Mentoring Handbook Introduction

25 May

Before we get into the actual “study” part of this Mentoring Handbook, I feel there is one critical point to understand about the ex-Mormon before you begin.

When I left Mormonism after thirty years, it didn’t take me long to realize that every single thing I knew in life was a lie.

Everything from food and clothing to the English language has to be re-evaluated by the person leaving the Church.  Because they have lived in a state of fear of losing salvation and sometimes jobs, families and homes which can produce paranoia, sometimes there is a great amount of confusion in their minds.  Threats, whether real or implied, have been the main meal of doctrine they’ve been fed.  In this religion the meaning of words and information from the “outside” has been twisted by leaders of the Church in order to control the members.  Being taught you will lose salvation by not belonging to their church is a threat and a scary process to have to endure.

The length of time and level of activity spent in the Church typically determines how long it’ll take to work through the exodus of Mormonism.

I spent thirty years in Mormonism.  I was born and raised inOgden,Utahwithin mainstream Mormonism.  I was a sixth generation, devout, active member up until the time I leftUtahat the age of eighteen.  From that time until I “officially left”, I spent twelve plus years trying to figure out how to leave without becoming a “whore of Babylon” and lived in fear of the Mormon Church.

After I got saved it took me a few years of intense study before I finally felt that I had truly escaped.  There was a lot of baggage needing to be unpacked.

This handbook is not intended for you to spend a decade with this person during their exodus.  Instead, it is meant to give you a basic outline and ideas of introducing the ex-Mormon into their new life.   There are twenty chapters with each chapter touching upon core Mormon doctrines.

We compare each of those Mormon doctrines with biblical Christianity and provide a short homework section at the end of each chapter.

A few ex-Mormons may need to see a professional counselor.  Please know your limits as well as their needs.  If you’re not a trained psychiatrist or psychologist we highly suggest you help them find one if or when needed.

This doesn’t mean you can’t help them with the doctrinal issues.  This is what the Mentoring Handbook is designed for!  When the ex-Mormon learns why Mormonism is not biblically correct it provides reassurance they didn’t imagine the crazy beliefs of Mormonism while helping them to spiritually denounce the old tapes of incorrect doctrine.

No matter their needs, the entire exodus will take time and the caring heart of a good friend or family member to lean upon.  When our Lord is in charge the end results are priceless!

Below are direct links to each chapter in the Mentoring Handbook.

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Mentoring Handbook by Chapter

1. Prayer

2. What is a Christian?

3. Who Then is God?

4. The Truth about Jesus

5. The Holy Spirit and His Residence

6. Will the One True Church Please Stand Up?

7. The Truth about the Bible

8. The Truth about the Triple Combination

9. Mormon Terminology/Word Studies

10. Guilt and Shame

11. Denouncing Mormonism

12. Gospel Ordinances (Law) vs. Grace

13. Assurance of Our Salvation

14. Fundamentals of Mormonism: Is it a Lie or is it Biblical?

15. They Need a Church

16. Getting Baptized…Again!/

17. Bearing Your Testimony

18. The Authority and Priesthood Issue

19. The Influence of Joseph Smith

20. The Romans Road

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4 Responses to “Mentoring Handbook Introduction”

  1. fred May 25, 2012 at 5:40 pm #

    I am sorry you found your experiences with the LDS people to be so bad. Being a convert I never experienced what you say you did in growing up: I have never felt like I had to be a member to be a part of a society. The nature of my work meant that the longest I was on one job was for twelve years and the shortest was only a couple of months. Of the many different jobs I had I never felt like my being LDS help me, on the contrary, I found the reverse to be true. There are a lot of bosses in northern Utah that are uncomfortable around Mormon “do gooders”.

    I will take some time and go through your handbook to see if there is anything in addition to what I have already experienced before and since I joined the LDS Church. I often wonder why the things that helped me decide the LDS Church is true convinces others that being a Mormon is wrong.

    As for you saying, “Being taught you will lose salvation by not belonging to their church is a threat and a scary process to have to endure.” seems a little bit like the pot calling the kettle black. You folks are always trying to scare me by telling me that I will lose my salvation because I do not believe as you do and that I am not a member of your idea of the Body of Christ.

  2. CamdenC May 28, 2012 at 6:45 pm #

    Fred – I believe the point here is that we don’t tell a Baptist that because he decides to attend a Luthern or Methodist church, that he is going to be in jeopordy of losing his place in the Kingdom. LDS claim that there is no salvation outside of the LDS church. We claim that there is no salvation apart from following Jesus.

    As I have said many times before, it’s not a question about what denomination or organization one belongs to. The only question that matters is;

    “Who is Jesus and how are we saved?”

  3. fred May 30, 2012 at 12:58 am #

    (As I have said many times before, it’s not a question about what denomination or organization one belongs to. The only question that matters is; “Who is Jesus and how are we saved?”)

    Since there are many, many different people teaching many, many different ideas of what God said in the Bible, my experience is that if we follow your logic people can believe anything they want as long as they agree with you. I say this because you have said that no one has the right or authority to act for and interpret what God said, and you have also said you are following the correct path.

    Is my understanding of your teachings in error?

  4. grscali66 April 9, 2018 at 7:15 am #

    They can LEAVE the church but can never LEAVE it alone!!!
    #antimormonlies

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