Our tagline, “Build Bridges Not Barriers,” summarizes our approach for witnessing to Latter-day Saints (LDS). We want to build relationships by being careful not to create unnecessary barriers.
But first, there is one obstacle we should never try to remove: the message of Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). That message will offend at times because it tells the truth about sin, helplessness, and grace. It is also the only message that gives real hope.
This page explains five practices (pillars) that help Christians remove avoidable obstacles so conversations can remain open, honest, and centered on Christ.
Unnecessary Barriers to Witnessing
In our desire to speak clearly, it is possible to place extra hurdles in the path without meaning to. Here are a few examples:
- Refusing to use respectful forms of address that an LDS missionary expects (like “elder” or “sister”).
- Turning the conversation into a debate about Bible translations rather than talking about the Bible’s message.
- Speaking carelessly or dismissively about things Latter-day Saints treat as sacred.
Barriers also show up when Christians assume that shared vocabulary means shared meaning. LDS teaching often uses familiar biblical terms while filling them with different content. When that difference is not recognized, both people end up talking past each other. The result is often frustration, suspicion, and a conversation that never reaches what matters most.
Building Bridges
Bridge building does not mean avoiding clarity. It means removing what is unnecessary so the necessary offense of the cross is not buried under distractions.
Our approach is relational, not confrontational. When trust is present, serious conversations can happen without turning into personal conflict. And when Christ is witnessed clearly, people are more likely to listen, ask, and reflect, even when real differences emerge.
Below are five pillars that help keep conversations both loving and honest.
Pillar #1: See Mormons as Victims, Not Enemies
Our posture matters.
Christians can slip into a mindset that treats LDS people as a threat to defeat or a problem to fix. That posture usually produces quick arguments and slow relationships. It also makes it harder to listen well.
A better starting point is compassion.
Many LDS people carry heavy spiritual pressure, even if it is not obvious on the surface. LDS sources often describe forgiveness and peace with God in ways that depend on personal progress and follow-through. For example, one LDS guide says you cannot be “saved in your sins but from your sins” (True to the Faith, p. 151f), and Doctrine and Covenants 58:43 connects forgiveness with confessing and forsaking sin.
Spencer W. Kimball expressed the same kind of conditionality when he wrote that assurance of forgiveness might take a long time and depends on humility, sincerity, works, and attitudes.
Teachings like these can produce an exhausting cycle: try harder, fall again, question whether you were sincere, and then try to prove sincerity with more effort. Many people do not talk openly about this struggle. In LDS culture, it is common to feel pressure to appear steady, positive, and confident. That can make spiritual fear feel lonely.
This is why pillar one is about your attitude. If you see someone primarily as an opponent, you will naturally speak in ways that raise defenses. But if you see someone as a person carrying a burden, you will tend to ask better questions, listen longer, and speak the gospel as good news rather than as a weapon.
Pillar #2: Treat Mormons With Genuine Love And Respect
Love and respect are not tactics. They are simply what Christ calls for.
Christians sometimes feel tension here: “How do I show real care without sending mixed signals about what I believe?” That is a reasonable concern. Love does not mean minimizing differences, and clarity does not require harshness. Both can exist together.
Basic civility
Small acts of kindness communicate safety and dignity: A smile at the door, a friendly introduction, a glass of water on a hot day, five minutes of sincere interest in who they are, where they are from, and what their week has been like. These things do not compromise truth. They make honest conversation more likely.
Ongoing relationships with neighbors, coworkers, and relatives often provide repeated opportunities to show consistent kindness without any compromise. In many cases, steady respect over time opens doors that a single forceful conversation never will.
Show respect through listening
The most important expression of respect is careful listening.
Even if you have studied LDS teaching, do not assume you already know what a particular person believes. Many LDS do not know official positions well, or they describe them in their own words. The only way to understand a person’s beliefs is to let them explain what they mean.
Listening is also the way to keep the conversation honest. It prevents straw men and helps you respond to a real person, not a stereotype.
Start with questions
Questions are a gift, especially early in a relationship. Ask about background and experience, then move naturally into belief:
- “What gives you confidence before God?”
- “When you say ‘grace,’ what do you mean?”
- “How does a person receive forgiveness?”
- “What do you think it means to trust Christ?”
Ask follow-ups. Invite explanation. Your early goal is not to unload everything you know. It is to understand well enough that you could accurately summarize their view back to them.
If the relationship allows it, you can even jot down brief notes. Many people experience that as an honor rather than an offense. At minimum, it communicates, “You matter, and I am taking you seriously.”
Pillar #3: Focus On Mormon Stress Points
Many Christians lead with topics that bother Christians but do not burden most LDS people. That usually creates distance fast.
A better approach is to talk about what often creates real stress and uncertainty. When a topic touches a person’s lived fears, they are more willing to stay in the conversation.
Here are three stress points that frequently surface:
1) Worthiness before God
Worthiness and perfection are constant themes in LDS life. Many people quietly wonder, “Am I worthy enough?” even while doing their best to look steady and confident. That question creates stress because it turns the Christian life into a kind of spiritual math: measuring progress, tracking failures, and hoping the good outweighs the bad.
This is a crucial place to let the Bible speak with clarity. The Bible does not describe worthiness before God as “mostly obedient” or “improving over time.” God’s standard is not partial righteousness. It is righteousness that is whole.
James 2:10 helps expose why this matters: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” James is not saying every sin carries the same earthly consequences. He is saying that God’s law is not a menu where we can fail in one area but make up for it in another. The law reflects God’s own holiness. If worthiness depends on our record, then even one failure reveals the deeper problem: we do not simply need to do better. We need a righteousness we do not have.
That diagnosis is painful, but it is also merciful. It clears away false confidence and makes room for real comfort.
Only then does the gospel land with its full weight: Jesus has earned our worthiness for us and gives it freely. He is not only our example. He is our substitute. He kept the law we have not kept, and he gives his righteousness to sinners who trust him. This is how a stress point can become a rest point in Christ.
2) Forgiveness from God
In LDS contexts, forgiveness is often described as something obtained through a process: sorrow, confession, forsaking sin, restitution where possible, and sustained effort afterward. That framework can leave people wondering whether they have done enough, whether their repentance was sincere enough, or whether they have truly changed.
Many LDS people struggle to believe that forgiveness could be complete and settled in Christ. They may hope it is true, but they are not sure how it could be.
The Bible speaks about forgiveness in a way that is both simple and sweeping. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” That is not a temporary distancing. East and west never meet. The picture is intentional: when God forgives, he does not keep sin nearby to revisit later. He removes it.
The psalm does not ground that removal in our consistency or progress. It grounds it in God’s mercy and steadfast love. Forgiveness flows from who God is and from what Christ has done, not from how convincingly we have proven ourselves.
This does not minimize the seriousness of sin. It magnifies the sufficiency of Christ.
When forgiveness depends on our follow-through, it will always feel fragile. But when forgiveness rests on Christ’s finished work, it becomes solid ground. What once felt uncertain becomes settled. What once felt conditional becomes a gift.
3) Living Eternally with Heavenly Father
We word it this way intentionally. In LDS teaching, “going to heaven” can mean different things, and almost everyone goes somewhere. But living eternally with Heavenly Father is connected to worthiness and therefore to uncertainty.
Many LDS people hesitate to say they know they will live with Heavenly Father. Often, the best they can say is, “I hope so.” That hope is usually tied to ongoing effort: continued obedience, faithfulness, and endurance.
This is where John 19:30 becomes deeply comforting. As Jesus hung on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” He did not say, “I have made salvation possible.” He did not say, “I have done my part; now you do yours.” He said it is finished.
The word he used carries the sense of a debt paid in full. The work given to him by the Father was completed. Nothing remained to be added. Nothing was left for sinners to supply in order to complete the payment.
If eternal life with God depends on a work that is unfinished, then uncertainty makes sense. But if eternal life rests on a work that is finished, then confidence becomes possible. Our hope is not anchored in how consistently we perform, but in what Christ has already accomplished.
That is why Christians can speak about eternal life with humility and certainty at the same time. Not because they trust their own record, but because they trust his. What once felt like a distant goal to achieve becomes a gift secured by Jesus himself.
This is how another stress point becomes a rest point in Christ.
Pillar #4: Speak The Mormon Language
One of the greatest frustrations Christians experience when they talk with LDS is discovering they have talked past each other. Latter-day Saints not only have a unique way of saying many things, but they also give unique definitions to important biblical words. This is why we have provided you with an extensive Dictionary of “Mormonese”.
The more time you take to ask questions (pillar #2), the more evident this will become. Here we wish to emphasize only two points:
- Many Mormons are not aware of the differences in definitions and often are just as surprised at our definition of a particular word as we are at their definition.
- Becoming all things to all people means that, at least in the beginning, you must be the one who defers to their way of speaking whenever you can (i.e., calling God “Heavenly Father”).
Pillar #5: Witness Christ Rather Than Debate Mormonism
There are many potential debate topics: history, additional books, changes in texts, and unusual doctrines. Some people want those conversations. But many do not. And even when someone is willing to debate, debate rarely builds trust.
More importantly, debate often keeps the focus on human argument. The Bible describes God’s Word as living and active (Hebrews 4:12), and it describes the gospel as god’s power for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).
So rather than making the LDS church the main subject, make Jesus the main subject.
Here are gospel themes that often open meaningful conversation.
- Christ as substitute, not merely example: LDS people often emphasize Jesus as the pattern to follow. The Bible also emphasizes Jesus as the substitute who bears sin for us (Isaiah 53:4–6). An example shows you what to do. A substitute does it for you.
- Christ as our righteousness: Many LDS live under constant “law pressure.” The Bible’s comfort is that Christ kept the law for us and gives his righteousness to sinners (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Isaiah 61:10).
- Assurance that is grounded outside of you: Many Latter-day Saints search for assurance in their sincerity, their progress, their consistency, or their feelings. The Bible anchors assurance in Christ’s finished work. Hebrews 10:14–17 is especially helpful here.
- God’s posture toward his people: In LDS life, God can be experienced as an evaluator: always measuring, always grading. The Bible portrays God’s care differently. In Christ, God is for his people. He keeps them. He provides. He does not abandon them (Romans 8:31–39; Psalm 23).
- Confidence about eternal life with God: Many LDS people hope, but do not know. Christians can have confidence, not because they are better, but because acceptance depends entirely on Christ. When your standing with God rests on Jesus, you can speak with both humility and certainty (Philippians 1:23).
Using the 5 Pillars
These five pillars are meant to help you remove avoidable barriers quickly and begin building trust.
Many Christians hesitate because they fear damaging an important relationship. That fear is understandable. One practical way to begin is to practice in a lower-risk context, such as a conversation with LDS missionaries at the door (Please Open The Door). Learning to listen well, ask good questions, and witness Christ clearly in that setting often strengthens confidence for ongoing relationships with LDS family and friends.
Above all, keep the goal simple: Build bridges, not barriers. Witness Christ clearly. Trust God’s word to do the work. .
