I have read quite a few statements by ex-members who claim they have seen the light that this Church is false and they spent years believing in the wrong church. Reading their personal accounts I have found an alarming trait with all of them. None have claimed that God told them to leave, not one. 

The beliefs that each of them held, to account for leaving the Church, have centered on some claim that the Church lied, or mistreated them, or that they claimed the Church is false after reading some book or article about some historic account that tainted the Church, etc etc. With that, they professed the Church was false. 

Not one of their claims have originated from the Spirit of God, not one of their beliefs is spiritually based, not one is spiritually justified. Wouldn’t a spiritual basis be the foremost important reason for staying or leaving, knowing that it is only the spiritual that God works in and determines if a church is his?

Not to these disaffected members, it seems to them that they take the temporal basis as their rationale that the Church is false, thinking (and falsely at that) that the temporal or worldly is the basis to judge a church. Goodness, is it not true that Paul the Apostle in the Bible clearly said that people of the world think spiritual things are foolishness and therefore cannot discern spiritually making them in error? (1 Cor 2:13–14)

The important question that any member must ask, when faced with controversy or challenge that this Church is false or faced by a disaffected member that claims the same is this, “What did God say?” 

Consider this. 

The Church of God is suppose to be led by God himself. His Holy Priesthood and Holy Spirit are suppose to be present and suppose to provide each person who is capable of receiving the Spirit of God, a spiritual testimony and witness. This is what marks a true Church of God, one that God condones, supports, and gives power to do his work. All of this is in the gospel, both the Bible and Book of Mormon. 

The prophets of the past have warned the faithful that each much develop their own light from God and not always depend on others for their spiritual faith, testimony and witness, else in these latter days that are getting darker, they will falter and fall. So it is. 

A true spiritual testimony is such that, a person must gain it by the Holy Ghost, a testimony that gives a clear confirmation and witness to the truth of the Church and the prophet. When this spiritual testimony is gained, it supersedes all claims by the world against this Church. Why is this? 

It is because when God confirms, knowing all the shortcomings or failings of his membership, that a Church is still his, confirmed as true and holy, then all the worldly claims have no bearing and no truth. For God sustains all truth and any shortcomings that the Church may have, are of no concern to God when it comes to verifying a church is his. 

This is spiritual common sense and power of a true spiritual testimony from God. It is not a belief or set of worldly facts that confirms a Church is of God, it is a spiritual confirmation, testimony and witness. It is also the only way a person can gain a testimony and witness that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is the only method by which a person is assured that he/she is in the right place for their salvation. 

Knowing this as a spiritual fact and truth, why then are some people falling from the Church because they have read claims made by others who are not spiritual to any degree and chose to reject this Church? The only answer is that they have not achieved a true spiritual testimony. They had a belief, maybe, but no spiritual testimony gained from the Holy Ghost. 

This brings me back to say, “What did God say” 

Do disaffected members believe in God?

Do they believe they must seek God to gain salvation through Christ?

Do they care about their salvation and faith in God?

These are crucial questions when faced with the claims by ex-members who say that this Church has misled them and they apparently found the truth. I say, truth of what? Some disheartened grievance of other people? 

What then, do these disaffected members claim now, as to where is God’s true Church and salvation? 

If they discount any church, showing they have no concern for their salvation or even for their family, you can be assured that they have lost faith. This then says that it does not matter what church they reject, they have rejected God and joined the world. Then it becomes a world versus religion issue, an old and tiresome play. This is where Jesus is declared as a good man, with good things to say, but is not a son of any god because God does not exist. They chose the ways of the flesh and this is the same thing that happened in ancient times with Jesus Christ. They are fallen.

If they discount this Church, in favour of another, then they have fallen for false doctrines and doctrines of men, which is called the Christian Creeds, why – because God already said the Creeds are an abomination. Favouritism always reigns supreme in the creeds and history proves that the Creeds were man made, not God made. Here they deny revelation and the power of God and salvation is lost to them. Here they believe that it does not matter what church you attend, so long as you just believe (bearing no personal responsibility to repentance and faithful works), they claim salvation is given free. 

IF they discount this Church, claiming that organized religion is evil (or something similar), then they have achieved nothing better than the first group who are of the world. 

There are countless excuses made by people who quit this Church and so far, all of them are personal reasons and issues. None have any bearing on spiritual truth and none have sought the Father in Jesus name asking for his counsel. None can truly say “What God said”. 

Where, some may ask, do I have the right to speak this way of circumstances that I have not experienced? The right to speak comes from my spiritual testimony, one gained from the Holy Ghost that this Church and prophet are true and are of God. That despite all the shortcomings that this Church possesses, that all the Anti-Mormons and Ex-Mormons use and claim against this Church, God still led me to this Church and confirmed it is true. Not “was” true, still is true and his approval of the Church government stands. This goes to say a lot against the claims of disaffected members who left the Church or were excommunicated, this says that this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Church of God, and so it is. 

Amen