Doug asked me to post this email I sent out about a meeting I had last night with 2 Mormon missionaries:
This is a long post, but worth it if you’re interesting in understanding how Mormon Missionaries operate…
Last night, Jason St. Jean, Rob Merchant, and myself had the opportunity to listen to 2 Mormon missionaries.
Please pray for Elder Haslett and Elder Clark (they wouldn’t give us their first names.)
These “elders” were about 18-20 years old, dressed very nicely, and were quite cordial.
They told us that God created us, loves us, and we are the most important thing to Him, just like our earthly families are the most important things to us.
They told us that in Biblical times God gave prophets to guide His people and the prophets were often rejected. God also gave apostles to teach.
Because God loves us, he sent Jesus, the Son of God, to die for our sins so we can be saved.
This all sounded nice, except that I know that when they say “God” what they mean is a being who was once a man and became God by performing good works. That this God lives today on a planet near the star Kolob with his Mother God wife (one of his many wives).
I also know that when they say Jesus they mean the first created being of the Father and is Satan’s brother. Jesus performed good works and became a god. So can we.
And when they say that Jesus died so that we can be saved, what they mean is that because of Jesus’ death, everyone gets resurrected and has the OPPORTUNITY to become God through good works.
I asked them if they were saved, and they said they don’t know. But through ordinances of the church, they might reach the highest level of heaven.
I asked them what those ordinances were and they said that some things that are necessary for us to do to reach the highest level of heaven are: baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and marriage. They were reluctant to give me those examples and would not give me any more. They said I could know all the answers once I joined their church and was faithful for years.
I asked them if God was always God. They said “yes.” I told them that the Mormon prophet Lorenzo Snow said “As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.” I asked them if they believe that, and they said that if a Mormon prophet said it, they believe it. So I asked them how they can on one hand say that God was always God, but on the other hand say that God
was once a man like us?
At this point they wanted to leave because they said they didn’t think we were “open to learning” and “wasting their time.”
But I explained that if someone questioned me on my beliefs and said “How can you believe the Bible when it says the earth was made in 6 days, but science proves otherwise?” I wouldn’t say, “Oh, you’re not open to learning, so I’m going to leave.” I would never react that way! I’d listen to their question and try to give them an answer.
The Mormons did not want to give answers to any of the questions I asked. They only wanted to go through and tell us what was so. Often when I asked a question, they questioned whether I was “open to the things of God” and willing to “listen and trust the Holy Ghost.”
I asked them when the Book of Mormon was written. They said it was finished about 400 A.D.
I asked them if they knew that it contained word-for-word quotations from the 1611 King James Bible, which didn’t exist for 1,200 years after the BOM was allegedly written.
They told me if I joined their church and was faithful for years then I would understand how that could be.
I told them that the Book of Mormon contains italicized words of the KJV which are words the 1611 KJV translators added for clarification but weren’t in the original language. Yet these italicized words ALSO appear in the Book of Mormon. How then could they claim the BOM was written in 400 AD?
They told me if I joined their church and was faithful for years then I would understand how that could be.
I asked them about Joseph Smith if they believed he was a prophet. They said they did. I asked them how one is supposed to test if a prophet is a true or false prophet. They said you tell by praying about it.
I asked them if they pray about whether or not they should be Muslims, or whether or not they should rob a bank? Of course not! You don’t pray about something that has been revealed in the scriptures.
I told them that God gave us a way to test prophets. It’s in Deuteronomy 18:20-22. I asked them if they’re familiar with that passage. They said no. So I asked them to read Deuteronomy 18:20-22 aloud. They reluctantly did, but they were uncomfortable.
I asked them how they read and understand that passage.
Elder Clark said that the passage seems to be saying that if a prophet prophecies something that didn’t come true, then he’s a false prophet.
Exactly! This is the Biblical test of a prophet.
So I asked them if they were aware of anything that Joseph Smith prophesied that didn’t come true?
They quickly retreated to the standard Mormon line of “Prophets don’t have to be right about everything all the time – only when they are prophesying. So Joseph Smith may have said some things that were wrong, but he never officially prophesied things that were wrong.”
So I asked them how you can tell what is Joseph Smith just talking his opinion, and what is official prophecy. They said if it is in scripture, then it is an official prophecy.
So I asked them to read “Doctrine and Covenants 84:3-5.” This is scripture for a Mormon. It is one of their inspired works. He read it and I asked him what it said. He said that Joseph Smith prophesied in the name of the Lord that a Temple would be built in Missouri in his generation.
I asked them if that happened (which it didn’t!) and they got up and left.
Before they left they had the audacity to go through their prepared memorized “testimony” which goes something like, “I bear you my testimony that I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know this because I have asked God in prayer and He has revealed it to me.”
They told us that we were not open to the things of God.
I wanted to ask him about Doctrine and Covenants 87:1-2 where Joseph Smith prophesied that the US Civil war would be spread to all nations, and Doctrine and Covenants 111:2,4-5 where he prophesied that the residents of Salem MA would give Joseph Smith gold when he visited them (even though they didn’t.)
So truth to them was by “praying about it.” I told them the Bible tells us:
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
The Mormon Missionaries are not interested in answering questions or objections. They want to find people who will listen to them and not question their use of words like “God” and “Jesus.” They use Christian words with different meanings with the intention to deceive.
They want to find a woman whose husband just died and is feeling sad so they can say “Our Church can give you purpose and meaning.” They don’t want someone who has questions about false prophesies of Joseph Smith.
I was chatting with my wife about this, and if a group of Orthodox Jews called me and said, “We’re Orthodox Jews and we don’t believe in Jesus. Can you come over so we can hammer you with hard questions?” I’d be like: Bring it on! I’d LOVE that opportunity! But these Mormons want people who have no critical questions and no concerns (even legitimate ones.)
I didn’t expect these Mormons to repent of their idolatry, but perhaps seeds were planted that God can water. I don’t know how they can say they have “prayed about” whether something is true when the Bible contradicts what they teach. These people deceive many many people.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers about the meeting. I believe that Rob, Jason and I faithfully and firmly and lovingly presented the truth to them, and that pleases and glorifies our God. Our success is not measured in their response – only in our faithfulness.
God bless you!
in Christ and for His gospel,
Mark
P.S. I wrote a document outlining Mormon beliefs and what the Bible has to say about them. It’s called Letter to a Mormon: Testing the Claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
This document was written with 2 purposes in mind:
- To train Christians in what the Mormons actually believe (but might not tell you)
- To have something tangible that you can give to a Mormon as a witnessing tool.
This document contains a gospel message and an overview of doctrines that the LDS church teaches. All of them list quotations from actual LDS sources, citing where these can be found. In addition, each doctrine has what the Bible teaches on the subject. You should print out at least 2 copies to have near your door since the Mormons always come in 2’s. Give this to the Mormons. It contains material that they may not even know about.
You can download it by clicking here.
You can also find notes and other files from a Cult class I am teaching at: http://cults.sohmer.net