UGP 271 - What Does it Matter if It’s Not True? Richard Dutcher – Part 4

Richard says if he could talk to himself at the time of his LDS faith crisis, he would have said “Get to a Christian church!” He grieved the loss of his faith in the LDS church, the loss of his wife and children, the LDS filmmaking, for a very long time. He never lost faith in God but stopped talking with him and lived through 10 years of discouragement and defeat. Now a famous apostate, he stayed in Utah to be near his kids. Richard describes sitting on his front porch in Provo with a huge Christos statue from one of his movies in his front yard drinking wine and smoking cigars as LDS families walked by to go to church. In his misery, drinking too much, he made a comedy and a horror film but his faith was dead. Films and faith had separated. He wanted nothing to do with church ever again doubting he could ever discern between what was real and what wasn’t. Yet, amid these trials, the Lord brought him back to life through a pastor in line behind him at a hamburger joint. He attended Bible study, finding Christians authentic about their struggles, not pressuring him in any way but teaching him salvation came through God’s righteousness not his own. Richard dove hungrily into the “New Testament with Mormonism distant.” He began to love the Word knowing he could never put faith in men again. And hope emerged that God had something better for his life.