What does the Bible say about religious conversion?/How does the Mormon/LDS Church justify forced conversions?

Question

I was raised as a nondenominational Christian and a while back I was considering looking further into becoming a member of the Mormon/LDS church, I posted a question on Facebook, something along the lines of, "Is it a sin to leave the religion you've had all your life to covert to another monotheistic religion that teaches that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all who believe in Him and that He is the Son of God?" The only answer I got, or at least the only one I remember, is my friend saying, "No, according to the Bible, it is not acceptable," but she didn't cite any verses or anything to support her statement.
But, if m friend was right and it is considered a sin to change religions (except of course going from atheism or agnosticism, or some other non-Judeo-Christian/monotheistic religion), then how do Mormons justify making non-Mormons convert to LDS in order to marry a Mormon in the Temple, or for whatever other reasons these conversions are required? Is there something in the Book of Mormon or another Mormon/LDS Sripture that says something different than the Bible does about conversion?

Answer 1

The Bible is a testament of Jesus Christ and teaches his gospel. At the time that the gospels were recorded Christ's original church was still the only Christian religion, so I doubt there is anything in the Bible about leaving one Christian church to become a member of another Christian Church.



There are however warnings about apostasy, the turning away from the gospel, which was beginning to happen, but they are more warnings about being deceived.

Matthew 24:4-14

Acts 20:28-30

2 Timothy 3:1-5, 14,15



Concerning forced conversions, there is a difference between conversion and joining a church. Mormons believe it's wrong to force people to join our church, and it would be impossible to force someone to convert, because true conversion comes from a confirmation from the Holy Ghost. It is a true change of heart and for some a change in behavior. We want people to join the church because they have received a confirmation that it is the true church.



Here is a link that teaches about conversion:

http://www.lds.org/study/topics/conversion?lang=eng



Membership is a requirement to be married in the temple, but the Church in no way encourages people to join the church just so they can get married in the temple. When one is baptized they can't automatically go to the temple. They spend the first year of their membership learning more about the gospel and they take a temple preparation class before they can go and then they have to go through two worthiness interviews to get a temple recommend. The reason for all of this is that the temple covenants are considered a serious commitment and only those who are truly prepared and committed to keeping them should make them.



LDS

Answer 2

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints never will force conversion on people. Our Father in Heaven has given us the gift of agency. That is a precious gift that we can choose our Father in Heaven will never force anyone to do anything. If people convert just to get married in the temple that is considered lying which will be judged by Jesus Christ. He will be the one to know your heart.

The Book of Mormon is a companion to the Bible. It will help you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has helped me understand the principles in the Bible better. I would encourage you to prayerfully read the scriptures (Bible and Book of Mormon) and ask they are true. To join the LDS church just because there is no pressure to have sex maybe a reason to join but the question is Is it the right reason.

You can go to church and go to activities to meet others and date. We do hold church dances and other activities in which to enrich our lives.

You can go to Mormon.org to see all of our beliefs and ask questions. We believe that under the proper authority (Priesthood) we can be married in the temple for all time and for the eternities. Which means that after death those that were married in the temple which be together forever.

Answer 3

In the Old Testament there were many examples of proselyting prophets and individuals. That was ALWAYS a big part of the bible.



In the New Testament Christ tells His followers to go into all the world teaching repentance and baptism. Outside of the gospels and the revelation, nearly every dealing in the NT is in reference to this great missionary effort.



It is therefore absurd to assume that the bible instructs us not to proselyte or share our feelings; in actuality it not only shows us a pattern of that, but commands us to do so.



Beyond that, inside of the LDS church we do have temples, we also have a university system. To get admitted to BYU you need to have good grades to justify you being there and remain in good standing with the church. One cannot come in to a class without being admitted to be there. On a much more important scale the temple also requires certain covenants and knowledge to have been gained by an individual as prerequisites to it's attendance.



Nobody is barred from entering the temple, the goal of LDS missionary work is to get people and families to the temple - thus rather than people being kept out, we have 60,000 full-time missionaries trying to get people to be able to go to the temple. But there are steps between that starting point and the temple that need to be taken, and there are tons of people helping along the way. Unlike a university that can only take so many applicants, EVERYBODY can and is encouraged to be prepared and worthy to enter into the temple.



Part of that preparation and worthiness for the temple includes chastity and virtue. In the temple we make certain promises and covenants, among them we make a covenant of chastity and fidelity - thus it would make little sense and be effectually mocking God for an unchaste person to be continuing his covenant of chastity. Most sins are hard to stop once started, outside of addictions, I can't think of anything as hard to stop as sexual activity would be once started; so we take that very seriously.



Back to your question on forced conversion, there is a teaching and interviewing process to ensure that conversions aren't forced; there are dozens of verses in the bible about going out and sharing your beliefs, even more in the Book of Mormon and other scripture. But logic as well would let you know that if you had a wonderful knowledge that brought peace and happiness through the joy of Christ, and this filled you with a love of others, then it would be cruel not to go out and share what you know and what you have.



So it's a love of God and fellow-man that motivates us to share our beliefs with others in addition to the commandment in scripture to do so.

Answer 4

You need to stop asking other people for basic information. You should learn the doctrines yourself out of your own bible. That is because many of the people you ask don't know either and won't admit it, and many of them will try to sell you some baloney that was made up by unknown sources.



Read the bible from Romans to 2 Thessalonians over and over until you start to remember what it says. Keep reading until you start to notice it says some things that are different from what you have been told it says. Keep reading until you figure out that the bible is more reliable than those people who told you different things.



Here is a book to help you study the bible. It's a free download and you can buy a hard copy at any bible book store.

http://philologos.org/__eb-htetb/ "How To Enjoy The Bible"

Answer 5

Take it from me a young Christian man (22 y/o) who also mentors other men, there is always temptation there, the understanding that no sex before marriage, needs to be a personal conviction from looking at the Bibke, expressed to the person your dating, followed by setting up boundaries and hedges to ensure your success in purity. Meanwhile all this prayer for God to purify your heart as only He can do.



LDS has many issues, you don't need an organisation like that, you need a good local church who follows the Bible and then pursue a woman for a dating/courtship hopefully for marriage. There's to many issues to mention with LDS but we as Christians follow Jesus Christ first and become apart of His Body the church.



Faith is a gift from God, unbelief is a choice to reject it.

Answer 6

the beauty of christianity, lies within the bible. The text is ambiguous and contradictory, to the point where, you can make it mean anything you want by cherry-picking the relevant texts. Its a one-size fits all, imaginary things usually are. So any action can be justified through the bible, and most atrocities have been justified in the same manner.

Answer 7

The LDS Church does not force people to convert. Rather people choose to convert to be able to enjoy the blessings you've described.

Answer 8

A sin by whose definition, the old religion or the new one? Why the hell would you want to convert to LDS anyway? And by the way, atheism and agnosticism aren't religions at all, contrary to what the believes would have us believe.

Answer 9

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