A Pebble in the Shoe

by Wilson Adams

When Mormons knock at your door…

70,000 Mormon missionaries, with shirts, ties, and name tags, go door-to-door seeking converts to the Mormon Church. Reality: you aren’t going to convert them on their "mission." There are too many checks and balances. Think of it like walking into a Ford dealer and trying to sell the salesman a new Chevy. No-go. Neither will you get far by focusing on their “Elder” title or launching into LDS plural marriage history. Those are not great strategies.

Instead, put a pebble in their shoe.

First, treat them kindly. Mormon kids often speak of how badly they are treated by “Christians” and see that as evidence that we aren’t kind. Second, invite them in and ask questions about their lives and family. See them as Jesus sees them: souls for whom He died.

The goal of their "knock" is to bear testimony: “We come to bear testimony that the Mormon Church is true, the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.” However, it’s more important that we share the testimony of our faith -- a very different faith.

Ask if they have a Bible (most carry a “Quad” in their backpack: KJV Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). Have them read I John 5:9-13 aloud, which declares that God's testimony is greater than man's testimony. Ask, “Do you have this promise of Jesus (eternal life), and are you bearing this testimony of God?”

Either you bear the testimony of man or the testimony of God.

Put a pebble in their shoe that they’ll wear all the way back to Utah. Even small pebbles are hard to ignore.