Mormonism

Last night I finished teaching a four week summer course on Mormonism.  It was a great time for the 50 people who attended and worked through this with me.  I think one of the revelations for those in our church is how different the Mormon faith really is from Christianity.

A few years ago two Mormon missionaries boldly approached me and began to present their faith.  I responded with a few comments about the differences and one of them said, "We believe the same things you do."  Shocked by the claim I asked him, "Do you know you're lying to me or don't you know what your church teaches?"  After a quick blush he responded, "I know I'm lying to you."

The differences are dramatic and the desire by the Mormon church to "look Christian" is very deceiving.  As one author wrote, "Talking to a Mormon is like trying to climb Jell-O."  The reason it's so difficult is that every word we use to describe our faith has a different meaning to the Mormon!  The first task in talking to a Mormon is to define terms.  After that the difference begin to become clear.

For the Mormon everything they believe about life, salvation and eternity rests on the their faith in the word of one just man- Joseph Smith.  If you study him carefully I think you would be very reluctant to put your eternity in his hands!

With all of that said the class was fun and our people who attended now know more about the Mormon faith than most of the Mormons they will encounter.  If we can talk to them in love and with a bit of knowledge I truly believe God will open blind eyes and help many to see what they have staked their eternities upon.

Is the Mormon faith Christian?  NO!  Not in any possible way.  Do they worship the same God we do? NO!  For the Mormon is salvation by faith alone in Christ alone? NO! With just a few simple questions like these it becomes clear there are dramatic distinctions that make an eternal difference.  I pray that your encouters with the young men who knock on your door will give you an opportunity to share the love of Christ with them and tell them about the only God of heaven and earth, the God of the Bible.