FROM
POLYGAMY TO CHRIST
Topics: Baptism; Beliefs; Bible; Conversion; Cults; Faith; Faith and Works; False Beliefs; Gospel; Mormonism; Shame; Teachers; Theology
References: Mark 13:22; John 14:6; Galatians 1:9; Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; Titus 3:3–7; 2 Peter 2:1
Kathy was one of thirteen children raised by one father and three mothers in a polygamist community in Utah. The community was a part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a sect that split from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the 1890s. Growing up, she was burdened by the unrealistic expectations of the cult: “We were constantly told to ‘keep sweet,’ and that ‘perfect obedience produces perfect faith.’ Behind these sugary slogans lay the impossible duty of living in complete obedience to the prophet.”
This prophet was Leroy Johnson. “We called him Uncle Roy,” says Kathy. “He was a feeble old man who prophesied that he would never die—that he’d become young again and be lifted up to heaven. If I kept sweet, I’d be taken with him. I looked forward to that glorious day with hope and fear.”
Johnson passed away at the age of ninety-three and was succeeded by a new prophet. These events shattered Kathy’s faith in Mormonism. In an act of rebellion, she ran away with a young man named Matt. The two were married and moved to California, but Kathy found that physical distance was not enough to separate her from her former life.
Kathy and Matt divorced. Years later, she met Brian, who was a Christian. Kathy describes what happened next:
We began attending church, and Brian and I spent more time together. He had a purpose to his life, a steadiness I wanted. When I told him about my past, he talked about how Mormonism differed from the truth of the Bible. We began praying together. God seemed more real and different than I’d ever expected.
One day, Brian’s mother talked about a baptism. I asked many questions: What did a person need to do to be baptized? Did he say a vow or go through a ceremony? How much did it cost? She assured me baptism was free, that it was an outward statement of an inward commitment to Christ. I admitted I wasn’t sure I’d made that commitment. How did I get this faith? Did you have to keep sweet and be perfectly obedient? She said good deeds don’t save us. The Bible teaches that trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross saves us.
I was amazed at the simplicity of the gospel message. I cried as I realized I could come to Christ just as I was; he didn’t require perfection. I prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior. After counseling sessions with the pastor to make sure I fully understood, I was baptized.
By God’s grace, I am now a woman of faith.
—Story told to Jan Brown, “I Grew Up in a Polygamist Family,” Today’s Christian Woman (November–December 2006)