Defending Christianity against Mormonism

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (NIV 1 Peter 3:15).

In other words, LOVE THEM.

Mormons                                                             Biblical Truths

Mormons are monolaters, meaning, they believe in many gods, yet worship only one. LDS believe that “As man is, God once was; and as God is, man may become.” LDS do not believe in Hell. LDS believe God is flesh and bones. LDS believe in baptism for the dead. LDS believe Jesus and Satan are created brothers. LDS do not believe in the Trinity. LDS believe that “it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do” (Nephi 25:23).

Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (See also Isaiah 43:11; Acts 5:4; 1 Timothy 2:5; Exodus 20:3; et. al.). God knows of no other God (Isaiah 44:8). Apart from Him, there is no other God (Isaiah 45:5; 45:14, 21, 22; 46:5, 9). The Bible says that God never changes (Malachi 3:6), so He was never a man or mortal (Hosea 11:9; Numbers 23:19; see also Psalm 90:2). "I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me" (Isaiah 43:10). The Bible says that everyone, when they die, will exist either in Heaven or Hell, for eternity (Daniel 12:2-3; Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:14-15). Matthew 16:17 shows that God is not flesh and blood. John 4:22-24 explains that God is a spirit, which Jesus defines in Luke 24:37-40). They base an entire doctrine off of one verse (1 Cor. 15:29), which clearly shows how Paul is talking about pagans “they” as opposed to Christians “we.” Jesus is eternally existent (John 1:1-2) and the creator and sustainer of all things (John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:3,10). Jesus is the ONLY son of God (John 3:16) and Jesus is not an angel, like Satan was (Hebrews 1:5-9; Job 1:6; Zech 3:1-2; Luke 10:18; Rev 12:9; Ezek 28:14). Jesus says, “Go and baptize people...in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19), signifying equivalence. Jesus also says, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30). Paul calls the Holy Spirit, “God” (Acts 5:3-4). The Bible says that it is by grace that we have been saved, through faith, and that this is not from us, but is a gift from God, not by works, so that no one could boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The goal (at minimum) is to plant seeds of doubt

Try to get them to read the Bible. Reason with them that they should

be able to prove the validity of the Mormon church through the Bible.

Definitions:

LDS= “Latter Day Saints” or simply, “Mormons”

BoM= Book of Mormon

Nephites= Light skinned people, Hebrew descent

Lamanites= Dark skinned people, Hebrew descent; ancestors of American Indians

Other Facts:

                2 Nephi 25:23 in the book of Mormon says “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” The Bible says that we are saved through grace alone and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). In other words, Mormons believe that salvation comes through works, but the Bible contradicts this and says that salvation is a free gift.

                Mormons believe that God lives on a distant planet called “Kolob.” This belief was taken from the book of Abraham, which Mormons believe that Joseph Smith translated from “Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics.” No non-Mormon scholar in the world recognizes “Reformed Egyptian” as a verifiable, legitimate, ancient or modern language. Reformed Egyptian Hieroglyphics has also never been found in archaeology.  

              

                No city in the book of Mormon has ever been located archaeologically. Not one speck of evidence. The cities mentioned in the Bible however, can be visited today.
                No ancient inscriptions in Hebrew or "reformed Egyptian" that predate Columbus have ever been found in America. No copies of the book of Mormon have ever been found that predate 1830 when Smith "found" and "interpreted" the tablets. In any event, no archaeological evidence exists that demonstrates that the book of Mormon is true.

                In Mormon, chapter six, “hundreds of thousands are slain with the sword,” in Manchester, New York. If this were true, there would be millions of weapons, coins, shields, swords, etc., but nothing has been found.

                Lamanites are the principle ancestors of the American Indians, according to the book of Mormon. In other words, you have to believe that the Native Americans living among us are actually Jewish. So, if the BoM is true, Native Americans have to be of Hebrew descent. This goes against DNA test results.

                Mormons will suggest that you read Deut. 4:2 “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you” when you ask them about the verses in Revelation 22:18-19, which says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” The idea behind the Mormon motive is that you can’t write anything after Deut. 4:2, even though the rest of the Bible exists. Clearly these are talking about two different subjects; commandments and prophecies.

                In other words, there are 613 commandments up until the end of the book of Deuteronomy, and there are never any commandments added to them in the entire Bible. In the book of Revelation, however, Mormons are adding to the prophecies of “this scroll” because the prophecies in the BoM come after the book of Revelation.

                It is good to ask them who Jesus is in order to get their definition exposed. Likely, they will tell you that He is the savior of the world, but will refrain from telling you that he is Satan’s spirit brother.

                Mormons will frequently tell you that you need to read the BoM and pray that God reveals the truth about it to you (or something of that nature). They will show you James 1:5, which explains that God will give you wisdom if you simply ask for it. One problem with this is that the book of James is written to people who are already believers (James 1:1), therefore they knew the truth from the Word of God. The Bible is truth; therefore we go to it for answers, not to our feelings. Jeremiah 17:9 explains that the heart is deceitful above all things! We cannot trust it! If we could trust our hearts, then everyone would be correct. This is clearly not the case.

The BoM in a nutshell:

Mormon tells his son, Moroni (a Nephite) to bury the record of their people in the ground. Centuries later, Moroni appears to Joseph Smith and tells Joseph that he recorded the events of his people on golden plates and where he buried these plates. Joseph Smith then “translates” the plates and that is how the BoM came to be.

Dos and Don’ts:

Most Mormons are unfortunately victims of deception. They think in their mind that they are doing well, but in reality, they are spreading lies and teaching a false gospel (see Galatians 1:6-9!). With this in mind, be gentle and respectful when confronting Mormons.

Do begin by being pleasant, maybe asking them what they like to do for fun. This helps them see that you are human and not some kind of enemy.

Don’t attack Joseph Smith. He is held dearly by them and telling them that he is a false prophet will just make them angry or frustrated.

Be loving and gentle. Try to create an inviting and comfortable atmosphere.

Be prepared for their visit. Try reading over this information and the Bible references that are mentioned, in order to be familiar with the material.

Don’t tell them that you are “protestant” or “Baptist,” etc., but instead, tell them that you are “a believer in the biblical and historical Jesus.”

Do take control of the conversation. Maybe you could ask them if they would set the BoM aside for a week or so and let God talk to them through the Bible exclusively.

Do invite them into your home. They are very nice and professional people that can be trusted. They are just severely misled.

Don’t be afraid that they will take over your life. They will usually only stay for a few minutes to a half an hour at the most. Invite them back to talk.

Do remember that telling them that you would like to learn more about the Mormon religion would cause them to return.

Do remember, YOU are the boss. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to (like, giving them your phone number or email address or go to their church). Just kindly tell them that you are not ready to give out your information yet.

Do remember that if you don’t feel comfortable having them back again, you can gently make them leave and not come back if you say something like, “I feel that we have exhausted our conversations in our debates but I want to thank you for your respect.”

Do try to plant a seed of doubt.

Do remember that this is only a small portion of information regarding the refutation of and defense against Mormonism. I encourage you to study further, starting with reading the Word of God.

See also:

In John 10:34, Jesus says “Is it not written in your law, I have said you are Gods?” Jesus is quoting Psalm 82:6, which Mormons might take you to, thinking it is evidence for their claims of mankind being able to become gods. But Psalm 82:7 says about these “gods” that they will “die like mere mortals; [they] will fall like every other ruler.”
Link: So... Joseph Smith had several wives... now what?

Questions to ask Mormons (Questions are a great way to plant seeds of doubt and also to begin conversation):

Can you show me proof from non-Mormon sources that the cities and towns and people groups existed historically and archaeologically? They might try to dance around the subject, but gently try to get them to answer this question directly.

Why do you baptize for the dead when the Bible (Heb. 9:27) and Mosiah 3:25 both state that there is absolutely no chance of salvation after death? They might try to say that God can’t be that unjust as to condemn people to hell if they have never heard of Jesus. The problem with this is, it is not up to us to save people, and it is only in God’s hands. Romans 1:20 explains that mankind is without excuse in believing in the existence of God. In other words, we see that there is a designer when we observe trees and birds, etc. With this in mind, knowing that there is a designer because the earth and the things in it are a witness to the designer, Matthew 7:7-8 explains that all we have to do is ask, seek and knock, and He will provide a way for this person to learn of Jesus. To sum this all up, the person living in a remote area who does not know Christ, will see the witness of God’s beautiful creation, then question, “how did this all get here?” and when he seeks with all his heart, God might bring a missionary to him or something of that nature.

How do you explain psalm 90:2? God was never a man, but was always God.

Malachi 3:6 explains that God does not change and Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever. How was God once a man? How was Jesus created?

Why did Joseph Smith translate the plates into the King James language when it was not common for people to speak that way during Joseph’s life?

Have you studied the material that opposes Mormonism so you can make a discerning and intelligent conclusion for yourself?

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Feel free to reply or ask questions to this post, or on the A&E Facebook page.

For more, see my book on Mormonism: 

https://www.amazon.com/Mormonism-Refuting-Fundamental-Apologetics-Latter-Day/dp/1662885377/ 

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

© Nace Howell, 2022