As a Utah church planter, I meet more than a few Latter-day Saints. People outside of Utah ask me what the LDS think about Christians, especially Christians who boldly live for Christ. It’s a good question.
If you’re seeking to reach an audience (like the LDS) with a message (like the gospel), it helps to know how your audience views you. In the experience of myself and many others in Utah, we’ve encountered three common LDS perceptions of biblical Christians.
“We’re the Same!”
This is the initial response you’ll probably get from any LDS person. They’ve been taught to believe that they really are the same as biblical Christians.
Even after you discuss differences, they will still cling to this sometimes. After several weeks examining massive theological differences with two LDS missionaries, one of them said to me, “So it sounds like we believe the same thing.” His partner looked at him like he had three heads.
While this is an unfortunate deception that can make LDS evangelism complicated, you can use it to your advantage. Their feeling of kinship gives you an immediate connection you can capitalize on. You can also find common ground and use that to steer towards the gospel. For example, the LDS Church claims to believe the Bible. This gives you full permission to use the Bible to show them the truth. For more on how to respond to this sentiment, check out Sego Lily’s course “I’m a Christian Just Like You!”
“What are You?”
While Latter-day Saints genuinely believe they are the same as biblical Christians, you will also be a curiosity to them. Because I live in Utah, I’m even more of an oddity. When I worked a job in our town, a coworker told me, “You’re the only religious person I’ve ever met who’s not LDS.”
They know there must be something different, or you would be part of the LDS Church. Once they find out you’re a committed Christian who isn’t LDS, many times they’ll ask, “So what do you believe?” I hope you can see how much of a wide-open door this is.
“You’re Scary….”
Beneath the feelings of kinship and curiosity, though, is fear. Nearly every LDS person has at least some fear concerning the non-LDS, especially committed Christians. They’re afraid for a variety of reasons, but for now, it helps simply to acknowledge that fear is present, even if it’s well-hidden.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to exacerbate an LDS person’s fear. This means you should always be gracious and kind to them. When they realize you’re not the scary person they thought you were, it will have an even bigger impact than it would have otherwise.
The same missionaries I mentioned earlier returned to my home for fourteen weeks to discuss the gospel. Partway through I asked them why they kept coming back. Their answer? “You’re nice to us.”
“You Love Me.”
No matter what an LDS person thinks of you, you have one main biblical responsibility: love them. Any evangelism effort is useless without love. Love them by telling them the truth, but be sure to tell them the truth lovingly. That way, when the truth hurts or frightens, they will still know you are a safe person, and you will have further gospel opportunities.
Love opens doors and ears for the gospel. Love allays fears and rebuilds broken bridges. Be patient. Be kind. Be humble. Befriend them. Serve them. Have fun with them. Build trust. Apologize if you act unlovingly. Weep when they weep, and rejoice when they rejoice. Treat them like a person and not just a potential convert.
Even if your LDS friend never gets saved, they should still be able to look at you and say with confidence, “You love me.”