Though we had many Gospel conversations during our time in Utah, this one specifically stuck out to me. During door-to-door evangelism with my partner, Cameron Bearginer, we faced a tough challenge. We knocked on a door, hopeful for a fruitful conversation with an LDS member, open to hearing our beliefs and discussing theirs. However, the conversation was quite the opposite. The man we were met with had recently gotten back from his two-year mission and was quite on fire with his LDS beliefs. Yet this passion was unfortunately directed towards a condescending attitude instead of an open conversation.
From the time the man opened the door to the time we left his house, Cam and I were on the hot seat. Question after question, we were blasted with either a harsh comeback or a dodged question. Yet, the Lord worked. He used the Spirit to guide us wisely through the conversation to get back into the driver’s seat, as we learned in class with Brett Kunkle. The man dodged every question and statement that proved his gospel was false, which was, in a sense, encouraging to know that he had realized he did not have adequate answers for our questions. His religion had left him answerless, and his only tactic was to put the attention back on us.
By God’s grace, the Lord gave Cam and me the thoughtful words in order to plant seeds.
The man’s wife ended up joining the conversation, and we practically debated through the whole MAVEN guideline book of topics. One of the most interesting topics we debated was the impossibility of the LDS “gospel”. The man explained his version of the gospel by saying, “I will do as many works as I can, then Jesus will do the rest.” That’s how the LDS faith views salvation, earned through your own actions. Cam and I had to point out, many times, that this idea means that Jesus’s work on the cross is not sufficient for salvation. The man denied this and said that we do not sound like true believers if we have no works in the equation. We used Ephesians 2:8-10 to explain that we “have been saved through faith,” yet also showed that “faith without works is dead” in James 2. Our faith is not a result of our works, but our works are a result of our faith.
The conversation was at times discouraging, but it was beautiful to know that the Lord worked through such a difficult conversation, even though Cam and I did not necessarily see it in the moment. The Lord grew us in many ways because of this conversation with the couple, and it is eye-opening to see that we got to be a part of the Lord’s masterful plan!
Margo Nelson, Class of 2027
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