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Former Catholic Church Member
"I Truly Felt That The Lord
Had Lead Me To The Truth "
By Nicholas Day
I was born into a good Catholic family and went to
church most every Sunday. My grandfather is a Deacon, and my uncle
is a Priest in the Roman Catholic faith, so I had a lot of
influences on my faith. It wasn’t till my uncle sent me on the T.E.C.
retreat at Our Lady of Consolation in December of ‘99 that I finally
started on the road to find my own faith.
I entered the retreat close-minded. The only
reason I agreed to go is because I would miss a day of school. The
first two days I was there, I just sat in the back and listened, but
did not participate in the activities. Then, Saturday evening I was
roaming around the basilica when I felt His presence.
I felt an overwhelming calm come about me. It
started out like a light in the distance that seemed faint at first
but as it got closer and closer it surrounded me. It was an
exhilarating experience, and I didn’t want it to end. I had felt the
presence of God. That was a major turning point in my life.
From that point, I felt the need to indulge myself
into the Catholic faith. I studied the Bible extensively. At a point
after reading through the Bible, I felt called to do something more
in the church. I thought at the time that the only thing more I
could do in the church was to become a Priest, so I started on that
road. I studied the rituals and history of the Catholic Church.
When it came time for me to choose a seminary I
could not choose because I didn’t have the warm and fuzzy feeling
about any one of them. Instead, I needed time to sit back, ponder,
pray and reflect on God’s path for me, so I joined the U.S. Navy.
I figured that it would give me four years to
ponder, pray and reflect. I continued my preparations for the Roman
Catholic Priesthood for a year after I joined, but the more I dug
into the Catholic faith and tradition, the more I found things that
didn’t agree with the Bible. It seemed like the Catholic Church was
more about tradition and grandeur than about following the Bible.
As I studied, I found more parallels between the
Catholic Church and the mythology of Ancient Rome. The more I dug
into the truth of where the Catholic Church came from, the more I
became convinced that an apostasy took place. It seemed as if the
leadership of the early church was unable to agree on key aspects of
Christ and His purpose until after Constantine took control of the
Roman Empire in 325.
Constantine then convened the first Council of
Nicaea to set the standard on the issue of the divinity of Christ.
Constantine, because of the arguments between bishops, had to begin
by telling the bishops that they had a greater and better business
in hand than personal quarrels and interminable recriminations. This
was the first of many councils that set up the core doctrine of the
present day Catholic Church.
Knowing this you have to ask some tough questions.
Why would there be a gap of over 300 years after the death of Christ
to establish the doctrine of His church? It would be like you trying
to determine exact details about something that happened in the late
1600’s. Shouldn’t doctrine have been established soon after the
Resurrection?
If you read the Gospels that follow the Apostles
after the Resurrection, they are filled with the Apostles
communicating to the churches trying to keep them on the straight
and narrow. Obviously, this was a daunting task that required direct
revelation from Apostles through the Holy Spirit.
The early church was heavily reliant on that
revelation from the Apostles, and after they were martyred, the
church was thrust into a state of panic. They looked everywhere for
divine inspiration, including the wrong places. When they did that,
they began to fall away from the truth, and the apostasy was
complete.
As far as the Trinity goes, my studies have
discounted the belief that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all
one. If this were true why would Jesus pray to Himself in the Garden
of Gethsemane? Why would Jesus and the Holy Spirit be seen separate
by Bartholomew upon receiving the Holy Spirit from Christ? Why would
Jesus, if He were the God that threw the devil out of heaven, need
to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness?
Because of these and other theological flaws with
the Catholic Church, I started my personal search for a church that
reflected what I have found to be true through study of the Bible. I
went to multiple different churches over the next 3 years. Each of
them was full of very nice people, full of spirituality, but they
lacked the truth I was seeking.
It wasn’t till I walked into a Mormon chapel in
Norfolk, VA, that I truly felt that the Lord had lead me to the
truth. I was baptized and confirmed after about two months of
investigation. I now hold the Melchizedek priesthood and have been
sealed and married to my wife for all-time and eternity. Since I
have joined the church I feel that I have become a better person.
Just because I believe I have found the restored
Christian church on the earth doesn’t mean I have stopped my
investigation for truth. I make it a point to continue to develop
and challenge my faith.
I have been to most anti-Mormon websites and have
not found an argument yet that I have not been able to disprove, and
because I have not found any fault in the Church, I will let the
Lord guide me on this straight and narrow path which just happens to
be in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
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