There ARE lurkers whose lives have been affected by the truth of the Gospel vs. the truth of Mormonism. That’s why we keep doing this.
First, there is no “Gospel vs. Mormonism.” The word “Mormon” is nothing more than a nickname taken from the Book of Mormon. Mormon was the prophet who compiled the book from other records. It is not his church, we do not worship him. We teach and believe the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST. The full name of the Church is “The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day-Saints.” It is not the “Church of Joseph Smith” or the “Church of Brigham Young” or anyone else. We do not worship prophets any more than you worship Moses or Isaiah or Abraham. Any talk that we worship Joseph Smith or hold him above Jesus Christ is total bunk.
Second, we do not hold any of our leaders to be infallible. I am sure that Joseph Smith said and did a lot of dumb things like any other human. He was an imperfect man like you and me – not a God, not a savior. If you believe that his imperfections invalidate his message then I would ask how you justify leaders from other Christian churches who are controversial or succumb to temptation. The list is very long, but Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, Jessie Jackson and the Reverend Wright come to mind. Do their failings as men invalidate the whole Gospel of Christ that they teach or even profess to teach?? Do the past failings of any church or church member or church leader invalidate the words of Christ? I think not. What about the many thousands who died in the dark days of the Inquisition – do their deaths render everything the Catholic Church has ever said or done to be mute? Again I would say not.
Third, I would invite you to walk into any of our 30,000 or so meeting houses and just look around. Look at the pictures on the walls and you will see pictures of the life of Christ. Open any book and you will read the teachings of Christ. Walk into the junior Sunday School class and you will find the children being taught to be honest, kind, forgiving and to do the things that Jesus did. Look for a church member who has no food and you will find that anyone who is in need can get food from the Bishop’s storehouse for no cost. Ask if any church member can’t pay their heating bill and you will find that they can talk to their Bishop for assistance. Find a church member who is sick or in the hospital and you will find that they have been visited and their family is being watched over. If they are homebound the emblems of the Holy Sacrament will be brought to them so they can partake with all of the other members. Find a church member who needs help building a fence, repairing their home, or anything like that and you will find other church members there helping them. Find an area where a tornado or some other disaster has struck and you will find 1000 church members there helping ANYONE (from any church or no church) two or three days before the Red Cross and other agencies even get organized.
After you have done all of this I would invite you to go to one of our churches in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, Russia or anywhere else you travel. You will find it to be the same. The floor of the church may be dirt and you may not understand the language but the organization, the teachings, the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST will be the same.
Some of the last words Jesus said to His disciples before he ascended into heaven were “Feed My Sheep, Feed My Lambs, Feed My Sheep.” He did not say “snipe at your fellow men who may be different, ridicule those who do not think like you, and shun those who do not agree with you on every point.” We will all get to stand before Jesus Christ someday individually and account for our lives. I really doubt He is going to ask how many souls you saved from “Mormonism.” I really doubt He is going to ask how many hours you spent proving “Mormonism” to be false or evil. I do believe He will ask if you were kind to your family, provided for them, taught them His words, and fed His sheep whenever you could.
Now I don’t expect my words to change your minds even one little bit. That is not my reason for writing this response. What I do want you to know is that there are several millions of very fine “Mormons” out there who are trying to live their lives as close to the teachings of Jesus Christ as they possibly can. We offer our hand of friendship to anyone who will take it. We are not secretive members of an evil cult that wants to steal your young daughters for extra wives. We are in no way perfect nor do we claim to be. I am sure you can find a thousand examples of individual church members who have succumb to evil, who cheat, steal or do worse. This is true of any church or group.
My mother was a gentle southern lady from Arkansas. She was a very active member of the 1st Southern Baptist Church all of her life. I attended church with her when I was young. At age 15 I told her I wanted to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. She had lived among church members for years and many of them were her good friends. She gave me permission without hesitation. The Baptist Minister wished me well and asked if I planned to be a missionary when I was 19 years old. I told him I did. He told me to go forth and teach the Gospel of Christ with all of my heart. I told him I would.
Throughout all the rest of their lives neither my mother, nor her Baptist Minister tried to call me to repentance from my sins of “Mormonism.” Never once did they accuse me of not being a Christian or of being a member of an evil cult. At my dear mother’s funeral at the little Baptist church her Minister gave a wonderful eulogy and sermon. Many of my “Mormon” friends were there. The small choir from the local “Mormon” church sang my mother’s favorite song, “In the Garden.” We were all brothers and sisters in Christ celebrating the long life of a wonderful Christian woman. There were no disputations among us.
I think back on those times and wonder why it is so different now. Why is it so important to some people to attack their fellow Christians who just want to live their lives in peace. If my own Baptist mother felt no need to try and save me from my folly, why must I be bombarded by a constant stream of lies, false histories and every other kind of vile concoction from my supposed Christian Brothers? It makes no sense to me.
As I said at the beginning of this post – I intend to be respectful. Please don’t quote to me something that Joseph Smith may (or may not) have said on March 17, 1836 and then proclaim that it invalidates my life and everything I believe. Listen to me carefully – I don’t care!! A thousand quotes from Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, someone who met them, someone who didn’t like them, or your wife’s brother’s uncle’s friend mean nothing. I follow the words of Christ. I believe in good faith that many of you also follow the words of Christ. Let us be brothers rather than enemies.