Mormonism is recruiting Christians in record numbers, especially evangelicals. In 2025, the Latter-day Saints (LdS) reported more convert baptisms in a single year than it has seen in any of the previous 195 years. In the United States, this growth has been mainly in the Bible Belt. Of the top 10 states with LdS growth in 2022, only one, New York, doesn’t play in the SEC. Arkansas (4.05 percent), Tennessee (3.55 percent), and Missouri (3.43 percent) have seen the greatest membership growth.
In 40 Questions About Mormonism, Kyle Beshears, campus pastor of Mars Hill Church in Mobile, Alabama, explains many significant errors of LdS theology in a concise, charitable style. One reason Mormonism is growing so much in the Bible Belt is that potential converts are distracted by some interesting but secondary aspects of the LdS faith, like temples, garments, and the Word of Wisdom’s ban on coffee. Mormon missionaries are well-equipped to defuse the sensational rumors about these topics. Those discussions mask bigger doctrinal differences about the gospel, the purpose of the cross, and the nature of God.
Christians, especially pastors, need thoughtful resources to equip themselves to reach Latter-day Saints with the gospel. Beshears provides just such a resource, written with the charitable tone he hopes evangelicals will adopt when engaging Latter-day Saints.
Charitable Presentation
One thing is clear from the beginning of this book: Beshears loves Latter-day Saints. Instead of taking a pugilistic apologetic, he invites readers on a “journey of discovery, one that passes through convictions we share with Mormonism while also recognizing our differences” (12).
I’m a former Mormon, and I believe a Latter-day Saint could read this book and feel fairly represented and understood. Though he’s charitable, Beshears is also clear when he writes, “There are many irreconcilable differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity” (330). Readers need to understand the distinctions and similarities between Mormonism and Christianity so they can love Latter-day Saints well.
Beshears shows admirable restraint when discussing the Book of Mormon. Those who know its history recognize that its historical claims invite easy ridicule. Yet Beshears doesn’t let Mormons off the hook when he observes, “External evidence for the Book of Mormon is very scant when placed next to the Bible. If it is possible to visit Jerusalem to learn about Hebrew history or language, when will it be possible to visit Zarahemla to learn about Nephite history and culture?” (115).
Beshears has, in the politest way possible, challenged the expectation of many LdS adherents that the Book of Mormon is treated as history.
Even friendly critics recognize the Book of Mormon as a modern text pretending to be ancient. For example, Richard Bushman, an LdS historian, argues, “Taken as a whole, the Book of Mormon can be read as a ‘document of profound social protest’ against the dominant culture of Joseph Smith’s time.” The LdS hold ahistorical beliefs inconsistent with Christianity.
Recognizing Distinctions
A recent controversy highlights why it’s important to continually highlight the distinctions between Mormonism and Christianity. In June 2026, the Pentagon revised its list of recognized religions and didn’t include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints among the Christian denominations. This omission upset many Mormons and confused many others who are unaware of core LdS doctrines.
Even friendly critics recognize the Book of Mormon as a modern text pretending to be ancient.
To be clear, LdS doctrine departs radically from Christianity at every level. For example, as Beshears notes, “Mormonism teaches there was a time when the Father was but the Son and the Holy Spirit were not yet.” Thus, to Mormons, the Son and Holy Spirit are created beings. Furthermore, Mormonism “interprets the Bible literally to express that humans are facsimiles of an embodied God, who is an exalted man” (223). These basic theological claims are radically different from the Bible’s teaching about the triune God.
Such differences aren’t merely academic. The gospel is at stake. Mormons believe that until their founder, Joseph Smith, lived, “the gospel as established by Jesus Christ was lost.” Thus, their gospel is different from what the Bible teaches. For example, they argue that justification depends on human works: “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
The ultimate hope of justification isn’t being restored to a right relationship with God. Instead, as Beshears notes, “Joseph Smith taught that human beings have the potential to become gods through eternal progression in a way similar to that by which God himself ascended to his divine state” (273). This isn’t quite the “getting my own planet” caricature made popular by the satirical musical The Book of Mormon, but it’s a far cry from biblical Christianity.
Ultimately, discussing doctrine with a Mormon isn’t like a debate about baptism between a Presbyterian and a Baptist. Heaven and hell are on the line. Mormonism certainly has historical roots in Christianity, but it’s a different religion.
Blurred Lines
Tragically, even some Christian theologians have taken steps to minimize the radical differences between Mormonism and Christianity.
For example, in Richard Mouw’s endorsement of a Mormon systematic theology, he states, “Latter-day Saint thought should be seen as occupying a legitimate place in the theologies of the broad Christian community.” In contrast, Beshears demonstrates that, while Mormonism has borrowed a great deal of terminology from Christianity, there’s much less overlap than it appears on the surface.
Mormonism certainly has historical roots in Christianity, but it’s a different religion.
At the same time, Beshears uses the term “traditional Christian” to refer to those who hold to the “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). It’s an academic term that arose from sociological study of comparative religions, but using it inadvertently cedes ground to the Mormon premise that they are Christian despite their rejection or redefinition of most central Christian doctrines. It unhelpfully dilutes the term “Christianity.”
Additionally, in his chapter on praying “with a sincere heart, with real intent” to determine if the Book of Mormon is true—something Mormon missionaries often request of potential converts—I expected a clear “no” followed by discussion of Galatians 1:8. Instead, Beshears discusses the role of experience in Christianity and concludes with a commendation of those who “pray and study the Bible to discern spiritual truth” (320). With due concern for charity and the possibility of dialogue, sometimes a more direct answer is appropriate.
Though I wish Beshears had taken a more apologetic approach, he has done well to help Christians avoid misrepresentations of Mormonism so prevalent in our culture. This book is a useful resource for the pastor’s bookshelf, for a small-group study, or to help Christians answer questions when Mormon missionaries knock. Beshears’s 40 Questions About Mormonism is the clearest general introduction to Latter-day Saint history and doctrine available for evangelical readers.
