The Evil Mormons Book

One of my mission cities was Tijucas, and as we would walk home we frequently passed a little gas station that still offered full service.  As part of the service a young man named Alixandre would stand out on the sidewalk waiting for customers.  It became routine for us to stop and invite this young man to visit church on Sunday.  His response was classic for a Brazilian: "Yeah, someday I'll go there!"  Which in the Brazilian language means "Not in the next three thousand years."

One fateful day We stopped by and chatted about work, the weather, and we told him that he ought to come by on Sunday and visit the church.  He smiled and droned "Yeah, one day I'll be there" and my companion and I got the distinct impression he wasn't even thinking about what he was saying.  After we left, however, one of Alixandre's coworkers rushed over,

"Did I see you talking to those Mormons?"
"Yeah, sure, they're nice guys, why?"
"Oh no!  You don't want to get mixed up with them!  Did you know they have an evil Mormon's book?"
"Oh, yeah, I think they showed it to me once.  I didn't really pay attention"
"Well stay as far away as you can!  That book is all about how to worship the devil and they dance around golden candles at their church, and they teach you how to destroy the Bible!  When you are a tenth level Mormon you can read in that evil book how 'Mormon' means 'Christ hater'!"

So Alixandre showed up at church that week.  We were as surprised as anyone, but he didn't say a thing about why he was there or what he wanted to know, he just sat in the back and watched.  That ward has Sunday School first, and the youth lesson just happened to be on The Book of Mormon.

I thought it was a disappointingly boring lesson.  It said all the things we had already told Alixandre in the days that we had been talking to him.  That Mormon was an ancient American prophet, and he had a testimony of Jesus Christ.  Even though Christ was born in Jerusalem the people in ancient America had visions and revelations of Jesus, and they taught their children how Jesus was the Savior.  After the Lord was crucified and resurrected he appeared to these American inhabitants (that we now call Indians) and taught them.  Mormon, as a historian, compiled the works of God among his people and wrote it on plates of gold.  Then a modern prophet was given power by God to translate these writings into English.  It is meant to be scripture along side the Bible.  Both books help us learn about God.

Of course my companion and I are secretly watching Alixandre.  He's leaning back in the back of the classroom without any reaction.  We were worried because this was more of a history lesson than a scripture lesson.  In fact the only scriptures actually read came from the Bible, such as "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 1:16).  We hoped the priesthood meeting would be more interesting.

The lesson in Priesthood was all about the Savior's death and resurrection.  Inside I was groaning.  There isn't a Brazilian alive that doesn't know the story of the crucifixion.  I figured there wasn't any part of the lesson that Alixandre couldn't hear in any other church, except some of the Book of Mormon references: "Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name." (2 Nephi 25:13).

Our last hope to really impress this investigator was sacrament meeting.  It was fast Sunday, so instead of a nice polished speech the members got up and simply stated that they knew this was the church of God, and that the Bible and Book of Mormon were from God, and the Jesus was the Savior.  I was waiting for someone to share a story about some great miracle, but in the end it was a very simple meeting.  At the end we approached Alixandre.  I decided to apologize for a boring day at church.

But I didn't.   My companion was in tune to the spirit, he simply asked Alixandre what he thought of church.  Then he shared with us what his coworkers had said about the evil Mormon book.  Again we bit our tongue and asked him what he thought.  He said the lesson had already answered his questions.  The talk about Christ had touched him, and the testimonies had converted him.  He was ready to read the Book of Mormon and to know more.

A year after I had returned home from my mission Alixandre wrote me a letter to tell me he was serving a mission of his own.  So often I hear people say negative and untruthful things about my church.  It is tempting to get defensive and want to fight.  Instead I have learned "What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints." (D&C 121:33).  The Lord had a work for Alixandre to do, and the more evil tried to stop him the faster the Lord's purposes were accomplished.  There is no need to fear what the wicked may say, as long as the Lord is who we obey.