meThe short version: I am an ex-Mormon who left the LDS church in 1990 after some 25 years of being in that pit of despair. Soon after leaving it I was born again to the living God. I have been seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness since that time, and the promises of Mt 6:33 have been carried out for me ever since. For the past 12 years, or so, I have been teaching the gospel and the Bible.
The longer version:
I consider myself a part of the ministry of reconciliation (2Co 5:18). I believe that many of we Christians don’t have the in-depth knowledge of the gospel and its doctrines that we need to do our part in reconciling people to God through Jesus. And so we are vulnerable to nice sounding, but false arguments and doctrine. I know that was true of me. That is precisely why and how I got trapped in the Mormon legalistic pit of despair. We Christians simply don’t often take the time and trouble to know and understand what is knowable and understandable. The result was that I fell for the faulty arguments of the Mormons. Their positions are clear, easy to follow, logical sounding (in a worldly sort of way), and oriented to making one think that this is a religion in which the family can grow and fare very well indeed.
It seems to me that many of us (Christians) need better footing for our faith. We need a More complete understanding of what Jesus taught. This is the calling I have accepted–to properly and faithfully teach the gospel, primarily to my brother and sister Christians. Don’t think that I am accusing my brothers and sisters of being stupid, or that I think I know more than everyone else. Let me give you a couple of illustrations on why I think my calling is necessary.
1. In a recent newspaper article by Thomas Hargrove and Guido H. Stempel, Scripps Howard News service, they reported that according to a Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll “Most Americans don’t believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die, putting them at odds with a core teaching of Christianity.” Since most Americans claim to be Christian, how can this be? Well, let me ask you this. When was the last time you heard a sermon on the resurrection? Or on any point of uniquely Christian doctrine which was clear and uncompromising? Have you heard one, perhaps, that didn’t pull pull it punches, on the problem legalism? By that I mean a sermon that doesn’t turn soft when it comes to our favorite rules (laws)?
2. According to Barna (The Christian pollster) “Overall, three out of every four adults (73%) believe that it is possible for someone to become holy, regardless of their past. Only half of the adult population (50%), however, says that they know someone they consider to be holy. And that’s more than twice as many who consider themselves to be holy (21%).” We Christians need to know what it means, and how one becomes holy.
My goal is to support and teach the true gospel, even where it may be received with discomfort by some. My ministry is in particular to reconcile the born again to the gospel that many of them have set aside in favor of a “gospel” of belonging to the world. Usually accepting a heresy of legalism that they believe, but that they don’t think, or don’t realize, is legalism.
