Conversion to Mormonism?

[debbie_h]

I was “born in the covenant” and raised Mormon. Even when I was a teenager, I knew I would have never converted if I hadn’t been born into it. At that time, I figured either the Mormon church was the one true church or the Catholic .

Just about the same story for me, the LDS faith just never quite clicked for me, something didn’t feel right, always forced.
I’m just happy I took the long difficult journey home to the Catholic Church.
Btw, The curfew the missionaries have is set by the mission president (or higher), so they do have to be back at their places at a certain time.

 

[truthseeker32]

One reason that often gets overlooked for why Mormonism is so appealing is how well it fits western ideological paradigms. It developed in a 19th century enlightenment environment, so it resonates with people who are raised and conditioned in such an environment.

For my own part, I have spoken with many Mormons, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, etc. both cradle and convert. I have heard plenty of Catholic or Orthodox conversion stories I found lacking or unpersuasive, but I have NEVER heard a Mormon explain their reason for converting or remaining Mormon that I found reasonable. In fact, listening to Mormons talk about why they are faithful just further reinforces my own faith.

 

[iepuras]

Just about the same story for me, the LDS faith just never quite clicked for me, something didn’t feel right, always forced.
I’m just happy I took the long difficult journey home to the Catholic Church.
Btw, The curfew the missionaries have is set by the mission president (or higher), so they do have to be back at their places at a certain time.

Yes, I never fit into the Mormon woman box. It was too stifling and forced. I am just too independent and stubborn to be a good Mormon wife and mother. I am the one child my mother never really understood.

 

[twopekinguys]

When I was in the military, a couple of friends were mormon.

One of the girls suppposedly knew the “Osmonds”, and babysat one or two of them. The other was a military dentist.

They invited me to one of their Sunday services, I believe in hopes of getting me on the conversion track.

Even being half drunk from the night before, I knew it wasn’t for me. First of all, it was waaaaay too noisy for being that early in the morning. Having a grandfather that was a Presbyterian minister might have had something to do with logic kicking in, even in that state…lol

Once out of that situation, I started doing my homework on mormonism, and realized I dodged a bullet that was worse than I would have faced on the battlefield.

 

[KendraM]

I was raised in the LDS church but I thought that everyone who had the ‘true church’ would be happy. It was only when I left Happy Valley, Utah that I realized my deluded thinking. I saw people happier than most of the supposedly happy Mormons in Utah. I was taught to find the ‘truth’ by praying and getting a good feeling.
Now I’ve come to my senses and use reason and faith in my search for truth.

 

[adawgj]

Though I was born into the Catholic faith. It seems that a form of community and good morals that are actually practiced and well taught seem to be an attraction.

However for me as a history buff it took history to dismiss the LDS.

 

[SpeSalvi]

One reason that often gets overlooked for why Mormonism is so appealing is how well it fits western ideological paradigms. It developed in a 19th century enlightenment environment, so it resonates with people who are raised and conditioned in such an environment.

SO true! I didn’t realize just how protestant Mormonism was until I joined the Catholic Church. A lot of their theology is very much in-step with the ideology from 19th century America, although that has been slowly changing over time.

 

[Publisher]

Every time I speak with a Mormon, they can’t really refute the variation on Pascal’s wager: if Church of LDS is right and you’re a faithful Catholic, you’ll almost definitely end up in a pretty-okay place (“telestial kingdom”), rather than their idea of hell (“outer-darkness”); but if the Catholic Church is right and you’re a faithful LDS, there’s a greater chance that you’ll end up in hell (already taking extra ecclesiam nulla salus into account).

Somehow Pascal’s wager just doesn’t work for me…I can’t imagine belonging to a religious body because I wanted “fire insurance”, and the “policy” offered is based on “what if you’re wrong you burn !” Not a very good reason to embrace a life of faith…“faith” in belonging to the right religious group?

 

[evanfaust]

I read the initial question and the different responses and points of view. I would like to also share my point of view and tell you why I joined the Mormon Church.

I used to be Catholic, my entire family and relatives were all Catholics…but the Catholic environment did not answer many of my philosophical questions. My soul was not supportive of what I saw and what I felt.

At the age of 17 I started to become more intellectual and started think about the purpose of life, the origin of man and some other deep questions. The theology of the Catholic Church did not appeal and did not resonate with my soul. In my thinking and deep feeling there was only one true Church, but I did not know where that Church was.

I knew there were many Christian Churches, but their theology, even though all based on the Bible, were conflicting. On top of that there was the question of authority from God in my mind. I sensed that the true Church of God would have manifestations from Heaven, angels, celestial beings, new revelations. That is what I though in my mind as I read the scriptures. The interesting thing is that I had never heard of the Mormon Church until several years later. I investigated the Methodists, Spiritualism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc, till one day a friend of mine, who was an atheist by way, told me about Mormons. That is when my search started.

Well…this story can go on forever, but I will try to list some of the many reasons why I become a convert to the Mormon Church when I was 21 years old:

Beautiful Theology
Appearance of many celestial beings to many Mormons
Visit of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ to a young prophet
Visitation of old Prophets and Apostles of the Bible
Powerful personal revelation confirming Mormonism to be the only true church
Continuous personal inspiration and revelation as I practiced Mormonism
Mormon doctrines corroborated by the Bible, early fathers, etc
Prophets and Apostles as part of the Church
Mormon being the restored church of Jesus Christ
Continuous revelations from God
Continued cannon of scriptures
Priesthood (authority from God) restored and given to worthy man
Centered in Jesus Christ and in the family
Well…the list is long…but I think you get the idea.

 

[zaffiroborant]

I read the initial question and the different responses and points of view. I would like to also share my point of view and tell you why I joined the Mormon Church.

I used to be Catholic, my entire family and relatives were all Catholics…but the Catholic environment did not answer many of my philosophical questions. My soul was not supportive of what I saw and what I felt.

At the age of 17 I started to become more intellectual and started think about the purpose of life, the origin of man and some other deep questions. The theology of the Catholic Church did not appeal and did not resonate with my soul. In my thinking and deep feeling there was only one true Church, but I did not know where that Church was.

I knew there were many Christian Churches, but their theology, even though all based on the Bible, were conflicting. On top of that there was the question of authority from God in my mind. I sensed that the true Church of God would have manifestations from Heaven, angels, celestial beings, new revelations. That is what I though in my mind as I read the scriptures. The interesting thing is that I had never heard of the Mormon Church until several years later. I investigated the Methodists, Spiritualism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc, till one day a friend of mine, who was an atheist by way, told me about Mormons. That is when my search started.

Well…this story can go on forever, but I will try to list some of the many reasons why I become a convert to the Mormon Church when I was 21 years old:

Beautiful Theology
Appearance of many celestial beings to many Mormons
Visit of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ to a young prophet
Visitation of old Prophets and Apostles of the Bible
Powerful personal revelation confirming Mormonism to be the only true church
Continuous personal inspiration and revelation as I practiced Mormonism
Mormon doctrines corroborated by the Bible, early fathers, etc
Prophets and Apostles as part of the Church
Mormon being the restored church of Jesus Christ
Continuous revelations from God
Continued cannon of scriptures
Priesthood (authority from God) restored and given to worthy man
Centered in Jesus Christ and in the family
Well…the list is long…but I think you get the idea.

While I have problems, disagree or find no importance in all the things you list, I have to say I do not find LDS “theology” beautiful at all and it strikes me as leaving people floundering as the “theology” can change at anytime.

 

[iepuras]

I read the initial question and the different responses and points of view. I would like to also share my point of view and tell you why I joined the Mormon Church.

I used to be Catholic, my entire family and relatives were all Catholics…but the Catholic environment did not answer many of my philosophical questions. My soul was not supportive of what I saw and what I felt.

At the age of 17 I started to become more intellectual and started think about the purpose of life, the origin of man and some other deep questions. The theology of the Catholic Church did not appeal and did not resonate with my soul. In my thinking and deep feeling there was only one true Church, but I did not know where that Church was.

I knew there were many Christian Churches, but their theology, even though all based on the Bible, were conflicting. On top of that there was the question of authority from God in my mind. I sensed that the true Church of God would have manifestations from Heaven, angels, celestial beings, new revelations. That is what I though in my mind as I read the scriptures. The interesting thing is that I had never heard of the Mormon Church until several years later. I investigated the Methodists, Spiritualism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc, till one day a friend of mine, who was an atheist by way, told me about Mormons. That is when my search started.

Well…this story can go on forever, but I will try to list some of the many reasons why I become a convert to the Mormon Church when I was 21 years old:

Beautiful Theology
Appearance of many celestial beings to many Mormons
Visit of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ to a young prophet
Visitation of old Prophets and Apostles of the Bible
Powerful personal revelation confirming Mormonism to be the only true church
Continuous personal inspiration and revelation as I practiced Mormonism
Mormon doctrines corroborated by the Bible, early fathers, etc
Prophets and Apostles as part of the Church
Mormon being the restored church of Jesus Christ
Continuous revelations from God
Continued cannon of scriptures
Priesthood (authority from God) restored and given to worthy man
Centered in Jesus Christ and in the family
Well…the list is long…but I think you get the idea.

Sure it’s beautiful. Until one discovers that Joseph Smith stole the wives of married men (men who were “worthy” enough to serve missions and be apostles), exchanged eternal salvation with an apostle for marriage to his 14 year old daughter, lied to his legal wife about his polygamous relationships and threatened his legal wife with destruction in scripture (Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants) .

It is even more beautiful when faithful LDS parents shun their “apostate” child and engage in emotional manipulation. It is truly wonderful when families are forever but only if every member of that family is LDS. Conditional love is awesome.

As a woman, it is truly beautiful when I thought about my eternal fate if I were faithful - to share my husband with numerous other women and to be eternally pregnant with spirit babies. It is beautiful that a woman’s face must be covered by a veil, and she can enter the celestial kingdom if her husband calls her forth from the grave by her new name. It is so great that while on earth, my Heavenly Father does not permit me to pray to my Heavenly Mother or have a relationship with her. What a truly wonderful father!

Sarcasm off. I’d much rather be in LDS hell than in the celestial kingdom. If I get to hang out with good folk like TexanKnight, KendraM and SpeSalvi, I’ll be in very good company.

 

[RebeccaJ]

I read the initial question and the different responses and points of view. I would like to also share my point of view and tell you why I joined the Mormon Church.

I used to be Catholic, my entire family and relatives were all Catholics…but the Catholic environment did not answer many of my philosophical questions. My soul was not supportive of what I saw and what I felt.

At the age of 17 I started to become more intellectual and started think about the purpose of life, the origin of man and some other deep questions. The theology of the Catholic Church did not appeal and did not resonate with my soul. In my thinking and deep feeling there was only one true Church, but I did not know where that Church was.

I knew there were many Christian Churches, but their theology, even though all based on the Bible, were conflicting. On top of that there was the question of authority from God in my mind. I sensed that the true Church of God would have manifestations from Heaven, angels, celestial beings, new revelations. That is what I though in my mind as I read the scriptures. The interesting thing is that I had never heard of the Mormon Church until several years later. I investigated the Methodists, Spiritualism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc, till one day a friend of mine, who was an atheist by way, told me about Mormons. That is when my search started.

Well…this story can go on forever, but I will try to list some of the many reasons why I become a convert to the Mormon Church when I was 21 years old:

Beautiful Theology
Appearance of many celestial beings to many Mormons
Visit of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ to a young prophet
Visitation of old Prophets and Apostles of the Bible
Powerful personal revelation confirming Mormonism to be the only true church
Continuous personal inspiration and revelation as I practiced Mormonism
Mormon doctrines corroborated by the Bible, early fathers, etc
Prophets and Apostles as part of the Church
Mormon being the restored church of Jesus Christ
Continuous revelations from God
Continued cannon of scriptures
Priesthood (authority from God) restored and given to worthy man
Centered in Jesus Christ and in the family
Well…the list is long…but I think you get the idea.

I did the opposite. Raised LDS and found Mormonism to be shallow, lacking in meat, short on answers, long on directives, and illogical.

Why anyone would leave the Eucharist for Mormonism is beyond my comprehension. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, on your list that doesn’t exist in the Word of God, made present at every Mass.

Wonder Bread and water is how you starve your soul.

 

[debbie_h]

I read the initial question and the different responses and points of view. I would like to also share my point of view and tell you why I joined the Mormon Church.

I used to be Catholic, my entire family and relatives were all Catholics…but the Catholic environment did not answer many of my philosophical questions. My soul was not supportive of what I saw and what I felt.

At the age of 17 I started to become more intellectual and started think about the purpose of life, the origin of man and some other deep questions. The theology of the Catholic Church did not appeal and did not resonate with my soul. In my thinking and deep feeling there was only one true Church, but I did not know where that Church was.

I knew there were many Christian Churches, but their theology, even though all based on the Bible, were conflicting. On top of that there was the question of authority from God in my mind. I sensed that the true Church of God would have manifestations from Heaven, angels, celestial beings, new revelations. That is what I though in my mind as I read the scriptures. The interesting thing is that I had never heard of the Mormon Church until several years later. I investigated the Methodists, Spiritualism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc, till one day a friend of mine, who was an atheist by way, told me about Mormons. That is when my search started.

Well…this story can go on forever, but I will try to list some of the many reasons why I become a convert to the Mormon Church when I was 21 years old:

Beautiful Theology
Appearance of many celestial beings to many Mormons
Visit of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ to a young prophet
Visitation of old Prophets and Apostles of the Bible
Powerful personal revelation confirming Mormonism to be the only true church
Continuous personal inspiration and revelation as I practiced Mormonism
Mormon doctrines corroborated by the Bible, early fathers, etc
Prophets and Apostles as part of the Church
Mormon being the restored church of Jesus Christ
Continuous revelations from God
Continued cannon of scriptures
Priesthood (authority from God) restored and given to worthy man
Centered in Jesus Christ and in the family
Well…the list is long…but I think you get the idea.

Again based on feelings & ‘inspiration’ from god… Do keep in mind, the evil one can also appear beautiful to lead us away from the truth. LDS theology based on its own version of the scriptures sounds great on the surface until you dig a little deeper. Of course then, one has to believe that Jesus lied to us all & the church fell into apostasy…

 

[debbie_h]

I did the opposite. Raised LDS and found Mormonism to be shallow, lacking in meat, short on answers, long on directives, and illogical.

Why anyone would leave the Eucharist for Mormonism is beyond my comprehension. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, on your list that doesn’t exist in the Word of God, made present at every Mass.

Wonder Bread and water is how you starve your soul.

The respect & adoration for our lord in the consecrated Eucharist is definitely beyond anything that wonder read & water can offer. (For our sacrament meetings, sometimes the person providing our bread brought a stale loaf, that sucked lol)

 

[evanfaust]

Sarcasm off. I’d much rather be in LDS hell than in the celestial kingdom. If I get to hang out with good folk like TexanKnight, KendraM and SpeSalvi, I’ll be in very good company.

You bring up a questionable part of Mormon history. I am sure you are ware of the extensive history of the Catholic Church and yet you manage to swallow and accept it. I question the so called “scandals” of the Mormon Church, which in reality pales in comparison to the almost two thousand year scandals and history of the Catholic Church. I don’t think I need to go there. I am sure you are aware of it and you probably question parts of it too. You seem to be happy in the Catholic church, then you should stay there and bring your peace and love to those around you.

I prefer not to engage or respond to your accusations, specially that you already have a made up mind and I will not even attempt to change it.

The list I provided is just a few things that popped up in my mind. I could probably come up with hundreds or even thousands of reasons whey I am Mormon…but I can tell you that the spiritual happiness that I experienced and still do cannot be described with words…all the good and inspiration to be good and the love I acquired towards my fellowman came in developing my faith around Mormon Theology…can a bad tree bear good fruits?

 

[RebeccaJ]

You bring up a questionable part of Mormon history. I am sure you are ware of the extensive history of the Catholic Church and yet you manage to swallow and accept it. I question the so called “scandals” of the Mormon Church, which in reality pales in comparison to the almost two thousand year scandals and history of the Catholic Church. I don’t think I need to go there. I am sure you are aware of it and you probably question parts of it too. You seem to be happy in the Catholic church, then you should stay there and bring your peace and love to those around you.

I prefer not to engage or respond to your accusations, specially that you already have a made up mind and I will not even attempt to change it.

The list I provided is just a few things that popped up in my mind. I could probably come up with hundreds or even thousands of reasons whey I am Mormon…but I can tell you that the spiritual happiness that I experienced and still do cannot be described with words…all the good and inspiration to be good and the love I acquired towards my fellowman came in developing my faith around Mormon Theology…can a bad tree bear good fruits?

Re history, Catholic history is open, not hidden, not rewritten. It is what it is. We look at it and say, that happened, it was wrong, we pray for God’s mercy, forgiveness and guidance. Lord, give us the graces to do better.

Mormons say about their history, that didn’t happen, oh, I guess since you found the evidence that it in fact happened, ok it happened, but there is nothing wrong in what happened, we just don’t understand it as we should.

I’d rather be Catholic and look our sins square in the face, and sees it for what it is, than be a Mormon who pretends sin doesn’t occur.

 

[FabiusMaximus]

I read the initial question and the different responses and points of view. I would like to also share my point of view and tell you why I joined the Mormon Church.

I used to be Catholic, my entire family and relatives were all Catholics…but the Catholic environment did not answer many of my philosophical questions. My soul was not supportive of what I saw and what I felt.

At the age of 17 I started to become more intellectual and started think about the purpose of life, the origin of man and some other deep questions. The theology of the Catholic Church did not appeal and did not resonate with my soul. In my thinking and deep feeling there was only one true Church, but I did not know where that Church was.

I knew there were many Christian Churches, but their theology, even though all based on the Bible, were conflicting. On top of that there was the question of authority from God in my mind. I sensed that the true Church of God would have manifestations from Heaven, angels, celestial beings, new revelations. That is what I though in my mind as I read the scriptures. The interesting thing is that I had never heard of the Mormon Church until several years later. I investigated the Methodists, Spiritualism, Jehovah Witnesses, etc, till one day a friend of mine, who was an atheist by way, told me about Mormons. That is when my search started.

That is an interesting story! I appreciate you sharing that. Why did your friend suggest Mormonism? And why did you end up thinking that the Roman Catholic Church was not the true Church?

Well…this story can go on forever, but I will try to list some of the many reasons why I become a convert to the Mormon Church when I was 21 years old:

Beautiful Theology
Appearance of many celestial beings to many Mormons
Visit of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ to a young prophet
Visitation of old Prophets and Apostles of the Bible
Powerful personal revelation confirming Mormonism to be the only true church
Continuous personal inspiration and revelation as I practiced Mormonism
Mormon doctrines corroborated by the Bible, early fathers, etc
Prophets and Apostles as part of the Church
Mormon being the restored church of Jesus Christ
Continuous revelations from God
Continued cannon of scriptures
Priesthood (authority from God) restored and given to worthy man
Centered in Jesus Christ and in the family
Well…the list is long…but I think you get the idea.

What convinces you about the initial vision of Joseph Smith? How do you handle criticism that the visions/story changed?

What was your personal revelation that convinced you of the LDS? I hope I’m not pressing too much, I’m just genuinely curious.

 

[twopekinguys]

Re history, Catholic history is open, not hidden, not rewritten. It is what it is. We look at it and say, that happened, it was wrong, we pray for God’s mercy, forgiveness and guidance. Lord, give us the graces to do better.

Mormons say about their history, that didn’t happen, oh, I guess since you found the evidence that it in fact happened, ok it happened, but there is nothing wrong in what happened, we just don’t understand it as we should.

I’d rather be Catholic and look our sins square in the face, and sees it for what it is, than be a Mormon who pretends sin doesn’t occur.

AMEN!!!

 

[twopekinguys]

I prefer not to engage or respond to your accusations, specially that you already have a made up mind and I will not even attempt to change it.

We see this alot with mormon posters who come and go.

They share their “testimony”, but, don’t want to engage in conversation about it.

Pretty one sided don’t you think?

We also see it when a mormon poster cannot defend a logical argument that has been presented to them.

They will either turn to calling someone an “anti”, or just ignore the conversation. Of course, the latter is what you’re attempting to do here.

These are just a few of my observations of many of our mormon posters. I’m sure I could come up with hundreds, possibly thousands more.

It just boils down to stereotypical behavior among mormon posters.

 

[iepuras]

You bring up a questionable part of Mormon history. I am sure you are ware of the extensive history of the Catholic Church and yet you manage to swallow and accept it. I question the so called “scandals” of the Mormon Church, which in reality pales in comparison to the almost two thousand year scandals and history of the Catholic Church. I don’t think I need to go there. I am sure you are aware of it and you probably question parts of it too. You seem to be happy in the Catholic church, then you should stay there and bring your peace and love to those around you.

I prefer not to engage or respond to your accusations, specially that you already have a made up mind and I will not even attempt to change it.

The list I provided is just a few things that popped up in my mind. I could probably come up with hundreds or even thousands of reasons whey I am Mormon…but I can tell you that the spiritual happiness that I experienced and still do cannot be described with words…all the good and inspiration to be good and the love I acquired towards my fellowman came in developing my faith around Mormon Theology…can a bad tree bear good fruits?

Sure I am very aware of the history of the Catholic Church. We spent plenty of time in RCIA discussing it. No question was off limits. I have no need to deny or explain away documented history. All I can do is learn from it and pray for God’s mercy for all of us. I have my own sins too.

So when did the Mormon missionaries talk to you about the questionable parts of Mormon history? Did they talk to you about the multiple versions of the First Vision, how Joseph Smith and Brigham Young practiced polygamy, why blacks were denied the priesthood, Adam-god theory or blood atonement? Was this discussion before or after your baptism?

Pray tell me which of my “accusations” is incorrect? I welcome correction and will gladly admit if I am wrong. Try reading “Rough Stone Rolling” or “In Sacred Loneliness” which are both sold at Deseret Book (owned by the LDS church). Feel free to research FAIR or the Maxwell Institute to show me how what I stated is factually incorrect.

I have found that engagement with tough issues to be enlightening and helpful. I seek for the truth and beauty no matter where it leads me.

Can a bad tree bear good fruit? Well, even Lucifer and his demons can appear as angels of light. Hitler built the autobahn and Mussolini made sure the trains ran on time. Good fruits from very bad trees. The LDS church has plenty of bad fruit along with the good you have experienced. Many lives and families have been destroyed because of the LDS church, including my own and people I know personally.