My Story

In My Beginning

In discovery, I thank the Grace of God for an open mind and heart, acknowledging his hand in all things throughout my life.  

    I was born in October of 1960 in Ogden, Utah to very good parents.  I am the last of six children and was by far the most spoiled. My first recollections of life were in Ogden, even though we moved to Bountiful, Utah when I was only three years old.  We lived in four different homes while I was being raised in Bountiful. We were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and attended meetings in all the area’s we lived in.  My parents were both members of the church and were married in the Salt Lake Temple. All of us kids were born in the Covenant. (Born to parents that were sealed in the Temple)

    In Bountiful, I remember living on 1800 South when they were building our new church building for the 23rd Ward where we attended.  It was quite far and we walked to and from Church on occasion.  Looking back, it was about two miles away from our home, which is quite a distance when you live in a State where there are Churches on just about every corner.  My first memories of this building are that my parents sacrificed a lot for it. There were times when we would go up there and clean up the site and my parents scraped and scraped to get money for their tithing, fast offerings and building fund.  The building was paid for in part by the members who were going to attend it in those days. 

    We moved from that house when I was about seven years old, to a home that was only about three blocks from this same building.  We kept attending there, however, we were now in the 30th Ward boundaries so we attended a different service with different leaders.  I remember in about third grade, I had a friend named Mark that was not Mormon.  We played a lot together after school. One time, he was going to go to a church meeting and asked if I wanted to go.  I called my mom and asked her if I could go. She approved, and so I went to a Church meeting with him. I remember feeling very comfortable there and they talked about Jesus a lot.  We even learned a scripture, it was the first one I ever memorized. ‘Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” I still remember it to this day. 

    When I turned eight years old, I was asked if I wanted to be baptized.  I remember saying that I wasn’t sure, and they waited to baptize me until the next month. One thing that stands out from that baptism is that my clothing was not pure white.  It was a yellowish color, kind of what you get when you wash the wrong type of material in chlorine bleach. I wasn’t sure if that made my baptism invalid or not. It didn’t seem to be a problem or question from anyone else that was there.  I just wondered if it made me clean enough. 

    While living here, my parents went through some difficult times.  They stopped attending Church for a while and argued quite often. This would have been when I was about eleven or twelve.  I remember going to Church sometimes and then I received the Aaronic Priesthood (when I turned twelve), and I got involved in playing basketball, which kept me attending during this time in my life.  

    I remember my mother threatened to move out at one point, and we convinced her to stay with us in the family, and to move downstairs where she could live until things got better.  This hard time in our family lasted until I was fifteen, and then they started to attend again. Things got better and our family decided to move one more time. So, just before my sixteenth birthday, we moved over to the Chelsea Cove area, in a great house with a great view of the valley.  I was in High School then, and even though that put me into a different catchment area, I continued to attend Bountiful High. 

    I held different positions in the church there.  I was first councilor to the Bishop in the Priest Quorum, did my home teaching, attended Boy Scouts and did those things we are taught to do. I was quite scared and timid and really didn’t want to do anything bad.  I really disliked getting in trouble in any form. This held on through High School and beyond. I really didn’t want to disappoint my parents in any way. 

    I prayed, did my lessons for two and a half years of Seminary, I worked for one and a half years so I couldn’t take more released time.  Read the assignments that were given to us, but really never got into the scriptures. My brother had served a mission when I was six and I always planned on going on one as well.  There really was no question as to if I was going to go or not. When I was eighteen, I started making preparations to go. Put in all of my papers, and waited for my call. I had then decided that I better read the Book of Mormon before I go, however, too many things got in the way and I only made it into second Nephi, again….. 

    I recall a couple of incidents in my late teen years, that easily could have gone another direction and I could have lost my life or been seriously injured.  I know that it is only through the Grace of God that things did not go that way. This made me feel as if I have a special reason for still being here. That there is something that I need to accomplish before the Lord brings me into his presence.  As I write this, I am still not sure why I was preserved. Perhaps it is the writing of this record that needed to come forward to help others learn of and feel of Jesus Christ and his love for all of us. 

CHAPTER 2

Mission Time!

    I received my calling to serve in the Wellington, New Zealand Mission.  This was amazing. Someplace I really wanted to go to and I now had that opportunity.  My First Grade Teacher was a Maori Princess and taught us a lot about the country. I was even the star in a class play that depicted New Zealand and its inhabitants.  

    When I got to the MTC, (Mission Training Center), I again wanted to read the Book of Mormon, and again, had too many other things to learn and memorize that I never got through it.  I was now LEARNING about the Church I was called to represent. I was surprised and overwhelmed at the things I learned about the Church in that month that I was in there. All of which I accepted fully.  I had a good feeling inside and felt that this was the true church.

    Prior to going to the MTC, I went through the Temple to take out my Endowments.  It seemed a little strange, however, I was prepared for the most part and knew what covenants I was going to be making.  It was just how we went about making those covenants, which caused some concerns. Again, it was all accepted, and I was ready to serve my mission.     I landed in New Zealand in the middle of December 1979 and it really was a great experience having Christmas away from home and with strangers. We had so much food... of course that is the Maori way.  I grew to really love the people in New Zealand. 

    I was there for about a week, and there I determined that I need to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover, so I started.  I remember for the next couple weeks, talking to my companion and saying, “Did you know this was in here, did you know that was in here?” I was intrigued.  It was fun to read. I made it through in a few weeks and felt like I have my first big accomplishment. Now, onto the Bible. For the next couple months, I “plowed” through the Bible.  For the most part, not really understanding what I was reading. There were times when I would read some passages and was just excited to keep reading because I understood a little. During these times, I also was still learning my discussions word for word, which was a requirement.  

    I remember one day, reviewing my discussions and I was reciting the scripture that , “Men of our day would be ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” And that “Many great and noble men will be deceived”, and I remember thinking, “This could be us.” Then I filtered that away, and went on studying, only to recall this once again many years later.

         One of my companions and I, for two weeks, decided that we were going to go to church at a couple different Christian Churches while we were out on our missions.  We went to a Free Presbyterian Church and then the next week we went to an Assembly of God Church. It was interesting. The music was sure different, especially in the AOG Church.  Apparently, both the Clergies saw us come in and one of them taught a little anti Mormon (Which  I have now discovered was truth about the church) from his pulpit and the other had literature brought out into the foyer during the service. With both teachings, however, I was quite amazed that everything they taught, even the anti-Mormon information, was centered in Jesus Christ.  

    I remember wanting to get into a personal relationship with my Savior, as I felt a hollowness in my heart.  I prayed earnestly, looking for a conviction, looking for a closeness. I tried to read through “Jesus the Christ” by Talmage.  This was just confusing. The closeness was not coming. I was still committed to learning, reading and delving into my scriptures.  There were many questions as I was then learning about what the church is all about. I asked questions to my companions, leaders, etc.  I was told a number of times that these were some of the deep secrecies (or that they were unrevealed at this time) and that they did not pertain to my salvation and that they would be revealed after death. So, I put them aside and went on.  Still searching for that relationship with Christ. 

    I recall a time in my second area, with my third companion, that I spent a lot of time praying, searching for Christ.  I knew he was there, yet I just did not have that closeness I felt I needed with him. On one occasion, I remember getting out of bed and moving into the living room where I prayed differently. I opened up my heart to him.  I talked as I talk to friends and family. I was there for a couple of hours, talking, just wanting to get close to him. I felt his presence and knew he heard me. I knew he was there and was interested in me and loved me. I didn’t hear any voice and I didn’t see any vision (which I actually kind of expected to hear or see), however, I knew then that Christ knew me.  

    I continued on my mission, adhering to the rules as best as I could.  Reading the White Handbook just about every day. Learning my scriptures, accepting leadership positions, (Trainer, District Leader, Zone Leader) keeping up the numbers we needed to keep up (how many doors knocked on, how many first presentations, how many baptismal challenges, how many baptisms), etc.  Running my District and Zone like a successful sales team. It was great experience for later in my life when I became a sales trainer and leader. There was a pride in being advanced to a trainer, District Leader and also a Zone Leader. Even more pride for hitting your numbers. 

    One of the highlights was when Elder Thomas S. Monson visited our mission unannounced.  He was actually in a building that was in my district at a time when we had a district meeting scheduled.  We made it to the building in the pouring rain, and a Sister was there that we didn’t recognize. She mentioned to us that Elder Monson was in the next room waiting for us.  We didn’t know of an Elder Monson in the Mission. We looked at each other, my companion and I, and could only think of Thomas Monson, and kind of shrugged it off as we thought for sure it couldn’t be him.  Actually, it was. So, for the next couple hours, eight of us missionaries had Elder Monson’s time to talk and ask questions, etc. 

    I remember we all introduced ourselves to him.  He came back to me and asked if my father was Charles?  Yes, I said. He then went on to explain that he knew my Grandfather well.  That he and my Grandfather had worked together to translate the Book of Mormon into the Greek Language.  He then went on to tell me that he knows my Cousin Paul. He was his mission president in Canada, in the same area that Paul was now the mission president in. Again, I felt a pride in me.  That an Apostle actually knew me and my family. 

    I remember reading somewhere to read the Book of Mormon, and just ask myself if someone could have actually written this book.  My thought went to doing the math. The vision of Moroni to Joseph was around 1823. Then there were four years before he could take the plates, then came translation time of a number of years, and it was published around 1830.  I remember thinking, yes… someone could have written this book in seven years or even less. 

    I recall a time around my one year mark, where we were putting on a fireside on the Book of Mormon.  I remember wanting so bad to get a testimony of this book. One where I couldn’t doubt that it was true.  I remember getting a good feeling, not overwhelming, but a good feeling that evening, and figured that was what I was supposed to feel. That must have been my answer.  So, I continued on.

    Shortly thereafter, I was transferred to Napier.  What a great place this was. I was there for about a month and I came down with Hepatitis A.  Apparently, I got this in an epidemic that hit Napier that month. There were reports of around 40 people who contracted this disease.  I went and lived with a member family for almost two months. I remember, during this time, that there were a few really bad days. One time I recall, that I actually made the decision to stay in my mortal body.  I felt that I was not ready to go to the other side yet. I felt that I was not worthy to enter into God’s presence. That little things, cheating on a test, not telling people I was sorry for doing things as a teen (like ding, dong, ditching and making them upset), nothing serious, just little things, had not been dealt with. Things you normally wouldn’t think about.  When you are on the brink of death, things come into your mind. 

    I quickly repented of these things and hoped that those that I had offended or upset could see through this and realize that I was a child and didn’t always think of others.  I bring this up here, because, I was never sure that I was actually forgiven of these, and other sins that I had committed over my lifetime. Even after repenting of, and taking the sacrament, I still just didn’t feel worthy. As I talk to others, I find that they also have these same feelings.  Only recently, within the last few months, prompting the writing of this record, have I felt the Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and know that my sins are forgiven me. The burden is gone. The weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I am FREE…. Jesus said, “Come to me, all ye that Labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”   

    I got feeling better after a couple of months, just in time to see a production that we, as missionaries, put on for the Stake.  The production was “Saturday’s Warrior”. I, of course, wasn’t in the production and the missionaries did a great job. My companion and I got back together, and while I was sick and away, he had broken his thumb playing softball with the zone.  So, we were the companionship known as “Pain and Sickness”. We still worked hard and we got along exceptionally well. We had some outlying areas and on occasion, as long as car miles permitted, we visited the members there. 

    The last four months of my mission were all numbers.  I was the Zone Leader and as I mentioned earlier, we took care of all the numbers, etc. I still read my scriptures and obeyed the mission rules.  This was just a time when I had other things to do. My prayers and companion prayers were for the missionaries in our mission to find people to teach and bring into the church.  Not so much ourselves. We did go on splits with the other missionaries, we also planned and held meetings for the Zone and the Districts in the zone. I felt as though my mission was a great success. We had some converts, I was called (Promoted) to leadership positions, and now it was time to come home. 

CHAPTER 3

The “AFTER” Mission

    My parents were able to come and pick me up from my mission.  We toured New Zealand for a couple weeks and then we went to Hawaii for ten days. That was pretty amazing.  I hadn’t been released yet, however, my Stake President back in Utah had given me permission to get in the water as long as my parents were around. (When you are on a mission, water is off limits, other than baptisms and bathing).  We toured the South Island and met some great people. Then we went around the North Island, in the area’s where I served. I got to introduce my parents to the people whom I had met while I was there. I did a lot of reflecting during those three-plus weeks. It was great to be with my parents again.

    I arrived home on December 3rd, 1981 and went right to my Stake President to be released.  I then went down to Smith’s grocery store which was built while I was away.  As I was coming out of the store, I almost got ran over by a crazy lady… Okay, actually, I married her… She wasn’t really crazy, however, she did rev up fast to me and honked.  She got out of the car and came to shake my hand. Well, I hadn’t been able to hug members of the opposite sex for the past couple years, I had just been released, and I was having nothing to do with the handshake. I pulled her in and gave her a nice hug.  It was great to see old friends again. We talked for a little while and I told her I would call. I had known her for half of my life already, we had met when I was about eleven. She was the younger sister to a couple of my friends. 

    I had another girl that actually had written to me almost every week of my mission.  I called her and we went out a few times. I also called Julie, (She is the one that almost ran me over) and we set up a date.  I just remember that after my first date with Julie, that I knew that she was the one that I was supposed to marry. I called my sister and told her as much.  She was happy for me. I just needed to let the other girl now know. Maybe I didn’t handle things right as I didn’t call her for a few days and it was just before Christmas.  I did let her know on Christmas eve that I was getting serious with someone else. Note the time line. Home on the 3rd, broke up with someone else on the 24th, and then proposed to her on New Years at midnight a week later.  We got married in May in the Salt Lake Temple. 

    About a year later, we were blessed with twin boys. They have been the best children a guy could ask for.  When they were around four years old, we moved to Houston, Tx. My boys and I fished quite regularly in Galveston.  We went just about every weekend. All this time, we were active in the church. We had several callings. In one area, I was called to be the early morning Seminary teacher, a calling which I had for two and a half years.  Loved teaching and speaking. We moved about that time to Sugar Land and we stayed active in the church. I was then called to be on the Stake High Council and held that calling for a couple years as well. During that time, we had some challenges in our marriage.  A couple months later, I asked the Stake President to release me from this calling as I felt I needed to concentrate more on my family. 

    It was interesting during this struggle in our life.  I couldn’t really get any help from my Bishop or Stake President.  They did set me up some counselling which I attended, but it just really didn’t seem to give much support.  During this time, I lost all interest in gospel learning. I was now just going through the motions. Had no feelings one way or the other about the church.  I could take it or leave it. This went on for a few years, and we decided to move back to Utah. Once getting back to Utah, I was set up with another councilor.  I attended these quite regularly and my wife joined me once or twice. All this time, we still stayed active in the church, however, as I mentioned before, my heart was not in it at all.  I felt a falling away from God. I committed, during this time of trial, that I would read all of the standard works every year. This I did for over four years in a row. Still trying to find my closeness with God that I felt earlier in life. 

    When my twins were about sixteen, I had discussions with my wife that this would be a good time to end our marriage.  I moved out and went to live with my sister for a couple weeks, and then I moved back in with my parents. Shortly thereafter, I met my second wife online.  This was before computer dating and all that is out there. We did meet in a chat room. I’m not proud of it, but I did start conversing with her before I was divorced.  In fact, I was talked into moving back in with my wife (By the Bishop) which I did for a couple weeks. At this time, I cut all ties from the internet and tried to give it another try.  It just wasn’t going to happen. During this time, I believe we both stayed active and held Temple recommends, which would allow us to go into the Temple. 

    My bishop knew of my talking to the other lady online as well.  I sent the missionaries to her and she went through the discussions.  She prayed and felt good about the church and wanted me to baptize her.  Her branch President called my Bishop and they talked and thought it would be a good idea if I went there and did the baptism.  One of my boys and I drove up to where she lived in Canada, about a thirty hour drive. This was the first time I had met her physically.  We performed the baptism, we drove to Alaska, and we did some salmon fishing. We had a great trip. 

    About two months later, she came down to Utah to meet my family, and we got engaged.  We were married later on in the month and I moved to Canada. We lived in a nice little branch and I still continued to read my scriptures. My wife was almost immediately put into the relief society presidency and I was working in the Elders Quorum.  We worked to get ready to go to the Temple together to get sealed. It took a long time, if memory is correct, about eighteen months, to get clearance to be sealed. My wife, during this time, took out her endowments and went to the Temple another time or two.  She decided during this time that things in the church were too strange and cultish and didn’t want anything else to do with it. Just after this, the clearance came in and was never used. 

    I stayed active in the church still, and we moved a couple of times.  I taught Seminary again in Canada for a couple of years, but again, my heart just wasn’t in it.  I was not feeling good about things. My wife kept dropping little hints about the church. The first one, and the one that really got me thinking, was the Mason markings.  I put that aside for a couple years and one day I was driving by a Masonic Temple and I saw the markings on their building. This started me thinking all over again. I was at this point, a real estate agent, and so it was easy for me to work on Sundays and miss my meetings. I did some research on the Mason’s and I went to the internet to see what they were about.  It was there that I was able to see their complete ceremony. I couldn’t figure out why this was plagiarized in the temple. I discussed this with others and one friend even got me a book about it. All the book did was convince me that the two ceremonies were almost identical. 

    The leaders and members who were aware of this had explanations.  None of which helped me at all. And again, I put this all to the side.  I didn’t want to deal with it. I had learned something that I hoped would be answered later to my satisfaction.  I got to thinking on this again. Part of the explanation is that this was here and that Joseph Smith, being a Mason, had brought it into the Temple and perfected it the way God wanted it as an ordinance to help you get to the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom.   Then I thought about the changes that occurred in the Temple Ceremony in 1990, (Later I discovered that there may have also been changes in the 1930’s that were extremely close to the Mason rituals) and the thought came to me, if that is true, that Joseph Smith brought it over in its plainness and fullness to the Temple, then why did it have to change.  God is the same Today, Yesterday and Forever. I filed it away. Maybe I could over look this if all else is good. 

    I also heard during this period of time that Joseph Smith had many wives.  That was interesting as I was taught growing up, on my mission, and later, that it started with Brigham Young and that Joseph never practiced this policy.  I also heard that some of his wives were as young as fourteen years old. I knew this couldn’t be true and that it had to be just from people making it up. I filed it away.

    I also saw a show on TV that showed Joseph Smith with his head in a hat translating the Book of Mormon.  And that he had a rock (seer stone) in the hat with him. I chuckled at this as I knew that he translated the book from the gold plates and they were set on a table and had like a veil placed between him and Oliver Cowdry.  He would use the Urim and Thumin to translate these plates and would basically read the text as Oliver wrote it. Okay, that is what we were taught and also how it is shown in the Church pictures. Why would I think anything different.  I filed it away.

    I’ve also thought for many years about the Priesthood and the Blacks.  If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then why did this have to change?   I do remember my Father talking to me when I was young, about the Priesthood. He did mention to me about the Blacks and that it was a curse from God to the descendants of Cain and that some day they would get the Priesthood.  So, early on I filed this one away. 

CHAPTER 4

On to California

    Life then took me to California.  I moved there a year or so earlier than my wife did.  We were working to get her through the Immigration Process.  It took about 14 months. She was able to visit a few times, and I went back to Canada a couple of times.  During this time, I was busy at work trying to make a living in a new area. There was a lot of tension and the finances just were not coming in.  Finally she was able to join with me. A couple months later, we moved to San Diego. It was still a hard struggle financially and emotionally. We moved again to Temecula, mainly because the rent was about sixty five percent of what it was in San Diego.    I couldn’t find good work and the financial burden took its toll on us. Shortly thereafter, we separated, and I moved back to Utah, after I discovered the following. 

    While I was in California, a couple more things came to light.  The Church made a policy about children of Lesbian and Gay couples which I found atrocious.  Not allowing them to become members of the Church or serve missions because of the lifestyle in the house they lived in.  Shortly thereafter, they changed this policy to say that if they renounced the lifestyle and got special permission from the First Presidency, they could be baptized members.  My only thought that kept nagging me over and over was, “Suffer NOT the little children to come unto me, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven”. And then the “Clarification” CHANGE!  If these men received this from God, WHY would it change. Filing things away stopped. Very disturbed about this one. 

    Just after this I heard someone say something about papyri and the Book of Abraham not matching what Joseph Smith said he translated.   I looked into this to see what the scholars and translators said about this papyri. What I found was astonishing. This had nothing to do with Abraham at all.  It was actually burial information. The facsimile’s that are still in the book, have NO reference to Abraham at all neither. At the beginning of ALL of them, prior to the last several years (and many still), it states “Translated from papyrus, by Joseph Smith.”  Finding out that these papyrus surfaced in the 1960’s and the Church quickly purchased them, and that they are translated extremely wrong, put and end to my filing things away.

    This is SOLID evidence that Joseph Smith DID NOT translate these from the papyrus.  Then I found the DNA evidence, the mistakes in the Book of Mormon (grammar, punctuation, and doctrinal).  Also the mistakes of the 1600’s version of the King James Version of the Bible, translated exactly into the Book of Mormon, the lack of geographical evidence of the Book of Mormon, the Mountain Meadow Massacre, the racism of past church leaders, etc., etc., etc.  it finally hit me. Joseph Smith was a FALSE PROPHET. 

    If he could make up the story of the translation of the papyrus, he could make up the Book of Mormon.  It has been taught from the pulpit in the tabernacle. IF the Book of Mormon is false, then the church is not true and Joseph Smith was not a prophet.  What a discovery. I was MAD. Why had the Church and my leaders lied to me all these years. After this I discovered the multiple First Vision stories.  Each one getting more and more elaborate. The first one only stating ONE GOD visiting him AND it was published in 1832…. Two years after the church was established!  No other record of this before that time. I got more upset. 

    Running through my mind and heart, “if this isn’t true, nothing is true”.  I started studying the Church. I wanted to prove it right. It was all I knew.  Every turn I took, took me further and further into knowing that Joseph was a false Prophet.  I started talking to others and found out that I was not alone. There are many people out there that have learned this TRUTH and are now in a state of non-belief. 

   My wife at the time, had no idea this was going on in my inner spiritual turmoil.  She stayed in California and I really didn’t want to move to Utah. She talked to me and reminded me that my children, grandchildren, family and support group were there.   So I loaded up the car, and moved to Utah. We divorced a few months later. 

CHAPTER 5

Back in Utah

    I got back to Utah, lived with my sister for a couple of weeks, and then I moved into my own apartment.  It was a dive… It was the only thing that I could afford. I didn’t have a job yet, however, I did drive for Uber and Lyft in San Diego and transferred these to Utah at that time.  I remember driving Christmas Day, New Years Eve, Valentines day… etc., all because I needed to do so. I made enough to live on at that point. 

    I found a great job where I was able to drive quite a bit.  When I get behind the wheel, I am in my happy place. It also gave me a large amount of time to think, study and reflect.  About two and a half years into my job, I felt like I was wasting my time listening to the radio and other songs. I tried listening to Spanish Training podcasts and just couldn’t get the hang of it.  

    It was about this time, that my new wife of about a year, RaeLynn, asked me if I still believed in Jesus?  I hesitated… I told her I think I did, and from that time forward, I have had a determination to find him and to learn about him. I started listening to the radio on Christian Music and broadcasts. (In the past year and a half, being married to RaeLynn, I had been to our LDS Ward a half a dozen times.  I still attended our grandkids programs as well. Just not a good feeling when I am there. I’ll expound on this more later.) I listened to Joel Osteen and learned some things that I had not heard of before. I listened to others as well. I made a decision to see what a Christian Church is like. 

    The first weekend in October of 2017, I decided that I would go to church.  I looked on the internet and found one that started at noon. This gave me the opportunity to do something I wanted to do in the morning, and still make a meeting.  I remember sitting in my truck out in front of the church for about 15 minutes, trying to get up the nerve to go in. I had seen videos of the pastor and his wife and they seemed really nice.  I just didn’t know what to expect. 

    I finally went inside.  I was greeted by some greeters and they welcomed me there.  Showed me where the sanctuary was and also the welcome desk for new attendees.  On this desk were free copies of the Bible, the NIV Translation. I picked one up.  I met with the pastor, explained why I was there, and went in and found a seat. The service began in singing songs of worship.  They have a couple guitars, keyboard and a guy on the drums. The music was good, but the WORDS to the worship songs were all about Jesus, and AMAZING!

    We sang three worship songs, with the words to the music on large screens in front of the congregation, and then had a sermon.  It was on Abraham. Apparently, this was the second lesson of five on Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant. I was floored at how they went right to the scriptures in Genesis and read through the scriptures, giving explanation of what they are reading.  Not just bits and pieces, but really reading and getting into the Bible. 

    After the sermon, we sang another worship song.  That is my favorite part!! It was confirmed to my soul that this was the correct way to worship and that the things I was taught that day were true and from God.  I started reading the Bible from Romans, then to the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), and then onto the rest of the New Testament. With the Spirit of God, I understood the scriptures in a way I had not learned them before.  I am blown away at the clarity of the things I read. The Bible IS the WORD OF GOD and it is TRANSLATED CORRECTLY. 

    I attended every week in October and into November.  The first week there in November, I came unto Christ. I accepted his Grace.  I became a new man. I know that God has forgiven me of my sins. (Something I could only hope I had been good enough for earlier) This is only through Christ alone, and through true faith in him.  It really is Grace Alone, by Faith Alone, in Christ alone. I love my God. I love my God… I LOVE MY GOD!!! And I know he loves me.   Christ suffered for me… He was resurrected for me… And even though we ALL will continue to sin throughout our mortal lives, His grace saves us and paid the debt for us.  Now I want to do what he wants me to do because I LOVE HIM….not because I have to. (when you understand that last line to its fullest, you will understand the difference between Grace and Works) 

    I find it hard to learn enough each week.  I feel like a sponge. The Spirit has opened my heart and my mind and has shown me what he wants me to know and learn from his Word.  I listen to podcasts and/or worship music every day. I can’t get enough. My relationship with my Savior is stronger than I ever thought possible or knew before.  I thought I knew him earlier in my life. What a difference, really having the Holy Spirit with you makes. It’s NOT just a feeling. The Bible teaches that feelings can deceive you.  All things need to be verified by the Word. 

    Let me get into that a little deeper.  I remember being taught that when you feel something in your heart, that it is true.  This couldn’t be further from the truth. As we read in Jeremiah 17 KJV it reads, Verse 9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”     The NIV translates it into: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” -- The Greek translation of this is anash, pronounced aw-nash’ and means desperate wicked or incurable or sick or woeful.  Don’t miss the part that says it is “deceitful ABOVE ALL THINGS” (Caps added). 

     The only way to understand truth is to do what is taught in the Bible.  You must be able to back it up with the “WORD”. (Bible Scripture) - In Acts 17:10-11 it tells us … 10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

    They backed up what was being taught by Paul through the scriptures!!  They didn’t just take his word for it. They learned that it was all true and scriptural.  This is how you discover truth. Not by feelings.. but by what is taught by true Prophets and the Lord himself.  

Chapter 6

My Walk

    I can’t believe that it has been over a year since I was Born Again… over a year that the Father chose me to be one that he would bless with his spirit.  I am so unworthy of him and his love and I am so grateful that I have the Spirit of the Lord with me at all times. Helping me to understand his Word, helping me to learn who Christ truly is and who the Father is.  Helping me to understand the Trinity, however, it is still a hard concept to comprehend its vastness. I have ALWAYS believed that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost were the Godhead. All one God. My mother taught that to me, of which I am thankful.  Now I know that they are one GOD… Three separate personages, One God. 

 John 17:3   "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." 

MY BAPTISM TESTIMONY