Mormon to Lutheran

Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace

Katie Langston is an unlikely convert to Christianity. She grew up in a devout, conservative Mormon family in Utah, served a proselytizing mission to Bulgaria when she was 21, married for “time and all eternity” in the Mormon temple when she was 23. From the outside, she had a typical Mormon life. Inside, she was coming apart at the seams. From childhood, she battled “The Questions”—obsessive-compulsive disorder, though she didn’t have a diagnosis for it until much later—and lived inside a complex maze of anxiety and fear. This was compounded by Mormonism’s emphasis on “worthiness,” a designation of acceptability in Mormon practice, that brought her to the edge of despair as a young mother.

Then, almost by accident, she had an encounter with the grace of Jesus Christ—and her world changed. In candid but not sensationalized ways, Langston explores little-understood Mormon practices and teachings while grappling with universal human questions such as the nature of faith, the complexity of family, the process of healing, and what it means to truly belong. This book is intended to be a bridge-builder, a way to help non-Mormons understand Mormonism and Mormons orthodox Christianity through the power of personal narrative. Most of all, it is a testimony of Jesus Christ, in the hopes that those who read it—Mormon, Christian, or neither—will catch a glimpse of the spectacular, life-changing grace of God.

References:

• Religion News, Jana Riess, April 27, 2021 – From Mormon missionary to Lutheran pastor – Langston ‘tried millions of ways’ to make Mormonism work, but she eventually found peace in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) and began to pursue a path toward ordination. Her parents and husband, who are still Latter-day Saints, were supportive, but ‘they were heartbroken.’
• Grand Canyon Synod – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – Ordination and Installation of Katie Langston at New Promise Lutheran in St. George