Monday night visitation was once again a blessing. Being down once again in numbers, the Lord did place us where we needed to be and used us as His messengers. We spoke to a gentleman who was very intelligent and well read, and knew more about history than probably anyone in our ministry. He also seemed to have read a lot in Scripture. He knew most of the passages that we brought up... but something just did not sit right. He gave us one of the most works based answers Ive ever heard as to how he was going to make it to Heaven. Ordinances, Laws, Obedience, leading his family, and a slew of other things, faith not being a path. After we talked to him about what we think the Bible says about salvation and faith in Christ, and he immediately agreed. That may sound good, but if you had been there you would have seen that he appeared just to be agreeing to move on to the next topic. We (he) talked about a whole variety of topics, and the topic moved from the gospel as often as he could get it away. Coop continued to try to bring the conversation back to something meaningful.
As we were getting ready to leave (late I might add), we asked him where he attended fellowship, if he did at all. And to our surprise, he answered Church of Latter Day Saints (mormon). He did not reveal this or any real clue to it the whole visit. He went along with our sayings, held conversation, and never said anything about the other doctrines of his "church."
This is a dangerous thing. It is also what many pseudo Christian groups try to do. They want to look, sound and act as much like Christians as possible to lure people away from the faith. They have words that sound like ours (Godhead, Trinity, salvation, atonement, heaven, Christ) but take on an entirely different meaning. We need to be cautious when in these conversations, and adamant about defining terms before using them. I discussed last week about our need to know what we believe and why. We need to be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is within us.
One other side note, this gentleman said he started going to the LDS because he is an inquisitive person, and they answered his questions while many others would not. We must love our neighbors, in all times. If someone knows you to be a believer and comes to you with a question or situation, it is not just their problem. It just became your problem. If you can't help them or answer their question, help them get their solution or get back to them with an answer. Bear their burden, and let us bear one another's burdens. By this they will know that we are Christ's disciples, that we love one another. -Bubba
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