John Larsen Of Mormon Expression Interviews The Penultimate Anti-Mormon Apostate, Ed Decker

If there is one person on the face of this earth who comes closer to being considered an "antichrist" than anyone else by the LDS community, that person would have to be Ed Decker. A former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Decker apostasized and was excommunicated in 1976, then embarked upon a crusade against the LDS Church. More information on him can be found on Wikipedia. He wrote several books purporting to "expose" Mormonism, the most prominent among them being "The God Makers", and subsequently established an apologetics ministry called "Saints Alive In Jesus". I recall at the time how I personally hated his guts, and being less emotionally mature than I am now, could not have guaranteed that if he and I had met, that it wouldn't have gotten physical.

So when I learned that on October 26th, 2010, John Larsen of Mormon Expression interviewed Ed Decker, it piqued my interest. Decker is still as anti-Mormon as ever, but seems to have mellowed out somewhat. Unfortunately, as of February 28th, 2013, the audio of the interview is no longer available, but the rest of this post is still operative. Now that I've listened to Ed Decker, I no longer hate him personally, although I still vigorously disagree with him. Indeed, it's not just Mormons who have issues with him; Sandra Tanner and Bob Passantino have said that his writings grossly misrepresent Mormonism, and thereby dilute his message and offend Mormons without attracting them to evangelical Christianity. Sandra Tanner, herself a prominent critic of the LDS Church, has noted what she contends are inaccuracies and errors in some of Decker's works. A book entitled "The Truth About The God Makers", written by Gilbert W. Scharffs, rebuts Decker's claims in The God Makers.

But although Ed Decker is clearly an apostate, can he be considered a "son of perdition"? Has he really committed the "unpardonable sin" of denying the Holy Ghost once one has had it? In my previous posts, "LDS Doctrine: The 'Unpardonable Sin', Part I - Just What Is The 'Unpardonable Sin'? Duane Crowther's Perspective", and "LDS Doctrine: The 'Unpardonable Sin', Part II - Who's Capable Of Committing The 'Unpardonable Sin'? Duane Crowther's Perspective", I show how Crowther, using numerous scriptural verses, contends that the unpardonable sin is not a single act, but rather a series of acts that, when all are committed, together constitute the unpardonable sin. Despite Ed Decker's anti-Mormon activity, he still proclaims Jesus Christ as Savior and invites people to come unto Him, so Decker clearly hasn't reached the point of no return. I'd just as soon leave it to the Lord to pass the final judgment.

John Larsen, who edits Mormon Expression, left the LDS Church around seven years ago. However, he maintains an interest in Mormon studies, particularly in Mormon history, culture and doctrine. On Mormon Expression, he tries to straddle the position between defense and criticism of the faith, and look at it from all points of view. Consequently, although he's ex-Mormon, I cannot look upon him as anti-Mormon, because he doesn't crusade against the Church.