Introduction for Missionaries

#Introduction for Missionaries of the England London South Mission

The following notes have been collected for the use of the missionaries in the England London South Mission. Each missionary companionship encounters, almost daily, concerns expressed by investigators or other nonmembers of the Church. Most of these are expressed as honest questions, asked by sincere investigators who have a genuine desire to know about the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few are leveled against the Church in the spirit of anti-Mormon persecution or derision by those who have little interest in the Church except to torment it.

These materials have been gathered from several sources, too numerous to itemize in detail. Special acknowledgment and thanks, however, is extended to Richard I. Winwood for his publication, Take Heed That Ye Be Not Deceived; to Dennis Moore for his article, “Ten Principles in Dealing With Anti-Mormon Literature and Discussions;” to Stephen E. Robinson for his book Are Mormons Christians; to an old and dear friend, A. Melvin McDonald for his book The Day of Defense; and to Robert L. Brown and Rosemary Brown, and their book They Lie in Wait to Deceive, 4 volumes.

Missionaries should never be encouraged to seek for encounters with those who would be critical of the Church. These notes are not meant to provide ammunition for those contentious missionaries who might be inclined to carry on a war of words people of opposing views, for the spirit of contention is always un-Christian (see D&C 10:63). I do feel, however, it is important that missionaries have sufficient knowledge and confidence, so that they do not shrink from discussing the gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone. The missionary who does not fear is free to become a fully confident and competent emissary for the Lord.

Missionaries will be required to resolve concerns in different settings. Often an honest investigator may ask for a simple explanation of an eternal truth. In these cases, the Spirit of the Lord is present and the Spirit’s presence is likely to be felt even more as the investigator responds to the explanation with a believing spirit. It is hoped that this collection of notes will help the missionary to organize his or her thinking, presentation, and explanation of the concerns raised by this type of investigator.

At other times a negative spirit prevails as concerns are expressed by those who would be critical of the Church. In these cases the influence of the Spirit is usually not present. Don’t expect this type of “investigator” to experience a sudden change of heart and say, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been wrong all these years and what I have been told has been distorted and a lie. You are completely correct. How can I arrange to be baptized?” These notes are also intended to assist in your discussions with this type of individual. The objective of resolving concerns in these situations is merely to clarify and communicate. It is not so important that they agree with us, but rather that they come to fairly and accurately understand what we believe. These people are not seeking for a spiritual experience. Your expectations should be mainly to make certain they understand that the eternal truth about the principle you are discussing is a valid option for them.

In discussing the gospel with those who are critical of the Church, there are a few important rules to be kept in mind:

(1) Don’t take their criticisms personally. Don’t become defensive. After all the criticisms are not being leveled against you; they are aimed directly at the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church and gospel. Your reactions should not be argumentative and defensive, as that tends to stifle meaningful conversation. Keep in mind that Mormons are singled out for persecution by other secular Christian churches not because we are “sinister” or “evil,” but because we are “sheep-stealers,” and we threaten the economic existence and stability of congregations and professional ministers. The “Christian community” at large has an unspoken understanding not to evangelize each other’s members. If we would commit today not to convert current members of Christian churches but only preach to the “unwashed masses” who have not committed their lives to Christ, then tomorrow we would be accepted as “Christians” in a heartbeat.

(2) Always begin in a friendly way. We actually have much in common with the beliefs of our brothers and sisters of other Christian faiths. We should always try to get past the vocabulary differences and mis-communications to emphasize those things which we have in common.

“If you come at me with your fists doubled,” said Woodrow Wilson, “I think I can promise you that mine will double as fast as yours; but if you come to me and say, ‘Let us sit down and take counsel together, and if we differ from one another, just what the points at issue are, we will presently find that we are not so far apart after all, that the points on which we differ are few and the points on which we agree are many, and that if we only have the patience and the candor and the desire to get together, we will get together.’” Don’t begin by discussing the things on which you differ. Begin by emphasizing – and keep on emphasizing – the things on which you agree.

(3) Even though the other man may be totally wrong, he doesn’t think so. Don’t condemn him. Any fool can do that. Try to understand him. Only wise, tolerant, exceptional men even try to do that. There are reasons why the other man thinks and acts as he does. Seek to discover those reasons, and in that seeking you make establish a relationship.

There is a tendency in each of us, when we are trying to win over others to our way of thinking, to do too much talking and too little listening. It is important to let the other person talk himself out. He knows more about what he believes than you do. Never assume you know what he believes regardless of what his church may teach. They are not always in agreement. Ask him a lot of questions. Let him tell you a few things. If you disagree with him, you may be tempted to interrupt. But don’t. It is dangerous. He won’t pay attention to you while he still has a lot of ideas of his own crying for expression. So listen patiently and with an open mind. Be sincere about it. Encourage him to express his ideas fully. This process also allows you to get a better understanding of what is important to him. Ultimately he may disagree with our interpretations, and you will disagree with his. But you should decide to disagree agreeably. It is human nature to give more credence to ideas that we discover for ourselves than ideas that are given to us by someone else. Wouldn’t it be wiser to make suggestions and let the other person work out the conclusions for himself.

(4) Be careful to define the terms. There is opportunity for serious miscommunication because of the vocabulary. The same theological words have different meanings in different churches. Words like resurrection, salvation, saved, justification, sanctification, exaltation, creation, and Father all have different meanings to people. Rather than use the words, you should ask them to explain in detail what they mean, and you must do the same. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Clarify and teach by regularly repeating back what you think you heard. “Let me see if I understand . . .”; “If I understand you correctly . . .”; “So what I think I heard you say is . . .”

(5) Keep in mind that the person who asks questions controls the conversation. If you want to stay in control of the conversation, make your last statement a question. Using this principle you can guide the conversation. The six missionary discussions use this principle. They teach a concept and then ask a question. This process is repeated over and over.

(6) Bear testimony regularly of Jesus Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ, the atonement, and the Bible. Don’t tell them you are a Christian; show them you believe by bearing testimony of him. This gives the Spirit an opportunity to become involved in the discussion.

(7) Keep in mind that the gospel of Jesus Christ is defined in the Standard Works, and anything else is simply commentary and of secondary authority. That commentary often contains much of what is good, but it is not doctrine. Not everything an apostle or prophet utters is intended to be doctrine. There is no doctrine, for example, on such things as Coca-Cola or ice water being part of the Word of Wisdom; the Constitution of the United States to hang by a thread and to be saved by the Elders of Israel; the use of playing cards; or whether or not Christ was married.

(8) Remember that you are the expert in what you believe. You may encounter so-called “experts” on Mormon doctrine who have never been to a sacrament meeting and could not answer many of the simplest questions about the Church or define our most basic terms. Yet they will assume that they know the “real truth” about our doctrine which they often have obtained from anti-Mormon sources. Enemies of the Church are perfectly happy taking quotes out of context or misusing our terminology in order to define what they think we believe. They will invariably place their own interpretations on these quotes. They are not interested in understanding what we really believe, they only desire to demean a doctrine so that others will not listen to its message and judge for themselves.

Michael J. Preece

Cobham, Surrey

November 2001