Preface

For the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints whom I served with, you can drop your guard. I am not the angry exmormon archetype that wants to accentuate the imperfections of humans in their angry rants. I want to start by saying that the 1838 First Vision Account which is canonized seems very blunt about Joseph should not join any of them for they are all corrupt. He was a genuine seeker whether it was digging for Gold or the truth. A lot have been said and attributed to Joseph by others that he never said or penned by his own handwriting. In the 1832 account he received a vision of Jesus. This is not revolutionary for many before him received Jesus in visions. Yet, I have a deep reverence for the imperfect man Joseph Smith. Thanks to Joseph's imperfections, the Lord brought about the LDS Church on earth. The woman I was given to marry in the temple and I are blessed with wonderful two children. The Church was also behind me in finding a love for western movies and country music by going to YSA Dances. So I am grateful to the LDS Church for that. Consider me your latter day Samuel the Lamanite. I looked into the alternate Universe where the Holy Apostolic Church carried forward the teachings of Christ for over 2,000 years. Hold up. Now, you maybe wondering why would I consider this? I’m not a Catholic? Maybe you are and don't know it yet. Either way, Christ’s Church does not ask for blind obedience but rather encourages faith and reason to work together. Christianity, at its core, is not about unquestioning submission to human leaders, but about seeking truth—truth that stands up to scrutiny, historical evidence, and rational thought. Some of the greatest thinkers in history—St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and even modern minds like G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis—have emphasized that true faith is not a rejection of intellect but an elevation of it. Catholicism, in particular, holds that faith and reason are not opposed, but rather, like two wings, they help lift the human spirit toward truth. After all, if truth is real, then honest inquiry will lead to it, not away from it. When I was a member, I want to do the Lord a service by serving in my callings justice by giving to the 100% of myself. Outside of serving in the Bishopric of the Manassas 2nd Ward, I was contracted to translate the Doctrine & Covenants to Sinhala. This was definitely a calling from the Lord. I told myself if that the Lord will provide and Buckled up for the ride. After a decade of not questioning the leadership on any calling, I fell into the dangers of being a pawn in a manipulated religious leadership—this has been an unfortunate reality in some corners of faith, just as it has been in politics, business, and other aspects of human society. However, the failures of some do not disprove the foundation of Christ’s Church or the reality of God’s work in history. Instead of rejecting the idea of Church altogether, I explored what the earliest Christians actually taught and how their faith was not based on mere feelings but on encounters with Christ, reasoned argument, and evidence passed down through generations. #BelieveDoNotFear #NotAbominable #creed #credo

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