SANDRA TANNER The Missionaries-At-Your-Door Approach
Summary
Mormon missionaries are sent throughout the world to declare that no church has the authority to extend the offer of eternal life except The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With some training, Christians can compassionately engage these young men and women in conversations about the differences between the Bible and LDS teachings.
Introduction
As a former Mormon, I have had countless discussions with both lay Mormons and church missionaries. I also hear from others who have their own experiences with Mormons. Recently an older Christian lady told me how she was approached by missionaries who wanted to know if she would like to learn about God’s plan for her life and the gospel of Christ. She cheerfully responded, “Oh, I already know about that. I read my Bible every day. Isn’t the gospel wonderful?” They wanted to set up a time to explain about God’s plan of salvation as revealed by “modern-day” prophets. She kindly responded that she already knew God’s plan and invited them to read the New Testament. When she wouldn’t agree to future meetings, they quickly moved on.
What is the Christian’s responsibility when Mormon missionaries knock on the door? And what should a Christian do to be an effective ambassador?
About the Missionaries at Your Door
In 2016, the LDS Church sent more than 70,000 young Mormons aged 18 to 25 throughout the world to proclaim Joseph Smith and the “restoration” of Christianity. That year about 240,000 converts were baptized into the LDS Church.1 These young missionaries are the primary method of spreading the LDS gospel.
Upon receiving their call to serve a mission, missionary candidates will attend the LDS temple ritual, usually for the first time, and begin wearing the special white temple undergarments. Missionaries typically spend about six weeks at the training center to receive basic training. The LDS mission experience is not only meant to convert potential members in the mission field, but also to teach the missionaries about their own faith.
The missionaries begin their service by attending one of the fifteen Missionary Training Centers located throughout the world, with Provo, Utah, representing the United States. Once they enter a training center, the missionaries are not allowed to see their friends and families until the mission is completed (two years for the men, eighteen months for the women). Missionaries are permitted to phone home twice a year (Mother’s Day and Christmas) as well as contact their family by email throughout the year, though they are instructed to keep this communication to a minimum.
A common tactic used by the missionaries is to knock on doors. The question often comes up whether Christians should invite the Mormon missionaries inside their homes. Second John 10-11 has been cited as support by some Christians to not allow false teachers in their homes. The verses say, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” This passage has been misinterpreted. As Christian apologist Don Veinot has pointed out,
Some Christians use this verse as a reason to not invite Mormons into their homes. But this stance ignores the passage’s context. In the early church, churches met in homes. When Christian teachers arrived in a community, they looked for the home in which the faithful met. The Lord instructed the disciples to do this. In today’s language, we would write, “Do not take them into your pulpit.” It is a warning to not let false teachers into authority where they could mislead the unwary.2
Christians who invite missionaries into their homes do so to share the biblical gospel with them, not to support the growth of the LDS Church. For those who do invite missionaries into their homes, it is helpful to be aware of what the missionaries will teach and be prepared to provide solid biblical answers.
The Missionary Lessons
Missionaries often focus their efforts on those who have recently moved into the neighborhood as well as the widowed and the lonely. These folks are generally more open to friendly visits, which will be more successful when a church member arranges a contact with a friend. The five lessons that the missionaries will give to an interested prospect are as follows:3
1. The Message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
According to Mormonism, God the Father and Jesus appeared to LDS Church founder Joseph Smith in 1820. They told Smith that the Christian church had gone into apostasy shortly after the death of Christ’s apostles. This left nobody with authority to baptize people or ordain individuals to the priesthood. Smith claimed that he was chosen to restore the one true church and to translate the Book of Mormon, an ancient record of God’s dealings with the ancestors of the American Indians.
2. The Plan of Salvation
The Mormon view is that God, humans, and angels are all the same species. Heavenly Father and Mother are said to be humanity’s literal parents in a prior existence. Through LDS priesthood and temple rituals, it is possible to reside with families for all eternity.
3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ
One must be baptized by proper LDS priesthood authority to gain forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is necessary to obey all church requirements to “qualify for eternal life.” Eternal life is defined as living “forever as families in God’s presence.”
4. The Commandments
These include keeping the Ten Commandments, paying tithes, abiding by the Mormon health code called the Word of Wisdom, regular participation in the temple rituals, and faithful obedience to the teachings of the LDS leaders.
5. Laws and Ordinances
These include the rituals of Mormonism after baptism, such as ordination to the priesthood, temple marriage, temple work for the dead, and church service.
The Doctrinal Differences
It can be confusing when missionaries use the standard vocabulary of Christianity and are not clear that they interpret these terms with radically different meanings. A Christian should never assume that the average Mormon understands terms such as God, salvation, eternal life, and heaven in a biblical way.4 In order to help you be confident and prepared for these conversations, let’s consider some of the differences between biblical Christianity and Mormonism.
Nature of God
Joseph Smith claimed that he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ as two totally separate beings. Rather than trying to explain the Trinity when I talk to a young missionary, I like to focus on the basic nature of God the Father. Joseph Smith taught that God was once a mortal on another world ruled by another deity. Each god rose from mortality to immortality and earned the position of a god. The Father does not surpass the previous god but is forever under his direction. It is akin to an eternal pyramid system, or escalator, with each god answering to the previous god.
If the missionaries deny this teaching, ask if they have read Smith’s sermons on God.5 If Smith’s doctrine of God is wrong, he falls under the condemnation of Deuteronomy 13:1-5. Ask how they reconcile Smith’s doctrine of multiple gods with Isaiah 43:10-11 and Isaiah 44:6-8.
Total Apostasy
Mormonism asserts that there had been a “great apostasy” of the Christian church. While the Bible speaks about people falling away from the truth, it never indicates that God’s authority would be lost from the earth. Mormons often misuse 1 Timothy 4:1, which says that “in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” Notice that the verse merely indicates how “some” would depart from the faith, not that there would be a total apostasy. Ask the missionaries, “How could there have been a total apostasy of the church when Jesus promised that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’?” (Matthew 16:18). Point out how Jesus promised to remain even to “the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).
Another problem is the Mormon teaching that John, one of Christ’s 12 apostles, was told that he would remain on the earth to “prophesy before nations.”6 Besides John, three of the 12 disciples in the Book of Mormon were granted their desire to remain on earth, to “bring the souls of men unto me,” until Christ’s return (3 Nephi 28:6-9). If four apostles remained on earth, how could there have been a total apostasy?
Mormon missionaries also teach that the true church will have the same structure as Christ instituted, including 12 apostles. However, the Mormons do not conform to their own standard. They have three apostles in their First Presidency as well as their 12, thus making 15 apostles at the head of their church. Also, Jesus is the only high priest in Christianity (Hebrews 7:26), and deacons were to be mature men, not 12-year-old boys (1 Timothy 3:8-12).
Mormonism teaches that the Christian world is too divided to have the truth. Yet there have been more than a hundred different churches claiming Joseph Smith as their founder.7 Many of these have totally different beliefs from the others. Obviously, LDS scriptures did not solve the problem of division. The biblical concept is that all believers constitute the church. In Ephesians 2:20-22, Paul explains that Christians are
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
The question is not whether a person is a member of the right Christian church (denomination). Instead, an individual must trust in Christ’s atonement to be made right with God.
The Need for a Prophet
The missionaries will usually present the need for a “latter-day” prophet to guide the people of God. Ask:
• If the prophet is continually giving new revelation, how do you guard against false teachings?
• If your prophet were to give a revelation that differed from church teachings in the past, how would you determine which to follow?
Christians hold their ministers accountable to the Bible.8 In Acts 17:11-12, the early Christians compared Paul’s teachings with those in the Old Testament. The missionary may counter, “God has promised he will never let the prophet lead us astray.” Then why is there a provision made in the Doctrine and Covenants 107:81-83 to replace a fallen prophet? Even Jesus warned about false prophets in Matthew 24:11, 24. Missionaries may appeal to Amos 3:7 to prove that God will always have a prophet leading the church. However, they have taken this verse out of context. God promised that He would not send judgment without giving a warning first through a prophet.9
If only the president of the LDS Church can receive revelation for the church, why were the books of the New Testament written by different people? Even Mormons agree that Paul was never the head of the church. Shouldn’t the apostles of Mormonism be as authoritative as Paul? Yet Mormons often reject statements by their own prophets and apostles when they disagree with current teachings. Remind the missionaries that even though not all of Jesus’s words are known, John assured in John 20:30-31 that enough is recorded to lead people to saving faith. As Jesus promised in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
If Mormonism is a restoration of original Christianity, then it needs to be demonstrated that original LDS teachings were deleted from the original Bible. However, no manuscript evidence shows revisions to the New Testament that eliminated cardinal doctrines.10 Furthermore, the Scripture citations in the writings of the early church fathers show that there were no doctrinal revisions.11
More Than the Atonement Needed
Mormon missionaries may claim that they are Christians by using the argument that they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Yet what is the LDS definition of saved, Mormonism’s view of Jesus, and its understanding of Christ’s atonement?
According to Mormonism, because humans are gods in embryo, the fall of man brought mortality but not a sinful nature to humanity. While Mormons understand what it means to commit sin, they misunderstand original sin and the sin nature everyone receives at birth. The LDS atonement provided that all humans would be resurrected (immortality) but it did not provide everything a person needs to gain “eternal life” or “exaltation.” To receive true salvation in Mormonism, a person must obey all of Mormonism’s covenants and commandments, including being married for time and eternity in an LDS temple.
A distinction is made in Mormonism between being saved (resurrected to some level of heaven) and having eternal life (exaltation, godhood). An illustration of the Mormon concept of the atonement is presented in a parable by Apostle Boyd Packer.12 Here a friend (likened to Jesus) pays off another man’s huge debt. This was not a gift (i.e., the debt was not “forgiven”); it was a refinancing of the loan. The debt is now owed to the new creditor. Thus, Mormons do not see the atonement as a total payment for their sins, but rather as a transfer of the debt to a creditor whose terms were more acceptable. While Mormonism sees the atonement as necessary, it did not fulfill all that was required for eternal life. Apostle Packer’s story is helpful in contrasting the Mormon concept of the atonement with that of the Bible.
When discussing grace with the missionaries, a good passage to bring up is 2 Nephi 25:23, which says that it is “by grace we are saved, after all we can do.” Ask, “If grace only applies after all you can do, how do you know when you have done enough? Have you truly done all you could do?” If not, it appears that grace will not apply. The Christian, on the other hand, rejoices in grace (unmerited favor) as presented in the Bible. Mormonism teaches that almost everyone will be saved (resurrected) to one of the three kingdoms of glory. How can this be reconciled with Matthew 7:13-14, where Jesus taught that only those who follow Him would gain heaven? Mormonism appears to reverse the broad and narrow ways.
Conclusion
Generally, missionaries will be able to detect if a Christian is speaking to them out of genuine concern and conviction or if the conversation is about winning a debate. As ambassadors for Christ, Christians should share about His redemption in the spirit of love.13 When missionaries knock on the door, consider this a worthwhile opportunity to share the truth. Among other things:
1. Pray for wisdom and patience.
2. Be kind and respectful. If you had gone to share your faith at their door, how would you like to be received?
3. Ask them to come to dinner since missionaries are usually on a strict budget. Just having dinner with a Christian family can be meaningful to missionaries who may not get many home-cooked meals.
4. Don’t try to pose as a serious potential convert to evangelize. Instead, tell them that you are a Christian who would be glad to talk to them about the gospel while hearing their view as well. This gives you the opportunity to ask questions.
5. Think of your time together as seed planting—you plant, someone else waters the seed, and God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). It is not likely that you will convince someone to leave Mormonism for Christ in one sitting, but you may raise concerns and Scripture passages that they may want to consider.
6. Be prepared to share the evidences for the preservation of the New Testament, as Mormons are taught that it has changed so much and is not reliable.
7. Share about your relationship with God and how He has forgiven your sins, answered your prayers, carried you through hard times, etc.
8. Challenge the missionaries to read the New Testament.
9. Add the missionaries to your prayer list.
Several years ago I spent some time talking to a returned LDS missionary who was questioning his faith. As we discussed various Christian topics, I tried to encourage him to visit some of the local Christian churches. He responded, “I wouldn’t step foot into one of those churches after the way they treated me at the door.” Remember, you may be the only evangelical Christian that the missionaries have ever met. Your attitude and actions may be the determining factor as to whether they want to ever talk to another Christian again. It’s an important responsibility, but I believe you can do this!14
Sandra Tanner is the great-great-granddaughter of second LDS President Brigham Young. After leaving Mormonism, she and her late husband, Jerald, dedicated their lives to documenting the errors of Mormonism and pointing people to Christ while writing dozens of books and articles on Mormonism. In 1983, they established Utah Lighthouse Ministry (www.utlm.org), an important source of information on LDS history and doctrine. The Utah Lighthouse bookstore in Salt Lake City is open six days a week.