An Encounter with Two Young Ladies
On the evening of October 24th, I was waiting for my wife outside the Bishan MRT station. I was wearing a black T-shirt with the words “Niagara Falls Canada” on it. We were on our way to a wake service. Suddenly, I noticed 2 young Caucasian girls walking in my direction and I thought I was in their way, so I tried to step aside but they approached me. Then one of them started, “Oh you have been to Niagara Falls?”. A good line to start to make contact with a stranger.
I noticed that they were both wearing badges indicating that they were from the Church of Latter-day Saints. They were Mormons. At that time, I didn’t know what Mormons believed in. They invited me to their church and I in turn invited them to our church, a Lutheran church.
They started to talk about their belief in a prophet who came to teach them about their religion. As I was unfamiliar with their belief system, I asked them if they were referring to John Smith. I was wrong; they were talking about Joseph Smith, their founder. I told them that while we believe in Jesus Christ, they seemed to believe in prophets who cannot save, and not in Jesus Christ who saves.
I quoted John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” At the time, I didn’t know that their belief system denies the concept of Trinity in Christian doctrine. Besides, they believe that we all have the potential to attain godhood one day.
They were American missionaries who will spend 14 months of their lives in missions. I appreciate their sacrificial spirit and told them so. However, I also shared our Christian belief from Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
I added that one day when we get to meet God, we will not be able to claim that we deserve to enter Heaven because of all the good works we have done. I could have further emphasized this point by quoting Isaiah 64:6, which states that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
They passed me a copy of the Book of Mormon and when I flipped open the pages, I nearly flipped. It does not even try to copy the Holy Bible. The first book is not Genesis but 1 Nephi followed by 2 Nephi, then Jacob, Mosiah and so on. They assured me that it was linked to Genesis but I didn’t have the time to do research in the middle of a shopping area.
Then my wife arrived and we decided to end the meeting as we had to attend to a wake service. I thanked them for the book, shook their hands and left.
If you encounter individuals from groups like Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons, remember that you don’t have to know the specifics of their belief. Gently share what you believe, but don’t be dragged into long debates or arguments. Don’t feel pressured to convince them. It’s only the Holy Spirit who can change hearts.
When I mentioned we are saved by grace, they asked, “What is grace?” This highlights the importance of clearly communicating our faith in a way that is understandable and relevant to others.
John 14:6 and Ephesians 2:8-9 are helpful references to memorize for sharing your faith.
If you’d like to learn more about speaking to Mormons, you can watch this YouTube video https://youtu.be/uW-zJ6myRwY.
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