Testimony
I grew up in the church. My mother was (and remains) a devout Lutheran. I remember her taking me to church when I was quite little. I sat patiently in the pew, not really sure what was going on. But I received sound instruction in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Bible Camp and Luther League. I sang in the youth choir and I was an acholyte. I never attained Eagle Scout, but I earned my Pro Deo et Patria (God and Country) badge. Even when I was in high school, I'd stay out until 3 AM on Saturday nights hanging with my friends, but I'd be up for church with the family on Sunday morning.
Lutherans are baptized as infants; they make their adult confession of faith at Confirmation. In Confirmation class, we received sound grounding in the gospel in the reformed tradition. To this day I hold that the doctrine I was taught was correct (though I've since then become more charismatic). We were all very serious when we were confirmed that we were acknowledging the and committing to the creed into which we had been baptized - and not just the creed - we were acknowledging Jesus Christ as our savior and lord.
Then, I went away to college - not far away, only 20 minutes. I purposefully set out to join the Campus Christian fellowship. I was looking for my Christian Life to be a total commitment. And yet, as I continued to go to church with my family, and grasp the college experience with both hands, I began to notice inconsistencies between what I was taught and the secular world view, just as there began to develop inconsistencies between my belief and my way of life.[1]
Though I was majoring in Math and Science, I was attending a Liberal arts college. I took courses in philosophy, ancient and early modern history, and sociology. I noticed that there were a great many religions in this world, and most people fervently believe in the faith that their parents professed. Did I believe in God because I was taught to believe, or because the gospel is true?
I had done enough reading to see that one cannot deduce the existence of God from first principles. All the attempts I had read seemed unconvincing, and I was struck by the argument that the real God is too big for that, beyond our comprehension. The only way to know God is if He reveals Himself to us. I had been taught that God has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures, and in the Living Word, His only Son, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, I had been taught, and it seemed reasonable, that we can only discern spiritual things by the work of the Holy Spirit in us. So, in a determinedly empirical fashion (I was a Math and Science major after all) I set out to compare my faith tradition and the Bible with another tradition and a different scripture.
I was afforded just such an opportunity the summer between my Sophomore and Junior year in college when I received an internship in Richland, Washington. I shared a rented house with a roommate, and I had a lot of free time. Soon after I started, I was evangelized by a pair of Mormon missionaries. I studied with them weekly, I was invited to family BBQs. I went to their church. I read the Book of Mormon cover to cover. In doing that side-by-side comparison it was clear to me that the gospels and epistles have the ring of truth to them, and the presentation of Jesus in the Book of Mormon was fanciful fiction.[2] The portions that corresponded to the Bible's Old Testament seemed to have a hollowness. I could see that the Bible was God's word. That Fall, I recommitted myself to Christ during a Billy Graham crusade in Portland, Oregon.
I came to know with certainty that Jesus Christ is God become an Man, and that the Bible is God's inspired revelation of Himself to us. God is the creator of all things. Jesus Christ, His only Son, is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. By grace through faith we are saved if we believe and confess Him as Lord. Jesus Christ will come again in glory as described in Revelation. The Holy Spirit enables us to desire God, transforms us from the inside out, and empowers us for His service.
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[1] I was determined to have the full college experience -- sex and drugs, and rock and roll in a leftist, anti-authoritarian political environment. I won't recount any lurid stories.
[2] It pains me that this will offend my LDS friends. Those that I have known are wonderful, caring, generous people. However, I don't believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet.
Lutherans are baptized as infants; they make their adult confession of faith at Confirmation. In Confirmation class, we received sound grounding in the gospel in the reformed tradition. To this day I hold that the doctrine I was taught was correct (though I've since then become more charismatic). We were all very serious when we were confirmed that we were acknowledging the and committing to the creed into which we had been baptized - and not just the creed - we were acknowledging Jesus Christ as our savior and lord.
Then, I went away to college - not far away, only 20 minutes. I purposefully set out to join the Campus Christian fellowship. I was looking for my Christian Life to be a total commitment. And yet, as I continued to go to church with my family, and grasp the college experience with both hands, I began to notice inconsistencies between what I was taught and the secular world view, just as there began to develop inconsistencies between my belief and my way of life.[1]
Though I was majoring in Math and Science, I was attending a Liberal arts college. I took courses in philosophy, ancient and early modern history, and sociology. I noticed that there were a great many religions in this world, and most people fervently believe in the faith that their parents professed. Did I believe in God because I was taught to believe, or because the gospel is true?
I had done enough reading to see that one cannot deduce the existence of God from first principles. All the attempts I had read seemed unconvincing, and I was struck by the argument that the real God is too big for that, beyond our comprehension. The only way to know God is if He reveals Himself to us. I had been taught that God has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures, and in the Living Word, His only Son, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, I had been taught, and it seemed reasonable, that we can only discern spiritual things by the work of the Holy Spirit in us. So, in a determinedly empirical fashion (I was a Math and Science major after all) I set out to compare my faith tradition and the Bible with another tradition and a different scripture.
I was afforded just such an opportunity the summer between my Sophomore and Junior year in college when I received an internship in Richland, Washington. I shared a rented house with a roommate, and I had a lot of free time. Soon after I started, I was evangelized by a pair of Mormon missionaries. I studied with them weekly, I was invited to family BBQs. I went to their church. I read the Book of Mormon cover to cover. In doing that side-by-side comparison it was clear to me that the gospels and epistles have the ring of truth to them, and the presentation of Jesus in the Book of Mormon was fanciful fiction.[2] The portions that corresponded to the Bible's Old Testament seemed to have a hollowness. I could see that the Bible was God's word. That Fall, I recommitted myself to Christ during a Billy Graham crusade in Portland, Oregon.
I came to know with certainty that Jesus Christ is God become an Man, and that the Bible is God's inspired revelation of Himself to us. God is the creator of all things. Jesus Christ, His only Son, is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. By grace through faith we are saved if we believe and confess Him as Lord. Jesus Christ will come again in glory as described in Revelation. The Holy Spirit enables us to desire God, transforms us from the inside out, and empowers us for His service.
----------------------------
[1] I was determined to have the full college experience -- sex and drugs, and rock and roll in a leftist, anti-authoritarian political environment. I won't recount any lurid stories.
[2] It pains me that this will offend my LDS friends. Those that I have known are wonderful, caring, generous people. However, I don't believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet.
3 Comments
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Comment by bradmc on May 26, 2009 at 11:14am - wow, thank you for sharing Larry!
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Comment by Larry on May 28, 2009 at 6:14am - I think it is important for folks who know me on the forum to know where I am coming from.
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Comment by Sarah H. (aka Judy) on June 4, 2009 at 9:51am - Thank you for that, it's greatly appreciated
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