www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization What to say to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses when they come?

Dear Friends,

What can one say or do when these come knocking at your door?

Alex

My wife used to hand them a tract on the Catholic Church. I would be inclined to do the same thing. Lately, I haven't been home when they've come around. If I had the time and things seemed to be going well, then I'd invite them in for coffee and explain the true worship of the Holy Trinity to them.

A related question I have would be "what do you do when a baptist comes knocking on your door asking if you are saved and if you have a local church family?" I haven't had to deal with this in a long time, but in the past I just said, "yes, Yes, thank you have a nice day."

Joe

Alex:

Tell them you're an Orthodox or Catholic Christian, that you have the True Faith revealed by Jesus Christ, and ask them if they'd like to learn more. They'll probably never darken your door again since they pass the word to each other as to which houses to avoid in a neighborhood.

Some years ago I answered the door to two Mormon missionaries, pulled a large neck cross out of my shirt (about 2 1/2 inches long), told them I was the local Orthodox priest, and asked them if they'd like to stop at the church in town. Since then the Mormons stop at my neighbor's place, step out into the street, and only walk back onto the sidewalk when it's past my house. So a little "white lie" has kept me like a leper to them for over 20 years. Not so bad.

They must share stories with the Jehovah's Witnesses because this group never has knocked on my door since that episode. So far so good.

BOB

Something I find interesting about the language used by many Baptists and other Evangelicals is that of "personal Lord and Savior." Where, I ask, is this language of "personal Lord and Savior" to be found in Holy Scripture? I raise this question because the sort of Christians who use this language are supposedly Sola Scriptura Christians. Holy Scripture states in Romans 10:9 "if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." If I were asked by a Baptist or some other stripe of Evangelical if I have been saved, I would respond with this passage and say that I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and that I confess Jesus as Lord at least once a week when I go to Divine Liturgy.

When the Mormons come knocking, I just tell them "Been there, done that, and now I'm back where I'm supposed to be."

Seriously, I don't regret my detour into Mormonism since it was with them that I began to really delve into scriptures. But I found that I felt empty once I left Sunday meetings. White bread and water didn't feed my soul.

To counter Mormons, you need to be ready with your own "testimony." Their testimony is that "Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by a prophet today." As Catholics, we of course agree that "Jesus is the Christ," but we need to add that he is truly present in our Eucharist. We need to be able to say that we have prayed about this and that we felt "a burning in our heart." That's the kind of language they use and understand.

When they talk about Restoration, we need to remind them that Jesus said he would be with us always, even to the end of time. We need to assure them that we have true Apostolic Succession.

When they talk about us not having a prophet, we need to be able to explain that we DO have prophets among us. The main duty of a prophet was to call the people to repentance, and we certainly have many in the Church doing that today even though we don't give them the title.

When they talk about modern-day revelation--their book Doctrine and Covenants--we need to counter with the Church Fathers, and enlighten them as to the Ecumenical Councils that hammered out doctrine in the same manner as the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts.

If they say that our "Traditions" have led the Church astray by distorting the "plain and simple truths" of the Bible, ask them where in the Bible--or Book of Mormon for that matter--it talks about "Heavenly Mother"?

Let them know that you admire all the good things about their church--the emphasis on family, their commitment to missionary work, etc. But invite them to learn about the Catholic Church from your "priesthood holder" [pastor], as they want you to learn about their church from them. Then challenge them to "pray to Heavenly Father to know whether these things are true!"

Athanasius;

that is interesting; I'd never quite thought about that before;

whilst I've often thought Protestants can represent modernist, individualistic sentiments in other respects (that's a statement sbout theology, not people if any members be offednded), this concept of "personal Jesus" never struck me till now;

but now it strikes me as being somewhat of a subjectivist position potentially; my personal Jesus can be something different than your's hence the number of sects, two of which we are talking about.

If this concept of personal experience of CHrist then means that for some Protestants the personal determines the reality, that makes them very postmodern indeed. Thanks for that insight.

Ned

It is written in the same place that also has a verse on the Bible being the only source for true Christianity.

Dear Friends,

Wow! You guys are better than any booklet or pamphlet!

Thank you, Sophia, for your great testimony and insight!

Alex the Moron

Alex,

We've had threads about these in the past in the
Evangelization Forum.

You could try a search, that might help.

God Bless You,

Dr. Eric

Dear Dr Eric,

We've also had threads on the Filioque, the Papacy and the legitimacy of "uniatism" in the past . . .

And your point is . . .?

Alex

My point is that I offered some great info in the past and don't have enough time to dig it up right now.

Maybe during my lunch break I can sift through those threads and re-post them.

I had a great run in with some JWs a while back that I posted about and co-incidentally, they haven't been to my house since!

Alex, do you have a sign on your house that says: Inquiring minds want to know. They seem to flock to your house.

Dear Dr Eric,

Yes, I remember the great advice you had - please do dig it up and share the wealth!!

It's my pleasant demeanor - they think they can just push me over the edge.

My pleasant demeanor is what gets me into trouble - some think they can walk all over me and then don't understand when I get upset!

I think the Administrator understands . . . that's why he is staying away from me!

Alex

Instead of seeing them as pests, perhaps those who are strong and knowledgeable in the faith should put out a welcome sign to Mormons and JWs. While it would be nigh onto impossible to make a convert of an active missionary (one of the reasons they travel in pairs), it might be possible to plant a little seed of doubt that would flower later in life.

First of all this occasion may be an evangelical encounter for the church, your faith and how you look at the Great Commission of the Gospel.

There are other threads in this forum section dealing with this question on how to approach a number of these groups. All the threads from the old Evangelization section were merged with this section when the major software update was done. Here is one such thread. You may also want to try this one.

Remember you will never know were the seeds you plant today will bloom in the fullness of the gospel.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator

Father Bless!

Thank you for finding that link. We are blessed to have Owen as a member and read his witness in his conversion.

Your unworthy son,

Dr. Eric