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Last month, I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo prepared to serve a full-time mission . . . Within two weeks, however, I discovered the MTC is nothing more than an institution for mind control. After realizing the eternal consequences of pursuing blind obedience of a man (the ‘prophet’), I demanded to be excused from my ‘calling’ . . . Please rush me any information you have concerning the LDS Church. I want to correct my knowledge of “truth restored.”
(Letter from California)
My wife & I just finished reading your book ‘Changing World of Mormonism’ it is excellent, well documented, unbiased, just excellent! We have been ‘Mormons’ for 17 years. . . . I did not comprehend the degree of fraud & deception . . .
(Letter from Missouri)
You have one lord & master and he is Satan. You are of contention and against the Savior . . . I will testify against you at the judgment bar — you will be held responsible . . . to avoid any contention I have not included my name. You only need to be told one thing and that is ‘Satan Depart’ . . . you are in it for the money. Is this not of Satan? I pray for you — !
(No address)
Thank you for all the research you have done, for your wonderful courage . . . I am currently LDS — and am trying to get out. . . . My roots are deep so this has not been an easy decision . . . I am reading right now your books, “Major Problems of Mormonism” & “Covering Up The Black Hole In The Book of Mormon[.]”
The more I read the more I look I feel — I have certainly been naive about so much.
(Letter from Idaho)
My wife and I have been members of the L.D.S. church for 18 and 14 years, respectively. In the last 5 years we felt we were standing still and going nowhere. Naturally we looked at ourselves first, then started to question a few things[.] It went from A to Z rather quickly and we found ourselves unable to continue with our callings, going to the temple, paying tithes, etc., but we still need answers that is why we have got in touch with you hoping you can enlighten us to the truth of many things. We have a strong belief in Jesus Christ and God the father, but after that well, we believe in the Bible & that[’]s it. What first got us going was the fact Joseph Smith was a Mason . . .
(Letter from Australia)
I left the Mormon Church 1 1/2 [years] ago after many years of activity — Your book ‘Mormonism Shadow or Reality’ proved to me it was wrong. . . . I’ve become a born again Christian and am so grateful that I’ve learned the truth before it was too late to do anything about it. I’ve asked to have my name removed from membership. . . . Again Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
(Letter from Texas)
O full of all subtility [sic] and all mischief, thou child of the Devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the lord! . . . I did not ask for your propaganda . . .
“People such as you who do not even have the brain that God gave geese are quite sick. May I suggest that before you do this again you become educated in Israel and in Hebrew so you don’t sound like an illiterate idiot. Because I am not an uneducated child like you probably are. . . . you sick and perverted people need to worry about God’s forgiveness.
(Letter from Utah)
How can I ever thank you enough for the truth that has set me free. I am also a former Mormon born and raised in the Church (5th generation) I am giving my life to my Lord & Savior tonight in a water baptism and I delight in studying the scriptures.
(Letter from Utah)
I have been reading some [of] your tracts which you sent . . . I have come away from the Mormons and have turned my life over to Jesus.
(Letter from Utah)
Do not send any more of your publications to my home. I do not wish to be on a mailing list that publishes such ridiculous information that to me resembles the RAG MAGS one sees in department stores.
(Letter from Tennessee)
I[’]m 20 years old, born under the covenant, as of February of this year, ‘Apostate.’ I removed my name from the records, and know from the Bible that I am Saved. I’ve started a little ‘mini-ministry’. . .
(Letter from Arizona)
I have seen you on video tapes from the John Amkerberg [sic] Show . . . Let me first thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the ‘light and knowledge’ that you have given me, my family, and my friends concerning Mormonism. I can’t believe that I swallowed this false religion for so long. I thank My Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus for this awakening.
. . . Please find two letters attached. One is our request for removal of our names from the Church records and the other is a standard letter I use to write to my other friends who are still taken with this false doctrine.
(Letter from Florida)
I first learned of the Tanner’s work seven years ago. It has taken that many years for truth to sink in! . . . As a convert of 30 years you can appreciate my problem. . . . Thank you for your work and fight for truth.
(Letter from California)
We are subscribers to the Salt Lake City Messenger. My husband is an ex-Mormon and we were both raised in Salt Lake. One of my earliest recollections regarding information about ‘the Church’ not being true was hearing about your husband and you and how you were able to leave it. This was probably in the late 60’s and was the first time I had heard that people could really leave. Your story made such an impact on me. We are ever thankful for your ministry because of the encouragement it gave me to search for the truth, years later my husband, and hopefully the impact we are now having on others for the Lord. . . . Your ministry is so important and we really appreciate receiving the Salt Lake City Messenger.
(Letter from Texas)
My husband & I recently . . . came onto a book . . . we noticed your names mentioned . . . we started to think seriously of having our names stricken from Church records. Finally, we decided to do a little more research, so we went to a Christian bookstore in Provo called His Place. . . . we noticed several books written by you. We bought a few of them Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, Major Problems of Mormonism, 3,913 Changes in the Book of Mormon and Flaws in the Pearl of Great Price. Reading these books led us to check out some books on the Masons.
Seeing all of the documented evidence against the Mormon Church through reading your books has completely changed our minds about the Church.
Since our son, ____, was born, we’ve had some pressure from family members to have him blessed, but we had decided that instead of having him blessed as a member of the Church at such a young age, we’d wait until he was older & let him decide for himself what religion he wanted to pursue. Now thanks to you & your books, we can give him a chance to see what the Mormon religion is truly based on.
We have been completely enthralled in your books since we got them, and have spent hours and hours studying them. We would like to receive your newsletter so we can keep up-to-date with your writings.
Thanks to you, we’ve opened our eyes to what the Mormons are truly teaching us. Thank you so much for that. Please keep up the good work . . .
(Letter from Utah)
I recently accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my life. It will be three months ago on the 14th that I was saved. Before that time I was a Mormon. I almost went on a mission for the LDS Church. The Lord told me not to do it, I mean I had my call and I also went through the temple. . . . The last little while I have been having some problems with my family especially my parents. They just don’t understand why I’m doing what I’m doing . . . It’s really been hard on me, so I turn to my Christian friends for help and then I turn to [the] Lord for help because I know that what my friends can’t help me with, He can. . . .
I was just writing to see if you could give me any advice or any information on how to face the struggles that I’m having or just becoming stronger in Christ. If you could do that for me I would really appreciate it.
(Letter from Idaho)
We are on your mailing list for the ‘Salt Lake City Messenger.’ Please remove us from that mailing list. . . . I’m sorry that you feel such a need to spread blatant lies. A Christ-like attitude will get you farther in life.
(Letter from Tennessee)
As a former Mormon who has accepted Christ and is now studying for the ministry, I am very interested in receiving a list of any publications available through your ministry. Your book, ‘The Changing Face [sic] of Mormonism’ was pivotal to my decision to leave the LDS church. For sixteen years I struggled with the nagging suspicion that the church was built on a foundation of lies and fabrications — reading your book was the coup de grace to my tattered faith in a false prophet.
Praise God that he has raised up people like you. Your courage, scholarship, and persistence is truly a ‘lighthouse’ to those of us who were chained to such a great deception. I eagerly await hearing from you and learning about how I can support your vital work.
(Letter from California)
I am a very thankful new Christian that has just come out of mormonism. I recently gave my heart to the Lord & now the battle is with my family.
(Letter from Washington)
Thank you for your ministry. I was a Mormon for seventeen years and my sweet wife was born and raised Mormon. . . . After the lessons by the missionaries, I honestly believed the Mormon Church was true . . .
As an F-15 pilot for the Air Force, I left for a remote — tour in Iceland. On my way through Dallas, Texas, I stopped and went through the temple ceremonies by myself for the first time. Never before did I see the darkness and asked myself the question: What are we doing and why? After passing through the vail [sic] into the celestial room, I decided to sit and contemplate and pray about the rituals; before I even began, the Holy Spirit w[h]ispered in my ear, ‘Leave, this is wrong.’ I didn’t know who the Holy Spirit was at the time, but that was too vivid and too real. I left and never returned . . .
Separated by thousands of miles, came the trials of a struggling marriage cause[d] by communication difficulties. At the point of failure, our dear gracious Father let me fall from the skys [sic] by letting me contract multiple sclerosis (M. S.). This meant the end of flying with the wings of man; but, my new flight with the true Jesus is far more rewarding. . . . In 1991, the Air Force medically retired me at 100 percent disabled. My commander called me in three months prior to my retirement and relieved me of duty because of the difficulties I was having. He told me to go home and take care of my family matters. So I took care of the most important matter; our salvation.
For three months, II Tim 2:15, Prov 15:28, I Thes 5:21, and John 8:32 was followed; I studied, proved, and sought truth. What I found was that the Mormon Church had the ‘flavor’ of Christianity but lacked substance . . . We now have the ‘true’ Jesus in our lives with the help of Christian ministries like yours bringing the ‘true’ Word to Mormons . . . The names of my family are pulled from the Mormon records and are now on the rolls of a ‘Christian’ church. Thank you for your help! !
I am bringing God’s Word to all our mormon friends and families. Christian cadets from the Air Force Academy are calling on my help in bringing truth to Mormon cadets leaving on missions. I may be medically retired, but I’m not dead! I will continue to bring the true word of God to mormons . . . Thank you for your ministry.
(Letter from Colorado)
I was a very active temple ‘worthy’ and temple attending Mormon for 15 years before starting to fully realize the corruption within the Church and even more recently how the occult played such a big role in its origins and practices. Interestingly, it wasn’t until I was exposed to a lot of New Age things in CA and other psychic practices that the light started truly coming on for me about the Mormon Church. I still find myself struggling to unlearn or resolve what I was taught in the Church (Mormon). . . . I . . . have numerous Mormon acquaintances . . . I want to help reach many of them in the future after I get more stable and sure myself of my new and true knowledge of Christ and the actual facts surrounding the Mormon Church.
Presently I am attending a Bible study meeting and a ‘know your Bible’ meeting as well as church with Bible believing Christians … I’m really seeing how much the Mormon Church distorted the Bible even as I read it on my own without Mormon footnotes & commentaries to do my thinking for me.
(Letter from Nebraska)
I received your letter yesterday and all your pamphlets and copy sheets today. I have finished reading them. I am sick at heart, that I could of been one of the millions that has fallen for this [i.e., Mormonism]. . . .
I had even thought to ask you to take my name off the mailing list until these last two mailings. You have been very straight forward with me. That is not what I’ve gotten from the members. . . . How could I of not seen any of this? I have been studying this faith for 2 years. . . .
My questions started hitting me when I purchased the book ‘Gospel Principles.’ . . . It’s kind of like a lovely Christmas package all wrapped so beautifully but when opened the outer is more pleasant than the inner.
I use to feel bad toward you because my new friends said that you was wrong. I want to ask your forgiveness and to say I am packing away everything I possess of LDS literature. . . .
May God keep you in his tender care and guide your feet on the path to help others. . . . My prayers will be with you always.
(Letter from Texas)
You have been a blessing in my life and also in my wife’s life in more ways than one. When I met my wife she was a devoted mormon. I was a christian that didn’t know what God wanted to do with my life. I was concerned with many of the things she was saying as far as doctrine was concerned but I didn’t know a good way of refuting them. That’s when I bought ‘[Mormonism:] Shadow or Reality.’ That is when I knew what God wanted in my life! I found myself studying the bible much more than just my devotion time and also slowly building a apologist library! At the same time I was witnessing to now my wife and after three months of phone calls (I lived in So. Cal. and she lived in Salt Lake City) she accepted Christ moved down to Cal. and later we got married! I am now . . . going to college and getting my philosophy degree, witnessing and studying on the way! Maybe I can start a Lighthouse up here! . . . You are in our prayers always.
(Letter from Minnesota)
Thank you so very much for the research and material you sent me in response to our telephone conversation. You were very kind and generous and I appreciate your personal concern. Just to have been able to talk with you and discuss briefly my personal situation gave me an abundance of courage that I need right now. . . .
I feel ashamed and embarrassed to admit that I was once in the ministry, but over the years became callused to the effects the music ministry had on my life. . . . I saw so much good in the Church that I ‘wanted to believe’ the LDS story. I went for the ‘whole enchilada.’ My wife and I even went back to Nauvoo and the Carthage jail. I ate it up until it finally hit me after a few short visits to the Temple in L. A.
If there is anything good that has come from this experience, I am now, for the first time in my life, ‘sincerely hungry’ to read the Bible with more interest than I ever had before. I read at least two to four chapters every day. I didn’t read this much when I was in Bible School! Since the Church is still so visibly pres[e]nt in my life, it seems I have such a strong and urgent interest in reading and knowing more about the real truth of Joseph Smith and the LDS Church that has taken three years of my life. . . . God bless your efforts.
(Letter from California)
Originally appeared in:
“In the Mail,” Salt Lake City Messenger, no. 84, April 1993, 12-14.