musterion
Well-known member
The German battleship Bismarck shocked England by sinking the pride of the British navy, the HMS Hood, with one shot. Here's how to do the same with Mormonism (or pretty much any Bible-denying cult that adds some form of "scripture" beyond or instead of the Bible).
THE ONE FACT TO KEEP IN MIND: The alleged corruption of the Word of God (the Bible) is THE reason the Mormon church exists. The Bible supposedly became so corrupted that "plain and precious" truths of salvation were lost, requiring God to replace them with new revelations to a new prophet, Joseph Smith and those who came after him.
Stick to that fact when you encounter Mormons who want to make you doubt what you believe in order to convert you, or to get you to accept them as Christians.
WHY THAT ONE FACT IS ALL YOU NEED: If the Bible was corrupted, then the God who gave it is not to be trusted nor believed because He is either a liar or a weakling. The reason for that is, God said His Word is eternal and WILL accomplish that which He sends it to do. That alone refutes the Mormon's claim of biblical corruption. But Mormons want to insist that even though He blew it once, God then got it right with Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, etc etc etc.
Did you spot the scam? It's a form of bait and switch, and here it is:
They NEED you to believe the Word of God (the Bible) CAN'T be trusted while believing the Word of God (Smith and the LDS) CAN be trusted.
They want it both ways. They need it both ways. It's patently absurd and self-contradictory. Once you see their error you can't fail to see it. But if you don't recognize it, their sales pitch is so slick and subtle that most people don't notice how illogical and self-refuting the Mormon's fundamental doctrine is...and they get hooked.
HOW TO USE THE ONE FACT:
First, state the fact briefly, clearly and plainly. Don't dilly-dally, lay it out bluntly. They won't be expecting it and will be so shocked that they probably won't deny it (because it is the whole reason they've visited you, after all).
Second, make them explain it to you. Ask them, "If God can't be trusted to have preserved His Word in the Bible, why should I trust Him on anything He has to say via Joseph Smith and all the Mormon prophets since? Why should YOU trust Him?"
Logically, by the allegedly inspired claims of Joseph Smith himself, God cannot be trusted. You have no reason to, and neither do they. *
Conclusion: you don't need to go off into the deep weeds and rabbit trails of weird Mormon doctrines. They're trained to deal with that. They're primed for it, expecting it. They've got pages of responses memorized to parrot back to you that will keep you tied up, stalemate you and wear you out. But you don't need to get bogged down in any of that, so don't. Joseph Smith planted a megaton self-destruct device within Mormonism when he said the God of the Bible cannot be trusted to keep His Word to man. Don't be deceived: that is exactly what Smith claimed. USE IT. Mormons won't expect it, can't refute it, will have no way to deflect it, so it could help open their minds and hearts to the one true saving Gospel of grace.
* at this point they're likely to resort to their "burning in the bosom" trump card, since it's all they'll have left. Shut it down immediately. Their "burning" is irrelevant to you -- it does nothing to explain the contradiction inherent in Mormonism. They're trying to evade and distract you so do not let up on the point!
THE ONE FACT TO KEEP IN MIND: The alleged corruption of the Word of God (the Bible) is THE reason the Mormon church exists. The Bible supposedly became so corrupted that "plain and precious" truths of salvation were lost, requiring God to replace them with new revelations to a new prophet, Joseph Smith and those who came after him.
Stick to that fact when you encounter Mormons who want to make you doubt what you believe in order to convert you, or to get you to accept them as Christians.
WHY THAT ONE FACT IS ALL YOU NEED: If the Bible was corrupted, then the God who gave it is not to be trusted nor believed because He is either a liar or a weakling. The reason for that is, God said His Word is eternal and WILL accomplish that which He sends it to do. That alone refutes the Mormon's claim of biblical corruption. But Mormons want to insist that even though He blew it once, God then got it right with Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, etc etc etc.
Did you spot the scam? It's a form of bait and switch, and here it is:
They NEED you to believe the Word of God (the Bible) CAN'T be trusted while believing the Word of God (Smith and the LDS) CAN be trusted.
They want it both ways. They need it both ways. It's patently absurd and self-contradictory. Once you see their error you can't fail to see it. But if you don't recognize it, their sales pitch is so slick and subtle that most people don't notice how illogical and self-refuting the Mormon's fundamental doctrine is...and they get hooked.
HOW TO USE THE ONE FACT:
First, state the fact briefly, clearly and plainly. Don't dilly-dally, lay it out bluntly. They won't be expecting it and will be so shocked that they probably won't deny it (because it is the whole reason they've visited you, after all).
Second, make them explain it to you. Ask them, "If God can't be trusted to have preserved His Word in the Bible, why should I trust Him on anything He has to say via Joseph Smith and all the Mormon prophets since? Why should YOU trust Him?"
Logically, by the allegedly inspired claims of Joseph Smith himself, God cannot be trusted. You have no reason to, and neither do they. *
Conclusion: you don't need to go off into the deep weeds and rabbit trails of weird Mormon doctrines. They're trained to deal with that. They're primed for it, expecting it. They've got pages of responses memorized to parrot back to you that will keep you tied up, stalemate you and wear you out. But you don't need to get bogged down in any of that, so don't. Joseph Smith planted a megaton self-destruct device within Mormonism when he said the God of the Bible cannot be trusted to keep His Word to man. Don't be deceived: that is exactly what Smith claimed. USE IT. Mormons won't expect it, can't refute it, will have no way to deflect it, so it could help open their minds and hearts to the one true saving Gospel of grace.
* at this point they're likely to resort to their "burning in the bosom" trump card, since it's all they'll have left. Shut it down immediately. Their "burning" is irrelevant to you -- it does nothing to explain the contradiction inherent in Mormonism. They're trying to evade and distract you so do not let up on the point!
