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I Was a Mormon: Corey Miller
 I was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah as a Mormon until the age of sixteen. My family ancestry was Mormon almost since the beginning of that religion (six generations). I continued to believe in Mormonism, while at the same time being disenchanted with the Mormons I was surrounded by (e.g. many lived very hypocritical lives). As a result of much of the social pressures I faced in the area of performance, both from the religion and from adolescent culture in general and all it entails, I began using drugs at age eleven. By the time I was sixteen I was deep into that new environment with friends whom I felt accepted me, but in a distorted way. While I continued belief in the Mormon religion, my life didn't exactly reflect it very well. Life to me became meaningless and no amount of religion, narcotics and alcohol, or sexual promiscuity solved the problem.
Finally, at age sixteen I was invited by a friend to a Christian camp where the speaker gave a message on hell. I was not seeking God, but He was seeking me! On the one hand, I was instantly aware of my need for a savior and that there was a greater purpose for my life. On the other hand, the truth of Christianity was validated by the fact that the Christians I was surrounded by lived authentic Christian lives and truly loved God, and consequently, loved me. It was only later that I began to wonder about the rational foundations for my faith. Was there reason and evidence to justify my new found faith so that it was not a blind faith, but a reasonable faith? This skeptical inquiry developed in me a desire to know what was true and gave me the ability to defend my experiential beliefs in a rational, relational way, so I can help others. Now, Jesus is continually transforming my heart as well as my mind.
Corey Miller
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