Customer Reviews

Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons

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First of all, I would like to say that I am not a fan of "how to witness" handbooks, because, during many years of witnessing to cultists, I have seen quite a few people relying totally on this kind of guides and completely neglecting the most important weapons in the arsenal of a Christian witness: prayer and the power of the Holy spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can free cultists from the power of Satan and lead them to the real Jesus.
Having said that, I feel that it is essential for Christians to get as much information as possible before witnessing, and this book could just be what you need.
The book opens with a brief overview of the Mormon church today, followed by the history of the movement and a series of helpful suggestions on how to handle your witnessing encounters.
In the following chapters, Ron Rhodes examines the most important teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (including the restoration, LDS prophets, the Book of Mormon, the alleged migration to America, the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, LDS God, plurality of gods, LDS Jesus, premortality and salvation) and answers with passages of the Word of God and with logic.
The book also contains chapters on the inspiration, inerrancy and authority of the Bible, and the manuscripts supporting the Bible reliability, compared to the non-existent proofs of authenticity associated with the Book of Mormon.
The book ends with a few hints on how to make your witness experience a successful one, a practical list of do's and don'ts about dialoguing with cultists.
The highlight of the book certainly are the many thought-provoking questions present in every chapter, which will leave your LDS acquaintance glancing at you puzzled, and overtime will make a crack in their spiritual armor, forcing him or her to reconsider their religious position.
Overall, a useful resource on how to share your faith with Mormons, based primarily on the Bible, but also exposing many embarrassing aspects of the LDS history and beliefs that Mormons missionaries desperately try to hide when they knock at your door.
REMEMBER, THESE KIND OF BOOKS MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO GATHER INFORMATION, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO WITNESSING, THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL BE YOUR GUIDE. JESUS WILL GIVE YOU WORDS AND WISDOM IF YOU ASK HIM.

Ron Rhodes has proven himself very helpful to modern Evangelicals. This volume contains a lot of very helpful exposition and exposing of standard Mormon doctrine, rhetoric and psychology. But probably the most helpful aspect of this volume is Rhodes' and Bodine's ability to walk the reader through "reasoning from the Scriptures with Mormons." The title itself is descriptive. Rhodes' and Bodine's recommended witnessing strategy of asking questions is not only good sense, it also provides greatly needed instruction for engaging Mormons in respectful dialog.

As I have sought to witness to my Mormon friends and acquaintances, as well as teach regularly on the subject, I have returned to this helpful volume and directed others to do the same. My main reason for this, as I mentioned before, is the recommended witnessing tactic of asking questions. After all, a question ends with something shaped like a fish hook. What better tactic can we employ in seeking to persuade others of the truth?

But as one reads this wonderful volume it becomes very clear that the authors are dependant upon a host of prior publications. This is not bad in and of itself. But I would recommend that the serious Christian consider availing herself or himself of that additional literature, especially the works of Jerald and Sandra Tanner, James White, the Ostlings, and the many helpful volumes published by Signature Books (e.g., the works of D. Michael Quinn) -- as well as the recently published "The Mormon Defenders" (J.P. Holding) and the soon-to-be-published, "The New Mormon Challenge" (eds., Francis Beckwith, et al). In combination, these works supply the scholar's perceptive analysis, the insider's insight, and the evangelist's wise strategies.

Probably the one area where I would take issue with is the authors' theological persuasion: Dispensationalism. Their commitments in this area tend to weaken their case against certain Mormon arguments, especially in the area of eschatology and prophecy (which can be bolstered with reference to such volumes as "Last Days Madness," by Gary DeMar) and faith and works (which can be bolstered with reference to such volumes as "The Gospel According to Jesus," by John MacArther).

Regardless of my few criticisms, as a former Mormon regularly engaged in witnessing, I believe this volume is a worthy addition to the library of every contemporary Christian seeking to bear faithful witness to Jesus Christ in a world filled with pseudo-Christian religions.

As a former devout and temple worthy Mormon Elder, I was thrilled to find this book. The best book I've found on Mormonism that accurately and fairly represents their beliefs vs. biblical teachings...and I've read quite a few.

What I found so helpful is that the authors take you scripture by scripture, showing clearly and logically the accurate meaning of biblical passages while fairly presenting the Mormon interpretation/explanation as well.

For example, I'd always believed that the bible had somehow been "tampered" with over the years. And yet, the authors explain how there are nearly 24,000 (that's right...24,000) copies, fragments or quotes from other sources that verify the complete accuracy of what's written in our bibles today.Amazing! In other words, what our bibles say today is exactly and precisely what the prophets, Jesus and his apostles wrote thousands of years ago!

How sad for me, then, to discover that Mormon doctrine is a complete distortion of this, a dangerous "other" or "false" gospel to what Christ and his apostles actually preached.

Simply put, this book is an absolute must read for anyone investigating, questioning or otherwise wanting to know more about the Mormon church and it's completely unique teachings.

If you only buy one book on Mormonism, make it this book. You won't be disappointed. I just wish I'd found this book when it was first published in 1995...

This book is essential if you live in Salt Lake City and are Non-Morman. Gives you the facts and insight you need to make sense of their faith and religion. Gives you comparison facts to Biblical Scripture and their own Book of Morman. Lets you make your own decision as to "real history" and "real facts" based on the Bible.

This book is an excellent compilation for Biblical based debate with the Mormon person who has been raised on additional "revelations" and take aways from the Bible. Certainly not an end all, but serves the purpose of "quick reference" quite well.

I've read this book and I use it as a study guide in how to reach out to Mormons with the truth of the gospel and the Bible. Rhodes does not "preach hate" as some think, and just because some people don't like what they read in the book, theologically speaking (i.e. Mormons), doesn't mean that the book isn't true or biblically accurate. This book is quite accurate as far as I have seen and read, and I've read it more than once. The Bible doesn't call us to only tell people things that they like to hear. The truth hurts sometimes, but if it leads to eternal life, it is needed sometimes. He has sections on what correct biblical doctrine is, while showing what LDS theology actually teaches, using their own authorities and scriptures to do so. The rebuttals to the arguments commonly used to bolster the Mormon position are methodically looked and and responded to from the Old and New Testaments. I have Rhodes other books from the "Reasoning From The Scriptures With..." series, and they are all equally good. Incidentally, I am amazed at how many people think that just because Rhodes is correcting their theology, he should stop, because he's "hurting their feelings." Which is more important: having "good feelings" or having the truth that leads to eternal life?

When I was a young teenager I grew up under the impression that witnessing to other faiths involved bashing, mocking, and flat out disrespecting another persons long held sacred beliefs. As I got older and grew in my faith I realized this did not make sense.

I Peter 3:15 tells us to defend our faith with a temperance of love. Dr. Rhodes does just that. Having sat under his teaching I can attest to his model for witnessing to varying religions..his model is as follows..

"NEVER, EVER, tell them WHAT THEY believe. Ask lots of questions, discuss calmly facts, and authority."

He carries this model throughout this book. A discussion is given in each chapter about varying mormon theologies, and a scriptural refuting of their errors. Then Dr. Rhodes throws in little comment boxes that give you questions to lovingly ask. This model is top notch in its effectiveness.

I agree with another reviewer that some of the publications quoted as authoratative i nmormon theology are a bit dated. However, this is the problem we encounter with mormons all the time. Their authority rests in the words of the residing prophet, and theology and dogmatics are subject to change weekly, monthly, and yearly. Because of this it is impossible to keep a book on mormonism fully current without republishing it on a yearly basis. For further info on mormonism I highly reccommend the following books..

"The New Mormon Challenge" by Francis Beckwith

"Becoming gods" by Richard Abanes

"One Nation Under gods" by Abanes

There are many other interesting books, however I would avoid Ed Deckers books on the topic. For instance "The GOD Makers 1 & 2"..."Deckers Handbook on Mormonism"...While they are interesting reads, they tend to be on the extreme end of the spectrum, and border line combative. Having known of Mormons who read his books and the ones mentioned above, their reception of the information in the his writings was much harsher than of the info found in the others. With Decker having been a former mormon I am surprised by his somewhat abrassive tone. However, I know he is a good man and is just anxious to free people from a system of false religion.

With that being said, if you are interested in knowing how to effectively reach your mormon friends, family, or strangers at your door, PLEASE read this!!!..

I know several Mormons at my work and have had chances to talk to quite a few as they do their evangelism. All the ones I met have been very nice people, but of course they follow a false prophet and teach a false gospel. This book does a great job of pointing out many of the inconsistencies in Mormonism and can be a valuable tool in helping to get a Mormon to reconsider what they believe. Remember, they are coming from the belief that they are the only "true" Christians and that everyone else that says they are a Christian is following a corrupted version of Christianity. They also believe that while the Bible is still useful, it has been corrupted over time and ultimately only the Book of Mormon is pure. This book helps point out some of the logical facilities in their belief system and some of the particular problems with Joseph Smith, the Mormon church, and the Book of Mormon itself. You can never guarantee that you will be able to change someone's mind, but bringing up the right points and having the right information can make a big impact.

Of course, when talking with anyone who is not a believer (Mormon or otherwise), we should always remember that we are not a Christian because we are smarter or better than them, but only by God's grace. We will have nothing to brag about when we stand before Him, but will give Him all the glory for the salvation He has given to us who believe. We need to remember this when talking with others and remain humble. Making childish remarks about their undergarments is not going to win any of them over (if you don't know what I'm referring to, it is a belief they hold about "sacred undergarments"), but showing them the TRUE love of Christ will go a long way.

I have recommended this book to just any Christian who wants to reach out to Mormons. Ron Rhodes writes his book in an easy-to-follow format. And like the title indicates, he uses scripture (from the KJV) to show that Mormonism is not Biblical nor is it Christian.

One of the best things about this book is that since Mormons are known for door-to-door witnessing, it can turn a front door encounter into a great opportunity to share the gospel with the Mormons.

Often we unfortunately get into an, "us versus them" mentality, and we should do our best to realize that it is about sharing the gospel, not seeing who is smarter. Mormons, like all lost people, need to hear the gospel and come to know the true, Biblical Jesus. This book can equip Christians so that they can share the gospel with Mormons.

Ron Rhodes does many things right in this book. It has some pretty good doctrinal discussions and bible-centered responses to mainstream Mormon doctrines. That said, it has some of the classic drawbacks of anti-Mormon ("A-M") literature and avoids responding to some of the toughest pro-Mormon biblical scriptures. Here is a brief review of the book by chapters.

Chapter 3 ("The Restored Church?") provides a generally good response to the biblical verses Mormons use to claim that a total apostasy occurred. However, Mr. Rhodes needs to expend a little more time and energy to find neutral, academic sources for his extra-biblical critiques of Mormon doctrine. Citing to other A-Ms (Farkas and Reed, Tanners, W. Martin, McKeever, etc.) is intellectually unbecoming. WILLING OMISSION ALERT: Mr. Rhodes provides no response to several pro-apostasy verses such as Isa. 11:11, Dan. 2:44, Amos 8:11-13 and 1 John 2:18-19.

Chapter 4 ("True Prophets of God?"), which addresses Mormon prophecies and church structure, is unconvincing. Mr. Rhodes' response to 1 Cor. 12:28 is to claim that prophets no longer exist in the traditional sense (pp 72, 79). This claim might surprise many sects with which Mr. Rhodes claims fellowship, who still believe in the gift of prophecy along with other spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:11-13).

Mr. Rhodes likewise falls short in his explanation of a lack of need for new apostles (p 73), considering the fact that the new testament shows several new apostles being ordained. WILLING OMISSION ALERT: Mr. Rhodes cites only one of the two tests for apostleship -- seeing Jesus -- and uses that to make his case there can be no new apostles, but ignores the other test -- that an apostle be a person "which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us" -- that would puncture his argument because it is a test under Mr. Rhodes' interpretation of the verse that the apostle Paul clearly would have failed. See Acts 1:21-22.

Mr. Rhodes is similarly shortsighted in claiming that because the foundation to the celestial city mentions twelve apostles (Rev. 21:14) that this necessarily means there can only be twelve apostles (p 74). Under his reasoning, not only would Paul, Barnabus and Matthias *not* be apostles, Judas Iscariot *would* be a foundation to the celestial city. Yikes!

As an aside, note that Mr. Rhodes gets his date wrong on the appearance of the Salamander Letter (p 69). It was late 1983, not 1980. Get your facts straight, Mr. Rhodes.

Chapters 5-6 (the Book of Mormon) are uneven. The author has some good material, such as a well-done rebuttal to purported Book of Mormon prophecies in Isa. 29:1-4 (pp 92-98) and Ezek. 37:16-17 (pp 101-103). By not overextending himself on Rev. 22:18, he also puts forth a good case that the JST version of the bible violated that verse (pp 111-113, 144).

However, Mr. Rhodes' analysis of James 1:5 falls short (pp 105-111). I have never understood why A-Ms object so vehemently to the Mormons' straightforward interpretation of this verse, which also meshes with the injunction of Jesus in Mat. 7:9-11 (ask God for something and like a good father he will grant it).

Chapters 7-10 (bible inerrancy) are weak. According to Mr. Rhodes, simply because a book is cited in the bible doesn't mean it was supposed to be included (p 140). Oh? He seems to be working backward from a conclusion. Mr. Rhodes previously cited Jer. 30:2 for the principle that inspired written words are scripture (p 91), but somehow, the book of Nathan the prophet (1 Chron. 29:29) is not? Call me simpliste, but that seems a tad inconsistent.

I also got a laff out of Mr. Rhodes' table of fulfilled bible prophecies (pp 157-158). He would have had difficulty maintaining the fiction of biblical inerrancy when comparing Mat. 27:9 and Zech 11:12 (Matthew mistakes Jeremiah for Zechariah), so he glosses that over by referencing a more opaque Matthew verse (Mat. 26:15) and comparing it to Zech. 11:12, at the expense of the clearer Mat. 27:9.

Chapter 11 (migration to the Americas and the other sheep) was adequate. Mr. Rhodes does a satisfactory job rebutting the Mormon interpretation of John 10:16, although he doesn't directly address the "hear my voice" issue.

Chapter 12 (the Melchizedek priesthood) was poorly thought-out and unfocused. Mr. Rhodes' discussion of Melchizedek seems to be more an argument against some of his co-religionists, rather than against Mormons (pp 199-208). His alchemy for turning the priesthood of Jesus (Heb. 7:24) from the KJV's "unchangeable" into "untransferable" is to hunt for a preacher who says so (p 210). I guess when Mr. Rhodes said that when talking with Mormons one should "use only the King James Version of the bible" (p 35) he really meant to add "...except when it's convenient not to." Besides, if the priesthood were untransferable, then how did Melchizedek come to hold it? Hmm? Then, after telling us there is no more Levitical Priesthood and we cannot share in the Melchizedek priesthood (pp 213-215), Mr. Rhodes commits the classic A-M blunder of asserting "all who personally place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are 'priests'" (p 216). Am I missing something? Is there some other priesthood I don't know about?

Chapters 13-15 (nature of God) have Mr. Rhodes struggling, mostly unsuccessfully, with various scriptures regarding God's nature. He tries to explain away the visibility of God by saying that when God spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend" that just meant God was speaking to Moses "clearly and openly" (p 224), not that God was actually talking to Moses like one friend actually talks to another. I ask you: which interpretation is more literal and straightforward? I guess when Mr. Rhodes counsels us to employ "a literal method of interpreting scriptures" (p 181) he really meant to add "...except when it's convenient not to." Then he tries to shore up this hermeneutical sandcastle by pointing out that God refers to himself as a bird in Ps. 91:4 (p 224). Therefore, by some magic, that means Exod. 33:11 must be figurative too? Mr. Rhodes needs to read his own book, where he classifies the Psalms in the genre of biblical "poetry" and counsels "[t]he wise interpreter allows his knowledge of genres to control how he approaches each individual biblical text" (pp 180-181). So we should interpret historical narrative (Exodus) with poetry (Psalms)? Physician, heal thyself! Also, Mr. Rhodes later apparently forgets his position on this issue and states "Isaiah saw the Lord God Almighty seated on a throne" (p 304).

Anyhow, on to other items. How does Mr. Rhodes come to the conclusion from Isa. 31:3 that God "is formless" (p 230)? Also, Mr. Rhodes' chief explanation for the plurality of Gods in Gen. 1:26-27 ("let *us* make man in *our* image") is that Queen Victoria did it as well (p 248). This explanation is unsatisfactory to say the least, but when you don't have the bible to back you up, I suppose you gotta go with something.

On the trinity, if all three members of the trinity always had omniscience as Mr. Rhodes claims (p 258), how is that the Jesus is described as having *increased* in wisdom (Luke 2:52)? I was likewise mystified by Mr. Rhodes' analysis of Mat. 3:16-17 (the baptism of Jesus, with God the Father calling from heaven and the Holy Ghost descending like a dove on Jesus). The main thrust of his argument is that God is not three *personages* in one God, but rather "three persons in one Godhead" (p 255). Excuse my confusion, but isn't this the Mormon position? WILLING OMISSION ALERT: where is Mr. Rhodes' rebuttal to the Mormons' position that John 17:20-23 demonstrates a unity of purpose and not physical being? Any discussion Mr. Rhodes has on the nature of the trinity that doesn't address these verses is going to be, to a certain extent, a straw man.

Chapter 16 (the pre-existence) is poor. In his attempt to explain away Jer. 1:5, Mr. Rhodes admits that the verse "speaks of God calling and setting apart Jeremiah before he was born" but then Mr. Rhodes also states "the verse says nothing about Jeremiah pre-existing in any state whatsoever" (p 299). Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if God calls you and sets you apart, does that not *necessarily* mean you exist in some fashion?

Mr. Rhodes also misapplies 1 Cor. 15:46 to the first and second stages of our existence (pre-mortal and mortal life), when the verse and the whole chapter of 1 Cor. 15 speaks to our second and third stages (mortal life and resurrection). WILLING OMISSION ALERT: nowhere in the chapter does Mr. Rhodes take on the tough pro-Mormon scriptures such as Job 38:4-7 or, if you're hung up on who the "sons of God" are, Prov. 8:27-31 (sons of men were with Wisdom in the pre-existence).

Chapters 17-20 (salvation in Mormonism) is uneven. Mr. Rhodes does a decent job refuting Mat. 5:48 (pp 313-316), but a poor job of trying to explain why baptism is unnecessary and why baptism for the remission of sins does not exist, when the bible clearly states it does (Acts 2:38) (his argument is essentially a word play on the word "for" in Acts 2:38 (pp 327-329)). His analyses of John 3:5 and Mark 16:16 are likewise unconvincing. In Mark 16:16 in particular, his response to "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" is to sic the second clause of that verse on the first (p 332). That's hardly harmonious scripture interpretation, I think you'll agree.

There's more word play in Mr. Rhodes' analysis of James 2:24, 26 and the need for good works. Mr. Rhodes proclaims "a person is justified by faith alone" (p 335). Too bad for Mr. Rhodes the scripture actually states "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). Nothing like flat-out contradiction of scripture, is there?

Regarding the spirit world, I'll give Mr. Rhodes his props for tackling 1 Pet. 3:18-19, although his response is to essentially argue that the scripture should be ignored in favor of other scriptures (pp 352-353). He tries to make Heb. 9:27 ("it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment") do too much. Nowhere in this verse can you extract the idea that "immediately following the moment of death comes judgment" (p 353), particularly when the bible says the final judgment occurs only at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:2, 11-12).

Overall, Mr. Rhodes certainly compiled a more detailed book than Messrs. Reed and Farkas, and the book provides an interested reader such as myself a good bang for the buck. However, the book is too uneven and internally inconsistent in its analyses to be considered ultimately worthwhile. Like Messrs. Reed's and Farkas' book, it is convincing only to those who already are convinced, but no more.