This Surrender: From Joseph Smith to Marcion: My Journey Out of Mormonism and Into the Arms of the Father of Jesus

At twenty-nine, Stirpe was a heavy metal drummer and a former Mormon missionary, one that traded his priesthood for a fierce, determined atheism. He thought he had all the answers, and nothing could change it. But in October 2019, everything changed. In the most frightening moment of his life, Stirpe had a massive stroke that should have killed him. His life completely transformed, and when people told him God had a plan for his survival, his atheism only doubled down. If a God existed, he was the one who had just tried to kill Stirpe. But only a few years later, his life changed once again. This Surrender: From Joseph Smith to Marcion is a memoir of spiritual and physical survival. It follows Stirpe’s journey from the rigid structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the void of secularism and finally to the unexpected sanctuary he found in the lost second-century Christianity of Marcion of Sinope. This is not a traditional testimony of returning to the fold. This is the story of a man who had to lose his health and his history to find a Gnosis that was already embedded in his soul.

Samuel Michael Stirpe is the author of ten novels and two short-story collections, specializing in cyberpunk, horror, and sci-fi. A metal musician with two solo albums to his credit, Stirpe now focuses primarily on historical research and the exploration of gnostic philosophy. Drawing from a decade of experience in sales and diverse academic pursuits at Conestoga College, Stirpe provides a unique perspective as a researcher and seeker of Gnosis.