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Starting at the Finish Line<\/em>\u00a0seeks to declare the Good News of the gospel in a way that sounds like \u201cgood news\u201d to the Latter-day Saint. It does this by 1) establishing the authority and \u201ccorrectness\u201d of the\u00a0Bible, 2) explaining how we are saved by the grace of God when we put our full faith and trust in the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, and in His blood alone, and 3) exposing the dangers of trying to contribute to our own salvation by adding obedience and good works to the finished work of Christ on the cross.<\/p>\n This message, to the devout Latter-day Saint, is overly simplistic and offensive. But to the struggling Mormon or to those who have already left the Mormon faith<\/a> and find themselves lost in a sea of confusion, it\u2019s\u00a0music to their ears.<\/p>\n I caught up with John to discuss his new book.<\/p>\n Instead of asking, \u201cwhat is your book about,\u201d I\u2019m going to ask the question that\u2019s behind<\/em> that question. And that unspoken question is, \u201chow are readers going to benefit from reading your book?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n John Wallace:\u00a0 Well, because my book has two very distinct \u201cprimary\u201d audiences, I will answer that in two parts.\u00a0 First, to my struggling Latter-day Saint reader (and by that I mean, those that have already left the Mormon faith and don\u2019t know where to turn, and those that are contemplating leaving), I would want them to come away with two things: 1) It\u2019s not about religion!\u00a0 This stringent set of rules and commandments that you\u2019ve labored under all these years are not, as it turns out, your ticket into heaven \u2013 even if you do<\/em> obey them perfectly (and who ever really does?)!<\/p>\n We are not on this earth to \u201cprove our worthiness to return to live with Heavenly Father\u201d.\u00a0 The fact is, we prove our un<\/em>worthiness to Him every single day.\u00a0 The Bible tells us that our very best righteousness is but \u201cfilthy rags\u201d to a holy God.\u00a0 And, 2) God knows this and has already accounted for it.\u00a0 He wants to give us eternal life, as His gift to give, in spite of <\/em>our unworthiness.\u00a0 Christ suffered and died on the cross to purchase our salvation.\u00a0 We receive that incomparable gift the moment we come to place our full faith and trust in His shed blood!\u00a0 He IS the way\u2026 and He\u2019s not asking for help.<\/p>\n My second primary audience is the concerned Christian who wants to have more meaningful (and fruitful) dialogue with their LDS friends and loved ones.\u00a0 My book will help them to better understand the Mormon mindset, as well as help them anticipate some of the more common stumbling blocks and points of resistance from the LDS.<\/p>\n Tell us a bit about the experiences that shaped the insights in the book. Were you ever a Mormon yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n John Wallace:\u00a0 Yes, I was an active member of the LDS church<\/a> for twenty years!\u00a0 I served a two-year, full-time mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina; was married in the Salt Lake temple; graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brigham Young University; and held a number of leadership positions within the church.\u00a0 So, I know what it means to be a devout Mormon.<\/p>\n I also know what it feels like to have serious doubts about Mormon history<\/a> as well as Mormon doctrine<\/a> \u2013 and yet not have anyone to safely talk to about those doubts.\u00a0 And ultimately, I know how difficult (but ultimately liberating) it can be to make that migration out of legalistic religion and into true saving relationship with Jesus Christ.\u00a0 It was painful and disorienting at times, but oh so worth it.<\/p>\n How is your book different from the many other books that seek to bring Mormons to Jesus Christ?<\/strong><\/p>\n John Wallace:\u00a0 There are many wonderful books that seek to clarify what\u2019s wrong with Mormonism and why it is that Mormon theology<\/a> places it far outside of true biblical Christianity.\u00a0 And there is certainly a place for that.\u00a0 My book, however, only glances off of the teachings of Mormonism.\u00a0 I focus almost exclusively on the \u201cgood news\u201d of the gospel; Christ dying on the cross to pay for our sinfulness, and the utter sufficiency of His blood.<\/p>\n In fact, in my introduction I write:\u00a0 \u201cThis book is not a prosecution of Mormonism\u2026it is very simply a defense of the gospel.\u00a0 If you consider my defense of the cross of Jesus to be an indictment of LDS theology, as I do, then so be it.\u00a0 I believe the supporting evidence is overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n I want to overwhelm my LDS reader with the glorious truth that our salvation is in Christ and Christ alone.\u00a0 I want them to see and intimately experience the vastly superior Jesus that we as Christians worship.\u00a0 And I think my book is helpful in opening that door of personal experience.\u00a0 People who have read it tell me that it does so in a unique and powerful way, and I praise God for that.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t surprise me, by the way.\u00a0 And I say that because clearly God wrote this book; it just happened to be my fingers roaming the keyboard.<\/p>\n Give us two or three insights from the book that would be helpful to all Christians.<\/strong><\/p>\n John Wallace:\u00a0 First, the LDS church is extremely vulnerable, now more than ever.\u00a0 In this age of ready information via the internet and a younger generation that just isn\u2019t \u201cbuying\u201d some of the historical truth claims of the LDS church, they are seeing more and more of their faithful members falling away.<\/p>\n This is our opportunity to share with them the risen Lord.\u00a0 Second, be encouraged by the fact that God\u2019s truth will prevail.\u00a0 God loves these wonderful people more than we do!\u00a0 He\u2019s on our side and is intervening, through His Holy Spirit, to draw them unto Himself.\u00a0 We need to continue to be a shining light of love, peace, joy, and strength to our LDS loved ones so that when they do summon the courage to walk away from Mormonism, they will immediately turn to us to learn more about the true and living God!<\/p>\n What do you hope readers will walk away with after they finish your book?<\/strong><\/p>\n John Wallace:\u00a0 I hope my Christian reader comes away with a deeper love for and understanding of their LDS friends and loved ones.\u00a0 I hope my book equips them to better reach the Mormons.\u00a0 And to my Latter-day Saint reader, that he will come to see that Christ is \u201cthe Way, the Truth, and the Life.\u201d\u00a0 That it is Christ and Christ alone, and there is no other name under heaven (including Joseph Smith\u2019s) by which we can be saved.<\/p>\n
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