What the goal of the “Impossible Gospel” is to show Mormons what the Book of Mormon truly teaches about the Gospel. Then to help them draw the logical conclusion regarding whether they are actually measuring up to the standard that is given to them by their own book.
I would start by asking the Mormon if I could share something with them about forgives? Then I would ask “Do you have forgiveness?”
They might respond with “Yeah, I have forgiveness. I repent and I’ve been baptized. I believe in God and in Jesus.” That type of thing…
Then I ask “Ok, may I share with you a few verses from the Book of Mormon that talk about forgiveness?”
“Of course you can.” They will hopefully reply with.
The first one I go to is Moroni 10:32
Moroni 10:32 - Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
So what do you have to do to obtain the grace sufficient for you? You have to deny yourself of all ungodliness. You’ve got to love God with all your might, mind, and strength. So, my question to the Mormon is..What does that look like when someone denies himself of all ungodliness?
Ask the Mormon that question. You might hear a response like, “Well, I’m trying. I’m trying really hard to repent for the sins that I commit.”
Continue by asking “But have you denied yourself of all ungodliness? Do you know of anyone who had done that?”
Be sure and repeat the verse a couple of times so they get the point. The point being that only after you have denied yourself of all ungodliness and completely loved God will His grace be sufficient for you. Then move on to the next verse.
2nd Nephi 25:23 - For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
My question to the Mormon is “So have you done all that you can do?”
The Mormon may respond the same way again, “Well, I’m trying, I’m trying. I’m doing my best. I repent every day.”
I understand that, but have you done all that you can do? Because if you have done all that you can do why are you repenting? Why would you be repenting from sin? It would seem that you are still falling short?
You may need to park on these two verses for awhile so you can pound into the Mormon what their own books are requiring of them. This is not being saved by grace apart from works. To get the grace of God you must deny yourself of all ungodliness. You must deny yourself to get the grace of god. You can only get His grace after all you can do. God’s grace is not a gift in Mormonism. It is only after all that you can do. Get the point? Next verse…
Alma 11:37 - And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.
So, you cannot be saved in your sins according to Mormonism. If you are sinning you cannot be saved in them.
Next verse…
1 Nephi 3:7 - And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
Basically this says that God does not give commandments to people that they cannot keep. If He gives you a commandment, you can keep it. If He says that you can deny yourself of all ungodliness then you can do it. If He says that you are saved by grace after all you can do then you can do it…according to Mormonism.
So the question again is…Have you denied yourself of all ungodliness? Have you loved God with all your might, mind, and strength? Are you doing that?
Take them to another passage…
Doctrines and Covenants 1:31-33 - For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
So this passage is saying if you truly repent then you will repent and do the commandments of the Lord to be forgiven. So I ask the question, “How many of the Commandments do you have to do?” because the verse says to do the commandments of the Lord.
You’ve got to repent and do the commandments of the Lord because he says the he cannot look upon sin with the lease degree of allowance. The next verse shows the true difficulty in this message.
Doctrines and Covenants 58:43 - By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
If you have truly repented of your sins you are going to confess them and forsake them. Doesn’t something sound wrong with that? You have to forsake your sins in order to have them forgiven?
Many times in speaking to Mormons they choose not to believe me but what about one of their own prophets? Surely a Mormon wouldn’t try and refute his own prophet, would he? A Mormon prophet has the right and ability to speak with authority on issues of doctrine.
Spencer Kimball defines what repentance is in “Repentance Brings Forgiveness”
- Sorrow for sin
- Abandonment of sin
- Confession of sin
- Restitution for sin
- To do the will of the Father
Let’s focus on the Abandonment of sin. This is what the prophet of the church says, “The forsaking of sin must be a permanent one. True repentance does not permit making the same mistake again.”
Think about that for a minute. If true repentance does not allow you to make the same mistake again then you have not truly repented. This is the point to bring the Law in. Ask about lying, stealing, lusting, loving God more than anything. If the Mormon says that they are trying to stop those things…well then have they truly repented? Remember the prophet said that you cannot make the same mistake again if you have truly repented?
So I might ask, “Do you repent daily?”
If the Mormon answers yes then he has not truly repented according to Mormon doctrine because if you continually repent then you must be continually sinning. Remember you can’t make the same mistake again according to their prophet.
So what are you going to do if you repent of your sins (lying, lust, coveting) now, yet 10 years from now you commit the same sin. Doesn’t that prove you never repented to begin with?
"There is one crucial test of repentance. This is abandonment of the sin. Desire is not sufficient. In other words, it is not real repentance until one has abandoned the error of his ways and started on a new path… the saving power does not extend to him who merely wants to change his life. Trying is not sufficient." (Spencer W. Kimball, Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 163
**The Impossible Mormon Gospel is originally presented by Keith Walker from www.evidenceministries.org **
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