Ex-Gay Defends Relationship with the Lord
Former homosexual Michael Glatze has had many religious experiences, one of them being a recent baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Glatze's association with what is commonly known as the LDS church or the Mormon church has only been in the past couple months, Glatze told The Christian Post.
However, his transformation through Jesus Christ, which ultimately led him to denounce homosexuality, began in 2003. And he is still journeying to find the right church, he said.
"I am in the process of finding the right church!" stressed Glatze, former editor of Young Gay America (YGA) magazine.
Glatze had been a leading gay rights activist for nearly a decade but after leaving YGA, he announced last week that he is a healed man and now straight.
As evangelicals praised Glatze's transformation, a commenter on Dr. Warren Throckmorton's blog revealed that Glatze was baptized into the LDS church earlier this year. Glatze confirmed his baptism with Throckmorton over the phone which raised skepticism over his born-again experience and his coming out of homosexuality.
In a recent debate on Mormonism, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., one of America's pre-eminent evangelicals, argued that "Mormonism claims to affirm the New Testament teachings about Jesus, but actually presents a very different Jesus from the onset."
"Mormonism is not Christianity," Mohler stated.
In an e-mail on Thursday, Glatze clarified that his association with the LDS church is "just part of a huge process and journey for me."
"I have been growing through this journey and learning a lot from it! But, the born-again experience that triggered my transformation and Truer world-view began in 2003!" he stated.
Glatze grew up with a Christian mother and a father who was possibly agnostic or atheist. Both his parents died by the time he was 19 years old. Already confused of his identity, Glatze has had samplings from everything from Tao to Buddhism, and Hindu readings to Christianity, as he sought after Truth, he explained.
After finding Truth in the Bible, Glatze says homosexuality is death and never wants it to return. Today, he says he is receiving help from Matt Barber of Concerned Women for America who is suggesting some "scripturally-sound" evangelical churches for Glatze to attend.
"I am following the Lord," Glatze assured. "He wants me to be happy, and other Christians who follow Him are helping me to find the right home."