Approached by Mormons - what is their point?

Question

I was sitting quietly at a table, reading my Bible, seeking God, when 2 young women approached me - Mormons. I told them what I was doing, which I'm sure they read as a great opportunity... I don't know enough to have engaged them fully in the parts I disagree with, but after the left, I realized that their entire focus was to convince me that Joseph Smith was a prophet and their extra book is real.

So, where is Jesus in all this? What do Mormons think is the central most important thing in life? What was I supposed to get our of their "witnessing" to me?

Answer 1

I'm Mormon, and yes, that was the Sisters (what we call women missionaries) purpose in talking with you. Some missionaries are a little overzealous, especially when they see what they deem as a golden opportunity such as they found with you.
Joseph Smith IS a very important part of a missionary's job, and he is a very important part of our religion. However, he is not THE most important. Christ is THE most important part.
The most important thing in life for us is getting ourselves, our family, and our friends to the Celestial Kingdom (we believe it to be the highest level of heaven) - in that order. How do we believe this is to be accomplished? First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second repentance, third baptism, forth the gift of the Holy Ghost. We also believe you have to do your best to become the person God wants you to be, and that takes hard work to change from who we are to who we can become, it takes persistance, and enduring to the end, and even then we know we won't make it without Christ's help. But we know that we must strive, improve, and do all we can to get as close as we can, then rely on Christ to make up the difference.

What probably happened was that they saw you sitting there studying your Bible and thought "She already believes in Christ, so maybe we should focus on what she doesn't have." (ie the Book of Mormon, what it is, how it came about, etc.) Obviously that wasn't the right route for you. At some point you will have contact with the missionaries again - maybe soon, maybe not, when you do ask them how the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, etc ties in with Jesus and your current beliefs. Or better yet, ask the ones you just met. I'm sure they gave you something with their contact info on it. Call them and ask them. You'll get answers from the same source that caused your questions, and there's nothing better than getting answers from the source of your questions.

Answer 2

Well this "extra book" is about Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith saw Jesus Christ. This is new information to the rest of the world.

If the Book of Mormon is true and the Word of God then Joseph Smith is a prophet and really saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God just as Steven did in Acts. And the converse would be true. So telling you about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith is important information to help you receive additional Scripture about Jesus Christ.

That I think is part of the point.

I was a missonary and I felt GREAT love for the people I was contacting and teaching. All I wanted was to deliver the message that Jesus Christ lives and is the head of His church restored by Him through Joseph Smith and that Jesus Christ has called a living prophet today -- the heavens are not closed. You can recieve personal revelation that these things are true.

So their point is Jesus Christ lives and they have a message from Him to you and they love you.

D

Answer 3

Disclaimer: My comments on here aren't true or are twisted, don't be fooled by my twisted lies.

Well, my dear, what you received is the "First Discussion," recently changed to be called the "First Lesson." Jesus doesn't actually come into play until the Third Lesson. His sacrifice and atonement used to be an integral part of the Second Discussion, but with the new format and the importance of the Plan of Salvation (pre-existence, three heavens, spirit prison, work for the dead), it was pushed back a step.

Of course, Jesus is listed in the First Lesson briefly as a "dispensation head" like all of the other prophets (Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc.), but only as a lead-up to the marvelous work of Joseph Smith. In the second, He'll be briefly mentioned as well when they say that the dead "who haven't accepted the Gospel of Jesus" will get a second chance, and if they explain the resurrection in detail, you'll hear His name there too.

In the third, you'll finally learn about faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The "faith" and the "baptism" principles heavily mention Him. Afterwards, they'll spend the bulk of the time talking about "enduring to the end," referencing several commandments of the Church that they'll teach you in the Fourth Lesson, some of which have reference to Jesus, but most of which will have reference to "modern-day revelation given to Joseph Smith and other prophets," except the unique principle of Tithing, for which they'll reference everything BUT Joseph Smith's revelation on it and attempt to teach you that God's children have always paid 10% of their income to the Church, which was led by Melchizadek when Abraham "paid his tithing." Joseph's words in the D&C simply say that "he who is tithed shall not be burned at the last day."

Before telling you all of these "commandments" in their church, however, they'll likely try to commit you to baptism after the second or third lesson, and when you hear about the commandments and start getting scared, they'll give you the "Opposition Dialogue" where they let you know that Satan is the author of all opposition to the Church, and that you need to "overcome" your doubts and show Christ that you are strong by maintaining "your promise to Him" that you would be baptized in "His Church."

If you would like to know more about the missionary program and how it operates, I can testify that it is strikingly similar to a "relational selling" class that I took in college after my own mission. Not all colleges are the same, but I'd imagine a similar class at your local university would teach the same principles.

Answer 4

Joseph Smith is important to the message, because if you understand it you will see that Jesus and God the Father have everything to do with it.
The Missionaries share about Joseph Smith because he was called to be a prophet, by God the Father AND Jesus Christ (yes, we do believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God), so if that is true what does it mean, it means that God has called a prophet again to straighten out His gospel, since the apostasy ocurred, and to restore Christ's church back on the Earth. If you would have listened instead of trying to "counterattack" you would have notice that they talked about Christ and God a few times. The "extra" book is called the Book of Mormon, since you were already reading the Bible, if you really were, then they would have had no point to teach you about the Bible, since you already believe in it. But I'm sure they did, it just goes back to your listening skills. But the Book of Mormon is not the Bible and their focus is to teach you about the Book of Mormon, since it is ancient scripture, because if you believe in the Book of Mormon, you will then know Joseph Smith was a prophet, since he translated it, and that will let you know that God the Father and Jesus Christ called this man to be a prophet, and if they called him to be a prophet, then you will know that he was called to restore Christ's TRUE church. And how great would your joy be if you had an absolute knowledge that this was all true. it is a train of logic, That is why they teach so much about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, because you can know the truth.

I suggest giving them a call and listening to them again. They might have given you a card, call that number and have them come back so you can get your own Book of Mormon, that way you can AT LEAST pray about it, and ask God. If it is false God will let you know but he will also let you know if it is true. It just starts with a step of faith. Remember the Book of Mormon does not in any way replace the Book of Mormon, but hey support each other.

Answer 5

When I served a mission, I was called to the Oklahomo, Tulsa Mission. Pretty much the buckle of the Bible belt. We didn't really need to help people get a testimony of Jesus Christ, they already had one. We wanted to add to that testimony that there are new prophets of Jesus Christ, and that His Church has been restored. The Book of Mormon teaches about Jesus Christ and provides a second witness of His divinity.

Answer 6

You're supposed to pray about Joseph Smith and the extra book.

If it's right, God should witness to you.

But, you don't seem very open about a witness from God about anything besides your Bible.

Answer 7

My mom and sisters are mormons, even though I do not know alot about it. I know they believe they are the one true church. Only mormons get to go to the heaven where God is, the rest of us have to live in another heaven without God. They believe that they will become a god when they die. They also believe that satan and Jesus are brothers, that Jesus was created along with satan, not that He always existed. They believe that Joseph Smith heard from God through an angel about starting this church. This angel told him that all other churches are wrong. They do not believe in salvation through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Don't get involved, just tell them no thank you.

Answer 8

What you were supposed to get is that you need to read the Book of Mormon.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

The Book of Mormon is another testament of JESUS CHRIST. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of JESUS CHRIST. Our church is the restored church of JESUS CHRIST..