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October 10, 2001
From Mormon to Catholic: seminarian shares faith journey
Quest for truth led Tom Smith to Catholicism by `scenic route'
By Roxanne King
Born and raised in rural Idaho, Tom Smith traces his family history back to Mormon pioneers - he's a descendent of Thomas Bullock, a scribe to Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Proud of his family's heritage and passionate about his beliefs, at 19 Smith went on a two-year proselytizing mission to Alabama, but the experience meant to confirm his faith instead led to his leaving the Mormon church.
Now 31, Smith is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Denver. He shared his path from Mormonism to Catholicism with an audience of 400 Oct. 2 at All Souls Church in Englewood.
Smith said he speaks to audiences for two reasons: "to unearth for Catholics the richness and beauty of their faith" and to motivate them to share it with all, especially with doorstep proselytizers.
It's estimated that some 280,000 Mormon converts each year are former Catholics, Smith said to a collective audience gasp.
"Most people don't know the Bible very well, which makes it really easy for (Mormon) missionaries to be successful," Smith explained, adding that he was required to memorize 120 Scriptures and rote statements to go with them to convert people. The presentation is "compelling" to those without tools to question it, he said.
"Learn the Bible well," Smith urged. "It's Catholics who wrote the Bible, protected and preserved it."
Rather than hiding from doorstep proselytizers, Smith said, Catholics should see them as an evangelization opportunity.
"Write down a 100-word statement on why you are Catholic and commit it to memory," Smith said, adding that the testimony should include a personal encounter with Christ through the Church — via a person or a sacrament. "And don't ever accept a Book of Mormon or a (Jehovah's Witness) Watchtower tract without giving them something about the Catholic Church. I recommend a Catechism."
Two doorstep visits profoundly affected him, Smith said, and gradually led to his new life and the advice he now gives.
The first was at a shack deep in the woods where an elderly African-American woman invited Smith and his partner in. As was their practice, Smith said, they asked if they could begin their talk on Christ with prayer.
"Ninety-seven percent will have (the missionaries) pray, but she prayed," Smith said.
Her fervent prayer so moved Smith that he said he was certain had he opened his eyes, "I'd see Jesus sitting right there on the couch."
It was obvious the woman had "a living, loving, life-giving" relationship with God, Smith said, and he thought to himself, "I'm 19-years-old and I'm going to teach her about Jesus?"
The encounter caused him to question the Mormon belief that only they have the Holy Spirit, while the rest of the world struggles in darkness, he said.
His second epiphany occurred at the home of a Baptist minister, where anti-Mormon literature stood in plain sight on a table. Despite that, Smith said, the family never attacked the men's faith. Rather, they shared personal testimonies of Christ's saving grace, how he had saved the parent's marriage and delivered one member from drug abuse. Before the missionaries left the home, Smith recalled, the minister prayed over them "Lord, save Tom and Jason, deliver them from darkness."
The outcome was that for the second time "a seed was planted," Smith said.
After those experiences, Smith's doubts about Mormonism, especially their interpretation of Scripture, grew. Mormonism's fundamental claim of being God's "restored church" directly opposes Scripture, Smith said, quoting Matthew 16:18 where Jesus says, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
"The Book of Mormon," which Mormons believe is a second testament of Christ revealed by the angel Moroni — also runs counter to Scripture, Smith said, quoting Galatians 1:8: "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed."
Eventually, Smith said, he could no longer contain his doubts about Mormonism.
"I knew it wasn't true, I knew I had to leave," he said.
He did, and later moved to Colorado and became a Baptist minister. He also worked for a communications company where friendship with a devoted Catholic led him to explore the Catholic faith.
"I was dumbfounded at how rooted in Scripture the Mass is," Smith said.
Intrigued, he studied the Church Fathers and other Catholic sources. The more he learned, Smith said, the more convinced he became of the validity of the Church's teachings. At his friend's suggestion, Smith entered the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program.
"I preached on Sunday and went to RCIA on Tuesday," Smith recalled to audience laughter.
When he joined the Church Easter Vigil 1996, Smith said he remembered that when he began to question Mormonism he cried out to God "Heavenly Father, all I want is the truth."
The night he became a Catholic, Smith said, he rejoiced that he had, at last, found truth.
"Ultimately, truth is a person — Jesus said, `I am the way, the truth and the life,'" Smith said. The moment he received Eucharist, Smith said, was when God "fully answered" his anguished prayer.
"Holy Eucharist," Smith marveled. "The God of the universe, the God who carved out the Rocky Mountains, who marshaled the starry hosts, that same God in a burst of love on altars around the world becomes food for us. That's how we experience truth most profoundly, that's how we encounter truth in its most intimate form."
Shortly after Smith's conversion, Archbishop Charles Chaput asked him to consider the priesthood. Smith said that as he prayed for discernment he recalled Psalm 116 where a grateful David, reflecting on how God heard his prayer and saved his life, asks, "How can I repay the Lord for all his gifts to me? I will take in my hands the cup of salvation and invoke the Lord by name."
The Psalm's eucharistic language gave the new convert his answer.
"The best I could offer him was to be a priest," Smith said.
Noting that over 80 seminarians are studying to be priests for the archdiocese at St. John Vianney and Redemptoris Mater seminaries, Smith credited those vocations to the prayers of the faithful.
"I hope you are rejoicing with me when you see all these men responding to the priesthood," Smith said. "You are seeing the results before your eyes of every Mass, rosary, novena and every Holy Hour for an increase of vocations."
Grateful to God for leading him to the Catholic Church, albeit by the "scenic route," Smith exhorted the audience to never underestimate the power of personal testimony.
"God can work miracles through us through planting seeds," he said.
Volunteer catechist Scott Chapman, 43, said he was going to have his confirmation students follow Smith's advice and write down a 100-word testimony on why they're Catholic.
"I was really struck by his emphasizing that the first thing Catholics need to do if they're going to defend their faith is to learn Scripture," said Sister Macrina Scott, O.S.F., director of the Catholic Biblical School. "That was very good. He was very good."
Anne Harrison, 27, of Hanover, N.H., said she felt Smith offered "good, practical tips.
"The message was to not be afraid to share the Catholic faith," Harrison said. "To welcome (proselytizers) into your home and to love them as Christ has asked us to love all people and to pray for them."
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