Recognize Differences in Belief - Truth in Love Ministry

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Recognize Differences in Belief

The more you talk, the more differences in beliefs will surface. There are a few important things to remember when this happens:

  • Many differences don’t deal with the main topics of sin and eternal life. Rather they deal with less important issues such as pre-existence, baptism for the dead, etc. You will need to practice a great deal of self-discipline, so you don’t become distracted and end up majoring on minors. Not every false teaching needs to be confronted! Take your cue from Paul in Athens (Acts 17) where he refrained from telling them what was wrong about their false gods. Instead, he told them about the unknown God.
  • If you focus on differences too early in the process, you might damage a fragile relationship. Agree to note the differences but not discuss them until sometime later. You might discover that, once they know what Jesus has done for them, these false beliefs will fade away. Take for example, the doctrine of the Trinity. Before knowing Jesus, they struggle immensely with it. Once they have been brought to faith, however, many have accepted it without much trouble. Even if their false beliefs don’t fade away, by waiting to discuss them, you have given the relationship time to become strong enough to handle such discussions.
  • When differences do appear, make the point that this shows why Mormonism and the Bible both can’t be correct. They both could be wrong but logically, they both can’t be right because they say conflicting things.
  • One thing which often becomes apparent is that their individual beliefs don’t line up with official LDS teachings. In the beginning, don’t make a big point of this. More than likely, they, without admitting it, will also recognize that.

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