Unveiling Grace

Lynn K. Wilder is a wife, mother, grandmother, scholar, and author with a doctorate in education. During more than a decade as a professor and researcher, and 20 years as a public school teacher, she has produced more than 50 scholarly publications, written four books, and mentored hundreds of students. Her experience, passion, and expertise lie in how to advance the academic and social-emotional success of “marginalized” students who struggle in school. Once tenured faculty at Mormon Church owned and operated Brigham Young University (BYU), Dr. Wilder resigned from BYU and then from the LDS Church in 2008 when she experienced a crisis of faith. She currently teaches at Florida Gulf Coast University, speaks, writes, and enjoys time with 7 much-loved, vivacious grandchildren.

For 30 years, Michael and Lynn were temple recommend-holding, active members of the Mormon Church and held numerous leadership positions. Eventually, they had 4 children, all of whom were faithful and active in the LDS Church like their parents. The three oldest children, sons, served missions in Russia, Denmark, and Florida respectfully. Before their missions, the sons had served as stake youth leaders, seminary president, and their third son, Micah, worked in the temple. Their daughter held leadership positions as well. They all bore testimony of Christ often in church and were sincere and contented members of the LDS Church.

The Wilders moved from Indiana to Utah in 1999 when Lynn finished her doctorate and was hired at Brigham Young University. Mike established a business in Utah and the family continued to serve their church in the perfect Mormon life.

Then in 2006, everything changed.

Unveiling Grace:  The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of The Mormon Church tells the amazing journey of Lynn and her family through the Mormon religion and how they found true salvation in Jesus Christ.

Book Synopsis:

For thirty years, Lynn Wilder and her family lived, loved, and promoted the Mormon Church. Then on a Mormon mission trip to Florida, their son Micah had a revelation: God knew him personally. God loved him. And the Mormon Church did not offer the true gospel.

Micah’s conversion to Christ put the family in a tailspin. They wondered: Have we believed the wrong thing for decades? If we leave Mormonism, what does this mean for our safety, jobs, and relationships? Is Christianity that different from Mormonism anyway?

As Lynn tells her own story of abandoning the deception of Mormonism to receive God’s grace, she gives a rare look into Mormon culture, what it means to grow up Mormon, and why the contrasts between Mormonism and Christianity make all the difference in the world.

Whether readers are in the Mormon Church, curious about Mormonism, or simply looking for a gripping story, Unveiling Grace will strengthen their faith in the true God who loves them no matter what.

Lynn and Michael's website, Ex-Mormon Christians United For Christ, can be found at unveilingmormonism.com.  Statement from the website:

"For Christians, life is about that all encompassing relationship with the Living Jesus. Everything we know of importance, all that we have, and all that we do is for Him--because of His neverending love for us. Our standard for our walk with Him is the Bible. It proclaims Him, prophesies of Him, and teaches us to know Him intimately. It is the flagship against which we test all truth. If something we hear does not line up with the teachings of Christ, his prophets, apostles, and disciples in the Word, would a Christian not question it?"

My Thoughts:
What Ms Wilder has offered us in Unveiling Grace is a rare insider's point of view of Latter-Day Saints.  Ms Wilder writes transparently in sharing her family's amazing journey.  This isn't just another book about Mormonism, but is the very real story of a real family who found themselves enmeshed in a culture of religion that distracted them for a time from true amazing grace offered by the One True God of the Universe.
Rather than giving a doctrinal discourse on the Mormon faith, Ms Wilder very honestly shares her family's experience in that faith while allowing her reader a peak into the misleading doctrines of the Latter-Day Saints.  Also included in the book is a list of Christian Ministries with information on Mormonism, a chart that gives a doctrinal comparison of Mormonism and the Bible, and a very helpful glossary of terms used in the Mormon faith.
Ms Wilder writes not with condemnation for those still in the trenches of Mormonism, but with the sensitivity of one who has fallen in love with "The Dancer" (how she refers to God in the book).  She simply tells how God (The Dancer) wooed her and her family with His providential and sovereign care and seeks to pull back the veil so that others can come one step closer to understanding the One True God and His offer of salvation.
*I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for this review as part of their Booksneeze Blogger Review program.

Blessings,
Jennifer