How do I share the gospel with Mormons?

from the old testament

• Mormons teach that there are three Gods. Deuteronomy 6:4 says the LORD God is One.

from the new testament

• The main point we must seek to address is their false view of Jesus. Mormons teach that Jesus is not God, but once was the firstborn spirit child of the heavenly father and mother (who actually had sex) who became perfected and exalted. In the Bible, Jesus refers to Himself as the "I AM," as referred to in Exodus 3:14, many times in the Gospel of John, and the religious leaders absolutely knew He was calling Himself God because they tried to stone Him for blasphemy (John 8:24, 28, 54-59; 10:30-3913:18-28; 14:9-14; 17:1-26; 18:4-8).
• In John's gospel, he also calls Jesus God made flesh in 1:1 and 14.
• Mormons teach that we need to add works to salvation. However, John calls Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in verse 1:29. Jesus is the perfect and complete sacrifice. We cannot work to earn our salvation and only receive God's free gift by trusting the work of Christ on the cross (Romans 10:9-10).
• Revelation chapter one is very strong language to indicate Jesus is God and that He died and rose again. Verses 12-18 describe the glorified Christ who identifies Himself as the "first and the last" who was dead and is now alive forevermore. ‏He is God and always has been.
• Mormons believe that God was once a man and that He had a body. They believe the man perfected Himself while on the earth and thereby became a God. The Bible clearly says that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and there is absolutely no reference to God the Father having been a man. They believe in many gods who were once men, became perfected, and now each have their own world to rule.
• Mormons teach that God the Father has a physical body and literally fathered Jesus through sexual relations with Mary, but Scripture directly contradicts this claim. The Bible teaches that God is Spirit and not a physical being (John 4:24), and that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not through any physical act (Luke 1:34–35; Matthew 1:18–20). Mary herself explicitly asks how this could happen “since I am a virgin,” and the angel explains that the conception would be a miraculous work of God’s Spirit, preserving both God’s holiness and Mary’s virginity. Nowhere in Scripture is God the Father described as having a body, engaging in sexual relations, or procreating physically; instead, God declares, “I am God, and not a man” (see Hosea 11:9). Therefore, the Mormon claim has no biblical foundation and directly contradicts the Bible’s clear teaching about God’s nature and the virgin birth of Christ.

implications for today

For the most part, Mormons consider themselves to be mainline Christians. This makes it tricky because they use similar terminology to us—Jesus, gospel grace, salvation, etc—but mean fundamentally different things.

At the heart of the issue is the gospel itself. The biblical gospel is the good news that sinful people are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, based entirely on Jesus’ finished work on the cross—not on human effort or religious achievement (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 3:23–24; 1 Corinthians 15:1–4). Jesus, fully God and fully man, lived the sinless life we could not live, died in our place bearing God’s wrath for sin, and rose again victorious over sin and death; salvation is received by trusting Him, not by adding works, rituals, or obedience to laws (Romans 10:9–10; Galatians 2:16; John 19:30). Mormonism rejects this gospel by redefining it—teaching that Jesus is a created, exalted being rather than eternal God, and that salvation ultimately depends on personal righteousness, ordinances, and obedience alongside Christ’s work. By adding works to grace and diminishing who Jesus truly is, Mormonism proclaims a fundamentally different message than the one Scripture calls “the gospel,” which is why clarity and compassion are both essential when we speak with them (Galatians 1:6–9).

We should ask God for wisdom and guidance when we begin an encounter with a member of any cult, including Mormonism. When we consider that they are lost individuals, just like the rest of the lost world around us, we need to kindly engage them in conversation about our own beliefs. That mean we have to study the Scriptures for ourselves (2 Timothy 2:15).

It is difficult for untaught Christians to have a sensible discussion with Mormons because they (especially their missionaries) are totally prepared with all of the talking points for their faith. Our tendency is to just toss them off our front door step, but when we realize that their salvation is at stake and that they have a totally unbiblical view of Jesus, the gospel, and salvation, it should motivate us to know and share God's truth with Mormons. The question is not whether the conversation is uncomfortable, but whether we care enough about truth—and about them—to be ready when the opportunity comes.