Christians have questions, misconceptions and unproven beliefs about The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints. Questions like, “Are Mormons polygamous?” and “Can Mormons be Christians?” are circulating recently because of major news stories involving Pastor Robert Jeffress, Warren Jeffs and the two LDS candidates in the GOP presidential race – former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Christians want to reach their Mormon neighbors with the true message of Jesus Christ, but many times end up pushing them away because they just can’t understand the LDS faith.
As one former Mormon, Vince Valenti, told The Christian Post in an email, “The challenge you have, however, is to look at the meaning behind the words.”
Another former Mormon, Beth Johnston of Idaho, observed, “We’re (Christians and Mormons) not even speaking the same language.”
One Utah pastor aims to resolve these problems, and give Christians tools to overcome the barriers in evangelizing to those of the LDS faith.
“It should be said that Mormonism is very different in things that matter a lot,” said Ross Anderson, director of Utah Advance Ministries and pastor at Alpine Community Church, a multi-campus church in northern Utah, to CP. “But instead of telling Mormons what they believe, or what they should believe, we should be asking them what they believe.”
This opens a door, said Anderson, who has created a ministry to plant “culturally appropriate” churches in Utah and to bring former Mormons into the local church. He is the author of two books, Understanding the Book of Mormon and his latest, Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor, as well as a study guide titled Jesus Without Joseph. Anderson is a former Mormon himself, born and raised as an active member of the LDS Church. In college, he said, he “came to follow Jesus in a new way” when a friend started introducing him to literature showing the key differences between Mormonism and Christianity. To read more, click here.
Related article:
What Do Mormons Believe? Ex-Mormon Speaks Out – Part Two
What Do Mormons Really Believe? Part 1
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