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Copyright 1993 by the Christian Research Institute.
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"Emancipation From Mormonism" (an article from the Christian
Research Newsletter, Volume 2: Number 2, 1989) by David Andersen.
The Editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron Rhodes.
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From the TESTIMONY column:
The story of David and Tanya Andersen and their search for truth.
Had anyone suggested to me five years ago that I (a Mormon at
the time) would one day be a Research Assistant at Walter Martin's
Christian Research Institute, I would have responded with sheer
disbelief. By God's grace, however, I am a Research Assistant at
CRI and my wife (also a former Mormon) works downstairs in the
Word Processing department. What a transformation our lives have
been through!
Tanya and I were both born and raised as Mormons in Salt Lake
City, Utah. From an early age we were very active in Mormonism
and took part in all the programs sponsored by the church. We
started dating in our mid-teens and attended church together on
occasion.
No one could question my commitment to Mormonism. I had even
gone on to receive what the Mormons call the "Aaronic priesthood,"
the lower of two priesthoods in Mormon practice. At the time, I
had every intention of serving two years as a Mormon missionary
just as two of my brothers had done before me.
Tanya was also very open about her faith. She was the
president of her "Mutual Class" for two years. This class is for
teenagers in the Mormon church and is designed to teach young
people important doctrines in Mormonism. It was during this time
that Tanya decided she did not want to marry me unless the
ceremony took place in the temple. After all, the Mormons teach
that there is no reason for being married on this earth if you
cannot be sealed to your mate for "time and all eternity" by a
temple ceremony.
In spite of our youthful zeal for the church, however, we soon
became disillusioned with some of the key teachings of Mormonism.
For example, the Mormons teach that God cannot be in all places
at the same time. Such a small concept of God seemed unreasonable
to us. God seemed too man-like.
This low view of God was the cause of a long-lasting spiritual
struggle for Tanya and me. As I reflect on these years, I now see
that one reason for this struggle is that I very rarely read my
Bible. I was taught in the Mormon church that the Bible had not
been carefully translated down through the centuries. I reasoned,
why should I read a book filled with errors? In spite of my lack
of exposure to the Bible, however, my natural conception of God
was much closer to the biblical view than that of Mormonism. In
my heart, I just knew that God had to be all-powerful,
all-knowing, and everywhere-present.
As our spiritual struggle continued, our disillusionment
mushroomed. We desired to be close to God, and this desire made us
only more aware of the chasm between us. When we prayed we felt no
bonding to a Heavenly Father. He was too far away. The personal
relationship with God that the human heart longs for was virtually
non-existent for us.
Although I hadn't yet completely rejected the Mormons' claim
to the truth, I began searching for something that would satisfy
the incredible longing I had in my heart. Not knowing where to
turn for truth, I drifted into occultism. I studied pyramidology,
Eastern mysticism, and anything else I could get my hands on that
might ease my hunger for spiritual enlightenment. This study of
the occult, however, had the opposite effect of what I was
looking for. Instead of spiritual fulfillment there was spiritual
disaster. It came to a climax one night when I sensed the presence
of evil in my room. This shook me up so much that I couldn't sleep
for months. I felt as though I was "open game" for the powers of
darkness.
I decided to enlist the help of my martial arts instructor,
who -- like me -- was a Mormon involved in the occult. To my
surprise, he advised me to read a Psalm from the Bible every night
before going to sleep. This seems like odd advice to come from a
Mormon occultist, but I thank God I followed it. For the first
time in my life I began reading the Bible on a regular basis. I
didn't know it at the time, but this served to prepare my heart
for receiving the true gospel of Jesus Christ later on.
During this same period Tanya had been experiencing nightmares
to the point that she could no longer sleep in the dark. She was
afraid. And she felt utterly alone in her fear because of her
lack of a relationship with the true God. Many hours of reflection
led her to conclude that there was something drastically wrong
with her concept of God. Whoever God was, Tanya became convinced
that He must be someone who could be related to on a personal and
intimate level. Such was not the God of Mormonism.
It was at this time that I met a Christian who was later to
become my closest friend. Terry was well-acquainted with the
ministry of Jerald and Sandra Tanner. They publish Christian
materials which critically examine and refute the historical and
doctrinal claims of Mormonism.
As I examined the Tanners' materials, I was astonished to
discover that numerous alterations had been made in the _Doctrine
and Covenants_ and the _Book of Mormon,_ two of the foundation
stones of Mormon doctrine. More specifically, I found that many
supposed "revelations from God" recorded in an earlier Mormon
publication, the _Book of Commandments,_ were later altered in a
significant way and republished in the more recent book entitled
_Doctrine and Covenants._ How could I possibly accept this as
being the Word of God in view of such alterations? Mormonism began
to crumble before my eyes.
This was such a frustrating time for Tanya and me. On the one
hand, we had been taught from childhood that all churches outside
of Mormonism are apostate. We were led to believe there was no
truth in them. On the other hand, we now discovered that the very
books on which the Mormon faith is based are riddled with
fabrications. It was shattering to ponder the possibility that
truth was nowhere to be found.
We decided to read some books on the authority and inspiration
of the Bible. Finally we began to see a glimmer of light. With our
hope growing with each passing moment, we discovered that --
unlike the Mormon books -- there is an overabundance of evidence
for the Bible's accuracy. This boosted our confidence so much that
we decided to study the Bible and find out what it had to say
about God and how to know Him. Through our study, we learned about
Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us at the cross. We came
to see that -- through Jesus -- man can come into a personal and
intimate relationship with God. We discovered the truth and the
truth set us free! We became believers.
We quickly began growing in our knowledge of the Lord. We
became anchored in our faith as a result of listening to "The
Bible Answer Man," Walter Martin's radio program which airs in
Salt Lake City. Moreover, we were able to attend several of Dr.
Martin's lectures in this area. He played a major role in our
growth as new believers and encouraged us to stand up for our
faith in Christ. Tanya and I were married on May 23, 1987, by our
Baptist pastor. Not long after this, I sensed that the Lord was
calling me into the ministry of apologetics. This kind of ministry
seeks to defend the truth of Christianity. I believe that my
background in Mormonism has uniquely prepared me for this type of
ministry.
Less than nine months after this, we moved to California for
schooling at Christ College Irvine. It was at this time that the
Lord provided Tanya and I positions at CRI. Our work has been both
challenging and fulfilling. We are excited about what God has in
store for us here.
Tanya and I stand as living proof that the Word of God is
"living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and
piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints
and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the
heart" (Heb. 4:12). We are truly thankful that God has revealed
Himself in His Word.
As we continue to serve God here at CRI, our goal is to be
faithful to the admonition in 1 Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for
the hope that you have."
--Elliot Miller
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--Elliot Miller
End of document, CRN0008A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Emancipation From Mormonism"
release A, June 25, 1993
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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