From the Susquehanna to the Tiber: A Memoir of Conversion from Mormonism to the Roman Catholic Church

This work offers a unique, first-hand, and intimate account of growing up and living as a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as the Mormon Church. But as he grew into manhood, Jeremy Christiansen began experiencing the deep and painful disillusionment of a loss of faith. He tells about his journey of a search for God and the truth that he eventually found in the Roman Catholic Church.

Through a vivid memoir based on detailed personal journals, this book explores the highly unique approach to religious epistemology found in Mormonism. Although in theory the faith encourages the use of reason, in practice, Mormons’ beliefs in the truth claims of their church are highly dependent on emotional self-confirmation. Christiansen offers singular insight into the life of a faithful Mormon within this system, growing up in a small Mormon town, serving as a Mormon missionary for two years in Argentina, raising a family and serving in Mormon leadership positions.

He recounts how, through the subtle workings of Providence, he was led, unwittingly, to Roman Catholicism, with her ancient history that he found in the writings of the Church Fathers and the historical continuity between the Fathers and Rome; with her robust intellectual tradition emphasizing that man is created in the image of God and endowed with reason; and finally by the mystical beauty of her patrimony and ancient liturgy.