As you have discovered, talking with Mormons can be a challenge. If you challenge their beliefs in any way, many LDS will take it as a pesonal attack and will immediately retreat from a discussion. Whatever you do, don’t put down their beliefs.
I have had many an experience when trying to explain my faith or questioning LDS faith that they will just shut down and pull away. One thing that I think is important to know is that LDS only believe that they are eating plain bread and drinking plain water. They do not believe that they are actually taking in Jesus. They participate in “the sacrament” as a way to remember, not as a way of taking in Jesus, body, soul, and divinity. I agree with Chris, you HAVE to KNOW your faith!
I would never tell her that what she believes in is wrong, even if I thought so.http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif I want to remain friends with her. But when I ask her questions about her faith she never seems to have an answer and suggests sending a missionary to me. Possibly she just doesn’t know her faith very well. She converted because her husband is mormon.Moira,
Please don’t think that all mormons “shut down” when someone wants to tell them about their religion…I love to hear about other religions. In fact my husband thinks it’s an obsession.
Just remember that a lot of people (I don’t necessarily mean you) seem inclined to tell the LDS what is wrong with our religion instead of teaching us about their own. I wouldn’t tell your friend that you think our sacrement is wrong,
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Sadly, I think that you may be right many LDS do not know there religion…I think that’s actually true with most religions. I’m so glad to hear that you value your friendship so much that you don’t want to offend her. However, if your religious conversations are causing contention I have two more suggestions:
Great suggestions! It is almost alsways better to explain what you believe than it is to tell someone else what is wrong with what they believe. Obviously there is a time for this also, but certainly not right at the beginning of a discussion because it automatically puts the other person on the defensive.Moira,
Please don’t think that all mormons “shut down” when someone wants to tell them about their religion…I love to hear about other religions. In fact my husband thinks it’s an obsession.
Just remember that a lot of people (I don’t necessarily mean you) seem inclined to tell the LDS what is wrong with our religion instead of teaching us about their own. I wouldn’t tell your friend that you think our sacrement is wrong, that would probably not go over very well. Perhaps if you wait until the next time she brings it up you could say something like, “I would love to hear about your sacrement then I want to tell you what I believe about the Holy Communion so that we can understand each other better.”
It doesn’t have to sound that corney but you get my point.
Certainly also a problem with many Catholics.
leschornmom, I wish there were a lot more LDS out there like you. Maybe there are, but in my ten+ years of family and friend LDS relationships, I’ve never met one like you who gave Catholicism the time of day. I think it’s because most LDS accept the Great Apostacy idea with very little proof, which automatically removes any possibility of even considering learning about other Christian faiths. I once again commend you on your willingness to not take things for granted. And if you’re really really curious about Catholicism, may I suggest you read what the early Church Fathers said about the Eucharist. If you’ve never heard of the Didache or some of the writings of the first and second century church fathers, that makes for some great reading.Moira,
Please don’t think that all mormons “shut down” when someone wants to tell them about their religion…I love to hear about other religions. In fact my husband thinks it’s an obsession.
Can I SECOND this statement!!! :clapping:
I have never heard of this and I would be very interested in learning about any thing new…Do you have any links or recomended readings about the “Didache”. I will not look things up on line any more because I have been sent to to many anti sites…anti-mormon, anti-catholic, anti-protestant. You get the idea.
I prefer to get the info right from the source.
I can assure you that he was not taught the correct catholic doctrine while growing up and I can also assure you that any of his questions are as sincere as mine are.
Sure thing. An excellent source book for this stuff is by a guy named William A. Jurgens and is called “The Faith of the Early Fathers.” It’s a 3-volume set, and is a compilation of the earliest Christian writings, including the Didache. Volume 1 starts with the time period immediately after the Apostles and goes up from there. I checked it out once from my old parish library. You may be able to find it at a library. I know Catholic Answers has the whole set for sale on its website. I liked this book particularly because some writings are from the 1st century that tell us what the early church was like, what they believed, and how they worshipped. There are plenty of reliable web sites out there if you want me to refer you.I have never heard of this and I would be very interested in learning about any thing new…Do you have any links or recomended readings about the “Didache”. I will not look things up on line any more because I have been sent to to many anti sites…anti-mormon, anti-catholic, anti-protestant. You get the idea.
Hello leschornmom,I have never heard of this and I would be very interested in learning about any thing new…Do you have any links or recomended readings about the “Didache”. I will not look things up on line any more because I have been sent to to many anti sites…anti-mormon, anti-catholic, anti-protestant. You get the idea.
Stubble - I have the some of the same struggles as you do with keeping the will to “fight”. Please don’t stop! It is easy to get discouraged and I have had to take breaks from my work, but spreading THE TRUTH is far more important than the attacks that come from it!!! In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us that we are blessed when we are persecuted in His name. I struggle with feeling blessed when it is happening, but don’t give up!!
