Ask · Other Beliefs & Religions

What should I say to my Latter-day Saint friend?

Other Beliefs & ReligionsIn theological review

The short answer

Start from the friendship, and learn the dictionary. You and your friend use the same words, God, Jesus, grace, heaven, with different meanings, so ask what he means before answering what you mean. Ask how he knows the Book of Mormon is true, listen to his testimony fully, and then share yours: that you trust the Bible's God who never was a man, and a grace that is a gift rather than a wage after all you can do. Paul's test in Galatians 1:8 applies to any later gospel, whoever brings it.

The fuller answer

The first thing to say is nothing, for a while. Ask your friend what he believes and what his faith means to him, and listen until you could state it back fairly. Latter-day Saint friends are often devout, family centred and morally serious, and many Christians argue with a caricature they would not recognise. The second thing to learn is the dictionary. When he says God, he may mean an exalted man with a body. When he says salvation, he may mean exaltation earned with grace's help. Same words, different dictionary is not an insult. It is the map of the whole conversation.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!

Galatians 1:8 (BSB)

When you do open Scripture, Galatians 1:8 is the honest place, raised as a question rather than a charge. Paul says even an angel from heaven preaching another gospel is to be rejected. Your friend's church began with an angel, Moroni, and a restored gospel, so the verse cannot be dodged by either of you. Ask how he tests that message, and say how you test yours. He may answer with the witness of the Spirit and a burning in the bosom, a test his own scripture commends. Feelings, you can say kindly, are shared by believers in many faiths, so a public text needs a public test.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:8 (BSB)

Grace is the warmest ground you share and the clearest difference you have. Agree loudly that salvation is by grace, then ask what grace is doing. His scripture says men are saved by grace after all they can do. Paul says salvation is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ask whether his hope, on his worst day, rests on a record he is still building or on a gift already given. That question, asked by a friend who clearly loves him, has opened more hearts than any argument about archaeology or history.

Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

John 17:3 (BSB)

Jesus prays that eternal life is knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Knowing God, not progressing toward godhood, is the Bible's name for life forever, and it is available now as a relationship rather than later as a rank. End where friendship allows: offer to read a Gospel together, pray for him by name, and keep showing up. Many Latter-day Saints have never had a Christian friend stay after the disagreements surfaced. Staying, with the texts open and the kettle on, is itself part of what you have to say.

Sources

  • Berean Standard Bible (BSB)
  • The Latter-day Saint Standard Works
  • Latter-day Saint Gospel Topics Essays

Review status: in-theological-review. Every Contend page passes a human theological review against the Statement of Faith before it is published as approved teaching. This section is in that queue.

Dig deeper

No answer here is a dead end. Follow the question on, test it in practice, or work the method yourself on the Dig deeper page.

What do Latter-day Saints believe?Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones, that he was once a man who progressed to godhood, and that faithful members may become gods themselves. Their Standard Works add the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price beside the Bible, and a living prophet leads the church. Scripture answers that God was God before any other, that no god was formed before or after him, and that salvation is by grace through faith.Do all religions lead to God?No, and the reason is not tribal loyalty: the faiths contradict each other about God, sin, and salvation, so they cannot all be roads to the same place. More decisively, Jesus did not present himself as one guide among many, saying, I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. Christians can respect their neighbours of other faiths, and should, without pretending the differences are small.What is the gospel?The gospel is the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ: he died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. It is news before it is advice: a death that pays for sin, a resurrection that proves it, and a living Lord who is to be confessed, believed, and followed.How can I be saved?By grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by anything you contribute. Ephesians says it outright: it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. To be saved is to turn from your sin, confess Jesus as Lord, and trust that God raised him from the dead for you. The rest of your life is learning to live from that gift.