Witnessing

At the Second Church of Odyssey you'll find different ways of expressing your beliefs, finding prayer support or being encouraged through regular devotionals.
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JesusFreak777
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Post by JesusFreak777 »

For me, the hardest group to witness to are Mormons. I have a couple of good friends who are Mormons, and they claim to be Christians etc etc. I'm not judging them FYI. But when I ask them what they believe, they twist everything around so much. It is really sad. I honestly don't know how to talk to them and I usually end up avoiding the subject with them altogether, because each time I say something, they twist my words or tell me the verse I just quoted doesn't apply because "that verse/passage wasn't translated correctly." it's very frustrating and discouraging.

More to come later.
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One I Froggy
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Post by One I Froggy »

My best friend for 8 years was a mormon. Her father was the bishop of their church and they were all very strong in their faith. It was hard at first, but I always admirred how steadfast she was in what she believed...even though I didnt agree with her.
I think the hardest thing about witnessing to her was letting her know that I wasnt judging her...and being respectful of her thoughts.
She got very offended once when I brought a Brio Magazine to school, and she read an article that said Mormons where part of the cult.
~Nikki~

My favorite bible verse:
"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29
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JesusFreak777
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Post by JesusFreak777 »

:hug: frogalywyz.

It is so hard. I want to be able to share the truth with her, but i also want to be there for her. There are so many who want to get out, but they can't, especially in places like Salt Lake city. I've been told of people who left and have lost eveerything because of it, family friends, jobs, even homes. From my understanding, if you leave the church, often times you are excommunicated from you family, by both the family and the church.

I want to be there for my friend and listen to her, but it is so hard. There are times when I come home crying because I can't do anything. I have to remind myself that it isn't in my control, and that God will give me or someone else the opportunity to speak with her in his timeing. It doesn't make it any easier though. Sorry for this little tangent here.


Oh yeah, I was gonna add one more thing. I was reading a book on Mormonism (THe God Makers I and II, by Ed Dekker (sp)) and I realized how hard it is for those in the religon who really do know what is going on and want toget out. alot of that stuff is similar to/is the occult. another friend of mine is a Wiccan (pretty sure it's name only, but that's another story) and I was telling her about what this book said, and she was like a lot of that stuff is really close to what the wiccans do in their stuff. That totally freaked me out. Yeah anyway. Sorry for the second tangent.
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Trent DeWhite
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Post by Trent DeWhite »

JF wrote:Oh yeah, I was gonna add one more thing. I was reading a book on Mormonism (THe God Makers I and II, by Ed Dekker (sp)) and I realized how hard it is for those in the religon who really do know what is going on and want toget out. alot of that stuff is similar to/is the occult. another friend of mine is a Wiccan (pretty sure it's name only, but that's another story) and I was telling her about what this book said, and she was like a lot of that stuff is really close to what the wiccans do in their stuff. That totally freaked me out. Yeah anyway. Sorry for the second tangent.
Ted Dekker?

The whole issue of ministering to Mormons is a sticky subject. I have a friend who's Mormon. While there are certain things we agree on, I can't help but wonder where such faith will ultimately lead this person. :(
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JesusFreak777
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Post by JesusFreak777 »

Trent DeWhite wrote: Ted Dekker?

The whole issue of ministering to Mormons is a sticky subject. I have a friend who's Mormon. While there are certain things we agree on, I can't help but wonder where such faith will ultimately lead this person. :(
No it's Ed Decker sorry about that.

I agree. It is very sticky which is why I try and avoid talking about it with her...probably not the best solution. I'm not trying to judge her or anyone else. God is the only one who can say who si/isn't going to heaven. it's just so frustrating sometimes.
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Trent DeWhite
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Post by Trent DeWhite »

JesusFreak777 wrote:
Trent DeWhite wrote:The whole issue of ministering to Mormons is a sticky subject. I have a friend who's Mormon. While there are certain things we agree on, I can't help but wonder where such faith will ultimately lead this person. :(
I agree. It is very sticky which is why I try and avoid talking about it with her...probably not the best solution. I'm not trying to judge her or anyone else. God is the only one who can say who si/isn't going to heaven. it's just so frustrating sometimes.
So true. While you'd like to be a light to your friend, you don't want to be judgmental. I think one of the best ways to reach out is through prayer. Even general discussion and comparison of your differing faiths would be beneficial.
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Post by Jeremy »

Yes, our only job is to speak the words God gives us to speak, and leave the results up to Him. Of course I know it can be very frustrating, since we want to "make them see" the truth! But those trapped in the bondage of Mormonism (and other cults) are actually under a hold, a power, which is real and spiritual (demonic) in nature. As 2 Corinthians 3:14-17 says, "But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.
15But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
16but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (NASB.)

That was true of the Jews, and it is still true of those in cults. They can't see the truth even when you present it to them in black and white from the Bible, because they have a veil covering their heart (spiritual eyesight) and they have been conditioned/brainwashed to hold onto "the truth" (what their cult/religion teaches) at all costs. If the Bible contradicts their doctrine, then the Bible is either "in error," "mistranslated," or "misinterpreted." It is frustrating.

The best and most effective thing you can do is pray that the Holy Spirit will remove the veil and reveal the truth of Jesus and His Word to them. And just keep planting seeds--God will make sure the harvest comes.

Jeremy
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JesusFreak777
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Post by JesusFreak777 »

Yes except every time I say I believe such and such, she says, "oh so do I." even if she may or may not. ](*,)

The other part of this is we are both graduating and heading in different directions. I don't want to bring it up and possibly ruin our friendship, you know? No I am not putting our friendship above her soul, but it seems I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have prayed about it a lot, and I feel strongly, that God is using me through my actions, not my words right now. I believe he will bring someone else into her life to speak to her. I am not that person at this point in time.

It has been really interesting throughout my high school years. When I started high school, all of my friends were from my Christian school. We eventually grew apart, had different classes etc. Now not a single one of my friends at school is a Christian. They are either, athiest, mormon, wiccan, or not sure/don't care. It is really interesting to see how God has changed my group of friends. instead of them pulling me down, I have in turn pulled them up, if only a little. They know what I believe and why. It is really awesome. I don't know what God has in store for them later on, but I am so thankful that He has used me to plant the seeds that Christians are not all stuck up holier than thous.
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Post by Trent DeWhite »

I concur with you both. I think the key thing for us to do while dialoguing with believers and non-believers alike is to approach them with love. 1 Corinthains 13 clearly emphasizes the importance of doing anything and everything with love. Verses 4-7 say, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Verse 13 concludes with, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
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Post by Jeremy »

JesusFreak777 wrote:Yes except every time I say I believe such and such, she says, "oh so do I." even if she may or may not. ](*,)
Yeah, that happens all the time. They say "we believe in salvation by faith" when they really believe that faith is simply the first step of many to get to heaven...or something else like that. There is a big communication barrier. One of the problems is that they (the so-called "Christian" cults) have different definitions for common terms then the definitions that Christians have. So it makes it hard to even communicate about essential Christian doctrines. You first have to know what their definitions of certain terms are--but even figuring that out can sometimes be difficult.

Jeremy
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One I Froggy
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Post by One I Froggy »

Well, my friend and I grew apart, but it was because she left for Germany, not because shes mormon. She has a very big family, and you were right about being excommunicated if you leave the church. She had a cousin who had a child out of wedlock, and that cousin has been for the most part shunned. I often would ask my friend questions about her faith, and, as is true for most people, she always pointed out that not all Mormons have the same beliefs. For instance, in Utah, some mormons still practice Paligamy...while my friends church doesnt.

She will be going to BYU next year, just as her three older siblings have. I doubt we will ever see eachother again, which is sad, because even though we are not the same religion, she made me a stronger christian.
~Nikki~

My favorite bible verse:
"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29
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JesusFreak777
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Post by JesusFreak777 »

frogalwyz wrote:. I doubt we will ever see eachother again, which is sad, because even though we are not the same religion, she made me a stronger christian.
Exactly. same here.
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Post by One I Froggy »

A few years ago, I had a friend that was part of a family where eveyone had different beliefs and views of God. His mom was Wiccan, his dad was Atheist, his brother was Drued (Sp?) and my friend was Agnostic.
It ws very hard to keep straight what he believed, and we had many conversations about it. I could never assume he thought a certain way, it was almost as if he made up his own religion as he went along.
The biggest difference between him and me was that he didnt believe in Hell. He just didnt think that if there was a God, that God would let someone burn in hell for eternity. Our conversations really made me think, but in the end, it did make me a stronger christian. We spent a lot of time going through the Bible, which didnt really do anything for him, because he didnt take the Bible for the truth, he just kinda used it for reference when it suited him.
~Nikki~

My favorite bible verse:
"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29
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Post by Flyah »

I will post some additional thoughts here later but will say first off that I think 'friendship evangelism' bears the greatest and most lasting fruit in witnessing. When you earn someone's trust they're much more likely to engage in serious discussion. Many times when you witness to strangers or even acquaintances, everything breaks down into argument.
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Post by Linne »

I have a hard time witnessing to goths. *shudder* But my youth group went out and did some witnessing at our city's River festival....

To quote my Xanga:
Well, anyway people, I had the most AWESOME time last night! It was the first night of thr River Festival, and some people from my church and I went out to hand out tracts. We went off in pairs and in different directions, and were going to meet when the fireworks started. Well, I was with this guy friend of mine, and we walked up and down that big bridge over the river like, five times, and all the way down the street! We sort of headed over down by the river, but there were all these weirdo's, like goths, and punks, and we din't feel at all comfortable, so we left. We handed out a few tracts, and then we were going to do this survey thing. So we stopped two girls, and asked them if we could ask them some questions. they agreed, so Tim (my guy friend) asked them capital of Indiana. They didn't really know, then one was kinda like, "Indinanapolis(Can't spell it...)!" And he was like, "Right," and she said, " Really?" It was pretty funny.

Well, we led up to the question, what do you think happens after you die? And we had this awesome conversation with them about what happens, and if they were bad people, and if they were, they were going to hell. One girl really seemed hit by it, she kept sayiong, "You're scaring me," which is good, we need to be scared of hell. So then, I took over and shared the gospel message with them, and we left an e-mail address with them.

After that, we wandered the streets again, handing some out. Then we met with the rest of the group, or nearly all, and we sort of waited around that big Century II sigh during the fireworks. But what was cool, was that since we were all there in the food court, we could spread out and hand out more tracts. So we basicly stood there, and handed them to everyone who walked by, and that probably went on for over half an hour, then cops chased everyone out. So we kept giving them to anyone who went by. Another guy tried to give one to a cop, (we'd given several cops some already,) and he said, "Don't be handing those out around here. Put them in your pocket or I'll take them and throw them away." He was kinda freaked out, but once we were little further away, we handed them out again.

Now, all this time, we were missing two of group, and didn't know where they were. So on the way back to the van, Tim got a call, and it was him calling to say he was back home! He had to come and pick us up from the Exploration Place!

The ride back to church was awesome too, cuz we all told about the different people we'd talked to, and once we got to church, after we'd talked, we had a small prayer meeting, and we all prayed for the people we'd talked to, that God would work with them. Man, it was so amazing, we could tell he'd already worked in some peoples lives. One guy said he had just prayed that God would send someone to tell him more about spiritual things when one of my friends came up to him. So this guy told him, and Anthony said, "I think he answered that prayer." Our God is truely awesome, I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it! I can't wait to go back out later, we were all so excited last night!
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Jennifer Doyle
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Post by Jennifer Doyle »

I've never tried witnessing to a member of another religion before. Non-Christians are usually the people I try to talk to the most, even then, I'm not very dedicated to putting myself out there and talking with people.

Mostly, I try to go out of my way to be nice to people and witness with my actions and not just words.
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Post by Alleycat »

I soooo want my best friend to be saved... She says she's saved, and I don't KNOW! I'm afraid I'd be judgemental to say she's not because she dosen't go to church... at least I don't think so...
And each light that we've extinguished has brought darkness to our Land...
Upon our Nation have mercy Lord!
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One I Froggy
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Post by One I Froggy »

Sputnik wrote:I soooo want my best friend to be saved... She says she's saved, and I don't KNOW! I'm afraid I'd be judgemental to say she's not because she dosen't go to church... at least I don't think so...
Yea, you have to be careful saying she isnt saved because she doesnt go to church. I dont go to church regularly, and I am still a christian. Sitting in a building a few hrs every week is not what makes someone a christian. A personal relationship with the Lord does.
~Nikki~

My favorite bible verse:
"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29
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Flyah
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Post by Flyah »

frogalwyz wrote:
Sputnik wrote:I soooo want my best friend to be saved... She says she's saved, and I don't KNOW! I'm afraid I'd be judgemental to say she's not because she dosen't go to church... at least I don't think so...
Yea, you have to be careful saying she isnt saved because she doesnt go to church. I dont go to church regularly, and I am still a christian. Sitting in a building a few hrs every week is not what makes someone a christian. A personal relationship with the Lord does.
Yes, but genuine believers will practice spiritual habits (See 1 John)
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Post by Alleycat »

I am carful...I don't get to see her often, but she is so nice! I think shes a christian, I just have this nagging feeling.... :pray:
And each light that we've extinguished has brought darkness to our Land...
Upon our Nation have mercy Lord!
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