Here is a comment that I posted on mormon matters about the post "Every exmember a missionary."
But I am still put in this strange position…where I become the liaison for the church and for the LDS doctrine. And then I realize that because I am viewed as a somewhat reputable source despite my warnings otherwise, even as an exmember, I still am a missionary of sorts.
I can relate to this. I have had the opportunity many times to share my story of leaving the LDS church after becoming a born-again Christian. But when my audience hears that I was a member for 47 years, they change the subject from my story of finding God's grace to a question-and-answer session about Mormon doctrine.
For example, I was a guest on the radio program Truth Talk Live not long after my conversion. In the first segment, I shared my testimony of Grace. But for the rest of the hour the callers wanted to know about Mormonism, so I fielded questions just as you have been talking about. I was honest and fair and corrected a few misconceptions about the church. (The host thought that people paid to have vicarious temple work done for their ancestors much like the Catholic indulgence.")
Some of them were quite pointed and one guy even wanted to talk Adam-God theory. I summarized the questioning by saying this: There is enough in the basic, canonical Mormon Doctrine to engage LDS and those who are investigating the church. We don't have to resort to "fringe" doctrines to show that the LDS Church is not "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (D&C 1:30)
For example President Hinckley's statement that the LDS church does not worship the same Jesus as traditional Christianity is fertile ground for discussions about God's true nature.
I find it vital to continue to keep my pulse on the church's doctrinal positions through their publications because I know that I will be asked about them by people who know I used to be a member and they can trust that I will give them a straight answer.



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