Clayton KrabyYou’ve likely had Mormon missionaries come to your door wanting to speak with you about their faith. It can be difficult to know what to do and what to say. While they may use a lot of the same words as you hear in your own church, you have a suspicion that they are using them in a way that is significantly different — but you’re not informed enough to point out these differences confidently.
Perhaps you live in a part of the country that has a significant Mormon population, or you have neighbors, friends, or relatives who attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints.
In each of these instances, our desire should be to share the Gospel with these men and women. This can be a daunting task becuase, let’s face it, they are often more well-practiced in sharing their faith than we are in ours.
As the book’s description says, “Speaking the truth to Mormons can feel daunting when you’re unprepared. Let the suggestions in this book give you solid ideas for reaching those who are lost but don’t realize it.”
That’s where this new book from Eric Johnson and Sean McDowell can provide some much needed help. Sharing the Good News with Mormons: Practical Strategies for Getting the Conversation Started features chapters from a number of scholars, apologists, and pastors on how to go about sharing the Gospel with a Mormon friend, relative, or even a stranger at your door.
Throughout the book you’ll see that this is not a manual on being confrontational, winning arguments, or poking fun at the beliefs that Mormons hold. The book is respectful of those it is intending to help you reach, while still being straightfoward in presenting how Mormon doctrine differs greatly from Biblical Christianity.
Too many apologetics books seem to be written merely to increase the knowledge of the reader — which often leads to pride rather than evangelism. Sharing the Good News with Mormons, however, never loses sight of establishing relationships and engaging in real, meaningful conversations with those who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Each chapter provides its own strategy, tactic, or angle for compassionately addressing error and presenting truth in a way that is clear and winsome.
The book covers everything from arguments for the existence of God and the reliability of the Bible (sadly, many who leave Mormonism abandon religion altogether), approaches to starting Gospel conversations, explanations of how to address and refute false teaching, and background information on the history and theology of the Mormon church.
I found the appendix especially helpful, as it contains not only a presentation of the Gospel but a section called “101 Mormon Terms Defined.” This index will help you understand terms that are unique to Mormonism as well as terms that they share used also in Christianity yet define very differently.
I would highly recommend this book. Not only does it serve as a helpful primer on a number of apologetics issues, it is especially effective in achieving its purpose: providing wisdom on lovingly sharing the Gospel with those who don’t think that they need it.
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Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review of the book.
