Ed Decker

John Edward Decker
Born	1935 United States
Occupation	evangelist, writer
Known for	Christian apologist; author

John Edward "Ed" Decker (born 1935) is an American counterculture apologist and evangelist known for his controversial studies, books, and public presentations of the perceived negative aspects of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Freemasonry. He is a former member of the LDS Church and prominent early member of a Christian group for ex-Mormons called Saints Alive in Jesus. His most well-known book is The God Makers: A Shocking Expose of What the Mormon Church Really Believes, co-authored by Dave Hunt.

Decker was born to a Jewish mother and Dutch father of the Reformed Christian faith (Calvinist) but raised an Episcopalian. While attending Utah State University, he married a Latter-day Saints student named Phyllis and converted to Mormonism. He met Phyllis Ray Danielson in "about 1952" during his junior year of high school and had a reputation of being a "wild young man." They later married in "the Presbyterian Church on June 10, 1956."

During their marriage, Ed Decker struggled to hold a job and his wife explained that "During the first ten years Ed and I were married, we moved twenty six times." In the LDS Church, he served in roles such as Sunday School teacher, and was once the Sunday School President in a local ward. He has falsely claimed that he served as a bishop (or lay minister) in the Church. Decker later divorced his first wife and blamed it on the LDS Church as mentioned in his pseudo-documentary, The God Makers: "I spent many years trying to reestablish those [Decker's family] relationships". The movie also states that he is a "victim" of the Mormon Church. However, his wife later said "I understand he often blames me and the Church for the breakup of our marriage in 1969. Nothing could be further from the truth... Ed had affairs for seven... years and I was continually advised by the LDS Church to forgive him. I... wanted more than anything to have a happy home." [ibid 9] The main complaint in the divorce papers read that the "Defendant has admitted to plaintiff that he had frequently and on numerous occasions had the company and companionship of other women."

The DECREE IN DIVORCE also mentions Ed Decker's default. He was served personally as required by law, and when he failed to file an appearance or make an answer, the matter was "taken as confessed." Complaint eight, of the 12 complaints, reads that he has "been guilty of extreme and repeated mental cruelty toward the plaintiff, in that he on many occasions had the company and companionship of other women." The divorce was granted by the court under the grounds of "mental cruelty." Phyllis was asked whether "he [Ed Decker] admitted to you that he has frequently and on numerous occasions had the company and companionship of other women?" to which she answered "Yes."

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