Roberts assists ministers on Samoa in sharing Christian faith amidst Mormon influences
posted on Nov 11, 2010 by Tammi LedbetterAMERICAN SAMOA — On the one hand, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Phil Roberts is pleased by the interest he sees among Baptists in American Samoa seeking to counter the growth of Mormonism. On the other hand, the more time he spends teaching faculty and staff of Kananafou Theological Seminary along with area pastors, the more the spiritual battle seems to intensify.
As Samoans seek to recover from the tsunami that hit the tiny island just over a year ago, interest in spiritual matters continues to rise among the indigenous, and the good works of Southern Baptists are providing openings for opportunities to follow-up with evangelistic conversations.
Roberts returned to Samoa last spring at the invitation of Brian Smart, pastor of the English-speaking service at Happy Valley Baptist Church. While formerly serving at Ridgetop First Baptist Church in Tennessee, Smart first learned of Roberts’ expertise in Mormonism by reading his book, Mormonism Unmasked: Confronting the Contradictions Between Mormon Beliefs and True Christianity.
“They were extremely interested and concerned about losing members from churches to Mormonism. Many have relatives who have been in Mormonism for years and still don’t have any understanding about the enormous difference between Mormon thinking and biblical teaching,” Roberts told Baptist Press.
Compared to the prior year when he first taught on Mormonism in American Samoa, Roberts said he saw heightened interest in discussing the differences of Christianity and the popular cult. “I was pleased with the solid response on an academic level, and at the same time, the response of the churches that face challenges from the growth of Mormonism.” Mormons appear to be concerned about losing their grip on the people of Samoa and have increased their missionary activity in the area beyond what he had observed 18 months earlier.
Latter Day Saints have had Mormon missionaries in the Samoan islands since the 1850s, having convinced many of the islanders that they come from a lost tribe directly linked to Israel, according to Roberts. The Mormon teaching of Israelite descendants of Noah traveling to Central America before the birth of Christ and later migrating to North America has been debunked by researcher Simon Southerton in his book Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church.
Roberts said that although generally evangelized by Congregationalists and influenced by some Baptists that “Mormons have hung around,” taking advantage of the theological drift.
The increased Mormon activity is more noticeable beyond American Samoa, impacting the entire South Pacific region, Smart said. “Most Mormons are trained in West Samoa and now they have a new training ground in New Zealand.”
While ward houses are spread out across the island, Smart said their strategy seems to be changing. “Most of them are visiting these areas, but we don't see that they have more missionaries on the island.
“It is extremely difficult to witness to a person raised in a Mormon home,” he added. “The belief in a literal hell is a difficult topic to talk about because our view of Hell is completely different than what is taught by the LDS church.” For holding this view, Smart and other Christians have been ridiculed by Mormons, who are convinced that their affiliation with LDS protects them from such a fate.
Although there are approximately 10 million adherents worldwide, most LDS church members don’t understand the more peculiar doctrines taught in their religion, including the views that:
-- God was once a human who progressed to become God and is one of many Gods
-- Man has the ability to progress and become a god just as Jehovah did
-- Polygamy, though no longer advocated, was once encouraged
-- Jesus is the son of God, considered to be the “literal”
“Samoans study the Bible and most of them know when another teaching doesn’t add up,” Smart said. However, more missionaries are needed to expose the doctrines of the LDS church and Jehovah’s Witness, he believes.
“I absolutely love when Dr. Roberts comes to teach,” Smart added. “He explains their whole [Mormon] doctrine, and it helps us understand where we need to focus on evangelism. Most evangelical Christians want to point fingers and go their own ways, but he challenges our churches to have a dialog with our LDS friends. He equips the church with the teachings that we need to know so that we can be thoroughly equipped to present a clear teaching of the Mormon church and a clear understanding of evangelical Christianity.”
Roberts added that he is anxious to return next year for another round of instruction. He further hopes to branch out to other areas in the South Pacific with this information so he can assist and educate ministers about the Mormon influences they encounter daily.