As an evangelical missionary to Mormons I am often asked by both laity and clergy how much “success” I’ve personally had converting Latter-day Saints.  During the infant stages of my mission work I used to cower at the question because there simply weren’t any—converts that is.  And now that I am approaching my tenth year in ministry I could, with a fairly clear conscience, count the converts on one hand; two hands would be pushing it.  The conversion rate hasn’t changed much, but my perspective certainly has.

I’ve come to the realization that many, if not most, Christians gauge the success of proselytizing (converting one to a new or different faith) and even apologetics (defending one’s faith) ministries primarily by the number of converts.  Perhaps the indelible images of throngs of new believers at Billy Graham crusades have influenced our thinking.  The same may be said of the apostolic preaching in the NT, particularly at the behest of Peter and Paul.  Although these ministries differ in that they were somewhat more evangelistic (assuming that in the NT Judaism was the wellspring of Christianity), we can’t escape the fact that in either case converts are indeed a strong sign of success.  The problem, however, is that with outreach ministries to Latter-day Saints and the like there is at least one other important sign of “success” and one rather shocking consideration which many Christians, and even Evangelicals, have given short shrift.  I will address these two issues a bit later, but let’s first look at three aspects of “the problem” with focusing primarily on the number of converts. 

Three Aspects of “The Problem”

The discouragement factor–If success is measured primarily by conversions, then those serving diligently in ministries to Mormons face certain discouragement.  After all, who else is to blame or bear the brunt of responsibility for fruitless ministry if not we the ministers and missionaries?  Have we really been gifted by the Spirit and “called” to do this work?  These and other questions of doubt are sure to surface.  The alternative is to blame faithful Latter-day Saints for being so entrenched in their beliefs or “jack Mormons” for their apathy and cynicism.  Both scenarios become a breeding ground for antipathy either for outreach to Mormons or for Mormons themselves.

The support factor–A ministry that is struggling to keep up with the financial demands of a thriving outreach to Mormons is one thing; a ministry that is struggling to convert even one Mormon is quite another.  Let’s face it; from the perspective of the potential sponsor it is much easier to justify supporting the former than the latter given the aforementioned mindset.  Add to this our crippled economy and the constant solicitation of funds from countless other indispensible ministries and it could spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e for those of us who aren’t producing.  Granted, conversions are one measure of the success of evangelistic and proselytizing ministries, but if there are others then we risk gravely underestimating the value and effectiveness of the relative non-producers.

The consequence factor–The net effect of the discouragement and support factors is a staggering void in our missions to Mormons.  Once again if we have not availed ourselves of other equally important biblical measures of success, then we have done a disservice to ourselves, our missionaries to the LDS people, the LDS people, and the LORD Himself.  Thank God for His immeasurable grace!

The Other Important Sign

I mentioned above that there is at least one other telling sign of “success” besides conversions and one rather shocking consideration concerning missions to Mormons.  The other sign is as follows. 

Many Evangelicals feel neither confident nor competent to dialog or debate with Latter-day Saints, let alone Mormon missionaries or LDS doctrinal scholars.  Therefore, when the apostle Peter commands us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have . . . with gentleness and respect” (1 Pe. 3:15 NIV); when the apostle Paul commands us to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5 NIV) and to “refute those who oppose [sound doctrine]” (Tit. 1:9 NIV); or when Jude urges us “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3 NIV), a chilling sense of inadequacy may run up and down our collective spines. 

Moreover, when we read how Jesus debated with the Sadducees on the doctrine of resurrection and stifled them with “a good answer” (Mk. 12:29 NIV); or when Apollos “vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate” in Achaia (Acts 18:28 NIV); or when the apostle Paul “entered the synagogue [in Ephesus] and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8 NIV), those “chills” may multiply because added to the command “to give an answer” is the tacit expectation to give a good, irrefutable, and/or persuasive answer.  Herein lies the crux of the other sign of success to which I alluded; namely, that there is a gradation of skill and ability when it comes to proselytizing and apologetics.  Therefore, the success of a ministry to Mormons is intricately tied to how powerful and persuasive is that ministry’s “defense of the gospel” (Phil. 1:16 NIV), for example.  The more powerful and persuasive the defense, the more faithfully we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the apostles by employing it.

It is important we also realize that in none of the above examples is the power or persuasiveness of Jesus, Apollos, or Paul measured or made evident by a change of heart in their detractors.  To the contrary it appears that, at least in the case of Paul above (see also Acts 18:6) and Jesus elsewhere (see Jn. 8:59; 10:31), the more able the defense the more vitriolic or even violent the response.  Fortunately, my personal experience has been that the more powerful my presentation to Latter-day Saints, albeit always with respect, the more unreasonable their defense if one is given at all.

To summarize, then, in addition to conversions, another measure of a ministry’s success with Mormons may be confidently gauged by the following parameters:

1. The combined power, persuasiveness, and respectfulness of the ministry’s outreach efforts and apologetics through employing the laws of logic, exposing logical fallacies, refuting LDS arguments, contrasting critical doctrinal differences, exegeting (explaining) biblical Scripture, and creating an atmosphere of friendliness and open-mindedness.
2. Particular LDS responses when sharing with them that include:

·        becoming visibly uneasy, frustrated or even angry;

·        having no response to your questions or objections;

·        becoming highly unreasonable;

·        falling back on their testimony;

·        admitting their misunderstandings, errors or contradictions;

·        complementing your knowledge of LDS and biblical Scripture and doctrines;

·        complimenting your friendliness and respectfulness;

·        returning for multiple discussions.

3. The confidence that is instilled in other biblical Christians through exposure to the ministry’s teachings and training and the empowerment they feel and experience first-hand when sharing with LDS.                                  
4. Changing the attitudes of professing Christians that Latter-day Saints believe essentially the same things as biblical Christians and preventing professing Christians from joining the LDS Church (i.e. a “salvage mission”) given that up to 80 percent of new LDS converts come from Protestant backgrounds.

It is fitting to end this section with a quote by Paul Whittington of Share the Son Ministries who explains: “Our job is to put little cracks in the belief systems of Latter-day Saints so that the Spirit can leak in and convict them.”

The Rather Shocking Consideration   

I mentioned at the outset that there is one rather shocking consideration concerning a sign of the “success” of a ministry to Mormons that many Christians fail to recognize.  This consideration is as follows.

It may well be that God uses ministries and sends missionaries to Mormons and Mormon-dominated areas for the primary, if not sole, purpose of telling Latter-day Saints the truth again and again, thus exposing them to the risk of rejecting the truth and an increased hardness of heart.

This is exactly how God used the prophet Isaiah to confront the rebelliousness of Judah in Isaiah 6:8-13 NIV. 

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
⁹ He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
¹⁰ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
¹¹ Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,
¹² until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.
¹³ And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

Note how Judah’s change of heart was NOT to be the measure of Isaiah’s success.  Rather, it was his unwavering commitment to proclaiming the highly unpopular message of God’s judgment on Judah.

In closing we should all keep fresh in our minds this rather shocking and yet solemn reminder of God’s measure of the success of Isaiah’s ministry to Judah.  For those with more than a superficial understanding of the incredible obstacles Christian ministries to Mormons face, it becomes evident that converting Latter-day Saints SHOULD NOT be the primary measure of a ministry to Mormons!

Charis kai eirene (Grace and peace), Mike