Highways to Zion

a journey towards a radical Gospel

A Knock at the Door

Posted on 02/02/2008 ::: 8  Comments, Leave Some More


For someone with a philosophy background and a love for apologetics when two Mormon missionaries show up at your door it is almost like getting a package in the mail on your birthday.  Last Friday was the first time this had happened to me since seminary so I was excited to invited them in and offer them some coffee (ha - just kidding about the coffee). We had a great discussion.  All three of us shared our testimonies.  I tried hard not to debate with them.  I did bring up to them the illogical idea that God was once like we are and that he himself had a 'heavenly father'.  If this were the case then the genealogy of gods would extend infinitely into the past with their never being a beginning.  I have written a paper on this here.  This made them pause and wander for a bit, but it did not hold them back for too long because the litmus test for truth for them seems to be a warm-fuzzy feeling you get when you ask God if the book of Mormon is true or not.  They held this up as the ultimate answer.  

I didn't know where to go from there.  I tried telling them that a subjective feeling is not a great indicator of truth, but to no avail.  I have compassion for them.  In a sense I wander if what they are doing was similar to what Christians did before there was good evidence for the validity of their faith.  I don't believe the Mormon faith will ever be proved valid by science or history (that would involve finding an ancient Jewish temple in North America), but their faith is sincere and hopeful that it one day will be.  I guess part of my sympathy comes from the fact that Christianity has stood the test of time and has the backing of history and reason now, and they are left to wrestle with the reality of their faith.  And seeing the painfully-true colors of something you have rested your whole life in bleed through the paint that your family and your faith community have painted over it is gut-wrenching, and I am guessing that most of us if faced with it would probably turn a blind eye.  

I am saddened that, like what happens in many churches today, these two young men have been sold on the idea that faith should be blind.  God is not a God of confusion.  He hasn't created reason, and science, and nature one way and asked us to believe in something contradictory to them all.  That is the beauty of Christianity - as time goes on the core of the Christian faith witnessed in different areas of life.  It is like seeing the true colors of something good and beautiful and holy shining through the superficial spirituality that many have painted over the church.  When we see it, it makes us want to tear away the fake paint.  And as our culture takes the form of post-Christendom we still see that a genuine faith lived out by lovers of Jesus looks more true and more beautiful day after day after day and the darkness will not overcome it.  

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#1  On February 3, 2008, David wrote:

Sounds like the missionary’s testimony is like that of Peter in Matthew 16:15-17


#2  On February 3, 2008, Jeremy LaDuke (Author) wrote:

Thanks for your comment David. Peter’s testimony was that Christ was the Son of the Living God, and I am guessing had less to do with a warm-fuzzy feeling. I am not sure where the correlation is.


#3  On April 12, 2008, Thaddeus wrote:

I can see the parallel.

“…flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

Flesh and blood pertain to the natural, mortal senses. It’s the I’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it mentality.

When Peter received his testimony of Christ, it was because God revealed it to him. A spiritual sense. It’s probably a sensation that’s difficult to describe.

You had it right, though. Peter’s testimony was very subjective.

What Do Mormons Believe?


#4  On April 12, 2008, Jeremy LaDuke (Author) wrote:

Thaddeus,
Thanks for your comment. I would argue that there is not much difference between “I’ll believe it when I see it” and “I’ll believe it when I feel it”. Also, the revelation in Matthew pertains to the very identity of Christ not to the validity of a book. I believe you are right about the subjectivity of it all. We must be very careful with what sort of things we institute as absolute litmus tests for spiritual things.


#5  On April 15, 2008, Thaddeus wrote:

Peter didn’t ‘believe it when he felt it.’ He trusted Jesus at his word and followed Him immediately. After he took that leap of faith, Peter received confirmation through his spiritual sense that it was the right thing to do.

This is often how the Lord operates.

The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy, and is the primary thing to learn through the spirit. Beyond that, we may learn many other things through the spirit as well.


#6  On April 15, 2008, Jeremy LaDuke (Author) wrote:

Thaddeus,
I didn’t say Peter’s testimony was a “I’ll believe it when I feel it” experience. I was referring to the tactic Mormon missionaries use regarding the book of Mormon: ask God if this is true and wait for that special feeling inside.

“The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy” – I am not sure I understand this statement. Thanks for your comments Thaddeus.


#7  On April 16, 2008, Thaddeus wrote:

I’m sorry. I should have provided a reference.

“…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10

What I meant by it was that receiving the testimony of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is the first thing any of us must do. Once we obtain this testimony, we become ‘prophets,’ in receiving further wisdom from the Lord through His Holy Spirit.

The tactic of the missionaries won’t work without a leap of faith by the investigator, similar to Peter’s. For some, just listening to the missionaries’ lesson is an enormous step into the unknown. Others require deep reading and pondering of the Book of Mormon.

But none of us can expect to receive answers to prayers we never make. That is why the missionaries emphasize it so much.

What Do Mormons Believe?


#8  On April 18, 2008, Jeremy LaDuke (Author) wrote:

Thank you for the reference.

I don’t really think you can make the connection between Peter’s experience and the missionaries’ tactic. Peter was giving testimony to who he believed Jesus to be after being in his presence, seeing miracles, hearing his teaching, and simply living with him while the Mormon missionary is asking someone on ‘blind’ faith to trust a possible inward feeling. God has never called us to blind faith. If reason trumps the truths we are being asked to believe in, then most likely they are not truths (for instance the BOM claim that Israelites lived in ancient North America, or the incompatibility of eternal progression with an all-powerful, all-knowing God). The beautiful thing about orthodox Christianity is that it has stood the test of reason and criticism and while it can’t be proven, it can’t be disproved either, and it is in fact very plausible. Mormonism on the other hand has aspects that are either illogical or proven false.

There are a variety of religions and cults that have effective tactics. I am sure the ‘tactic’ works, but that does not provide substantial evidence for its validity.
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