| Question |
Donny:
As a former member of the RLDS Church, I was wondering if many people who have
left that church (because of recent changes) have sought out the LDS Church
because of similarities. I joined the RLDS Church when I was twelve years old
because it was my stepmother's church and I wanted to attend church with my
father. That was 31 years ago. It felt so good to belong to a church as I
had spent very little time in church before that. I remember my baptism and
confirmation, as well as my patriarchal blessing, as if they happened yesterday.
My husband and I were married in my church, but when the church made several
drastic changes, we made the difficult decision to leave the church. Many of
our church friends have joined one of the splinter churches as a result of the
changes and encouraged us to join them, but we declined. And the recent name
change really bothers me. Back to my original
question, are members of the RLDS Church attending and/or investigating the
LDS Church because of all of the doctrinal changes?
|
| Response |
The answer to
that question is that the church does not keep those statistics, probably because it would serve to act as an irritant if it was recorded and
published. As to how many RLDS (or Catholics, or Baptists, or Presbyterians) had joined the church in any year, we don’t know.
You went on to tell me that you joined the RLDS church when you were 12 because it was your stepmother's church and that took place 31 years
ago. You told me that during the years that you were growing up you were probably more fascinated with the LDS church then your own, and
wondered if you were in the right pew, but the wrong church. You told further that when you visited Palmyra, you were very moved by the Hill
Cumorah pageant. You then went on to tell me that you are now Lutheran, which is the church that your husband was raised in, and that you
made the decision out of obligation for raising your children in a church, but still feel that there is something
spiritually missing in your life.
I don't recall knowing any former RLDS person. Knowing however that there are many former members of the RLDS church (now, the Community of Christ)who feel like
you do, and may have been somewhat disillusioned to watch, over the years, the unprecedented growth of the church, while their own did not grow
in the same fashion. In the mean time, I was wondering if you would like me to send two of our missionaries to visit with you and your
husband, to provide some additional information that you might need so that you will know for yourself exactly what it is that we believe and why
and to determine for yourself whether it would be worth pursuing. If you would like me to do so, please email to me your address and telephone
number and I will have them call on you.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
See related multimedia presentations
|
