The Reason I believed the LDS church was True..

[_Inconceivable]

Miracles leave clues..

I am noticing that certain things are seldom brought up here (and other boards) in the first person.

I didn't believe in Mormonism just because my grandfather, mother, bishop, prophet told me so (I guess
it worked till I was a teenager). I didn't even fully accept it when they related their "reason for being
Mormon" accounts - some very spectacular, I might add.

What secured my Mormon beliefs upon the bedrock of truth were the culmination of the many personal
spiritual based experiences I had witnessed during my life.

What I am talking about are those moments some may consider too sacred to relate (the pearls before swine
thing). Let me relate a few anyway:

* While participating in a healing blessing I saw the damage inflicted on my friend in my mind. I knew what
would be healed and what would not - my partner in the blessing commanded by the power of the melchizedek
priesthood (and in the name of Jesus Christ) that our friend would immediately begin to heal - we walked
out together from the ER an hour later, with only the damage that I had seen that was not to immediately heal.

* While on the mission I received a distinct impression to bypass a home while tracting. I resisted the impression
out of sheer boredom. Shortly after being welcomed in by a somewhat inebriated homeowner, we found
ourselves held hostage at the point of a ‘38 for over an hour (for what seemed like an eternity) by this very
sick and troubled man.

* The feeling of peace (that I did not request) that someone unseen was cognizant of our sacrifice when my son
disappeared past the airport security on his way to a two year Mormon mission.

* Countless father's blessings where I felt connected to someone/something that knew more about my children
than I did - relating counsel beyond my capacity to organize and relate.

* A distinct impression to slow down - just minutes before a catastrophic accident occurred on the freeway just
several hundred yards ahead.

* Being immediately healed myself (more than once) - from physical damage and more importantly, spiritual damage (forgiveness -
the lifting of the burden of guilt).

Haven't any of you had these experiences? If you haven't had experiences like these, you haven't lived. The
experiences I witnessed for myself happened. I was there. Argue with me, I don't care. Throw me whatever
you want. You can't move me. Give it up.

The meaning of these experiences

Now, what did they teach me? What I thought they taught me was that there was a God (a heavenly Father)
that loved me and was looking out for myself and friends if I would just acknowledge Him. The love and concern
I felt was humbling to me and I began to develop a sense of deep gratitude for Him and greater love for others -
like He had for me and my friends.

Each of these spiritual experiences (and many others) were clues - Puzzle pieces. I also concluded that they told
me my church (the Mormon church) was true. It gave credibility to the Faith-Promoting Rumor's (faith promoting rumors) others
related that I did not witness myself.

Now, let me digress.

The actual picture on the box

Have you ever gotten about half way through a puzzle to discover that what you are assembling does not look
like the picture on the box? (This is a really funny prank to play on your friends if you're just joking around)

I can’t deny the existence of someone/something loving (or at least showing me favoritism) that connected me
between the world we live in and the one that is unseen.

But I am lost at present. The clues/puzzle pieces I have fit into place all these years don't match the picture
that many of us are now aware of on the box (the deeply deceitful and dark side of the founders of the Mormon
church).

So if you have had parallels to what I have related where are you now? What constitutes your reconciliation?
Fasting has been ineffective thus far. I’ve been getting a busy signal or “not in service” from prayer.

What are your thoughts?

[_marg]

"Haven't any of you had these experiences? If you haven't had experiences like these, you haven't lived. The
experiences I witnessed for myself happened. I was there. Argue with me, I don't care. Throw me whatever
you want. You can't move me. Give it up."


Well I guess yes I have had such experiences but never attributed good fortune to a God. But maybe you are right. I should thank God that I had parents who didn't indoctrinate me into any organized religion and thank God I did not waste countless hours, time, energy and money on the trappings of it all. I didn't develop any guilt feelings associated with religious belief, countless hours worrying about death, a tribal mentality. Thank God my parents gave me the freedom to choose what I want to believe. I read all the trials and tribulations from religious people on this board and I just don't have those concerns.

And by the way, I'm not a drug addict, an alcoholic, sexually promiscuous. I raised 2 children in a stable home, I'm still married to my childhood sweetheart, their father. My parents are still married in their 80's. My kids don't smoke, aren't into drugs. I guess God is looking out for me. Or maybe I'm just choosing decisions that are good for me and I'm fortunate to be given the opportunities in order to do so. And by the way, I would never endorse, support or promote any organizaton I thought was corrupt or caused harm to others. I would never rationalize that a God supports such an organization and it's not for me to question.

[_The Nehor]

I realized that God did not want me to pass judgment on Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and all the rest. I'm pretty sure a 5 minute interview with them would set my mind even more at ease but such is not to be. My main source of comfort is from the journals of my ancestors who knew both Joseph and Brigham. They were not fools and the anecdotes they talk about are not those of a villain.

If Joseph or Brigham broke the Law of God that is their problem, not mine. It also doesn't disqualify them from their callings. Some of my greatest spiritual experiences have come when I least deserved them. Gotta love that atonement. Good luck in your search.

[_truth dancer]

Hi Inconceivable,

I have had many, many such experiences.

What I have learned is that people the world over are having similar experiences virtually all the time and they are not Mormon.

Healings, visions, NDE, past life memories, psychic experiences, out of body experiences, warnings, feelings of peace, extraordinary insights, "miracles" of all sorts.... billions of times over, all over the world, every day.

As I have released belief, I have had even more such "miraculous" experiences in my life.

~dancer~

[_mocnarf]

Trueth Dancer... I fully agree with you, anyone of any religous belief can have profound spiritual experiences. You don't have to be Mormon to have these experiences. Even atheist (I suggest) can have spiritual experiences except they might use different terms to discribe them.

[_Who Knows]

How about similar experiences where nothing happened? I've had these types of experiences:

Driving on the freeway, i've felt prompted to switch lanes for some reason, and have done so. But nothing happened.
Or waking up in the night, feeling the need to check on one of my children, and done so. But there was nothing wrong.
Or feeling the need to get in touch someone out of the blue to check on them. But they were fine.

How often do we forget about those experiences, and only remember the ones where it did result in something "miraculous"?

[_barrelomonkeys]

Hi inconceivable. I loved reading of your experiences. I've had lots of close calls and have no idea why 1. I'm still alive or 2 Have a semi functioning brain. :)

I've had instances where I think of someone and I'm about to call them and wala they are calling me. I've had aha moments that sort of staved off disaster. I've witnessed some pretty catastrophic things and yet was never the one hurt (maybe psychologically only).

I've wandered around in seedy areas of town in the wee hours of the morning. I've depended on the kindness of strangers (funny there always were a few when I was really messed up) and no matter how low I got in life I sort of bounced right back up. I hitch hiked, was homeless, did lots of risky behavior and yet somehow skated right on through. Quite a few of my friends did not make it out of the lifestyle we lived.

Funny thing. I never believed God was with me or had any truth other than I was a little hedonist having a hell of a good time. Don't know what that means if anything.

[_neworder]

People all over the world have spiritual experiences that give them a stronger belief in God and in most cases strengths their faith in the religion that they are apart of.

Growing up as LDS you also hear FPRs and how they were blessed because they where part of the "true" church. One thing thing that I have noticed is many TBMs give credit to the Church or by obeying some commandment because they were saved from some catastrophic event.

A few years ago when I was a Scout leader we were on a river run and two of our rafts flipped in one of the worst places it could possibly happen. Scouts and leaders went flying every where and a few of us hit a wall that took us down and I thought there was going to be some casualties including myself. Things got darker and darker as the water covered us and I had to breathe but could not. Slowing it started getting lighter and lighter and we popped up and managed to barely cling to some rocks before some other serious sized rapids. We had people on both sides of the river and could not communicate with each other. luckily after about 30 mins a raft came down full of girls and they saved us.

A few hours downstream we found our rafts pushed up against some rocks and where able to flip them over and finish a long long day.

That night we sort of had a testimony meeting and the boys where talking about how God saved them and that this Church is so true! I found it a little sad that they thought that God only helped them because they were part of the true church.

I am sure that many evangelical kids have similar experiences at Bible camp and people of other faiths have their spiritual experiences.

Even though I left, I have things still happen to me and I totally don't understand why these things happen but I give credit to whoever is in charge of such things.

[_The Nehor]

Inconceivable, I suggest throwing out your dignity, your doubts, your worries, and your fears for a time and then just be willing to listen. Take a page out of Lamoni's father's book and offer to give him all your sins in exchange for knowing him again.

[_JAK]

neworder stated:
Even though I left, I have things still happen to me and I totally don't understand why these things happen but I give credit to whoever is in charge of such things.

Because you “totally don’t understand...” is no justification to leap to a conclusion that there is no rational explanation. It would be most arrogant for anyone to conclude that because he does not “understand” means there isn’t evidence which provides rational explanation.

The assertion that “whoever is in charge” is lacking in merit. No evidence for a God claim or any supernatural claim for a chain of events.

It’s an irrational leap which religious myth fosters and uses to enslave people. Virtually every religion does that. Religious mythologies do not agree. Absent agreement and clear, transparent evidence, such mythologies should all be regarded as wrong/false/unreliable.

JAK