How to Talk About Abraham with your LDS Friends
Understanding the Bible’s theme of God keeping his covenant through a messy house and providing the substitute we need.
Table of Contents
Abraham is often treated like a spiritual superhero. Genesis does not tell his story that way. It gives us a man with real faith and real fear, a family with real promises and real conflict, and a home that causes real harm to real people. That is not an embarrassing detail to hide. It is part of the message.
Genesis is teaching us that God does not base his covenants upon human steadfastness. Rather, he keeps his covenant even when his people falter. He speaks his promises, stays faithful when they wobble, and patiently shows them who he is.
Abraham’s story reaches its climax in Genesis 22, and everything narrows to one question: “Where is the lamb?” Abraham’s answer becomes the hinge for the whole story, and it trains us how to read the Bible: “God himself will provide” (Genesis 22:8).
How LDS Often View Abraham and Sarah
Many Latter-day Saints revere Abraham as the great covenant example, the father of the faithful, and a model of obedience under testing. So it is natural for LDS to read Abraham’s story with a lot of admiration. Their emphasis often falls on his faith, his covenant life, and his willingness to obey.
Therefore, when a Christian points out Abraham’s fear, deception, or the way Hagar is treated, an LDS friend may feel like you are attacking someone they have been taught to admire. The goal is not to tear Abraham down. The goal is to read Genesis honestly enough that we see what Genesis wants us to see: God is the hero of the story; God keeps his covenant; God provides.
It also helps to remember that many Latter-day Saints are not reading and thinking about Abraham from Genesis alone. They are reading and responding to him through the lens of additional LDS scriptures. The Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, for example, portrays Abraham as a seeker of righteousness and priesthood blessings, and that naturally shapes how many Latter-day Saints think about his life and role in God’s plan. It is fine to ask your LDS friend what the Book of Abraham teaches. Curiosity can open a respectful conversation. But remember, your goal is to help your friend sit under the power of God’s Word, so keep the main focus in Genesis.
What the Bible Emphasizes
Covenant Mercy, Not a Perfect Family
If we want to read Abraham’s story the way Genesis tells it, we have to let Genesis set the emphasis. It does not give us a polished hero. It gives us a messy house.
Here is a simple pattern to watch for as you read:
God speaks promises.
Abraham and Sarah wobble.
God stays faithful.
God provides.
That pattern is not in the story by accident. Genesis is teaching us where our confidence should land. Not in Abraham’s steadiness or his strategy. Not in Sarah’s strength. In God’s covenant faithfulness.
If that sounds almost too simple, keep reading. Genesis 22 is coming, and it will press this lesson into one unforgettable sentence: “God himself will provide.”
God Calls a Sinner and Takes the Initiative (Genesis 12; see also Joshua 24:2)
Genesis traces the line from Noah to Abram, and then God interrupts everything with a call and a promise. God does not wait for Abram to clean himself up. God speaks first.
That matters because it tells you what kind of story this is. The covenant starts with God’s Word, not Abram’s worthiness. And God’s promise is not small. He is not only shaping one family. He is promising a blessing that will reach “all peoples on earth.” Genesis is already moving the reader toward the Messiah.
Fear Exposes What is in Abram (Genesis 12:10–20; Genesis 20)
These are chapters people often rush past, but they are a gift to us sinners. Abram is afraid. He lies. He protects himself. Sarai is put at risk. And what makes it even worse is that he repeats the same sin later.
Genesis will not let us pretend that being righteous in God’s sight is the same thing as moral consistency. Abram’s fear shows how quickly a believer can turn inward and self-protect. But then Genesis shows us something even more important. God steps in. God protects Sarai. God preserves the marriage. God keeps the promise alive.
Do not use these chapters to excuse or minimize sin. That is not why they are here. They are here to expose the human heart and to magnify God’s mercy. When we see how patient God is with Abram, we feel freer to be honest about our own failures before God, and more confident that our hope rests in God’s faithfulness, not ours.
Righteousness is Credited, Not Acheived (Genesis 15:1–6)
Genesis 15:6 is a key verse: “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
Notice what makes Abram right with God. It is not a flawless record. It is not the strength of his faith. It is God’s promise, received by believing in him. Abram trusted what God said, and God counted righteousness to him.
This matters for witnessing conversations because it keeps the center of gravity where the Bible keeps it. Righteousness is received as a gift. It is not earned like a wage. If we miss that here, we will miss what God is doing all the way through Abraham’s story.
Hagar and the Cost of Taking Control (Genesis 16; Genesis 21)
Genesis 16 is painful because it is so honest. Waiting gets hard. Abram and Sarai grasp for control. And so Hagar is reduced to a solution instead of a person. Then she is treated so harshly that she runs away.
Do not rush past that. If Abram and Sarah can justify this plan while still talking about God’s promise, what does that say about how easily sin dresses itself up as wisdom and working with God, or even choosing the wrong right to make things happen according to God’s plan? Genesis is not trying to protect Abram’s reputation. It is showing us what sin does inside the covenant family. And it should make us squirm.
Then look at God. God finds Hagar. God hears her affliction. God sees the unseen. The covenant family fails her, but God does not. That is not a side note. It is a window into God’s character, and it is one more reminder that God keeps his covenant even through this messy house.
God’s beautiful interaction with Hagar prepares us for what comes next. In a story where human plans keep breaking people, God shows that he must be the one who provides.
God keeps his promise anyway (Genesis 17–18; Genesis 21)
God renews the promise. And then God waits until it is humanly impossible. Abraham is old. Sarah is far beyond childbearing. From a human perspective, the promise starts to sound ridiculous.
And then Isaac is born.
God is teaching Abraham and Sarah, and he is teaching us, that the covenant does not rest on human strength. It rests on God’s faithfulness. The promise is received, not produced. God will not let this story be explained by human ability, so that the only explanation left is God.
That is not just an Abraham lesson. It is the salvation story. Through the law, we see our true sinfulness, and God gets us to the end of ourselves. Honesty about our brokenness stops us from trusting what we can manufacture, so that we can turn from ourselves (repent) and start trusting what God has promised. Only when we let go of this false hope can we see how great and complete God’s promises truly are. Righteousness isn’t produced; it’s given. We do not climb our way to God. God comes to us with a promise, and he keeps it. The birth of Isaac teaches us how to think: when God promises life where we only see impossibility, the point is not our potential. The point is his provision.
And once we learn that, we are ready for Genesis 22, where God will press the lesson even deeper: God provides what he requires.
The story’s climax: God provides the substitute (Genesis 22)
Genesis 22 is where the Abraham story tightens and focuses.
God tells Abraham to take his son, his only son, whom he loves, and offer him. Most of us recoil. We should. The story immediately raises the question: If Isaac dies, how will God fulfill his promise? God has tied the covenant to this son. So what will God do now?
As Abraham and Isaac go up the mountain, Isaac asks the question that hangs over the whole chapter: “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” The scene is almost unbearable. They have the wood. They have the fire. They are walking toward an altar. But there is no lamb.
That question is doing more than moving the story along. It forces us to confront what sinners cannot avoid: If God is holy, and sin deserves death, where is the sacrifice that can stand in our place?
Abraham’s answer is simple and loaded: “God himself will provide the lamb.”
And God does. A ram is caught in the thicket. The knife does not fall upon Isaac. A substitute is placed on the altar. Isaac lives because another dies in his place.
This is one of the best places for Christians and Latter-day Saints to talk about Jesus because Latter-day Saints already care deeply about Genesis 22. They often highlight Abraham’s willingness to obey, and there is plenty to admire there. But Genesis 22 does not leave us with Abraham. It leaves us with God. The center of the chapter is not Abraham’s heroism. It is God’s mercy. God provides what he requires.
How Jesus Fulfills Genesis 22
Genesis 22 trains us to expect a certain kind of God: A God who provides the sacrifice.
That is why Christians hear an echo when John the Baptist points to Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Jesus is not merely an example or a helper. He is the substitute God provides so sinners can live.
Genesis 22 also gives us simple language for conversation. Ask your friend if they have ever heard Jesus described as a “substitute-Savior” and explain how Jesus is more than an example for you. Then go back to the story and ask: In this chapter, does the substitute merely make Isaac eligible to live, or does it actually spare him? The ram is not a symbol of possibility. It is a substitute that takes Isaac’s place.
That question can help an LDS friend slow down and notice what substitution actually means. In Genesis 22, Isaac is not spared because he proves himself, and he is not spared because Abraham climbs high enough. He is spared because God provides a substitute. The ram does not make Isaac eligible to live. The ram takes Isaac’s place.
Then you can ask one more question that keeps the conversation respectful and specific: When you think about the Lamb of God, do you picture Jesus mainly as the one who shows us the path back to God, or as the one who stands in our place before God? Genesis 22 is inviting us to dwell on the kind of God who provides what he requires.
Conversation Starters
Use gentle, curious questions that draw your LDS friends into the story. Invite reflection rather than debate:
Questions About the Covenant and the Promise
- What does God promise Abram in Genesis 12?
- Who speaks first in this story, God or Abram?
- Why do you think Genesis 15:6 is stated so plainly?
Questions About Fear and Failure
- Why was Abraham afraid in Genesis 12 and Genesis 20?
- How does fear lead people into sin today, even religious people?
- What comforts you about God’s response to Abraham’s failure?
Questions About Hagar and the Messy House
- What do you notice about how Hagar is treated in Genesis 16?
- What does this chapter teach us about the human heart?
- What stands out to you about God seeing Hagar and hearing her affliction?
Questions That Dwell on the Lamb and Point to Jesus
- Why does Isaac ask, “Where is the lamb?”
- Why does God provide a ram instead of simply stopping the sacrifice with no offering?
- What does a substitute accomplish in this chapter?
- If God provides what he requires here, what does that suggest about how God saves sinners?
The Goal of the Conversation
You do not need to correct every detail of LDS teaching about Abraham. Your goal is simpler and far more meaningful. Help your friend see what Genesis emphasizes. Abraham and Sarah are not spotless covenant achievers. They are sinners who need mercy. God keeps his covenant through a messy house. And at the climax of Abraham’s story, God teaches us to look for the lamb.
If your friend can see Genesis 22 for what it is, not merely a story about devotion but a story about God’s provision, the door opens naturally to Jesus. Not as a helper for our effort, but as the Lamb of God, the substitute Savior God provides.
Join Our Newsletter
Stay Current on How Best to Reach Mormons
Learn more about our ministry, the impact of your support and more in our bi-monthly newsletter, Building Bridges.