SouthCoast:
A good friend of mine is Catholic. I am a Catholic convert (from Evangelical Protestantism, generally Baptist). I converted as an adult based on history, reason, Holy Scripture and prayer (lots and lots and lots of it).
The previously mentioned friend is married to a Mormon. I attended the wedding. The mormon girl (his wife) now regularly attends mass with the Catholic husband. I need information that can be presented in a subtle fashion to evangelize to this mormon. I feel that it’s important that she know the truth, the full truth, so she can make her choice.
Where do I start?
-Michael
Michael,
It sounds as if your friend’s wife, already attending Mass with him, has at least started the journey towards the Catholic Church. I don’t think that there’s really any need to be subtle - jump right in and see if she is comfortable about discussing beliefs! I’ve found that with those who are
comfortable (and not everyone is) discussing their religious beliefs the sharing of beliefs - and simply displaying the joy of my faith, and allowing the other person to do the same or to ask questions, etc., is a step in the right direction: as a convert yourself, your journey can be a powerful message to others (and helps we old ‘cradle Catholics’ re-connect on so many different levels that I thank the Lord for converts nightly!).
I’m sure that others might suggest some books to read but I would hold off on pushing reading material towards the young lady at this point - nothing is as good, initially, as a good conversation.
One thing to remember - and something I have to keep in mind when I’ve talked to protestant friends - is not to ‘bash’ the faith that the other may have been raised in and may still believe in. I think that this obvious advice bears repeating when discussing your faith with someone from the LDS church: it gets called a cult so often and it seems that the day has come when there is more anti-Mormon information available (for a church of under 12 million members) than there is anti-Catholic information available (and we’re 1 billion strong - and growing) that it’s easy to latch onto anti-Mormon literature, but to what end? Just as I’ve heard all the anti-Catholic rhetoric, it’s likely that she’s heard all the anti-Mormon and I know I don’t have to say it - but I feel I must - attacking beliefs that one may still cling to is no way to evangelize.
You
have the information you need to get a conversation going - your faith and how you came to believe in Christ’s Church. Your ‘testimony’ is
much stronger than mine and likely much, much more interesting: all I can say is that I was
born this way - you get to talk about the trip! As I said, nothing gets a cradle Catholic more fired up than hearing the story of a convert. I’ve lived in the south most of my life where EVERYONE, it seems, is Baptist and have been delighted to see how the lives of people have changed so dramatically after finding “home”.
You have the tools at hand - you just need to begin the conversation. If things heat up and it comes down to Catholic v. LDS apologetics there are a number of Mormon to Catholic converts here that can help out. The young lady, already attending Mass, may well be ready to sign up for RCIA tomorrow - or she may have questions or issues that she may not discuss with her husband but would love to discuss with someone else. There is so much in the Church that has brought me joy but I sometimes think the greatest joy is standing as sponsor for the newly baptized and confirmed and I take that sponsorship to heart just as much as any of my godchildren. This may be your chance to bring a soul home to Christ - and it has to begin with a simple exchange of beliefs.
God bless you AND the newlyweds!
She’s not a very talkative girl, but I hope to bring up the conversation sometime. I’m trying to get the newly weds to a better parish. Not to say theirs is bad (I go there sometimes, too, for convenience), but it’s a bit too casual for my tastes. They don’t even have pews, they have chairs with kneelers on the back. I just like seeing pews in a church