Be very careful as you seek out the Golden Contacts whose door you knock on. Try to find those who know very little about Mormonism and even less about the Bible. If "Mr. and Mrs. Brown" know their Bible, they will challenge, with scripture, each point you try to make.
If you do find Christians who know the Bible, do not begin your discussion with the Mormon doctrine that people can become gods. Christians know this is the first lie Satan told Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5).
It would be unwise to tell them that all churches disagree and fight among themselves. It might be your luck that their church belongs to one of the many Protestant churches that cooperate and work together in unity of the Christian faith. There, too they might also be familiar with some of the hundred-plus divergent churches that claim their origin to the restoration of Joseph Smith's prophecy. Then you would have to explain why there is so much division in the sect founded by Joseph Smith.
It might be foolish to tell them Joseph Smith actually saw God in bodily form. They will come up with scriptures as, "No man has seen God at any time" (John 1:18), or "God is spirit" (John 4:24), or "God is not a man" (Hosea 11:9), or "... the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15), or "No man can see me and live." (Exodus 33:20).
Further you might find yourself in real trouble if, when you discuss Joseph Smith's first vision, they mention the nine different versions of the story, all of which are documented by Latter-day Saint sources. And they will probably also know that the revival did not take place in 1820 as reported in the Pearl of Great Price (Joseph Smith History 1:5). One "Anti" even went to New York and found the records of these churches which show the revival took place in 1824.
Elder, do not tell them Christ's church left the Earth and Joseph Smith had to restore it. Christians will know you do not know church history or scripture, where Jesus promised that His church would stand forever (Matthew 16:18).
Do not tell them the Bible is not translated correctly or say when they show you something in black and white in the Bible, "Well, that's just your opinion," or "Well, that's what it says but that's not what it means." You would be surprised how many Christians know Greek and/or Hebrew, or know how to use a concordance.
Do not mention the Council of the gods. It is hard for them to understand how Jesus got to be a god before he got his physical body, how Lucifer never got a body and yet he must have been a god if he was at the council or how a god could fall. And it is really hard to answer questions about god the Holy Ghost not having a body when gods must have one.
Steer clear of the subject of baptism for the dead. They might recall that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, is talking about resurrection, not baptism, and that he is talking about non-believers because he says "they." Read in context, you will see the words "us" and "they" used throughout the chapter.
If they have a Bible commentary, do not tell them "stick" means "scroll" in Ezekiel 37, because they could look it up and see that it doesn't. But if you forget and do get into Ezekiel, make sure you stop them before they get to verse 22, which says the sticks will become one nation--not two books.
After making statements about the Word of Wisdom, be prepared to explain why Joseph did not obey it. They have probably read the book Hearts Made Glad. If they have, you will have to defend Mormons, such as those within the Marriott Hotel chain, for distributing alcohol. Besides many Christians neither drink nor smoke so this is no big thing with them.
Do not use trite statements such as "That's just your interpretation," when dealing with facts. Languages, ideas or concepts can be interpreted, but not facts. It also implies that your interpretation is the correct one.
If "the Browns" happen to be wearing a cross of have one hanging on the wall, do not joke or make derogatory remarks about it. Christians glory in the cross, where Jesus paid for their salvation. They do not worship it any more than you worship the images of Moroni, or the seagull monument, or the oxen in the LDS temples--and God did say not to make those (Exodus 20:4).
Don't mention LDS genealogy work since the Bible warns against it in 1Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9.
Don't brag about giving two years of your life to serve your mission for your church. For all you know their children or someone in their family or their best friends may have given their whole life to serve on the mission field of Jesus Christ.
It is kind of risky to tell them about the living LDS prophet because they will wonder why there are no new LDS prophecies and why the last two in Doctrine and Covenants contradict former LDS prophets and prophecies.
Avoid being asked if you are a Christian after you have told them all Christian Churches are wrong. They cannot grasp the fact that Christian churches in 1820 all were wrong and are still teaching the same doctrine today. And, if the LDS church was right in 1830, another problem arises because the LDS church is not teaching the same thing it did back then.
Do not say The Book of Mormon was correct as Joseph Smith translated it until you are sure they do not have a reprint of the original 1830 edition the LDS church put out a few years ago. If they have it, they may notice the 4,000-plus changes. And they may even know that these changes are not just spelling and punctuation corrections, but doctrinal changes.
Encourage them to pray about The Book of Mormon, but don't let them study it. They might find places where it contradicts the Bible (Jacob 3:3 vs. Genesis 8:21), or its poor English (1 Nephi 19:2), or its many anachronisms (2 Nephi 5:15), or that it even disagrees with itself (2 Nephi 5:15 vs. 5:16).
And if you tell them The Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, then you have a problem if they ask where the temple ceremonies are described, or the pre-existence, or the priesthood, or about 18 or 20 other tenets of the LDS that are not found in The Book of Mormon.
If the person at the door is black, do not tell him that one of your prophets, Joseph Fielding Smith, said blacks "were in inferior race" (The Way to Perfection, pg. 101). And they may have already heard that the late LDS Apostle LeGrand Richards said that the "revelation" to give the blacks the priesthood was really a corporate decision and not a revelation.
Pray they don't know anything about the Adam-God doctrine, or the Mountain Meadow Massacre, or Joseph Smith saying there were men on the moon, or the false translation of Egyptian that Joseph Smith did. Do not show them the facsimile No. 3 in the Pearl of Great Price. They might notice that Joseph Smith labeled the women as men. People have left the LDS church over such minor things.
Never let them get their hands on a Doctrine and Covenants until they have yielded their thinking to the LDS leaders. If they get it before, they may raise questions about the false prophecies (Sections 84, 111, 114, to name a few). Or even worse, if they are observant, they might find that for 15 years God kept telling Joseph Smith to quit sinning and get his act together. This starts in 1828 (Section 3), and goes on and on until 1843 (Section 132), with many warnings in Sections in between.
Dear Elder, If you run into any other problem you can not handle, we suggest the "tried and proven" methods employed by other elders:
1. Bear your testimony---no matter how ridiculous or inappropriate.
2. Tell them you are not a "Scriptorian." You are barley out of your teens. They have had years to read the Bible. You have to read and know four Standard Works plus much more.
3. Announce that they have a "spirit of contention." Even if they are polite and loving and are following Jude 3 and are earnestly contending for the faith which was delivered once for all time (and did not need to be restored) to the saints. Assert your authority.
4. Assure them your mission president or bishop can explain the things you can't even if your mission president or bishop has been asked and can't. Or better yet, shake the dust off your feet and never go back to the house. They are "persecuting" you.
5. Suddenly remember another appointment. If "the Browns" remind you that you told them previously that you had no other appointment, tell them it is not an appointment. It is a meeting and a meeting is not the same as an appointment. Confuse them.
6. If they accuse the LDS of saying all churches are wrong, deny it! Even if they show you Joseph Smith 1:19--deny it! No matter what they show you in the Bible or from any Mormon source. If it does not agree with your missionary lessons or what the leaders have told you--deny it! These rumors have been started by "Anti's".
7. Go home and study your Bible. Learn and accept the Truth.
We do hope these suggestions have been a challenge to you in your proselytizing work. If you need documentation for any of the subjects mentioned or any of the dozens of other issues involving Mormonism, we can furnish them to you. If we can be further assistance please write to us.
You need to be familiar with these subjects and have time to think up and have a plausible answer ready when confronted. You need to know these things--Christians do.
--CNR
NAUVOO CHRISTIAN
VISITORS CENTER
1340 Mulholland ·
P.O. Box 93
Nauvoo, Illinois 62354
(217) 453-2372