= ;

Mormons-Churc= h of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Elizabeth Abouelkheir

The success of = the Mormon church in America has always perplexed me. I know some of the history of the church like how its founder Joseph Sm= ith in 1820 “received” his revelation from seer stones (which= by the way were used in the occult practice of divining treasure that he= and his dad practiced) and a dead Indian spirit named “Moroni” and how they teach from the Book = of Mormon and use the Bible as an aside reference. There are three level= s of heaven and essentially everyone gets to go. Jesus is divine but it is Joseph Smith who has the power to certify whether an individual makes= it to the top tier of heaven which is where God dwells. My question is how could such a rationalistic society such as ours = accept such teaching in light of all the available resources to test the veracity of the claims. The answer lies both in the way the Mormon church evangelizes and in human nature.

To say that Mor= mons are on a mission is an understatement. They strategically advertise= with a strong message of Christian values and show the joy, peace and love that a family will experience by following the teachings of Jesus Chr= ist as contained in the Book of Mormon.&= nbsp; We’ve all seen the commercials. I love them-I just wish they= were truly about Christ. These messages (both TV. and radio) reach an audi= ence of 357.4 million people a year. The commercials are run before an area is canvassed by missionaries (a pair of 18-20 year old men on bikes wearing black sui= ts with white shirts and nametags).&nbs= p; At the end of the commercials is usually an 800 number. Upon calling, an inquirer is= sent a free copy of the Book of Mormon and now also a Bible but along with= it is an explanation of how the Bible has been so misinterpreted that it= can no longer be considered a reliable source. The Book of Mormon, on the o= ther hand is the pure word of God.

Outside the US, their advertising is not focused on family values but is directed tow= ard the needs of that particular society i.e. health care or justice. In South America, Brigham Young Univers= ity (Mormon university) basketball games were broadcast for free for 5 years. When the mission= aries were finally sent in they were told to target homes with antennas. Their “door openerR= 21; was a conversation about the game.&n= bsp;

Once in the hom= es, on their first visit, they discuss God in conservative terms and conceal questionable beliefs. T= he majority of their quotes come from the Bible with a few from the Book= of Mormon that are in line with a more mainstream Christian view. One strategy used is evaluat= ing truth as a “good feeling.” They ask numerous times thro= ughout the presentation do you feel good about what you heard so far. Most people respond affirmatively. The missionaries then explain that these feelings come from the Holy Ghost therefore God must be confirming the truth. (Since that is the case, the= re really is no need to check it out for yourself.) Even when prospective believ= ers are told about Joseph Smith, the “prophet”, they are told= to test the truth of their claim but they are not told how to evaluate a prophet using Biblical criteria. Instead they are told to pray until = they come up with another good feeling.&n= bsp;

So far, the app= eal has been emotional. But= that makes sense, as humans, unless otherwise trained, our immediate respo= nses are emotional. To think through something requires effort and most of us choose the path of l= east resistance. Madison Ave= nue (advertising moguls) understands this perfectly- people don’t b= uy what they need, they buy what they want (or have been persuaded they want).

Speaking of per= suasion, I came upon a great article written by a former Mormon, Bob McCue. In= it, he discusses 6 ways that psychologists have identified that are used = by those most adept at persuasion to get what they want. The author goes on to show h= ow the Mormon church (and contends all long-lived organizations) masterfully applies them.

Reciprocity- if I give you something= you are more apt to do what I want you to do. Free pamphlets, Books of Mormon, Bibles etc. In addition, in the process of choosing, prospects are “bomba= rded with love” and are shown what inclusion in the group could look like.
Consistency- if I can be persuaded to commit to something I will behave consistent with that commitment. * This= one is applied to those having chosen Mormonism. They are expected to “bear a testimony”.= This is confessing the conviction that the Mormon church is God’s one true church on ea= rth and a multitude of other ideas that go along with that concept.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> For those who do not ye= t have a testimony, they are taught to bear one (i= e- speak, act, live as if it were true u= ntil it becomes true to you). To help them do this, they are put on the mission field w= here they are publicly and repeatedly bearing the testimony. Because there is so much stress that they must endure and limited reward, they figure out ways to truly believe what they are saying to calm down any dissonance that may be occurring due to inconsistencies with the commitment. (This = is important because huge personal investments are made as a result= and continued commitment is necessary and the cycle continues and is perpetuated for the next in line).
Social validation- I am more likely = to do what is asked of me if I believe many others are doing the same thing. Media campaigns show how wonderful Mormon families are.
Liking- I will be more willing to do= what you want if I like you. The missionaries that are sent out are highly personable = and respectful as well as well groomed.
Authority- I am more willing to do w= hat you want if you appear authoritative. The missionaries all we= ar suits and look professional.
Scarcity- I am more likely to do wha= t you want if I think the offer you are offering is in short supply. T= he prophet Joseph Smith holds the key to God and every other religi= on is a sham.

Knowing the lie= s, and understanding the manipulation, it is easy to deem these practices as evil and the people who practice them as deceptive. The vast majority of the Mor= mons that I have had the pleasure of knowing, however, have been moral, helpful, considerate people. It appears as if they raise their children well (in my high sc= hool science class all my Mormon kids were respectful, obedient, hardworki= ng, compassionate people). = This is understandable considering the authoritarian structure of the chur= ch. Questioning is not allowed- if a source does not support Mormonism, it should not be read and definitely not considered reliable. Truly the best lies of the e= nemy are part truth.

What does all o= f this mean for us? Is it ethi= cal or unethical to employ the understanding of human psychology and use it = to help make our point? Motivation is everything here. If we use it to educate and = inform and allow freedom of dialog (ie- research something then discuss it together allowing both pros and cons) it se= ems ethical. If, however, i= t is used to emotionally manipulate using the information then it would be classified as unethical persuasion.&= nbsp; To me, the techniques of the Mormon church smack of the world = and man’s ways. Isaia= h 55:8 clearly tells us “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are= your ways my ways,= " declares the LORD. I th= ink we are called to be “other worldly” even in our evangelism.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

So is there any= thing we can take away from what the Mormons do? A resounding yes.=

Live a life which will make an impre= ssion and cause people to question***
Offer to pray with non Christians in= need of encouragement
Engage in discussions and initiate conversations about moral issues
Invite people to Bible studies and/or church =
Offer evangelistic/informative liter= ature

*** From my experience in work= ing with the spectrum of American society, what I have discovered is that people are searching for love, acceptance, hope and integrity <Truth> (lack of hypocrisy)- all of = which are embodied in Our Lord, Jesus Christ. People who are searching or in ignorance even, don’t need ‘more of the same” or look-a-likes for what they currently have. They do not need to have G= od “placed in their reality” because this is a low, skewed a= nd powerless position. What they need is a revelation of Christ Himself = by the beautiful aroma of a person whose heart is totally for God and can then be totally for his fellow neighbor. This to me is the beginning= and end of evangelism. Our motivation, zeal, and power can only come from our life walked out wi= th our Lord. St John Chrysostom sums it up, "Let us strive to persuade others with our lives and not with mere words. Because, even= if we can speak very philosophically, but we do not give an example of g= odly life, there is no profit at all. Unbelievers pay more attention to our deeds, than to our words. If we describe to them the glories of etern= ity, but we remain attached to earthly enjoyments, we are contradicting ourselves".

= http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/art= icles/mission/makarios_zimbabwe_evangelism.htm

= http://www.apologet= icsindex.org/m01.html

= http://home.mccue.cc:10000/bob/d= ocuments/rs.the%20mormon%20use%20of%20belief%20shaping%20technique.pdf<= o:p>

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