Appreciate my video? Donate here: https://www.paypal.me/paychrisjohnson Your donation will encourage me to make more videos like this one! - Chris Johnson Perhaps some of your friends or family have left the church, and you want to understand why. Maybe you want to help them, but you know they won't listen to you until you truly understand where they are coming from. Some of you may have had questions of your own, but you were told not to explore them. This topic is very pivotal and sacred to all of us, so my purpose is not to tell you what to think, but to open a dialog where everyone is welcome to share their views and answer difficult questions. I hope you feel comfortable and safe as you explore the possibilities presented in this series. I want to include you in my journey, please feel free to question everything presented here, think about it, analyze it. If I am wrong, or if you feel I have missed something pivotal then let me know, so I may change my ways. Let's discuss it here openly so that all may benefit. As LDS Apostle John Taylor said: I think a full, free talk is frequently of great use; we want nothing secret nor underhanded, and I for one want no association with things that cannot be talked about and will not bear investigation. (Journal of Discourses, Volume 20, Page 264.) The church meant everything to me, I lived and breathed it, every moment and every day of my life. It was the anchor to my soul, it lead me to Jesus Christ -- the hope of my salvation. At its core, the church encourages us to build love in our hearts, to serve others, to be honest, good citizens and to progress in our lives. It will always remain a part of me, for it helped shape my moral compass, and with all of my heart, I believed it to be true. I never wanted to leave it, so what happened? In short, I made an intriguing discovery regarding truth. I remember a powerful moment -- only a few years ago. My brother was struggling with his LDS testimony and I wanted to help him as I felt I had a deeper understanding of the gospel than he did. But three thoughts occurred to me. First, I could not help him if I did not fully understand his concerns. How could I expect him to listen to me, if I would not listen to him? Second, I could not fully understand him if I arrogantly decided before hand that all of his points were going to be invalid. Third, If it turned out that I was wrong about my faith some how, would I end up defending the wrong church to my grave as I've seen other men do? I knew that defending my religion at all costs meant I would lose my ability to see both sides clearly and objectively. As I wondered if it was alright for members to investigate both sides of our faith, my mind drew strength from words like that of LDS Apostle J. Reuben Clark: If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed. (Apostle J. Reuben Clark, J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1983, p. 24.) As these thoughts settled in my mind, I realized that my brother and I were not so different, we had the same goal: Truth. I realized that the goal was not to make the church seem true at all costs, but to find the truth at all costs. And I wanted to be a follower of Christ, a man of integrity. So at that moment, I decided to follow the path of truth, no matter the consequences. I decided that if the church were true, I'd live every principle to its fullest, and do my utmost to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. On the other hand, if the church were somehow not true, I would leave it -- even if it was painful - so that I could follow more truth and continue to progress in my life. I knew that settling for anything less than the truth would never satisfy me -- so I made the commitment then and there to follow truth no matter where it lead me. I remember it was a reassuring, peaceful, memorable moment. I felt God was pleased with my decision to take truth so seriously. People have died for the church, and I wanted to have that same kind of commitment to truth. I admire those that value truth so highly. Before we go to the next video, I'd like to see where you're at in regards to truth. We all have differing opinions, but I'm guessing that most of you feel the same way about truth. Nobody wants to live a lie. So let's hold a mini-poll here on youtube to see how many people are serious about the truth. If you are committed to following the truth, give this video a thumbs up, otherwise give it a thumbs down. Thanks, and I look forward to reading all your comments and feedback. I originally called this series "Why I Left Mormonism" but I would prefer to keep an open mind to all the possibilities as I make this series, so I now call it "My LDS Journey" Source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpQembjjU-_-liYG1kELDg

Donate here: https://www.paypal.me/paychrisjohnson Your donation will encourage me to make more videos like this one! - Chris Johnson In this video I will be discussing some methods that organizations are using to deceive us and control our lives. I have personally found this information to be very beneficial for my family, my health and even my finances. To achieve our highest potential, it is important to learn how to avoid deception, and embrace truth. In the last video I explained that while I was praying to help my apostate brother Duane come back into the LDS church, I came into contact with some ex-Jehovah's Witnesses. They explained that their former religion used specific techniques to control their mind, so I investigated those techniques and was surprised by what I found. [Partial Dialogue:] I always thought that mind control was something from the movies. So when the ex-Jehovah's Witnesses began explaining how their minds had been manipulated and controlled by specific techniques -- I was in shock and amazement. At first I resisted, but then I felt peace knowing that this information came as a result of my sincere prayers. Calmly, slowly, it all started to make sense. This is how they do it. Here is an official Jehovah's Witness video made to teach gospel principles to their children. [ http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/... ] [... This is how the BITE model of mind control works...] [... Watch the video to see how to Avoid Deception and Mind Control] Credits: 1. Steven Hassan - http://www.freedomofmind.org 2. Laura Sandeasterman 3. Mickey Hudson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDWri... 4. Craig Stevens 5. "Joe" - "Episode 80: Leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses" - http://tiny.cc/LeavingJehovahWitnesses 6. Stephanie H. - 2013 JW Convention Audio and Slides are from her video "I am a Human Apostate, and so are YOU!" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DbfC4... I originally called this series "Why I Left Mormonism" but I would prefer to keep an open mind to all the possibilities as I make this series, so I now call it "My LDS Journey"