Evangelizing Mormons Part 2

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The last several weeks we have been dealing with how to give the gospel to someone who is Atheist and the approach in which we should take in order to effectively evangelize them.
Today we are going to delve into what I would define as a evangelizing ‘cults’.
Isaiah 43:10 KJV 1900
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, And my servant whom I have chosen: That ye may know and believe me, And understand that I am he: Before me there was no God formed, Neither shall there be after me.
The first cult we will look at is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, better known as Mormons.
Who are the Mormons?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16 million members and 65,000 full-time volunteer missionaries. In 2012, the National Council of Churches ranked the church as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.5 million members there as of January 2018. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the early 19th century period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.
I want to say somethings that really apply to evangelism in general, but I think in the case of dealing with Mormons it is more important.
View them as victims not enemies
Treat them with genuine love and respect
Listen and show interest
Let the Word of God offend rather than your words or actions
Ask questions
These are really important factors when evangelizing anyone. I think it becomes more important when speaking with Mormons.
It can be easy for us to focus on the unique and most known belief held by many Mormons, polygamy.
What is polygamy?
The status of having married more than one woman. Can also be a general term for instances where a man may technically marry only one woman, but may be attached to any number of concubines as well.
Instead we will approach from the perspective of dealing with real issues rather than unloading on them.
Do not go in guns blazing…this will only cause more problems.
Only do this if you intentionally do not want them to come around anymore…but this would be counter-intuitive to the purpose of this series as we want to be effective. Besides, if they leave willingly and reject, it is better than pushing them away. Remember we are held accountable for how we witness and treat people when we give them the gospel.
The most effective evangelism will be informed evangelism.
You must be informed what the Mormons believe and origins of the cult.

The cult organized by Joseph Smith under the title “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” at Fayette, New York, in 1830. Smith claimed that the angel Moroni visited him, and that with the aid of Urim and Thummim he translated the golden plates which contained the history of early America “in reformed Egyptian characters.” The plates were supposedly hidden from the year A.D. 420 until Smith found them on September 22, 1823. The translation was called The Book of Mormon. Hidden since the year 420, it has extensive quotations from the King James Version of the Bible, which dates from 1611! It contains expressions and ideas which are exclusively modern, and “its story of the ancient inhabitants of America, the supposed ancestors of the ‘Latter-Day Saints,’ contains twelve historical errors” (Van Baalen, The Chaos of Cults, p. 152). This garbled production is regarded by Mormons as equal in authority to the Bible.

The religious and social system of the Latter-day Saints; so called from their gospel, termed The Book of Mormon. Joe Smith, the founder of the system, was born in Sharon, Windsor county, Vermont; his partner was Rigdon. The manuscript, which he declared to be written on gold plates, was a novel written by Spalding. He was cited thirty-nine times into courts of law, and was at last assassinated by a gang of ruffians, who broke into his prison at Carthage, and shot him like a dog. His wife’s name was Emma; he lived at Nauvoo, in Illinois; his successor was Brigham Young, a carpenter by trade, who led the “Saints” (as the Mormons are called), driven from home by force, to the valley of the Salt Lake, 1,500 miles distant, generally called Utah, but by the Mormons themselves Deseret (Bee-country), the New Jerusalem. Abraham is their model man, and Sarai their model woman, and English their language. Young’s house was called the Bee-hive. Every man, woman, and child capable of work has work to do in the community.

It is important that you have a knowledge of the books that the Mormons use.
King James Bible
Book of Mormon
The Doctrine and Covenants
Pearl of Great Price
You should only use the King James Version when witnessing to a Mormon as this will be more beneficial than trying to work through another translation.
Some information of the book of mormon:

The Book of Mormon, translated by Joseph *Smith in the 1820s, tells the story of a godly race of early settlers in America who were reduced by warfare to only two, Mormon and his son, Moroni. According to the document, the two wrote their history on golden plates and buried them in a hillside in upstate New York, where Smith later claimed to discover them.

“There is an abundance of incontestable evidence that the origin of the Book of Mormon must be sought in Solomon Spaulding’s unpublished and stolen novel, The Manuscript Found. The Mormons try to obliterate this evidence by referring to another manuscript, The Manuscript Story, by the same Spaulding; they prove that the Book of Mormon is not a copy of the latter manuscript. The unknowing are thus convinced that Joseph Smith did not copy from ‘the Spaulding manuscript’; but the real argument, that the ‘Golden Bible’ is the work of copying and embellishing by Rigdon and Smith, remains unanswered” (Van Baalen, p. 152).

About the founder, Joseph Smith:
Joseph Smith was by all accounts a treasure hunter, he desired to discover, found, or become famous in some way. His account of the book of mormon is interesting as it can be accounted that he plagiarized the manuscript found by Spaulding which most Mormons will deny and state it was the manuscript story that Spaulding published and Smith did not plagiarize that novel.
I find it interesting that a novel was used as the basis of the religion if you really think about it. Smith took things from the novel and blended them into religion in an attempt to fabricate a historical narrative that is inconsistent with history in general. Even from biblical history it does not align and presents errors.
Smith was accused on multiple accounts of counterfeiting and crimes deemed immoral and sheltering criminals. He would actually be killed in prison by an angry mob who would storm his prison cell.

Joseph Smith, the prophet of Mormonism, died when an angry crowd stormed the gaol where he was being kept on charges of gross immorality, counterfeiting, and sheltering criminals.

His successor was Brigham Young. He will be very important since he is the one who established the Mormons in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Interest fact to know and tell:
Young received a total of ELEVEN days of formal schooling.
One writer said:
With the tenacity of an uneducated mind Young held to the story of Joseph Smith and remained true to the ‘prophet’ to the end.
It should be noted that after the death of Joseph Smith, the Mormons divided into two groups or sects. Those who followed Young and those who followed Smith (Joseph’s son).
They would dispute bitterly, mostly over polygamy. The Smiths blamed the Youngs for the issues in Missouri and held to the traditional view of marriage. Young and those who followed him held to polygamy. Interestingly enough Joseph Smith himself taught polygamy and practiced it.
Joseph Smith at the time of his death had 48 wives and one of the first wives he took (aside from Emma) was a 14 year old girl he had been wanting to marry for awhile.
If you have not noticed, Mormonism is definitely a controversial belief system.
The best evidence against Mormonism is itself.
This is common in most cults, usually the issues are clear. What you will find is that most cults will masquerade around major issues.
Very helpful tips when witnessing to a Mormon, and most other cults:
Use King James Version
Know the Gist of any passage referenced
Know the passage location
We are going to look at some of the teachings of Mormonism, which stand self-condemned as anti-Christian.

1. The Fatherhood of God. “When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him.… He is our father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 1:50).

2. God’s Unity. “The passages are numerous in the inspired writings which indicate a plurality of God” (F. D. Richards, Compendium, p. 170). “And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light and there was light. And they (the Gods) comprehended the light … and they divided the light” (Joseph Smith, The Pearl of Great Price, p. 67).

“Each of these Gods, including Jesus Christ and His Father, being in possession of not merely an organized spirit, but a glorious body of flesh and bones, is subject to the laws which govern, of necessity, even the most refined order of physical existence” (Parley Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, p. 42).

3. God’s Trinity. “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones but is a personage of spirit.… Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him, and not tarry with him” (Joseph Smith, Doctrine and Covenants, p. 462).

4. Polygamy. “Jesus Christ was a polygamist; Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, were his plural wives, and Mary Magdalene was another. Also, the bridal feast of Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned the water into wine, was on the occasion of one of his own marriages” (Brigham Young, quoted in Wife No. 19, chap. 34, by Ann Eliza Young).

“We say it was Jesus Christ who was married (at Cana, to Martha and Mary), whereby he could see his own seed before he was crucified. The reference is to Isaiah 53:10” (Orson Hyde, cf. The True Origin of Mormon Polygamy, by C. A. Shook, p. 207).

Jesus never married and in fact His bride is the church, not a woman who lived at that time.

5. Virgin Birth. “When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was NOT begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who was the Father? He was the first of the human family.… Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 1:50).

Matthew 1:18 KJV 1900
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 1:20 KJV 1900
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Luke 1:34–35 KJV 1900
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

6. Justification. “The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity” (James E. Talmadge, The Articles of Faith, p. 120).

“Abraham received concubines and they bare him children, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. Go ye therefore and do the works of Abraham, enter ye into my law, and ye shall be saved. But if ye enter not into my law [of polygamy], ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham” (Joseph Smith, Celestial Marriage, par. 12, 14).

“Now, that the blessing of redemption from individual sins, while free for all to attain, is nevertheless conditioned on individual effort, is as plainly declared as is the truth of unconditional redemption from the effects of the Fall” (James E. Talmadge, p. 42).

John 8:39 KJV 1900
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Romans 4:3 KJV 1900
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
We will not look at issues to discuss with Mormons.
The best way to go about these issues is to ask questions.
Truthfully the very first question you should ask any Mormon is:
Why do you believe Mormonism to be true?
They will usually give you a reason about how their life became better, they give or help the poor, or some type of charitable thing. You can refute this by stating as a Christian we do the same.
There are several issues to tackle.
One of the most important is the nature of God. Establishing that there is only one God is crucial which is why we chose Isaiah 43:10 as the verse to read.

One God

question to ask:
You believe in one God?
Most of them will say ‘yes’ to this answer, but they actually have a faulty view of the trinity. They view the trinity as ‘three gods but one in purpose’ meaning that they are separate individual gods but they share one purpose, to ascend into full godhead.
I just gave you the spark notes version of what they believe.
A couple of scriptures to have handy when dealing with Mormons on Jesus being co-equal and co-existing with God.
1. Jesus is presented in Scripture as eternally existing as God (e.g., John 1:1, 18; Phil. 2:6-11[14]; Heb. 1:3).
Another popular belief of Mormons that people want to attach to is that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers. In fact Lucifer was a created being as he was an angel that is fallen. Some verses on Jesus creating all things.
2. Jesus created “all things” including all the angels as with Lucifer (e.g., John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:8-10).
Here are some passages on there only being ONE God.
Isaiah 43:10 KJV 1900
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, And my servant whom I have chosen: That ye may know and believe me, And understand that I am he: Before me there was no God formed, Neither shall there be after me.
Isaiah 44:6 KJV 1900
6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, And his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; And beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:8 KJV 1900
8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: Have not I told thee from that time, And have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Bonus: Only One God in the Book of Mormon
Surprisingly to some, the Book of Mormon likewise teaches that there is only one God in all of existence. While we don’t want to grant authority to the Book of Mormon, it can sometimes be worthwhile when witnessing to Mormons to make the point that “even your own book says”:
Alma 11:26-29: “26And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God? 27And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God. 28Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? 29And he answered, No.”

Eternality of God

Do you believe that God is eternal?
They will probably say yes, but their interpretation of this will be that He has existed in the form of intelligence or knowledge but not in being as we know God.
In LDS theology God the Father is not the eternal God, rather Mormons teach that God had to become God by obedience to the law, at a certain point in time. Mormon tell us, just as Jesus has a Father, that Father has a Father, and that Father has a Father, etc., thus an infinite regression of Fathers.
Psalm 90:2 KJV 1900
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Again, here you can use the Book of Mormon against them and say “even your own book says:”
Moroni 8:18: “For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.”

God never Sinned

It is important to refute this point as Mormons believe that they will ascend or achieve divinity to a degree they will become gods.
However if the qualification for a god is to be sinless or utterly holy, then there is no possible way that one can achieve divinity or become a god.
Revelation 4:8 KJV 1900
8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
You can also use the previous on eternality to drive home the point that if God never changes than He must have never sinned and always been holy and thus that is the qualification to then be God.
Romans 3:23 KJV 1900
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 6:23 KJV 1900
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus

To discuss Jesus, we must understand that the Mormons believe Jesus was a man who became a god after the resurrection.
They do believe that he was sent by god but do not believe Him to be conceived by the Holy Spirit as the bible teaches.
The LDS view on the virgin birth is as follows:
It is claimed that Latter-day Saints believe Jesus was conceived through sexual intercourse between God the Father and Mary, and that Mary therefore was not a virgin when Jesus was born. It is also claimed that Latter-day Saints reject the "Evangelical belief" that "Christ was born of the virgin Mary, who, when the Holy Ghost came upon her, miraculously conceived the promised messiah."
I gave emphasis here so to help identify the talking points.
Jesus always was God (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17). Since the Bible teaches that Jesus is God (John 10:30; 20:28; Heb. 1:8) and God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), then Jesus must have always been God.
John 1:1–3 KJV 1900
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 10:30 KJV 1900
30 I and my Father are one.
John 20:28 KJV 1900
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Hebrews 1:8 KJV 1900
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
It is important when witnessing to Mormons to note that Jesus created all things, including Satan. In Mormonism, Jesus is the spirit brother of Satan who was begotten through literal sexual relations between heavenly Father and possibly a heavenly Mother. Therefore, in Mormonism, Jesus did not create Satan. Jesus’ spirit body is the result of some sort of union between heavenly Father and one of the heavenly Mothers. Jesus’ physical body is the result of some sort of physical union between Heavenly Father and Mary.

Salvation

As with most cults, salvation is based on the meritorious works of the individual, Mormonism is no different. Mormons convolute the biblical doctrine of salvation-, which is by grace alone, through faith alone, whereby reducing it to a works/salvation system.
Mormons believe in two types of salvation; unconditional (general) and conditional (individual).
Unconditional or general is a salvation is for everyone regardless of their spiritual standing with God. This type of salvation is granted to everyone because of the Atonement. Mormons believe that Jesus’ Atonement at the cross only provided a “resurrection” to immortality for all men, where they will, depending how well they performed, end up in one of the three heavens. Even the worst of sinners will eventually end up in the lowest heaven (telestial kingdom), where they will live in glory.
What are the three heavens of Mormonism?
Often referred to the degrees of glory.
Telestial, Terrestrial, and Celestial.
It is here we need to introduce Mormon language into the picture. Really we should have an understanding from the start, but here is where it all gets confusing if a Christian is not careful when witnessing to a Mormon.
What happens if I ask a Mormon if they believe in being ‘saved by grace’? Will they agree with that statement?
What Mormons call “saved by grace” really means everyone will be saved (i.e., resurrected, immortal) but not everyone will receive “eternal life.”
Do Mormons believe in ‘eternal life’?
In Mormonism the term “eternal life” is synonymous with exaltation (i.e., becoming a God). So, when Mormon missionaries say “eternal life” they mean, becoming a God.
what Mormons call “saved by grace” meaning everyone will be saved (i.e., resurrected, immortal) but not everyone will receive “eternal life.” In Mormonism the term “eternal life” is synonymous with exaltation (i.e., becoming a God). So, when Mormon missionaries say “eternal life” they mean, becoming a God.
In Mormon terminology then, salvation, true salvation, means eternal life = exaltation = Godhood (all synonymous terms). This, undeniably, is another gospel (cf. Gal. 1:6-9). Nearly 12 million members are taught: the way to true salvation is by works.
On the subject of unconditional or general salvation, Mormon favorite Bruce R. McConkie informs readers:
Unconditional or general salvation, that which comes by grace alone without obedience to the gospel law, consists in the mere fact of being resurrected. This kind of salvation eventually will come to all mankind, excepting only the sons of perdition. . . . Those who gain only this general or unconditional salvation will still be judged according to their works and receive their places in a terrestrial or a telestial kingdom. They will, therefore, be damned; their eternal progression [i.e., progression to become a God in the celestial kingdom] will be cut short; they will not fill the full measure of their creation, but in eternity will be ministering servants [i.e., angels] to more worthy persons (Mormon Doctrine, 669; emphasis theirs).
Fundamentally then, the LDS system of true salvation is by works, as Bruce R. McConkie goes on to say:
Eternal life, the kind of life enjoyed by eternal beings in the celestial kingdom, comes by grace plus obedience (ibid., 671; emphasis added).
In the Mormon Scripture, Pearl of Great Price, in the third Article of Faith, it states:
We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by the obedience of the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
The book of Mormon states in 2 Nephi 25:23:
Be reconciled to God: for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do
Which this passage alone is contradictory to the Bible.
Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Brigham Young goes so far as to teach the Mormon people that salvation (i.e., true salvation, Godhood) only comes through Joseph Smith:
No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith. From the day that the Priesthood was taken from the earth to the winding up scene of all things, every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are (Journal of Discourses, 7:289).
Pickup here. Edit below.
Mormons are taught that after death people immediately go to “spirit prison.” Mormons say that they are Mormon missionaries in spirit prison, that witness to the men and women who never had the opportunity to become became Mormons in their life. And if the person in spirit prison accepts the Mormon gospel, and if someone preformed proxy rituals (i.e., endowments, baptism, and sealing if marriage is involved) they may become a Mormon and leave spirit prison to progress into a higher kingdom.
If the person rejects the Mormon gospel then they will eventually reside in the lowest or middle the three levels of heaven depending how good (or how evil) they were in their life on earth. However, if a Mormon dies, then the Mormon will immediately go to “paradise” and after the resurrection they proceed to one of the three levels or kingdoms of heaven. Consequently, the Mormon Church spends countless hours on genealogies. The quest of the LDS is to proselytize every person who ever died starting with their relatives and then all others that are in “spirit prison.”
And this, in Mormon certainty, is the way to eternal life or true salvation. It is, without a doubt, a total works/salvation construct. In the end, their works, obedience, and dedication to the LDS Church will determine their salvation and to which level of the three heavens they will dwell in.
Pickup here.
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