UGP 236 - Questions to the BYU Professor Dismissed; To Whom Shall We Go? Alicia Wilder – Part 2

Something was missing. Alicia said LDS life looked okay on the outside, but inside, she had questions. She noticed hypocrisy from her LDS peers. Their shortcomings did not seem to bother them, but didn’t they matter to God? She began to recognize her own imperfections and felt lost, destitute, and began to struggle. She clung to her friend Micah’s email that said God loves us unconditionally, giving her hope that God might love her. But she sensed her depravity and knew she could not make herself worthy of him on her own. She had been taught her perfection was required to please God and to keep the LDS Holy Ghost with her. One night in desperation, she cried out to God and asked him to take over her life. She could not measure up on her own merit. For 3 wonderful days afterward, she knew God saw her in her destitute state and yet loved her; the peace was palpable. Alicia now believed God had taken her to that place of brokenness and surrender that good might result—that she would know his love. She became open, hungry, and developed a longing to read the Bible. She took her questions to her NT class at BYU and describes herself as the “class lunatic" with so many questions.

Was she now saved? She says not yet. She read in John 4:24 (ESV) “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Since she did not yet understand the truth in the Bible, Alicia declares she was not yet saved. But her Bible reading was getting her there…