Orthodox Christian Mission (OCMC) does out reach in nations where Christianity (especially Eastern Orthodox Christians) are in the minority. They are also active in re-evangelizing former Communist nations where Orthodoxy was once prevalent. Yes we do evangelize the heterodox (non Eastern Orthodox Christians or "other beliefs" Christians) as we believe that although accepting Christ as they understand him, they have failed to meet and know the True Christ fully---that is only possible through knowing him in the practice of the Orthodox (Right Belief) Church.
Thomas
Thomas, since you were a former Mormon, what kind of difficulty has it been for a Momorn to evanglize an Orthodox Christian? Or stop Mormonism from rapidly expanding by sharing the Orthodox faith?
I think I have misconstrued my questions.
I think I understand what you are asking, here is my response.
From 1935 forward, a systematic Missionary system was a reason for LDS success in growth by conversion. Originally an idea from then President and Prophet Heber Grant utilizing modern business marketing and sales techniques to tell the LDS story to Americans and Europeans a new method of missionizing that reached a modern population . While successful in European and American populations, it has not been successful in evangelizing traditional Orthodox Christian populations due to the obvious discrepancies between the teachings of the LDS Prophets from Joseph Smith to the present First President and Prophet Thomas S. Monson and the Orthodox Church’s early Church fathers down to our current Heirarchs.
The LDS Systematic Missionary system utilizes memorized lessons taught by non-paid missionaries (largely males between the ages of 19 and 24) that utilize films, flip books, and videos to present the LDS “Gospel”. The LDS Misionary has always focused on specific demographics to recruit from. In the early days of the LDS Church the focus was on the “burned out” heavily evangelized partisan survivors and millennial fears of the American Frontier. The next group was focused on Europeans who were skilled laborers who suffered from lack of property, over population, war, and class subjugation by helping them to immigrate to Utah and the New Zion.
Today the LDS Systematic Missionary System has a new set of demographics that focus their missionizing targeting the following groups:
1) Persons in spiritual crisis or in spiritual need
2) Newly weds after 3-6 months of marriage (honeymoon is over)
3) Grieving persons (who has lost young children -2 months after death or a spouse 4-6 months as family starts telling them that it is time “ to get on with life”)
4) Those seeking for their own “Truth” not that of their parents (usually 14 y.o to 18 y.o)
5) Those who are unemployed more than 4 months.
6) In Africa, the “New Zion” teachings are arisng again
If an Orthodox wishes to evangelize the Mormon the best tool is the return to the early Church Fathers who clearly address the concerns that the LDS Church tries to state where lost by the modern Churches and the LDS program is to Restore. As those teachings have never been lost in the Orthodox Church, no restoration is necessary and the focus must remain on the original teachings of the church not the reinvented, “restored” gospel of the Mormon Church.
Thomas
