A Great Opportunity To Learn to Share The Gospel With People From Other Worldviews

Ok so we have all been there, a Mormon, or a Jehovah's Witness knocks on our door, and we think, "darn what do I say now?" Often this will end with us not answering the door, or giving some kind of excuse like "I have my faith thank you" and sending them on their way. 

In my experience all that's needed is a little bit of understanding on where these guys come from, and a good knowledge of your own faith and how to communicate it with others, to be able to actually see these knocks on the door as great witnessing opportunities. 

In September we have Bill Mckeever Of Mormonism Research Ministry coming to the UK to do a speaking tour. Bill is based in Sandy, Utah and has been involved in ministry to Mormons well over 30 years and is I think, one of the best resources worldwide for Christians to learn how to lovingly share the gospel with Mormons. He has co-written Mormonism 101 and Answering Mormons questions, which are really excellent books.

You can hear more about Bill, and how he got into this ministry by watching this short video.

 You can see Part 2 here.

Bill coming over is really exciting, and we have set up a number of events around the country to try and help as many people as possible benefit from his visit. Bill really is world class and we have worked as hard as we can to make sure that there is something on near everyone while Bill is here.

We have four events planned. here are the details.

Firstly we are going to have two UK Partnerships For Christ Conference Days. These will be full days featuring not only Bill speaking on Mormonism, but also one of our team giving a session on Jehovah's Witnesses. The day will also have 2 role play sessions looking at dialogues with Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. This is the first time we have put a day on like this and we think it will really help you in your witness to members of these groups, and also give you a chance to meet others with a heart for this ministry too.

Both of these conference days will have the same content, so please try and make the one that is most local to you.

Our Bradford Conference is being held at Sunbridge Road Mission In Bradford. On Saturday the 19th of September. 

This day is being run from 10am till 4pm. Places for this are £10 or £5 if you are unwaged. Plus a small processing fee. Places can be booked here.  There is also a Facebook event for this which you can find here. Please try and pre-book if you can, places will be £12 on the day or £7 unwaged if you pay on arrival.

We also have a London Conference. Which is being held at St Luke's Church, Wimbledon. On Saturday the 26th of September. 

This day is also being run from 10am till 4pm. Places for this are £10 or £5 if you are unwaged. Plus a small processing fee. Places can be booked here.  There is also a Facebook event for this which you can find here. Please try and pre-book if you can, places will be £12 on the day or £7 unwaged if you pay on arrival. Places for this event are a little more limited, so please pre-book if you can as we may run out of places before the day.

We are also being hosted by two other churches. 

Firstly Bill is going to be speaking at Bangor Parish Church in Northern Ireland. 

This is on Tuesday the 22nd of September and will run from 7pm till 10pm. There is a Facebook event 

for this here. 

And Finally Bill will be speaking at Elim Pentecostal Church, Dundee, in Scotland. 

This is on Wednesday the 23rd of September and will run from 7:30pm till 10pm. There is a Facebook event for this here.

For both of these events Bill will be giving an overview of Mormonism and how you might go about sharing your faith with Mormons when you come into contact with them. This is not about being a Bible expert, its about simply sharing your faith with lost people. Regardless of your background or experience in this area there will be much for you to learn here. 

Please come along and get in touch with any questions. There is no charge for either of these events but an offering will be taken.

Finally please share this, with others. We have the domain www.mrmtour.co.uk set up to make this nice and easy. This would help us massively if you share this on any social media, or church websites etc that you have connection with. I think many people will find this interesting but the next stage is just letting them know. All help would be amazing, thanks all.

How To Witness to Mormon Missionaries at Your Door

By far the most common way people come into contact with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons, is through speaking with two young well dressed men, wearing a little badge with Elder….. on it. These guys spend two years of their lives usually when they are 18-19 in an allocated area by the LDS Church, working 6 and a half days a week, either seeking to make new contacts or following up with contacts already made, with a view to sharing the LDS gospel and baptizing people into their church. Its a genuine joy for them but sometimes not without its pressures and strains.

Often times Christians see them as annoyances, or lost causes, far too steeped in Mormonism to be worth the time to share the gospel with. Others see them as the perfect witnessing opportunity, enjoying the opportunity to throw everything they know that’s wrong with Mormonism right at them.

This article over the course of 10 points is seeking to show that these guys are so worth the time and effort that it takes to share the gospel with them, and also that it’s not necessarily helpful to see them as targets to which you should throw everything false you have ever heard about Mormonism. I hope this is helpful and I look forward to comments from Mormons and Evangelicals alike.

Ex BYU Professor turned Christian coming to the UK.

For 30 years, Dr. Wilder and her husband Michael were temple recommend-holding, active members of the LDS (Mormon) church and held numerous leadership positions. Their four children were all faithful and active in the church like their parents, with the three oldest serving missions in Russia, Denmark and Florida. In 1999 the Wilder’s moved from Indiana to Utah when Dr. Wilder was offered a prestigious position at BYU. Then in 2006, everything changed. On Saturday June 14th, they will share their story.

This June, Michael and Lynn are coming to the UK on a ministry tour. Their hope is to meet with various people and churches around the country, this is a very rare and excellent opportunity to be able to meet and learn from this couple. So far we have an event planned on the 14th of June near London.

This is being held at Giggs Hill Church, Giggs Hill, St Paul’s Cray, Kent, BR5 2SA. We are running a morning session from 10am to 1pm and an afternoon session from 2pm to 5pm. Both sessions will be the same, our hope is to be able to have as many people as possible to come along. 

There is no charge for this day but an offering will be taken. Please email me on bobbygilpin@gmail.com if you are coming so we know for seating. 

Additionally Lynn and Mike are speaking at Bradford and York, for more information please go to www.unveilinggrace.co.uk.

The story of Lynn and Michael leaving Mormonism has featured in various media such as: Christianity Today and Christian News Net. Lynn has had her story published in the Book Unveiling Grace, copies will be available on the 14th June or can be bought on Amazon.

                                                       

Choose the Right Jesus - A Challenge to Mormons comparing their Christology to that of the Bible

Knowing people is a fascinating part of life, seeing the different aspects, personalities, preferences quirks etc of people is always very interesting. It goes without saying that some people we only get to know to a very limited extent and some we really build relationships and maybe build a life together with.

The more important someone is to us the more likely we are going to know them better, that's again basic stuff, but leads right into looking at Jesus. Those who know Him to any extent know that He is the most significant, life changing person that ever existed.

In the Bible we see that eternal life comes from knowing Jesus.

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

This is a massive issue, many people in the world today often think that if they just do their best in life and let the good things they do outweigh the bad then they will be okay. We see Jesus Himself speak to people here that were seemingly doing good things.

On The Dangers Of Fideism

On Saturday night, as I was home alone, the door bell rang. I opened the front door to greet the two young smartly-dressed gentlemen. They introduced themselves as missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a.k.a. the Mormons). Interacting with Mormon missionaries is a rare treat for me. I'm currently abroad, working in Seattle, and Mormonism is far less prevalent in the U.K. than it is in the U.S. Imagine, then, their surprise when I invited them to join me in the living room to talk about their faith. Imagine their still further surprise when I reached for my Book of Mormon and Bible. We discussed a wide range of topics, with a particular focus on the nature of God and salvation. One of them, I learned, was a former Buddhist who had recently converted to Mormonism. The other was a life-long Mormon. Over the course of our conversation, I asked them, as I do with representatives of any alternative religion, why they believed their religion to be true. As an evidentialist, I explained, I was open to listening to what they had to say -- but expected propositional truth-claims to be substantiated with arguments and evidence. After all, without such intellectual justification, is one's choice of worldview not merely reduced to an arbitrary matter of taste?

Discussion with a Mormon at Manti Pageant 2012.

Hi all this is a discussion with a couple of Mormons I had at Utah this year, the sound isnt the best but you can see some of the issues here with their view of Jesus compared to the biblical view.

For the last 3 years I (Bobby Gilpin) have been on mission trips to Utah each year, learning more about Mormonism and witnessing to Mormons, by far the best opportunity for this was at the Manti Pageant, for most of two weeks each night 14.000 Mormons were greeted by around 200 Christians while they were walking to their seats to watch a re-enactment of their theology and history, many great conversations were had as a result of this.

I am pointing this out because for the first time the Mormon Church is holding a pageant outside of the USA which is going to be held next year at their temple in Chorley near Preston at the last week of July and First week of August. This is going to be the best chance in years to have a witnessing effort to Mormons in the UK. More information about this is here.

For those who dont know the Mormon Church is around 14 Million in its membership (active and inactive) and believes itself to be the one true church on the earth (although they do accept that other churches have some truth) they believe God used to be a man and earned His exaltation and that we can do the same, potentially resulting in us ruling over our own kingdom like God does.

Jesus is the firstborn Son of our heavenly parents and salvation in its fullness comes partly through faith in Him but also needs to include obedience to the many laws and ordnances of the Mormon gospel. They are not lost out of a lack of effort or sincerity, but rather not totally trusting in Jesus alone for their salvation, almost every aspect of the Christian gospel is distorted in Mormonism, even the Cross isn't safe, Bruce Mcconkie a prominent past Mormon Apostle said this:

“Where and under what circumstances was the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God made? Was it on the Cross of Calvary or in the Garden of Gethsemane? It is to the Cross of Christ that most Christians look when centering their attention upon the infinite and eternal atonement. And certainly the sacrifice of our Lord was completed when he was lifted up by men; also, that part of his life and suffering is more dramatic and, perhaps, more soul stirring. But in reality the pain and suffering, the triumph and grandeur, of the atonement took place primarily in Gethsemane” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 1:774).

So the need is great but many Christians don't want to speak to Mormons even at their door, or do not know what to say, my ministry UK Partnerships for Christ (www.upfc.org.uk) exists to equip Christians UK wide by presenting seminars on communicating the biblical gospel to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and I would love to see as many Christians as possible at this event reaching out to these great people. If you would be interested in this please let me know (bobbygilpin@gmail.com) and if you think your church would benefit from a seminar on this issue also I would love to hear from you.

Also if anyone is in the Bradford area there is a Seminar on the 28th and 29th of September in the area where myself and Tony Brown will be speaking on reaching to these two groups, more info please see the facebook event here.

An Open Letter to Europe Area Presidency of the Mormon Church, by Chris Ralph.

The following letter was sent by the Europe Area Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to its Stake Presidents and Bishops, and various other leaders in April 2012. It was sent in response to the increase in levels of disaffection of members who were encountering the problematic history of the church through the medium of the internet. The letter was soon afterwards leaked to rank and file members and ex-members, and became a public document. Following that is the response to this letter by now no longer believing Mormon Chris Ralph who has come to faith in Christ.

As a side note it was said last year by Marlin Jenson who was then the head historian for the Mormon church that they have never faced a time of Apostasy like they are now, this is mostly down to information people are finding on google about the truth of Mormon history, this letter and Chris's response to it has gathered thousands of views on www.mormonisminvestigated.co.uk and other blogs.

Should Christians Pray about the Book of Mormon?

Many of you who have met up with Mormon Missionaries will have seen them go to Moroni 10:3-5 in the Book of Mormon, and ask you to pray and see if what the book of Mormon says is true, is this a biblical way to measure what is true? Shazaloo from youtube really helpfully answers this question in this video.

A Different Jesus

Todays article was kindly provided by Bobby Gilpin of UK Partnerships for Christ.

In the Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 25:26 says: And we ^atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we ^bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our ^cchildren may know to what source they may look for a ^dremission of their sins.
On Mormonism 101 a recent section on the Mormon Newsroom website stating Mormons beliefs, it says this about Jesus.

1. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of our loving Heavenly Father
Latter-day Saints believe God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save all mankind from their sins (see John 3:16). God is a loving Heavenly Father who knows His children individually, hears and answers their prayers, and feels compassion toward them. Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are two separate beings but along with the Holy Ghost (Spirit) are one in will, purpose and love. Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ as their Savior and Redeemer. He is central to the lives of Church members. They accept His grace and mercy; they seek to follow His example by being baptized (see Matthew 3:13-17), praying in His holy name (see Matthew 6:9-13), partaking of the sacrament (communion) (see Luke 22:19-20), doing good to others (see Acts 10:38) and bearing witness of Him through both word and deed (see James 2:26).

Yet despite what these sources say, Christians worldwide see the Jesus that Mormons believe in as a different Jesus to the bible. What I want to do in this article is look at the background to the LDS view on Jesus compared to the Biblical view, focusing particularly on these 3 areas.

Hidden truths behind the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons): James White

Epistemology and the Mormon Testimony

I am sure the first question most reading this is,what is epistemology? Sounds like it could be a swear word in some countries.

Epistemology is how you come to believe the thingsthat you believe. Or how do you know the things you know? It can be as simpleas how do you know you love your family? You would know this maybe from thestrong emotion you get when you see them or think about them, or how do youknow you are married to your spouse? This could be again the emotional link butalso as simple as the certificate you have which declares it to be so.

One of the big errors that can go on when it comesto religious discussion between any faiths, but I would say particularlybetween Born again Christians and Latter-day Saint members is the naturaldesire to discuss beliefs, but not how you come to this belief as there is avery significant difference in this between the two.

This is something the Mormon Missionaries willraise quite quickly when they ask you to

“Praywith all sincerity to see if the book of Mormon is true”.

This sounds very reasonable as what is wrong withpraying, however this question goes very deep in showing how different we arein how we evaluate what is true.

Members of the Mormon church use as their mainauthority for the truthfulness of the Mormon church a personal internalwitness, they refer to this as their testimony.