CASteinman Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 I am grateful for your testimony. Thank you very much. God bless you.
Avatar4321 Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 I can't imagine any other reaction to be honest. Im sure everyone is and will continue to be happy! At least if they are living the Gospel.
alter idem Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks for sharing your joy with us on this anniversary--It's catching:)It's not just the heavens that rejoice at your return, we all do. I'm so glad you have the opportunity to work on the Joseph Smith papers and I'm sure the project and those involved will be blessed by your participation as well. 3
BCSpace Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 When I posted about my return here two years ago, the outpouring of something like 150-200 "welcome back" messages left me just overwhelmed.I've been a member all my life, have served faithfully in all my callings, and never left. Where is my party? Congratulations! 1
tyler90az Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Excellent story! Thanks for sharing!That is what I worry about also a returning member. Is there some sort of Church record kept that I was disfellowshipped?
Garden Girl Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Excellent story! Thanks for sharing!That is what I worry about also a returning member. Is there some sort of Church record kept that I was disfellowshipped?Talk with your bishop... and just continue to go forward... John 14:27 (ponder it, be happy, and at peace).GG
Palerider Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Am I mistaken or did two posts mysteriously disappear from this thread?
why me Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Excellent story! Thanks for sharing!That is what I worry about also a returning member. Is there some sort of Church record kept that I was disfellowshipped?I don't think that it matters. What matters is the present. One thing that I do know is that when a person comes back it is all forgotten.
Jaybear Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 I am pleased to know you are happy. Whether as the apostate of true believer, you have always been one of the "good guy." But why is this in the "discussion forum"? What are we supposed to be discussing?
Scott Lloyd Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 I am pleased to know you are happy. Whether as the apostate of true believer, you have always been one of the "good guy."But why is this in the "discussion forum"? What are we supposed to be discussing?This forum seems to get the highest traffic of any. And the obvious high level of interest (more than 30 rep points for Don's OP last I looked) more than justifies its presence here.
volgadon Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 I've been a member all my life, have served faithfully in all my callings, and never left. Where is my party? Congratulations!No fatted calf for you! 1
WalkerW Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 Dear Friends,The day that is just ending for me is the two-year anniversary of my rebaptism into the Church.After two years I continue to be amazed at how my life has unfolded and at how warmly I have been embraced by both the Church institutionally and by my fellow Saints.When I posted about my return here two years ago, the outpouring of something like 150-200 "welcome back" messages left me just overwhelmed.I had long thought that I could never come back--never reembrace my faith and return to the Church. Then, even when I realized my mistake in abandoning my faith and leaving the Church, I was afraid I might have barred the door behind me. I had written some harsh things in my resignation letter, and had littered the Internet with evidence of my disaffection. This fear was, of course, unreasonable. As the bishop who helped me back said to me in our first meeting, "If the Church couldn't forgive, it wouldn't be Christ's church." My final fear, though, was that I was not be truly accepted--that it would also be to some people in the Church as if I was tarnished, or as if I had emblazoned on my chest a scarlet letter "A" for "apostate."What has amazed me is not merely that these fears never materialized, but things have gone better than I could possibly have hoped. When I returned to the Church, I had no doubt that this was what God wanted of me and that the Church and the restored Gospel could lead me to Him. But there were some important issues of doctrine and faith that were question marks in my mind. As time has passed, I have continued to find myself firmer and firmer in the faith. I have a testimony of things I once "knew" I could never believe again. My testimony is purer and stronger for the refiner's fire it has passed through. And it is still growing.Last fall I received a restoration of blessings--an incredibly beautiful experience that restored my priesthood and temple blessings. In it, I was told that the Lord would remember my sins no more. And once this restoration is done, the member's local church record shows all his or her original ordinance dates: all evidence that he or she had ever been out of the Church is simply wiped away.Not only have I been accepted again by the Church and my fellow Saints, I have been embraced--and put to work. Only five months after my rebaptism, the Church Historical Department--knowing full well about my years outside the Church--invited me to do a full-time half-year internship at the Joseph Smith Papers. Soon after that I presented at the FAIR Conference on the Kinderhook plates. And this year, I'll be presenting again, on the lost 116 pages.No one--not at the CHD, not here, not my wards, not among the Church members I meet all over--seems to hold it against me that I at one time left the Church and spent nearly five years as a sometimes critical and occasionally irreverent nonbeliever. No one.When I consider what a huge thing it is for someone to leave the Church, I find it absolutely astonishing and overwhelming to find that completely forgiven. It is as if it never happened. This has been and continues to be one of the most profoundly moving experiences of my life, and I cannot begin to express what it means to me and how grateful I am to be counted among such good, good people as the Latter-day Saints.Thank you,DonI teared up. Not only am I glad you're back, but I'm glad it has been the experience it is supposed to be. 1
Tacenda Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) I'm looking forward to hearing your story at the Sunstone Symposium this Friday! It's a first for me, to attend a symposium. Maxine Hanks and your stories are what I need right now besides of course my Heavenly Father. Just like people who go to church, firesides & conference to be uplifted or encouraged etc. I feel this could be a venue for that also. Edited July 23, 2012 by Tacenda
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