I grew up attending church and believing in God

I was what some would call a “nominal” or “cultural” Christian, that is-I believed in name only, but was not really a committed follower of Jesus Christ in my heart or life. It was not until my freshman year of college that I became a Christian at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

One fascinating aspect of how I came to faith in Christ is the role that Mormonism (Latter Day Saints) played. My exploration of Mormonism was in one sense a catalyst for me to actually consider who God is and what I would believe. Mormonism ended up being a step in the journey for me to faith in the God of the Bible-a God who I now understand to be VERY different from that which is portrayed in Mormon theology. (If you are a Mormon reading this post, thank you for reading this post. Please https://getbride.org/pt/mulheres-macedonias/ take the time to read it all the way to the end. For those with little understanding of the differences between Mormonism and a biblical Christianity, click here or here, and read on).

Growing Up in Nevada

I grew up in a small town in Nevada. I had lots of Mormon friends and even a few Mormon girlfriends. I deeply appreciated the friendships and connection I had with the Mormon community. In high school, some of my friends and I formed a ska band and we almost named it “Tom and the Mormons”-thankfully we settled on the much better name “Toad Repellent.” We had great times together and it was a sweet privilege to be part of their lives. I also appreciated the families of my Mormon friends; they were kind to me and welcomed me in. In addition to this, we also had quite similar moral values, and I appreciated that common ground.

Yet, despite having all these friendships, I had never really taken the time to explore Mormon theology. It was not really a priority to me; other things were far more important, things like having friends, having a girlfriend, and pursuing the joy of playing music. Little did I know that my lack of interest in studying theology would soon radically change.

Exploring Mormon Theology

My exploration of Mormon theology began when I was 17. I had just broken up with a Mormon girlfriend and was heart-broken. I was searching for answers and began asking deep questions about God and the truth of reality. Up to that point, I had not really thought through what I believed or why I believed what I did. I just considered the Bible true. But I never explored how a historic Christian Faith compared to Mormonism.

Breaking up with a Mormon girlfriend gave some impetus to study the Mormon religion. One reason we had broken up was the fact that I was not a Mormon. This got me wondering if I myself could believe in the God of Mormonism, and thus my search for truth began.

In the state of my searching, I had a sweet friend who was a Christian who sat down and explained a bit of the Bible to me. She explained about some of the differences between a biblical understanding of God and a Mormon understanding. She also encouraged me to look to God and not a girl to find my happiness. This helped for a little bit, but that aching in my heart remained and my search for truth continued.

In the process of searching I also had conversations with my Mormon friends. I spent some time studying and talking about the Bible with them and even attended one of their services. I asked them questions and kept thinking about the topic. While this was happening, I was often encouraged by my Mormon friends to simply read the Book of Mormon and pray about whether it is true or not (see this post one why a person should not do this).