What Did Joseph Smith Add To The Bible?

After Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon in March 1830, he began the new task of retranslating the Bible just three months later in June. The Book of Mormon implies that this was a much-needed task as it says in 1 Nephi 13:26:

Then two verses later in 1 Nephi 13:28, we read:

“Wherefore, thou seest that AFTER the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.”

To clarify: the Book of the Lamb is the Bible. This verse sets up the stage very nicely for Joseph to save the day and restore to the Bible all the “plain and precious things” that were removed from it during the Great Apostasy, which the LDS Church claims to have happened after the time of Christ.

Here is the good news: we have Biblical manuscripts that were written BEFORE the great apostasy allegedly occurred! In 1947, there was the monumental discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls. They are a collection of Jewish writings that primarily consist of Old Testament fragments. Included on these scrolls are chapters from Genesis, Psalms, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Job and many other books. The most impactful discovery was the Great Isaiah scroll. This scroll is important and unique because it contains all 66 chapters of Isaiah. Scholars have dated this scroll to have been written around 125 BC.

Prior to this discovery, the most ancient manuscript of Isaiah we had was written around 800 AD, which is referred to as the Masoretic text. If we do the math, we can conclude that the Great Isaiah scroll was written approximately 900 years earlier than the Masoretic text. Surely, the scribes would have changed, added and removed important doctrines during that gap in time. Researchers examined both the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah with the Masoretic text to identify every difference between the two in order to see what all had been changed over time. After comparing them, both Christian and secular scholars alike have concluded that the messages and doctrines contained in these two documents are identical. While there might be minor differences in spelling and grammar, not a single doctrine was been added or removed.

“Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand years earlier than the oldest dated manuscript previously known (A.D. 980), they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The five percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling.” -Gleason Archer (Biblical scholar, theologian, professor and author)

At the very least, both Bible Based Christians and Latter-Day Saints can agree on the fact that the Book of Isaiah in our Bibles today has been accurately preserved over time. It’s important remember the fact that the Great Isaish scroll was written BEFORE the Book of the Lamb went through the great and abominable church as the Book of Mormon claims. Keeping this in mind, there is no reason to believe that Book of Isaiah had “many plain and precious truths” removed from it before the Great Apostasy. We have every reason to confidently belief that the messages and doctrines found in the book of Isaiah are the exact same as when it was first penned.

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“Paul…what does the Book of Isaiah have to do with Joseph Smith?”

I’m glad you asked! Let’s start with some of the changes that Joseph Smith made to the Bible, starting with the book of Isaiah. A while ago, I came across a very useful study tool related to this topic. It is a JST (Joseph Smith Translation) and KJV (King James Version) Parallel Bible. It only lists Bible passages that Joseph Smith changed. On each page, there is the JST on one half of the page and the KJV on the other side. This way, you can see for yourself exactly what Joseph Smith changed, added and removed.

Below is the first change that we will discuss which occurs in Isaiah chapter 29, starting at verse 11. My personal handwritten notes are included in the screenshots (please excuse the sloppiness of my handwriting):

There are two primary observations we can make regarding these changes and additions:

  1. As previously established, the evidence shows that the messages and doctrines in the book of Isaiah have not changed over time. Why then did Joseph add these LDS doctrines into Isaiah 29? And notice that it’s not just minor changes or a few added verses here and there. He is literally adding paragraphs into this chapter. Despite the evidence that we have already established, are we really supposed to believe that Isaiah 29 really had all of these passages removed from it?
  2. Notice the green highlighted parts in the JST above. Do you see how they are prophecies specifically related to himself, the book of Mormon and the 3 witnesses to the book of Mormon? It would seem as if Joseph Smith is attempting to smuggle prophecies about his own religion into the Bible.

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These aren’t the only prophecies Joseph added into the Bible. There is also a particular passage is found in Genesis 50:33. Note that every single Bible that has ever existed has 50 chapters in Genesis. Likewise, every single Bible in Genesis 50 only has 26 verses…except for one. Yes, Genesis 50 in the JST has 38 verses as Smith felt justified in adding an extra 12 verses to this chapter. What do these verses consist of and why did Joseph feel the need to add them to God’s Word?

This added verse is telling us that God is going to bring forth a seer at some point in the future. His name will be Joseph and his dad’s name will also be Joseph. He is also going bring salvation to people. We saw this same tactic in Isaiah 29, and we are seeing it again now as Joseph Smith is adding another prophecy about himself into the Bible without any justification.

There were some Bible verses that were in opposition to Smith’s theological beliefs. Instead of changing his beliefs to match up with God’s Word, he decides to change God’s Word to make it match up with his beliefs. He accomplishes this by simply adding the word “not” into 2 Samuel 12:13 & Romans 4:5:

Smith was motivated to change other passages in order to protect himself. Exodus 22:18 condemned those who practice witchcraft and sorcery to death. However, Smith was one who practiced witchcraft and sorcery. How does he solve this problem? By simply changing the word “witch” to “murderer.”

KJV: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”
JST: “Thou shalt not suffer a murderer to live.”

Genesis 14 is another important passage to cover:

The right side of the page is blank because none of what Smith added is in the KJV nor is it in any manuscript that has ever been discovered. This is another example of Joseph Smith added paragraphs into God’s Word. We also see that the things he chooses to insert are foundational LDS doctrines such as the structure of priesthood authority being passed on through ordinances. The paragraphs that Smith inserts are specifically regarding this doctrine. He knows that these things are contextually absent from the Bible. Therefore, he feels the need to add them into the Bible. He does this same tactic with 1 Corinthians 15:40 by adding the word “telestial” into the verse:

Joseph Smith wants it to be abundantly clear that this verse is talking about the 3 kingdoms of heaven as taught by the LDS Church. I’ve also included a clip from the Interlinear Greek for further clarification as to what the correct words in this passage are. There is no Greek word for “telestial.” It was never written in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Smith simply dictated to add this word into the verse.

This next one is intriguing. We know that there are a number of passages from the KJV that are also in the BOM. An example of this is Matthew 7:23. In the KJV, this verse reads, “I never knew you.” In the BOM in 3 Nephi 14:23, it says the same thing, “I never knew you.” Yet in the JST, Smith changed this verse and to make it say, “You never knew me.”

This creates the dilemma of: which one is right? Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible or Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon? They were both translated by the same person about Jesus giving the same message, yet they both say different things!

I believe that John 1:1 is also worth noting as Joseph completely changes the meaning the verse as well as the person of Jesus in his translation:

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Examining these differences is important so that we can see for ourselves what exactly Joseph Smith changed in his translation of the Bible. It has always struck me as odd that the majority of LDS Church members carry a KJV much more often than a JST. If they truly believe that Smith divinely translated the Bible, why don’t they all use the JST? My personal opinion is that the JST is far too different than any standard Bible that has ever been written. When compared to any other Bible, the JST sticks out like a sore thumb because of how clearly intentional Joseph Smith was about inserting prophecies of the BOM, prophecies about himself, and doctrines of the LDS Church into God’s Word.

If someone is trying to insert something into God’s Word that was never there to begin with, that leaves us with the conclusion that they are actively and knowingly attempting to corrupt the very Word of God to make it match up with their personal believers. We see the Jehovah’s Witnesses do this exact same thing with their New World Translation. At the end of the day, we must honestly ask ourselves the question:

Would a true prophet of God intentionally corrupt His Word?

Thank you for reading and God bless!

Polygamy & Polyandry

Plural Marriage has always been a topic that has been attacked by many people outside of the LDS Church. From a certain perspective, one has be careful before casting the first stone. After all, Abraham, Jacob, and David engaged in plural marriage, didn’t they? For clarification, I am not justifying the actions of anyone in the Old Testament and I do not believe the plural marriage was ever commanded by God. If anyone can show me a verse of God commanding someone in the Bible to take an additional wife, I will gladly change my perspective. No one has succeeded so far.

That being said, the issue isn’t just the fact that Smith had over 30 wives. A deeper part of the issue stems from how the situations of these additional brides occurred. To help see things more clearly, it sometimes helps to put these things in a chronological order. So let’s start by doing that. And these things that I am listing have all been verified by LDS historians and admitted to by the LDS Church. Screenshots from the LDS Church website immediately follow:

  1. Joseph Smith marries Emma (1827)
  2. Smith writes the Book of Mormon. In Jacob 2:24, polygamy is an abomination to God. (1830)
  3. Joseph and Emma have a 17-year-old house maid Fanny Alger who was living with them, named Fanny Alger. Smith marries Fanny without Emma’s knowledge. (1835)
  4. Smith gets married and sealed to additional women without Emma’s knowledge. (1841 -1843) (screenshot below)
  5. Smith finally gets sealed to Emma (May 28th, 1843). Although she was the first wife he was married to, Joseph was sealed to 20 women prior to being sealed to Emma. I can’t help but ask the question, “If Smith was truly a faithful husband and man of God, why wasn’t Emma the 1st wife Smith was sealed to? And why did Smith marry other women behind Emma’s back?” (screenshot below)
  6. Smith then receives a revelation that conflicts with what he wrote in the Book of Mormon, Jacob 2:24. His new revelation is D&C 132 which states that Polygamy is now part of God’s everlasting covenant. (July 12th, 1843)
  7. Smith continues to get married and sealed to 10+ more wives, 30-40 in all:
  • 3 pairs of sisters (Partridges, Johnsons, Lawrences – Leviticus 18:18)
  • 1 pair of mother-daughter (Patty Bartlett Sessions & Sylvia Sessions Lyon – Leviticus 18:17)
  • His youngest wife was 14 years old.
  • 11 of his wives had living husbands when he married them. This is called, polyandry. No prophet before Smith ever practiced polyandry. (screenshot below)

One would think that Smith should have received this revelation (D&C 132) prior to marrying all of these other wives without Emma’s knowledge rather than conveniently receiving the revelation after the fact. Some of you might be thinking, “Paul, take it easy on Joseph Smith. He wasn’t in it for the sex. He was focused on keeping families together in the afterlife and being sealed for eternity.”

To this response, the question must be asked, “If Smith truly was focused on sealings and keeping families together in the afterlife, why is it that he was never sealed to his own parents or children? Why were women the only people he only got sealed to?”

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One thing that does not sit well with others is the fact that Joseph Smith hid a number of these marriages from Emma.

Joseph Smith married Fanny Alger without telling Emma. When Emma discovered this, she was furious, and drove Fanny out of her house.

Not only did Joseph hide a number of his marriages from Emma. He also publicly lied about it as well:

  • ”What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers.” (History of the Church, vol 6, p. 411) May, 1844

At this time, Smith had over 25 wives.

On June 7th, 1844, the Navoo Printing Press was able to only published one issue. It primarily focused on exposing Joseph Smith and his secret practices of polygamy after he publicly denied engaging in the practice just two months prior. In the Navoo Expositors first and only publication, there are 2 affidavits that speak of Smith’s push towards polyandry (1 woman being married to 2 men). William Law was in the first presidency and a big leader next to Joseph Smith. Both he and his wife (Jane Law) came forward and stated that Joseph Smith made advances towards Jane and asked her to be one of his polyandrous wives. Both William and Jane detested this idea and believed that Joseph Smith had gone too far and wanted to raise awareness of these secrets by putting in the newspaper that was printed by the Navoo Expositor. On June 10th, Joseph Smith being the mayor, ordered for the Navoo Printing Press to be destroyed. Even though Smith was the mayor, this action was against the law. As a result, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested and taken to Carthage jail.

There were other times when he would approach younger women with a bribe by promising them exaltation not only for themselves but for their parents as well. Then other times, Smith would threaten them, saying that an angel with a flaming sword would kill him if they did not agree to marry him. For Lucy Walker (17), she testifies:

“In the year 1842, President Joseph Smith sought an interview with me, and said: “I have a message for you. I have been commanded of God to take another wife, and you are the woman.” My astonishment knew no bounds. This announcement was indeed a thunderbolt to me… Gross darkness instead of light took possession of my mind. I was tempted and tortured beyond endurance until life was not desirable… He saw how unhappy I was, and later sought an opportunity of again speaking to me on this subject, and said: “It is a command of God to you. I will give you until tomorrow to decide this matter. If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you.”

The part that makes me most upset is process of how terrible Lucy felt when Smith initially asked her to marry him. She doesn’t give him an answer, then Smith later approaches Lucy again and then decides to pressure her into saying, “Yes” to his marriage proposal. All of this occurred while Lucy’s father was away on his mission and Smith insisted that Lucy and her siblings move into his own house.

From an honest and unbiased perspective, what are we to make of Smith in this situation with Lucy?

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Some choose not to believe that Smith ever married other women who were already married. That it is a lie that he practiced polyandry. Again, the official LDS Church website agrees that these things are in fact true:

There were 11 women that we know of that Joseph Smith was sealed to who all had living husbands. We know that at least some of the husbands were faithful latter day saints as well. Why not encourage these women to be sealed to their current husband?

Diaries of Joseph Smith. April 1842. “Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have called upon me to know my will concerning my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde—behold it is my will that she should have a better place prepared for her, than that in which she now lives, in order that her life may be spared unto her; therefore go and say unto my servant, Ebenezer Robinson, and to my handmaid his wife—Let them open their doors and take her and her children into their house and take care of them faithfully and kindly unto my servant Orson Hyde returns from his mission, or until some other provision can be made for her welfare and safety.”

  • Joseph Smith send Orson Hyde on a mission. While he is away preaching the restored gospel, Smith decides to get married and sealed to Orson’s wife. Upon returning and discovering this, accounts describe Hyde understandably being “in a furious passion.” Why didn’t Smith just let Orson get sealed to his wife for eternity once he returned from his mission? Why would he jump the gun like that?
  • Why can’t Joseph Smith provide a better place for these women without getting sealed to them?

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Some respond to this by saying, “The marriage was just a sealing ritual. Smith never had sex with any of those other women. He was always faithful to Emma.” The official Church website says otherwise:

Below are statements made by the wives of Joseph Smith:

Emily Partridge (19 years old) – When under oath in a deposition in the Temple Lot case, Emily Partridge was asked, “Do you make the declaration that you ever slept with him (Joseph Smith) in the same bed?” to which she answered, “Yes sir.”

Lucy Walker (17 years old) – Lucy’s niece, Theodocia Frances Walker Davis, reported to Joseph Smith III in 1876, “Lucy Walker told her that she lived with Joseph Smith as a wife.”

Malissa Lott (19 years old) – In an 1893 interview, Malissa Lott was asked if she was the Prophet’s “wife in very deed,” to which she answered, “Yes.” Implying sexual relations as between a typical husband and wife.

Eliza Partridge (22 years old) – Benjamin F. Johnson wrote in 1903: “The first plural wife brought to my house with whom the Prophet stayed, was Eliza Partridge.”

Louisa Beaman (26 years old) – When Joseph Bates Noble, Louisa’s brother-in-law, was asked: “Where did they [Joseph Smith and plural wife Louisa Beaman] sleep together?” He responded: “Right straight across the river at my house they slept together.”

Almera Johnson (29 years old) – Almera’s brother, Benjamin Johnson said, “He [Joseph Smith] was at my house … where he occupied my sister Almera’s room and bed.”

Sarah Lawrence – Lucy Walker (one of Smith’s wives) attested in 1902: “I know that [Emma] gave her consent to the marriage of at least four women [Emily and Eliza Partridge and Maria (19) and Sarah Lawrence (16)] to her husband as plural wives, and she was well aware that he associated and cohabited with them as wives.”

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Saints, Volume 1 – The Standard of Truth; Ch. 40, pg 490 “Because neither Joseph nor Emma wrote down how they felt about plural marriage, many questions are left unanswered. In her writings, Emily (Partridge) recorded some of their struggles with the practice. At times Emma rejected it completely while at other times reluctantly accepting it as a commandment. Torn between the Lord’s mandate to practice plural marriage and Emma’s opposition, Joseph sometimes chose to marry women without Emma’s knowledge, creating distressing situations for everyone involved.

In early May, Emma took Emily and Eliza aside and explained the principle of plural marriage to them. She had told Joseph that she would consent to him being sealed to two additional wives as long as she could choose them, and she had chosen Emily and Eliza, apparently unaware that Joseph had already been sealed to them.

Rather than mention her former sealing, Emily believed that keeping silent on the matter was the best thing for her to do. A few days later, she and Eliza were again sealed to Joseph, this time with Emma as a witness.”

  • Just to make sure we understand this situation: Joseph Smith already married the Partridge sisters without Emma’s knowledge. Then later, Emma consented that Joseph could marry them. Instead of confessing to Emma and saying, “Hey, we actually already got sealed. Please forgive me.” Smith gets sealed to the sisters a second time without telling Emma so that she would think that this was the first time Smith was getting sealed to them to prevent her from getting angry.

I believe that there is plenty of good evidence to believe that the Bible is true, the Jesus rose from the dead, and that He is the savior of the world. But when we step back, take an honest look at all of these historical factors about Joseph Smith, what is more reasonable for me to believe:

That Smith was a true prophet of God?

Or

That he deceived people?

You may find yourself losing faith in Jospeh Smith, the Book of Mormon, or the LDS Church…but never lose faith in Jesus. We can trust the words of the Savior that are found in the New Testament gospels. If you have ever asked yourself the question: Can I trust the Bible? Hasn’t it been corrupted over the years? Please check out my Bible Lesson called, “Has The Bible Been Accurately Preserved Over Time?”

Please let me know your thoughts, things you appreciated or things that you disagreed with in the comment section below. Thank you for reading and God bless!

The Book Of Abraham Controversy

This topic is one of the most common reasons Ex-Mormons will give for why they lost faith in Joseph Smith and the LDS Church. Why does this topic stick out more than the others? I will provide the background summary and if you wish to dig further into the details directly from the LDS Church gospel topics essays, you can do so by clicking on this link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng

  • Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian scroll from a man named Michael Chandler in 1835.
  • After Smith translated it, he described the scroll as: “the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.”
  • It is important to note that at this time, scholars were still trying to figure out how to translate Egyptian into English. This gave Smith to liberty to make the scroll say whatever he would like and no one could prove him wrong.
  • Smith eventually sold the Egyptian papyri after translating it. It was believed that most of the papyri was destroyed during the Chicago fire in 1871. But lo and behold, ten papyrus fragments once in Joseph Smith’s possession ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They were purchased back by the LDS Church in 1967.
  • By this time, the discovery of the Rosetta stone occurred and this enabled scholars to crack the code to translate Egyptian into English. The LDS Church was excited to have Egyptologists translated the Book of Abraham. After all, if they could prove that Smith accurately translated the papyri, this would be undeniable proof that he was indeed a prophet of God.
  • After the Egyptologists translated the scroll that was supposedly written by the very hand of Abraham, they concluded that Smith didn’t accurately translated a single character, Abraham was not mentioned anywhere, the scroll dates to about 300 BC (far after the time of Abraham), and it was actually instructions for a pagan funeral.
  • The LDS Church acknowledges all of these things and are now forced to take the extremely biased explanation of: “Even though this document doesn’t literally say anything about Abraham and Smith didn’t literally “translate” it…God still used it to give Joseph Smith a revelation of the life of Abraham.” This is the position that is the LDS Church puts forth in the gospel topics essays.

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Below is part of what the recovered papyrus looked like and as you can see there are some missing fragments. This particular picture is known as “Facsimile #1” in the Book of Abraham. A facsimile is another word for picture or copy:

Another common explanation for Smith’s translation might be: “Paul, the Book of Abraham was a long scroll. Yes, we now have part of that scroll, but we don’t have all of it. The part that we have now, doesn’t match the Book of Abraham but that doesn’t matter because those parts are NOT what Smith translated. All of the parts that Joseph Smith translated are missing.” First Smith translates the gold plates and those go missing. Now Smith translates the Egyptian papyri and all of the parts he translated go missing as well…convenient.

This explanation is sometimes referred to as “the missing papyri” theory. I’m not going to spend time debating that point because it’s an argument from silence and even if it was the case, it honestly does not much change the situation at hand.

Instead, we can analyze the facsimiles for ourselves and see where it takes us. Let’s start with Facsimile #1. As previously mentioned, this picture had some missing fragments. This meant that God had to give Jospeh Smith divine powers and knowledge to sketch in the missing parts and complete the picture so that he could “translate” the Book of Abraham:

Scholars know that the picture on the right is a correct representation of the entire facsimile because they’ve discovered many other pagan funeral instructions in Egypt that are identical to facsimile. They all look like the picture on the right. Joseph Smith also listed the explanation/translation of the facsimile. You’ll notice that there are numbers on Joseph Smith’s facsimile. He goes through and tells us what each numbered figure is translated as. Let’s compare what Joseph Smith said against what the Egyptologists said:

As you can see, not a single character was translated correctly and Abraham has nothing to do with this picture. Below is facsimile #2 and under it are the explanations/translations of Joseph Smith vs Egyptologist:

Notice figures 9-21 specifically on Smith’s translation. I would say that Smith was very wise in his approach by leaving unfilled revelations in his back pocket in case anything went sideways and he needed a “quick revelation.” Anyhow, this one is another swing and a miss by Smith. Let’s see how close he got on Facsimile #3:

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And that is strike 3. As we can see for ourselves, Joseph Smith was nowhere close to accurately translating these facsimiles. The proof is right there in plain sight for anyone that has eyes to see. The reason why so many LDS members have left over this topic is because of how clearly this demonstrates that Smith was a fraud.

Please know that I don’t say these things with any kind of pleasure. I sincerely encourage you not to follow men on earth who claim to be modern day prophets and apostles. We need to be wise and remember what Jesus said would happen in the last days:

Matthew 24:11 “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”

Today, there are indeed many false religions where people claim to be prophets and to have authority. I also beg you not to make the mistake of fully committing yourself to a church and thinking that this is the same thing as having a personal relationship with Jesus. Although those two things might be related, they are not the same thing.

Don’t allow yourself to be misled by modern-day “prophets” who have said, “God told me to tell you this…” Instead, remove the men and women of this world who are standing between you and God. Follow Jesus by trusting in the words that He directly spoke which are found in the New Testament. There is always hope and redemption in Christ! To learn more about having a personal relationship with Jesus, check out my article: Who Is Your Personal Mediator (https://jllds.org/2023/12/13/who-is-your-personal-mediator/)

Please let me know your thoughts, things you appreciated or things that you disagreed with in the comment section below. Thank you for reading and never stop chasing after Jesus!

Race & The Priesthood

One of the most common attacks against the LDS Church is the historic issue of racism. Some are content throwing 2nd President Brigham Young under the bus and blaming his “human side” for this great doctrinal error. However, we can see that Brigham Young is only one of many former Church leaders who approved and taught this doctrine:

To many, this is an automatic blatant red flag. The good news is that eventually in 1978, the LDS Church decided to change this doctrine so that blacks could receive the priesthood, receive their temple endowment and be sealed to their spouse in the temple. While this is a step in the positive direction, they unfortunately are still stuck with the doctrines that branched into the prohibitions of blacks.

“There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we come here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.” – Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, pg. 61

To clearly lay this out, according to the former LDS prophets and apostles, they clearly taught that we all lived in pre-existence. Some of us were faithful and obedient in this previous life while others were not. Those who were obedient were blessed with white skin. Those who were disobedient were cursed with black skin.

This part of the article seems to give us the impression that the “curse of Cain” and “blacks didn’t fight valiantly in pre-existence” were just ideas that floated around in the church. However, this isn’t the case. Both of these ideas were simultaneously taught by LDS Church prophets and apostles as official church doctrine for over 100 years.

For most people, the injustice is what they cry out against. While I would agree with that, the problematic perspective I currently have is more focused on the theological level. It’s important to remember that eternal life is to dwell in the presence of God. And in order to “qualify” for eternal life (as Dallin Oaks puts it), I must receive the priesthoods (as a man) and receiving my endowment. Before 1978, blacks were prohibited from partaking of these ordinances. Therefore, they weren’t allowed to receive eternal life and dwell in the presence of God.

When we boil it down and connect these dots, we understand that for 100+ years, the LDS Church taught God basically said to black people, “Sorry. You cannot enter into my presence because you have black skin.” This is not at all the God that I read about in the Bible.

Galatians 3:26-28 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

God has never cared about the outward race, status, or gender of anyone. God’s Word is clear. Anyone who is truly in Christ is part of his church. Anyone who freely accepts His righteousness apart from works also receives the assurance of eternal life. This God of the Bible would never prohibit anyone from entering into His presence because of their skin color. Below are two other quotes from LDS leaders on this topic in case the previous quotes weren’t clear enough:

“You must not think, from what I say, that I am opposed to slavery. No! The negro is damned, and is to serve his master till God chooses to remove the curse of Ham.” Prophet Brigham Young, New York Herald, May 4, 1855

“Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. The gospel message of salvation is not carried affirmatively to them…Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned.” Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 477, 1958

This is the best concluding explanation that the Church has to offer. Some are content with this answer, while for others, it creates this uncomfortable and legitimate question:

“The purpose of the prophets and apostles are to guide us in truth. If they were teaching us false doctrine about God and salvation for over 100 years, what assurance do I have that now all of their doctrines are true? What if they are still teaching a number of false doctrines due to “limited understanding” and have yet to receive the new “light and knowledge” from God? Is it wise for me to put my trust in men such as these and uphold them as true prophets of God?”

When we honestly and critically think about this, does it make sense to believe that God would raise up modern day prophets who He knew would teach such hateful and false things about black people? While we do see a theme of black skin being a curse in LDS Scriptures (2 Nephi 30:6 & Abraham 1:26), we never see it anywhere in the Bible.

   John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

   Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

My encouragement to you is to put your trust in the Word of God and not in the words of men. The Word of God is the ultimate source of truth if that is what we are truly seeking. If you have doubts about whether or not you can trust the Bible, please check out my Bible Lesson, “Has The Bible Been Accurately Preserved Over Time?”

Please let me know your thoughts, things you appreciated or things that you disagreed with in the comment section below. Thank you for reading and God bless!

Sarah V.

I had a very good childhood and was blessed with a good and loving LDS family. In middle school, I went into a deep depression. I resented that I had to exist in this broken world. I would purposefully deaden my emotions to the point of feeling completely numb, which led to self-harm and starving myself to try to both cope and punish myself. I viewed God as a distant figure who was holding my eternal family and happiness as a hostage to manipulate me into obeying His rules. While in the depths of my depression, I started having a recurring dream every few months. In the dream, I was walking into a huge dark room with Preston on one side and an unknown friend on the other. At the front of the room, a lion and a lamb sat bathed in a soft light. A feeling of absolute joy and peace would come over me as I looked at this lion and lamb, and I didn’t realize at the time who they represented. I would always wake from this dream intrigued by the joyful feeling which was such a contrast to my waking life.

In high school I started really questioning my religion. I finally decided that if I wasn’t willing to open my heart and mind to search for truth, what I had was not faith. It was fear. When I went to college, I started calling and attending different churches and asking all the questions I’d been told to “shelve” before. Over the period of about a year, I took a deep dive into the gospel of John with a born-again believer at Tri-Grace Ministries. Every single question I ever had was answered thoroughly with the Bible, without fail. This was something no other belief system had been able to do. I realized how clearly the Bible teaches about a beautiful and all-knowing God who came into our broken world as a man and died to atone for ALL of our sins (past, present, and future,) and give us His inheritance of an eternity with God. I learned these things in my mind, but still held God at an arm’s length. I have a deep love for my family and friends and have always been extremely sensitive to the emotions of others. I knew if I claimed the Bible and Jesus without religion as Truth, I would cause immense pain and damage to my relationships as a result. On Easter Sunday 2017, I decided to attend a Bible based church called South Mountain Community Church after attending the LDS church with my family.

Preston picked me up and we met up with a friend at the church. We walked into the big auditorium and the place was lit up. On their big screen was a lion and a lamb. It felt like my whole world stopped as that dream I’d been having for so many years was all of a sudden my reality right here in front of me. I’ve tried to describe it in so many ways, and it never truly captures how this felt. But the drab wall I had been building around my heart as protection was obliterated to nothing in a second. I KNEW right then that God’s hand had been in my life from the very beginning, even in my darkest moments.

I felt this new, beating heart and KNEW WHO I BELONGED TO. That was the moment I was born again in Jesus. Since then, my life has had lots of ups and downs. I went through strain in my relationships caused by leaving my religion, a miscarriage within the first few months of my marriage, and periods of intense strain and growth with my husband. Yet through it all, that absolute joy and peace within me has never wavered. God delivered me from my sin and has given me eternal healing and joy in Him. No matter what comes, my soul is forever well in Jesus.

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Mona Brown Bates

Following Jesus might just be the hardest and most blessed thing we’ll ever do. My testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Where do I begin and where do I end? There is so much to tell, so much that’s been learned and so much yet to learn. I’ll begin back on the evening of March 2, 2007.

My husband and I were having yet another religious discussion because he no longer wanted to attend church. We were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was born and raised multi-generational LDS. He was raised in the Church from the age of three when his mother converted. I made the comment, “I never doubted Joseph Smith until you did.” This simple statement ignited a huge firestorm. My husband thought I was blaming him for my doubts and uncertainty. In fact, I had never given any of my own thought into the truthfulness of the church, Joseph Smith, or anything else the church taught. I felt that I was lucky and blessed to be born under the covenant and into a wonderful family that already had the fullness of the gospel. I married him, a return missionary, after just 7 months of knowing him, in the Salt Lake Temple. I had written a Dear John letter to my non-Mormon boyfriend 2 years prior while he was in military boot camp because I trusted my parents’ belief system and believed that the only way to true happiness was for me to marry in the temple and have a family also born into the covenant.

On March 5, 2007, after 20 tumultuous years of marriage and four beautiful boys, my husband angrily moved out of our home. I filed for divorce the next day. So begins my journey into hours and hours of study and learning for myself. It took a couple of years for me to feel the need to legitimately know something for myself. By then, my new husband, the one to whom I wrote that Dear John letter to, and I were visiting my family in Washington. My parents had a 3-hour long discussion with us, and my dad gave my husband some material to read, study, and ponder. Dad asked Mike, “After all these years, don’t you think that you owe me?” Mike responded, “I will read this material, but if I find it’s a lie, then it’s a lie.” Dad said, “If it’s true, then it’s true, and if it’s a lie, it’s a lie.” Some of the questions Mike had for Dad and Mom could not be answered by them. They just said, “We don’t know, we just have faith.”

As Mike read through the material, he had many questions for me as to why we believe some of the things we believe. I surely didn’t know as I had never read the Bible with the exception of particular verses that were a part of my lesson manuals for my church classes. The first couple of years of our marriage, Mike and I attended each other’s churches together. Then after a while, we didn’t go at all. It was easier that way. Eventually, we both felt too distanced from church and regular worship. One Sunday we went together to Christ Fellowship in McKinney, the church that my step-son had originally found through his high school friends. In the parking lot, as we arrived, the mother of one of my son’s friends called out to me. We talked and before the end, she invited us to sit in on her life group Bible study. We agreed to come, and from there my journey took off.

The first night we attended, I learned that the couple who lead this Bible study were former LDS. At the end of the study one evening, the wife and I were talking. She said the following to me. “You know Jesus is God don’t you?” I was caught completely off guard and didn’t know what she was trying to convey to me, but I knew Jesus was NOT God. I asked Mike what she meant by that. He led me to some verses in the Bible and I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. Isaiah 7:14 said, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

What does Immanuel mean? Read Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

But LDS theology teaches that God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are separate beings, but you can read in Mosiah 15:1-8, “1. And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men and shall redeem his people. 2. And because he dwelleth in flesh, he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. 3. The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and the Son. 4. And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. 5.And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out and disowned by his people. 6. And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father. 8. And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men.”

Having never read the Bible in its entirety, I bought it on CD and listened to it nonstop while driving to and from work over a four-month period. I would come home and make notes, read, and study. The two main highlights that changed my life and my beliefs are:

1. Jesus is God in the flesh. He came to this earth to save and redeem us from our sins. (This is even in the Book of Mormon which I had read multiple times yet I never understood this nor was it taught in Mormon doctrine) How amazing it was for me to realize this!!! Jesus is not my brother, He is my Father in heaven who came to save us all. And after he died on the cross for our sins and paid the price for our sins and said, “It is finished,” it was finished. The prophecies of the Old Testament prophets were fulfilled. Forgiveness is a free gift to us, and all we have to do is receive this gift. In doing so, He promises His Spirit to be with us, and we are adopted unto Him and are His. He then lives and dwells within us through the Holy Spirit which He promised to send in His place. You can read these truths in Isaiah, Hebrews, the four gospels, Romans, and Acts. 2. We are saved by God’s grace, not by works. My first response to learning this was, “No, we are saved by grace AFTER all we can do, 2 Nephi 25:23.” Goodness, what can we do that God cannot? Only the power and grace of God can save us. The teachings of God’s grace are easily learned about in Romans, Acts, and Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

I was stunned and relieved, quite frankly, to learn that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. God loves us so much that He came to this earth, took on the form of a physical body to save us from ourselves. In the Old Testament, God (Elohim, the plural form of the name El) created the world, built a nation, led them out of bondage and led them in the form of a cloud or fire throughout their time in the wilderness. He taught them. He saved them time and time again. They were given laws and covenants to abide by, and His prophets prophesied of what was to come with the Messiah. In the New Testament, as promised, the Messiah was born and  named Immanuel so all would/could know that God was with them. In the four gospels, Jesus teaches about who He is. Many of His people would not believe him. Before ascending to heaven, He promised to send His Spirit to those who believe, to always be with us.

You see, He has never left us; there was not a need for his Church to be restored (Matthew 16:13-18). Who are we, mere mortals, to think that we can do anything that God can’t do or hasn’t already done? The work has been done, the work was finished. He said so on the cross (John 19:30). The gift has been bought and paid for (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Literally, all we have to do is chose to receive his gift of forgiveness and acknowledge that Jesus is God, and that he has saved and redeemed us (Ephesians 1:7) . I can’t even tell you how many times  throughout my life I felt guilty for not being worthy. I would go days or weeks without praying because I felt so unworthy. How sad. God is our Father, and He wants to have a relationship with us. I know that He has always been with me throughout my life experiences. I have felt Him, but I had no idea how powerful and wonderful He truly is.

We are all born under the sin of Adam and Eve, and because they fell, God created a plan of redemption for his creation. In Ephesians chapters 1 and 2, I learned who I am in Christ. I am chosen. I am holy. I am blameless. I am adopted. I am redeemed. I am forgiven. I am sealed. I am loved. I am saved.  

Because I believe in Jesus Christ, I am His, and I have assurance of eternal life…. that is His promise (1 John 5:13).

John 3:16 says, “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

There is no power greater than God’s. I believe if we come to know who He really is, we will know that there was no one before Him and there will be no one after Him.

Isaiah 43:10 says, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”

After reading/listening and learning everything the Bible teaches, I then turned to reading about what the Mormon Doctrine teaches in depth. I’ve listened to the book Rough Stone Rolling, I’ve read the Essays on the church website after reading the CES letter. I’ve read church history articles where doctrines taught by one prophet have been changed by another prophet time and time again. God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” I’ve read about blood atonement, which was a doctrine that was taught in the temple while I was attending but has been removed since then. I’ve listened to Mormon Stories on YouTube. I could go on and on about what I’ve read. I have been consumed with the need to know. I did not want to find out that everything I was taught is not true. But learning the truths of the Bible, God’s living word for us, about God’s gift of salvation, I cannot deny or remain quiet any longer.

There are many members of the LDS church who are leaving the church or being ex- communicated just for questioning LDS history or doctrines that have changed over the years. Sadly, many of them, after losing faith in the doctrine, have no faith at all. They believe the Bible to be false also. The Dead Sea Scrolls prove otherwise, and the Holy Spirit proves otherwise as well. It is my testimony that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one in being. This same God came to earth and became flesh in the body of Jesus Christ (for a wretch like me) and paid the penalty for my sins. He cleansed our sin with His blood, and He ascended to heaven, but sent His Spirit to remain with us. By accepting this free gift of atoning sacrifice, we become adopted and one with Christ, and we become a part of his body and his church, He, being the head and we the body. We are his church.

Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 3:6, 4:15-16 testify to this. Our good works come from our love for Him and our desire to serve others and bring others to Him, not so we can save ourselves or prove that we are worthy; these are impossible tasks. Our good works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). It is hard to comprehend. When I hear the saying “The good news of the gospel,” it is indeed good news! I have been forever changed. I say these things to help you know and understand what I believe to be true, not to try to change how you believe. That is up to your own study and prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 10:25-30 says, “Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30. I and my Father are one.”

Much love, Mona Lee

Song by Lauren Daigle – You Say

“You Say I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up.

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low? Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know.

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. You say I am held when I am falling short. When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours. And I believe, oh I believe.

What you say of me I believe. The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me. In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity.

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. You say I am held when I am falling short. When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours. And I believe, oh I believe.

Taking all I have and now I’m laying it at Your feet. You have every failure God, and You’ll have every victory.

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. You say I am held when I am falling short. When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours. And I believe, oh I believe. Oh I believe, yes I believe What you say of me Oh I believe.”

Kristin F.

I’m 43 years old, and I left Mormonism two years prior. My doubts started when I was about 18 or 19 when I heard a youth speaker say in her talk that “we’d all be gods and goddesses one day.” I thought, “What kind of crack are her parents smoking?” I had a big problem with this because I knew and had always known there was only one God and that we could never work to become a god. It was later confirmed that this teaching was “true” according to the LDS Church when I read a Journal of Discourses book that my dad had.

Another time while sitting in Sunday school with my parents, the teacher said something about Joseph Smith having a bunch of wives. I was deeply disturbed by this. I asked my dad if it was true that Joseph Smith was in fact a polygamist. He confirmed it was true. That never sat well with me.

My husband’s heart was out of the LDS church long before we left. But for me, the fear of leaving is what kept me in for so long. Primarily the fear of disappointing my dad. If I stayed in the LDS Church, at least I could give my dad what he wanted, which was to see one of his kids get married in the temple.

I told my husband that if the church ever brought polygamy back, I’d leave the church. One day in 2021, I was talking with a friend who had left the church decades ago. This friend pointed out to me the “scriptures” in D&C 132 that support polygamy. I was not okay. I was sick to my stomach.

A year before we stopped going to our ward, I told my husband that we needed to have a non-Mormon night which consisted of playing cards and enjoying some drinks with friends. Then about eight months later, we stopped wearing our garments. Four months after that, we stopped attending our ward all together. It was a gradual process.

I remember back when I was 20 years old attending Saddleback Church in California with some friends off and on. So traditional Christianity was always on my radar. In October 2021, our family began going to a Christian church. We have never been happier than we are now. My kids actually enjoy going to church now.

Even though we’ve been out of the LDS Church and going to a Christian church for over a year, my dad still sends me LDS stuff. I guess he’s still holding out hope for me. On the bright side, I think the door is starting to crack open for my mom. She came with me to a Ladies Spring Tea at the Christian church I attend. She also went to see the movie “Jesus Revolution” and loved it. Since then, she’s sharing with me of groups who had worship events at the beach and then held beach baptisms. I’m praying my mom will see the truth soon and will be an instrument in helping my dad to see the truth as well. 

Karen Leonard

My exodus started with a trip to the temple in 1979. I came home and started reading the Bible to figure out who this God is that would have us saying and promising such stuff. Then I read No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie. Next came Mountain Meadows Massacre. Also during this process, I read the BOM and was like, “Hey…I read these exact verses in the Bible!”  

Next was the D&C which totally contradicted some of what the BOM taught. I was also reading LDS positive books in attempts to stay faithful, so I was honestly trying to stay faithful to LDS church. But there was just too much stuff on the shelf and it broke. Unfortunately, I went the agnostic/atheist route for 20+ years. But God!! I was 90 % atheist and maybe 10% unsure. 

One day, I heard Bible teacher on the radio talking about Biblical grace….and I understood it for the first time! This was the exact message I needed to hear at that time. My life was coming unraveled with marriage and teenage kid problems, and I was turning into a person who I did not like. I started listening to her off and on for a year or so because I took her more as a self-help kind of person and I needed help!

I said one prayer with her at the end of her broadcast because I thought, “What can it hurt?” I can’t say I had any more faith than that. Then the wild and unexplainable started happening to me the next 2 weeks. I tend to be more logical, skeptical, and analytical, and stuff started going on that totally messed with that part of me. At the end of 2 weeks, in my car, a verse from the Bible was read that not 10 minutes before had popped into my head after a conversation with a client. I thought that was just me thinking it….10 minutes later it was on a Christian radio program that I had tuned my radio to about a week before when wild and whacky things started going on.

When that verse came out of the radio, I couldn’t explain everything away anymore. I put my head down on my steering wheel (I was at a stop sign on a non-busy road) and said, ” You ARE really there.” And WHAM! The presence of God filled me and the entire car….it was very “weighty” for a lack of better explanation. I knew!

I literally felt like an alien invasion had occurred in my body. Things in the world were different than before. For instance, a spider’s web in my garden – it was spectacular! Before it would maybe be like, ” Oh that’s cool.” But now it was on a whole different level! No….I don’t do drugs and am not a drinker other than a drink on a special occasion. My daughter said she thought I was going through a midlife crisis because I was so different. She also said she couldn’t explain why I suddenly wasn’t the angry “Mad Mom” that I had been the last couple of years prior.

Prior to my salvation experience, my husband was attending a church where he enjoyed fellowshipping with other Christians. But the people there were strangers to me as I wanted nothing to do with religion, church, or God ever again. I just thought my husband was attending this church for the social aspect of it. He never really talked about the details, nor did I ever care to ask. Plus, I wasn’t looking for that kind of social group. But it wasn’t until a week after becoming saved that I discovered that my husband and several other members of that church had been praying for me to get saved for a few years. God is amazing and truly does answer prayers even when we might not be aware of his work.

Kenyon Birdwell

I grew up as a traditional Christian. But when I turned 16, I hit a rough patch in my life. It caused my Mormon friends to start talking to me about their beliefs. I felt so alone and without purpose. I had no self-esteem. So when I was told that God had re-established his church and that I could know I was in good standing with him by obeying his new commandments, I fell so hard for it. It became my identity. My self-esteem was rooted in the good works I was doing for God’s church. I served a very successful two-year mission and married my Mormon girlfriend. I thought I was going to be that Christian guy who found the true gospel and was going to help convert a ton of Christians to Mormonism.

My wedding was during covid so we could not get sealed in a temple (Mormon wedding) because they were closed. And when they opened again, my wife wanted to get sealed but I wanted to do some research first just so I understood what I was committing to, to be the best husband and man of God possible. I stumbled on a rabbit hole that led me to polygamy, punishment oaths, Brigham Young’s teachings on women and race, and Joseph Smith’s problems. I started to question. I asked my bishop questions and I felt like they were just shutting me down or telling me I could not trust history. Then some friends I was close to left the church and became atheists. All of a sudden, I felt like I was stuck between staying Mormon and keeping my identity and marriage intact or cursing it all and accepting the fact that God did not exist.

I messed around with atheism a little, but so many of the people were so bitter and angry. It felt like the same thing about Mormonism. If I did not get 100 percent agreement with it, then there is no God. Then I decided to ask the question, “Who was Jesus?” I looked into the historical figure, Case for Christ and what most historic scholars said. Most agreed that he existed. Then I started reading the Bible a little and began listening to the difference between Christianity and Mormonism. I even went and interviewed pastors of different churches. I just wanted answers. I think the day that changed me was when I realized that I was trying to earn God’s favor instead of just accepting it. I hated myself so much that I thought there was no way God would love me unless I worked towards him. To understand that he knows everything I ever did yet still loved me so much that sent his son to take my place was crippling and life changing. I think everyone needs to understand this forgiveness because it allows us to forgive ourselves and others. How could anyone ever love me that much?

In the Book of Mormon, it says we are saved by grace AFTER all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23). As I started to read about the apostle Paul and his epistles, I learned that’s not true. We are saved by grace through faith so that no man can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). I was just like the foolish Galatians. I had run from God trying to prove I deserved to be close to him. I needed to go back and read the gospels, not as instructions or how I need to live, but rather as a story of what God has already done and can still do inside of me. This truly freed me from years of shame and guilt. I describe it to people as I was like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking what I must do to get eternal life. And eventually going away sad because as hard as I tried, there was no way I could do it. (I didn’t understand it was about what Jesus did). But now I feel like the apostle Paul when he said he considered all he was and all he did as garbage and that he gave it all up for Christ (Philippians 3:8). I’m happy to say my wife and I are both in Christ now and are currently planning our baptism as new believers.

I will tell you I am still weak. I desire deeply to reach out to my Mormon community and share with them this new life, but the times I have tried, I have been so heavily shut down. We live in Utah and there’s not a ton of LDS missionary-minded people around us. A lot of my Mormon friends shun me. A lot of my ex-Mormon friends are atheist and think that I am brainwashed. I have been praying to connect with other mission-minded believers and for God to open my life to a community of believers who come from a similar background or at least understand the Mormon baggage.

Below is a photo of my legitimate baptism in Christ, which happened in the fall of 2023.