My Personal Ministry And Testimony

My wife and I are active in church as missionaries and leaders.  Many are critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, even today.  Lots of the things I hear just make me cringe.  I am a convert to the LDS church and have given up a lot to follow the spirit into the true church.  Honestly, while we don't believe that only LDS go to heaven, I will tell you that is is my experience that I feel the Holy Ghost a lot stronger now and sense the genuine love of my fellow members.   I wrote this and it does a pretty good job of expressing my feelings.  

First off, I was ordained to the Gospel Ministry in 1999 and was an extreme anti-Mormon. I was 25 years old and had grown up southern Baptist. I have always had the leading to minister in Jesus name, and even started a ministry with several friends. I was an active persecutor of the LDS church, used to love to get the missionaries into my house to bash them. I met my now wife on E-Harmony.com in January 2004 and it was not until we started talking that I found out she was LDS, and not only LDS but a returned Missionary. I had to fight the urgings in my gut to cut and run. The connection between us was very strong and I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was the one that I was to marry. My church at the time tried to stop me. Firstly because she was LDS and secondly because we had not been through their premarital process. Their premarital process involved 6 weeks of intensive one on one and couples counseling finally ending with them giving us "God's Blessing" they even had the nerve to say that only they could grant God's blessing and without God's blessing from them our marriage was doomed.  They advised me to date her, convert her and dump her.  They also told me I was absolutely not, under any circumstances to pray with her.   This was just the latest incident of church abuse I had been subjected to, most of them having to do with ministry. OK, so I married my wife and she said she would follow me as head of the household where ever I led us. I did not know that she was praying and planting seeds all this time to see me find the Truth of the fullness of the Gospel. to hear her tell it, one day I just gave up and agreed to visit the sacrament meeting of the ward we are now in. I had been searching and studying for years, I have 40 hours of bachelors course work in religion, and I was still looking for fulfillment, happiness and joy. When we visited the ward everyone went out of their way to introduce themselves. My wife was excited to find out that there were sister missionaries in our ward and invited them over. They came over and went through the principles of the Gospel and everything clicked. I prayed for an answer about the truth of the book of Mormon and the prophetic office of Joseph Smith, the Gospel and the LDS church. my answer came and I was baptized July 31, 2004. I liken the experience to that of the apostle Paul: Philippians 3 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. 17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. KJV Paul talks about being a "Hebrew of Hebrews" as to the law a Pharisee, which for those that do not know means that he was of the camp that was so concerned with keeping the law that they not only kept the letter of the law, but the spirit also. I can't say that was me, but I can say that I did try hard to keep appearances. But what I have found since joining the true church is that when you live the truth and are surrounded by people living the truth and not trying to impress everyone or be something you are not, then you don't have to try to be something you aren't to impress people. My wife and I were called as Ward Missionaries the weekend I was confirmed, and today we went to the Temple for the first time and my wife was baptized for my deceased mom. Lots has happened in my life this year and I feel blessed and privileged to be in this dispensation.

I ask you to remember that I still believe in the same Jesus you do and beg you to stop listening to others and listen to the Holy Spirit in you.  From my earliest recollections I remember believing the basic doctrines just as they are taught in the LDS church.  In my training in church school as in my training in college the things that I knew in my heart were taught out of my head.   The reason most people don't want to accept the teachings of the church is that they don't want to change.  Churches don't teach doctrines in a way that people really do want to obey.  Free agency leaves us the choice to obey or not, but why obey if there is no real encouragement?  

Churches spend a lot of time trying to make their members follow the commands of God to Tithe, and many other things.  Churches spend so much time trying to raise money they don't have time for ministry.

Some churches spend lots of time making people feel like they do not belong and making them leave, but is that God's way?   We are supposed to hate the sin and love the sinner, not hate the sinner for the sin for as Paul said in Romans3:23 "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"

Stop spending so much time being judgmental and spend more time serving Christ.

What brings me alive?  A Battle to fight. An Adventure to live. A Beauty to rescue. This is what a man longs for. This is what makes him come alive. Look at the films men love. For that matter, look at the dreams of little boys, the games they play. There is something fierce, passionate, and wild in the heart of every man. That is how he bears the image of God. And the reason that most men "live lives of quiet desperation" (Thoreau) is because men have been told that the reason God put them on earth is to be a good boy. To be nice.  God designed men to be dangerous. Simply look at the dreams and desires written in the heart of every boy: To be a hero, to be a warrior, to live a life of adventure and risk. Sadly,  most men abandon those dreams and desires— aided by a Christianity that feels like nothing more than pressure to be a nice guy. It is no wonder that many men avoid church, and those who go are often passive and bored to death. 
Now in all your boyhood dreams growing up, did you ever dream of becoming a nice guy? Ladies, was the Prince of your dreams dashing . . . or merely nice? "We've taken away the dreams of a man's heart and told him to play the man." As C. S. Lewis said, 'We castrate the gelding and bid him be fruitful."  --Taken from Wild At Heart by John Eldridge 

What does this mean?  We all as little boys played war and cops and robbers, but we also had our moms telling us that we needed to be nice and not do those things.   We grew up to be men that did not know how to be men.  Women's Liberation has stolen the masculine heart out of all of us men, and most protestant churches are not helping this trend because we hear at church that we need to allow women to be ministers and deacons.    I have nothing against women ministers or deacons, or  women in general, but the bible is clear that only men can be truly the head of the household.  And before anyone sends me flame e-mails or the like, The same passages you will cite can be turned back on you.

Marriage between a man and a woman has been an integral part of God’s plan from the beginning. God taught Adam that “it is not good that . . . man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), and Eve became his companion. One fundamental purpose of marriage is for companionship. 
God also commanded the man and woman “to multiply and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28)—that is, to have children. Another central purpose of marriage is to bring children into the world within a family. 

Marriage and family are central focal points in God’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. Our Heavenly Father hopes that we will do all we can during our time on Earth to prepare ourselves and our children to live in an eternal family. 

Husbands and wives should love and care for each other 

For most newlyweds, it is easy to love and to care for each other. 
But as time passes, sometimes spouses forget to show love for their companions and begin to think more about themselves. Sometimes the stresses of work or child care push the care of the companion way down on the “to do” list. 

The gospel teaches that husbands and wives should love and care for each other “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). 

Successful marriages require constant nurturing to stay strong and healthy. They require Christlike love and self-sacrifice. 

Husbands and wives are equal partners 

The Apostle Paul taught that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:11). 
In marriage, as before God, men and women are equally important. 

Marriage gives neither partner the right to dominate or abuse the other. Rather, husband and wife should help each other as equal partners. 

The priesthood is the authority to act in God’s name. The same priesthood authority that existed in the original Church established by Jesus Christ exists in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. The Church is directed and led through this authority. 
All male members of the Church who are prepared receive the priesthood in order to help lead the Church and serve Heavenly Father’s children. A man with the priesthood might serve in some of the following ways: 

Leading congregations of the Church 
Performing the ordinances of the Church, such as baptism 
Blessing those who are sick 
God expects those who hold this sacred priesthood authority to follow the example of Jesus Christ and serve with love, gentleness, and kindness.

Women are not ordained to the priesthood in the Church; however, whether on a church wide or local level, there are many opportunities for women to lead and serve in the Church. The Church has several organizations that are directed by women. Those leaders regularly sit in council with priesthood leaders.