UGP 283 - Stress from Constant Guilt Dissolves in a Christian Life Group – a Vince Grinstead—Part 2

Having given his life to Jesus, Vince remained LDS, attending a singles ward in Virginia. He seemed to have a good experience at the LDS temple as he checked boxes preparing to serve a mission. The missionary training center in Provo, Utah, however, stressed him out. “But, where would I have gone to talk to somebody?” Although often his missionary companions walked away from someone not interested in the Book of Mormon or getting baptized LDS, Vince instead wanted to talk with them about Jesus or how he got free from alcohol—something real. One day, he had a big fight with his missionary companion who said if people were not willing to hear about the Book of Mormon, move on. But Vince felt like they should plant seeds of Jesus, make a connection. Like on cruise control, Vince went to an empty apartment he had the keys to and got drunk. Thinking he had messed up beyond fixing, he got into the missionary car and headed east to home. But he was not sent home from his mission in disgrace. A few months later, he became a zone leader. At 21 months in, the stress, pressure, and maybe even conviction since he knew the Jesus of the Bible, made him uncomfortable and overwhelmed him and he left his mission 2 months early. Back home and feeling like a failure, Vince’s Christian cousin invited him to a life group. There, instead of the constant feeling of guilt, he felt the light he had encountered at the Christian concert when he gave his life to Jesus.