Unveiling Grace Podcast

Guest co-host Katie (Wilder) Warren joins the conversation for a special women’s podcast. Julie grew up LDS in Ogden, UT and married her high school sweetheart, who joined the LDS Church. They never married in the temple. Julie always wondered, “If this was God’s house, why would he keep anyone out of it?”

Pastor Mike and Rosa Abbate share salvation stories from 18 years of ministry to the FLDS in LeBaron, Mexico. Mike notes LeBaron is 60 miles from an LDS temple in Colonia Juarez where George Romney and later Mitt grew up. First of the salvation stories is Lila LeBaron, now with the Adam’s Road ministry. Find her story on Episodes 78 & 79.

By an act of God, Pastor Michael Abbate was placed in charge of the monumental 3-day FLDS LeBaron Family reunion in Lebaron, Mexico in 2006. Prep took a year. The mariachi band he’d hired cancelled at the last minute, so the Christian worship band he’d hired for the Sunday service played worship music all 3 days. On Sunday, Mike shared the gospel with 300 in Rosa’s fundamentalist father (Dayer LeBaron, Jr.)’s church

Rosa LeBaron Abbate’s grandfather was Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr. who left Utah for Chihuahua, Mexico when polygamy was outlawed and polygamists were persecuted. LDS Prophet John Taylor had purchased 100,000 acres in 1885 so that 350 faithful polygamist families could live out their faith. They lived in Chihuahua until Pancho Villa kicked them out of Mexico in 1910 during the Mexican Revolution. After the Revolution, they returned.

Vince met Ashley online and 30 days later, they married in Gatlinburg. He was LDS; she went to a Baptist church. The day she chose to profess Christ publicly and get baptized, he got drunk. LDS and constantly struggling with the idea that he was not good enough, Vince had a moment of infidelity. His old pattern kicked in.

Having given his life to Jesus, Vince remained LDS, attending a singles ward in Virginia. He seemed to have a good experience at the LDS temple as he checked boxes preparing to serve a mission. The missionary training center in Provo, Utah, however, stressed him out. “But, where would I have gone to talk to somebody?”

For Vince, issues with the LDS church began at age 16 when his mom accused him of sleeping with a girlfriend; he wasn’t. He sincerely wanted to be trusted. His older sister had gotten emancipated from their LDS parents wanting freedom from all the rules. She introduced Vince to marijuana and he began doing drugs—eventually writing some bad checks.

Devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, like Kronk from the Emperor’s New Groove. Should I leave him or mend this marriage? Now separated, Vince’s addictions interfered with their relationship and everyone had an opinion. As LDS, many men feel great pressure to do more, become better. Vince struggled with guilt.

God answers Ashley’s concerns—of all places—in the Celestial room of an LDS temple. At the time, her husband was all-in LDS. But as a Christian, she felt convicted: You know the truth.

In addition to the requirements of performance-based religion and not being able to sing the LDS hymn, Praise to the Man, Ashley, a born again Christian, encountered other things that bothered her about the LDS church after she joined. For her LDS baptism, she had chosen a beloved Christian hymn. That hymn had to be approved by her bishop and he denied her. A year after being active LDS, Ashley desired to earn the right to have a forever family. She and Vince now had 2 daughters ages five and one. She needed to make herself worthy to enter an LDS temple by passing two temple recommend interviews (bishop and stake president). The last question in that interview bothered her.