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March 2000 March 9, 2000 Subject: Praise God for the Tanners I will try to keep this brief, I chose this e.mail address because I am curious on how the court case is going. I guess it was a matter of time that they (LDS) was going to attack. I myself was once a Mormon too. And found the real, better, more loving, more mightier, more powerful, more graceful, more Holy, unchangeable, able to have a relationship with Jesus. And your Ministry help me close the final doors on Mormonism. Thank you. I have been a Christian just over six years now and am currently in Bible college to eventually join you in battle with counter cult ministry. I also love Church History (yeah the one that starts after Christ birth not at 1830) so where ever God leads me I will go. March 12, 2000 I just read the article about the Mountain Meadow massacre in the Tribune. What can be done to expose the LDS church for the criminals they are? It seems that the "wonderful governor" and most state officials that are members, are all in this and other cover ups together. When will the people of Utah finally pull their head out of the mormonic sand and seek the truth? It will set them free. This is more a comment in frustration than anything. Thank you for your web site. March 13, 2000 Mormonism has to be one of the most abusive groups i have ever studied. These people go around tearing down other religions saying they are all false and if one little thing is said about them they yell foul. They have trapped millions of people in a web of lies so thick you could spend weeks and not touch all the angles. When mormons speak against you it is nothing but frustrated emotion rearing its ugly head. No facts are ever given to back their positions. Mormonism is about power and money. They use it to dominate this state and they won't stop tell they control the world. Your work stands between their goals of evil, and the grace of God. Praise God and your work, and may those who have been led into the pagan beliefs of Joe Smith see the light and come out of eternal darkness. March 16, 2000 Gerlad & Sandra, thank you for your support, your site has brought me out of Mormonism and to Christ, I have written before to Sandra about my wife, she won't come around at all, refuses to believe me and believes the churches lies. I can only try to live by example to her and love her at this point I am afraid. I continue in my bible studies, meet with friends to study and learn. I have compiled so much information about the LDS Church through your site and others. Praise God, I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted from my shoulders. May God Bless you both, continue to reach out to others... March 16, 2000 Subject: A Sincere Thank You I hope this gets to Jerald and Sandra personally, as I feel that I owe a debt of gratitude to them. As I write this, it has been two hours or so since I sent a flurry of letters (including one to the World Headquarters of the RLDS church) and personally told my parents that I am leaving the "faith". It has been a trying period of several months for me as I have come to grips with what my church really stands for and the foundation that it was built upon. There is little doubt in my mind that Utah Lighthouse Ministry had a pivotal role in my decision, and as such, I feel a debt of gratitude to Jerald and Sandra and the mission they have embarked upon. I know that the RLDS church would like to separate itself as far as possible from the LDS, but commonalities in origin and doctrine forever link the two. I am not sure if it would be proper or even neccessary for Jerald and Sandra to receive a copy of my testimony (the letters that I referred to above) but I would not mind in the least to provide them with a copy. I can personally attest to the amazing way in which our Lord and Savior has worked in my life, and I know that one place He lead me to was the UTLM website. The summary and discourse on "The Glass-Looker Trial" was the first piece of real history I had ever read about Joseph Smith Jr., and it began my journey to truly meet Christ for the first time. I also know that I will begin making use of the many resources available from UTLM as I begin the daunting task of proving to my family that I haven't been "lead astray by satan", but they have sadly been lead away from Christ their entire lives. I just felt that I needed to let someone know (besides my wife and her amazingly supportive and devout Christian family) what has happened in my life. I also know that there must be trying times for the Tanners every once in a while, and I thought that maybe knowing that another soul had found his way to the truth might serve to bolster their resolve. Thank you for reaching out to the lost and mislead souls who are enslaved by one of the most successful deceivers in modern history. Thank you for your part in my conversion to true Christianity. Thank you just doesn't seem to say enough. Yours in Christ, March 21, 2000 Subject: An open of my eyes. In 1971, I was just a humble 15 year old child that was not born and raised [in the LDS Church]. I was a convert, not a special spirit. My seminary teacher was a granddaughter of Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith. I read the Book of Mormon and felt a strong burning of the bossom that I cannot describe to this day. It was something not of this earth, but something that was a spiritual high in which I had never experienced. I did well for 2 years because there was only two teenagers active in the branch. When the born and raised came in droves into the area, I started feeling less adequate and left feeling unworthy of my participation. I was in and out never really fitting in to the fold, but in 1983 I was determined to live for my Lord and Savior. I dove in with every fiber of my being to serve the Lord. I received my patriachal blessing in 1984, and I entered into the temple for my endowment. Still not feeling comfortable around most members, I spent a great deal of time working on my genealogy. I was saving my family, and had high hopes of leading them all to the Celestial kingdom with me. Every week, I would spend my full vacation doing 3 endowments a day. I would end the week coming back to the filthy world to participate in my duties only with the feeling that I would rather be dead. One fireside, I was told by the Bishop if you ever pray and feel the spirit tell you something it will always agree with the Leaders if you live all the commandments, and pay your tithing. One time someone was telling me about their mission, and this deep burning in the bossom came into my chest. I left her and prayed for a duration, and knew the Lord was calling me to serve a mission. I went to the Bishop and he received the same sign. By the time I went to the General Authority, I broke down and told him some incest problems that had occurred with my brother after his return from prison. I had never been able to discuss this with anyone, but finally I had a holy man in my presence that I could tell my story. The next thing I knew, I was turned down to serve my mission and called to be a Stake Missionary, at the same time my Bishop had been replaced with a new one. I went to the new Bishop to be told I had too many knotches in my rifle to serve a mission. For six months, I stayed active battling the burning in the Bossom ordeal. If that wasn't a call to the mission field, then How do I know the Book of Mormon is true, etc. etc? I finally steered away from the church, and married an agnostic I met in Scotland on vacation. By 1990, I was in therapy for a nervous breakdown. I spent a year in therapy over many issues, the church was definitely one of them. I was pretty pleased and happy with my life from 1991 until 1996. In 1996, I had a head on collision and suffered a closed head injury. Before my memory could kick in, I was active in the church again. I asked my husband how it happen, and he said some missionaries had came by our home, and I was doing better with their blessings. Everytime I would pray, I was getting these localized brain seizures. The doctor told me we use different nerves to communicate with our God, and evidently my nerves were damaged causing tremendous complications. I was really depressed that prayer was taken away from me. Not only that, everytime I heard the teachings in sacrament, I wanted to die. I hated the Mormon church with all my fiber everytime I heard the doctrine. I started watching TBN on a daily basis. I didn't agree with all the things they said, but I didn't have this overwhelming hate for the words. I live in fear, and I can now pray. It is not with the same type of prayer that I used in Mormonism. It is a prayer to the greatest friend I could ever have. I am totally unworthy, my good deeds are like rags, and I know that. My God doesn't care about my works, he cares about me. This past month is the first time I have been able to read and participate in anything anti-mormon because my fear of my endowment. I still can't tell you my new name because I have fear in my heart about the endowment. The only difference being is I know logically how pathetic and stupid that phobia is. I didn't before. Thank you for your sight. Maybe one day I will write out my whole story, and share it with others. I would love too, actually. I would hate for anyone else in my situation live in the bondage that I have experienced for the past 29 years. Your Sister In Christ, March 28, 2000 Dear Madam and Sir, Out of Curiosity I attended the Fresno CA Temple open house last Saturday March 25, 2000. It was hard not to notice about 15 to 20 men wearing earpieces and talking into their lapels who are these guys? and are the gentiles so untrustworthy that they have to have this much security? I mean this is a little temple the brochure states 11,000 square feet. We were never out of sight of one of these men. It makes you feel very uncomfortable. Thanks for your time, In Christian Love March 28, 2000 Subject: Thank you! Dear Tanners, I came out of 40 years of active Mormonism about 10 years ago. THANK YOU LORD! A few days ago I happened upon a book that I read shortly after comming to the Lord and it was full of notes showing many conflicts in my understanding of the facts of the Bible and what I had always been taught. As an example, my Triple Combination showed pictures of the massive temples unearthed in Mexico. My faith never quivered but I couldn't reconcile all these conflicts until about a year later when I happened upon one of your books. Your concise and factual approach started me on a path of study and discovery that has answered my every question and has equipped me to witness to any Mormon that will listen. What a blessing it has been to see my wife, children and grandchildren, one by one, come to the Lord over the years. Every relative on both sides of our family are Mormon and it breaks my heart to see them blindly following the Church rather than Jesus Christ. Thank you for what you have done in my life through your efforts. March 29, 2000 Hi, I hate to say this, but that Utah Light House Minestry sight that you guys have put up. Is a total crock of crap. You dont know half of what your even talking about, and its apparent to everybody who goes there, that you know nothing of the LDS faith. Besides why would you waste your time trying to knock down the mormons when you dont believe what they teach. Wouldn't you just simply go your own way and worry about yourselves?? Hmmmmm that has always been the problem with people who oppose the church. Its fine if they want to believe that, but why continue to dig on the LDS faith? Is it jealousy? Is it because you know the truth and you cant except it? Or is it just because you feel that you "know the truth" and you have to continue to knock on the mormons and their teachings. It seems to me that you should be wasting your time, and devoting it to something else. The great Prophet Joseph Smith, warned the LDS people, of those who are like unto you. The ones that would try to destroy the faith, and pull people away from the gospel. It is sad but true, that no other faith in the world has had to bare the cruelty of others like the mormons. The persecutions have been terrible, but why? Why must people like you continue to try and agrivate the world against this wonderful church? I suggest finding something knew to do, instead of being ANTI-MORMONS. If you think that is what god wants you to do, to try and draw hate and lies up against other people, then so be it. But personally I remember the good Lord and Redeemer telling us, LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS I HAVE LOVED. March 30, 2000 Subject: It's To Bad. I ran across your web page and I think it's sad tat you have noting to do but worry about our Church and I think you should Go on your Knee's and ask god if that is what he put you here for. if you do not agree with our Church then walk away but don't you find it strange that while you have spent 30 years trying to tear down our church it continues to grow. I pray for you that one day you can go on with your life's to help the needy or the sick and the ones with broken hearts and through serves you can find what the true meaning of Christ is. Praying for you!!! March 30, 2000 I have to admit that I am troubled by the things I've read on your website. I don't doubt the truth of the L.D.S. teachings, but it saddens me that there are so many being led away from the straight and narrow. My own experiences are few, and ultimately unimportant. In what I've read on your website(s), I've read a lot of stories about folks who've read a book, or maybe a few, yet I wonder if they've read some of the things written by authorities of the church before asking for their names to be stricken from the records. Folks seem to be flighty and seem to be running at the first hints of opposition. There also seemed to be a lot of complaints about the strictness of the L.D.S. faith. It's not THAT bad, really. So what if you can't wear tube tops or mini skirts, or backless dresses. Are those things really THAT important? Is it so necessary to show off some skin that we can shove Heavenly Father aside to please a world that neither respects nor cares for us a individuals? I don't want to shame anyone, or try to force anyone into my beliefs. I went to this website to look for Wedding invitations for my wedding in the Anchorage Alaska temple this June. The things I read there, and the size of the website really startled me, and broke my heart to know that there are so many who feel that way. Before I close this letter, I wish to express my gratitude for the lack of detail on the Temple ceremonies. Those things are so sacred and imperative to our salvation....I'm grateful they haven't been plastered all over the internet (that I know of). Sincerely, March 31, 2000 If you check my name and address, you will find that I have purchased almost everything you have published. I want to congratulate you on the BEST religious web site I have ever come across. And, I have reviewed hundreds! You now can touch people throughout the world at the click of a mouse. Keep up the good work. |
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