Many people wonder why Truth in Love Ministry invests so much time and energy reaching Mormons. After all, they speak of Jesus, live visibly moral lives, and make great personal sacrifices for their faith. On the surface, it can seem like our differences are small.
But Jesus gave a sobering picture of the way to eternal life:
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved”
John 10:9
“Enter by the narrow gate… For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”Matthew 7:13–14
The narrow gate is not narrow because God is reluctant to save, but because it admits only one thing: the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The Picture That Keeps Us Up at Night
Imagine someone approaching that narrow door with arms stacked high.
In one arm are folders labeled Religious Duties Completed and Good Deeds Performed.
Under the other is a binder marked Service Hours.
Tucked under one arm is Family Faith Traditions Kept.
Balanced on top are checklists titled Rules Followed and Promises Kept.
Every item represents striving, sacrifice, and sincerity. Yet the more they try to bring through, the more the doorway resists—it’s simply too narrow for anyone to pass while carrying their own record.
They twist and shift, trying to make it work, but the weight is exhausting. Sweat drips down their face. And the deeper question presses in: If I set all this down, what will I have to show God?
That’s the heart of why we are concerned. Carrying our works means we are looking to ourselves for worthiness instead of to Christ. And trusting ourselves means rejecting the only Savior who can open the way.
Paul’s Story: From Self-Trust to Christ-Trust
The apostle Paul knew this from experience. Before following Jesus, he had an impeccable spiritual résumé:
“…circumcised on the eighth day,
of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews;
as to the law, a Pharisee;
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church;
as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”Philippians 3:5–6
If anyone could have entered eternal life on personal merit, it was Paul. But when he encountered Christ, everything changed:
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ…”Philippians 3:7–9
Paul realized that the moment we trust in our own righteousness, we step off the narrow path and onto the wide road that leads to destruction—even if that road looks moral and religious.
Why This Matters Eternally
Mormonism’s system of worthiness is one example of this wide road. It’s not just about rejecting God openly, it’s about rejecting his Son by relying on our own goodness to save us. And the Bible is clear:
- Our own righteousness can never make us right with God (Isaiah 64:6).
- To trust in our works is to reject the gift of Christ’s work (Galatians 2:21).
This is why our concern is urgent. The stakes are eternal. Good intentions, hard work, and religious devotion cannot open the narrow gate—only Jesus can.
The Invitation We Long to See Accepted
We long for our Mormon friends and for anyone tempted to rely on their own résumé—to lay it all down. Not because good works are inherently bad, but because they cannot save.
The narrow gate stands open for those who come with empty hands, trusting in Jesus alone. His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection are enough, completely enough, for eternal life with God.
This is why we speak. This is why we care. This is why we mustn’t stop.