How a Zealous Mormon Missionary Discovered the Jesus He Never Knew
Sometimes I enjoy a book, but still find myself scratching my head about certain elements of it. Sometimes I genuinely appreciate what an author has to say, yet find myself wondering about some of his claims. And this is exactly the case with Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew. It’s an enjoyable book and in many ways an inspiring one. But it’s also a little bit confusing at times.
Micah Wilder was raised in a faithful and devout Mormon home, first in Indiana and then in Utah. Like many young Mormons, he decided to embark on a two-year evangelistic mission. Though initially told he would be assigned to Mexico, medical issues intervened and he was instead dispatched to Florida. For much of the time he spread the Mormon gospel, telling all who would listen (and many who wouldn’t) that God was restoring the true Christian faith through the Mormon church.
Several months into this mission, Micah encountered a Baptist pastor. He was intent on converting this pastor to Mormonism and convinced he had provided a perfect defense of his faith. But there was one thing he couldn’t shake. The pastor had listened attentively, then encouraged Micah to do the simplest thing: to read the Bible free of Mormon presuppositions while pleading with the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word. He took up the challenge and read the New Testament not once, but repeatedly. And over time God was pleased to act—he opened Micah’s eyes to the truth. He came to understand that, contrary to Mormonism, he could not earn his salvation, but could receive it only as a free gift of grace. He repented, believed, and was saved.
Yet he was still in the Mormon church and his newfound convictions did not go over well with his leaders. Inevitably, he was called before them and disciplined. He left the church and began a ministry meant to reach Mormons and others with the good news of what Christ has done. Happily, his girlfriend (now his wife) also came to faith, as did his siblings and parents. (His mother, Lynn, has told her story in Unveiling Grace.) It is a wonderful story and is well-told. He focuses a great deal of attention on the reliability of Scripture and the essential doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And at the same time, he refutes the contradictory Mormon doctrines, which makes this a book that may prove useful in reaching other Mormons.
So where do my hesitations come in? First in the lack of attention to the importance of the local church in the life of the Christian. I understand that coming out of an institution as overbearing as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, Wilder may have had some hesitations about aligning with another institution. Yet while his conversion happened outside the context of a local church, he never seems to integrate with one and tell his readers that they ought to do the same. Even now it’s hard to tell if he is connected to a local church or if he’s merely connected to a parachurch organization. There is also the role of different forms of prophecy or other unusual elements in his story in which he is told—and appears to believe—that he has an unusually important role to play in God’s plan for this world. And then there is the way he tells the story as if he could recollect the fine details of conversations that took place decades earlier, something that does not seem entirely plausible.
Yet these potential weaknesses aside, Passport to Heaven is an interesting and engaging book and its author has an important story to tell. It is encouraging to read how the Lord saved him and called him to himself, and a blessing to see how that work then spread throughout his family. Already the book seems to have made an impact among Mormons and I pray that in the years ahead it will continue to do so. I am glad I took the time to read it.
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The Happiest Year You Will Ever Know
There are some hymns that disappear because they are simply not very good. There are some hymns that disappear because they are too tied to a particular niche. And there are some hymns that disappear because their language becomes antiquated. I think this hymn/poem by John Newton spans the latter two categories. It is closely tied to New Year’s, so likely to be sung for only one Sunday out of every 52. And then some of the language has become just a little bit old-fashioned.
Still, it is worth dusting off, reading, and pondering as one year fades into another. In it, Newton marks the year that has gone and celebrates the year to come (though possibly not right now)—the year that will prove to be the best of your life.See! another year is gone!Quickly have the seasons passed!This we enter now uponMay to many prove our last.Mercy hitherto has spared,But have mercies been improved?Let us ask, am I preparedShould I be this year removed?
Some we now no longer see,Who their mortal race have run;Seemed as fair for life as we,When the former year begun;Some, but who God only knows,Who are here assembled now,Ere the present year shall close,To the stroke of death must bow.
Life a field of battle is,Thousands fall within our view;And the next death-bolt that flies,May be sent to me or you:While we preach, and while we hear,Help us, Lord, each one, to think,Vast eternity is near,I am standing on the brink.
If from guilt and sin set free,By the knowledge of Thy grace;Welcome, then, the call will beTo depart and see Thy face:To Thy saints, while here below,With new years, new mercies come;But the happiest year they knowIs their last, which leads them home. -
Why Should We Try To Add One Stitch To a Finished Garment?
Easter is a day of acceptance, a day of completion, for on Easter God validated Christ’s atoning sacrifice by raising him from the dead. Yet despite the sufficiency of Christ’s work, we can so easily slip back into an old mindset in which we become convinced there is still something left for us to do. F.B. Meyer addresses this temptation in a wonderful bit of prose:
We must accept the finished work of Christ. He has ceased from the work of our redemption, because there was no more to do. Our sins and the sins of the world were put away. The power of the adversary was annulled. The gate of heaven was opened to all that believe. All was finished, and was very good.
Let us, then, cease from our works. Let us no longer feel as if we have to do aught, by our tears or prayers or works, to make ourselves acceptable to God. Why should we try to add one stitch to a finished garment, or append one stroke to the signed and sealed warrant of pardon placed within our hands? We need have no anxiety as to the completeness or sufficiency of a divinely finished thing.
Let us quiet our fears by considering that what satisfies Christ, our Savior and Head, may well satisfy us. Let us dare to stand without a qualm in God’s presence, by virtue of the glorious and completed sacrifice of Calvary. Let us silence every tremor of unrest by recalling the dying cry on the cross, and the witness of the empty grave. -
Progressive Christianity: What’s So Dangerous About It?
This sponsored post was provided by Nelson Books and is adapted from Allen Parr’s book Misled: 7 Lies That Distort the Gospel (and How You Can Discern the Truth).
The origins of progressive Christianity are complex. The movement embraces some aspects of liberal Christianity, which can be traced back to both Enlightenment-era rationalism and the Romanticism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While progressive Christianity shares some features of the social gospel movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it can also be seen as a reaction against it.
The progressive Christian movement says that the church needs to revisit and adjust its methods, practices, and beliefs as the culture changes. In other words, the church should conform to culture rather than holding to the transformative power of the gospel to point culture to Jesus.
Progressive Christianity largely borrows from postmodernism. What is postmodernism? Maybe the easiest way to answer that question is to compare it with modernism. Modernism of the 18th and 19th centuries focused on rational inquiry and empirical evidence. Modernists were optimistic that science and philosophy could explain just about everything; however, when innovation and scientific advancements did not result in a global utopia, postmodernism came in as a reaction against that optimism and questioned the very nature of truth.
Have you ever heard people talk about “my truth” or “your truth,” as if the truth is little more than an individual opinion? That’s postmodernism talking. Have you ever noticed that tolerance and open-mindedness are lifted as the highest virtues, while people who claim certainty (especially about morality) are treated with suspicion or even shouted down? That’s postmodernism talking too.
It’s with this postmodern backdrop that progressive Christianity justifies a relaxed acceptance of sin and the affirmation of all world religions as true. Perhaps the most dangerous tendency of progressive Christians is their rejection of the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.
Many people throughout history have affected “change or transformation in individuals” through “enlightenment, forgiveness, wholeness” and so on. Some would say that about Oprah Winfrey, Mahatma Gandhi, or the Dalai Lama. This description doesn’t distinguish the work of Jesus from the work of any other humanitarian, teacher, or leader. Jesus’ death is said to be simply the ultimate picture of self-giving love, “not as a sacrifice needed to gain approval or forgiveness by God.”
It doesn’t get plainer than that. Progressives do not see what Jesus did on the cross as achieving God’s forgiveness for our sin but rather as “a model for all to follow.”
To suggest that salvation was not a major emphasis for Jesus, or the gospel writers is a huge stretch. But even if that were true, other New Testament writers certainly focused on salvation, which showcases the cherry-picking tendencies of progressive Christianity to water down gospel to relativism rather than transformative truth.
Learn more about Misled and order your copy today.
About Allen Parr:
Allen Parr is a national speaker, YouTuber, author, ordained minister, husband, and father. He is the cofounder (with his wife, Jennifer) of Let’s Equip, a nonprofit organization that equips Christians and Christian organizations with courses and curriculum to aid in biblical literacy and spiritual growth.
Allen is a proud graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, where he earned his master of theology degree in 2004. He has served on staff at several churches in various positions, including worship pastor and pastor of Christian education. His popular YouTube channel, The BEAT (Biblical Encouragement And Truth) with Allen Parr, reaches millions of believers with encouragement to live out their true calling as Christians.
Allen is also a national speaker and gifted communicator of the word of God and has a passion for equipping other content creators utilize digital media to fulfill the great commission. He and Jennifer and their two children live in Texas.
