What Mormons Are Doing Right
[NOTE: READ TO THE END]
I have had a close friend for many years who is Mormon. And more recently, another person very dear to me also became Mormon, much to my surprise. I just attended an LDS class with my friends because they said that it could be fun, knowing full well both that they were really trying to implement a seed in me so I'd want to know more and that my rock solid faith would not be affected by hearing what they learn about. I went into the class in an operation of research and observation. And I gotta say, I was surprised. What many Christians don't know is that, if they attended a regular sermon at a Mormon church, a lot of what they'd hear is pretty much the same: how to be a good person, love and honor your spouse, live selflessly, put others first; you know, the standard virtues. So a lot of the "lifestyle" talk, as I like to call it, did not differentiate much from what my own pastor advises us to do. Being a true believer in God means you honor (or at least try to honor) him in everything you do, and the Mormons do the same thing. So then the "beef" we have with their faith is that the entire back story that they believe to be true is completely off. Other than the events in the Bible (and note: Mormons use their own version of the Bible too, so even that could sometimes be skewed), all that they think happened is totally different, and to pretend that we are altogether similar would be a breach of common sense. For instance, according to their faith, Jesus came back again and visited the Americas to do some more preaching. I won't even get into the issues I have with that one. Nevertheless, the history in which we base Christianity doesn't include all of their additions, therefore an agreement on that front will never be reached between us. [It is important to point out that though Mormons consider themselves Christians, Christians do not consider them as part of Christianity at all. To state it briefly, their god was apparently created by one that came before it, and once each is "done" being god the next one steps up - which necessarily means we do not believe in the same God and it is not at all the same faith.] Having thoroughly covered our differences, I'd like to say that there IS in fact a lesson to be learned from the Mormons. The main impression I got from my time sitting in that class is that, by whatever means, each member seems intensely dedicated to their faith. I don't know the exact way it ended up like that; it could be a result of the fact that they are all required to go to seminary every weekday as children, a weekly class as young adults, and a 1.5 to 2-yr mission, all before even beginning their "career" as a Brother or Sister (their title for members). IN MY OPINION, a pursuit of a goal such as getting to the next level of Mormon education and training, and even a mission trip, might be the thing that keeps them motivated. At any rate, just from an onlooker's perspective (specifically, THIS onlooker), they just exude this passion for what they're talking about and doing that I've (sadly) never seen in another Christian my age. It is a bit discouraging to know that at least the youth of my own faith could be trying harder and listening better to what God has to say. I will say this - being in that class has made me rethink my level of dedication. I think about God often, but I don't read the Bible every day, I don't honor my father and mother in every word I speak, and I certainly haven't converted anyone yet. Which reminds me - they have the whole conversion thing down to an art! I haven't seen it in action or anything, but I gotta say they are really putting a lot of effort into trying to gain new members. If you think about it, it's almost fail-proof: every single man, and the women if they choose (which most of them do) go on a mission trip to somewhere. ALMOST EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THEIR FAITH puts all their time and effort, for TWO YEARS, into converting people to Mormonism. Assuming they each get at least one person over the fence in that amount of time (not even taking into account that they keep trying afterwards too), that is not a bad rate of growth AT ALL. Now, don't get me wrong; I am NOT saying that this systematic conversion machine is any example for how we should pursue evangelism. BUT it must be working for them, because the faith isn't even 200 years old and it's sort of widespread by now! But can you imagine the success Christians would have if we put in that much time and effort? The whole world would be Christian by now! But that leads me back to a statement I heard in that LDS class: "if you haven't converted anyone yet, you aren't progressing". Doesn't that seem to undermine anyone who hasn't done their duty? It's a little twisted, if you ask me. I think the thing about Christianity that is, in a way, holding us back, is the fact that we want everyone to be accepting of our faith so badly that we meet them in the middle and make it quite easy to "get in", so to speak. In the long run, we aren't doing them any service, if in fact it turns out they were never a true Christian in the first place and they only ever talked the talk. But at present, it's apparently enough for us to just accept that people are Christians and not question the aspects of their life that simply aren't Christian. I'm going to call myself out right now and say that I AM NOT THE STRONGEST CHRISTIAN AND I COULD TRY A LOT HARDER, but like many people, I make excuses. I've had the idea in my head for some time that "when I'm an adult I'll really kick it into gear" but that doesn't suffice and I know it. So take what I'm saying about so-so Christians as a self-reflective statement. Again, the class I attended made me question my own level of dedication. Now, the flip side of that is that MANY faiths (Islam comes to mind) have seriously high levels of dedication across the board, at least to an outsider, so this is neither high praise for Mormons nor an exclusive compliment towards them. But that doesn't change the fact that they seem to know how to, how do I put this, honor their faith. And I say faith and not religion for a reason (I'd use another word instead of faith but I won't). Of course, believing in God is NOT about doing what everyone in your religion does, because no one draws the line of where real members of a religion stop and fakers begin. Believing in God is about personally honoring him and living by what he tells us in the Word (to clarify, THE BIBLE). But I can't help but feel conscious of their vigorous effort and my own lack thereof. So I'll say this in their behalf: Mormons are following their faith to a T, putting their heart and soul into what they believe in, and ultimately are shaming us with their member to "output" ratio. If Christians could be as stalwart and enthusiastic and passionate and serious about LIVING LIKE CHRIST as MORMONS, this world would be so different.
I have had a close friend for many years who is Mormon. And more recently, another person very dear to me also became Mormon, much to my surprise. I just attended an LDS class with my friends because they said that it could be fun, knowing full well both that they were really trying to implement a seed in me so I'd want to know more and that my rock solid faith would not be affected by hearing what they learn about. I went into the class in an operation of research and observation. And I gotta say, I was surprised. What many Christians don't know is that, if they attended a regular sermon at a Mormon church, a lot of what they'd hear is pretty much the same: how to be a good person, love and honor your spouse, live selflessly, put others first; you know, the standard virtues. So a lot of the "lifestyle" talk, as I like to call it, did not differentiate much from what my own pastor advises us to do. Being a true believer in God means you honor (or at least try to honor) him in everything you do, and the Mormons do the same thing. So then the "beef" we have with their faith is that the entire back story that they believe to be true is completely off. Other than the events in the Bible (and note: Mormons use their own version of the Bible too, so even that could sometimes be skewed), all that they think happened is totally different, and to pretend that we are altogether similar would be a breach of common sense. For instance, according to their faith, Jesus came back again and visited the Americas to do some more preaching. I won't even get into the issues I have with that one. Nevertheless, the history in which we base Christianity doesn't include all of their additions, therefore an agreement on that front will never be reached between us. [It is important to point out that though Mormons consider themselves Christians, Christians do not consider them as part of Christianity at all. To state it briefly, their god was apparently created by one that came before it, and once each is "done" being god the next one steps up - which necessarily means we do not believe in the same God and it is not at all the same faith.] Having thoroughly covered our differences, I'd like to say that there IS in fact a lesson to be learned from the Mormons. The main impression I got from my time sitting in that class is that, by whatever means, each member seems intensely dedicated to their faith. I don't know the exact way it ended up like that; it could be a result of the fact that they are all required to go to seminary every weekday as children, a weekly class as young adults, and a 1.5 to 2-yr mission, all before even beginning their "career" as a Brother or Sister (their title for members). IN MY OPINION, a pursuit of a goal such as getting to the next level of Mormon education and training, and even a mission trip, might be the thing that keeps them motivated. At any rate, just from an onlooker's perspective (specifically, THIS onlooker), they just exude this passion for what they're talking about and doing that I've (sadly) never seen in another Christian my age. It is a bit discouraging to know that at least the youth of my own faith could be trying harder and listening better to what God has to say. I will say this - being in that class has made me rethink my level of dedication. I think about God often, but I don't read the Bible every day, I don't honor my father and mother in every word I speak, and I certainly haven't converted anyone yet. Which reminds me - they have the whole conversion thing down to an art! I haven't seen it in action or anything, but I gotta say they are really putting a lot of effort into trying to gain new members. If you think about it, it's almost fail-proof: every single man, and the women if they choose (which most of them do) go on a mission trip to somewhere. ALMOST EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THEIR FAITH puts all their time and effort, for TWO YEARS, into converting people to Mormonism. Assuming they each get at least one person over the fence in that amount of time (not even taking into account that they keep trying afterwards too), that is not a bad rate of growth AT ALL. Now, don't get me wrong; I am NOT saying that this systematic conversion machine is any example for how we should pursue evangelism. BUT it must be working for them, because the faith isn't even 200 years old and it's sort of widespread by now! But can you imagine the success Christians would have if we put in that much time and effort? The whole world would be Christian by now! But that leads me back to a statement I heard in that LDS class: "if you haven't converted anyone yet, you aren't progressing". Doesn't that seem to undermine anyone who hasn't done their duty? It's a little twisted, if you ask me. I think the thing about Christianity that is, in a way, holding us back, is the fact that we want everyone to be accepting of our faith so badly that we meet them in the middle and make it quite easy to "get in", so to speak. In the long run, we aren't doing them any service, if in fact it turns out they were never a true Christian in the first place and they only ever talked the talk. But at present, it's apparently enough for us to just accept that people are Christians and not question the aspects of their life that simply aren't Christian. I'm going to call myself out right now and say that I AM NOT THE STRONGEST CHRISTIAN AND I COULD TRY A LOT HARDER, but like many people, I make excuses. I've had the idea in my head for some time that "when I'm an adult I'll really kick it into gear" but that doesn't suffice and I know it. So take what I'm saying about so-so Christians as a self-reflective statement. Again, the class I attended made me question my own level of dedication. Now, the flip side of that is that MANY faiths (Islam comes to mind) have seriously high levels of dedication across the board, at least to an outsider, so this is neither high praise for Mormons nor an exclusive compliment towards them. But that doesn't change the fact that they seem to know how to, how do I put this, honor their faith. And I say faith and not religion for a reason (I'd use another word instead of faith but I won't). Of course, believing in God is NOT about doing what everyone in your religion does, because no one draws the line of where real members of a religion stop and fakers begin. Believing in God is about personally honoring him and living by what he tells us in the Word (to clarify, THE BIBLE). But I can't help but feel conscious of their vigorous effort and my own lack thereof. So I'll say this in their behalf: Mormons are following their faith to a T, putting their heart and soul into what they believe in, and ultimately are shaming us with their member to "output" ratio. If Christians could be as stalwart and enthusiastic and passionate and serious about LIVING LIKE CHRIST as MORMONS, this world would be so different.
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