Just Believe

By Carol Harper

Author of Through the Eye of a Needle

I believe Jesus. I believe in Jesus. These are not just two blanket statements written without thought or conviction. The foundation of my belief is based upon a God-moment in my life empowered by faith, resulting in a healing of my eyes and lost soul. This one belief is sustained by that same faith that I have every day of my life, never to be tainted again by the tenets of religious, legalistic doctrines.

Several readers of my book (all of them Christian) have been hung up on my statement, “…I am not a Bible-believing Christian, I am a Jesus-believing Christian.” (Through the Eye of a Needle, Chapter 5: “Unorthodox Christianity” p.98) Christians would not understand this statement, thinking right out of the gate that I don’t believe the Bible. This is not the case. I didn’t say I didn’t believe the Bible. I just said I’m not a Bible-believing Christian. It’s a descriptor of the kind of Christian I am. The focus of my life is Jesus Christ, not the Bible. It’s a trust issue, and in order for you to understand, I’ll explain a little further.

For Mormons, their “scriptures” are made up of not only the King James Version of the Bible, but three additional books—the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. As a Mormon, I believed every single one of those books of scripture with all of my heart, the Bible included. My testimony was based upon that belief in Joseph Smith’s vision that brought about the Book of Mormon, in the whole concept of “continuing revelation” through who I believed and professed with my own tongue to be a prophet of God. There are thirteen Articles of Faith listed in the Pearl of Great Price that I had memorized by my twelfth birthday. I wrote music for the LDS that were based upon my belief in the words written in these scriptures. Also—and this is something that many Christians are unaware of—Joseph Smith re-translated the Bible to fit his own doctrine! So see, my Bible was tainted, tampered with. Your average, Bible-believing Christian cannot understand the kind of religious and mental programming that Mormons willingly subject themselves to.

The trouble is and never has been with my belief in the Bible. My trouble was my belief in a Bible that witnessed to a false Christ, my allegiance to false prophets and to a religion that led me astray and away from the Good Shepherd. Again, a born and raised, strong, solid believer in Jesus could never understand this. So, if anything I am viewed as quite an enigma. But even Bible-thumping Christian churches have been and are in danger of focusing more upon the theology and interpretations of Bible scripture, or what is or isn’t “Biblical”, that they forget about the Word made flesh, the miracle of Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). They forget that the whole point of the Bible is about the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ.

Which leads us to a very interesting question: Is the world a better place because of the Bible?

Not when the Bible is used to validate character, as in: “I’m a good, Bible-believing Christian!” Not when the Bible is used to justify beating, raping and killing. Not when it is used as a weapon for revenge or to declare war. Not when the Word is twisted and interpreted to have a whole other meaning than the rightful context in order to support one’s opinion, personal “revelation”, or even their lifestyle. Or to secure votes in election time (Ooo, yes, she said it, folks!)

I wonder…would Jesus be a Republican or a Democrat? Would He be a liberal or a Neo-con? I don’t know; it appears that Jesus was quite a rebel back in the day. Some would consider Him liberal, even quite radical. It’s apparent the orthodox, conservative Sanhedrin weren’t impressed. In fact, His teachings, parables and miracles stirred up quite a hornet’s nest among them. Tough crowd; got Him crucified, and His disciples and believers weren’t exactly popular in your average Roman circles, either. But today it seems that Christianity has elevated itself to a level of acceptance conditional to certain criteria, one of which is a belief in the Bible. Hmm, guess I didn’t get that memo when I was born again.

It was the miraculous book, the Bible—specifically John 9—that showed me the way to Jesus. And just as Jesus was quite unorthodox in His day, so am I an unorthodox Christian in a day of complex twists and turns. But hey, consider where I came from. When I left Mormonism, I was alone in pain, anger and doubt, and nearly became an atheist. Believe me, the last thing I needed at that time was someone to preach their Bible to me. When Jesus went about healing and performing miracles, He didn’t approach the lepers, blind, deaf, diseased and maimed by saying, “Hey, now…time for a little test on Leviticus and the major prophets of the Old Testament. And there will be homework…”

No, what was it He required? Quite simply: faith. (Mark 5:34, Luke 7: 7-9; 9:43-48)

I’ve had a few Christians come up to me at book-signings who completely understood and agreed with what I was saying. I don’t expect the majority of Christians to understand my statement of belief and focus on Jesus more than the Bible. But I do think that there are ex-Mormons and transitioning Mormons out there who may very well understand where I’m coming from. As a temple-going Mormon, striving for “eternal perfection” can be exhausting when looming over you are the prerequisites of becoming a god or goddess, king or queen, priest or priestess in the highest of three segregated heavens. The associated fear and guilt can get to you sometimes. Sometimes you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. But for me personally, it wasn’t until I quit looking at the big wizard head and followed Toto behind the curtain, that the truth behind my fallacious belief system was revealed.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28, KJV

Jesus didn’t say “Read the Bible and it will give you rest,” He said He would. He didn’t say that the Bible or any other book was the way, the truth and the life; He said that He is. God so loved the world thatHe gave His only begotten Son—not Joseph Smith (John 3:16). If you claim to be a Bible-believing Christian, then just how much do you know about this book that you invest so much of your time in? How much did I know when I was a Mormon? Wouldn’t that time be better spent getting to know the One who truly saves?

This may sound like a pitch for the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John…well, okay, so maybe it is! But wouldn’t your time be better spent getting to know the One you claim to call your “Lord and Savior”? I highly recommend reading the words of Jesus again with the faith of one who has nothing to lose…or everything to lose. Don’t burn through those words in red, read them slowly. Enjoy learning of Him. Enjoy the rest to your soul. Enjoy the lightening up, the relief, the joy. Lord knows we need more joy in this world today.

As I expounded in my book…are you like the rich man who lacked nothing, but couldn’t give up everything he had in order to follow Jesus (Matthew 19)? You can be rich in many ways, including knowledge of scripture. You could hold a degree in theology or religious study, attend a Bible college, you can even buy supplemental books to help you in a weekly Bible study. But why do that when right before you, in the center section of the most popular best selling book of all time, are the simple, powerful teachings of some liberal Rabbi, Who took risks every day of His earthly life to minister to you? And you know, the best part is…He did it for free!

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV, underline added.

 Unorthodox Christianity: “Just Believe” by Carol Harper. Copyright © 2008. For licensing and permission, please e-mail: crharper@gmail.com. Scripture passages are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.