the gospel. God used us exceedingly in the one week we were in Utah, spreading the good news and assisting local churches.

What would it look like for you to take these principles and use them in your own evangelistic efforts with Latter-day Saints, and even others?