Michele Vaughn was nineteen years old when she became a member of the RLDS church. Before that time she had never attended a church in her life. After she married, she and her husband John moved to the “Center Place” from Olathe, Kansas. They joined an RLDS congregation called Celebration Ministries and became very involved in church activities. While attending this group, both  she and her husband were called to the priesthood. It was during this time that they decided to do a serious study of the church’s teachings. As a result of their research they left the church. Michelle’s challenge to everyone who reads her testimony is to “seek the truth, love the truth and be saved.” This her testimony.

Love the Truth and be Saved!

I belonged to the RLDS church for 14 years, since 1988. I was a 19 year old when I was baptized having been introduced to the church by my new husband, John, who had been a member since he was eight years old. I had never gone to church before in my life and this one seemed as good as the next. John belonged, he was a Christian and so why not? For the first few years of our marriage we went to church in the home of John’s uncle and aunt who had physically left the church after the split over women in the priesthood, but wouldn’t withdraw their membership as it was the “one true church” and I was taught that denying that meant denying Christ. So, not knowing what else to think or even that there was anything else to think, I went along.

We were taught to distrust the world church. That they were in apostasy because they had gotten away from the true gospel that Joseph Smith had been called to bring forth and that they were going to be judged harshly for it. There were many dreams, experiences, visions, and prophetic words supposedly given about this and many other things. I can remember one time, in the late 80’s a series of dreams or experiences that John’s aunt had; she prophesied of a BIG earthquake that was going to destroy Independence and signal the judgment on the church, the coming of Christ and ultimately the establishment of Zion. We lived in Olathe at the time, about 45 miles from Independence. We stored water, food, and all kinds of survival gear and waited out the entire weekend in the basement. Needless to say, Independence is still here so that prophecy was not fulfilled.

There were many, many more like this and very few came to pass. But, if I questioned this, I was “admonished’ by the “Lord” that I had a suspicious mind or that I lacked faith or some such thing. I didn’t know my Bible and so I really had nothing to prove out my suspicions. Everyone else seemed okay with this, so I guess being a ‘baby’ Christian I just didn’t understand so I learned to keep my mouth shut (well, the best I could considering I am a pretty outspoken person).

To make a long story short, we finally broke our ties with this group and began attending a small ministry called Paraclete. It was the complete opposite of my previous experience with church. We sang and played contemporary Christian music. Everyone was encouraged to ‘move by the Spirit’ and it was very free flowing and spontaneous. After a while this small ministry combined with another, and Celebration Ministries was born. At that time many of John’s family were part of this ministry and involved specifically in the music ministry. We became very involved with this congregation, living in Olathe but driving to Independence 2-3 days a week or more for activities or responsibilities. We finally decided to move to the ‘center place’ and, thinking I was doing the will of the Father, we moved. This upped our participation level even more. We lived and breathed Celebration Ministries. At various times either John or I were involved in Wednesday night children’s ministry, outreach teams, pastorate teams, presiding ministry, music ministry, prayer teams, fund raising committees and Santa-Cali-Gon preparation. We even were part of a local church plant that ultimately failed – and the list goes on. During all this we were both ordained to the office of priest so that meant the added leadership responsibilities of the sacraments, family ministry, etc. At one point our congregation was growing so much that we were told we were the fastest growing RLDS congregation in the northern hemisphere and were being considered by the CCM portion of the church as their ‘model congregation’ and ultimately a sort of training ground for other congregations. The idea I want to get across is I was sold out for this ministry; not because of the RLDS church, but because I had a heart for Jesus.

You see, during this time (an estimated 10 years) I had never read the Book of Mormon or the Doctrine and Covenants. As a matter of fact, I preferred my NIV Bible to the Inspired Version. Don’t get me wrong, I had tried and tried to read them. I prayed for a desire, I prayed for a testimony. I prayed for a desire to pray even. But, when it came to these books and church history I just never could get myself motivated enough. It’s not that I didn’t believe it, as a matter of fact I had learned clear back in the beginning with John’s aunt not to question the church too loudly or you would really be ruffling feathers. Besides, I reasoned, I was ministering HERE in Celebration for the Lord. It didn’t really matter WHERE I served Him only that I did, right? I had no ‘solid’ reason to leave.

So what that the World Church was becoming more and more liberal each conference. So what that there was Hindu stuff going on in the Temple. Big deal that every Herald that was published sounded more like an ad for a New Age church than a Christian one. I tried to ignore the fact that the church took a sort of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach to homosexuality and abortion. I personally knew what I believed and I would leave the convicting of the hierarchy to the Lord. I would just pray for them. That was God’s business and MY business was serving Him wherever he planted me. Besides, maybe I could be that lone light in the darkness some day.

Looking back, I can see that the Lord was showing me things a little at a time, but while I was IN the church I really couldn’t see it. First a couple who had been some of our best friends left the church. Then one of John’s sisters and her husband, an elder, left. Very soon after that his mother, a teacher, turned in her membership. And then, John’s brother a priest, and his family left. Then more friends, some having held high leadership positions for years, from a retired appointee and high priest down to the nice quiet woman who I never would have dreamed would leave this church she loved so much. This all happened in less than a year’s time! What was going on here? Had they all gone mad or just lost the nerve? My mother in law offered me some books to answer this very question and I refused them. I wasn’t going to be lead around by the apron strings of anyone, though I love her very dearly. So, what else could I do? – I checked them out from the local library without telling anyone, of course!

The first books I read were “Part Way to Utah” by Paul Trask and “RLDS Church: Christian or Cult?” by Carol Hansen. I had heard of the latter before my mother-in-law mentioned it. About a month before, I accidentally ran into another mom at a home school gathering and we somehow got around to our last names. She recognized mine immediately. Why? Because she was involved with a local group of folks who had left the church and were praying for those still in it. How she got my name exactly I don’t know, but I answered her politely enough and then told her that if we were going to be friends, this subject was off limits. She agreed and gave me the name of this book and that was the end of it.

I was a little nervous to start reading these things, because I was already beginning to suspect that what I was about to read was true. I prayed and prayed and researched and prayed. John and I spent many a late night over the next weeks pouring over these two books, photocopied documents from the Times and Seasons, RLDS church history volumes, Utah Mormon books, the Book of Mormon, D&C, websites and multiple versions of the Bible. We finally concluded that they were true. We had been duped. Joseph Smith was either a clever con artist or a spiritualist or both. The Book of Mormon was not truly a work of God, but a work of Satan himself. The changes in the Bible were not inspired by God, but by man and the devil, a clever ploy to justify the Book of Mormon.

There are so many things that we have discovered:

• Joseph was a polygamist and there is real proof
• He and his entire family were steeped in occultic practices right up until his death.
• The idea that the Native Americans came from Hebrew descent was not a new idea to Joseph Smith, many held to this theory.
• The priesthood structure itself has been manipulated and is anti-Christ and an insult to the “Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:33).

There are just so many things. My challenge to anyone who reads this is to seek the truth, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). If you are really seeking truth, you should not be afraid to look at both sides.

“For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thess. 2:10,11).

Love the truth and do not be deluded. Love the truth and be saved!