Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

By Mormon Readers

Q: How can you deny that this is the Lord's church when you look at how it is flourishing? A false religion would have come to naught like the Bible says. It would not be the fastest growing religion.

A: Such questions assume some very popular misconceptions among Mormon people.

First of all, Mormonism is not the fastest growing religion. Islam far exceeds Mormonism in its size and also its growth. It is interesting that the Islamic faith also is based upon a false prophet who claimed to speak for God. By your measure of truth, it would be Muslims who have the truth, not Mormons. Nevertheless, it certainly is true that Mormonism is growing--particularly outside of the United States.

Secondly, it is not God who says (in the Bible) that any religion of men will "come to naught." Rather it is Gamaliel, one of the legalistic Pharisees whom Jesus condemned so often. See Acts 5:34-80. The teaching of Jesus is quite the opposite of Gamaliel's idea:

(Matthew 7:13-14) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: {14} Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The wide gate and the broad path leads to destruction. That means that Jesus knew that most people would follow the large numbers, and perish. This would indicate that fewer numbers of people is a better indicator of truth, rather than large masses of people. By boasting of your church's explosive growth, you actually speak against your church, rather than for it.

Lastly, it is very questionable whether Mormonism is truly "flourishing." While the official membership numbers look impressive, large numbers of people who are officially on the roles actually don't believe in Mormonism and may not even consider themselves Mormons any longer. I personally know of Mormons who have written letters to the LDS Church requesting that their names be removed, but have been unable to get any action on their request. All of this tends to unduly inflate the membership numbers. Also, LDS Missionaries today have a clear tendency to push for large numbers of baptisms rather than real converts. They often leave these new "Mormons" without any real understanding or involvement, yet they are still counted as part of Mormonism. In addition, the depth of commitment of many Mormons seems to often become weaker and weaker, and I find it is not unusual to speak with those who claim to be "Mormon," yet do not even believe the same things that the Church teaches. The LDS Church in Utah is particularly growing weaker, and evangelical Christian churches in Utah are popping up all over. Most of the growth in the LDS Church is outside the United States where fewer Christians have been educated about the dangers of Mormonism. Flourishing? Perhaps, but all may not be so well in "Zion" as is assumed.

Evangelical (Bible-believing Christianity) is not a religion per se, but a relationship with Jesus Christ that crosses denominational lines. Going to church doesn't make you a born-again believer any more than going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger. But many different churches around the world are full of evangelical born-again Christians. Counting church membership is fairly simple, but counting true born-again Christians is not so easy. Even so, I think that it is fair to say that evangelical Christians outnumber Mormons many times over, despite Mormonism's growth. Representing these Christians, Bible-believing evangelical Bible scholars around the world are in substantial agreement about what the Bible teaches, and virtually all of them unite to condemn LDS interpretation of the Bible. [Of course, there are a lot of people out there who categorize themselves as "Christians," but who do not believe the Bible to be the authoritative Word of God. The liberal "Bible scholars" in this camp tend to have some pretty outlandish views, but that is largely because they do not believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God.] In the final analysis, the truth or falsity of Mormonism is not determined by how many people do or do not join it, but rather by its consistency with the Word of God as revealed in the Bible.

Your friend,

Mark Champneys