On one of the rare warm and sunny evenings we had in July, we went out to dinner with some Australian friends who were visiting England.I hadn’t seen them for some eighteen years and as is always the case with old friends, catching up was a pleasure and the time passed all too quickly. It seemed so strange that the last time we were together we were all faithful members of the Mormon Church and that subsequently we independently found our way out of the Church. When our paths first crossed, I was Stake Young Men’s President and Simon was a Ward Young Men’s President in our Stake whilst working here in the UK. Simon and Jane then returned to Australia and the years passed. It was only when researching DNA and the Book of Mormon in 2006, when I purchased a book on the subject, that I realised the author was none other my old friend Dr. Simon Southerton.
How surreal it felt the other evening to be catching up with old friends who were once among the faithful – and now Simon and I are authors of works which provide conclusive evidence of the truth behind the hoax of Mormonism. Both of us followed a path to the truth and then contributed to exposing the deceptions in our own way without knowing that the other had done the very same thing. Our paths first crossed as devout deluded Mormons before we were separated for several years, living a world apart. We have communicated during the last few years and Simon kindly endorsed my books. We finally met up again in July 2012 as ‘enlightened’ friends, authors, and proponents of truth based on evidence. Hopefully, our combined efforts continue to help others determine for themselves the facts that override and expose Mormon fiction. As so often seems to be the case, people we would love to see more frequently unfortunately live on the other side of the world.
Jim Whitefield 