My daughter is dating a Mormon. My daughter will not leave her Catholic faith for him and has made that crystal clear to him. He’s indicated that he may be willing to leave Mormonism if presented with good arguments to do so. I’m sure we’ll have to take this slowly. Any ideas from former Mormons on the best approach to take?
Definitely agree with po18guy. The Holy Spirit needs to do the difficult work. So pray!
Your daughter is very lucky that he indicated a willingness to leave Mormonism. If he was born and raised in the LDS church, this is huge. Without knowing your daughter’s boyfriend, it’s hard to know what will help him open his mind and heart to allow the Holy Spirit to work. Mormons can be tough nuts to crack. I know because I was one of them. Did he go on a mission? Has he been endowed in the LDS temple?
The basic premise behind the Mormon faith is that at some point there was a total apostasy of Christ’s church such that the priesthood authority was removed from the earth and that priesthood authority was restored by Joseph Smith. It may be helpful to show how the Early Church Fathers were Catholic. The LDS church has never stated exactly when the early church “went wrong” and apostasized, but they believe it definitely happened by the Council of Nicea. The earlier the better. Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Irenaeus. Connect them to the apostles and show that they taught what the apostles taught. Also, show him that Jesus told his disciples that he would never leave his church as orphans!
Going to Mass is a good suggestion. I loved the Mass the first time I went as I felt it was true worship of God. Explaining the Mass and tieing it back to the Jewish temple will get him thinking, especially if he has been to the LDS temple.
He can even try out RCIA in an inquirer group. There’s no commitment and he would be able to ask questions and learn more.
It can be very difficult to leave the LDS church, especially if his family are faithful LDS. I have had problems with my family because I left and I am now becoming Catholic. There is a lot of pressure in the LDS church to marry in the temple. Good for your daughter for being strong in her faith.
Mormonthink is a great website. I also found the tracts on Mormonism on this site to accurately portray LDS teachings. It is probably not best to directly go after Joseph Smith and Mormonism as he may become defensive and not be open to hearing anything. So focus primarily on the arguments FOR the Catholic Church which are many. The main things I had to understand and accept during my conversion process were the Trinity, the Eucharist and Mary.
For me, it was quite upsetting to learn the truth about Joseph Smith and the history of the early LDS church. So much had been whitewashed, it was really quite devastating to my faith. I almost lost faith in God entirely. Classical philosophy (Aristotle, Aquinas) were key for my belief in God. The LDS beliefs on who God is are very, very different from Christian beliefs.
Remember to pray often! Feel free to PM me. I am more than happy to help you and your daughter understand Mormonism, the struggles of leaving the faith and converting to Catholicism.
