I FIND NEW HOME IN CATHOLIC CHURCH

MORMON FINDS NEW HOME IN CATHOLIC CHURCH
by Steven M. Clifford

(http://www.transporter.com/apologia/mormcath.htm)

I was born and raised in Utah, the oldest of two children. We were brought up in a nominally religious home, and yet religion played a major part in our lives as we were growing up. My parents were also born and raised in Utah in families with connections back to the early Mormon pioneers who settled the Great Salt Lake Valley in the mid-1800's.

My great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side was probably the first in my family to join the Mormon church on February 14, 1832, less than two years after Joseph Smith founded the church. Grandpa Alva Benson convinced his wife, father, mother, and the rest of his father's family to join the church in the winter of 1832. They moved to Jackson County, Missouri, in November of 1832 but were driven out of the County by a mob because they were Mormons. In 1834 they moved to Clay County to join with the main body of the church. Four years later, they were forced out of Missouri by a combination of militia troops and vigilantes after Governor Boggs issued his infamous EXTERMINATION ORDER on October 27th, 1838. The order described the Mormons as being in "open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this state." It stated that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace - their outrages are beyond all description." My family eventually settled in Utah in 1852, five years after the first Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley under the leadership of Brigham Young, the successor to Joseph Smith.

My grandmother on my father's side was the last of my family to be converted to Mormonism and relocate to Utah from Switzerland. My great grandparents left for Utah to join seven of their children who had already emigrated, but they were forced to leave my grandmother, Marie Kauffman, behind in the "Old Country" because she was infected with tuberculosis. Grandma eventually made the journey with her sister, but only after her TB symptoms had subsided enough for her to slide past the U.S. Immigration authorities in New York Harbor.

My family was directed by Brigham Young in 1852 to settle in a high mountain area of the Wasatch Range in northern Utah called Cache Valley. According to my great-great-great grandfather's account, "We met the Apostle Ezra T. Benson at the point of the mountain. We asked him what the privileges were in the valley and he said, 'Find the best place you can'." They found a place on the southeast side of the valley called Hyrum and established their 20-acre farm with about 12 or 15 other families. All of my extended family since those early pioneer ancestors were born and raised as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons, as they are more commonly known). It was only natural that my sister and I were brought up in the religion as well.

Mormonism in Utah was not just practiced on Sundays; it was a way of life. School, social activities, scouting, dancing, music, theater, sports, and much more revolved around the church. My parents did not go to church regularly, but they were very adamant that my sister and I not miss out on anything the church had to offer. They paid their Fast Offerings and welcomed the visiting Home Teachers in an effort to maintain their ties with the church and thereby remain in good standing. In those days, anyone who was less than an active member of the church was ostracized by the majority. Approximately 77% of the population of Utah was Mormon, and my parents did not want me or my sister to become one of those unmentionable, disenfranchised "others".

Mormonism is still thriving in Utah and growing all over the world. The LDS have a very carefully groomed image of family togetherness and steadfast moral values. Mormons believe that strong families make a strong nation, and strong nations make a strong world. They have a program called "Family Home Evening", in which each participating family sets aside one evening per week to gather and discuss issues concerning the church. The goal of every faithful Mormon is to go to the temple and to be sealed for time and eternity as a family unit. In order to enter the temple, each individual needs a temple recommend from his Bishop and Stake President. The recommend is only granted to Mormons in good standing with the church (i.e. those who live the Word of Wisdom, pay 10% tithing, attend church regularly, etc.).

In addition to ministering to their own members, there are over 40,000 men and women missionaries around the world who dedicate two years of their lives, at personal expense and great sacrifice, to spread the word about Mormonism to others. The missionary's appeal comes from his or her youthful appearance and enthusiasm and from the social programs the church offers, such as dancing, sports, scouts, and genealogy.

Most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have complete and unquestioning trust in all that is Mormon. They believe with all their hearts that their faith represents the only true church on earth, and it is their goal (and responsibility) to spread that belief to everyone else.

As I was growing up, I had very little contact with people outside the LDS church. The few non-Mormons I knew were viewed as outsiders and were treated differently than the members. Even Mormons who did not attend church regularly or who did not live according to the teachings of the church were still considered "better" than non-members. I experienced this social exclusion first-hand when I decided not to attend the church-sponsored seminary program during my first year of high school. Although it was outside the normal curriculum and even located across the street from the school, almost everyone who was Mormon attended the seminary classes. It was difficult for me to relate to my friends as they exchanged stories about the things they were learning in seminary and the activities in which they were involved. I did not make that mistake again! I participated in the three-year seminary program rather than the normal four years and was once again content to find myself included in conversations with my friends.

Mormons consider the "Standard Works" to be the basis of their doctrine. These four books are the Bible (King James Version), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. They believe the Bible to be incomplete, because many "plain and precious parts" have been taken away by the "great and abominable church". The Book of Mormon is regarded as a volume of holy scripture. It supposedly contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel. Joseph Smith described the Book of Mormon as "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion". The Doctrine and Covenants consists primarily of revelations given to Joseph Smith and is full of instruction for the church regarding Mormon beliefs and practices involving baptism for the dead, celestial marriage, priesthood, and polygamy. The Pearl of Great Price is a collection of smaller writings and contains the 13 Articles of Faith, a summary of the beliefs of the LDS church.

From the Mormon perspective, there are three basic classifications of Christian churches. First is the Catholic Church, which claims it has had an uninterrupted existence since it was originally founded by Jesus Christ. Second are the Protestant churches, founded by reformers who believe that the original church fell into apostasy and that the Gospel can be returned to the teachings and practices of the early church through an intense study of the Bible. The third classification consists of those who believe that the church fell into total apostasy and could not be reestablished through reformation, but only through a restoration.

I was taught that the Catholic Church was the "great and abominable church" mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Furthermore, the Catholic Church had intentionally removed the "plain and precious parts" from the Bible that were essential for a full understanding of the teachings of Christ. As a result, there was a "Great" or "Total Apostasy" of the Gospel, and it became necessary for the church to be restored by Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith. As a Mormon, it was easier to relate to members of the Protestant churches because they had a common disdain for the Catholic Church. I agreed with the Protestants in their recognition of the Catholic Church as an apostate church, but felt that they had only the incomplete Bible as their source for doctrine. It was easy to use the Bible to support the Mormon position where possible and then to claim that it was not translated correctly when it conflicted with what I was taught to believe as a Mormon.

When I left Utah in 1968 to join the military, the Mormon bishop gave me a metal dog tag. Engraved on one side was a picture of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. On the reverse side were the words, "I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". When times were hard, I would often wear my dog tags with the Mormon medal as a reminder of my roots and my heritage. It gave me comfort to recall that I was at heart just a simple Mormon boy from Utah, protected from the evils of the world by my family, friends, and church.
Despite the consolation it provided, I became inactive in the Mormon church. About a year later, I met Anne, a Catholic, and we were married by a Catholic priest in Germany in 1971. Our two daughters were raised Catholic. For many years I attended Catholic Mass, often as a musician with the choir. While stationed in San Francisco, I played the guitar at the local Army chapel along with a Baptist piano player. We often joked that we knew the words to the Mass better than most Catholics in attendance.

I continued to proudly proclaim my Mormon affiliation although I did not attend their services. I had no intention of joining any other church, especially not the Catholic Church. I knew how much it meant to my family back in Utah that I remain a member of the Mormon church. I dreaded visits from the Home Teachers, but I always made sure that my church records followed me to my new duty station. I did not let the Mormons get too close to me, afraid that they would talk me into coming back to church again. I made good friends with another Mormon service member who kept me informed with the latest news from the church. Otherwise, I kept my distance from the Mormons, comfortable to just sit on the fence.

We moved to Virginia in January of 1993 for an assignment at the Pentagon, and I began attending Mass regularly. I joined the contemporary choir because I enjoyed the music, and I thought it was a nice, neutral way to worship God. When asked to do a newsletter for the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign, I jumped at the opportunity to display my computer talents. Through the preparation of the newsletter, I was first introduced to the Rosary and to Mary's special role in the life, suffering, and death of Jesus. I could not help but be touched by the things I was reading. I began to ask questions. Anne was, of course, excited about my interest and began dropping Catholic literature around the house for me to find.

In the early part of November, I asked Anne if she was trying to convert me. She said she was not and reminded me that she had NEVER pressured me to become a Catholic. For over 22 years of married life, I had gladly called myself a Mormon, and I told Anne that I had no intention of becoming a Catholic. "I was born a Mormon, I was raised a Mormon, and I'm going to die a Mormon!", I exclaimed. But something was happening to me. The power of all the prayers that were being said for me by Anne and by many others was having an effect. The Holy Spirit was working on me.

On November 20th, 1993, I sacrificed a Saturday to attend a seminar given by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. Scott told his story of assuming the role of detective in an attempt to prove once and for all that the Catholic Church was wrong. In the process of his studies, he became a Catholic. I remember thinking to myself that obviously he did not research very well, or he would have become a Mormon instead of a Catholic. I decided to try the detective thing myself, just to prove the Catholics wrong and the Mormons right.

I began reading and researching like there was no tomorrow. I read books on Mormonism, Protestantism and Catholicism. I listened to audio tapes and watched videos. I grabbed at anything I could get my hands on to confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only true church on earth was the one restored by Jesus Christ to the "Prophet" Joseph Smith and his followers. Much to my chagrin, every direction I turned and on each point I investigated, I found overwhelming evidence against the Mormon position. The more I researched, the more problems I found with the Mormon doctrines I had been taught.

I discovered that the Mormon teaching of a "Total Apostasy" in the early Church established by Jesus Christ was simply not true. The overwhelming historical evidence available supports the Catholic teaching on Apostolic succession. It was first demonstrated in the replacement of Judas by Matthias (Acts 1:15-26). The chain has been unbroken from Peter to Pope John Paul II (Matthew 16:18). Without a great and total apostasy, there is no need for a restoration.

Another truth I uncovered through my research is that there is only one God. I could no longer accept basic Mormon principles, such as the plurality of gods made of flesh and bones, God's humanity, and man's progression to an exalted god of his own world. Through the mystery of the Holy Trinity, I began to understand the one divine nature of God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, I came to know that God is the "first cause" of everything and that our souls and bodies are created at the moment of conception. I could no longer accept the Mormon plan of eternal progression, consisting of a pre-mortal existence where each person is born into this world according to his previous merits in the spirit world. I started to believe that nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The next logical step was to realize that Mary was created as the most exalted creature on earth. I began to see her as the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of God the Holy Spirit, and the mother of God the Son. I saw that through a better understanding of the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, we can more nearly follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

By Christmas, I was absolutely convinced that the Mormons were wrong. I was devastated! How could so many good people be deceived? What about all the sacrifices my ancestors had made for the church? How could I turn my back on my heritage, my upbringing, my family and my childhood friends? I wanted to pretend that I had never started on this journey. I wished I could go back to the way things were, but it was too late. I had found the truth.

Once I had decided that I wanted to become a Catholic, I had a wonderful feeling of peace because I knew that I was doing the right thing. I was certain that God was prompting me along the way and giving me the grace to open my mind and heart to accept the truth of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

At the same time there was a tremendous battle raging about me that left me wondering what was going to happen next. I was challenged from all directions in what seemed like a concerted effort to prevent me from trusting in God. The spiritual warfare even manifested itself physically. One morning, about two weeks before my baptism, another driver ran into the back of my car on the way to work. I was verbally attacked by members of my family in Utah and some of my co-workers at the Pentagon. On Ash Wednesday, I was heckled by my supervisor for having "dirt" on my forehead. The distractions and obstacles seemed constant and unrelenting. I just kept reminding myself that I must be on the right track since all these bad things were being thrown at me. I accepted my sufferings as the devil's desperate attempt to steer me away from the Church.

Not to be outdone, God gave me some loving affirmations that He was there with me. One evening at church, I was overcome with joy and drawn almost uncontrollably to an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I genuflected toward the tabernacle and made the sign of the cross for the first time in my life. Also on Ash Wednesday, just days before my baptism, I had a very moving experience confirming the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During my first confession the next day, I had another nudge that assured me of the authority of the Pope as the successor to Peter and the Vicar of Christ. By that time, I had no problem discerning which combatant was sending the good messages and which was sending the negative ones.

On the 19th of February, 1994, I received the Holy Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, First Communion, and validation of the Sacrament of Matrimony performed over 22 years earlier. It was a sacred day that I will cherish forever.

Many wonderful things have happened to me and my family since my Baptism. I consecrated my life to Jesus Christ through Mary and joined the Legion of Mary. With the help of the Blessed Mother, the Lord has done many amazing things to me, and I am truly grateful.

I have often been asked what caused me to suddenly open myself to the Catholic Church and to leave Mormonism. I can point to a number of different things that happened simultaneously, but I cannot isolate any one event to say with certainty, "This planted the first seed." Over the years many seedlings have taken root in my mind and in my heart. Scott Hahn's lectures certainly poured on lots of water and food for thought. The prayers of my wife and many others were undoubtedly the light that warmed and nurtured those tender seeds of my budding faith.

Another question I am frequently asked is how we should speak to Mormons and to those who are investigating Mormonism. What will help to open their eyes to the truth? Each person we encounter should be approached with a spirit of love and patience, rather than interrogation or rebuke. Know your faith, live your faith, and be ever ready to explain your faith. Plant the seeds of truth with humbleness and charity. There are countless loopholes and inconsistencies in the Mormon church that are easy targets of attack. The better approach is to engage instead in a friendly discussion about the theory of the "Great" or "Total Apostasy". If no universal apostasy of the Church took place, the whole basis of Mormonism collapses. The Sacred Scripture of the New Testament shows that Christ left a Church that he promised would last until the end of time (Mt 16:13-18). He told His Church, "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20). The writings of the early Church Fathers (like Saints Clement, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, and Irenaeus) are well-documented in books like the three-volume set from William A. Jurgens called, "The Faith of the Early Fathers". When read carefully, these writings clearly show that the very early Fathers did not teach Mormon doctrines (plurality of gods, pre mortal existence, eternal progression, polygamy, baptism for the dead, celestial marriage, etc.), but rather consistently preached Catholic doctrines (the Mass as a sacrifice, Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Primacy of Peter and his successors, etc.).

It has not been easy for my family in Utah to accept my conversion to Catholicism. To my knowledge, I am the first of our family members to officially leave the Mormon church to become a Catholic. My relationship with my family has therefore been very strained. My wife and I continue to pray that my parents will someday understand why I chose to leave Mormonism for the true Church established by Jesus Christ.

Biographical Sketch: Steven M. Clifford was born and raised in Utah as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, aka Mormons). After serving four years in the U.S. Air Force in Europe (West Germany), he returned to Utah with his Catholic wife, Anne. He graduated in 1975 from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, with a BA in Foreign Literature and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. Steve also has an MS in Information Systems from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where he graduated in 1992. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in January 1995 from his last assignment in the Pentagon. He has two daughters and four granddaughters. Steve currently works at a software and systems engineering company where he is involved in developing and maintaining the DoD Metadata Registry and Clearinghouse. Steve has been involved with computers and telecommunications since 1982. He a number of Web sites (including http://www.transporter.com) out of his home. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of Mormonism as he evangelizes on the computer networks. He is active in Catholic apologetics on the Internet and is an past officer in the Legion of Mary. Steve can be contacted by using our [Feedback] form.

See also the article in the May/June 1998 issue of Envoy Magazine located at http://www.envoymagazine.com/envoy/samplearticles/may_june98/story3.html

LUTHERAN TO BAPTIST TO CATHOLIC

Lutheran to Baptist to Catholic
Lady Catherine
(http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/s25.htm)
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I grew up in a Lutheran household in which my parents took us to church weekly, and we were there for any other events offered by the church as well, the annual bazaar, game night, etc. I attended Confirmation and was confirmed in my 6th grade year. I always had a curiosity for things spiritual, and I was forever asking my parents various questions.

However, in my household, my parents were quite hostile to anything that was a positive rendering of the words Jesus or God. The ONLY time during my childhood that the words Jesus or God was said in a positive manner was when we said grace for meals, plus when we were at church and prayed to God, sang hymns to Him, carols, etc. Otherwise, in our home, the names of Jesus, God and even the Holy Family were taken in profanity by my parents. If we children followed suit, we would be slapped across the face but hard. In that sense, it was a double standard.

My dad was a lapsed Catholic. He attended Lutheran services with mom because it pleased her, but he still had his Catholic Bible which he kept around the house. I saw it one day and asked why it was called a Catholic Bible and what made it different from the one we called, "Holy Bible." I was treated to a torrent of abuse for asking what made this Bible different from others. Close to 30 years later I would learn that my Dad had no idea why the differences. He thought they were just the same, but one had the word "Catholic" on it. I guess he never looked inside the Catholic Bible to know what was within it.

I became a born-again Christian in 1989. I'd been spiritually asleep for years after leaving home for school and eventually marriage. I did not attend church while at university and for the first six to nine months of my short lived first marriage ( which lasted 2 1/2 years) I did not attend church either. We did start going to a Baptist church, however, since he was Baptist. This renewed my spiritual walk, and started telling me things I'd never heard in my Lutheran church, that once I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, I am saved forever. Nothing I could do anymore could keep me from heaven. Quite naturally, this appealed to me.

One night in August 1989, with the help of a radio announcer who was making a call for people to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord and who was about to "pray the prayer" -- the sinner's prayer -- I prayed that prayer and accepted Jesus into my heart in my life as my personal Lord and Savior. This began the start of leading a godly lifestyle. This included beginning to slowly get out of the bar scene, precipitously stopping the profanity in my vocabulary, and slowly stopping a lifestyle of promiscuity, to which I'd resorted after my divorce was final. I didn't know anything but that I'd been saved. I could rest in the fact that I'd repented and that Jesus had paid the price for past sins and that, because of my faith in that, I would be in heaven, and I could know this now on earth. Imagine what a great thing that was to me!

I did start attending church weekly, and was always in the door for any other events as well. My lifestyle changed drastically, and I eventually traded my promiscuous lifestyle for one that was much more godly. I met a number of wonderful, godly people and learned how to study the Bible, and as importantly, to live what was in it. For the deep reverence and respect that Protestants have for the Word of God and using it as a tool to live righteous lives, I am deeply grateful. I am also deeply grateful to the Protestant people in my lives for their zeal to get out the Word and "witness." I appreciate that deep zeal to share with others what they believe is the truth.

I grew in my faith and its impact in my life increased steadily. I remarried in 1994 and had 2 children with my second husband. We were steadily attending a Southern Baptist church and were involved in it outside of services on Sunday. My world fell apart bit by bit when he began to manifest signs of what would eventually be diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia right after the birth of our first daughter in 1996. In retrospect, the signs were there when we were dating. I just didn't recognize them as such at the time. As my pastor said when he died, "Heidi, he fooled us all. Even his own parents didn't know."

My husband had a good number of questions that went against the fray of fundamentalist theology. He was not at all satisfied with the typical responses of the fundamentalist about the hypothetical person on the deserted island who'd never heard the gospel. I found myself giving him a much un-fundamentalist response along the lines of that which is in Romans 1 -- that God has revealed Himself to such a person in that person's heart. Not having heard about Jesus notwithstanding, such a person knew about God, and it was up to him to accept that which God had showed him, and to live by that, and that person was in God's hands. If such a person had his heart continuously turned to God, then surely God would show Him the way of salvation -- not a fundamentalist response at all. However, it worked for my husband. He had other issues as well, for which he sought to find answers.

All fell apart in the summer of 1999, when we moved to Germany. By this time, my husband was drinking beyond control, consuming at least a bottle a night of hard German herb liquor. This would be about the size of bottle one might keep in one's liquor cabinet. Not a large size, but not a personal one-serving size either. He drank from the time he came home from work until he finally fell to sleep. He would awaken early the next day for physical training (he was in the army) and resume the cycle. All came to a screaming pinnacle on June 13, 1999 when he assaulted me in front of our children. For this, he was removed from our home for 60 days, mandatory for anyone in the army who assaults a spouse. He made a decision that he did not want to stay with us after that time, and so we prepared to move back to the States. In the meantime, he was sent to an alcoholism program in Landstuhl, Germany. He was sent home early due to a poor attitude and an unwillingness to cooperate in his own recovery.

We moved back to the states in November of 1999. Was it ever a humbling experience. My children and I lived there for 14 months, while I healed and grew spiritually. My husband was sent to Walter Reed medical hospital in Washington, D.C., where he was finally diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. After all the lack of support I had received from the social services office in Stuttgart, Germany -- the counselor had made the claim she'd worked in mental health services for over 25 years but did not even recognize my husband's schizophrenia -- it was a gift to hear the doctor at Walter Reed give my husband's diagnosis and the program of treatment.

However, my husband still did not want to return to our household. He eventually did in June of 2000 but abandoned us just 2 months later to go out west to go to his dad in Seattle. We never saw him again after that. He took his life in November of 2001 when he used one of his revolvers to shoot himself. It is my prayer that God would give release and peace to his soul, and for the repose of his soul, and that God will save his soul.

I bought a home in January 2001 and we moved in. I was working for a local school district as a teacher (still am) and was knowing the work of God in my life through His Holy Spirit. Still do!!!

At the end of 2002, I finally purchased a computer. During the first week of January, I used the search engine to see if I finally couldn't contact a long lost friend from middle school. I had no luck entering her name into the search bar, so I decided to enter her brother's name, figuring I'd find his name associated with some church, as he'd gone to seminary to become a Protestant minister. BINGO! His name came up in a reference to finding ancestors in a local area in New England, where he was living. I contacted him via the email link provided.

He assured me he was indeed the brother of my childhood friend, and we proceeded to fill in each other on our lives. He gave me his sister's email address as well, and my friend and I finally started regular contact with each other. One of my friend's revelations was that he had converted to Catholicism. Knowing that he did not do this off the cuff, and that it was a monumental decision for him, I asked him about it, and started giving him my list of objections and questions to clarify about the Catholic faith. All the usual issues -- Mary, the Pope, praying to saints, etc.

Nothing about the Eucharist, because this fundamentalist (gasp!) already believed in the Real Presence. Don't ask!!! It probably had something to do with my Lutheran upbringing. He deftly and gently answered my objections and started to send me some readings of patristics. I had already had exposure to Ignatius and the martyrdom of Polycarp through a publication called, "Discipleship Journal." In particular, the readings of Paul Thigpen intrigued and challenged me. Of course, many of you know that he's converted to Catholicism and that his story is in one of the "Surprised by Truth" volumes.

At any rate, my friend continued to gently but deftly share about his Catholic faith. Not arrogance here. Not treating me like I had no right to ask questions. Finally, someone who knew and understood. He challenged me to re-read the Bible, and to pray to the Holy Spirit for understanding. I did, and I found myself less and less comfortable with what I was seeing and believing in my fundamentalist Southern Baptist church.

I stayed through the first weekend of March and found myself across the street at the Catholic Church for my first Mass the following weekend. I'd already made the decision to convert, by the end of February. My first Mass assured me that there was no idolatry here (the reference to worshipping idols -- read STATUES, icons, religious art, etc). All was centered on the Eucharist. All was about the Lord's Supper. It was a communal journey in faith. I continued to attend, and have been attending faithfully since then.

I enrolled in the R.C.I.A. program in September of 2003 and was confirmed in Spring of 2004. I have been blessed to meet many individuals who have given me books, sent me websites, invited me to participate in their online fora. Above all, I have been blessed to see the fullness of truth. It was a definitive answer to the question of unity, ever posed by my late mother. It was her constant query, "why can't everyone just be one church?" This will happen when full and complete reconciliation is made with the Church. I believe with all my heart that indeed this will happen. It's just a matter of time and in which generation it will occur.

God bless you all

Lady Catherine

LadyCatherine116@aol.com

Visit this site for more articles about Catholic Faith: http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/

My Conversion to the Catholic Church - David Benneth

Finally Catholic! My Conversion to the Catholic Church
David Benneth

(http://www.ancient-future.net/davidstory.html)

It was a bright late-spring day, and my brother Jonathan and I were running outside at a Southern Ohio state park. We had been kept in by the spring rain, and now that May was in full-swing, we could run on mostly solid ground. I remember exactly where we were: the clearing to the plain, where the forest ends temporarily, and the sunlight shines through, beaming onto the colorful brush. We often stop there to get our breath, since it is about the middle of the three mile or so run. Usually we discuss theology or life while we run, and this time was no exception. This day I told him that I was seriously considering becoming Catholic. I had finally tired of fighting for an Anglican church that didn't - and never did - exist, growing wearier and more confused by the day. I needed a real spiritual home, a Catholic home, where I could grow, rather than fight. I had just plain had enough. Jonathan was pretty shocked, which was surprising, because being twins, we were often on the same page.

He probably thought one of my initial reasons was silly, but nonetheless, he admitted it was true. We had gone to an "All-County Choir Festival," about a month earlier where choirs from area churches came to showcase their talent. The Catholic and Episcopal churches are across the street from each other, so they decided to pair up for the evening of singing. Having once attended that particular Episcopal church, I knew who in the mixed choir were Episcopalian (plus their robes told who was who). I noticed that of the 40 or so people in the choir, only about 8 were Episcopalian. They were all over 50, whereas the Catholic choir had people of all ages. It was telling to me. Immediately I began to think "boy the Catholic Church is universal." Now, don't get me wrong, I did not make that appraisal simply on account of this one anecdotal case, but it certainly served as an illustration to what I had been thinking for quite awhile, but had not been expressing.

Jonathan was initially bothered. I guess he thought that my statement was a whim or thinking out loud. He soon realized I was serious, much more serious than when I said in January 2004 at the local American Anglican Council meeting that in a year I would probably be Orthodox or Catholic. Of course, about a week later he had a copy of a book about former Protestant Catholic converts, so obviously he agreed with me, although perhaps it took some meditation. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. I should likely start at the beginning.

I grew up evangelical Christian, the son of a Methodist pastor and schoolteacher mother. I was raised to value my faith, and I do not ever remember a time I was not Christian. I was baptized as a baby, and grew up with Bible stories, prayers, and lots of love. I remember accepting Jesus "into my heart" when I was around four. My parents were the best examples I had of Christlike behavior. However, even since I was a child I was always drawn to the more liturgical elements of Christianity. Advent and Christmas were my favorite times of the year, and I always found these more solemn seasons meaningful and rewarding. My faith was simple, but a big part of my life.

As a teen, I became a fundamentalist Christian. I was pretty dangerous: an 8th grader who had just been "saved." Even though I had been Christian my whole life, and was baptized as a baby, I still felt a lot of pressure from the youth group to "get saved." As a recently-saved adolescent I knew just about everything there was to know about the faith, or so I thought, and it upset me that nobody else was ever as "on fire" as I was. I feel sorry for the poor Jehovah's Witness girls I used to bug constantly. Holly and Amber were far more charitable in our discussions than I was, yet they were the brainwashed ones, so I often opined. My parents even had to tell me to cool-it a little, since I was behaving embarrassingly I am sure, especially toward anybody who disagreed with me, or who wasn't as excited to be Christian as I was (which was just about everybody).

One day I met Jessica C. standing on the basketball court in our little town. I thought she was pretty and we struck up a conversation, which was entirely her doing, since I was relatively clueless, even at 14. I was there hanging out, and I was surprised I met up with a girl, since it wasn't really on my mind. Before I knew it, we were hanging out more and more, taking walks, and even going places together. Jessica was not much of a Christian even though her grandpa was a United Methodist minister. All I could talk about was my faith. She humored me for awhile, but eventually became kind of sick of my always bringing everything back to my faith. I kind of got sick of myself at this point. She wanted to kiss me one night, and on account of a mix of cluelessness and moral puritanism, I pretended to not know what she was getting at. Eventually she started seeing me as more of a friend, although I had feelings for her. Soon we stopped seeing each other, and I was upset when I found out she cussed and hung out with "the wrong crowd." Nonetheless, the whole experience did serve to break me of my fundamentalism. I kind of liked the attention from girls, and since I couldn't reconcile having a relationship (even harmless) with a female and my strong faith, I chose women. I stopped reading my Bible regularly, and would only pray to cover myself, praying every night that God would forgive me my sins, "past, present, and future," a formula I had developed just in case. Talk about minimalism!

I started weight-lifting, getting in shape, taking vitamins, and was going to play football in the autumn. I was slowly abandoning any faith I had. Youth group became a burden. I started listening to oldies, and I wanted to leave youth group to go home and listen to Bob Dylan instead of Christian singer Carman. Even though my friends at this time weren't really Christian, I still held onto a basically Christian moral outlook. I wasn't very wild or rebellious. I just didn't want to be involved in the Christianity I knew, which I thought was hyper-emotional, hypocritical, and pretty boring. Plus, I wanted to "do my own thing," and that meant dating girls who I liked, who happened to not be Christian.

I pretty much had this agnostic outlook until the summer of 1998, when I turned twenty. In the meantime, from 1996 through spring of 1998 I had gone to College and pretty much began to forge my "own way," majoring in Psychology, and practically making a religion of that. I had dated quite a few women in there, none of them Christian. My friends weren't Christian, and the things we did were not always Christian either. By the summer of 1998 when I was working as an intern at a drug and alcohol treatment facility I was at a personal low. I was depressed and felt very unfulfilled. All the fun, all the education, and all the coping mechanisms did little for me. On the way home from a trip to town one day, I was complaining about my life as usual, and my dad said maybe I should consider Jesus again. That got me pretty upset and I didn't talk to him that night, mainly because of his strict tone. However, it did make me think. Maybe I did need Jesus. That night I decided that I would give following Jesus a try again. What could it hurt? I couldn't get any lower, and praying for the first time in years was like getting reacquainted with an old friend.

The next morning I woke up with more peace than I had in a long time. The general lassitude I had felt for the last few months began to abate. Dad apologized for the night before, and I did too. I was ready to give Christianity a try again, albeit on different terms. I wasn't going to rush back into the fundamentalism of my younger days. I had learned too much along the way for that. I did get back to reading the Bible and praying regularly. Strangely, this evangelical guy was not praying extemporaneously, but writing out form prayers, psalms, confessions, and more. I bought various prayer books and lit plenty of candles. It just seemed right and natural as a mood for prayer. I started collecting Bibles again, and for some reason K-Mart had a copy of the New American Bible, a Catholic translation. Just to be complete, I picked one up, and became fascinated with what I saw. The New Jerusalem Bible soon followed. Around that time, my brother and I had a strange urge, one that had come out of nowhere, to attend Midnight Mass. I am sure my dad and mom were highly perplexed by two Methodist guys heading out to midnight Catholic mass like it was a revered family tradition. While we were somewhat confused, and squeezed into the pews, I remember feeling connected to something larger than myself, something almost mystical, although I never seriously considered becoming Catholic at that point.

Upon returning to college, I immediately jumped into evangelical groups, mainly because that is all I knew. I started going to Campus Crusade and Navigators meetings, and attended a "contemporary" United Methodist Church. Initially I liked them, and the people were great, but after awhile I began to see some weaknesses. It seemed like every meeting was centered around getting new people into the fold. While new people would come in, old people would leave. There was high turnover rate in these groups outside a core few. In addition, I was getting tired of the contemporary worship and the emphasis on individual "quiet times." The leaders of the Navigators became concerned with my lack of daily quiet times, as if Jesus had said "unless ye have quiet times ye cannot see the kingdom of heaven." I was also tiring of what I perceived as self-help Christianity, where the Christian faith was designed to relieve every earthly problem, rendering one blissfully happy-go-lucky. These campus groups also took a weird view on relationships, almost Gnostic in tone, when they criticized any physical contact in relationships before marriage, including holding hands. Furthermore I saw some inconsistent theology out of the leaders, and when a prominent leader in one of these groups told hundreds of students that John 1:1-18 ("The Word was God," etc) referred to the Bible, I nearly lost it. Hadn't he read down to verse 14? In general, I was seeing some of the same excesses I saw when I essentially left the Christian faith in 1994. A change was coming though...

1999 saw me taking two important classes: Early Christianity and Old Testament. Both of these classes challenged my thinking, and gave me ways to put my objections to contemporary evangelicalism into words. The Early Christianity course, taught by an Orthodox Christian, showed me a Church that had weekly Eucharist, liturgical services, an episcopal structure, among other foreign elements. The Old Testament class looked at the Bible critically and challenged me to actually read what the Bible was saying, instead of assuming I knew. I had to face the fact that the Bible was not the inerrant-to-the-letter handbook I had once assumed, and I found this out, well, by actually reading it. I was intrigued primarily by the Early Christian writers at this point. I bought a set of the earliest Church Fathers (AD 100-330), followed by the later ones (AD 330-800). I began reading them faithfully (while continuing to read the Bible). I just could not square what I was doing with what they were saying. Being a historian, I could not dismiss what they were saying, because they did live immediately after the apostles. One of the major issues I had to face was my view of salvation, which did not jive with the Church Fathers. The early Church Fathers darn-near unanimously read "you must be born again" in John 3:3 to mean "you must receive the sacrament of baptism within the Church" yet I was raised to believe you were born again when you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. The Eucharist, the Episcopacy, and worship were other important areas where what I believed and did hardly resembled what the Church Fathers believed and did.

I slowly began to become more Catholic, changing my prayer life and gradually shifting my beliefs. My prayer life became enriched as I began facing East when praying, and I plastered icons and photos of them on my walls. Needless to say, the evangelical spirituality of the Navigators and Campus Crusade lost its appeal. I tried to share what I learned with everyone, but usually it was met with blank stares, a lack of interest, or even mild condemnation. For example, at one Bible study, I brought up the early Church and the martyrs, and what powerful witnesses they were to the faith. Immediately another student pulled the conversation back to how the passage (in Philippians I believe) related to his recent quiet time. I began to wonder where I could go now. I really had no spiritual home. I could either be a kind of Catholic exile in a Protestant church, or go it alone, neither good Catholic options. Then my brother discovered the Episcopal church one Ash Wednesday.

The Methodist churches locally didn't have Ash Wednesday services, so he called around, and the Episcopal church had one, and since it was about a block away, he went (I was studying that night). He came back saying "this is it! This is what we have been looking for!" It was just like our private prayer services (which now had become very form-based, modeled after the Book of Common Prayer and other prayer books). I visited the Sunday after, and loved the service, feeling right at home.

We were both confirmed in the Episcopal church by April, as the priest was more than willing to get us in quickly since the parish had few students. Our confirmation was a surprise to our family and friends, all of whom did not know the full extent of either of our struggle with historical Christianity. Sometimes mild fights would erupt in the house about church issues, but gradually things cooled off. I used to joke that some college students sneak out to use drugs; my brother and I sneaked out to go attend Vespers. I continued studying the early Church and attending Episcopal services. I was very uncomfortable with some of the liberal elements of Episcopalianism I encountered, but I put on the rose-colored glasses and continued on.

After graduating from college, I went to Emory University for my Master's Degree. When I arrived, my brother and I attended an Anglo-Catholic Anglican church in Atlanta that was known around town as pretty conservative. I was also studying a wider period of Church History, which now included the Middle Ages. I used to think the Medieval church became corrupt and had little to offer in the way of spirituality or theology. Thanks to my Anglo-Catholic parish and some great professors, I discovered the riches of the Medieval Church. I also discovered the rosary, confession, and other prayers and sacraments I was unfamiliar with. While this was happening, I began to encounter the liberalism of the wider Episcopal church, and the Anglican religion I knew in my mind did not come close to matching up with the Anglican church I encountered in reality. The Episcopal seminarians at Emory accepted almost every progressive secular idea that came around. Atlanta Episcopalianism was a hotbed for gay activism. However, I really tried hard to learn a thing or two from people I disagreed with, and always treated those with whom I disagreed charitably, but I was still one of the most conservative Episcopalians at the school.

In 2002 I began to feel a call to something more spiritually. Was it the ordained ministry? I seemed to think it was at the time, but now I have my doubts. I began to engage in conversations with my former priest in Ohio about exploring the process there. I graduated from Emory in May 2002 and began the "discernment process" for the priesthood in Ohio that summer. I felt uncomfortable with a lot of the process. The questions seemed to focus more on personality or vague spirituality rather than whether or not I was willing to serve in a priestly capacity for the Church of Jesus Christ. Nobody ever asked me if I even believed in Jesus. Perhaps some of the clergy on the committee may not have been able to answer "yes" to that question, so they didn't bother to ask. I reluctantly proceeded, but a comment by a priest that I "shouldn't reveal too much" about myself because that's not how the system works, should have set me straight about as to what I was entering, but it didn't.

At this point I was dating a Baptist girl, who reluctantly accepted my possible future as an Episcopal priest. We just didn't talk about our faith, which was difficult, because my faith had been the most important part of my life since I returned to the Christian faith. I proceeded with Diocesan requirements, spending a lot of my own money on flaky psychological evaluations, like drawing pictures of myself and my future. The Psychologist asked why I drew my future family and I without faces, asking what I thought it meant, suggesting maybe it had something to do with lack of commitment or something. I replied, "because I can't draw faces." That was the truth. I still can't draw faces. I think I paid 300 dollars for that piece of news. Anyway, by 2003 I had jumped through the Diocesan hoops and was scheduled to go to seminary, which I did in the Fall of 2003. However, in July something unexpected happened: Gene Robinson, a gay man in a non-celibate homosexual relationship, was elected the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire. While I had no problem with a gay "orientation," and had (and have) gay friends, I knew that it was the universal testimony of the ancient Church, East and West, that practicing gay men are not to be ordained to the priesthood or the episcopacy. I was upset at the news, partially because New Hampshire was being activistic at the expense of the future of the denomination, but I was going to "wait-and-see" as to the response from the Episcopal church. When I arrived at our seminary retreat, immediately after Robinson was elected, almost everybody spoke positively of the news, except my brother and I and a handful of others. One future priest responded to my objection with, "well you know that our Suffragan Bishop would marry gay people today if he were allowed," implying that we had better get used to it. Had I been feeling sarcastic, perhaps I would have asked "if our Suffragan bishop jumped off a bridge..." but I held my tongue. Another future priest at the retreat angrily dismissed certain Episcopalians who were "radically pro-life." I began to doubt my calling at this point, but I decided I would see it through.

I enjoyed my time at seminary to a great degree. I met some great friends I still see regularly, whose insights and friendships I value highly. However, as time marched on, Gene Robinson's election was affirmed by the Episcopal Church and he was consecrated against the wishes of the wider Anglican communion, despite some strong objections by worldwide Anglican leaders. I published commentary on these objections here: Editor David Bennett Responds to the Anglican Primates Statement. I finally broke down and joined the conservative American Anglican Council. I did this secretly, because had word gotten to the diocese it wouldn't have gone over very well. Reactions at this "high-church" seminary were almost universally supportive of the consecration. For the record, "high church" in this instance, as is often the case anymore, refers more to embracing medieval aesthetics than holding the theology or ethics of the Church in high regard. I asked the professor in charge of assigning seminarians to parishes to consider an orthodox assignment for me. I guess what is "orthodox" has changed over the years, because I was assigned to a church whose clergy were active members of the local pro-abortion "Clergy for Choice" chapter, not to mention supporters of Gene Robinson's consecration. I dreaded traveling there, simply because I felt so out-of-place. I also had to play almost every role in the parish, because even though the parish could hold 400 or more people a service, the attendance was about 70 at this service. Nobody wanted to get involved it seemed. As an Episcopalian, I was becoming accustomed to empty parishes. The rector later described this parish as a "thriving downtown parish." I guess the meaning of "thriving" has also changed.

I decided I could not return to seminary for the winter quarter, and I let the diocese know that I could not be ordained into the Episcopal church in good conscience knowing that it had consecrated Gene Robinson as bishop against the wishes of the wider Anglican Communion, acting in a congregationalist fashion. Gene Robinson's consecration, I told my bishop, was also contrary to the teachings of Scripture and Catholic Tradition, East and West. Here is a copy of my resignation letter to the bishop. I was still holding out hope for a place in Anglicanism, so I joined the conservative Anglican Communion Network, and inquired about their ordination process. I also met up with a priest friend of mine, and he offered to help my brother and I out with getting the ordination process started. We began attending his church and things were working out relatively well, although the parish was tiny, declining, and gray, and had no Anglo-Catholic identity whatsoever. It was during this time also that I was reading The Pontificator, an Anglican at this time, regularly. As of this update (5-19-2005) he has renounced his Anglican orders and is soon to become Catholic.

Eventually, the diocese found out that we were officially affiliating the Anglican Communion Network as a parish, which the diocese rightly perceived as a threat against its authority. Some members of the parish began plotting against my priest friend, and the diocese began pressing harder. Also at this point, financial aid for any future ministerial endeavors was looking to be non-existent, and my brother and I decided firmly that if God was calling us to be Anglican priests, then the money would have to come and back it up. No money was ever promised.

I was despairing. I began to question women's ordination, which I accepted while in graduate school, because I began to see that the arguments in favor of women's ordination were the same arguments used to justify all sorts of other innovations. I could hardly consider myself "catholic" and be in a Church that so clearly contradicted Catholic and Orthodox Teaching on the sacrament of holy orders. I also began to see that the Anglican church was not Catholic. Who told me this? Scores of Anglicans themselves! Worldwide most Anglicans are firmly committed reformed Protestants, who perhaps tolerate the views of Anglo-Catholic Anglicans, but when push comes to shove, have no real love of Anglo-Catholicism. I soon realized that the majestic Catholic Anglican church I loved never even existed, and never will. It existed only on paper, and in the minds of those few fellow Anglicans who happened to agree with me as to the definition of Anglicanism. Perhaps this is the beauty, or absurdity, of Anglicanism, that both John Spong and Peter Akinola can both think they represent "true Anglicanism." I also looked into the Charismatic Episcopal Church. While it is beyond the scope of this essay to get into the exact details, I decided not to join the Charismatic Episcopal Church because it had the same problem as the Anglican Church: what it was and what it stood for depended on whom you asked.

Now we arrive to the day we were running outside. A few days after this incident, as I have stated, my brother bought a book on Catholic converts. I began to look into the Catholic Church as well, seriously considering the idea. My relationship with my long-term Baptist girlfriend had been deteriorating for awhile, and around this time we broke up, part of it because of religious differences. We just could not sustain our relationship, because it was not based on faith. How I, a future Anglican priest and proud Anglo-Catholic, could sustain a relationship for three years without putting faith at the center of it still mystifies me. At any rate, this break-up left me free to consider the Catholic Church even more fully. My brother and I now began praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament at a local Catholic parish. I bought quite a few books on the topic, including Catholicism for Dummies, The Christian Faith: In the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church, and I read the Catechism (which I had owned since 1999) all the way through. I began using the Catholic version of the Liturgy of the Hours instead of the Book of Common Prayer at this point as well, and exploring Catholic custom and spirituality.

By June, my local Episcopal parish was in turmoil, and the priest resigned and was going to start an Anglican Mission in America parish. While I supported him as a friend, I could not become AMIA, nor could I remain Episcopalian. The AMIA is clearly a part of the "Protestant" wing of Anglicanism. After deciding this, I scheduled a meeting with a Catholic priest, and was going to visit a Catholic Mass soon. Jonathan was visiting Australia at this point, and was anxiously awaiting the results of my meeting. The meeting went very well, and Fr. Black was willing to welcome Jonathan and me into the Catholic Church rather soon, seeing as how we were practically Catholic in our beliefs and practices as Anglo-Catholic Anglicans. He also gave us copies of Handbook for Today's Catholics.

When Jonathan returned to the states we had another meeting with Fr. Black, and set the date for confirmation at August 14th, which was the vigil of the Assumption of Mary. It is quite an interesting time to be confirmed, seeing as how the Assumption of Mary was one of the more difficult doctrines for me to accept coming from a Protestant background. By this time, after much study and prayer, I had fully submitted to the Teachings of the Catholic Church, and there was no going back. We had to tell mom, dad, and grandma, the prospect of which made submitting to the Magisterium seem rather easy. Their reactions were very mild. They were somewhat surprised, but not hostile, and very encouraging, although they probably still don't understand fully why a 26-year old would choose to become Catholic.

The day my brother and I were confirmed was amazing. My relationship with the Risen Lord had deepened further than I could ever had imagined. We began the day with confession, which took about 30 minutes each. It was quite scary to recount all of my sins since birth, and to tell them to a priest, but when it was over, it was quite liberating. I even joked, "can we do this again, father?" First communion was very powerful as well. I took the name "Hilary" at confirmation, after St. Hilary of Poitiers, one of the Church Fathers I had read back in 1999. I finally felt at home and at peace. I was glad to leave the wars of Anglicanism, and the emphasis on individualism and private judgment that led to them, behind. Even though I have always had a strong sense of right and wrong, I have never been much of a fighter. I had become sick and tired of always getting outraged at the most recent headline about the Anglican Church. I had grown weary of being embarrassed of my own denomination. Most of all though, I was glad to be in the arms of the Holy Catholic Church, where my relationship with the Lord could reach its fullest potential. After all, I had always gone to the Catholic Church for guidance anyway. It sounds strange, but since 1999, whenever I wanted a real answer to any moral or theological question, I went to a Catholic (or often Orthodox) source instead of those from my own denomination. That should have been telling I guess, but we humans can be slow learners. So after 6 years of being so close, finally I am Catholic! While I admit that there will be ups-and-downs as a Catholic, I know I have found my true spiritual home.

Added 4-3-2006: As I reflect back on my becoming Catholic, I think I need to clarify that I never have doubted the goodness of my past Christian experiences. I don't view myself as going from evil to good. I have no need to "renounce" my Protestant past. I believe that I have gone from something great to something even greater. I haven't "converted" in the sense that I came to believe in Jesus for the first time. I came to know Jesus as a Protestant, and I am getting to know him better as a Catholic. I have gone from having a deep, although minimalist, relationship with Christ to an even deeper, but more full, relationship with Him. I value my Protestant past, and while I have found my spiritual home, I have many kind words for those who have nurtured me in a Protestant setting. After all, it was my Protestant upbringing that helped lead me where I am today. However, I still have to say it is wonderful to be in the Holy Catholic Church!

Questions, Objections, and Answers

1. Why Didn't You Join an Orthodox Church?
I seriously considered going Orthodox (and to some degree, an Eastern Catholic Church) in the beginning of my doubts about Anglicanism. I have always admired the Eastern Churches, and I have embraced a lot of Eastern spirituality (and I still have great respect for my Eastern brothers and sisters). However, I am Western. No matter how hard I try, I am just not Eastern. While I love the East, I mostly lean toward a "Western" understanding of things. Plus, there is no Orthodox church within reasonable driving distance, and the one that is the closest (an hour away), is primarily a Greek social club (Catholic parishes can be this way too). Plus, in joining the Catholic Church, I joined a Church that has Eastern and Western jurisdictions and rites, and the Catholic Church accepts the Eastern Orthodox as pretty much fully, valid Catholic Christians. In my search for a truly universal Church, this was a very positive factor. However, I must say, I still respect those who choose to convert into Orthodox Churches, and I still have great respect for and often learn from Orthodox Christians.

2. Why Didn't You Stay and Reform Anglicanism?
I considered this option for the longest time. However, as time went on I had to face four real issues:
A. Could the Anglican Communion be reformed?
B. Did the Anglican Communion want to be reformed?
C. Was the Anglican Communion worth reforming?
D. What is Anglicanism again??

A. I gradually came to realize that the Anglican communion could not be reformed the way I wanted, at least not easily. Had I lived before women's ordination or the other innovations of the 1960s and 70s, I would have been very optimistic about the future of Anglicanism. I was an Anglo-Catholic Anglican, and worldwide this once-vibrant movement was shrinking or becoming increasingly just liberal dress-up. Anglo-Catholicism's time had passed, and with the evangelical wing of the Anglican Communion growing the most rapidly, I could see the writing on the wall. The Anglican cat is really out of the bag, and I believe that it would be nearly impossible for the Anglican church to return to what it once was (see D. below).

B. Most Anglicans seemed quite happy just being broad church moderates or liberals. Most weren't bothered by the events that greatly bothered me. Even conservative Episcopalians I met seemed content to brush off anything the national church did, no matter how crazy. I finally realized I wanted to turn Anglicanism into Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, something most Anglicans clearly did not want. So, why change an unwilling denomination, when I could actually become Catholic?

C. In answer to number three, I decided the Anglican Communion is not worth the effort. Please don't take this the wrong way; I recognize that there are those who feel called to fight for the future of Anglicanism, or just quietly serve God in the ways they can as Anglicans, and I am not questioning these callings in the least. However, for me, it just wasn't worth it. What was I fighting for? The English state church? A declining American denomination? A spin-off of the Protestant Reformation? Did we really need another reformation in a reformation denomination? How many reformations does England need in 500 years? The Anglican communion just did not have the history or the numbers for me to justify staying and fighting. I was not going to dedicate my life to fighting for what I was beginning to see as just another Reformation denomination. Plus, I was sick of always fighting, and losing.

D. Nobody knows what Anglicans believe. Nobody can tell you because there is no way to even know, because the Anglican communion tolerates a wide range of conflicting beliefs. The problem is that Anglicanism started as the English state church, and the main concern at the time was national unity, not unity of belief. Thus Christians with all sorts of divergent positions were made Anglicans. Over time at least three church parties have developed, all which accept many doctrines that the other parties reject. Thus they hold mutually exclusive positions. The problem is compounded by the fact that Anglicanism has no real authority structure to handle discipline, so a bishop like John Spong, who is atheist, can remain a bishop for 20 years and nothing can be done about it. So what Anglicanism is depends on whom you ask. For some it is a sort of unitarianism with liturgy, for others it is a reformed church that is evangelical, and for others it is none other than the English branch of the Catholic church. Some Anglicans accept no ecumenical councils as authoritative, some accept four, and others seven. Some believe that all 21 Catholic ecumenical councils are authoritative! Some Anglicans believe the Eucharist is a mere memorial meal, others believe in transubstantiation. Most probably don't care. I finally had to take off my rose-colored glasses and see that the Anglicanism I loved and defended never even existed. I wish it did...I kind of liked it!

3. Are You Still Evangelical?
Yes and No. I am not Evangelical in the sense of belonging to a denomination influenced by 18th century pietism and revivalism. Thus, I am not Evangelical in the technical sense of the term. I am evangelical in the general sense, in that I strongly believe in God's transforming power through Jesus, and I believe we are to share this message to the world. In other words, I believe that we must have a personal (and communal) relationship with Jesus. Thus I do consider myself an evangelical Catholic.

4. Will You Rewrite Your Story to Emphasize Theology and History a Little More?
Maybe. I know that this story is more of a personal account of my religious history than a "I became Catholic for reason X, Y, and Z." I have tried to update it to show a little more of the historical and biblical reasons I became Catholic, but I still want a more personal account available, since I think a lot of people relate to this type of story.

Link:http://www.ancient-future.net/conversion.html

QUESTIONS BEFORE CONVERTING

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Converting

Converting to the Catholic Faith is a pretty big deal. There is still a lot of prejudice against Catholics, even in the 21st century. Some Protestants insist that Catholics are not Christian, and converting to Catholicism is akin to converting to a cult. Thus, becoming Catholic can be extremely counter cultural. Here are a few things to consider before becoming Catholic. Note that these questions are primarily geared toward baptized Christians who have already made a basic profession of faith in Jesus Christ at baptism before becoming Catholic:

1. Can I Hold to All That the Church Teaches?Becoming Catholic means that you consent to all that the Church teaches. This means that if you have deep reservations about Church teachings or morality, you should probably wait. The Catholic Church is not set up as a pick-and-choose, buffet style, religion. While we are always glad to welcome new members into our Church, it is important to join the Church on her own terms, and not one's own terms. Does this mean that we aren't allowed to ever have private doubts and concerns about Church Teaching? No. Doubt is natural, and everyone has doubts. The key is to continue to have faith that God has preserved Truth through the Church even when we may be struggling personally.

2. Can I Handle Catholic Morality and Practice?While some Protestant denominations tend to emphasize mental assent to the exclusion of actions, the Catholic Church, like the early Church, requires both faith and action of her members. You are expected to avail yourself of the sacraments regularly, attend Mass every Sunday and on certain other days throughout the year (unless you are ill or have another just reason), confess your mortal sins before receiving communion, avoid artificial contraception, raise your children Catholic, and so on. While these things we have just mentioned actually draw many into the Church, because they reflect early Christian teaching and are truly radical and counter cultural, they may be too much for some people. We are not discouraging you from joining the Catholic Church, nor are we implying that our readers cannot handle the Church's requirements. We just want our readers to be aware of what is expected. We may not always live up to what God expects of us, but as Catholics we are expected to make an effort, and certainly we are not to dismiss the Church's morality and requirements as out-of-hand.

3. Am I Willing to Commit to the Time and Effort it Takes to Become Catholic?For Anglicans and others whose former denominations have a lot in common with Catholicism, becoming Catholic could entail a simple service of reception into the Church, followed by confirmation either that day or later. For others, the process may involve a four to seven month long program called RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. If you are unbaptized, or were baptized in a manner not recognized as valid by the Catholic Church, you may have to be baptized before joining. This means you must willingly accept Jesus as Lord and profess this before the Church and world at your baptism. The point is that becoming Catholic may require some time and effort on your part. As the saying goes, "the best things come to those who wait." It is well worth the wait, and in addition to (ideally) getting a solid grounding in the Catholic faith, you will develop friendships in RCIA that will last a lifetime. Don't feel too badly though, because in the early Church the catechesis process was three years long and very intense!

4. Why Doesn't My RCIA Program Accurately Convey Actual Catholic Teaching?Unfortunately, some RCIA programs have a reputation for watering down, or even downright denying, basic Catholic Teaching and morality. We have been told of other programs that, while otherwise orthodox, are overly emotional. All of this is probably done to make the faith less offensive, or because the teachers do not accept Catholic Teaching themselves. However, the result is that many converts become frustrated with RCIA, because they are joining the Church because they believe that Catholic Teaching, even the controversial parts, are true and worth following. While being involved in this type of RCIA setting is frustrating, there are ways to make the situation more bearable. First, act as a charitable witness to true Catholic Teaching, offering an orthodox and factual perspective to counter incorrect teaching. Second, remember that no RCIA program is perfect, and be willing to recognize the positive aspects of your RCIA program, even if there are many negatives involved. Third, pray for your teachers, sponsors, and fellow candidates/catechumens. Fourth, if you feel the problem is particularly bad, discuss the issue with the parish clergy and explain your concerns.

Visit this site for more information: http://www.ancient-future.net/conversion.html

INTRODUCTION

THE CATHOLIC CONVERTS BLOGSPOT

Are you drawn to the Catholic Church? Do you feel something is lacking as a non-Christian or a Protestant? Do you feel called to convert to Catholicism? Are you unsure about converting from your own denomination and want more guidance? Are you afraid of converting? Do you need information that is not sugar-coated or full of obvious anti-Catholic bias? If you are asking these or similar questions, then this Catholic conversion blogpsot is for you! Even if you are just seeking and looking for more information, we hope this page helps you understand more about the Catholic Church. You will come know many conversion stories that may inspire you to do the same.

For Catholics, this will also strengthen the faith that you have.

God bless us all!