WHAT Church IS True? Part 1

Your answering and and we pose the question, what the question was chosen in part because we tend to really examine the fundamental aspects of our lives, society, meaning of life and repetitive action. Why would God with all meaning of life in the verse so many of the things you consider to be true for granted their true without question, this is a normal part of the conflict out of question everything will be tracked in our daily lives. Our minds will be filled with confusion and doubt that we would hardly have the courage to eternal life to step outside of our homes when we are considering the topic of God, life after death, eternal life in all kinds of questions that effect our existence now, and the eternities, we must be willing to examine them.

Is there anything worth more of our time, attention, prayer and study that eligible souls. The topic was addressed each of our unique experiences. We hope and pray that our previous discussion will be used by God to open the minds of those who are questioning and bring comfort to those who are already in the process of question. This leads us immediately to the topic at hand of the current discussion we as either current active Latter Day Saints or post Latter Day Saints have accepted that the LDS church is not what it claims to be the only true church on the base of your kidneys to one of several very fundamental questions that I leave the LDS church. Where do I go which church is true, then this concept of church churches versus all churches is completely ingrained into the mind of those who have grown up in the Latter Day Saints environment.

Consider that there must be only one true church, and all other churches of all looked at the landscape of Christianity and other religions and see so much dispute debate. The thought of leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is terrified. I experienced this personal elected district, one of the most common passages of Scripture. I used five served as a full-time LDS missionary in Belgium and France to show that there was only one true church was Ephesians 45 quote one Lord, one paid, one baptism," this also proved that there is only one way to baptize, so I thought. So how come Christians all over the world were divided on the method of baptism should be baptized globally little believers and their children. The "great apostasy" that Joseph Smith spoke of just seemed completely obvious to his great apostasy hadn't happened, you would have so many denominations gray but is this really the case is affecting Christianity doesn't agree on every single topic mean that none of them have the truth in this episode. Your hosts the sons of light will tackle some of these questions and hopefully shed some light on what questioning Latter Day Saints have asked themselves at least once in their lives what church is true that we welcome you and hope you enjoy your time with us in brightest day in blackest night no evil shall escape our site are a little green light is presented is before you began doubting the truth claims of the LDS church.

What were your impressions of other Christian churches.

Positive, negative, or neutral.

With Mike on the question, yes I had a mostly positive view of other Christian churches. When I look at other Christian churches. I believe that they were a stepping stone for somebody to become a latter-day St. After all, it was so much easier to preach Mormonism to somebody who already had a concept of Scripture in Jesus Christ and I believe that I was just adding something quick regarding the leave of the missionary.

You guys have a kind of take away anything evil you will just try to get more crew so I did have a very positive impression of other Christian churches.

I high work of the Christian group shot before my mission and had a lot of problems there so definitely mostly positive, but there were couple children would speak out against Mormonism that I would have the opposite of them and I would consider them to be a negative hateful church so yeah just just really depended on it. They were talking about near the school and about little business they had a general positive view unless the pay gave me reason to believe otherwise pretty much okay and all about you depends on work time of my heart was in so the child was growing up I had a pretty positive view of the church is a my father was born into families first generation of German immigrant family that was born here in America and he see Jerome Kern and on weekends when my grandfather working in another town and had the car my grandmother would take them to a Baptist Church that was just across the street from where he moved to New York so she stencil of Baptists and when he would talk to us about one of the child in the family on the order settings about his conversions.

Mormonism, he always spoke of his upbringing in the Lutheran Church and that services of the very positive was growing up.

I have a positive view of other churches, but as I prepared to go on the condition. 1997, the Southern Baptist convention held their Salt Lake City hands went door there to evangelize Mormons and that was the course. All news since all exclusions in Isaiah as I do splits with missionaries in the months leading up to my mission. Of course it was a big event for them as well and no kinda crystallizing my mind something similar to what Michael was talking about his business, other group. It doesn't like us in both Christians celebrated their horrible marinated film and as it went on my mission." Like Jay-Z, the great apostasy like who surrounds Mormon doctrine of the word approached Roman Catholicism in that book and another Christian church as well. I imbibed Moussa was very negative. Newsletter churches heavily while I was on my mission when I came home and married her convert Mormonism who was raised Baptist and began interacting with her family, legends, agenda agenda solvent so that whoever positive to have a very staunch Latter Day Saints were the only true church. You were a number of years and then back to a more positive view. I have this is like you both had a lot more interaction with Christians that I have in my life before one of my mission. I really didn't interact with friends around the circle and my mission. I have met some people who would complement the failure of a cold regular select is really upfront, really, really strong at so I didn't hate them or have no negative feelings for them. I'd like they were nice people, but caught in a system that was incorrect so I felt like they were being misled by and I also read the great apostasy by Talmage. So that really really negative and the baptism. I guess I would also save mostly positive, but just due to the fact that I didn't interact but I figured most of them were good people. Some of them might be extreme or in a very antagonistic in their evangelism appointments, but overall in public. I deposited of Christian so and by the way he's cutting what thoughts of what questions so calling up in your faith tradition.

The prospect of the LDS church and joining another church, your mind when their thoughts of excitement dear reservation or something else. Let's start with the public. The prospect of leaving the LDS church for another church is also the micro transition was. Not something everyone considered the way our dreams that I would probably do the remaining Mormon in some form or fashion. And that was likely going to need a more liberal approach to Mormonism, Schleicher in England who are or crassly abdominal when attempted to do for a number of years where the specific truth claims only mattered in the sense that the employees them, but culture Mormonism values instilled in families and children.

Generally a positive light dust. That's kind of where I saw myself going there or more to some form of agnosticism or when. I also physician attributed a number used for most willing to consider that really the micro transition might result in leading Mormonism after that to seeking to remain a Christian and sentence or religious in some sense, so initially know the editor of not being LDS lists have anathema in my mind okay and develop in about the talk about how you help later on in your faith tradition that the idea leaving the district or another Christian church become more palatable are more acceptable. Now I don't think this is kind of interesting nighttime abuses, revenge on are going heart and really I really didn't know who needs to entertain the idea of going outside of the LDS church until that until our conversation and I don't know whether that was our American noise a lot of pressure to be whole member of our of our marriage is still detergent a lot of waiting on not being someone who word harm Congress testimony and so in my mind so several months before he made decisions I was still saying in conversations.

I couldn't imagine being anything other than Mormon syllabus is going to have a son decision is the situation where you know when I when I knew she was going salute okay with it.

I helped produce how electrical pressure) amongst myself, so that after that discussion, pressure off your shoulders you Felt like he could relax, he could be to consider other options or other avenues that ended didn't come exciting upward like us and I had gone from a very civil might my insistence that I couldn't imagine the other than Mormon, listless kind of grasping, sometimes in the modern business online as well, this is my tribe mentality and this is always going to do my tribe mentality and once that was gone and I had reached the point of having generally positive views of people of other Christian churches workers face was kind of exciting to to support that. I was doing that somewhere in the background is the start of books about the history of Christianity in America. This book called pilgrims in their own land by Martin Martin that I read that I just devoured and found very very fascinating and sober was there was, growing in towards the end of my time until discharge of an interest in, but even then I held back with pilgrims who actually considering it is a very hands, and even that I have accredited in my field all exclusive scope of Christ or some other Mormon accommodations is not the youngest church in Salt Lake so Jack I held onto that culture for a long time and I think it resonates with me as well.

How do you Michael when you began your pay transition was exciting to be joined another church did not beginning then later on that headed out of your perception or the idea of leaving the LDS church and joining another one how to do that by the time I had my but by the time I paid began. I was already having a lot of discussions with Christians on my form online and Artie made a lot of really good Christian friends and it was actually a Christian argument. The impossible gospel argument I was making the heavenly food crisis and so logically in my mind. I kind of knew that I would have to decide between being a Latter Day Saints or being a Christian and there wasn't really another option in my mind, call a little bit. As I was starting to date with well maybe the book of Mormon is still true.

But maybe it's one of the other sex is actually true within a single claim via the RLD as he absolutely is not actually a number of joining FWS and in the just had handsomely positive experiences on my mission meeting with the Christian even when I would debate with them always just how this love comes Christians and remember one how my mission little walking in our missionary carbon has these two ladies and they had a witness to her second unit is in a deal.

Just seeing no we pray for you every Sunday at our church and I was blown away by that outside you guys hated us you know but pray for us that sure this looks awesome and I can us are getting to this point when my feet. Prices happen where I kind of wasn't really liking the people at my church that much anymore culture was really starting to get to need the how easy it is to judge others out of the judge did not wearing the right clothes or you don't have the right education argument have the right number of children now just so hard and in the ward. Sometimes, and I just know it wasn't her. The doctor and being truly Mormonism I would almost rather be a member of a Protestant church because I really like these guys and is happy to be grass is greener at that point, but of the further along I got my faith transition people that were merely helping were Christian and they're just, you're getting the advise and they were pressuring the open sourcing allow all of the state LDS your whole life. But I was getting more pressure from Mormonism you know where to get up his leg up and compensated you here where we go and exist. The pressure on the server. Christianity started with more and more healing further I got into my crisis has a really interesting I remember that that talk to I think it was valid value don't forget I was on a mission or close after that.

I do distinctly remember hearing it and feeling it was kind of a little bit manipulative to be like well this is all you got. So there's not anything better for you. Only Marty got Milo stay here. I was gonna lie about getting in the at the time of still clutching at her job at a public good that talk was a little strange. I mean, I think the purpose what you trying to say is this trying to say yes only blessing in this church you know that nobody else has just so blessed. But it came off as kind of manipulative so I can understand the pressure that you're talking about when you're both saying it's it's funny how you know three different people three different experiences different parts of the country, but you know we we we all had similar thoughts because I publish anything I thought maybe will you know I find a lot of the book of Mormon. I think it's a really great tax deal I found so much strength in it over over my lifetime submitting.

I can hold onto that and I'll just forget about the historical thing that bothered me with polygamy with the book of Abraham is like that. I can just reject that I can keep what what I like for myself like a cafeteria Mormonism of those trying to do and I wasn't willing to get rid of my paper. My attachment deal, district leader and as I got further along in my faith, transition, and I realized that the community of Christ there very similar in a lot of ways and at the things that I struggle to get lit up in profits.

The book of Mormon neck, anything that had all that they rejected most of what I rejected you know that the dead book of Abraham. They started to take a more honest look at their history so that was a real option that I had considered a long time as well… Juanita. Both use a similar have similar thoughts and sing this contrast, Jesus turned and went seven this is really a national exceptionally angry that is born and raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, commonly referred to as the Mormon faith.

All of us as a set religion and have been drawn to faith in Jesus Christ based on biblical teaching. The name of our podcast out of rightness six John 19 which calls Jesus, the true light which gives light to everyone you found life beyond Mormonism to be brighter than we were told in the light, we have is not our own. Thus, color, brightness, purpose is to share opportunities of faith God has done in drawing us to his son give conversations about all aspects of the transition years challenges, joys, and everything in between. Glad you found us and we hope you'll stick around so your God led us to him. Christ, out of this church.

What we discussed. Could you describe how you finally how God led you to the point where okay and believe the LDS church and then you're considering joining another Christian church so each of you describe how God led you to worship with the particular group there with the churches or congregations and if you like you could describe what group it is what you believe or what they would teach whatever you like to describe. So I left a question kind of open-ended aviation regraded concise but in general I just want to know when God led you out of Mormonism to your Christian church.

How did he leave you there and what is it that the proxy for the auto goggle had just talk about that a little bit because her knee is been a journey that is just had to start maturing over several times and it's one that I'm still on unfortunately and it's it's a real struggle. Probably the biggest thing that I've struggled with reading the church and was made it difficult is plumbing the way that God led me out of Mormonism and into Christianity in general was just opening my eyes to imputed righteousness and realizing that it is Christ's obedience, by which I am working to enter heaven hits his wordiness given to and so that is the art of the doctor that I care about and when I left Mormonism. I told the sister missionaries that I didn't care. The truck had a bunch of other cool dockers but it the other people will write about grace I had more important. All the other thing that the church had no money. This disgrace is really what I want and when I laugh, you have credit seen in my journey that I've needed different things as I've grown as a Christian so right when I left Mormonism. I went to the most rock out church that I could possibly call.

I mean, they baptized me grumble okay. If you have been baptized example you have any like a literal look at little drum liquid. Yes little little problems laser lights and build a really cool pastor.

I still think is really cool and I love it because I felt like okay is freedom here.

I'm not restricted by good the carload of Mormonism where I have to wear my wife button-down shirt and a tie and I have to not clap after a song and it's like I have this freedom.

I'm not claustrophobic anymore and I really like that for a while. After about a year and that church, I felt like I was really missing some good Christian fellowship a day and go to discharge and I didn't really know anybody except for the pastor needed to other people and so then I end up on another church. I made some of the depravities I really like their end of the divorce happened in them and moving and so I had to restart that journey several times, but what I found is that I can pretty much be happy going to a wide variety of churches never gone to several I usually find it interesting that I love about every church and there's things that I'm not as excited about. Sometimes I'm still stuck a little bit in the Mormon mindset. It's like okay you know the church to be perfect and one of my pastors told me define the purpose church. Don't tell me about it. If I go on the method of God's yet God said the dogs at a Presbyterian Church actually probably the most recent which is interesting as I don't adhere to albinism yet but I regularly insulated the essential things that I believe in the most heavily atop their preach from the Bible and let's look really matters to you are not talking about themselves or the leaders of the church. Our focus is all about Jesus and as long as that's what's going on with him. I'm happy to be in a nutshell is great and all will be sure to pray pray of her rear move in to find a good solid church. Yeah, I think I think I Artie have found one. This is been too far away for me to go to the unity close to it capacitor the Harper her ex-Mormons and and a teachable solid solid doctrine.

I'm over I went there once. I was blown away by the messages he was talking about how you become a Christian.

It's not all sunshine and roses that literally set of the Bible to take up our cross and follow Christ and they are talking about discipleship and what it actually means in history on the hard at us and I went over some good haven't actually heard much of this and a lot of churches that I go to so excited to go over there again that it's great. I think it's setting a tone biblical preaching you legally have a tendency to want to add to her programs and things like that but really the powers of the Lord stick to the word cat girl.

I agree with Kirsch recently here and is a mega church and we went the first time in the pastor. He had such a huge personality and how a lot of power and I think that personally went with really liked it, but the more we went beside realizing that he was not the Bible a lot or he was eating the message translation allotted to be talking about himself and in his wife's call ID, and start the church and school students church.

It was enjoyable thing I would've recognized it lets you stated this is a Georgetown just north of Austin but they must be brother something because they came in and they were talking about how God loves everybody know if we think about our worst enemy.

God loves them and it is for certain putting questions in my mind to like what is God like love the people that are not saved and I don't know this Calvinist thinking starting to have a cognitive that too much public basis little thicker calculate what universalism the like all God loves the moves the worst enemies crazy about us and he had your picture on the screen, this all sounds really good and is given the warm clothing, but only is this really the gospel and that's really what I want is the gospel. I'll care about everything else I just sort of talk, sitting before your restriction in the final months when I was in place spiritually and emotionally. Where I was just going record not bring myself to feel ability to build his church for imported fuel connected very well because I reached a point where the fattest truth claims were true, but I was still forcing myself and trying to force my family to go and I was aware and look out across the street. There was Lakeside Christian church and going and they were happy. I could tell by the waiting room, wanting as a family that they were happy and just it was appealing to try a number of different churches forwarded plaintiff Lakeside China United Methodist Church's new pastor. There was a neighbor to us and we enjoyed it but decided we might just Mr. Johnson church is there was another church in our area that some was was fairly popular growing quite rapidly here in the Cincinnati area just opened up a second location and was kind of building churches in former former parent big-box stores had backup of appeals as well, like a consumerism type of Christianity and we have gone to Christmas presentations affect church and I really enjoyed it. But as far as worshiping their probably not in Canada, and the pillows of the time soliciting good land decided to try Lakeside Christian church and that her mood initially wasn't wasn't a document.

Therapist was walking in the door and being greeted by the board who had a genuine love of Christ for others who were walking the door. The worship music was good. They were in the trend. The transition when we walked in between the previous pastor who'd been there for years and the pastor who was going to be replacing him so they were preaching the servicers together and they were also in the transition problem and books to contemporary music at the time and seeing the church willing to go through change like that was kind of refreshing to be coming from notability districts that have the same" quote for my entire lifetime and so was it was refreshing in terms of the Christian tradition that Lakeside belongs to… Part of what scholars call the American restoration movement or somehow to produce this capitalism, another trader Mormons made it even more than Calvinist because of Alexander Campbell was earlier about the movement was one of the first two to review the book of Mormon in his publication is the periodical published and it wasn't was a glowing so, for more history, standpoint, Kellenberger Temple and whites are kind of remember enemy someone is so, but as I learned more about what's know what the American restoration movement was all about. I learned it was kind of like an early precursor sort of evangelicalism.

For some of the same principles of about evangelicalism so sentence some amazing distinctive duties of the movements discussing little statements that will not so much anymore but in the past and under development of the movement such as where this were the Scriptures speak with the Scripture silently their silent valve felt was important one to notice as I kind of lost the ability to trust Mormonism errands and its views on continuing revelation. The idea of a solid foundation of the word of God was convincing just what the word of God was for a number of your lancets work really figure out what that valve is important, so another one is that there was a record was your Christians only but not the only Christians that was important to never to know of the letters is of the hardline church took as I was growing up in a system that is not as hardline anymore, but that only Christians resided within the illness. And it was only realistic to have authority to baptize them. According to political Christians. So that one. It Christians only but were not human Christians. Most of the essentials, unity and liberty in all things. Love that was also important to read as a I had visited coming out of the artist. But as it is a letter saying is the same there would be those who would not accept the things I had a lot of sorting out of my police to do and I did want to be or feel pressure to inform my police to some set of doctrines I wanted to improve things and then compare what what I do with the word of God and so this idea that unity in essentials, errands, and yet they are reducing disagreement and nonessentials. But love overruling everything that was important. So the other things about the restoration movement in American restoration movement that not only trigger Mormons but can also trigger other Christians within the government tend to be Arminian and sober some squalid times between report of the restoration movement ends and Calvinists there their view on baptism is very similar to the latter, he said, baptism in terms of baptism by immersion and remission of sins, and send some some of the movement as far as the requirement for salvation so back in and causing disagreements between the restoration movement focusing on another Christian movements, Christian conditions, but anyway, some of those things later. Have a soft place for me to land and groupings and so on paper that needs and I see that is the grace of God that God knows what each of us needs as close to him and there's a lot of ways which are needed so the some of the news of the restoration movement and groupings and work through my police sands and work on performing them to borrow God so so call me just jump in here will quit because of our background right when I hear the word restoration, automatically assuming that needs like home Christianity pelican apostasy. Would you say that that holds a lot of the same weight is one woman say restoration or someone is yes.

So the term agreed. Apostasy didn't originated with Joseph Smith is determined that Alexander Campbell used quite extensively in his in his writings of a series of treatises that could later call button: Christian system and believed in both the good news is that I'm quite extensively in math.

The necessaries of treatises and that that was published before the founding of the LDS church sided between early verification 20s timeframe and so yes there.

Restoration movement better. There has been in the past kind of view of the other. There was a falling away, but I think it was a was also Velcro the company did it originate either with Alexander Campbell in the term through Protestantism Gen. Carstensen 2005 in terms of what restoration to Alexander Campbell and his father Thomas Campbell to the heads of the movement and part of the stone was another something quite different than what it meant to Latter Day Saints, Latter Day Saints here is that property supported was lost and had to be restored by angelic visitation from John the Baptist.

John and Scott's. How restoration occurred and so the territory within letters letters additions very much restoration of Gordon within the American restoration movement is more like Protestant back to the sources of visitors that obstructed blackberries but within Protestantism service, called to go back to the sources and that's kind of knew about the restoration movement took was of the Bible is our desire foundation and are reported for understanding what Christianity is and should be and so will not slow the Scriptures listed Scripture silently their silent kind of knew it the best. That's our guide and some by the Bible what is called Bible by Michael Manes is a very much very much looking back to the Bible as is the source of accorded source of doctrine source of practice within the church. So restoring your New Testament Christianity in the sense of what is the Bible present to us a South Carolina element of the now what we would call today is fundamentalism because I kind of has a negative connotation. These days, but what the original fundamentalism movement started out to be.

Where was, like getting back to the roots of what Scripture said and stripping away all other traditions of that of been Catholic around it sounds have a similar kind of idea. Which I think what I think is was what the Reformation was all about beginning to was was there in this time. Where he only knelt 1500s. All you had a little occultism you want to be a Christian. I thought you had in the Western church so the Reformation came about data, an opportunity to have Scripture get another had a Latin Vulgate in the now. They have they gone back to the original languages as all these truths that had been kind of been obscured or built around collective material to go back straight. Scripture really get back till I got it actually spoken rather than interpretations or the writings that people have written about what they thought God's book of great love record I did add context edges. It sounds like it's similar to the kind of of what you're talking about. Call just to be different terminology. Getting back to God's word to this side of the out of podcast please visit the brightest podcast beta Facebook. Feel free to send us a message than with comments or questions, send a message at the top of the page appreciated the page life. We also have and how to frame his face and others. As we discussed unless asked to present suggestions for future episodes out of brightness hear from you soon can subscribe to the out of brightness podcast on podcast test box Google cast cast the spot of science teacher. Also you can check on the YouTube channel. If you like it certainly is likely surveyed also connect with Michael. He is just one lungs and sometimes Poland message and as well music for the out of brightness podcast is graciously provided by the talented Breanna Flournoy and by Adams Road. Learn more about Adams Road. By visiting their ministry page.

It Adams Road ministry.com. Stay bright fireflies to show in the country will ask you and is a and K and she is and and a guy and an oven, a man in an