Ex-Mormon Shares Powerful Testimony (Must Watch!)

and I remember learning about King David and  his life and his relationship with God and I   remember even at that really young age I mean  kindergarten or first grade I like had this   this searing jealousy of David because it was  like the relationship that he had with God I   wanted that and in my religion I was taught that  I could only be special by being good right and   so when I moved to Utah it it it really created  this desire for me to just be the most devout and   the most zealous Mormon amongst all of my peers  I ended up going with my Mormon Mission companion   to a Christian Church it was actually a Baptist  Church uh in a town called Winter Garden Florida   just outside of Orlando I believe that these  people were lost and they needed to be saved I   just remember posing the question I said pastor  Benson what do you think like like what do you   think about all these things do you have uh any  thoughts about this and the first thing he said   was he said I appreciate your Zeal I can tell  that you're passionate about what you believe   but the message you've shared with me it's not  the gospel of Christ well Micah it's an honor   to be here all the way in Kentucky Lord brought  us out all the way to Kentucky uh to be able to   record your testimony thank you for connecting  us even with your church and your church opening   up your doors to us we're really appreciative of  the pastor and um for those who don't know you who   maybe have never seen you could you just introduce  yourself to those who are watching on the other   side of the screen yeah so my my name is mik  Elder I am a minister I'm a musician I serve in   a Ministry called Adams Road uh we spend four to  five months out of every year traveling throughout   North America sharing our testimonies sharing the  gospel of the grace of God uh I've currently just   recently relocated to Kentucky from Florida I've  been married uh 18 years and have three wonderful   sons who are in 11th grade 10th grade and eighth  grade and more than anything my identity is in my   relationship with Christ and in the Salvation that  he's given me and I'm excited to share my story   amen now M as I was telling you um out of you know  without the cameras I uh your your testimony was   one of the first testimonies that I saw online  a powerful testimony coming out of Mormonism   and Jesus really revealing himself to you and um  radically transform your life um really grateful   that we get to do this and for other people to be  able to see what God has done in your life let's   start with your childhood um tell us about your  testimony of Jesus starting with your childhood   yeah so I'm uh I grew up in Indiana I'm from the  Midwest originally and I was born and raised in   a very devout and faithful Mormon home uh my  parents raised us in this religion um we were   very active in our faith we went to church every  Sunday we read the scriptures together uh nearly   daily we prayed together uh I had an incredible  childhood my parents were very loving I came from   a loving family a loving Community my church was  very loving I had a wonderful experience growing   up uh in the Mormon religion I remember at a young  age God really instilling in me a desire to have a   relationship with him like I remember even being  four five six years old and just like going out   into the woods on my own and just like talking to  God like he was my best friend and wanting this   relationship with him and the older that I got the  more difficult it became to have that relationship   because I could no longer see God directly you  know oneon-one I saw him through the lens of my   religion I loved my religion I loveed my church  but it also I had a hard time understanding God's   love and his forgiveness and his grace and so I  wanted to know God and to be known by God and to   love God and to be loved by God but I thought the  only way to do that was through being faithful to   the precepts of my religion and so Mormonism was  a very kind of works-based mentality growing up   it was very legalistic and I was never taught  that God's grace was given to me freely or that   salvation was given to me freely I was taught that  I had to do my part and that I had to earn it and   that I had to prove my worthiness to God through  my actions and through my behavior and through   my you know being faithful to the Commandments of  this particular religion and so it kind of created   this dichotomy in me where it was like I was I  I had this intense and and tremendous Zeal for   God but that Zeal began to be misplaced as I got  older um and so a big change in my life happened   when I was 14 years old and so after having grown  up in Indiana my family and I moved we moved from   Indiana to Utah and for people that may know Utah  is like the mecca of Mormonism it's it's uh the   headquarters of the Mormon Church uh my mother  got a job to be a professor at the prestigious   Brigham Young University which is a private owned  Mormon University out in Provo Utah and so when I   was a freshman in high school we replanted we  moved to a town called Alpine it's about 99%   Mormon and all of a sudden like my entire life  was embedded in this culture of Mormonism I went   to a high school of you know 22500 kids and 97%  of our student body was Mormon wow and so all of   our neighbors my friends and it was a very unique  environment for me to live in because in Indiana   I was definitely the minority in the Mormon church  and I was one of very few Mormons and then I moved   to Utah and everybody I KN that I knew was part  of this religion but one thing that moving to Utah   did in my life and one impact that it made was  that it really drove me deeper into my desire to   have a relationship with God um it drove me deeper  into I guess my religiosity and into me wanting to   show God that I was good enough to be loved by  him because that's ultimately what I wanted my   entire life I mean from the time that I was young  I just wanted God to love me and I wanted to have   a relationship with God and I I even remember  funny enough as a Mormon I went to a Baptist   school when I was like four five six years old my  parents sent me to this private Baptist school and   I remember learning about King David and his life  and his relationship with God and I remember even   at that really young age I mean kindergarten or  first grade I like had this this searing jealousy   of David because it was like the relationship  that he had with God I wanted that and and I   wanted to just be special in God's eyes and in  my religion I was taught that I could only be   special by being good right and so when I moved  to Utah it it it really created this desire for   me to just be the most devout and the most zealous  Mormon amongst all of my peers and so when I was a   high school student I was like the quintessential  Mormon I was you know Paul talks about how he was   a Hebrew of Hebrews right and if anyone had the  right to boast of the law that it was him and I   was kind of like that in in Mormonism now Mah be  before you get even into your life as you became   a teen and older like as a child I'm just curious  here what were you told as you mention works right   and this is how you have to uh attain essentially  a relationship with with God but as a child what   were you hearing that you had to do as a child  was there anything that you had to do as as a   child to be able to have that relationship with  God yeah so the Mormon Church kind of taught me   this laundry list of things that we had to do to  be in right standing with God and so they were   you know as as a child they were simple things it  was like attend church regularly we had to go to   church every week um we had to live certain moral  codes we had to live even certain dietary codes   um we had to pay tithing which was 10% of our our  income I mean even as a child uh when I was about   9 10 years old I had a paper route and I used to  get home from school and go to the the local gas   station and pick up my 50 papers and put them in  my bag and I'd ride my bike all around town and   I'd make money from that and I would actually take  10% of everything that I made and I would go meet   with my Mormon leader my my bishop or he's like  the local pastor and I would give him you know my   dollars and cents of everything that IID made that  was 10% of what I had you know made as a Young Man   and then ultimately there were things that I would  have to do as I got older eventually I would have   to go to the Mormon Temple and there were specific  ordinances that when I became of age I would need   to you know perform those ordinances uh there was  water baptism which is something that uh all young   Mormon men and women do when they're 8 years old  and so is it specifically 8 years old specifically   8 years old is when you qualify to be baptized  you don't necessarily have to be but culturally   if you're active and faithful in Mormonism you're  baptized at the the age of eight they call that   the age of accountability and so I had done all  those things like I had you know my parents had   raised me in Mormonism in a way that we followed  all the rules to a te I mean our our family was   as devoted to this religion as anybody that you  could meet and even myself within my family I   think most of my family members would even agree  that I was the most devout of my family and um   and I saw all those things that I needed to do and  I just kept my eye on them and and wanted to you   know please God through my actions and please  him through my works so that I could have that   you know relationship like David had had with God  this continued through my teenage years right so   I got to the point where I could understand things  a little bit better I was getting deeper into the   doctrines of Mormonism deeper into you know what  it meant to be saved and how I could be saved and   how I could be declared you know as an individual  who had right standing with God and it was not   simply by putting my faith in Jesus Christ alone  and I don't want to misrepresent Mormonism because   that was an essential if not the core part of it  I mean that was the first step but it wasn't the   only step and so putting faith in Jesus was only  part of what saved you it was only part of what   Justified you before God because once you received  what Jesus had done for you then you needed to do   what God had required of you for yourself and so  this was again a laundry list of many things and   just a a faithful way of living your life and  being moral and being right and going to church   and being active in following the leaders of  the Mormon church and following your parents and   reading your scriptures and doing all these things  and so I'm naturally a very competitive person I I   grew up in a Mormon environment where they really  push greatness and so music and sports and and art   and academics and these were all aspects of my  life in which I excelled and I was passionate   about I was also competitive religiously like I  wanted to be the best of the best Mormons and I   can kind of relate to to Paul where he's talking  to the GLA and he says that he would was advancing   in Judaism Beyond many people his own age how  extremely zealous was he for the traditions of   his fathers and so that was me and Mormonism like  I had this unparalleled Zeal um for God through my   religion and and what changed uh from some of the  tasks that you had to do as a child to now as a   teenager and a a growing man yeah so um at the age  of 12 in Mormonism the young men received What's   called the priesthood right and this is they claim  it to be the same priesthood Authority that the   priests in the Old Testament had and so now I  had the special and unique Authority from God   which meant that my my standard was even higher  right so there were certain things I couldn't do   and certain shows I couldn't watch we couldn't  drink coffee we couldn't watch rated R movies   um there were just there there was an attitude of  righteousness that had to be carried out in every   facet of life and then preparing at that point to  go forward in my life as a young Mormon man which   meant that after I graduated from high school I  would be expected to go serve a two-year Mission   um I'd be expected to go to the temple right so  there were all these things that were beginning   to take shape in my life as a young religious man  and I remember like when I was in high school for   example um our high school is located about one  mile from a Mormon temple in a Mormon temple   there are these large opulent buildings in which  sacred ordinances of Mormonism are performed and   so one of those ordinances is that you go and you  you perform bad baptisms on behalf of people that   have passed away or deceased and so I used to go  with my Mormon girlfriend at 6:00 in the morning   before we would go to high school and we'd go  perform these ordinances in the Mormon Temple   like it was this constant desire for me to want  to prove my worthiness to God and show him that   I deserved the best that he had to offer and I  just I I wanted him to love me and I was trying   to show God my love by being as good and a faith  ful as a young Mormon man as I could possibly be   and um unfortunately I I I had this problem in  high school where I would vacillate between very   being very confident in my relationship with God  and then other moments where I just felt like I   was continually falling short and I didn't know if  God loved me and I didn't know if he' forgiven me   and I didn't know like where I stood with God and  it was it was a terrifying thing because I never   had the Assurance of the Forgiveness of my sins  and when I fell short and I did make mistakes and   I did break you know those moral Commandments as  are so difficult for young you know teenage men   and women to to uphold like I would just slip in  almost to this depression where I'd be like well   does God still love me like if I disappointed  him like how do I get back in his favor and in   the Mormon Church there was this very long and  convoluted process of repentance like I couldn't   have a direct relationship with God where I could  go directly to him and find penitence for my sins   like I would have to go and literally physically  confess my sins to my Mormon leadership similar   to you know Catholicism and so I'd have to you  know share what I had done and what rules I had   broken and then I would have to be prescribed  this process of penitence which would you know   sometimes mean certain punishments like I wasn't  allowed to take communion at church or I couldn't   pray publicly or things like that and then I would  work through uh you know with him in order to find   that forgiveness and so that was something that  I struggled with a lot as a teenager was just am   I in right standing with God and and having this  mentality of like when I sinned then like I had   to start all over and I started at the bottom  and then I had to like work my way back into   God's love and his grace and forgiveness and so  I think that for me and and for a lot of people   that are in those types of kind of legalistic  works-based religions they live with that fear   that uncertainty as to have I done enough to  appease God in this season season of life and   so you know I continued pressing forward through  high school I ended up you know being kind of the   the the perfect example to all of my peers my  friends everybody knew me and recognized me as   a as a righteous person I was you know Kind  of Perfect on the outside even though on the   inside I mean I was I was filthy as we all are  I mean the I knew the thoughts of my mind I knew   the thoughts of my heart I knew the desires of my  heart at times but I would hide that because much   like the Pharisees I was trying to appear clean  on the outside right and I was like these these   wided seers that looked clean and yet inside I  was full of Dead Man's Bones but it didn't deter   me you know from continuing and pressing forward  and Desiring that relationship with God in every   aspect of my life and I'd say by the time I was  a senior in high school my relationship with God   was the single most important thing to me which  a lot of people can't say that even Sports and   girlfriend and all the other things I had in my  life like my desire to serve God in my life was   first and foremost when I graduated from high  school um I did a small semester at brigam   Young University and that's where I prepared to go  serve a two-year mission trip um many people have   seen the Mormon missionaries there's they're the  largest missionary force in the world uh and they   go to You Know Places internationally and this  is kind of it's not necessarily a requirement   or a commandment but it certainly is a cultural  expectation that the young men when they graduate   from high school they're asked to go uh make this  two commitment and to dedicate two years of their   lives living a very strict uh code of of you  know what they have to do and perform as Mormon   missionaries and I wanted to do that for me it  wasn't like an expectation it wasn't something   that was a pressure for me by my parents or my  friends like I wanted this and I was excited   about this because I believed wholeheartedly  that the Mormon church was everything that it   claimed to be I believe that it was the truth as  I was taught that it was and more manism claims   exclusivity that itself its organization is the  only true Christian Church it is the only way to   Salvation and I believe that and I wanted other  people to know that and I wanted other people   to have the truth that I held dear with all my  heart and the truth that I was willing to go out   and sacrifice two years of my life to share with  others I went through this Preparatory process   which is essentially you go through a series of  interviews uh with some of your Mormon leadership   and they deem you to be worthy of this uh you know  honor to go be a a full-time missionary and uh you   submit paperwork and then you wait for them to  send you a packet and when you get that packet   it's going to tell you where God has chosen to  send you for your two-year mission trip and it's   a very unique experience because uh you don't get  to choose where you go okay these young men that   have the white shirts the ties and the name tags  and they're riding bicycles and knocking on doors   that are all over the world you don't really get  a say in this right you just trust your leaders   and their relationship with God that they're  going to determine for you what is the place   that God wants you to serve and so uh I I I waited  Faithfully you know for this opportunity and so at   19 years old I was called on a Mormon Mission  uh to the State of Florida uh I had had older   brothers that served missions one of them went to  Copenhagen Denmark and one went to Moscow Russia   which are like these awesome exotic wonderful  places and I got sent to Florida um but as as   you'll hear in my story you'll understand that  God had designated that place for me to be where   he was going to reach me with his truth and and  with his gospel and so I arrived in Florida as   this very green uh innocent maybe naive Mormon  missionary thinking that I was going to be the   greatest missionary of all time and I was going  to convert everybody that I met and uh I just I   really believe that I mean even prior to my  mission I had been the full the the youngest   full-time worker in the Mormon Temple like in the  world I mean this is just who I was this was my   identity was so deeply rooted in this religion  and so I arrived in Florida believing that I had   the truth and that I had the endorsement of God  that I had the priesthood power of God and that   I was the I was going to go out and save the lost  and for us as Mormons the Lost was anybody who was   not part of our religious construct and one of the  ways that we did that is we would go and we would   just prze uh publicly right so we'd go and we'd  get on our bicycles and we'd find a neighborhood   and we would just start to knock on doors and I  quickly learned that people were not very kind and   receptive to the message of Us coming and knocking  on their doors and invading them you know in their   homes um but it didn't deter me um but I did learn  that a lot of people that profess to be Christians   did not treat us with Christian love and that was  something that you know really stuck out to me was   just how unkind people were and not just people  in general but people who claimed to us that they   were followers of Christ and their response to  us would just be a door slammed in our face and   a proclamation that we were going to hell and it  it really kind of made me have a bad perception   of the Evangelical Christian World honestly and  and and it's sad for me to say that but being a   Mormon missionary and being on the other side it  really gave me a a bad just kind of a bad taste in   my mouth of of who these Christians supposedly  were because here I was this young religious   man uh believing I had the truth and I was living  out my truth and I was loving people and serving   people and trying to do all the things that you  know I belied God was calling me to do and yet   when we'd encounter people that said that they  were Christians and that they knew Jesus and that   they knew the truth their response to us was was  not love and it wasn't compassion and it wasn't   gentleness I you know began to find some fruit  and some success as a Mormon missionary it did   not come easily it was one of the most you know  even to this day it's one of the most difficult   things I've ever done was was being a full-time  missionary for the Mormon Church uh you know   enduring rejection on a daily basis I mean some  people were very vehement in their rejection they   were very unkind um I mean I had guns pulled on me  I had people you know swear at me we had cars try   to run us over I mean it was just not overall a a  positive experience um but it did teach me uh you   know to be um zealous it did teach me to not be  deterred by people and to just continue faithful   in what I believed God was calling me to do at  that time of my life and I really believe that   I could convert anybody and I and I got so kind  of confident in in my assertion that I could do   that that I ended up going with my Mormon Mission  companion to a Christian Church it was actually a   Baptist Church uh in a town called winter Garten  Florida just outside of Orlando and uh we ended up   going there during a Sunday evening service and  a lot of people asked me were like why did you   guys go there I said because genuinely I believe  that these people were lost and they needed to be   saved and I genuinely believe that this pastor  uh needed the truth that only we could give him   and so we went there because we were doing what  we were called to do and that was to share our   truth with other people and funny enough like I  I look at myself as a Christian now and I look   at the Christian world and it's like that's what  we should be doing right I mean we should be bold   and zealous and passionate about wanting to share  the gospel with the Lost just like I was doing I   was just I had a Zeal that was misplaced right  and Paul talks about that in Romans chapter 10   where he says talking about the Jews he says  they have a Zeal for God but not according   to knowledge and so for being ignorant of the  righteousness that comes from God and seeking   to establish their own they did not submit to  God's righteousness for Christ is the end of   the law for righteousness to everyone who believes  and so me as a Mormon missionary and many Mormons   Many religious people sincere devout religious  people you know Jehovah's Witnesses Catholics   Mormons like they have a sincere Zeal for God but  it's misplaced it's not according to the knowledge   of of God and the knowledge of God is Christ and  it is his one act of righteousness on the cross   that saves us and so I went to this church and um  my mission companion and I uh you know sat there   we sat through a Sunday evening service and that  was really probably the first time of my life that   I'd been kind of directly exposed to Evangelical  Christianity I had had Christian friends growing   up when I was in Indiana but none of them ever  told me about their faith like none of them ever   opened the Bible they never invited me to the  church they never really um shared the gospel   with me they just kind of assumed I'm Mormon and  so I don't want to hear it and they just kind of   left it at that and and Micah for you did you ever  have a curiosity to open up the Bible and and even   for people who don't know about uh Mormonism like  what literature are you guys reading did you have   access or did you not yeah so in in Mormonism uh  we did use the Bible um that was one of our books   of scripture but we had extra Biblical scripture  as well okay so we had a Canon that included a lot   of extra Biblical scripture and the Bible amongst  that Canon is probably seen as the least valuable   because according to the founder Mormonism it it  was corrupt and was not fully translated properly   and so although I read the Bible or parts of  the Bible growing up I did not see it as the   infallible authoritative word of God I I would  look to other extra biblical Mormon scriptures   like the Book of Mormon in order to have the  fullness of Truth delivered to me and so I I   read the Bible but I never saw it as the only  source of my truth or even the primary source   of my truth that was one thing that we would kind  of criticize a lot of Christians about was that   they did not believe that the Canon of scripture  was still open because Mormonism teaches that they   teach modern-day Revelation they have what they  believe to be prophets and apostles sitting at   the head of their organization that still receive  Revelation from God that can still command God's   word to his people and can still write their own  scripture and so um and so this is happening today   today yeah yeah so the Mormon church has a quote  unquote Prophet a man that they deemed to be a   prophet who has the same prophetic Authority  as Moses in the Old Testament or Abraham and   they have 12 Apostles that they believe have the  same Apostolic Authority as the 12 apostles you   know in in the New Testament Church and so that's  why it was so difficult for me too you know to be   able to truly understand truth was because you're  constantly being fed new stuff and new revelation   and new Commandments and new doctrine but that's  what I believed and I and I believe that these   men that sat at the head of that sat at the head  of this church were truly you know called by God   and that they truly delivered God's word and so  when I went to this Baptist Church and I was kind   of exposed to an aspect of Christianity that was  was foreign to me um even in the service it was   like hearing you know preaching and hearing you  know some testimonies hearing hymns I remember a   couple of the hymns that they saying one of them  was The Old Rugged Cross and I think one of them   was was nothing but the blood and just things  like that and being impacted by the words um   because it was so different you know from what  I had been taught my whole life and and I don't   want to like misrepresent or diminish Mormonism  in the sense of like Jesus was a significant part   of my life but Jesus only got you so far and  so you know if you asked a Mormon person did   Jesus die on the cross for your sins they would  say yes did he you know was he buried and raised   from the grave three days later yes like is he  the only way that you can be saved yes however   you can't you can't be saved without him but you  can't be saved only with him if that makes sense   I remember uh at at the end of the service uh  going up to the front of the stage and meeting   this pastor and his name was Pastor Benson and  I said pastor Benson we're missionaries from   the Mormon church and we'd like to sit down with  you we want to share a message with you and just   have a discussion with you about our faith and uh  every time I tell this story I think about this   man and I and I'm impacted by the genuine love  that he showed us and and if there's one thing   that I want to emphasize in my testimony it is the  power of God's love through his people you know   Jesus says that we are to love one another as he  has loved us by this we all people know that you   are my disciples if you have love one to another  and I'm so grateful that God put Christians in my   life when I was an unbeliever that loved me in  that way and I'm not talking about the world's   love I'm talking about biblical love biblical love  is sharing truth with the lost when truth is the   hard thing to hear and our world right now is the  opposite like we want to affirm everybody in their   sin and we want to just tell everybody that in  their lost state that they're okay and they're   where they should be but that that's the opposite  of love you know just like God's love for us like   if God didn't discipline us and correct us then  we would be like illegitimate children as it says   in Hebrews and so I went to this this pastor and  I was just like he poured love into us in a way   that like he treated us with kindness like with  respect with gentleness with compassion and it's   like well that seems so obvious but I had met  so many Christians that didn't do that and even   after I met with Pastor Benson I met a lot of  Christians that didn't treat me in that way and   it has been kind of a staple in my life and in my  Ministry sense that I am going to approach people   with genuine love and with compassion that doesn't  mean that I have to with withhold truth from them   it doesn't mean that I can't be a bold unabashed  witness of Christ it just means the way in which   I do it can be you know it can be loving it can be  compassionate and it can be gentle now now Micah   could you practically take us to through what that  encounter was like so you came up to him you're   ready to convert this guy you know this pastor  what was that interaction like and even when you   came up to him what exactly if you could if you  remember what did he say yeah so I mean basically   I went up to him I shook his hand you know he had  a big smile on his face and he introduced himself   and when I you know asked him if he'd like to sit  down and talk he just very kindly said I would   love to sit down and talk with you guys and and  even that is a lesson into itself because like how   many opportunities do we have like if the Jehovah  Witnesses come to your door on a Saturday morning   and they say hey I want to sit down and talk with  you about God in the Bible and your response is I   don't I don't want to or I don't want to bother  or you know you're not going to convert me well   have you ever thought about what God can do  through you for them you know like like he saw   this as an opportunity and and you know true love  to me is sharing Christ right that's the greatest   form of love that you can show anybody is by  opening the word of God and sharing with them   the Salvation that comes in Christ alone right to  me and so he saw that opportunity and so he just   like he he was just so kind and and and genuine  in this interaction we end up just scheduling a   time to come back and that's what we did I think  it was maybe the following day or maybe two days   later to kind of have a formal meeting to come  to his office and so my mission companion and   I we went back to the church and we sat down with  him across from his desk and we had like a formal   meeting and uh again like he he carried that same  Spirit of just love of of kindness of compassion   and I don't want to misconstrue that like it's not  that him being nice to us didn't mean that he was   endorsing us and what we did and and being kind  to other people is not an endorsement um because   that kindness leads us to share truth with them  now if we're kind and we don't share truth that's   not love right I mean Jesus came and he brought  Grace and Truth so he brought God's grace and   forgiveness through his offering on the cross but  he also brought truth right he's the LW ghost the   word of God and and and his word and the Bible and  and all that like he brought truth and that truth   it pierces and it convicts right it's sharper  than any two-edged sword and so we we ended up   like another unique thing about Pastor Benson and  how he interacted with us was he actually allowed   us kind of the opportunity to share our beliefs  with him without really interrupting us without   kind of you know having to feel like he had to go  tit fortad and and tell us why we are wrong about   certain points at certain times he just kind  of opened the floor and allowed us to share   our beliefs and that's another thing too that  I I was really impacted by because I felt that   he genuinely respected me and because of that  I kind of felt this obligation to reciprocate   that respect to him so after we kind of got done  with the chitchat uh we got down to business and   so we went through our presentation and really  the the if I could Define Mormonism or explain   kind of its principal precepts in the simplest way  it's that they teach that there are things that an   individual must do works that an individual must  perform and ordinances that an individual must   receive in addition to having faith in Jesus in  order to be saved so it's like it is a works-based   gospel which there is only one gospel but it's  it's it is another gospel and as Paul says if   anyone comes to you preaching a gospel other than  the one that we have preached let him be a cursed   and it was a gospel centered not on the finished  work of Christ but on the work of man and how we   could contribute to what Jesus had done for us  in addition to that there were extra Biblical   scriptures you know there were other things that  you know allowed Mormonism to kind of be set aside   as a very unique religion that was not part of  Orthodox Christianity and so we're sharing all   these things with him we're kind of sharing with  him the foundational Mormonism of its founder of   how it came to be we shared with him our claim  that the Mormon church was the only true church of   Jesus on the earth that it had the only Authority  by which mankind could be saved and so you know   in Sharing all this with him it was funny because  as I mentioned he didn't really kind of interact   with us as we were sharing he just you know uh  patiently sat and he respectfully listened and I   took that as a sign that like God was convicting  him the Holy Spirit was convicting him that what   we were sharing was true um which I came to  find out was not the case at all but after we   shared all these things with him I just remember  posing the question I said pastor Benson what do   you think like like what do you think about all  these things things do you have uh any thoughts   about this and um and the first thing he said was  he said I appreciate your Zeal I can tell that   you're passionate about what you believe and and I  would Echo that like I think that that Mormons are   some of the most genuine sincere zealous people um  for the god that they believe in and I wish more   Christians had that type of zeal like in that type  of desire in their hearts to want to share what   they believe with other people but then he said  the thing that was like like like a bullet to the   heart and he said but the message you've shared  with me it's not the gospel of Christ and he said   that just very plainly and you know talking  about Love Like Love sometimes is sharing the   truth when the truth needs to be shared even when  you know that truth is going to deeply offend or   conflict with somebody's deeply held religious  beliefs or any beliefs and um how such a hard   thing for me to hear well what is he mean what I  shared isn't the gospel this is the only gospel   like we're the only ones that have the truth and  that's when he proceeded to do something that no   human being that I had ever met up to that point  in my life had done and that was he shared with   me the true saving gospel of Christ so I sat there  as this 19-year-old zealous Mormon missionary um   and and I heard the truth of the word of God in a  way that it had never been presented to me before   what was unique about Pastor Benson's approach  was not that he shared this big elaborate message   you know in all these religious words and and and  he didn't take the opportunity to try to you know   share things in a way that were from his own words  he just opened up the Bible and read the word of   God to us there's so much power in that and and  even as a Christian sometimes I forget like God's   word is living and active and sharper than any  two-edged sword it divides Soul and Spirit it   discerns the thoughts and the intents of the  heart and sometimes you know we think it's our   elegant words of speech you know that are going  to convince people and yet the word of God has an   intrinsic power and that word of God was delivered  to me that day and it's it's an experience that   I'll never forget and I remember there there were  just certain verses that he shared with me that   like to this day I I I have never forgotten  one of them was Ephesians 28:9 it says for by   Grace you have been saved through faith faith and  this is not your own doing it is the gift of God   not a result of works so that no one can boast  and I think one of the other ones was Titus 3:   4 and 5 that says that when the goodness and  the loving kindness of God our savior appeared   he saved us not because of Works done by us and  righteousness but according to his own mercy and   and what Pastor Benson did was he started to paint  a picture that was in stark contrast to the gospel   that I knew and was taught growing up and the  gospel that I was going out and evangelizing every   day as a Mormon missionary and it was simply that  all mankind is is sinful and because of our sin   we have fallen short of the glory of God and we've  transgressed God's law and therefore we are we are   guilty of damnation and yet God in his mercy and  his love and in his grace He sent Jesus to stand   in our place as our substitute and to do for us  what we could not do for ourselves what the law   could never do on our behalf and that was that he  took the burden of the law upon himself and then   he bore in his body our sins on the tree so that  we could die to that sin and live to righteousness   and by his wounds we could be healed and so when  he went up on the cross he literally paid in full   measure the sin debt of all mankind and that  through faith in him we could be justified like   we could be declared righteous we could have all  of our our sins washed away and removed as far   as the East is from the West and God's love for  each one of us was that deep and that vast and   that wide and that immeasurable that wasn't a love  that I understood at that point in my life it was   a love that I was seeking for but it wasn't a love  that I could even comprehend because the God that   I knew like his love for me it was conditional it  was contingent upon my righteousness and goodness   and my ability to you know follow the the tenants  of this religion and was not something that was   freely off offered me in the person of Jesus  Christ and yet Pastor Benson was making it clear   you cannot earn your salvation you cannot work  for it there's nothing you can do to contribute   to it and there's nothing you can do to add to it  all you can do is turn and face Christ and trust   that he alone has done everything necessary to  make you right with God and that if you do then   you will have the guarantee of your eternal  life you'll have the assurance that your sins   are forgiven and covered and washed away through  the blood of Christ and that message was it was   difficult thing for me to comprehend because it  seemed too good to be true for one and I think   for a lot of the world it's like well that just  seems so simple but that's what's so beautiful   about the gospel that's why it's good news to  the world is because God has removed the onus   of our Salvation from ourselves and he's put it on  Christ Jesus and all he said is turn and look you   know God so loved the world that he gave his only  begotten son that whoever believes in him would   not perish but have eternal life and that's what  I wanted but I couldn't accept that God's love for   me was was that great and I couldn't accept that  salvation was that simple because in my religious   mind I couldn't remove myself from the equation of  my own salvation because I thought that's not fair   like I'm doing all these things I'm such a good  person I'm I'm working so hard I'm I'm proving to   God my worthiness through my actions and you got  all these other people that think they can just   throw their head in the air and say that they're  saved and yet we get the same reward well that's   not fair well that's the whole point of the  Gospel it's not fair it's not fair for us and   that's a good thing because we deserve death and  condemnation and Damnation and eternal hell that's   what we deserve that's what we're guilty of and  it wasn't fair for Jesus because he was given the   punishment for our sins even though he was perfect  and blameless and yet his Perfection and and his   righteousness was given to us freely and that was  put on us in Love by God because he wants us to be   right with him and I remember my response to this  message was was really I just looked at Pastor   Benson and I said well that just seems too simple  like it seems too good to be true like how can you   say that we're simply saved by grace alone and  as a Mormon growing up and and you know I can't   speak for all Mormons but for me I kind of had I  I kind of mocked the idea of the Evangelical Grace   because I thought that like Christians saw Grace  as a as like a free pass right um that it was a   license to sin a license to do whatever you want  and of course for those of us in Christ we know   that's not what Grace is Right Grace does not give  us a license to sin God's God's grace in Christ it   it creates in us a new heart it transforms us  it makes us new from the inside out if anyone   is in Christ who the new creation it changes our  desires our passions what we want to do and it's   not like it's like an orphan child that God takes  and and finds in the gutters and he pulls him off   the streets and brings him into his household  and he gives him every right and every honor and   every he that his sons have like that's what God  does with us so that kid's response to God is hey   let me see how far I can push God right it's not  let me see how disobedient I can be and God still   loves me it's no like it changes your behavior and  and so I I couldn't like even comprehend that that   like God would love me outside of like me doing  good things for him to be loved and so the meeting   ended with this pastor giving me a very simple  but ultimately a life-changing Challenge and   that challenge was go home and read the Bible for  yourself and I remember he said specifically read   it like a child and I think what that meant was  just to remove my religious preconceived notions   right remove the Mormon lenses through which I  would see truth and God and Jesus in the Bible   and just um allow the word of God to speak for  itself I was so convicted and angry um by this   encounter with this pastor and and I I want  to clarify it's not because this pastor was   mean or deliberately offensive or anything it's  because I was offended by truth and it's been a   lesson to me that when we share truth with people  and we do it in love and their response is not   positive and sometimes it's negative that's okay  like we can't control that and um Pastor Benson   couldn't control how I responded all he could  do is what he was called to do and that's to   plant and water seeds of the gospel and so I went  back to my missionary apartment and I considered   his challenge um not really because I thought  that taking the challenge was going to change   my life because I thought I already had the truth  right so I wasn't looking for any outside of my   religion I wasn't looking for truth outside of  Mormonism because I wholeheartedly believed that   I had everything I needed in that religion but I  did kind of have this fear that I was going to go   through the next two years of my life as a Mormon  missionary and I would keep having encounters with   Evangelical Christians who kind of you know would  Bible bash and I wouldn't really be able to defend   my faith and so I kind of figured I'll read the  Bible it'll give me a better understanding of   what the Bible teaches so that I can use the Bible  against you know the Baptists and you know these   other Evangelical Christians but that started a  work in my life that in a million years I never   would have expected was going to happen and for  one that's just a testimony that God reaches us   where we are even when we're not looking to be  found I started reading the Bible just because   I thought the Bible was going to convince me  more so that Mormonism was everything that it   claimed to be but God's word started to pour into  my heart like God's truth started to open my eyes   to something and so I started reading the Bible as  a Mormon missionary and we had this uh time of of   study every morning and we had about two hours  and so I would sit down at my desk and I would   generally I would kind of do my Mormon studies  and do the Book of Mormon and do you know the   stuff that I was supposed to but the more that  I read the Bible the more I kind of set those   things aside and I really just became consumed by  reading the Bible itself and in particular I was   reading the New Testament I made a commitment to  read from Matthew to Revelation for the first time   of my life I'd never done that all the way through  and so I started and I remember getting to the end   of Revelation and I just said to myself I want  more and so I started to read again it wasn't   like anything I read like all of a sudden changed  my life I didn't have like some singular Epiphany   reading through the New Testament one time but I  did sense that it was feeding me something that   I wanted more of and even though I didn't fully  understand it God was doing something in my heart   like like he was beginning to reveal Christ to  me in a way that I had never before known him   I started reading the New Testament again and I  did this for 20 consecutive months like I would   read sometimes my entire two-hour study block and  then I'd read you know during my lunch breaks and   my dinner breaks and I'd read in my bed at night  before I was consumed by God's word and in total I   ended up reading the New Testament uh 12 times  over those 20 months what God was doing in my   heart was he was revealing to me ultimately the  same thing that Pastor Benson had so passionately   shared with me and that was that Christ Alone  was sufficient to save me from my sins and that   the work that he had finished on the cross  that he had done everything necessary for my   salvation and all he was doing was asking me to  trust that Jesus was enough it was a terrifying   thing because I was still this faithful Mormon  missionary and I'm still going out wearing my   name tag you know that represents myself to the  world as as a Mormon and yet God was doing this   miraculous transformation in my heart and he was  opening my eyes and like the only analogy I can   think is like the blind man in John chapter n  where Jesus spits in the ground and he makes   mud and he puts mud in The Blind Man's eyes and  then he asks him to go wash in the pool of syum   and he washes the mud out with the water and  it's like then he can finally see it's like I   had mud put in my eyes and yet through the water  of the word of God like God began to open my eyes   to Jesus and and to his word and to the gospel in  a way that I had never before known but in a way   that I was so drawn to and um my whole life I had  had this kind of gaping hole and there was a void   and that void I was constantly trying to fill by  being good right it's like well I don't feel like   I'm at peace with God therefore I need to read my  scriptures for more I need to go to church more   I need to to pray more I need to pay more tithing  I you know I just need to be better better better   and it was like no matter what I did it was never  enough until God revealed the person of Christ to   me through his word and then for the first time  in my life that that void was filled like Christ   became the sufficiency for my every need I got  to the point where I had about 3 weeks left of   my two-year Mormon Mission and after reading the  word of God for 20 months I finally recognize that   Jesus was the only way that I could be saved that  he was the answer to my every problem and he is   for every human being like he is the answer to  every human condition I remember just pleading   with God to save me like coming to the end of my  rope and just telling him I can't do it anymore   you know like I can't I can't be good enough for  you but I trust that Christ is enough for me and   um I cried out to God and as the word says that  whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be   saved that if you confess with your mouth that  Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God   has raised him from the dead you will be saved and  that's what I did I confessed and I believed I put   my hope and my trust and my faith in Christ alone  and I set aside all of my you know religiosity and   all of my legalism and all of my phical mindset  and mentality and all the works of my religion   and I turned to Christ and I trusted that he alone  was enough for me and by the grace of God I was   born again supernaturally I I became a new person  like God changed me um gave me a new heart gave   me an assurance gave me a joy a hope a peace that  I could never find in the world I remember on my   my morm mission reading John chapter 6 and it says  that where he says I am the bread of life whoever   comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes  in me shall never thirst and just feeling like for   the first time of my life this immense burden had  been lifted from my shoulders that I had had the   weight of my sin and the weight of the law and  all these things and it it was crushing me under   its tremendous weight and yet Jesus came and he  released me from that and uh so if the sun sets   you free you are free indeed and so I found that  freedom in Christ alone but I was terrified at   the same time because I now I was this Born Again  believer I didn't even understand like you know   the cultural ramifications of what it meant to  be a quote unquote Christian I just knew through   God's word that he had saved me through the power  of His Son but I was still a Mormon missionary   and um and I had three weeks left and I remember  just I'm like God what am I going to do now like   there's no way I can finish the 3 weeks of my  mission and go door too and like basically live   a lie um because I no longer believe in you know  the the principal aspects of Mormonism anymore my   faith was now in Christ alone and I was certainly  no Theologian I didn't you know understand a lot   but what I did understand was Christ had saved  me and he was enough uh for me from then and   forever and were you sharing this as far as the  people that were around you at this time were you   sharing this with anybody or with was this just  happening between you and God alone or were your   friends knowing about what was happening yeah so  I was beginning to I think bear fruit right of   what God was doing in my life but I but it wasn't  deliberate like because I didn't even have a full   understanding like I didn't really know until the  very end until like that day that I became born   again that all of the things that God was teaching  me and all the things that I learned through his   word like fully contradicted the Mormon church  right that the whole fundamental Foundation of of   Mormonism was not true that it was built on you  know a Sandy Foundation that was not the saving   gospel of Christ I didn't even realize that fully  until that moment however as God was revealing his   love to me his grace to me his his Mercy to me his  truth to me through his word like I was starting   to share that with other people I was sharing  it with my family members with my you know my   girlfriend who was back in Utah I was sharing it  you know with my mission Companions and people   that I was meeting um not really understanding  what it meant but I just couldn't contain it   within myself and so now I was in a very difficult  predicament though because I'm like well H how do   I continue on without incriminating myself and and  you know just being candid like I didn't want you   know the the punishment of my leadership I didn't  want the embarrassment of you know having become   an apostate and I didn't really know what to do or  how God was going to get me out of the situation   and really quick Michael for those who don't know  um when you when you mentioned punishment right   and you mentioned the term even apostate you  becoming uh Evangelical Christian what did that   mean from your understanding of the consequences  of that what are those consequence consequences   when a Mormon turns into an Evangelical Christian  yeah I mean there there are certain core beliefs   that you have to have to be considered worthy  in the Mormon church if you have those beliefs   then you know you have the opportunity through  righteous living to eventually make it to heaven   right to to to be eternally in the presence of  God um if you forsake that you you lose your   opportunity to live eternally in the presence of  God you lose the highest level of Heaven you lose   um you know even your family you can lose your  friends you can lose um you know the respect   and AD admiration of your community people can  lose jobs they can lose you know even marriages   you know fall apart children like I mean it it  has severe ramifications because you're seen as   somebody who is no longer you know in the truth  and in the true church and and and somebody who's   even saved at that point and so I had that fear  myself of you know how how are people going to   perceive me but I was not in fear for my salvation  and I knew that it did not matter what man did   or a man said because they could not take away  what God had irrevocably given me in Christ and   that's the hope that all of us Believers should  have now God put me in a very unique situation   because it's it's a tradition that when you're  about to conclude your two-year mission trip   okay and I was just at this point I'd become  born again I had three weeks left right that   you have this opportunity as a kind of seasoned  veteran missionary where you stand publicly and   give kind of a departing testimony so you stand in  front of like 60 Mormon missionaries your Mormon   leadership and you share with them what you've  learned throughout the course of your mission and   it's kind of used as this exercise to um Inspire  right the younger missionaries and so I had this   opportunity and this is like 2 days after I'd  become born again and now I'm supposed to share   a public testimony and so I I got up there and  just to God's glory to his strength and by his   grace I shared what God had done in my life and  and I publicly declared the Salvation that I had   found in Christ alone and uh basically said that  you know I didn't need any church or religious   institution or man or authority or anything to  be saved that I had found the security and the   Assurance of my salvation in Jesus Christ alone  and that I'd come to know for the first time of   my life that I was saved and I was forgiven and  that was not in me boasting of myself and it's not   because of what I had done for God it's because  I had finally recognized what what God had done   for me and sending Jesus Christ to die for my sins  and uh you know there was uh definitely a a mixed   reaction um by the audience but you could tell  that it it did impact some people other people   were shocked I think my my leader uh didn't even  know how to respond to that but uh I didn't know   what the ramifications were going to be um and  then just a couple days later my Mormon leader   who is present during that testimony called me up  and he said we need to talk and uh and I quickly   knew that like I could no longer hide what God  had done in my life and and I knew that I no   longer believed in you know certain pillars of of  the Mormon testimony and of the Mormon faith and   that denying those things would mean like losing  everything right I I I would be disfellowshipped   possibly excommunicated from the church um  I would lose my scholarship uh at at Brigham   Young University I would lose my relationships  potentially with my family you know my friends my   community um just everything like my entire life's  Foundation had been built upon you know my Zeal   in this religious system and I was so afraid of  losing those things I was so afraid of giving up   uh the things that I had known and loved for the  sake of Christ but I also knew that what I haden't   had found in Christ I couldn't find anywhere else  I I found that strength from God's word you know   that that he would sustain me and that he was  sufficient and that if I trusted in him that it   didn't matter what I lose and that's the beauty  of of what Jesus offers is it doesn't matter what   we give up or what we walk away from or at what  cost comes our discipleship you know just like   Paul said you know that that what he had found in  Christ it surpassed everything else you know that   that whatever gain that he has that it it counts  as nothing compared to the surpassing worth that   he's found in Christ Jesus alone and and that  resonated with me as well and so I told my   Mormon leader you know face to face we had like a  three-hour meeting um where I basically told him I   I I don't need anything or anyone but Christ to be  saved and and I trust that what he's done for me   is enough to bring me into right standing with God  and and I don't need the Mormon church anymore or   it's leadership or it's prophets or it's doctrines  or man-made you know Commandments to to know that   I'm right with God that that I'm right with God  through um the Son of God Jesus Christ and um   you know his response to me was basically that I  was being deceived you know that I was believing   in a false gospel that I was being led astray by  Satan uh he actually told me that I was filled   with the spirit of the devil um he threaten to  excommunicate me and then at that point my mission   was concluded I was put on a plane the following  day and I was sent home I was deemed unworthy uh   to continue on as a Mormon missionary and I then  had to go face more disciplinary Council uh in   Utah I had to face my leadership there and uh  you know shared my testimony again of what God   had done in my life uh it was I I was 21 at the  time and it was frightening to face my parents   my mom at the time was a tenur professor at BYU  my dad was a high priest in the Mormon Church my   older brothers had Faithfully served Mormon  missions um and I had to tell them that I no   longer believed in the religion in which they had  raised me that I no longer believed that it was   the way to Salvation And I remember being home  with my parents and just telling them mom and   dad I I just want you to read the Bible like I I  want you to know what I've come to know and like   that's my heart as a Believer after 18 years and  and should be the heart of all of us and that's   that we just want people to have in Christ what  we have found in Christ I mean that's why we're   called to the Great Commission right to go out  and Proclaim you know the the gospel to all of   creation because I know what Jesus offers I know  the freedom that he gives I know what he's done I   know the burden of sin that he's borne for me and  and I want other people to have that and I want   other people to know him and for me at least like  when I first came to Salvation I wanted the people   that I loved the most to know Jesus first it was  my family right it was my parents and my siblings   and I just gave them that challenge read the Bible  like a child I gave that challenge to my siblings   as well and God began to work in their hearts  and lives and begin to you know do miraculous   things in in the people around me and one thing  I've learned is that God God's return God's word   does not return void they know that accomplishes  that which is set out to accomplish but faith   comes through hearing and hearing through the word  of Christ and how are they to hear unless someone   preaches like we have to share the gospel like  in love we have to open our mouths and Proclaim   truth to the lost and my family was lost and I  wanted them to be found and to be brought out   of Darkness into you know God's glorious light and  so um the first person that God actually redeemed   in my kind of inner circle of life was actually my  high school Mormon girlfriend uh we had fallen in   love in high school we had been devout Mormons  together when I was on my mission in Florida   she was at BYU in Utah and when I was undergoing  through this transformation through the power of   God's word I was writing her emails um that was  and handwritten letters that was the only way   we were allowed to communicate we had very strict  communication rules and once a week I was allowed   to write handwritten letters to people outside  of my immediate family and so I started to share   with her what what God was doing in my life and  encourage her to read the Bible and so when she   was a student at a Mormon University she began  reading the word of God and God changed her life   and and and she was born again to a Living Hope  through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and she   got saved and so when I got home off my mission  she and I actually God brought us back together   both as New Creations in Christ Jesus and uh we  ended up running away and we moved to Florida and   we eloped at Disney World um 18 years ago and God  began uh you know a work in our lives and a in a   Ministry to to share the gospel with the Lost God  began to work in my parents' lives my siblings my   older brother Matt and my younger sister Katie  uh through the power of God's word also came to   saving faith in Jesus Christ and uh have since  been born again and have dedicated their lives   to the ministering of God's word to the lost my  parents Michael and Lynn they had everything in   the world to lose I mean my mom would lose her  tene position at a prestigious University they   would lose everything that they knew and loved my  dad would most likely lose his business and all   of his clientele and this life of Mormonism that  they had worked so hard to build um but they were   open to that challenge and I think they were more  Curious than anything else as to what had caused   me the willingness to walk away from everything  and that something was Jesus and Jesus is worth   the loss of all things and it doesn't matter what  we sacrifice for Christ because in him we have the   sufficiency of our every need and so God began to  work in their hearts and they begin to read the   Bible and and over the course of about a year and  a half my mother and father also came to a saving   knowledge of Jesus Christ that that he alone could  save them in a way that their religion never could   and my mother uh resigned her ten yourip at BYU  they left their comfortable lives in Alpine Utah   they moved to Florida uh and started all over in  their mid-50s were literally born again uh um I'm   so grateful to God for finding me for giving me  life when when I was dead he can do that for any   person like that's that's the beauty of the Gospel  is that it it is it is without prejudice like like   there's no person or individual or situation  or lifestyle or religion from which God cannot   redeem a person and mine was Mormonism but there  are millions of testimonies out there and yet each   one of those testimonies leads us all to the same  place and that is Christ and and his love and his   word and his truth and and I'm so grateful that  God you know redeemed me and just like that lost   sheep on the mountain side that that he found  me and he put me on his shoulders and uh and he   carried me to safety and I just give him all the  praise and all the glory Micah who is Jesus to you Jesus is my salvation he is My Redeemer he  is the word he is the only one that could save   me and he is the one that stepped in my place  and went on the cross and bore my sins in his   body so that I could be saved he's everything  he's enough Micah I'm sure that as you were   going door too and even besides that as you were  sharing Mormonism with other people that there   were some that you converted or there were  some that said you know what I believe in   this I want to join this what would you say to  that person that's watching right now and said   hey I remember him I gave my life to Mormonism  because of him what would you say to that person   who's watching right now I I gave my heart and  soul to the Mormon church I gave my heart and   soul to trying to convince people people that  it was the only way to they could be saved and   that they could find peace with God but I found  something infinitely and eternally greater than   a religion than Mormonism and that something is  Christ that's something greater than the temple   is here and I have found the very thing that I  was trying to seek for in Mormonism I have found   that peace and I have found that Redemption and  that forgiveness that I never could have in that   religion and I I want you to find that as well  I want you to know that all of those things in   religion they cannot save and they cannot bring  you into a right standing with God that only   trusting in Jesus alone can and I want people  to know with the same veracity that I had for   Mormonism I I want to have a greater Zeal for a  greater truth that is found in Jesus alone now   Micah do you still have relationship with that  Pastor the Baptist pastor that uh evangelized to   you I do I do um when I first got saved I uh I I  looked him up on the Internet he he was no longer   at that church and I found him and uh somehow I  found a way to contact him and I called him and   I said pastor Benson my name is Micah Wilder  you might remember me as Elder Wilder uh do   you remember me and he said oh I remember you  and I shared my testimony with him and it was   a very tear fill tear filled uh experience for  both of us and one of the things that he shared   with me that I've never forgotten to this day  that I think is an encouragement and should be   an encouragement to us he said I walked away from  that meeting with you feeling like nothing I said   made any impact on you wow and he walked away  feeling like it was a failed experience and that   he hadn't Faithfully done anything according to  God's word because of my reaction because I was   angry at him I was convicted it's just been an  awesome encouragement to me because I've shared   the gospel with a lot of people I've shared the  gospel personally with hundreds if not thousands   of Mormons uh including my own family my in-laws  I have a lot of friends and people that are in   my inner circle of life that still don't know  Christ and it's easy to be frustrated um but to   remember that if if we share God's word and we  plant seeds and love of his truth that God can   do amazing things with that and I'm grateful for  pastor Benson for I'm grateful for his dedication   to God's word and for his love for me that he  saw me not as some helpless hopeless Mormon   missionary that could never be saved but he saw  me as a potential fruit of the gospel and the   gospel message and so he's been one of my closest  friends to this day we stay in communication often   and I just praise God for him in my life amen  Michel for those who are watching right now and   are wanting what you have you know they want that  freedom they want uh that relationship with Jesus   uh maybe they're connecting to different parts of  your testimony and want that could you pray for   those who are watching right now whatever  God puts in your heart to pray over them yeah Heavenly Father we we praise you and thank  you that you've even given us the right to be   called your children I know there's a lot  of people watching this testimony that want   a relationship with you they they want to be  identified as a son or a daughter of God they   want to be adopted into your household they want  to have the Assurance of the Forgiveness of their   sins of knowing that they have peace with you  of knowing that they they can rest from their   works and that they can lay the burden of their  sin at the foot of the cross father I pray for   those people right now I pray that they will be  drawn to you through your Holy Spirit I pray that   they will go to your word and open up your word  and that they will just Feast on the bread of   life that they will come to know that Jesus  can fill every void and every need in their   lives that they will know that that relationship  with Jesus is is of more value than anything that   this world could ever offer and that he is more  valuable than anything that they could ever lose   father we we know that no one comes to you no  one comes to Jesus unless the father who sent   him draws them and we know that you're drawing so  many people into a relationship with you and into   your truth and we just ask that that you will  work in the hearts of these people right now   through the power of your Holy Spirit That You  Will Open the Eyes of the blind that you will   uh give hearing to the deaf and that you will  give life to the dead father and we love you   and we know that you alone are enough in Jesus  name we pray amen amen Micah any last words for   people who are watching your testimony right  now if you're a afraid of losing something or   giving something up or a cost that may come from  knowing Jesus let me tell you that he's worth it   that that what you will find in Christ will be of  greater value than anything in this world than any   relationship than any burden of sin that you may  have than any lifestyle that is not according to   the word of God that giving that up for the sake  of Christ it is and will always be worth the trade   and that you will find life in him that that you  cannot find anywhere else and Jesus came to give   life and to give it abundantly and that doesn't  mean an abundance of worldly things it doesn't   mean an abundance of comfort in this world it  means the spiritual life that he gives us and   the promise that we have that we will be in his  kingdom forever and that's what God has offered   me and and all the things that I lost in my  previous life of religion I I consider those   things as lost compared to what I have found in  Jesus Christ alone and I would just encourage you   to hold on to Christ and trust him and that  he will give you everything that you've ever needed hey everybody I hope the new testimony  has blessed you has encouraged you just wanted   to let you know that if you are in need of  help that we have people that are are ready   to speak with you so down in the description  box below in the comment section uh if you're   watching from YouTube if you're listening  from our podcast just look for the link   that says talk to someone who cares click on  that fill out the form and somebody will get   in contact with you locally now this is  only available to people in the US right   now but we are working to get resources for  our International viewers and listeners but   for right now if you are in us and you need help  you need to talk with somebody please fill out   that form and somebody will reach out to you  God bless you and we'll see you on the next testimony

Channel: Delafé Testimonies

Views: 434,953

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Id: F7luUgzwNwE

Length: 71min 40sec (4300 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 19 2024