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The Morman Experience '98 |
| Written by John Wells | |
| Saturday, 01 March 2008 | |
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Share it:      John was in his room one Wednesday afternoon in late November sitting in the red chair beside the window. He had just been reading some Buddhist teachings concerning the heart. He believed that the heart, at its core, has purity, which is eternal. As he meditated, he saw the heart as a series of layers within layers. At the center of these layers is the truly unveiled heart, something of intense brightness, the center of the universe, the energy of the cosmos, the throne of God, the universal consciousness, the purist of Light. John had been to that center almost ten years ago when he was investigating the Mormon Church. At that time, he desired to become a member. He had revealed many things to the church elders regarding his lifestyle, and the church elders, in a round about way, encouraged him to stay away from the church. This is how it happened. It was a Sunday morning, church day. The evening before, John had done something sinful to his soul. A friend of his, named Billy, had invited him over to his house. It was Billy’s birthday and he said, “Come on over John. There is just myself and my Mom here. We have hot dogs and chocolate ice cream ready to eat, and my dog, Harley, is eager see you.” At first John was reluctant to go because he was going to try and break off all his ties with his former friends and make a fresh start in forming new acquaintances with members of the church, but thus far, church members were still apprehensive of his motives for converting to the faith, or so he thought. John decided to go and see Billy and have some fun. Billy and his mother were poor. They lived in a basement suite near the highway and the ceilings were low. But Billy and his mother could always give John a sense of being at home. As Billy and John sat and waited for Billy’s mother to cook the hot dogs, Billy pulled out a marijuana cigarette and offered it to John. John, whom at this time, really knew this behavior was in conflict to God’s laws, went ahead and partook of the ‘forbidden fruit’. Shortly after the event, John felt extremely guilt-ridden. He went out into a field nearby and began to weep. Harley, the dog caught up with him in the bush and began tenderly licking John’s face. John thought to himself, saying, “why does all of this have to be wrong? Where is the ‘unconditional’ love from above? Look at the love Harley gives me. She does not prejudice who I am or what I do. She loves me as I am.” John began to believe that this would be the last time he would see Billy and his mother. He got up from the bushes and quickly and somewhat regrettably told Billy that he must leave. Billy knew that he was trying to change and he said, “Well, you do what is best for yourself, John.” And at that, John returned home, went to bed very early, and began to repent of his sin. He found himself awakened during parts of the night in a state of half-crying half-whimpering. Then, when Sunday morning arose, he decided he would phone the elders. He was confident he had successfully shed this habit of his former self, and was looking forward to this new day. “I’m ready to come to church today,” he said to elder on the phone. The elder responded, “I’m sorry John, but that will not be a good idea.” “What’s going on?” inquired John in a puzzled tone. “Some of the members… They have speaking about you. I really can’t say what it is about,” replied the elder. “Well look. You can’t stop me from coming.”…John remembered reading this somewhere. (Later he would find this scripture in the book of Mormon.) “This is true,” remarked the elder, “but if you do come, we may ask you to leave.” John hung up the phone. He was somewhat perplexed and amused at what had occurred. In fact, he started to laugh. He could not believe it. It made no sense, and this was probably why it was so funny to him. A few days later, he took up the newspaper and read his horoscope. Under his sign, it said, “a monumental mistake has been made on your behalf." He knew this was true. The elder’s home address was in Monument Beach, Maine, U.S.A. It was now maybe three weeks later, and one warm June evening, John drove one of his roommates to work. On his way back home, he drove around the back of the church and something astonishing happened. He saw the cross of the church. The cross was big and very much in his face. When John perceived the cross in this way, something trembled in his heart. He sensed a kind of fear. It was like the finger of God reaching within him and poking his heart. This was perhaps the most conscious uplifting moment in his adult life. That night upon sleeping, John had a magical dream. In the dream, two Jehovah’s witnesses came to his door. John said to them. “Jesus is the Light,” and as he did so, he found himself speaking a most eloquent prayer to God. As he continued, he experienced, firsthand, a great feeling of joy, which washed his entire insides with waves of happiness. All that was happening inside him was the essence of pure white light consuming his entire self. For a moment, he was one with God, one with the Light. He was the light itself. He had merged with incorruption. Coming out of the prayer, he asked the Jehovah’s witnesses, “What happened?” One of them replied, “that was Joseph Smith.” So John realized he had gained a testimony of Joseph Smith, and this is what the book of Mormon had promised upon careful examination of its content. John had one big question which never could be answered, but should have been according to the scriptures. It was concerning the Holy Spirit. The Mormon’s claim that when one is baptized, one has the Holy Spirit as their constant companion whom is always prompting them to good spiritual deeds, to revelations, to knowledge, to miracles of healing, etc. And John said to himself. “well now, why did not one member out of the whole congregation come forward and tell me that they knew what I experienced? Or, why did not one member invite me back to the church? Would not the Holy Spirit communicate this prompting to one member? Did not Jesus, when He was on the earth, appoint people to become apostles and disciples, and did He not give that power to others? Why couldn’t they see that I was one with them? How could they be so blind? I can only conclude that the whole experience was a product of my own creative imagination. Many people are called, but few are chosen. God called me in my mind, but I was not chosen, for if I were, today I would be a member. Everyone would know, everyone should know according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” Long after the Mormon experience, John had read of many people who had similar ecstatic experiences in other religious sects. They all testified of encountering a divine touch, a meeting with something in another realm. Some of these people continued to have God like intercourses throughout their lives. For John, this was a once in a lifetime adventure. Copyright 2008 John Wells |
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