Preparation

Hey everybody, I have a couple things on my mind, so I will break this up into two posts so it will be easier to read.

The first thing is that yesterday, while I was on campus reading at a picnic table, this kid walked up to me and asked me if I knew Joseph Smith had a vision, I said I did, but didn't know much about it.

This young man, no older than 17 or 18, then went on to profess his faith to me. He was a Mormon and said that proselytizing is what he did all day.

I told him he had a lot of courage to go around and openly talk to people about his faith, but I didn't agree with him that the Church of Latter Day Saints was the way to God.

He was well prepared and argued every point I brought up. I told him I didn't think Jesus walked in America after the resurrection, I didn't believe there was a complement to the Bible, and I didn't believe in Joseph Smith's "vision" that the Mormon Church was the only church with true authority from God.

I tried to express to Him what I believed and why I believed it. What it really came down to was that I believe the Bible is the true word of God by faith, and he believed that the Book of Mormon was the word of God also, by faith.

The hard thing was, he said he believed in the Bible. Everything I believed in, he believed in too. I then asked what is the point of Mormonism and he said that you had to be baptized in the Mormon Church to be saved. First off, I don't think you have to be baptized to be saved, and I don't think it has to be in any specific church.

I guess what I am getting at, is that it is hard to witness to someone who is part of the Church of Latter Day Saints. We both believe Jesus is the Savior and both believe in His resurrection. The biggest differences I could see (excluding that whole polygamy thing) was they follow the Book of Mormon, and believe in that whole baptism under authority deal.

I wish I would have been more prepared as to why I see holes in their faith, by Scripture. So now I'm going to look and search for the major differences between Christianity and Mormonism. I was just wondering what you readers out there know about Mormonism, or any tips on how you talk to them.