5 Common Mistakes Christians Make When Witnessing to Mormons
How to remove barriers so the good news of Jesus can be clearly heard.
Many Christians genuinely want to share Jesus with their Mormon (Latter-day Saint/LDS) friends, neighbors, or the missionaries who knock on their door. But, unfortunately, many also walk away from those conversations feeling frustrated, unsure of what to say, or discouraged that nothing seemed to connect.
In most cases, it’s not because they don’t care, but rather their approach has the unintended effect of causing more division or confusion.
Over the years, we’ve seen the same patterns again and again. Faithful, well-meaning Christians fall into a handful of common mistakes that quietly shut down conversations or steer them away from what matters most.
When you begin to recognize these patterns, something shifts. You start to see a better way. A way that reflects the heart of Jesus and keeps the focus where it belongs: on the good news of what he has already done for us.
We do want to be clear about one thing from the start. We aim to remove unnecessary barriers in conversation, not the message itself. The good news of Jesus will sometimes offend because it speaks honestly about sin, helplessness, and grace. But it is also the only message that gives real hope.
Mistake #1: Viewing Latter-day Saints as the enemy.
How we think about people shapes everything about how we speak to them.
When Latter-day Saints are viewed as opponents to defeat rather than people to love, conversations quickly become tense or dismissive. The focus shifts away from caring for the person and toward winning the moment.
Many of us have been there. It can feel like you need to be ready, sharp, and prepared to correct everything. But that mindset rarely leads to meaningful conversations.
Jesus shows us a different starting point.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
He saw people not as enemies to defeat or problems to solve, but as people in need.
When that becomes your starting point, your posture changes. You’re no longer trying to win an argument. You’re moved to care about someone who is carrying something heavy, whether they realize it or not.
And that changes the conversation. You begin to speak about Jesus not as something to prove, but as someone worth trusting.
Mistake #2: Not treating Latter-day Saints with respect.
Respect isn’t just about tone. It shows up most clearly in whether we are actually listening.
Many Christians struggle here. Sometimes it’s because they feel defensive. Other times, they’re simply eager to say what they believe and move the conversation forward.
But when we’re not truly listening, people can tell. You can see it in their reaction. The conversation becomes surface-level. They hold back. They disengage.
We have all felt that ourselves.
But when someone listens carefully, without rushing, without interrupting, and without trying to steer every moment, something opens up. People feel seen. They feel safe enough to be honest.
And that matters, because real conversations don’t happen until people are willing to be honest.
Listening isn’t a delay in getting to the gospel. It is often how you discover where the gospel is most needed.
As you listen, you begin to hear what or whom someone is actually trusting, where they feel pressure, and where they are unsure. And those are the moments where you can gently point to Jesus in a way that connects.
Mistake #3: Focusing on the parts of Mormonism that bother Christians.
It is very natural to focus on the differences that stand out most to us.
Questions about doctrine, history, or scripture can feel obvious and important. Things like the nature of God, concerns about Joseph Smith, or questions about additional scriptures often come to mind first. And it can seem like if we just point those things out clearly enough, the other person will see it too.
But that almost never happens.
If someone came to you and started pointing out what they believed were problems with the Bible, you would likely question their credibility and shrug it off. Most Latter-day Saints respond the same way.
So the conversation stalls before it really begins.
A better question to ask is this: What actually matters in this person’s life right now?
Many Latter-day Saints are quietly carrying pressure around forgiveness, worthiness, and what it means to be ready to live with God. These aren’t abstract questions. They are deeply personal. They shape how someone sees themselves and where they believe they stand with God.
When the conversation moves in that direction, something changes. People are more willing to talk. They are more willing to listen. The conversation becomes real.
And this is where everything begins to open up.
Instead of starting with what bothers us, we begin with what weighs on them. And that creates a natural opportunity to show how Jesus meets those exact needs.
Where there’s pressure to measure up, he gives a finished work to rest in. Where there’s uncertainty about forgiveness, he gives forgiveness that is complete, not partial or fragile. Where there’s striving to become worthy, he gives a righteousness that is received, not achieved.
That’s a very different kind of conversation. And it’s one people are far more willing to have.
Mistake #4: Not realizing how differently important words are defined.
Sometimes conversations feel like they’re going well, but something doesn’t quite line up.
You might say, “I’m saved by Jesus alone,” and hear agreement. But you walk away wondering, “Did we mean the same thing?”
And often, you’re right to question agreement. In most cases, the issue is not deception. It’s definition.
Many important words are understood very differently. Words like grace, faith, salvation, and heaven can sound familiar but carry very different meanings. Because of that, it’s easy to think you agree when you’re actually talking past each other.
That’s why it’s so important to slow down and bring clarity to the conversation, not in a technical or argumentative way, but in a thoughtful and careful way.
Ask what someone means. Take the time to make sure you are talking about the same thing.
When you do that, the conversation begins to move past surface-level agreement and toward what really matters.
And that’s important, because the difference is not small. It is the difference between trusting what we do and trusting what Jesus has already done for us.
For additional support, please check out 10 Words to Know Before Sharing the Gospel with Mormons.
Mistake #5: Debating Mormonism instead of sharing Christ.
When opportunities come up to talk with Latter-day Saints, Christians usually respond in one of two ways. They either avoid the conversation, or it turns into a debate about Mormonism.
But in both cases, something essential is missing: the proclamation of the gospel.
Sadly, the good news of what Jesus has done is rarely shared. We have asked many returned missionaries how often Christians shared the message of Jesus with them during their missions, and the answer is strikingly consistent: only one or two times.
That means that in hundreds or even thousands of interactions, very few actually heard the good news that Jesus is enough. That reality should give us pause.
The Bible tells us that faith comes through hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:13–17) and that the gospel itself is the power of God for all who believe (Romans 1:16). When we spend our time debating or critiquing, we are not using the very message God promises to work through.
But when we speak clearly about Jesus, we begin to show who he really is and what he has actually done for us. He isn’t only an example to follow, but the substitute who lived for us and died for our sins. He gives a righteousness that is received, not built over time, and an assurance that rests outside of us, grounded in what he has finished, not in how consistently we perform.
Our goal is not to win arguments or expose every problem. It is to make sure people actually hear about Jesus.
A Better Way Forward
These five mistakes are common. Most of us have made them. Many of us still drift back into them.
But they don’t have to define how you approach these conversations. There is a better way.
It begins with seeing people the way Jesus sees them. It grows as you slow down, listen, and care about what someone is really carrying. It becomes clearer as you focus on the questions that actually matter and speak with clarity. And it stays grounded when you keep the message centered on Jesus from beginning to end.
We are not trying to remove the offense of the gospel. We are trying to remove everything else that gets in the way of it.
When that happens, conversations begin to change. They become less about pressure and more about rest. Less about proving a point and more about pointing to a person
And that person is Jesus, the one who gives what none of us could ever become worthy of: full forgiveness and eternal life with God.
You don’t have to figure this out on your own.
If you want to grow in having thoughtful, gospel-centered conversations with Latter-day Saints, we’d love to help.
The Build Bridges Not Barriers Course walks you step by step through a simple approach that builds trust, avoids unnecessary barriers, and keeps the focus on Jesus.