From darkness to light, this is my story...

My Dear Family and Friends,

This website has been designed to help you to understand my feelings on the LDS Church. I know that my decision to leave the LDS Church has hurt and disappointed you. I have not sat down and discussed my beliefs without confutation with anyone. I realize that religion can sometimes be hard to talk about, especially if you the two parties don’t have the same beliefs. I don’t want to argue with anyone, or hurt any ones feelings. I think that some people feel like I owe them an explanation and although I don’t feel that way, I do want to explain a few things. I think that people have assumed that Joe has been an influence on my change in belief. If you continue to read on you will find that Joe was not in my life in a romantic or even friendly way when I did my research, left the LDS Church and got saved by the grace of God. I want to, without interruption explain why I first, researched then, decided to leave the Church and finally how I came to the decision to become a Christian and change my life. Doing this meant I needed to set boundaries and unfortunately it also meant putting some relationships on the line. My feelings toward my  family and friends has not changed. I am not trying to push my beliefs on anyone. As far as I am concerned, If we had a relationship before I converted from Mormon to Christian, we still can have a relationship now. I understand that some relationships were more involved because we had religion in common. However, like I said I am not trying to push my beliefs on any one (although I would love to see all my family and friends in heaven) and I have nothing against anyone who has different beliefs than I do. If you do want an explanation or if you are just wondering what information my changes were based on please read on.

Nearly 3 years ago I came very close to making some quick decisions about church. I was ready to start living my life and deciding what I wanted for my future. I thought about getting my endowments and even Temple Marriage. As I thought about these things I realized that I did not have a testimony of my own. I had be taught in primary, and Young Woman’s, that in times of question or doubt I could barrowed the Testimony of my Teachers, Leaders, and Parents. I had done this for to long. I had always been such a people pleaser, and I wanted to believe the same things that most of my friends and family believed, but it was time I learned and believed this for me... Not to please my mom or my friends, or Joe. I decided to learn about the church that I was going to commit my future to. I did use several recourses including LDS.ORG. I read books, pamphlets, as well as internet sites while I researched.

The following are some of the KEY reasons I do not believe that The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a true church.

I had been challenged on 2 different occasions once by a Missionary and again by a Bishop to seek a Testimony of Joseph Smith. The Bishop quoted Joseph Fielding Smith who stated, “Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a Prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground.“ I all of a sudden had several questions. “Who is Joseph Smith?“ “Why did Joseph Smith need to restore the gospel?” “Is the Book of Mormon true ?” “Was Joseph Smith a true prophet?” “Is the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints true?”