This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Passion for Christ, a ministry of Utah Partnerships for Christ. In Acts 26, 18, Jesus said, Paul's purpose was to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. and from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
We hope you'll join us for today's testimony of lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's begin today's episode. Welcome to Passion for Christ. This is Russ East, your host. I want to thank Kevin McGehey for his instrumental talents in putting together our instrumental background music for the beginning and ending and middle parts of our program today.
So, whenever you hear, Passion for Christ, you hear his music. Just want to give a shout out to him for his kindness to let us use his great music.
So, with that, I want to have us begin our next testimony here. It's going to be from Harley. Mine ear.
So let's enjoy this testimony of Harley's. My name is Harley Meyer, and I I came here to share my testimony. I want to share from the beginning of my life all the way to now so that I can show what God has done in my life. how he has saved me from death and Um what he has Shown me in his word, and I'm excited to share it.
So when I first started writing up my testimony I started looking at all my studies that I had done about two years ago. And even though I got saved before that, um About two years ago, I really wanted to prove it. And so I started pulling out all of my all of my study and all of my proof and all of my Notes, and then God said to me, I saved you before you proved it.
So start there.
So I'm going to start back at the beginning. I When my mom got pregnant with me, my dad really, really wanted to name me Harley, and my mom said, you cannot name our daughter after a motorcycle. And so she told him no. And I was supposed to be born in March and I was born in December instead. I was born at 29 weeks.
And so when I was born, my mom said, I have an early Christmas present for you, and you can name her Harley.
So that's how I got my name. When my mom was pregnant with me, she got, um She she started leaking amniotic fluid. And the amniotic fluid got infected, and so she had to go to the hospital, she got sepsis. I was breathing that amniotic fluid that was infected, and so I was very sick in her belly. And so, in order to attempt to save her life and my life, They did an emergency C-section to get me out.
And so before I was even born, my mom asked for a blessing. She was LDS and she wanted a blessing so that I would be protected and taken care of. And so it was through her faith that God would heal me and take care of me and watch over me and protect me that I am here today. And um He uh He rescued me even as a newborn. And so at 29 weeks, typically a 29 week old preemie, you know, 35 years ago, wouldn't have survived.
But not only did I survive, I came out thriving. I came out strong and Um Normally a 29 weeker would have stayed in the ICU, or newborn ICU, for at least 11 weeks. And I was there, my mom told me, I was there for 22 days. And so I kind of beat the odds in a lot of things. My lungs were good.
I cried when I came out. And I passed all the things that they said I wasn't going to pass. They told my mom she would not be able to breastfeed and I was breastfeeding at 29 weeks. And so I can see from the very beginning God's hand upon my life, God's hand upon. um me and showing me mercy from the very beginning uh to rescue me.
And so growing up, I was raised LDS. My dad was raised Catholic, and so he did not ever join the LDS church. He wasn't a practicing Catholic, whereas my mom was a practicing Mormon, and so I was raised with that teaching as a foundation. I I had horrible health as a child, probably due to the fact that I was due, or that I was early, that I was premature. That, but I also had a couple of other things that affected my health.
I had malabsorption, so at three years old I got put on IV feedings because I was eating by mouth but I wasn't growing. I wasn't thriving. I wasn't gaining weight. And it didn't matter how much I ate or what I ate, I wasn't growing. And so they diagnosed me with malabsorption and put me on IV feedings.
And at the same time, at around the age of three, I was also diagnosed with a Disorder where my stomach, all the way down to my intestines, would basically have paralysis, it would stop moving. And so I would eat, but my body wouldn't move it through, wouldn't push it through, and so I would end up vomiting sometimes weeks at a time where I couldn't eat a single thing or drink a single thing. And so I would end up in the hospital during those times where they were giving me IV feedings and I was already on the IV feedings at home too, but they would give me IV fluids and things at the hospital as well. And because of my IVs, I had lines, permanent IVs in my chest, and those would get infected. And so I spent a lot of time in the hospital for those as well because those lines and those permanent IVs would get infected, or I'd get staph, I would get sepsis.
And so I. I make the joke that I grew up in the hospital. Um that Primary Children's was my second home. Um And So around the age of eight, I started having seizures at home. And the doctors didn't believe my mom when she was telling them, No, she's having seizures.
And so it took them a while to diagnose me. But I ended up having a seizure, and they were able to monitor it and look at it. And they were able to prove that it was seizures.
So I had a scan of my brain to see what was going on and see why I was having seizures. And I had an I have an elongated, like a longer brainstem. And so my brainstem was sitting inside of my spinal column and was being compressed by my spinal column. And your brainstem is um vital for life. It controls your temperature, it controls your Things that you don't even think about, like breathing, your heart, your organs, it has control of your life.
It was really scary for my parents to know that that was something I was gonna have to have surgery on. And so that kind of When I had brain surgery, The procedure went well. I had some donated blood that I needed during the procedure, during the surgery, but it went well and I was able to recover. I haven't ever had to have brain surgery again, and that in and of itself is a blessing. Most people who have this disorder with their brain, they have to have multiple surgeries and have to have it repeated.
And so I didn't ever have to have it repeated, and I saw God's hand in that for me as well, and His protection and provision for my life. I didn't get baptized at 8 because of my brain surgery. And it was put off a little bit. I think I was around nine when I ended up getting baptized with the LBS Church. And, um, My understanding of baptism at the time when I got baptized through the LDS church was that.
If I get baptized, then I will be forgiven for sins, and that I needed to get. Physically baptized in the water in order to be forgiven of my sin. And Um My sin at the time, when what I understood, actually wasn't even my sin that I was carrying. Um I was abused. as a kid.
And I was um Hang on. There you go. Thank you. Take your time. Yeah.
We'll be right back for the rest of today's testimony. Please know we at Utah Partnerships for Christ have been planting seeds of the gospel in Utah for over 24 years. We welcome any questions you may have and invite you to visit our website to obtain a list of words and definitions that would help you understand how Mormons think and how to be able to better witness to your friends who belong to the Mormon Church. That website is www.upfc.org. That's UPFC.org.
We'll be right back. Welcome to Passion for Christ, a ministry of Utah Partnerships for Christ. In Acts 26, 18, Jesus said, Paul's purpose was to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. and from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
We hope you'll join us for today's testimony of lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's begin today's episode. Most people who have this disorder with their brain, they have to have multiple surgeries and have to have it repeated. And so I didn't ever have to have it repeated and I saw God's hand in that for me as well and His protection and provision from my life. I didn't get baptized at 8 because of my brain surgery. And it was put off a little bit.
I think I was around nine when I ended up getting baptized with the LDS Church. And um My understanding of baptism at the time when I got baptized through the LES church was that. If I get baptized, then I will be forgiven for sins, and that I needed to get. physically baptized in the water in order to be forgiven of my sin. And Um My sin at the time, what I understood, actually wasn't even my sin that I was carrying.
Um I was abused. As a kid. And I was, um Hang on. There you go. Thank you.
Take your time. Mm. See? This part gets me because um My understanding of it was just so wrapped around sin and it it breaks my heart. Um But I see What God did for me, which makes me emotional because I see How he rescued me.
So, um. I was abused from around the age of six to about 12 years old. And so at nine when I got baptized, my only thought was: if I get baptized. Um I will be forgiven of my sin. And I won't be abused anymore.
Um So When I got baptized, um My understanding was just very skewed. I didn't understand. The The true baptism, which is a spiritual baptism, it is um. God rescuing us from our sin through His Holy Spirit. covering us in and entering our hearts and our soul and filling us with His perfection in his redemption.
And his Holy Spirit of righteousness and goodness and mercy and um And at the time As a child, I didn't understand that. I believed that. I had to have this physical baptism in water in order to have this sin washed away. Um And so My heart was broken at the time when. My sin my sin, not really my sin.
Um didn't stop. I continued to be abused. And, um So that was something that was hard for me as a child. I asked God all the time, you know, Lord, why do you allow this? Why do you Um Why don't you save me or rescue me from this?
And he did. He saved me and rescued me from it. Um As a child though, I didn't quite see it. Um I'm going to go over where he rescued me, where he saved me. a little bit later but um I'm gonna kind of continue through my childhood so I because I was very sick, I Had times where I was in the hospital, and one of the times that I was in the hospital, I had sepsis, and I had an infection, it was in my blood.
And I had, they had given me a bunch of antibiotics, and my body responded with an allergy. They had tried a couple of antibiotics that would cover this strain of infection that I had. but they weren't working because my body responded with allergy and they had to stop using them. And so they had fans on me and wet rags and they were trying to cool me down and They told my mom. I had a fever of 106.5.
And so they told my mom, if if her fever continues to climb and we don't get this under control, her organs are going to start to shut down because her body's not going to be able to handle this. And so I remember I was pretty delirious, pretty in and out. And I remember my mom coming and asking me, do you want a blessing? And I remember thinking, Yes, God can heal me from this. And so she went out and asked some of the Nurses and doctors, if they could come and give me a blessing, if any of them had the priesthood.
And so they came in and they gave me a blessing, and within 10 minutes, my fever broke, and I became clear-minded. And I remember being even clear-minded during the prayer, and I remember just knowing that God could heal me from this, that if anyone could. Heal me from this, it was God. And looking back, I see that. God is The one who healed me.
He is the one who protected me. It wasn't the righteousness of these men or the priesthood of these men. It was the priesthood of God the Father. And it was the priesthood of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for me. and that that priesthood is what rescued me.
um and saved me from this beaver. God heard my cry. And he knew that I had that childlike faith, that I knew that God could heal me, and so he did. He showed up and he healed me. And in my in my teenage area of my life.
Um I remember Giving my testimony in the LDS church, and I Would say everything that I was taught. I would say that I believed in Joseph Smith. that I believed in the Book of Mormon. that I believed that Um That I believed in temple work. I would say what I had been taught, right?
Um not the fault of my own, but just what I was taught. And so I knew in my mind I never gained a testimony of Joseph Smith. That was something that I had studied and prayed over and I never received that revelation or that testimony. Um I knew that My emotions can be deceitful. And that, um I needed to find the proof, and so I never, I never.
was able to find the proof until about two years ago.
So I was deceived through middle school with my emotions. I chose things in my life that were not God's original design. They were not God's choice. Um, they were not what he had for me. I chose them um because I was allowing myself to be regulated by emotions.
And by what I wanted, what I thought I desired, what I thought I was attracted to. um things like that and so Around eighth grade, I remember turning my life around and saying I don't want to do this anymore. I want A marriage. I want children. I want God's design for marriage.
And um I want to choose God. And so, in my mind, That meant the LDS church because that was again all I knew. Um but I was still seeking God and and his design.
So that was a time where I had a repentant heart of some of my sin. and recognizing some of the sin that I was regularly doing in my life.
So I tried to start attending church more frequently. I started trying to abide by the teachings of the LDS church. I started going to young women's. I remember. Around the age of young women's was when I really prayed over Um the Book of Mormon.
I remember before I started joining young women's. I I broke down uh I brought down all the Book of Mormon illustrated uh illustrated. books and I one night while my family was sleeping middle of the night I knew if I got caught I could be in trouble but I was like well I'm reading scripture so maybe I won't get in trouble and so I was reading the book A Mormon Illustrated trying to gain that testimony of what I thought was scripture. And what I thought was God's word. And I remember just sobbing.
on my floor in the middle of the night. Saying, God, why don't you prove this to me? Why don't I have this testimony? Why is this not being revealed to me? And now looking back It was the grace of God.
not giving me that testimony um because it's not his word and It took me a long time to find that out, but at this time in my life I was really, I was seeking and I was looking and I was searching. I was praying with that heart that we are supposed to have. Um like the LDS church teaches, I was looking and I never received it. And so, um Um Around the summer of eighth grade is actually when I met my husband. Uh I was fourteen.
And I remember he was playing soccer. and I got to his soccer game and I saw him across the field and I was like, that is my husband. Done, sold. That's my husband. That's mine.
That's that's my husband. And um And so Uh he He was also raised in an LDS household. His dad was a bishop, and so he understood the teachings of the LDS church. And so we started dating and I was 14. I think he could have been 15, but he also could have been 14.
We have a couple months where we share the same age. Um We started dating and, um Of course, because we were so young and And because we didn't have lives submitted to Jesus, we fell into sexual sin as well. We started making bad choices, we started doing things we weren't supposed to do until we were married and until God's, again, God's original design of marriage. And um So our teenage, you know, years, we had each other, um, but the beginning of our our relationship was not In Alignment with God's plan and desire and heart for His children.
So I remember in high school, I basically just dropped out of school. I stopped going to school, stopped attending, I didn't care about my grades.
Well, as we come to the close of today's episode of Passion for Christ, I want to encourage you to go to the meetthexmormons.org website, meetthexmormons.org website. There, you will find where my friend Rob Savolka has collected a number of. Testimonies of those who have been saved out of the Mormon church. You can hear the rest of Harley's testimony there, plus others. Let me just say if you'd like some materials, some free materials to help you reach Mormons for Christ, please contact us at upfc.org.
If you'd like a mission team, put together with your church, I'll do that for you as well. Thank you for praying for the Mormons, and thank you for joining us today. Before we sign off for today, please know that all of us here at Utah Partnerships for Christ appreciate your prayers and support. We are also available to do Zoom call workshops or personal coaching on reaching Mormons for Christ. Contact us today at upfc.org.
That's upfc.org. Thanks so much for joining us on another edition of Passion for Christ.
