1. I was not always a Mormon. I was raised a Catholic and converted at the age of 17, in 1971. It took me one month of lessons with the missionaries. I found out for myself this was the Only True Church, the restored Church of Jesus Christ, by reading the Book of Mormon and then fasting and praying to know if this book was true and if Joseph Smith was a true Prophet. The answer was clear, distinct, and powerful. It was as though I was enveloped from head to toe in peace and joy. [This is the ONLY way you can know for yourself if the Church is true. You can read all the blogs and books in the world, but until you read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is true, you will never know].
2. Eighteen months after my conversion, I passed a promising bodybuilding career to serve a voluntary 2 year mission in France and Switzerland. No one forced me to go. I only helped one person convert: a Jewish man by the name of Robert Cohen - and that happened during the last two weeks of my mission, and he joined after my return home.
3. I have not served in Vietnam, but I have been divorced five times. I have never cheated or had any substance abuse issues in my life. I have learned that Forgiveness is the secret to a happy life. I hold no grudges towards anyone.
4. Much of what I shun today was openly available to me growing up. I was exposed to R-rated movies and by age 16 I was into Playboy books and strip clubs. In my adult life, several times I struggled with pornography. Today, the sight of anything pornographic causes a kind of physical/emotional knee-jerk revulsion in me.
5. I owe everything that I am to Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer. His Doctrine, if lived, is more potent than any psychological, social, philosophical panacea.
6. I consider myself first and foremost a Christian who happens to belong to the restored Church of Jesus Christ - in these latter days called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - and will stand shoulder to shoulder with any other Christian, Jew, or Muslim who believes in tolerance and diversity.
7. In 1997 I was excommunicated for co-habitation while separated. I rejoined in 2000.
7. I have only good things to say about the Mormon Church. If you expect me to rant about how I was slighted, misjudged, offended, discriminated, abandoned, rejected, misunderstood, vilified or insulted, you are reading the wrong blog. Let's put it this way: my faith has been tested.
8. I know the Church is not made up of "Perfect" people. The Gospel is Perfect, the people are not, at all levels. People can test and fray your faith. The Gospel can build it.
9. The Church is more of a hospital than a retreat.
10. I have a logical mind. I play ten minute chess, am a former stockbroker, understand marketing, finance, theology and geopolitics. I am also a student of philosophy. You can read my blog G is for God for more information on my philosophical views.
11. I don't need to see God. I am content having faith in Him. I have learned how to discern His promptings. The best proof that He exists are the impressions and promptings I receive, thoughts I could never have thought by myself.
12. I also know Satan exists. I do not want to see Him. I have felt his influence and power in my mission, and after my mission.
13. I am a physically active person. I enjoy riding my bike and weight training, which I find to be the best anti-aging recipe. I thank Jack La Lane for getting me started at age 12.
14. I consider myself a gentle person who loves little children, animals, flowers, various styles of music (including opera). By the same token, when I am advocating a position I may come across as an out-of-control steam-roller going downhill. Nothing can stand in my way.
15. I have lived in 9 countries and speak 4 languages. I have seen two military conflicts growing up. I have been rich and poor. I have live in palatial condo high rise and been homeless.
16. Finally, I had a near death experience in 2006, and know without any shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ lives and that he paid the price for all my sins.
So, if you are looking for a Mormon who is a two dimension cut-out with a pristine past, you'll have to look somewhere else. They are out there, and I admire them. I am a roughed-up 4x4 all-terrain truck that has experienced pretty well every major disappointment you can imagine. Faith not tested is not faith, but a viewpoint. This is why I portray the vastness of desert as a metaphor of our life's journey. Crossing the desert requires a robust 4x4 vehicle.
Paul Adams
December 25, 2011 - age 58
What were your highs and lows? Do you think you become somehow immune from certain trials when you join the Mormon church? I think for the most part Mormons are friendly, too friendly maybe, and a little on the naive side.
ReplyDeleteMy highs and lows have been many. I think the all-time low was when I had a nervous breakdown after my first wife took my children and left me. My highest high was in the Temple, and I do not discuss sacred experiences that happen within the walls of the Temple. They are just too sacred. Another high, however, was my near death experience in 2006. I touched heaven.
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