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My name is
Jim. I left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1993, and all
of my family came out with me (wife, three older kids around 15-20). |
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I was an
active member for 13 years, and inactive for another 10. It took me 10 years
to figure it out. Actually, it was partially due to a broadcast I heard of
"The Bible Answer Man" from the Christian Research Institute (http://www.equip.org). |
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I didn't
know any ex-LDS members. I had never heard any serious anti-Mormon criticism
until that radio broadcast. I was impressed. Over the years, I listened to it
as it tore the LDS church doctrine apart. I supplemented the information with
reading and rereading "LDS Standard Works". I used some critical
thinking and analysis, instead of reading uncritically, and began to turn up
some wonderful mistakes made by Joseph Smith, Jr...mistakes that would
justify my leaving the church because it lied to me. |
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Fortunately,
I was inactive because I had begun a full-time business that took 7 days/week
of effort to launch. By not being routinely exposed to the LDS doctrine and
practices, I gradually forgot the rituals and reasons to believe. I then was
open to reasons to not believe. |
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After my
family accepted that the LDS church was wrong, we sent a letter to our church
hierarchy requesting our membership records be removed from the church. We
all signed the letter. After a one year delay and several attempts to get the
matter closed, we received our release and left the church and never looked
back. Our release stated we were making a grave choice, and that we had 90
days to reconsider before our records would be removed from the church. |
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We were in
no mood then or now to reconsider rejoining with a lie. Ironically, four
years later some Home Teachers came to our door (last week) to visit with one
of my kids. I again explained to them that we had all left the church. They
were surprised, and they thought it was a computer glitch. I took the
opportunity to introduce them to the Truth. |
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I love the
Lord. After we left the church, I was reading one evening very late in Psalms
22 about how the Lord said about himself while he was on the cross "I am
a worm." That verse hit me hard, real hard. I realized that, if the God
who created all things and created me called himself a worm, what did that
make me? I suddenly felt compelled to humble myself more than at any time in
my life. After several hours of heartfelt humility and self-effacement, I
was, like John in Revelations, taken away in the spirit somehow. I could
still feel my body on the floor, however. My presence was at the Cross. Jesus
was hanging there in the dim light. His head was hanging down and his hair
was matted with blood. His body was bloody everywhere. I felt so unworthy to
be there. He looked at me, and I felt like I was made of tar, of thick black
darkness. He looked at me with his eyes of love, a powerful love, and it
seemed as though that love pushed right through my darkness and made me a
pane of glass. My life changed that night. My bad habits were gone, my fear
of death was gone, and I will never forget the things he communicated to me
without a word: (1) He died on that cross only for me, individually and (2)
How incredibly much he loves me, more than my thoughts could have ever
imagined. It seemed afterwards that the material things of life became
transparent, as though meaningless, and the transparent things of existence
became solid and meaningful. A joy entered my life, and since that night has
never left. It gives me peace everywhere and all the time. |
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I am so
glad to have gotten out of the LDS church, but I think Jesus sent me down
that path so I could help bring others out. I thank Him that he went after a
lost sheep like he said he would, and by so doing has brought many, many to
Himself through that sheep. |
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A word of
caution to LDS who are thinking about getting out: don't be deceived by a lot
of these crazy "Broadway" production so-called Christian ministers
you see on TV who are in it for the money. A lot of them are liars,
deceivers, wolves in sheep's clothing. I suggest you listen to the Christian
Research Institute on your local radio station. |
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Call them,
too, if you want to. Or email me. |
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Sincerely, |
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Jim Scott |
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Ex-Mormon
and glad of it. |
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OSPC@concentric.net |