A few years back, a friend reached out after more than a decade of no contact. She said, “I found you on a site that listed you among people who have gone to the devil (along with a bunch of other people I really respect), and I just had to see what you were up to!”

To this day, I’m still curious which site she meant—I never went hunting for it because I didn’t want to get dragged into negativity. But, in case anyone was wondering how I responded at the time, I wrote a post called Trick or Treat.

Well… today, I may have stumbled onto that site—completely by accident! I was searching for something else and came across an article that tried to debunk ideas from my website.

If you didn’t already know, I’m LDS (a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—commonly called Mormon). Some people don’t consider us Christian, but that’s a conversation for another day. (One reader did ask me about it, and you can read my response here.)

Here’s the twist: the person who accused me of being deceived wasn’t a non-member. She was LDS herself. And honestly, I like to believe that most Mormons—and Christians in general—do their best to be Christlike: to not judge, to be patient, and to forgive, regardless of how sinful someone might seem.

That said, I’ve judged others too. We’re all on this journey together, and I’m constantly reminding myself: if I had lived someone else’s life—their upbringing, their beliefs, their experiences—I might say and do exactly what they do.

So with that in mind, let’s begin this important discussion.

She wrote:

"Leslie Householder teaches the law of attraction. She is an LDS author...

"Where are we taught this in the scriptures? Where does the Lord promise blessings in this life? He promises eternal ones, treasures in heaven not treasures on earth. The Occult teaches men to will material success into their lives. Ironically they teach this at first, then they teach you not to want material things but to want to attract world peace instead. These principles are to catch people by their selfish desires for wealth and abundance. Then once they have caught them, they teach them the higher laws and to use the Law of Attraction for the good of all, not just themselves. So it is a great way to entice people by their temporal desires to turn into helpers of Lucifer by showing them it is best for them too. They then teach that if you live the higher laws of using the power of attraction, sending goodwill out into the world, you are invoking Lucifer to come forth with his Plan.

"I checked to see if Leslie Householder’s books were sold at Deseret Books they were not."

Here’s the response I sent her (through Facebook, since her blog is currently down due to what she described as “financial difficulties”—though I found an archived version of the post):

Hi Rosabella,

I came across your blog post—http://www.fatherthywillbedone.com/loa-changing-lds-and-christian-beliefs/%20—and was surprised to see you were talking about me!

UPDATE: Her site appears to have been shut down due to—"financial difficulties' (her words)—but here is the archive of her post that blasted me.

I completely respect your right to your opinion, but I felt compelled to offer a response to your... let’s call it assessment. You quoted a few paragraphs from my website and asked, “Where is the focus on God?”

If you haven’t read my books (The Jackrabbit Factor, Hidden Treasures, Portal to Genius), I can see how a handful of website excerpts might feel off. But the reason I wrote those books was to bring the focus back to God.

You wouldn’t quote three random paragraphs from President Hinckley’s biography and say, “Where’s the part about his baptism?” It’s likely there—you just didn’t grab that part.

You also suggested that my work resembles occult teachings. I’d just ask: are we possibly avoiding true principles just because they resemble a counterfeit? Satan always mimics truth—he’s a master of distortion. But let’s be careful not to throw away true doctrine just because it’s been twisted elsewhere.

Also: No, my work is not based on The Secret (I wrote mine first). I didn’t follow Neale Donald Walsch, Louise Hay, or any of the others people often assume. I've been cautious about my sources—more than you seem to think.

In fact, the main sources behind my work include:

• As a Man Thinketh by James Allen (quoted by church leaders, including President Kimball)

• The Law of Success by Sterling W. Sill (former Seventy)

• Bob Proctor’s You Were Born Rich (a non-member invited by a mission president to teach principles to LDS missionaries in the 1980s)

Even The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles—despite the title—is deeply centered on working in harmony with God’s laws. It’s more about alignment with Him than materialism.

Still, I wondered early on if I was safe reading non-scriptural sources. Then, while visiting the LA temple, I saw a plaque quoting Brigham Young:

“Mormonism embraces all truth that is revealed and that is unrevealed, whether religious, political, scientific, or philosophical.”

I'd like to also mention the last article of faith by which we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints try to live:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

We’re also taught in the Doctrine & Covenants:

“Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118)

And this from D&C 130:20–21:

“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven... upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”

Interestingly, Bob Proctor quoted that verse in a seminar I attended—probably learned it from Sterling Sill. He may not be LDS, but he recognized a true principle when he saw it.

Brigham Young also said, "'Mormonism' embraces all the truth that there is in heaven and on the earth; and if there is any in hell it belongs to us."

So, if Mormonism claims to have the fullness of all truth (or at least claims to be gathering it as fast as the Lord reveals it), then we - especially as individuals - should never prematurely claim to have already received it all.

I think we shouldn't be so afraid to learn from others, to take it all in and weigh it against the truth we have.  If it's true, it will fit. If it isn't true, it won't fit.  I challenge you to read As a Man Thinketh or any of the other sources I listed and tell me what of them does not fit.

You also mentioned Deseret Book doesn’t carry my work, as though that says something about its truthfulness.

Let’s talk about that.

Deseret Book carried The Secret, Twilight, and The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, which includes magic, alchemy, and... yes, rock stars. Entertainment? Sure. Doctrine? You tell me.

Besides that point, I will tell you why I am not at Deseret Book... (although my book IS at many of the other LDS bookstores) - because it wasn't a popular topic in 2004 when I sent it to them for consideration, (The Secret hadn't been released yet). And I'm not really bothered if a person has to get get my book from a different book seller.

Additionally, when I sent them the manuscript in 2004 or so (to see if they wanted to publish it), as well as to several other LDS publishers, I had already been making it available as an ebook for two years prior, and people wanted the paperback asap. Deseret Book required that I give them an exclusive look for at least 3 months (which means all the other publishers had to wait in line) and even if they decided they wanted to publish it, it would have taken up to a year or more to make it available. By deciding to self publish it, I had it available to my readership within a few weeks.  (Also, the book is for a wider audience than just the LDS people, so it was never my point to make sure they carried it.)

Deseret Book is a business. They are not the sole and exclusive library of Mormon Doctrine, otherwise you wouldn't see Harry Potter, nor any other work of fiction there.

Not sure if you were aware, but yes, they did even carry The Secret when it came out because there was a demand for it.  They also carried Twilight (vampire romance novel), but later pulled if from their shelves.

Each of these controversial books are currently "not available" (Update 5/17/2020 - I just noticed the links have broken, so apparently the books have been removed), but they were at one time sold through their store previously through the links above. Does that mean they were once doctrinal, but are no longer?

Deseret Book is a business. Their goal is to meet consumer demand—not to define doctrine. As their own rep said:

“Our top priority is to meet the needs of our customers, who increasingly represent a variety of viewpoints... Like any retailer, our purpose is to offer products that are embraced and expected by our customers. When we find products that are met with mixed review, we typically move them to special order status.”

So let’s be careful not to use them as the doctrinal measuring stick.

Because of sites like yours, there have been some people who won't even dare look at the principles of right thinking. I know you mean well, but you might want to make sure you don't steer someone from the answer that the Lord might be trying to send them.

This month's issue of the Ensign is all about this topic. President Monson's article is all about positive thinking... you should read that one. It's called "Living the Abundant Life".  Elder Cristofferson's talk about "Recognizing God's Hand in Our Daily Blessings" is also spot on and in complete harmony with my books (especially Portal to Genius), and even very similar to my own family's story.

To save you some time (so you don't have to actually read my book to get the whole truth), here is MY official stance on the controversy:

Human Empowerment in Perspective

I thank you for your blog even though it wasn't very flattering... because it spawned an important discussion.

About Getting Harpooned

By the way, one of my dear friends is a public figure in Utah who keeps a close friendship with the President of the Church (current and previous).  One day in the 1980s my friend was criticized in the newspaper for something controversial.

When he was lynched in the paper, President Benson called him and said, "So! I hear you got harpooned today!"

My friend replied, "Yes, sir, I did."

President Benson said, "Good for you, good for you. Go out and do some more good, so you can get harpooned some more."

President Benson taught my friend, "It is the badge we wear when we are anxiously engaged in a good cause: that we will be known for good and evil."

Those words bring me comfort when I read a blog like yours.  I know that God is my judge, and I'm at peace with my work, just as I'm sure you are at peace with yours. Thank heavens we won't be judged by each other, but by the Perfect Judge who will size us up by the thoughts and intents of our heart.

I learn a little more each day and make the adjustments needed when I find out I am wrong. Through it all, I've learned to accept the opinions of the critical few because I know they are only passing judgment based on where they are and their present understanding of things.  I don't think they will be condemned for that, and I certainly hope and pray they won't be. Their intent is to protect and warn their fellow man from deviant paths. That's definitely honorable and praiseworthy.

So these are my words of caution: In every case where I have passed judgment on another person, the Lord has an uncanny way of rearranging my life until I can see the world from that person's point of view and it softens my heart to them.  I'm sure by the time my life is complete, I will have no room to judge another in the slightest.  Please do judge carefully.

I wish you well, and thank you again for giving me something to write about.

Warm regards,

Leslie Householder

(I invited her to respond. I said: "PS. You'll find my post about this at [what is now] https://my.rarefaith.org/blog/about-getting-harpooned. If you would like to respond to it, I would be happy to post your reply as well."  I hope she does.)

A new afterthought... 

If I had to guess, your concern might actually stem from seeing the words self-help on my site. Funny story: my marketing coach in 2006 recommended using that term because it was what my readers were Googling. My message isn’t about helping yourself without God—quite the opposite. But using that keyword helped those people find my site, and eventually, discover how central God is in everything I teach.

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