Today on Educate For Life, Kevin has as his guest Dr. Corey Miller. Corey Miller, Ph.D., is the President/CEO of Ratio Christi (2015). While he grew up in Utah as a sixth-generation Mormon, he came to Christ in 1988 and he has since been a youth and college pastor, a Bible college and university professor, campus minister, lecturer, and first and foremost an evangelist. From 2009-15 he served on staff with Cru’s Faculty Commons ministry at Purdue. He is an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions at Indiana University-Kokomo. He is variously published and is co-editor of Is Faith in God Reasonable? Debates in Philosophy, Science, and Rhetoric (2014) and co-author of Ex-Mormon Scholars Tell Why: Testimonies and Reasons (forthcoming, 2017). He holds masters degrees in philosophy, biblical studies, and in philosophy of religion and ethics.

Corey was raised a sixth-generation Mormon in Salt Lake City, Utah, with ancestors who were direct acquaintances with Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Although Utah Mormonism is less insulated now, growing up he was honestly unaware that there were so many other options outside of Mormonism. But he was not concerned and felt secure in his religion.

Corey was invited to spend the summer of 1988 with a friend at his home in California. But his father made it contingent upon attending a non-denominational Christian camp there called Hume Lake. Although Corey was not living the ideal Mormon life at the time, he had no thought of ever changing religions. He believed Mormonism to be the one true religion. If it were not for the appeal of spending the entire summer on California beaches, he probably would not have attended the camp at all.

I arrived at Hume Lake without any great expectations. To his surprise, the camp speaker delivered a message that week on the topic of hell with a robust presentation of the Gospel. His soul resonated with the message and for the first time in his life, he understood his need for forgiveness. Devastated and in tears, he realized he was a sinner and could not merit forgiveness. He found security in Christ and it was further authenticated by seeing Christ’s love displayed through the people in a way he had not previously encountered. There was something authentic and non-religious about it. Even with his religious upbringing, he never experienced God’s love in that way until he met these people and then met their source, Jesus Christ.

Tune in for a powerful discussion on why Dr. Corey Miller and many other people have left Mormonism. Visit ratiochristi.org to learn more about the mission of Ratio Christi and the impact they are having around the world. You can also learn how you can get involved.

This episode first aired on October 21, 2017.