Why Mormons and Evangelicals Should Be Friends

If you’re reading this article, it’s either because you’re Mormon or Evangelical…or you’re like one of those kids at the school yard that is surrounding the two kids yelling “fight, fight, fight”. Honestly though, the endless rhetoric between Mormons and Evangelicals about faith and works or other points of doctrine should be laid to rest so that they can join hands and fight the real fight. I’ll tell you what that real fight is in a minute…

Let me see how accurate I can get when summarizing how many Evangelicals feel about Mormons. I may be way off but I’ll give it a try anyway…

[Theoretical Evangelical] –  A lot of Mormons I meet are really nice but I feel sorry for them. They are so misguided. They’ve been led astray by a false prophet named John Smith. And oh my goodness, their missionaries that ride around on bikes and knock on my door right when we’re about to sit down for dinner are so annoying. They think there is only one true Church and that they are it. They think that everyone else is going to hell if they don’t join the Mormon Church. They have their own Bible and don’t believe in the same Jesus that we do. But they do really take care of each other… and their families are really important to them, and the one’s I’ve met have been really nice.

[My Mormon Answer to this Theoretical Evangelical] – We don’t have another Bible. We love the Bible…and we also love the Book of Mormon which is an ancient record that was buried on the American continent. It was discovered by a man we consider to be a prophet and his name is Joseph Smith…not John Smith. 🙂 Trust me when I say that I know there are a lot of annoying Mormon’s… including missionaries…but heck…there are annoying people in every religion right? The reason we knock on your door sometimes is because we really want to share something with you that we don’t think you’ve heard in it’s entirety. We don’t want to take anything away from your faith. We just want to see if we have anything to add to it. We don’t think you’ll go to hell if you don’t join the LDS Church and we believe in the Jesus that is found in the New Testament. If you don’t like what we have to say then we hope we can be friends!

Then somehow the discussion changes into a Bible quoting debate about faith and works, the nature of God and the Trinity, and whether Mormons think they can become gods or not. But seriously… Mormons and Evangelicals may disagree about some various points of doctrine, but by and large, they are really not that different. They love God, and love their families, and try to help people at every opportunity. If we contend against each other harshly, then the adversary will gain ground on all of us. He knows that if he can distract all of the God fearing people for just a moment, that he will be able to assemble an army capable of destroying religious freedom worldwide and in the United States. If that happens, we won’t even have the freedom to debate with each other

We’re all on the same team and we really need to remember that.

friend

I hired a non-denominational Christian guy by the name of John Rowa (he said he doesn’t like to be called Evangelical) a couple years ago and we’ve become great friends…at least I think so. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in business. I see him bumping the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in his office. He calls it “Mo-Tab Monday”. We talk religion all the time and have a bunch of fun with it. I listen to 89.7 KSGN and Air 90.1 (Christian radio stations in Southern California) almost exclusively and probably half of my music collection is Toby Mac, Switchfoot, and even a little bit of Kirk Franklin. My kids have grown up singing along to Mandisa and Matt Redman instead of Katy Perry. Like Matt Redman, we also have 10,000 reasons to glorify God. We go to the skating rink on “Christian” night to be around fellow Christians. We love them all for their desire to worship God and glorify Him. We just happen to believe in a few additional theological ideas. I don’t see any reason why those additional ideas should put anyone at odds with each other. Especially when Christ said,

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. (Luke 9:49-50)

I don’t believe at all that there is anything wrong with a healthy theological conversation about points of doctrine and interpretations, but when you become so angry at another person because of their beliefs, you’ve really got to evaluate where that spirit of contention is coming from. Respectfully disagree if you need to, but come together in the end.

Many years ago the LDS prophet Joseph Smith said,

“The Saints can testify whether I am willing to lay down my life for my brethren. If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a ‘Mormon,’ I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves.” (History of the Church, 5:498–99)

More recently Billy Graham stated on the “The Hour of Power”,

“I think there’s the body of Christ which comes from all the Christian groups around the world, or outside the Christian groups. I think that everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time. What God is doing today is calling people out of the world for His name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light they have and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.”

Mormon’s believe that there will be many religions on the earth during the millennium and that it is important for us to support each other regardless of the specifics of our doctrine, which brings us back to the beginning of this article.

What is the real fight?

Right now as we speak…governments, groups, and coalitions are combining together against religious worship as a whole. Not against, Mormons or Non-Denominationals or Baptists or Catholics but against religion as a whole. If we fix our time on contentious arguments among believers, and lose sight of what is really important, we may not have the ability to express our beliefs in the future.

Dallin H. Oaks, an LDS apostle just stated about a month ago that people of all faiths should  “insist upon our constitutional right to the free exercise of our religions,” and that “we need to support the coalitions of religious leaders and God-fearing people who are coming together to defend our nation’s traditional culture of belief in God and the acknowledgement of his blessings.”

I personally love to hear what other people believe about God. If you hear someone express their belief, it’s ok to question them…but always respect them and “instead of raising your voice…improve your argument”. Reasoning from the scriptures and talking about Church history can be fun, and if you can do it calmly and respectfully, it will help others understand where you are actually coming from. The more we know about each other and our faiths, the more we can come to love each other…and we will need that love and unification if we are going to be able to stand against the monster that is coming our way.

Lemonade Stand

Lemonade Stand helps businesses around the world grow by building high quality custom websites with transparent internet marketing services and measurable results.

Find Out More

Build Then Bless

Build Then Bless® is a first-of-its-kind cultural operating system for your business or organization that has the power to transform your people and truly change the world.

Join Our Waitlist

8 thoughts on “Why Mormons and Evangelicals Should Be Friends

  1. Drew Hyer

    Greg,
    It seems that themes in my life come in twos and threes. I love this topic of being better friends with other faiths. My love for others who are willing to ‘believe’ has grown as I’ve become more and more aware of the negative forces against Christians as a whole and our right to worship and believe in our own way. I don’t feel offended by others beliefs, nor do I feel pushy about my own. Not in a day of scoffing, mocking, and distrust. I just yearn to have that bond of love that comes from respect for a creator, for life itself, and a desire to do God’s will. Thank you for your blog.

  2. Keith Walker

    Articles like this are insulting to informed Christians. We are supposed to allow Mormon leaders to teach all manner of evil against who we are and what we believe, but when we offer some sort of rebuttal, we are viewed as being contentious?

    Let me get this straight. You say that…
    –My religion was hatched in hell.[1]
    –My Christianity is perverted and apostate.[2]
    –My Church is the Church of the Devil.[3]
    –My Church is wrong.[4]
    –My Church is the anti-Christ.[5]
    –My Church is evil and is the Whore of Babylon.[6]
    –My Church is leading me to hell.[7]
    –My Church will be hewn down and cast into the fire of no return.[8]
    –My Heavenly Father is imaginary[9] and invented.[10]
    –My Jesus is mythical.[11]
    –My Trinity is a monster.[12]
    –My creeds are an abomination.[13]
    –My justification is pernicious.[14]
    –My grace is a fallacious doctrine originated by Satan.[15]
    –My pastor is corrupt.[16]
    –My pastor is presumptuous and blasphemous for performing marriages and offering communion.[17]
    –My Bible is untrustworthy.[18]
    –I am a fool for believing in the Bible alone.[19]
    –I am a child of the devil.[20]
    –My baptism is invalid.[21]
    –I am unforgiven.[22]
    –I am damned.[23]
    –I know nothing of God.[24]
    –My hope of salvation is influenced by the devil.[25]
    –I have no right to preach the gospel.[26]
    –I am not a true Christian.[27]

    Then, when I attempt to offer any sort of disagreement or rebuttal, you accuse me of hatred, bigotry and unChristlike behavior. If that isn’t enough, to add insult to injury, you want to steal my name and have me accept you as a Christian Church too?

    That’s not happening.

    What do you call something that insults you, never apologizes and in an attempt to convince you that it is just like you, cozies up to you because you have something it wants? My friends, that is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    References for the above can be found here.
    http://www.evidenceministries.org/2012/03/mormonism%E2%80%99s-hypocritical-attack/

    • Ender Wiggin

      I’ll have a go at this one.

      From this website ( http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/approaching-mormon-doctrine ) concerning how to understand LDS church doctrine (from the church itself, not a random Christian opinion of such).

      “Based on the scriptures, Joseph Smith declared: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

      “The doctrinal tenets of any religion are best understood within a broad context, and thoughtful analysis is required to understand them. News reporters pressed by daily deadlines often find that problematic. Therefore, as the Church continues to grow throughout the world and receive increasing media attention, a few simple principles that facilitate a better understanding may be helpful:

      1) Not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church.

      2) Some doctrines are more important than others and might be considered core doctrines. For example, the precise location of the Garden of Eden is far less important than doctrine about Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.”

      To comprehend another church’s doctrine (specifically when your sources aren’t from that church specifically) you should know background and belief on your reference material.
      1) On the book “Mormon Doctrine”:

      a) “It was not and has never been an official publication of the church, and it has been both heavily criticized by some church leaders and members, while well regarded by others.” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Doctrine_(book) )

      b) “Church leaders were surprised by its publication (since he had not asked permission and was not asked to develop such a work) and responded that while they applauded the attempt of the book to fill a need, it used a harsh tone.

      c) “We [the First Presidency of the church] decided that Bruce R. McConkie’s book, ‘Mormon Doctrine’ recently published by Bookcraft Company, must not be re-published, as it is full of errors and misstatements, and it is most unfortunate that it has received such wide circulation. It is reported to us that Brother McConkie has made corrections to his book, and is now preparing another edition. We decided this morning that we do not want him to publish another edition.”

      2) On the “Journal of Discourses”:

      “The Journal of Discourses is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a compilation of sermons and other materials from the early years of the Church, which were transcribed and then published. It included some doctrinal instruction but also practical teaching, some of which is speculative in nature and some of which is only of historical interest. … Questions have been raised about the accuracy of some transcriptions. Modern technology and processes were not available for verifying the accuracy of transcriptions, and some significant mistakes have been documented. The Journal of Discourses includes interesting and insightful teachings by early Church leaders; however, by itself it is not an authoritative source of Church doctrine.” ( https://www.lds.org/topics/journal-of-discourses )

      In criticizing the LDS church for its beliefs actually understanding what we believe, rather than distorting for the purpose of taking offense, is a necessary prerequisite. That being said I’ll address your “points”:

      1) From Journal of Discourses, not a stance of the church

      2) From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church

      3) Misquoted scripture 1 Nephi 14:10, not referencing any specific church organization

      4) Every church differs in beliefs, they cannot all be simultaneously correct, thus EVERY Christian church believes #4 to some extent (including yourself for writing your comment)

      5) Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church. See #3, no earthly church is defined as the “church of the devil”, no need to take offense

      6) From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church

      7) From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church

      8) From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church

      9) From Journal of Discourses, not a stance of the church

      10) The belief in God was decided upon during the First Council of Nicaea, facts are not in dispute: “The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea)

      11) From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church (see though #10)

      12) See #10, most Christians can’t comprehend (only recite) what was “decided on” during the Nicaene Council

      13) See #10 (where doctrines were decided by consensus)

      14) Faith without works is not biblical, justification without required action is not biblical

      15) See #14, how much would the devil rejoice if he were able to hang up a large portion of Christ’s disciples on a seemingly small distinction. See Matt 19 (among others) the story of the rich man, who was already obedient, but was told by Christ (faith, obedience, and belief were not enough) to fulfill action based on his faith.

      16) Willing to discuss the doctrine of Priesthood Authority in greater detail in another comment

      17) Priesthood authority, see #16

      18) There are 80+ English translations of the Bible alone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_Bible_translations), and they all differ. How can anyone claim nothing’s been lost over the last ~2000 years? Not to mention that the earliest source for the Bible “P52” (c. 125 AD) is from 90 years after the death of Christ and only comprises a small portion of a single chapter of John. All others are later than that, so what happened in the missing years?

      19) Only a fool believes God cannot add to his own gospel, or that receiving more guidance and council (scripture or prophetic guidance) for our current circumstances wouldn’t be hugely desirable and tremendously amazing!

      20) Are you? I don’t believe I read that anywhere…Oh, I see–> From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church

      21) Priesthood authority, see #16

      22) Priesthood authority, see #16

      23) Don’t believe you were singled out. Biblical teaching–that the worshiping of “false gods” leads to damnation (LDS meaning differs from general Christian terminology), see 10 Commandments…

      24) From Journal of Discourses, not a stance of the church

      25) Any the devil can influence (regardless of religion or belief) to stop short of Christ’s requirements are under his influence, and fall short of “hope for salvation”.

      26) Priesthood authority, see #16

      27) Define the term “true Christian” and who exactly determines whether another is a “true” disciple of Christ and his gospel?! I submit that this is not the responsibility of any save Christ himself. Oh and From Mormon Doctrine, not sanctioned by the church

      So in summation:
      1) 12 of 27 complaints against so called “LDS doctrine” come from fringe literature not accepted nor approved by the leadership of the church
      2) 5 of remaining 15 are concerning the doctrine of Priesthood authority (which is too important for passing reference)
      3) And the remaining 10 are either misapplied or misunderstood scriptures taken way out of context (and generally not referencing specific churches, let alone you personally).

      In conclusion, someone’s been selling you a false line of beliefs (for what purpose I can’t begin to imagine), attributing them to the LDS church and deceiving you, while at the same time claiming to worship Jesus Christ. I suggest you track them down and hold them accountable for the deception.

  3. Cayden Hurst

    These are older but still apply
    McCollem v. Board of Ed. District 71
    Engel v. Vitale
    Abington school district v. Schempp
    Lemon v. Kurtzman
    Lee v. Weisman
    There are newer cases as well but these are among the highest and most notable cases of religious liberty being encroached upon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *