KEITH WALKER The Impossible-Gospel Approach
Summary
Many Mormons believe that as long as they are trying and doing their best to keep their church’s commandments, God will overlook their sins and allow them to enter the celestial kingdom to be with their family. Explaining that it is impossible to live God’s law is a strategy to help Mormons understand how the only chance to succeed is through God’s grace.
Introduction
Showing Mormons how their church’s gospel is impossible to live provides many advantages to Christians who take the time to master this approach. Instead of utilizing Bible verses, the approach focuses on references from Mormonism’s unique scriptures (known as the Standard Works) to clarify what must be accomplished for a person to receive forgiveness of sins. Instead of confronting the Mormon directly, the impossible-gospel approach assumes that Mormonism’s version of the gospel is correct.
However, when followed to its logical conclusion, the doctrine is shown to be absurd. This is what is called a reductio ad absurdum, an argument “in which a proposition is disproven by following its implications logically to an absurd conclusion.”1 Those who follow the argument closely will come to this conclusion naturally. Christians who use this approach will leave a much more powerful impression than if they simply tell Mormons that their views on salvation are wrong.
History of the Approach
My wife Becky and I have been sharing our faith with Mormons at the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah, since June 2000. During our mission trip to Manti in 2001, we met a Christian man who pointed out some interesting quotes from twelfth president Spencer W. Kimball’s book The Miracle of Forgiveness. These citations describe what God expects from Mormons before they can be forgiven of their sins. For instance, this quote left a big impression:
It depends upon you whether or not you are forgiven, and when. It could be weeks, it could be years, it could be centuries before that happy day when you have the positive assurance that the Lord has forgiven you. That depends on your humility your sincerity, your works, your attitudes.2
As I continued my investigation, I utilized approaches from other Christian apologists while researching Mormon resources to put together an outline that made sense to me. As I continued to encounter troublesome quotes, it occurred to me how impossible it was to do what Mormonism says must be done for forgiveness of sins. The next year, I was invited to speak in a training session for Christians. I titled my presentation “The Impossible Gospel of Mormonism.” The name stuck, so even though I was not the originator of the approach, this popular strategy is often known by this name.
The Approach
One key to this approach is to learn how to use questions effectively. Instead of telling Mormons what their religion teaches, it is important to ask probing questions about the meaning of specific verses. When citing any of the unique Standard Works, the goal is not to just tell the Mormons what their scriptures say but let them give their own answers. This provides power to the entire approach. With that as a background, there are several important verses that show why nobody can be forgiven, at least according to Mormon scripture.
1. Moroni 10:32 (Book of Mormon)
To begin this approach, I like to start with Moroni 10:32. The first half of the verse reads:
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, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.3
Point out the “if-then” statement in the passage and then ask the Mormon some questions (and feel free to add others):
• What are the requirements for grace? (Deny oneself all ungodliness and love God with all your might, mind, and strength.)
• When does grace apply? (Only after a person has met the above requirements.)
• What would be the result of a person who denied all ungodliness? (The person would be perfect.)
• Who is the focus on? (Instead of Jesus saving a person, the focus is on the person who qualifies to be saved.)
The Mormon may object by asking, “Are you saying that this verse teaches that I have to be perfect before I am saved?” If you have asked questions and refrained from using the word perfect, you can point out that they have come to this conclusion themselves. At the same time, the conclusion is proper. After all, how could it be possible for people to deny themselves all ungodliness and not be perfect?
2. Second Nephi 25:23 (Book of Mormon)
This verse reads:
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.
Of course, the phrase that contradicts the Bible is “after all we can do.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation comes by grace through faith and not by works. To show how this verse stresses the importance of works in addition to grace, ask the Mormon if this means that a person can be saved before anything that can be done. The answer is obvious.
Because many Christians have challenged the use of the verse in 2 Nephi, there is a movement within Mormonism to deny that the word after in this passage refers to a preposition of time but instead denotes a preposition of separation. However, LDS leaders have never interpreted this verse in such a way. Even the Bible Dictionary, which is found in Bible versions printed by the LDS Church, defines grace as
an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts…grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23). (Italics added)
According to this definition, grace does not mean “unmerited favor.” Rather, it is an “enabling power” that helps Mormons gain eternal life after exerting “their own best efforts.” According to Mormonism, grace is only sufficient after the individual accomplishes the work. With this, ask:
• Exactly how much is expected of us before we are saved by grace? (Total effort to do all you can do.)
• What is all you can do? (Accomplish all things.)
• How often? (All the time.)
• When does the grace apply? (Only after you have done all you can do.)
• Have you ever done all that you can do? (If they are honest, they will admit nobody but Jesus has done this.)
Mormons who argue about the meaning of this verse should be reminded of the definition of grace as provided by their church.
3. Alma 11:37 (Book of Mormon)
This verse reads in part that God
cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven…Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.
There are several good questions to ask:
• According to this verse, what can’t God do? (Save people in their sins.)
• If you cannot be saved in your sins, what condition do you need to be in before you can be saved? (You need to be out of your sins.)
• Is it possible to be out of your sins yet still not be perfect? (No, if you are out of your sins, you are perfect.)
• Is it possible to be clean yet still sin? (Sin is what makes us unclean, so it would be impossible to be clean and still sin.)
Using this verse, I once asked a Mormon if he was out of his sins. His response was perfect: “If I can do that, why do I need Jesus?” I told him he asked a great question. If my church taught that I had to stop sinning before I could be forgiven, as the LDS Church does, I would be asking more questions too. At this point in the conversation, most Mormons begin to see the problem. They do not like the idea that they cannot be forgiven until they are perfect.
4. Doctrine and Covenants 58:43
A Mormon may bring up the issue of repentance, which is usually defined in five steps: sorrow for sin, forsaking and abandonment of sin, confession, restitution, and keeping the commandments. The point we will focus on here is the abandonment of sin. One LDS Church teaching manual designed to help teenage boys learn the gospel of Mormonism explains what it means to abandon sins: “Help the young men understand that a truly repentant person will not repeat his sin.”4 This point is emphasized in Doctrine and Covenants 58:43, which says, “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
Sometimes it is best to communicate by saying nothing and letting the words sink in. Let the Latter-day Saint struggle with the weight of what it means to truly repent according to Mormonism. The individual may have a creative explanation regarding why the text doesn’t mean what it says, but Mormonism has consistently taught that true repentance does not permit repeating sin.
Christians may hear many objections to this part of the argument and find themselves circling back to the same points again, as it is very difficult for Mormons to accept what their church expects of them. They may insist that if they sin again, they can repent again. The problem with this thinking is that if a person must forsake a particular sin “again,” the sin was never really forsaken in the first place. Remember, “A truly repentant person will not repeat his sin.”
One common objection is that repentance is a process. A question may be asked, “How is it possible to stop all sin at once?” Such an objection misses the point. This approach is the end goal of the repentance process. What will the lives of truly repentant people look like? If it is impossible to be truly repentant while sinning, those who are truly repentant have successfully and permanently forsaken all their sins.
Ask:
• According to D&C 58:43, what demonstrates repentance? (The forsaking of sin.)
• Is it possible to be truly repentant if you continue to sin? (No, true repentance requires abandonment of sin.)
• According to the priesthood manual, what does it mean to abandon sin? (Not repeating sin.)
5. First Nephi 3:7 (Book of Mormon)
When Mormons truly understand that the only way to genuinely repent is the complete forsaking of sin, they may claim that perfect obedience is impossible in this life and that they are only expected to do the best they can. This, they will say, does not include perfection. This is the time to address the linchpin of the argument. First Nephi 3:7 states in part,
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
Ask the Mormon to interpret the meaning, which should be similar to how LDS leaders have explained the verse. For example, one church manual states:
Each of us can repent. Sometimes repentance may seem too difficult for us. We may feel we will never be able to overcome our weaknesses. Satan wants us to believe this so we will keep doing wrong things. We must remember that we can repent. We cannot do it by ourselves. We need help. Each of us is a child of our Father in Heaven, and He has sent Jesus to help us. With Jesus’s help we can do all the things our Father in Heaven has commanded us to do…1 Nephi 3:7. (Our Father in Heaven never asks us to do things that are impossible for us to do.)5
According to 1 Nephi 3:7, God only gives commandments that people can keep. The manual quoted above applies this verse specifically to the commandment to repent. The Mormon’s predicament is that it is impossible to be forgiven without true repentance. Here is the argument in a nutshell:
1. One cannot be forgiven without true repentance.
2. True repentance does not allow for repeating sin.
3. God never gives commandments that cannot be kept.
With that in mind, ask:
• According to this verse, will God give a commandment that can’t be kept? (No, He only gives commandments that can be kept.)
• What is the best you can do? (Keep the commandments.)
• Have you ever kept a commandment? (If so, then that was your best. Now you must keep all the other commandments.)
• Who wants you to believe that you cannot repent? (Satan wants you to think you cannot repent so you can keep sinning.)
6. Alma 34:32-35 (Book of Mormon)
Mormons who understand that perfection is required for forgiveness may claim that repentance can be completed in the next life. Alma 34:32-35 disagrees with this notion, saying in part that “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” and “if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death…ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil.” The passage includes warnings that no labor can be performed after death and that a person who procrastinates repentance is subjected to the Devil forever.
Any honest reading of this passage indicates that it is impossible to repent in the afterlife. The words “this life” appear five times! Alma 42:13 adds that “the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state.” The probationary state means this mortal life. Not only are Mormons unforgiven until they repent and cease the sin, but this work must be accomplished entirely in this life.
Ask:
• According to this passage, when must you complete your repentance? (Before you die.)
• Where must you perform your labor? (On the earth.)
• When do we prepare for eternity? (In this life.)
• What happens if you procrastinate your repentance until death? (You have become subjected to the Devil and he seals you as his.)
• Can this fate be changed? (No, this is the final state of the wicked.)
This is clearly a problem because the goal always remains unfulfilled. The only other response to this passage is to reinterpret it, which some Mormon sources will do, but the burden of proof should be placed back on the Latter-day Saint to reconcile these contradictory views with Alma 34 in the Book of Mormon.
Even if it is believed that repentance is possible after death, all Mormons agree that repentance in the next life is even harder than in this life. This is a dire situation. If complete repentance is impossible in this life, how can Latter-day Saints take comfort in the idea that they can repent in the next life if it is even harder? What do you even call something that is harder than impossible?
Conclusion
This approach will need to be practiced many times before the evangelist becomes proficient in its use. A common mistake some Christians make is to treat this approach as just a list of verses that need to be covered instead of a conversation that should flow. Not every verse has to be cited, and they don’t even need to be addressed in the order given in this chapter. Until the Mormon understands the point, do not rush to the next verse. This is a conversation, not a conquest!
It may take repeating an idea numerous times to get a point across; with patience, perseverance, and creative questions, however, it is possible to help the Mormon see exactly what the LDS scriptures say to show how forgiveness is contingent on successfully keeping the commandments. Getting the Mormon lost before presenting the good news of the biblical gospel has many benefits in dealing with the heart of the issue, which is that sinful humans cannot keep all God’s commandments. It is, I believe, the most loving way possible to introduce the biblical gospel of grace. Try it out and see if this could work for you.
Keith Walker (San Antonio, Texas) is president of Evidence Ministries (www.evidenceministries.org) that reaches out to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons while warning the Christian community about the dangers of these groups. Keith enjoys showing Christians how to lovingly engage those who come to their doors.