Recovering Faith: Recent Episodes
Gene Curl
A discussion about trusting God when it doesn't make sense, regaining faith and trust in God after loss or coming from a non-Christian or psuedo-Christian world view.
After not missing a weekly episode for two and a half years I suddenly stopped posting and haven't had a new episode in almost a year. In this episode I explain why I haven't been posting and why I feel the need to step away from the Podcast, at least for now.
Often times when decided whether or not to follow God, or whether or not to believe in God, people look for a sign and then ignore the sign or signs when they see them because they are not telling them what they want to hear or because they are not ready to change their life.
When things get hard it is easy to give up, especially when it doesn’t appear as if your efforts are making a difference, but in the end you will se it was worth it.
This week’s podcast episode is an answer to a question that was sent as a comment to an earlier podcast/blog called Why Does God Hate Me? The message that this episode is attempting to address is, “Holy Spirit left me because I was so dejected I said the Bible wasn't true. Even though I do believe it's TRUE I was told he left me. I felt Him leave even though He said He would never leave me or forsake me. He left me behind as all my female friends and ex's got married. My life is like being on a hamster wheel. Never changing, always unhappy while everyone else moved on. God hates me.”
Though I initially did not think I would talk about the subject, this is my take on what is going on lately with all of the protests and riots. Basically, police should not be killing unarmed civilians, and there should be more accountability in law enforcement, and also, rioting does not accomplish anything and instead hurts people, including the people the rioters are claiming they are helping.
While this is not part of the series I did on my mission, it is about my mission, In this episode I discuss some recent thoughts I had about my two year LDS Mission.
Army of God: My 2 Year LDS Mission, The “Best” 2 Years of My Life: My LDS Mission, and Homecoming.
This episode is the second in the series of things I learned while driving a bus. This episode is about the summer I spent taking a group of ultra-orthodox Jewish girls camping in the national parks, which was the longest summer of my life.
Part one of a series in life lessons I learned while driving a bus. I drove a bus for a lot of years, and by the time I left the industry I had driven a bus for a third of my life, not just a third of my adult life, a third of my entire life.
If people have intrinsic value and worth than abortion is wrong and is a vile sin, but if humans don’t have any intrinsic worth than there is no moral justification to say that it is wrong to murder those who are a detriment to society. God assigns value, not man, and every human, born or unborn, has great value.
Christians should do all they can to conserve precious resources and to respect and protect the great things God gave us, including the wildlife, the air and water and the planet, we should not get caught up in climate hysteria and we should only look to the God of the universe as our God and should nor worship the earth.
The term “That dog don’t hunt” originates from the Southern United States and compares bad ideas to a dog that doesn’t hunt and both are believed to be equally useless. When Christianity mixes with culture a lot of misinformation and bad theology emerges, and this episode is about some of the bad ideas that are believed to be true about Christianity and the Bible, but are not.
Things are a little rough right now for practically every person in the world, but we will get through this together, we just need to be kind to one another and have a some faith in God. This episode is some random thoughts I had this week about life, the Bible and COVID 19.
Sometimes we ask for things we think we want and insist we get, but as the people of Israel learned when they demanded a king, what we think we want is often not what we want at all.
Everything is crazy and uncertain right now, but it is never a mistake to trust an uncertain future to a certain God, a God who will never abandon or forsake us.
When the world is in chaos God wants us to trust him, knowing that everything is in his hands and that even if he doesn’t remove the storm he will be with us through it.
Do we choose God or does he choose us, and does it matter? In this discussion on predestination and free will I will make a Biblical case for us not being able to choose God until he first chooses us.
Faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints often ask me why I can’t just leave the Church alone now that I have left it and accuse me of being “anti Mormon,” but I don’t have any ill will towards LDS people, and in fact I love them, and that is why I want to do my part to bring them to Jesus and to true Christianity.
Often times we overreact to situations and do things we can’t take back, sometimes things with serious consequences. Today I will discuss two such stories from the Bible, one in Genesis and one in Kings. It is important to realize that while the actions of these people were horrible they were in no way approved of by God.
Legalism exists when people attempt to secure righteousness in God’s sight by good works. Legalists believe that they can earn or merit God’s approval by performing the requirements of the law. A legalist believes that their good works and obedience to God affects their salvation. Legalism focuses on God’s laws more than relationship with God. It keeps external laws without a truly submitted heart. And legalism adds human rules to divine laws and treats them as divine
Legalism exists when people attempt to secure righteousness in God’s sight by good works. Legalists believe that they can earn or merit God’s approval by performing the requirements of the law. A legalist believes that their good works and obedience to God affects their salvation. Legalism focuses on God’s laws more than relationship with God. It keeps external laws without a truly submitted heart. And legalism adds human rules to divine laws and treats them as divine
Home group Bible study is one of the great blessings of my life and in this episode I talk about home groups and why they are such a blessing in our lives and why everyone should attend a small group.
God loves the world so much that he gave the live of his son to save it, he loves the world collectively, but how do I know if he likes me as an individual or even likes me.
It is always better to trust God’s plan and his timing, but often times it is difficult to sit back and trust that God will provide for us and we take matters into our own hands, even if we know it is not what is best for us, and that never leads to a satisfactory outcome.
https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas
https://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/nicholas.html
http://www.stnicholasil.org/the-life-of-st-nicholas/
https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/traditional-stories/life-of-nicholas/how-nicholas-became-a-bishop
https://christiantoday.com/article/when-santa-punched-a-heretic-who-was-saint-nicholas/109386.htm
https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/traditional-stories/life-of-nicholas/bishop-nicholas-loses-his-cool
The short story of how I came to live in Missouri is that it is where I am originally from and I came home, but this is the other story, the longer version. The photo was taken in Uranus, Missouri.
To donate to Pierce’s mission https://www.facebook.com/donate/1044413072559947/10162989366265268/
In This Week’s episode I discuss my experience in a Charismatic church when I was struggling with faith and how instead of helping to strengthen my faith they aided in my complete loss of faith. As Christians we are called to be hospitable and welcoming, and we are called to make disciples out of all nations. The church in this story failed in these areas in a massive way.
http://www.olsenpark.com/Bulletins17/FS19.47.html
https://www.livius.org/articles/person/herod-antipas/
When I was a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I was initially excited about going to the temple, but once I went I said to myself “Holy Cow, I am in a cult!” I found nothing holy about the temple experience and it helped me to eventually realize Mormonism isn’t Christianity.
From the beginning of time, or at least since thee beginning of humanity, there have been false teachers, false prophets and others who , either intentionally or through confusion or misunderstanding, have sought to lead people astray and away from the true Gospel. In this episode I will discuss 5 lies that are pawned off as Christianity.
I may have covered this before, but today’s episode is about why I am a Christian and some of my journey through the gambit of religious belief. I was lost, but now I am found.
Some people have never heard of Jesus, some people don’t think Jesus existed at all, some people accept Jesus as a historical figure, and perhaps a great teacher, but nothing more, but Christians worship Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Who is Jesus, and why does it matter? Listen to this episode and find out.
The Bible teaches that we are to be in the world but not of the world, but what does that actually mean? How do we keep from being like the world when Christianity is being pushed to the fringes of society?
https://www.genecurl.com/podcast/2018/4/25/if-god-is-good-why-is-there-so-much-pain-and-suffering
I typically write a blog but I had a recent trip to the emergency room after cutting off the end of my index finger on my left hand so it is extremely difficult to type so this week is just a podcast and not a blog. I discuss the cost of being a disciple of Christ as Jesus discussed it in Luke 14:25-34
Paul Stearns discusses his wild life before coming to Christ, full of Sex, drugs and rock and roll but devoid of happiness and fulfillment, and how coming to Christ changed his life for the better. Paul gives a powerful testimony that anyone would be blessed by listening to.
https://www.genecurl.com/podcast/2018/11/27/why-does-god-hate-me?rq=why%20does%20god%20hate%20me
https://www.genecurl.com/podcast/2018/4/25/if-god-is-good-why-is-there-so-much-pain-and-suffering
This week’s episode is an interview with my mother, Gloria Myler and we mostly talked about our experiences in the Mormon Church and how or experiences differed.
Many of us believe in God but have a less than stellar past and wonder if we have gone too far to be forgiven, and some of are sure we have, but the Bible tells a different story.
Non believers like to say that all religions are the same and that Christianity is no different than any other religion, but Christianity is fundamentally different than all other religions in all the ways that matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TA4_fVkv3c
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shift-mind/201203/is-our-society-manufacturing-depressed-people
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/depression-the-growing-american-mental-health-storm#1
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/04/what-is-depression-and-why-is-it-rising
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychiatry-the-people/201804/spiritual-not-religious-is-associated-depression
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/major-depression-rise-among-everyone-new-data-shows-n873146
There are a lot of people, myself included, who sometimes find it difficult to pray and this episode discusses why it is sometimes difficult to pray and how we can have better prayer and more faith to do so.
https://www.genecurl.com/podcast/2018/5/30/the-importance-of-regular-church-attendance?rq=happy%20little%20family
Christians have a reputation of being judgemental people, and the sad truth is that the way many of us are living and the way we are treating others is one major reason why the reputation persists. Christians are, all to often, judgemental and one of today’s popular Christians to judge is the singer Lauren Daigle.
Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:296. citing Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool, S.W. Richards, 1853), 36-173.
(Tanner 1987:6 c: Joseph Smith as an Administrator, Gary Dean Guthrie, M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, May 1969:161, in turn c: the diary of Apostle Abraham H. Cannon. V.19. 1 Oct 1895. Special Collections Dept. BYU Library).
(The Saints' Herald, January 22, 1935, p. 110).'"
From: The Changing World of Mormonism, Jerald and Sandra Tanner, pp. 472-473
History of the Church, Volume 7, p.101
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/latter-day-saint-history-1815-1846-teacher-material/lesson-26?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1992/08/my-great-great-grandmother-emma-hale-smith?lang=eng
http://www.mrm.org/mormon-enigma-bill
https://video.byui.edu/media/Jayson+Kunzler+%E2%80%9CMillions+Shall+Know+Brother+Joseph+Again%E2%80%9D/0_jun5hvww/25962242
https://www.genecurl.com/podcast/2019/6/10/plural-marriage-in-the-nauvoo-era
Cults, large or small, control their follower's lives with Christian sounding doctrine that is heresy. Here are some warning signs or indicators that a religion is a cult.
What we spend our time on shows what we really care about and if we don’t spend any time pursuing God than we love whatever it taking us away from God more than we love God.
https://www.ancient.eu/nineveh/
https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/related-articles/nineveh-as-sin-city
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f4af/bb82f1b7920fa9444e29eb128bd13832cd46.pdf
https://www.bible-history.com/backd2/human_sacrifice.html
Most cultures have a rite of passage celebration or ritual that youth must go through before making the transition into adult life in the society, and when the youth does not have an appropriate rite of passage that is overseen by a responsible adult they go in search for their own, often to disastrous consequences.
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/259
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/virgin?lang=eng
Brigham Young Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 115
https://www.theclassroom.com/age-marriage-us-1800s-23174.html
http://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/plural-marriages-sexual/
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/sealing?lang=eng, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/07/the-first-nauvoo-temple-so-great-a-cause?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/fanny-alger?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/07/the-first-nauvoo-temple-so-great-a-cause?lang=eng
http://www.mrm.org/polygamy-more-women
http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1362&context=msr
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V38N03_13.pdf
This episode is a about some of my experiences when I was in a singles ward and a little about the movie The Singles Ward. The basic idea behind a singles ward is to get young LDS people married off as quickly as possible and to keep them out of trouble until they do get married.
There is so much to be gained by having a friendships with people who are significantly older or younger than you are, and we owe respect to those who are older than us, especially those who we are related to and those who served in the military.
There is an alarming trend today that reduces the Almighty God to simply a friend who wants us to be happy with ourselves. God Created us for his glory, not ours, and Jesus died on the cross to save us from the penalty of sin, not to make us feel better about ourselves.
When I was without faith I was also without hope because I felt that life was unkind and unfair, which it is, and I thought that there was no intrinsic purpose to life and therefore life was utterly meaningless. As a result I felt that all suffering was also meaningless. After coming to Christ I have a better outlook on life, I am happier, and I have a hope for this life and for the eternity.
https://fightthenewdrug.org/is-there-a-connection-between-serial-killersrapists-and-pornography/
If all God ever did for me was to die on the cross so I could be forgiven my sins and be given a place in heaven, it would be far more than I deserve, but he didn't stop there and I have been greatly blessed.
Sources Cited
https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-27?lang=eng
http://media.ldscdn.org/pdf/scripture-and-lesson-support/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley/2017-01-00-teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley-eng.pdf
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2019/04/06/lds-church-tops-million/
It is natural to long for things, and longing is not a sin in and of itself, but if we don’t approach life with a Biblical perspective our longing can lead to sin, which leads to heartache and trouble. Just because we don’t have what we want does not mean God has forgotten about us.
With the internet it is easy to find things people have said, which causes some embarrasment for the LDS Church when people see some of the things Brigham Young said, and they try to say that he was speaking his own opinion and not that of the Church, but official LDS Doctrine does not allow that as the D&C says that no prophet will ever be allowed to lead the Church astray.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/311/text
https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/senate-democrats-block-born-alive-abortion-survivors-protection-act/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/02/born-alive-bill-senate-democrats-block-legislation/
https://nypost.com/2019/02/13/these-abortion-laws-arent-what-pro-choice-is-supposed-to-mean/
In this episode I discuss the classic book on heaven and hell by C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce. In the story the narrator wakes up in hell and takes a buss to the edge of heaven where him and the other passengers have a chance to give up hell and all that sent them there in order to enter heaven. I will be discussing some of the reasons people decided they would rather return to hell than give up what they were being asked to part with.
https://www.maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2007/pages/nov/22_ss_ville_du_havre.htm
https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/great-chicago-fire
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Spafford#Later_years
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyrensse/bio220.htm
This is the concluding episode of the series on errors in The Book of Mormon and covers the major issues from the book of 4th Nephi to the end of The Book of Mormon in the book of Moroni. One of the many things discussed in this episode is the problems with the jaradite barges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1001&v=7y1xJAVZxXg
https://www.markpixley.com/televangelists/
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/04/tithing?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1982/04/tithing-an-opportunity-to-prove-our-faithfulness?lang=eng
Sources Cited:
Brigham Young, "Intelligence, etc.," (9 October 1859) Journal of Discourses 7:289-289.
Lehi blesses his sons verse.
https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1973/07/man-a-child-of-god?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/topics/becoming-like-god?lang=eng
Doctrine and Covenants 132 Chapter heading https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132?lang=eng
Richard Lloyd Anderson, "I Have a Question: What changes have been made in the name of the Church?", Ensign, January 1979.
https://www.gotquestions.org/apostle-John-die.html
Luciani, J. (2015). Why 80 Percent of New Year's Resolutions Fail. Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2015-12-29/why-80-percent-of-new-years-resolutions-fail
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-teresa-letters/letters-reveal-mother-teresas-doubt-about-faith-idUSN2435506020070824
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1987/02/criticism?lang=eng
http://ourrabbijesus.com/articles/what-does-the-word-christ-actually-mean/
There have been so many times in my life where I have come close to death and yet miraculously survived. I have no doubt that I had some divine intervention on my behalf.
Sources Cited:
http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4800350&itype=CMSID
http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/artl/silkhistory.shtml
http://www.mansfieldct-history.org/history-of-silk-production/
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/940-birthplace-of-jesus-bethlehem-or-jerusalem-the
https://www.lds.org/topics/becoming-like-god?lang=eng
Kairos Ministry http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/
Get more information about Bill http://ragtimebill.com/
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism) has an obsession with personal worthiness, a standard that no one can obtain, so as a result everyone always feels guilty for not reaching the standard and judges everyone else for not reaching the standard as well.
https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-mantle-is-far-far-greater-than-the-intellect?lang=eng
In this installment of the examination of the errors in The Book of Mormon covers the book of Jarom through the end of Mosiah. A lot of the passages in this section of The Book of Mormon disagrees with LDS theology, which means the Church does not truly follow “The most correct book on earth.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/opinion/sunday/seth-stephens-davidowitz-googling-for-god.html
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grace
https://www.thenivbible.com/why-a-good-god-allows-suffering/
In LDS culture a mission served is said to be the best two years of a man’s life and is expected to strenghthen his testimony of the Church and keep him active within the Church for the rest of his life. This is the story of my mission and the role it played in ultimately leaving the Church.
http://leebaker.4mormon.org/
http://www.4witness.org/
https://www.amazon.com/Mormonism-Pretenses-Bishops-Journey-Discovery/dp/1530695090/
As Christians we often say we take up our cross and follow Jesus, but are we still willing to take up our cross when it is identified to be something painful or something we are asked to give up that we are not sure we can part with?
How to officially remove you name and records from the membership records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/10/31/this-week-mormon-land/
https://www.mormonstories.org/dc-132-a-revelation-of-men-not-god/
God loves the world so much that he gave the live of his son to save it, he loves the world collectively, but how do I know if he likes me as an individual or even likes me.
This is the 2nd part of the series on problems with The Book of Mormon, the supposed most correct book on earth, and this episode covers the problems with the second book in The Book of Mormon which is the book of 2nd Nephi.
Some people ask why, If we are indeed saved by grace and can't earn our salvation, can't we live a life of sin and still be saved. There are a lot of reasons why we must live for God in order to be saved and in this episode I discuss a few of those reasons.
Sources:
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https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247747.php
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https://animals.mom.me/country-introduced-cattle-us-7162.html
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https://cesletter.org/1769-kjv-errors/
References and suggested reading and watching:
Videos
-The Bible vs Joseph Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7tyCH3rBtU&index=2&t=1981s&list=PLU49fVKFYHepeOUVJeoGNFijm-6X5KXvG
-The Collapse of Mormonism: Why Millions Are No Longer Mormons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn1iGvXU0dI&index=4&t=755s&list=PLU49fVKFYHepeOUVJeoGNFijm-6X5KXvG
-Top 10 Mormon Problems Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ac_fLUHiBw&index=5&t=0s&list=PLU49fVKFYHepeOUVJeoGNFijm-6X5KXvG
-From Mormonism to Christianity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEdVBzrYy00
Books
-No Man Knows My History https://www.amazon.com/No-Man-Knows-History-Arkosh-ebook/dp/B07467NQDF/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540297562&sr=8-1&keywords=no+man+knows+my+history
We often ignore the obvious warning signs of danger and do things that we know are not good, and as a natural result, we pay the price. I recently had some groundhogs in my yard that I gave every opportunity to leave and left no doubt that they were not welcome and were in danger if they stayed, and that story gives a good illustration of the positions we put ourselves into.
Desiree’s Blog, God’s Little Treasures can be found at https://godslittletreasuresblog.wordpress.com/
When we allow small things to cause us to question our faith, if we don’t take care, they will cause us to loose or faith.
An interview and discussion about grace and other topics with Scott Smith, the senior pastor at Wellspring Church in Webb City, Missouri.
In this episode I explore some of the reasons why people don’t believe in God and why it is so difficult for Christians and atheist to understand and relate to each other.
With all of the episodes I have posted on the Mormon Church I thought I should make an episode dedicated to the culture in the church so that those who have never been in the church will have a little better understanding of those who are in the church.
Sometimes we apologize with a self-serving or empty aplogy, and sometimes our apologies blame the one we wronged instead of conveying our sorrow at having hurt them by our poor actions. Through the examples of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Saul and David we are shown some Biblical examples of poor apologies and of some good ones as well.
The entire structure of the LDS Church depends on their claim that the Church that Jesus founded when he was alive fell into complete apostasy after the death of the apostles and that it had to be restored by Joseph Smith. The problem with that claim is that Jesus said the gates of hell would never prevail against his church, so that means that it did not fall away. Another problem is that the LDS Church claims to be a restoration of the original church that Jesus Christ founded, yet it looks nothing like what the Bible teaches of Jesus’ church.
Link to podcast mentioned https://www.canisaythisatchurch.com/listen/2018/8/10/aaron-niequist