4 Reasons Why Evangelicals Can Be MEAN to Mormons

[@HelloSaints]

Beyond these four reasons, in your experience, what are some more reasons tension can exist between Protestants and Latter-day Saints?

[@xelaevans]

I have to ask if Nephi’s rhetoric leads us Latter-day Saints to disdain Evangelicals? Beautiful video, especially the ending! But most my life I have had an aversion and even contempt for other churches. I have had to ask myself if that is because of the rhetoric in our scripture. Basically does Nephi hate other churches? If so does that reflect in Latter-day Saint culture? This can be a very difficult question. Nephi seems to blame the 'pastors' of the people for the destruction of Jerusalem. This is emphasized in 1 Nephi 21:1, "Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people." This is not his only reference to wicked pastors. I have thought about where Nephi may be coming from. Nephi starts a SECULAR scholar. 2 Ne 25:4 is actually very telling. Nephi uses this verse to validate his prophecy in chapter 25. But the verse and other details suggest that Nephi perhaps wasn't focused much on the gospel before he left Jerusalem. Obviously scriptures were hard to come by. Nephi says, "I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem". Nephi clearly downplays the effect the spirit played in his life before he departed Jerusalem. Many Latter-day scholars have suggested Nephi is a trained scribe and that requires extensive study (there are ~800 Egyptian hieroglyphs alone). Some also opine that scribes in that time were metal smiths. That would fit what we read. Nephi gives credit to the Lord for teaching him to build a boat, telling him where to hunt and find ore. But Nephi doesn't say he needs help crafting tools. He works in atleast seven types of metal (2Ne5:15) Also, if Nephi's family were metal smiths fits with their ownership of covetable gold and silver. Regardless of Nephi's early spirituality, he clearly excels in his fields of study. I picture Nephi growing up as a person just trying to do his job. We can also presume Nephi loves Jerusalem. 40 years after leaving he still talks about it. In contrast to Nephi, the pastors of the people mess up their job so much they not only cause the destruction of Jerusalem but now Nephi practically has to re-invent himself and morph into a spiritual leader. Talking of Israel, Isaiah wrote that God would "give children unto them to be their princes (2Ne13:4)." One has to wonder if Nephi reflected on his own circumstances as he read that. To me it seems Nephi have a personal vendetta against pastors and churches. This isn't entirely excusable but it is understandable. I need to point out that it is not clear there were churches in Nephi's time. The Book of Mormon reflects this in the last verse of Mosiah when it identifies Alma as the founder of their church hundreds of years later. One has to wonder then what Nephi meant. In any case, every time he describes the fall of the gentiles he mentions churches. He mentions "those that grind upon the face of the poor" or "rob the poor." He says churches are built up "which cause envyings, and strifes, and malice." He refers to "all those who are built up to get power over the flesh". But it is hard to imagine Nephi's words are limited to churches and church leaders. I am sure he is referring to any organization in a community that does not help the poor. But there is no reason to think Nephi is referring to non-members. The 'pastors' Nephi refers to had the truth and hid it. If one holds that only the Latter-day Saint faith is true then Nephi's condemning words couldn't possibly apply to anyone except Latter-day Saints. I believe and know all God's children have light. So a 'pastor' in Nephi's usage is any leader or helper that hides light (even a leader in a scientific field). After all, we ALL contribute to Zion. This deeper view of Nephi's perspective has resolved my anxiety for those of other faiths. I focus as Nephi did more on fruits rather than affiliation. Let us not think for one second there is not light in our neighbors.

[@TheSecondSoprano]

@Clint Ray I have faithfully attended a variety Protestant churches my whole life (Lutheran, Baptist, Evangelical Free, Non-denominational). Not once in my 63 years have I ever heard the LDS church negatively mentioned in a church service.

[@KingPoseidon02]

One reason is Joseph Smith wasn't always kind to other religions.

[@protochris]

It's no different from how Catholics are shamefully treated by Baptists and Evangelicals. Once they embrace the notion of a "false Jesus", they believe they are in full combat mode with satan.

[@Mussinsky1839]

Hello, Pastor Jeff. I just watched this video. I have seen some other videos of yours, and am pleased how you're learning about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in a positive manner. The reasons involving tension are very much valid and understandable. There's even tension in some extended family of mine. A lot of that tension is due to tradition and heritage. Allow me to recite a little bit of family history. For centuries, a line in my family lived in Germanic Romania as ethnic Germans. They were very strong in upholding their heritage, not only with where they lived, but what they did. They were firm believers in a denominational church. Shortly after my great great grandfather came to America and took residence in St. Louis, my great great grandmother and five of her sons took their journey as well. After they came, three more children were born (one of them being my great grandfather). Many years later, when one of the sons was at war, he rejected a Book of Mormon which was presented to him. However, instead of leaving it in the dust, he sent it to his mother, who read it a few days after receiving it. She and my great great grandfather met with missionaries not too long afterwards, and joined the church. Not long after that, the last three of the eight children and their families joined the church as well. The older five, however, did not. They were firm in their beliefs and heritage, to the point they separated themselves from the rest of the family. From time to time, rises of tension still come from the family branches formed by those five sons. My branch is one of the ones which received the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The point is, there are many reasons why there's tension between one church and another. Of all the many reasons which exist, tradition and heritage is one which I feel is very important to share with you. Thanks again for your videos. Have a nice day.

[@josephbenzjr.2849]

I’ll be honest I used to be very hostile towards Latter Day Saints. But since I started watching this channel it’s made me examine my own biases and it’s now made me realize that we can’t have a conversation with people if we don’t seek to understand them. Keep doing what your doing.

[@GMMXX80]

Thats awesome, man. Thanks! We appreciate that. We like to have conversations too

[@GilbbBuilds]

I like how you brought up how we can't have a conversation with people without understanding them. I am a member of the church of latter day saints, and I have experienced hostility from people outside of the church. But more commonly than that, I have noticed more people looking for a non-contentious conversation about faith and it's always nice to have those experiences.

[@sgee-vc1hz]

It's the same message that Jesus gave the Pharisees -- "Hate the handshakes, Love the Handshakers."

[@dougspindler4947]

But what if their beliefs are so different than your beliefs. You do realize LDS members believe they will becomes Gods and you cannot. Therefore they are superior to you.

[@danielmoore4024]

@@dougspindler4947 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn't view itself as more superior, some members may and some scriptures say there's only one "true" church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one that claims to be the only true church. You're misunderstanding the church's beliefs about exaltation. The church believes that through temple work, members being proxy gets the dead given the chance in the spirit world to accept or reject again. Anyone who was/is not a member will be given a chance in the spirit world.

[@stephaniealvarado4500]

" They (LDS members) are not dangerous... it is not necessary to avoid them...and its not necessary to go after their dignity". I appreciate this comment so much ❤ , Thank you Pastor Jeff.

[@kurtulbrich3899]

I grew up in the southwest United States as a member of the LDS faith. During this time I had the privilege to meet and become friends to many Evangelicals. I always felt loved and accepted as a fellow brother in Christ within these circles. My lifelong best friend is Evangelical and is one of the most charitable, loving, caring and Christlike people I know. I love my Evangelical friends and neighbors. In my experience, I never faced any contention, malice, or anything else untoward regarding my beliefs and my faith as a practicing member of the LDS faith. When my best friend passed away after a long fought battle with cancer, I was asked by his pastor to participate at his funeral and speak during the service. I felt loved and accepted throughout that heartwarming and bittersweet experience. @Jeff McCullough Thank you for this channel and for sharing your journey of understanding. If I ever find myself in your neck of the woods, I earnestly and eagerly look forward to attending your church and worshiping with you.

[@dougspindler4947]

Did you ever ask your friend if they were Christian?

[@kurtulbrich3899]

@@dougspindler4947 Interesting question. Honestly I did not. Thinking back now, it was apparent fairly early on in our friendship that he was Christian (we met and became fast friends when we were 15-16 years old). It was apparent by the way he conducted himself and conversations we had early on about weekend activities as we wanted to spend more time together (hang out). As we both matured and our friendship deepened and evolved, we had many experiences to share our beliefs with one another and attend church services together on both sides.

[@Inzpectre]

@@kurtulbrich3899 What a beautiful story. I wish i had a friend.

[@JellyfishLighting-Michael]

Pastor Jeff. You are a good guy, and a good teacher. I can tell your understanding of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is evolving. I can tell because you are explaining many doctrines as we would explain them. You’ve grasped the terminology well. I personally really appreciate the effort you have put in to these. God bless.

[@FourEyedFrenchman]

I'm a Catholic, and my interactions with LDS have been nothing but cordial and friendly. We're both organized/institutional churches with clearly defined hierarchies and teaching authorities, so maybe we just relate better on that level. I can't put exact words to it, but there's definitely an unspoken resepect for each other's history and traditions. This past Ash Wednesday, I ran into some Latter-Day Saints at Mass who were there to receive ashes. They were very reverent and respectful, and had some questions about the liturgy and liturgical worship (responses, vestments, communion, etc.). My parish is about half a mile from an LDS meetinghouse, so we interact a lot. There are disagreements to be sure, but they don't get heated. More often than not, we agree more than we disagree on the broad strokes of the faith. Dominus vobiscum!

[@firepower7654]

My family is half Catholic and half LDS. I happen to be LDS, but I have attended my father's Catholic church so many times that everyone assumed for years that I too was Catholic. Once they found out I was not a part of their faith and attended just to be with my father and celebrate Christ with him, and found the mass just visually stunning, I was still welcomed with open arms. Everyone calls me "Mormon Dave" and treats me just like another parishioner and is very respectful when they have questions about my faith.

[@beckycollet5677]

If we hate each other, we are not following the teachings and example of Christ. I am LDS but lived in Europe and saw incredibly beautiful Catholic cathedrals that I am sure we're built with love and faith. I have a dear friend who is Catholic. We must find commonality. We are all children of God. We believe in Christ as our Savior. We belief in faith, love and repentance. We must forgive each other for human weakness. The God I believe in is a God of love.

[@EliasB100]

"We're both organized/institutional churches with clearly defined hierarchies and teaching authorities, so maybe we just relate better on that level." One rejects sola scriptura while the other says the Bible is correct as long as it is interpreted correctly i.e. whatever the teaching authorities approve. Evangelical Christianity not only believes in sola scriptura (scripture alone) but encourages the true Christian to question anything that claims authority over what the Bible teaches. So when the Bible says we are justified by faith alone and not by works, we reject the so-called catholic authorities who reject this or when Jesus says that in heaven, there is neither marriage or people being given into marriage but we will be like the angels (Matthew 22:30) we reject the so called mormon authorities who reject this. It's really not that complicated.

[@dougspindler4947]

Do you consider LDS Christians? Do you think they consider themselves as Christians?

[@brettmajeske3525]

@@dougspindler4947 The name of the Church, is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Of coarse we consider ourselves Christians, we just don't believe in post-Biblical creeds.

[@emilybartlett4544]

I was recently baptized and attend an evangelical church, after two decades of searching multiple religious practices and philosophies for spiritual meaning, but the very root of my desire to seek God came from growing up around so many Latter Day Saints. Your channel is so heartwarming to me and I appreciate you so, so much. Thank you for being such a bridge for respectful faith based dialogue. I decided not to join the LDS church for the reasons I had back then, but I continue to deeply adore and respect the LDS faith and smile whenever I see the missionaries travelling on their bikes or walking down the street. I still maintain close connection with my oldest LDS friends and we have spiritual conversations all the time. It's very easy to find common ground for me because of my spiritual journey, but not everyone can say it's easy to do this. I wish more people thought like you and were able to see this video!

[@annette-in-vegas]

You have such a refreshing attitude and I can identify with it completely!

[@jackmorgan327]

Pastor Jeff, I appreciate your approach. Growing up as a member of the LDS faith in Southeast Georgia, there was never hostility between myself and my Evangelical friends. We were all truly best friends. Where the hostility came was when Pastors would preach to their congregations not to associate with us, LDS. As a youth it was hard to understand why we couldn't be friends because of the Church we attended. I never did lose my friends but it did put a strain on some of our friendships. My very best friend's dad was a Baptist preacher. He preached one Sunday from his pulpit the same message mentioned above, having no idea I was LDS. One day at their home I was invited to have supper with them as I often did. While eating my friend's dad (the Preacher) said, "Jack, I've never asked you which Church you attend." My heart paused for a second, then I responded, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To my surprise he didn't react like I expected him to do so. I honestly expected him to be upset and he wasn't. I truly believe by this point he loved me for who I was as a person and friend to his son. To my knowledge he never preached that sermon again. It's who we are as people that truly matters the most. Please keep building bridges.

[@Zeett09]

Now that is a great story! 👍

[@serendipity7041]

This episode is a must see for our missionaries. It promotes understanding and could bridge a patience needed for successful religious human conversations! Thank you for this transformative insight!

[@zionmama150]

Missionaries don’t convert people, the Lord does. Missionaries just need to be there to teach. They aren’t there to convince anyone, for that’s the Lord’s job.

[@Reneepa4506]

@Zion Mama I don't think you read one bit of that comment past the word "missionaries". Not once was conversion referenced. Their comment was based on understanding evangelicals and vice versa. Please take note of the good example Pastor Jeff sets in his approach with understanding and utilizing successful communicative skills.

[@zionmama150]

@@Reneepa4506 umm.. I think you’re taking what I said the wrong way

[@dougspindler4947]

@@zionmama150 Lord is doing a good job of converting many young people away from both religions.

[@BrendonKing]

@@dougspindler4947 1 John 2:19 [19] They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. (ESV)

[@TheHappyLadyChannel]

Thanks for sharing this perspective. As I was listening I was thinking about how as Latter-day Saints, we don’t generally feel threatened by Christian theologies that differ from what we believe. I know what you’re talking about though because my grandma and half of her children left the Church back in the 90’s and moved to the Bible Belt. They became Baptists and began mailing us pamphlets from their church about why our beliefs were wrong. I felt so sad about that and it felt strange because that’s something the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t do. We don’t print anti-pamphlets about other churches and distribute them to their members or picket at their events. My grandma and her children put so much effort into picketing, distributing pamphlets, and even teaching Sunday school classes in their church about the deceptions of the LDS church. They were very proud of this. We never saw them serve, or take meals to people or help their neighbors. When we’d visit or when they’d come to Utah to visit, it was a lot of energy spent on tearing down. As a young teen and eventually adult, I observed how my LDS community was busy serving and loving and building up, while my Grandma and her Baptist community were busy with efforts of tearing down. To the point of making others feel so bad they were in tears. It got to the point that whenever I saw someone wearing a cross around their neck I was afraid that if they knew I was a Latter-day Saint they would do the same to me. I didn’t feel threatened by their theologies or beliefs, I felt threatened by their actions towards me. I was genuinely afraid. I would often think about the scripture in Matthew “by their fruits ye shall know them.” My Grandma and her children proudly claimed to be Christians but I never felt Christ’s love when I was around them. I felt they believed I was bad for being a Latter-day Saint. To this day when I share on social media a happy moment in our life such as my children being baptized, my aunt will make an unkind comment about it. I still do my best to love her and I’ve never once spoken negative about her beliefs and theology, and never will. It always felt like the Pharisees. How what Jesus taught felt very threatening to them. They would follow him around and criticize. Point out why he was wrong. He was loving, serving, and building up, while they were tearing down. No matter what Church you belong to, when you truly are born again and converted, the fruits of that show in how you treat others. When you have truth and you know Christ, you don’t feel threatened. You feel genuine love. You want to uplift and serve. You want to be like the Savior! ❤️

[@SmokingGouda]

The old saying "No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care" is truly the golden rule in all areas on life! I really appreciate your heart in this journey!

[@SmokingGouda]

@@Hamann9631 haha yeah, there are soo soo many examples of conspiracy theorists these days listening to bad information when it seems like their real reason is because their pride and self centeredness is being challenged... I don't think being a member is required in order to be referenced for most areas, outside, unconnected sources may actually be able to give a more unbiased evaluation. Haha example, I prefer foreign news outlets that are covering US stories(like BBC) because I feel like it's a lot easier for them to be unbiased because they don't have a stake in it...

[@sbryson4]

Thank you so much for replying to my comment! (Boy was I shocked). I will admit, most of those feeling I was referring to was when I was in highschool. As an adult who is almost 40 I have found an AMAZING group of women of all different faiths whom I consider my friends. We even attend Bible study together and it’s so nice to speak to one another in a respectful manner even though our views don’t always 100% align. Again, I really appreciate this whole series and the journey you are on.

[@kellybakes]

As LDS, we don't get the 'threatened' thing at all. We fully recognize that to follow Christ is always an invitation, never by force, and respect people's God-given right to choose their own path. It's not a competition and it's hard to comprehend that a difference of belief is a 'threat' to anyone. Christians need to band together more than ever, no matter what creed you follow. We welcome any and all to 'come and see.' So great to see you making an honest effort to do that.

[@daveyjones9930]

@kellybakes (and to Stephanie Thomas): I served an LDS mission and read the BoM at least a dozen times as well as LDS church history. YOU Mormons may have never spoken against other religions nor heard fellow Mormons speak badly about other Faiths (kudo's to you!!)....but your CHURCH leaders HAVE and it's all documented! AND...when you raise your right hand to sustain those leaders, you're sustaining their WORDS too. Joseph Smith said ALL other churches were an "abomination and corrupt, Babylon the Great, the Whore of the Earth and the Church of Satan." That line with some variation, has been repeated by nearly every LDS apostle/prophet in history, up to Gordon B. Hinckley. AND these nasty accusations by Smith were made long before the Mormon church was even organized. In addition, the Mormon church has some 60,000 missionaries (salesmen/women) in the world declaring the Mormon church to be the *ONE AND ONLY TRUE CHURCH ON EARTH* , "led personally by Jesus Christ himself DAILY through living prophets". So I ask... What message is that sending to members of other faiths....if not that THEIR religions are WRONG...i.e., "corrupt" and NOT led by god?? (Seems to me, what goes around, comes around. AND, cast thy bread upon the water, and what happens?) IOW...it was Mormons who started this war of words and accusations. So...I can fully understand why other religions are not welcoming Mormons with open arms.

[@estherlewis7458]

There is only one creed that Christians follow. One Lord, one faith and one baptism. There is only one gospel. I Corinthians 15:1-4 Jesus Christ is exclusive. "No one comes to the Father but by me." Latter-day Saints try to convert Christians because the teachings of the LDS church are diametrically opposite that of Christianity. If Latter-day Saints are Christians, then Christians are Latter-day Saints and there would be no need to convert them. The LDS church is certainly not a threat. I know for sure that my sins have been forgiven, that I have eternal life and will live forever with Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ said that few would be saved. Luke 13:23 Jesus Christ said that few would get into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus Christ said that he would divide people and families. The truth naturally divides people. To be worthy of Jesus and eternal life one must side with God's truth even if it divides his own family. There is no salvation in any church. There is only salvation in Jesus. Jesus Christ said, "Follow me."

[@harryhenderson2479]

You make it a competition by declaring your religion the “one and true.” Your leaders started this, it’s up to you and the rest of the members to stop it. Stand and speak up to your prophet and apostles. If enough members push for change, they WILL change.

[@estherlewis7458]

@@dallinshumway7188 I don't feel like I am being attacked at all. I know that my sins have been forgiven. I know that I have been made perfect because Christ has imputed to me his righteousness, which is the righteousness of God. I know that I have eternal life and will live forever with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."

[@dallinshumway7188]

yep. Nailed it. I'm sorry you got attacked by these other folks.

[@lizkt]

I don't know why people believing something different "threatens" anyone though. When I hear a different belief I go, "huh that's interesting". I don't feel threatened or triggered. I certainly don't feel the need to verbally attack anyone

[@cindymacferran331]

I though the word “threatened” was pretty strong and harsh too!

[@FarmhouseProclamation]

@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr Not threatening. Sad for the hurt that's come out of that religion, and quite frustrated when people think that the FLDS represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I'm not threatened by them at all. I'm firm in my beliefs, so any feelings would be external, not internal.

[@FarmhouseProclamation]

@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr I think you may be confused as to what exactly is taught. I'm descended from people who practiced plural marriage, and I'm so grateful for it! God commanded it then and then He commanded it stop. Plenty of examples of the same thing happening in the Old Testament. I grew up honoring my ancestors who did something that must have been so so hard. Not ignored or pretended it never happened. It's not currently commanded, so obviously we focus on the things that are. But the FLDS are SO far off of what was originally taught. They may have started out with what your ideas were, but they've disavowed some very important teachings of Joseph Smith and added in some very disturbing ones. It's interesting to see your perspective though. The best source for the truth about which religion is best though, is God and the Holy Spirit. James 1:5 teaches us that. I pray you continue to follow Christ in the best way you know how, and that God continues to teach you the way to eternal happiness. :)

[@heathrusty]

Beautifully spoken! Thanks for leading by example. Recently, I made a comment on a video in which the presenter was discussing a social issue that I agreed with, but as part of the video he made some reference to Catholics and Mormons in a negative sense. I wrote a message to him thanking him for his work and his video, and then suggesting that rather than see us as opponents, it would be great to realize that we really all can be on the same team in defending truth and morals in society. I suggested he could talk to some local Latter-Day Saints to find out how much we have in common. He messaged me back and his only response was to send me links to several videos about people who had chosen to leave my church. He made no effort to find common ground, and it was a pretty disappointing interaction. (To be clear, I'm not sure what religious group he affiliated with.) One other story (on a positive note): when I was a missionary, we happened to knock on the door of an Episcopalian Bishop. He very kindly talked with us and praised us for our good work. He then prayed for us and our safety and success. It was one of the best interactions of my whole mission.

[@calhutch3185]

My wife attended many churches for 12 years while taking a break from the Church of Jesus Christ, and every one of them had either a Mormom teaching evening or a sermon. She said almost all of them turned out to be bashing sessions or at least taught a whole lot of falsehoods. It is nice to see your respect. A funny story a friend I met in college grew up around many Latter-day Saints who tried to share and what she understood was that we worshipped Joseph Smith, not Christ. I think I got that cleared up. She called me a lot for advice and I would reference the scriptures a lot. The funny part was the verses she liked the most were from the Book of Mormon and Doctine and Covenants. She loved how they taught about Christ so much. After expressing how much she loved them for the umpteenth time, I told her what book of scripture they were from. Rather than appreciating they were pointing her to Christ she got offended and never called me again. I find it sad how often we (me included) let our misconceptions and biases het in the way of what we both cherish and our opportunity to truly love others.

[@tylermatlock4856]

As an LDS kid in Oklahoma growing up in the 90’s and early 2000’s, I could tell when the Mormon week happened at a given church the week after it happened based on the questions I would get. I would be glad to hear that the evangelical community has moved on from that.

[@AngelPuff1012]

Latter-Day-Saint here. I attended many church and other activities with Evangelicals as a youth. I am still good friends with this family that took me to these things. The most eye-opening experience for me, which showed me the feelings of Evangelicals toward LDS, was when there was a Baptist convention in Utah in the late 90s. I'll be honest that I felt very uncomfortable at a certain event, which was a sort of testimony meeting. I never questioned my friends' intentions in inviting me, but many youth expressed very judgmental feelings towards "the Mormons" and even cried at the idea that they were going to go to hell, or not be saved. Some youth did express a love and a desire to find commonality. My friend invited me to things rather than chose to stand up and testify of my demise behind my back. Props to her for truly following Christ! At this event, the entertainment and pictures flashed on a screen actually made me tear up because it was not the way I felt about Jesus Christ. I also recall some coming to our door and not being very kind. (Even as a youth, I found the JWs very kind and loving in comparison). Since that time, I have had a chance to observe more and reflect. That family, who I am friends with, remains one of the best examples of Christians I have known. I think that Evangelicals have the same diversity in personality and thought as any other sect of Christianity. Even in the Latter-Day-Saint church, we have those who are very self-righteous and far from humble. This sheds a bad light on our church and it's leaders and some refuse to dig further into the amazing truths taught in our religion. This dichotomy exists among Evangelicals, among Catholics, among Methodists, and so on. If all of us truly followed Jesus Christ, we would throw aside preconceived notions and look on the heart. Experiencing things and not being afraid to participate socially is so important in understanding one another. This is so hard for me, personally, but I do it because I'd rather be nice than think bad things about others. We all have so much more in COMMON than we have differences. I will, however, ALWAYS defend my faith and be forever grateful for discernment.

[@SuperJ213]

Anna, I think people (myself included) can forget at times that people are dynamic and within any group of people you'll find polar opposites and everything in between. I remember knocking doors as a missionary in a highly Catholic community and I would see quite a variety of attributes from one person to the next. I've experienced harsh words and yelling at one door with a declaration of the particular Catholic church that person attends, and then the very next house have been politely declined to learn what we had to share (they attended the same church as the previous house), but offered us drinks and cookies. With enough experiences like that, I came to find that you just don't know what you're going to get, and I can't assume a group of people are one way or another. I think people are simply at different levels of understanding and adherence at any given church. The challenge is to be patient with others who may be rough-around-the-edges in their demeanor and communication habits. There was a time when I wasn't the nicest person to be around! All we can do is try to be better in how we treat each other....one day at a time.

[@annetteatwood8272]

As a Latter day saint, I found a wonderful group called Moms in Prayer. Through this group I met such wonderful Christian women from different churches. I saw how they prayed, I witnessed their worship and praise. It was a most joyous time of week to meet together, to praise God, silently confess, and then go on to pray for the schools, teachers, community and each others children by name.. through such thoughtful scripture and prayer I felt joy, strength, and relief. I learned I could depend on others outside my church to join together in unity for the benefit of all. I have since moved and miss my Moms in prayer sisters. A little willingness to step outside of our comfort zone, to listen, share, and pray can bring beautiful blessings to our lives.

[@ginamiller6754]

Many church’s have groups like this. You don’t have to join the church to attend. Maybe try a nondenominational Christian church women’s group. Tell them you are happy at your church but would like to come for community with moms.

[@annetteatwood8272]

@Gina Miller oh, I know many churches do :), I've just had a hard time finding one since covid and I'll be moving again this year. So perhaps my next place I'll go searching again.

[@ginamiller6754]

@@annetteatwood8272 best of luck in your move! Please do check it out when you are in your new place. The time in women’s groups were so helpful to me raising my girls! Just knowing other moms were going through the same things, praying together and knowing they were praying for me was so helpful! Our girls are now young adults and we are so proud of them!

[@le7262]

@@ginamiller6754 I began attending MIP (as a Latter-Day Saint) when my oldest child was in third grade! It has been the most amazing thing to see the Savior in these prayer meetings and see prayers answered in miraculous ways. I’m now attending a Bible Study Fellowship Bible study with my MIP friends. It’s awesome!!

[@ginamiller6754]

@@le7262 MIP?

[@marthakendall2363]

16:57 As a lifelong LDS member, I didn’t understand why Evangelicals even cared at all that our theology differed. I always figured that if your faith led you to be an honorable, happy, and charitable person, then that has to be an acceptable life pursuit, and we’d have time after we die to figure out the details! Thank you for explaining how differing beliefs about what may happen in the hereafter can actually make people feel threatened in the here and now! I think the example Jesus set in choosing his disciples from all walks of life and levels of faith and then telling them to “be one” is key. Evangelical Christians and Mormons can work together towards creating Christ-based honorable, happy, and charitable people, whatever the differences in theology may be. Mortality was always to be a faith-based undertaking!! Allowing for differences in interpretation according to what speaks to your individual soul and life experience is a great gift of grace that God grants us and that we should extend one to another!

[@DrDoerk]

It impossible to please God if you do not trust and believe in him..... Mormons don't believe the one and only true God, they believe there are thousands of millions of gods

[@00Fisher00]

@@DrDoerk You misunderstand, and apparently missed the point of Pastor Jeff's video.

[@Luvyourfam4ever]

@@DrDoerk I’m LDS and I believe that there is only one God. I don’t believe in thousands or millions of Gods. See, this is why he’s making this channel; because of people like you who think they know everything that Mormons believe in when you clearly have no idea.

[@kosmoman54]

@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr No Grace matters. Don't you think Christs Grace is sufficient for Mormons too?

[@DrDoerk]

@@Luvyourfam4ever it is Mormon doctrine that there are thousands of millions of gods.... that that Mormons will become gods. You may not believe that (infact I hope you dont) but that is Mormon doctrine.

[@TBIhope]

I really appreciate what you’re doing. I’m not that old, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that I hate conflict more and more. So many times conversations about religion devolve into conflict, and I love that you’re trying to end the conflict, as well! Can’t we both love Jesus, even if our beliefs don’t line up perfectly? ❤

[@rdprice3028]

Thank you Pastor Jeff for your work in helping people understand more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I served a mission for the church in the midwest and one of my fondest memories was cold contacting the family of an evangelical pastor. They were so loving and open with us as we would share testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ back and forth with each other. We would regularly visit them and take turns reading from the Bible and Book of Mormon to each other. The spirit was so strong as we shared the scriptures with each other it was amazing. They would even give us rides to appointments and shopping as we did not have transportation. These people were Christians in every sense of the word and we loved them very much.

[@Sent2earth4HisStory]

Beautiful :)

[@rachaelinda]

Very good advice to Christians from all religions. I’m a Latter-day Saint and live in Texas. I have wonderful friends in other Christian faiths and find myself having faith promoting, lovely conversations with them. At times we might define where there is a difference in our beliefs but I feel the Spirit of God in our conversations as well as a growth of respect for each other. We’re on a path for truth and that is pleasing to God. Thanks for your outreach and effort to bless many lives with an understanding of each other. Also, Maybe a #5 could be the fear that someone will confuse our children doctrinally or that our children will convert to the “other” religion. When my boys were little, a friend of theirs started to ask them questions and his mother really curtailed their time together. (My boys visited his services with him once. He didn’t visit ours. I chalk that up to his mom wanting to be very careful he not get confused at a young age. She was an amazing mom and I respected her parental choice although it was hard on my boys as they considered her son their best friend. )

[@karolynwrightgainesmusic]

Great job Hello !.... as a Ladder Day Saint... I appreciate your approach. The body of Christ will come together in the last days, in spite of the doctoral differences. I love your channel and found it a few months ago. I see you have really done your homework. We are not a cult. Keep up the great work..... bringing people together. Just for clarification, we do "works" and serving others, to strengthen our own personal spiritual growth, and help us feel closer to our Savior .. but it does not "save" us. Christs' atonement did that. Thank you for explaining your view points. It is so helpful. It is your calling !

[@karolynwrightgainesmusic]

Well it is not true for me. I think the best question is what does "saved" mean. My experience both in and out of Church tells me that if you have the light of Christ in you, you already know if you have done your best in this life, and so does God. God bless you ! Great questions.

[@karolynwrightgainesmusic]

By their fruits, you will know them.

[@brettmajeske3525]

In my experience one of the big stumbling blocks is that often different groups using different definitions for the same words. Not just between LDS and Evangelicals, but Catholics, Jews, Muslims, etc. There are real difference in belief and doctrine, but often it seems to me those differences are exaggerated by dialectic misunderstandings. Faith is a good example, we all use the word, but I do not think everyone defines it the same way. That can make honest conversation difficult.

[@stevenrgates]

Same words different dictionary.

[@RichardChappell1]

That's exactly why it's important to discuss those definitions while discussing the Gospels. Works and grace are another example of radically different explanations for is very close tot he same actual thing.

[@InAllThingsBearHisName]

I went to a baptist church with my neighbor on a Sunday. I was about 13. In Sunday school they were discussing Mormons. Calling Mormons a cult. I was attending at Mormon church as well with my other neighbor. So I found that very disturbing since I had known how sweet my Mormon neighbors were, hoe devoted they were to Jesus , prayers and scripture study every day as a family. When I was an adult living in Richmond VA- in Sunday school they were also talking about Mormons in a negative light. I was about 27. Around 32 I was attending NewBridge Baptist church in Sandston VA- also started teaching Mormon doctrine in a way that was more making fun of them. Talking about the pre-existence. Stating the doctrine in such a foreign manner that I almost did not recognize what doctrine they were referring too. I attended this church for 6 months until that day. I was taking a class to become a member of their congregation. I was going to sign their “covenant “ to join. Until that occurred with them teaching things they didn’t know anything about as if it were true Latter Day Saint beliefs. When the covenant was passed around, I declined to sign it and only returned Wednesday night for my sons awanas class. Then I was gone. My

[@TheBluebayoo]

Your final statements reminded me of a quote by the late Thomas S. Monson, who said "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

[@firepower7654]

I really miss President Monson.

[@micheleh3851]

@Kiwi Lemon - That's one of my favorite quotes!

[@Costplus2255]

Dear Pastor Jeff, I'm now going to partially quote the things you said that really touched me. Relational interaction in very loving and charitable conversations with people who are different that us is the very essence of Christ. Faith conversations are less about being right and more about the spiritual reality of the person we are interacting with. If you are holding the need to be right in an argument over truly connecting and interacting with that individual, I would question at that point whether you are really being spiritually led. Amen. At that point it seems more cognitive than spiritual. It is not necessary to go after their dignity and prove them wrong. Fight criticism with curiosity. Amen again. It is okay to ask questions and even drive toward commonality. We all need to look at a way we can balance truth and love. I believe that when we do that, the Savior is most clearly seen. Amen. Please keep making the videos! Thank you!!! The rest is not as important but here goes. I listened to the first two thirds of the video and it was largely review of what I have learned intuitively over the years of talking to persons outside my LDS faith. It was nice to have you actually articulate it and actually state it. It was nice to hear that the street corner Evangelists who hang out at the church conference center and many of church pageants are in the minority. The fact that you are reading the Book of Mormon is great. To be honest, most of the Evangelicals I have met out side of the church, personally, are afraid to read it because of what they have heard and been told. Nevertheless, your closing comments were what really made me feel that you are being directed by the spirit of God. You comments about debate were very refreshing. The fact that you asked people to question if their motives and the spirit directing them is of God was perfect. I learned as a missionary for the church, over 40 years ago, that debate almost never works and only drives away the spirit.

[@jessekoeven3757]

Thank you! May the richest blessings of Heavenly Father be poured out upon you this day! Your testimony about finding commonality instead of debating touched my heart.

[@cinnamondan4984]

One of the biggest reasons why the LDS/Mormons are targeted is simply because their church is so successful.

[@jessekoeven3757]

@Cinnamon Dan True, from any perspective, being only 193 years old and having 16.5 million members is amazing. Yet still, even as Christ himself experienced, many in the Christian community say we are led by the devil(John 10:19-21).

[@cinnamondan4984]

@@jessekoeven3757 it is amazing. I hope growth continues

[@jessekoeven3757]

@Cinnamon Dan "The Standard of Truth" has indeed been erected and will not stop until "The Great Jehovah shall say, 'the work is done.'"

[@cinnamondan4984]

@@jessekoeven3757 Sounds good to me

[@dreamstruggleprize]

Awesome commentary as usual. Really appreciate your love and concern and passion and respect.. I shall never forget years ago, while on an airplane, I had an opportunity to discuss my religious beliefs, as well as listen and try to understand from this persons perspective theirs. As we were talking, I know it was the spirit that helped me see this and helped the words come from my mouth I said, “I know we have doctrinal differences that we don’t agree upon, and we may never agree, however, we live in troubled times in which the moral decay of our society is crumbling all around us And the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that it’s going to save us all. We need to choose common ground where we can agree, and where we can fight against the powers of the adversary at all costs. I believe that, regardless of our differing doctrinal beliefs we have enough in common and belief in Jesus Christ to fight against the adversaries together.” we both left the plane, spiritually uplifted.

[@jongoff7829]

There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that resonates with what you're saying. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. (3 Nephi 11:29-30)

[@dereksimmons1252]

I live among many, many members of the LDS church. In fact, I am the minority in my community. At my Baptist church, we never discuss Mormons on Sundays. I can't recall a time during a Sunday sermon that our pastor has mentioned mormonism at all. Much like the comment at the beginning of the video, we spend Sundays learning of and worshipping our Maker and our Savior.

[@shayb413]

Love this!! This is how it should be!

[@beckycollet5677]

I have been a member of the LDS Church over 60 years. There were times in my youth when I questioned things because my parents had a bad marriage. I have lived in three foreign countries since the 80's and attended the LDS Church in those countries. I have visited a dozen more countries. In every instance we worshipped Christ and were instructed to follow His example. I never heard other Christian churches discussed or treated in a negative way. All people are welcome in the LDS Church. They never check ID's. Lol. You can just walk in, sit down and observe.

[@kevins4254]

I'm a Catholic in Utah and the only time we have mentioned Mormons during church is when they were invited to come to Mass so we could recognize them as loved neighbors and business people.

[@kimberlykreyauthor]

I agree with this. I’ve never heard of any Christian church talking about Mormons at church on Sunday.

[@shayb413]

@@kevins4254 Love this! I also live in Utah (Logan), I was raised LDS but haven't been active in years and hold more mainstream Christian views and beliefs now. I knew almost nothing about the Catholic Church, but my Mother (who is Devoutly LDS) opened a Non-profit School that teaches English as a second language to Adults from all over the World, and helps Refugee family's with nothing get housing, food, jobs, etc. here, and the Catholics Church here reached out to her to be partners in helping these people in such dire need, and she has loved working with them, they have been so dedicated to helping those most in need! ✌️❤️

[@francineplatt7303]

Hi Pastor Jeff -- I just heard this story a few days ago so this is a good place to share it! I recently listened to an interesting episode of the "Come Back Podcast" (stories from people who have left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and later returned). In this Dec. 2022 episode, Chris Warnick shares experiences from his mission served in a southern, Bible-belt area about 20 yeas ago. He said he was shocked to feel that, "people really hated our guts and would go out of their way to 'dust their feet' on us, and tell us, 'you will burn in hell for what you believe.' " About 3 weeks into his mission, he and his companion were tracting in an area where they saw a church and a house... (which he later came to understand that meant a preacher lived there). As they approached the house, the preacher stepped on his porch and said, "Boys, stop right there. I cannot believe that my church didn't fall on you and kill you both." Chris then went into shock as his trainer/companion engaged the preacher and tried to fight off his attacks, which lead to yelling on both sides. They later learned they were in an area where there hadn't been LDS missionaries for about 5 years, and so when they showed up in town, the word got out and people were wanting to run them out of town. [Cut to later in the story --- listen to the episode to learn more of Chris' story] ... Chris was very close to going home early, but had some spiritual experiences that led him to stay, and he became firm in his beliefs and wanted to share them with everyone. He eventually had a change of heart and mind, and repented about being cocky about his knowledge and beliefs. He started to see the people in the area differently. He stopped looking at it as a 'fight', and he started his Bible scripture study with questions, and with these questions, he would tract and ask people his questions. _"I read this scripture in the New Testament this morning... can you help me understand it?"_ And with this new sincere attitude and approach, their shields and barriers started coming down. He was able to meet and befriend a lot of people. And he is still friends with many of them to this day -- many of whom are preachers. They will call him if someone in their congregation has a question about a point of LDS doctrine and they want to verify it. And some have gone so far as to defend the LDS Church. None of these people are anywhere near being baptized, but they trust Chris as a reliable source. These friends he has cultivated - lay ministers and different Protestants - have actually been invited him out to speak at their pulpits, at their churches. He considers this such an honor -- these relationships of trust. How things have changed since the bashings and tongue-lashings, and bashing on the side that the LDS missionaries contribute to as well. And on the flip-side, I appreciate Evangelical Steven Pynakker invitation to Protestants and others to ask Latter-Day Saints to share a favorite verse from the Book of Mormon and what it means to them. And I'd add, ask a Latter-day Saint to share a favorite Bible verse, and what it means to them. This is the way forward, my friends! THANK YOU, Pastor Jeff!

[@Costplus2255]

Thank you for your comment. I was very helpful and refreshing. I am LDS, and I liked it some much that I made a copy or it for future reference. It is a perfect example of what can happen if we listen and change attitudes.

[@dougspindler4947]

@@Costplus2255 So are you now a Christian and have Christians beliefs?

[@joearnold8887]

Great video! Probably my favorite you have made. I’ve been LDS all my life and very active. To be honest, we can do better on our end of giving other Protestant religions a chance to be seen, heard, and welcomed in our own communities. You’re doing a wonderful respectful job in mending and healing these communities by striving to understand with love. Keep up the great work!

[@garyjohnson8026]

LDS here. We do not teach contention and hostility. We teach to follow Jesus and do the things he has done, to act as he would act. Those who have acted otherwise, like the rest of us, still have work to do to repent and be like Jesus.

[@doomslug190]

Well stated!

[@incogneato790]

I've always lived in places where I was in the religious minority. I and my siblings were the only Mormons in my high school. I never had a problem respecting other's faith. One of my best friends in high school was a Baptist. He did half-heartedly try and give me some anti-Mormon literature once, I think his parents put him up to it. We got along fine all the same. As an adult I was trying to set up a business partnership with someone who shut it all down when he found out I was a Mormon. Religion had nothing to do with the venture, but he refused to associate with Mormons in any way. Of course as a missionary you become a target of verbal and even physical hostility. Evangelicals, if you truly want to reach Mormons with your message, you have to come from a place of respect and kindness. Coming at us with a hostility and a bunch of attacks and insults to our faith isn't going to work. You have to be willing to listen if you want others to listen to you. You have to be able to agree to disagree with love at some point.

[@incogneato790]

@@Susieq26754 These are false accusations that have been rebutted generations ago. Critics of the church ignore the rebuttals and endlessly repeat the same falsehoods. Did you do anything to look up our rebuttals and test what side hold up under scrutiny, or did you just accept them without question because it fit your bias? I've looked closely at both sides and I find the critics of the church really don't have anything that gives me cause for concern. I've also had many personal experiences that confirm to me that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints really is the true kingdom of God on earth lead by true prophets and apostles. If you are going to cling to such accusations and not honestly scrutinize them we can't really have a productive conversation. You seem to come from a place of kindness, but starting off as you do does not show respect.

[@bobrussell8339]

@@Susieq26754 People like you who make these kind of untrue and unfounded and outrageous accusations are the source of much of the trouble between denominations. 1. Joseph Smith was NOT a con man. He was a prophet personally called by God the Father and Jesus Christ. The thousands of people who knew him loved him. 2. He did not steal other people's wives and children. I challenge you to provide proof of that outrageous statement. He did have several wives, not because he wanted to, but because God had commanded it, and after dragging his feet for several years, God sent an angel with a drawn sword who told him had to do it or he would be removed. No one in the towns where he lived wanted him murdered. Some people in a town about 17 miles away actually murdered him which shows the kind of people they were. 3. There was a group of people traveling through Utah and some of them were bragging that they had killed Joseph Smith and a number of other Latter-day Saints back in Missouri. They were also threatening to go to California, raise an army, and come back to Utah to wipe out all the Latter-day Saints. That's why they were killed. Was it justified? Absolutely not, but when your friends and family had been killed by these people back in Missouri you can understand why they might be fearful and decide to take preventative action. 4. Their is no truth whatsoever to the accusation that the President of the church was found hiding sexual abuse of children. This stems from a local incident that occurred several years ago in Arizona where a man who was abusing his daughters was making a confession to his Bishop. The laws of the State of Arizona did not allow the Bishop to report the abuse because the law protected confession to a religious authority. The law has since been changed. 5. The accusation that the church took billions in pandemic money, has dealings in Las Vegas, and is involved with drug and human trafficking are categorically false. You could be sued for libel for making such a statement.

[@beckycollet5677]

You are a fair, reasonable, intelligent man, Jeff. I am LDS. We believe we cannot be saved without grace but we have to try to do our part - we cannot lie, steal, deceive, harm others, live a criminal life and still be saved. We need to do our best to live a Christian life - love, forgive, treat others with Charity, treat our fellow men fairly, gently and kindly. I have my doubts that Hitler is saved. But never will be my decision. We must be the best people we can but realize we all make mistakes. Thank heavens for repentance.

[@dereksimmons1252]

What happens when you fall short and do sin? And how can Hitler kill 6 million Jews and still be saved without ever repenting?

[@RichardChappell1]

@@joshuacruzan3639 I will suggest, Joshua, that you have misrepresented virtually everything you said there. I would encourage you to actually try to understand the reality rather than continue in this form of deceit. I don't dubt that you disagree with our Gospel, but Im pretty sure bearing false witness is not acceptable in either of our beliefs. I have to wonder if the entire reason you are following Pastor Jess if to troll LDS members. Do you really believe this kind of contention is beneficial or the way that Christ would teach?

[@beckycollet5677]

@@dereksimmons1252 I don't believe Hitler can be saved. Killing and murdering millions is unforgivable. Grace cannot save him. He crossed the line.

[@beckycollet5677]

Jesus Christ is our Savior and His atonement will save us when we have done all we can do. We are to follow his example the best we can. We are to strive for perfection, which is impossible, but do our best. Sustaining the prophets, paying tithing to help the poor and avoiding harmful and addictive substances is important, but I believe God decides in the end if we have made our best efforts. He knows the feelings of our heart and soul. He created us. The other rules are guidance to help us along this difficult path and to indicate our belief and faithfulness to the Church. I personally believe that millions will see God again and live in peace who were not members of the LDS Church. There have been so many millions of innocents killed through wars, natural disasters and other atrocities. Those people deserve peace with God.

[@beckycollet5677]

@@joshuacruzan3639 No Mormons (the LDS Church) does not provide Salvation. Only God can

[@TestingPyros]

I watched a video a day or two ago, and saw something that opened my eyes about the entire faith VS works argument. Here is what I came up with: Faith VS works, my revelation I watched a video where a pastor was speaking with some members of the LDS faith. A lot of it was manipulation and force. But then he said something that clarified everything for me. He said that when Christ enters us, we are no longer evil. In fact, we no longer sin. I backed it up at that moment and listened to that again. And again. And again. I finally realized that what he was saying was that we would no longer choose sin. We would no longer be ANYTHING but what God wanted us to be. And that realization caused me to understand what was wrong with that argument. We are not possessed by God when we accept him. We are given a portion of His love. And the largest part of this is that we are left with the ability to choose. We can choose to be kind. We can choose to love. We can choose to forgive. We can choose to follow God. We can choose to do the opposite of all of this. But here is the important part: It takes WORK to be kind. It takes WORK to forgive. It takes WORK to have, well, charity. And none of those things repay God for His gift of life. Because when we do good things, God blesses us. And so we stay in His debt. Life, and then salvation, are free gifts from God. But they are ONLY given to us if we want them. And if we live a life that allows us to be comfortable in God's presence, then we will be there. God won't turn away those that He loves. But if we live a life that makes us UNCOMFORTABLE in God's presence, no matter how much he asks us to be there, we will walk away. What is familiar, we find.

[@BrendonKing]

@@sagesaith6354 correct. Regeneration is an ongoing process. Anyone who thinks otherwise is crazy, and might be teaching heresy.

[@shessassy]

I've been enjoying your channel. I'm a non-believer (raised in the Catholic church in New Zealand), so both evangelical Christianity and Mormonism are pretty unknown to me (despite religious studies at university), but appreciate the respectful curiosity and exploration I've seen so far.

[@aprilreinhardt1]

Pastor Jeff, you said: "Faith conversations are less about being right, and they're more about the spiritual reality of those we are interacting with." I know this to be true. In his quest to "be right" about the Bible, and to show that my beliefs are wrong, my Dad oft times raises his voice, and literally finger-points, when we try to discuss the scriptures and sacred matters. I know that when that happens, the Holy Ghost leaves. And, since the Holy Ghost teaches ALL things (John 14:26), I want Him around for those discussions. I've discovered that when speaking with those who don't believe what I believe, it's easier to find common ground, and then allow the Holy Ghost to be present to teach truths. I appreciate your open dialogue about what you are learning of The Latter-day Saints. I'm grateful to learn of your beliefs, as well. We do have common ground. I remember in the 1960s and 1970s being persecuted at school mercilessly by classmates, as well as teachers, because of my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I watched and listened to family members (Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents) despitefully use my Mom because of her beliefs. We know as the time comes nearer for Our Savior to return, that persecution of ALL people who believe in Jesus Christ will continue, and get worse -- and even the very elect will be deceived (Matthew 24:24). It's good that we are all finding common ground so that, instead of fighting and arguing about various doctrines, we can embrace the fact that we ALL have common ground in knowing that Jesus is The Christ. And, that way, we can help each other withstand the persecution when it continues to come against Christians. Thank you for your videos. I look forward to watching each of them.

[@dallasjolley1]

The Savior has taught us to teach by the Spirit. Conversion comes through the witness of the Holy Ghost. "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" This is the result of teaching by the Spirit. Preconceived notions can be a barrier for the hearer to reject the message before it is given. Thank you for your compassionate approach to discussing gospel principles.

[@carriemacias9671]

Growing up in Fresno, CA, one of the largest evangelical churches there had a whole course on mormonism. I attended a meeting where they asked that if any “mormons” were there, that they refrain from bearing their testimonies. It is so great to hear that this not the norm. Thank you for your part in encouraging love and understanding on both sides.

[@tomaswmitchellphotography]

I was a missionary for the LDS church in Fresno! I always found it strange that a church called The Peoples Church would say they were Christians, when ever we ran across one of their members would would politely walk away.

[@carriemacias9671]

@@tomaswmitchellphotography My grandfather said, “ That’s a good name for it. The PEOPLE’S Church. Not Christ’s church.”

[@boba.6478]

UM no. Jeff is very polite, but it is the norm. He knows it is the norm. He's done it.

[@fireplane7273]

I am a Latter Day Saint’s. I love watching you. I think you are helping us all to unit together building on what we have common. By working together we stand a better chance of helping the world to become a better place through our joint effects in serving people in need.

[@rickdavis2235]

Fire plane Hello sir. What do Christians and Mormons have in common other than vocabulary?

[@priscillaastling8707]

Wow, you did an awesome job explaining a complex situation is very understandable terms. I’m a Christian who has lived 48 years in Salt Lake City. Your four reasons were spot on and clarified my own struggles among these people.

[@WitnessJesustheChrist]

Great video. I agree so much with these statements as someone who grew up LDS in Idaho and now has lived in the Midwest for 8 years. As a member of The a church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho in the 90s there were lots of uncomfortable situations in which Protestant religions I believe felt threatened and had weekly Sunday Schools lessons preaching enmity for the church I loved so much. It was painful as a kid. I remember one boy who was very mean and attacked me daily with a spirit of hatred for my beliefs. It was awful. But now as I have grown to participate in our local Indiana community and have worked to fellowship with local Protestants I have had so many spiritual experiences in their churches. They offer great preschools, enriching moms groups, service opportunities, friendship and love. I love my faith but I also love my wonderful Protestant brothers and sisters. I only site my teen experiences to show the contrast. I have let go of those things in my heart and have loved getting to know other religions in my area. It is very possible to build relationships among LDS and Protestant followers of Jesus Christ. I have also learned to let go of others’ perceptions of my faith. I know that we love the same God. Friends and family members may title, see, mean different things to my husband compared to me but we both love the same person. I can see the differences in our relationships but it’s the same person so I can appreciate the love they have for him too.

[@DavidTlovesAbby]

Thank you, Pastor Jeff. I am a middle-aged, temple-married Mormon with kids who is going through a faith transition to Protestant Christianity. As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for my family and for me. I am grateful for your example of sharing gospel principles in a loving and caring way. I hope to be able to do the same for my family.

[@EricSmyth4Christ]

I’ve tried both and the LDS church is a better fit for me

[@bobrussell8339]

@DavidTloves Abby You are leaving the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ which Christ himself restored for the gospel of Martin Luther? You are leaving the church that Jesus Christ himself restored in fulfillment of the prophecy in Acts 3: 19-21 in exchange for a man-made church? You are leaving the priesthood that Christ restored by sending John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John to replace it with churches that have no priesthood authority whatsoever? You are leaving the strait and narrow path which you were once on by getting through the strait gate of faith, repentance, baptism, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost to go and live in the great and spacious building? What is your motivation?

[@wightman1525]

@@bobrussell8339 There you have it. The reason why there can be no spiritual communion between Mormons and Christians. The whole Christian world is out of step but the Mormons.

[@peterbleach270]

I recommend that you read the 11th Article of Faith re. worshipping God according to the dictates "of our own conscience" etc. Best to worry about your own salvation first before instructing others who are looking to take a different path.@@bobrussell8339

[@AeliosArt]

If either group is to convert the other, one of the worse things you can do is devolve into angry argumentation. As an LDS member I've been guilty. I've also had conversations where I've been nothing but insulted and misunderstood. It's a shame so many interactions have to be this way. When we step back and listen to one another, I think 1) our chances of coming closer to Christ are exponentially increased, 2) our understanding of the Gospel can increase (despite negative interactions I feel I have learned much hearing other Christians), and 3) we increase greatly in love and charity for our fellow man. I appreciate your videos and the perspective you share. 🙏🏻

[@Vetionarian]

You hit it right on the head! It's just so important to listen to brothers and sisters of different faiths and celebrate truth and goodness that they share rather than making it a competitive exchange at every opportunity you can.

[@jack.gallob9826]

This is a great series you’re making. My LDS girlfriend and I have been together for about a year and a half. Recently we have talked about marriage and she wants to get married in the temple. Not something that is up for debate in her eyes. I am starting to do more research into LDS after going to catholic school k-8 and a Lutheran high school. I will definitely be following along for this series as I try to further understand the church and see how it aligns with my personal beliefs. Keep up the great work :)

[@awesomewade21]

I confess that as a missionary my view of Protestants was negative because whenever I ran into one they were always very confrontational and rude. I’m not very good at confrontation so I developed negative opinions of them. Seeing your videos has helped me develop a more loving view of Protestants. Thank you for your honest and respectful approach to Latter-day Saints!

[@zionmama150]

This was largely my experience as well. Half of them were nice and half of them were extremely rude.

[@roderickpixler3239]

I am so sorry that many Christians were rude to you. It is not a picture of Christ to hate, however, I hope you can understand that according to the Bible Mormonism is a heresy (Galatians 1:9 and John 10:30) and many of us Christians have a hard time giving grace even though we are just as sinful as anyone else. I hope you all accept at least my apology, though I cannot apologize for everyone.

[@zionmama150]

@@roderickpixler3239 it is only a heresy according to a non-prophetic interpretation of the Bible that came about centuries after the death of the apostles. That’s the point. The gospel was changed by man. Yes, any other gospel than what was preached was heresy, and that’s exactly what happened with the Catholic church. It was born out of a political movement to merge the state and church. Charlemagne adopted Christianity under the premise that they also married it with the Pagan practices to “keep everyone happy”. Thus, the red dragon was born and the priesthood given to those who were not authorized by God. The gospel went forth unto the gentiles, which Peter was avoiding for a while (in part because he knew it would get changed due to their pagan practices). But God said it was ok and that there was a plan. It was to go forth to the gentiles and then the gathering of Israel would occur and bring back the gospel together all things in one (Acts 3). The gospel going forth from the gentiles unto the Jews. That the first might be last and the last might be first.

[@boba.6478]

@@roderickpixler3239 Um we could throw Galations 1:9 around at each other all day long. That would not be helpful. "according to the Bible" - NO; "according to my/our interpretation/understanding of the Bible" - YES.

[@lindabarwick9372]

Agree

[@hackerj23]

One time I was part of a multi-faith event and the organizer referenced “Christians, Catholics, and Mormons”. I asked if she would be okay changing it to “evangelical Christians, Catholics, and Mormons” since I also considered myself Christian, and I was pretty sure Catholics did too. She was gracious and did so. That spirit of love and respect during that time is similar to how I feel about your work. Thank you for your journey and letting me ride along!

[@trevorburgoyne]

Love that you quoted "the great commission" in Matthew, that's a scripture that is displayed in huge letters in the entrance of one of the big buildings in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT. I believe that some kind of tours of the MTC are available, you should definitely consider checking it out! It's a incredible place of learning and worship.

[@briannicholls2628]

I am a latter day saint - last week I had the privilege of being in an evangelical church last week for work. They had large and on their wall "Bringing People to Jesus by loving them like Jesus" I thought that was just beautiful and a way to unite us on this simple shared common belief.

[@gaylacandia215]

While living in CA my niece started to go to a nondenominational church, they wanted her to take a course called Mormonism 101! I was shocked by what they were teaching as LDS beliefs 😮it was shocking! I have been a LDS member for 40 years and never saw or heard of the things that were being taught in that class…If anyone wants to know about us, ask us.

[@aaronhalloway7237]

It is shocking. Unfortunately, those courses are not terribly uncommon up and down the US West coast. I'm sure they exist in other regions around the world, but they seem to usually be a lot less prevalent.

[@aaronhalloway7237]

@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr "Probably"? Based on your extensive data set? Words have meanings. Please use care when selecting them.

[@aaronhalloway7237]

​@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr "How am I supposed to know unless she tells us what was said?" Exactly. You do not know what was said. Therefore, stating that you have a "probable" explanation is... well... hubris. "Why would they make stuff up?" You can guess at several reasons. I could do the same. We could begin with Pastor Jeff's four observations. Specifically, reasons may include historic resentments/aggressions, conditioning to respond to differences as though they were threats, misunderstandings and misinformation, and a perception of opposing proselyting interests. If you would like me to share some of my guesses at other reasons, let me know.

[@kd3738]

Don’t be so quick with your response. You believe certain things are sacred/secret. Not only do you keep them from non-members, you withhold that information from members who don’t have a temple recommend. Your missionaries also share only certain information in their lessons (until after a person is baptized) that might be important for them to know beforehand.

[@gaylacandia215]

@@kd3738 Wow!! I’m so sorry you have such a dim view on the Church. I can imagine where u are picking up your information. The Perl of great price was translated by Joseph Smith from papyrus. I can certainly tell that you have not read it yourself by your accusations of it being the book of the dead! Before you take someone else’s option of it (who more than likely has not read it ether) please consider reading it? I am a Endowed member of the church, I have never seen or heard secret things going on. There are sacred things we don’t openly speak of because of their sacredness. Nothing sinister or anything against the law.

[@dougfrancom5192]

Blessings friend, and thank you for sharing your journey with fairness, faith and intelligence

[@dancrich1]

Very well said! As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is very refreshing to see someone who Loves The Lord and understands the gospel so well reaching out to understand us. My friend and I were just talking about why we tend to feel hurt and threatened when someone we love believes differently than us. Our Savior doesn't want that. He would have us seek common ground and love one another. He doesn't need me to defend Him, He would have me feed his sheep. All of his sheep. Especially those who believe differently. I really appreciate you feeding his sheep! (Especially me)

[@tonymartinez457]

When I was on my LDS mission in Western Washington State my companion and I (sister missionaries) were teaching our sweet new friend at church who had just been baptized. We had a Gospel Principles class where we teach the basics, where usually new members or those just coming back to church would attend. There was this cute girl who showed up with scriptures in hand, specifically asking for this class and we welcomed her in with open arms. As soon as we started teaching the wolf in this sheep's clothing came out and she did her best to destroy our sweet friends new found testimony. This wolf became so loud and confrontational and the spirit of contention was so thick that we had to ask her to leave. She wouldn't leave until we had our Priesthood leaders come in and all but usher her out. We wondered why anyone from another faith would do that? We would never go into another faiths church and contend with them and try to destroy their faith. "Let all men worship how, where or what they may". I'm guessing they (born again Christians) felt threatened. Are "born again Christians" evangelicals? We were also chased off doorsteps with brooms, called witches and had dogs sicced on us by "born agains". It didn't seem like they were very Christian to me.... Also one summer I was working in Yellowstone National Park. There was a Nazarene brother and sister who would come around and gather people for a bible study every week. I thought it was a great opportunity to study with others. Once they saw me pull out my Bible and triple combination and when it was my turn to read the Bible and it was the King James version, they started to tell me that I can't meet with them and read from that version of the Bible. I was confused and saddened and wondered why all of the other people of different faiths could stay but that I couldn't. Are Nazarenes Evangelicals? They didn't seem very Christian-like to me.

[@Zeett09]

When a missionary tries to convert they too can be destroying someone’s faith. I know this firsthand. When I see missionaries I ask them to just please do service work and not try and convert people. My wife’s family was devastated when 1/2 converted from LDS to JW. I can honestly say when I was Catholic no one tried to convert anyone plus I never heard one negative word about any other faith.

[@lucialare7590]

Recently my husband and I have been going to bible study at a lds church for almost 2 months now and we're Christians. We were willing to go because anyone who wants to talk about Jesus is a great thing regardless of our differences. Ppl there are really friendly and when my husband or I have to read we read from the New King James bible which is slightly different but easier to read and understand. Other people in bible study don't seem to mind and actually the only thing that the group did say was that they agreed it was the as theirs and some said they liked how it was worded. It hasn't been an issue at all and they didn't say anything negative about it at all. My husband and I think that the LDS Bible study group is our Samaritans. So Jews and Samaritans are cousins because when Jews were enslaved to Babylon there was a group of lowly Jews that were not taken into slavery for whatever reason the Babylonians didn't want them so they continued to live in their land but the Assyrians and these Jews started intermarriage relationships and that's basically what the Samaritans are. The Jews and Samaritans are very similar in their beliefs but had major disputes about trivial things like where the temple should be and where to worship the Jews said mount Zion and the Samaritans said a different location. These issues and differences caused so much hatred among the two groups that for being so similar it was no different from a Jews hatred towards gentiles. So when Jesus started his ministry the first person he revealed himself to as the messiah was the Samaritan woman at the well. He asked her for some water and she asked him why a jew would ever share the same water jar as a Samaritan. She was sarcastic and at first had assumptions about Jesus because he was a Jew. He knew she had been married 5 times and lived in sin. He revealed her sin to her but not in a way to shame her he simply mentioned her 5 marriages and then she knew he really was the messiah. The Jews and Samaritans have enough in common to where the Samaritans knew about the coming messiah and she responded with joy. He told her about the living water and she believed. She had a hunger and thirst for righteousness even though she was a sinner and to Jesus that was more than his own ppl the Jews were willing to accept and embrace and that was what mattered was her heart. Jesus went to Samaria and was accepted by them and his own ppl rejected Him. He broke down societal barriers and his apostles learned from their journey to Samaria about God's love for ALL ppl and it was a really good experience for them as they were learning and growing from Jesus teachings. To me the LDS church is mine and my husband's Samaritans. They are different but have similarities and are willing to study the bible with us so that's why we started going. We enjoy going and truthfully if I didn't know what religion they were I would have thought they were Christians because we read directly from the bible and nothing else. Surprisingly they haven't brought up the book or Mormon. My husband and I aren't bible scholars but we do know a lot about the bible and started a bible study KZbin channel a little over a year ago. The group likes our insight and we have actually answered some questions about different historical facts of the bible like for instance the group didn't know that John the apostle was the Youngest apostle or that he outlived the other apostles and was the only one that died a natural death. Just little things like that that they enjoyed our insight on. Our experience there has been good and like I said they are our Samaritans. There's actually a lot of things I didn't know about their rules and practices because its never been mentioned or brought up and we just focus on reading the new testament. I think it's been a good experience because the bible study is about the things we do have in common and learn from each other. I think by focusing on the gospel it's effective because ppl will always argue about the book of Mormon and if it's right or wrong but since we read the Bible there's common ground there to where it's agreed on as it's important. It's pretty obvious we are not Mormon and the group doesn't pressure us to attend church services and just appreciates that we go study with them that it's enough for them to know we are willing to talk about Jesus all day long without mixing any differences and I think it's been really nice.

[@skinder124]

@@Zeett09 someone's faith isn't destroyed when they convert, it's modified. Ideally for the better. If half of her family left the LDS church to join another church, then it seems that that was the journey they needed to take. It can be difficult to see from the outside, especially if you think the status of your eternal family is being threatened, but I believe it's good to let God be the guide and let others decide on their relationship to Him. And props to your Catholic upbringing for not being raised to think less of other faiths, i'm sure it helped you co-exist with other people much better :)

[@DKWalser]

Pastor, I think most Latter-Day Saints understand why there are conflicts between us and Protestants. Many of us have served missions in which we tried to share (our version of) the Gospel with Protestants. Many members of our congregations grew up in other faiths, including some from Protestant denominations. So, in general, we have had more of these interactions (friendly or otherwise) with our Protestant neighbors than have most Protestants. We also tend to have a better understanding of what your churches teach than you do of ours. Part of that is just demographics. There are far more of you than there are of us. To the extent Christianity is discussed in the media, it's likely to be from a Protestant or Catholic perspective. Do most of your churches spend a lot of time discussing our church? I certainly hope not! There are much more pressing topics to discuss. Yet, if a number of our missionaries rent an apartment in a local neighborhood and start going door-to-door, I'm confident the subject will come up on Sunday. But, while I believe that most Protestants spend much of their lives seldom encountering or having a religious discussion with a Latter-Day Saint, there are certainly those who spend a lot of their time combatting the threat they believe that we are. I lived and worked in the Dallas area for about eight years. While there, I had a secretary who was the daughter of Baptist minister. Her uncle had a ministry in Salt Lake City and spent most of his time publishing anti-Mormon tracts. Most Mondays, I'd come back from lunch to find some anti-Mormon materials on my desk. At first, I didn't say anything -- thinking she'd tire of it. After about a year, I gently asked her to stop. Which she did. I'm sure she shared with me those things because she wanted to help. She had no idea that I would find offensive the mocking of things I hold sacred. Another well-meaning co-worker came into my office to tell me I was damned and was going to Hell. He also informed me that there was nothing he or I could do to alter my fate. If Jesus wanted to save me, I would be saved. If He didn't, I would be damned. He continued by telling me that he wanted what Jesus wanted, so my co-worker rejoiced in my being consigned to Hell. I thanked him for sharing, albeit uninvited, his views with me. But, since there was nothing either of us could do about my salvation, continuing the conversation was just a waste of time. My point is it only takes a small percentage of Protestants engaging with us in this way for most Latter-Day Saints to have had several of these kinds of encounters.

[@TestingPyros]

Wow! This was AMAZING to listen to! Thank you SO much for saying this, but MOST especially for putting it this way! I grew up in WNC. Literally within 30 minutes of Billy Graham's Cove training center. I listened to my parents complain that other faiths "just don't get it". And I saw and heard other faiths say the same back. It was never a fun thing. But what you have just said is astounding and beautiful. Thank you for being so clear and carefully stating the decency that we all have. You are inspired and are doing an amazing work. Thank you.

[@grewalke]

Love the videos. I am LDS and was asked to represent our area on our city’s interfaith council. I have loved getting to know wonderful individuals of many different faiths. My experience has been enlightening and I have felt nothing but respect and love from others. Our beliefs may differ, but ultimately we are all trying our best to grow closer to God and be better people. I know there are outliers in any faith but I encourage people to just ignore those who are rude or confrontational (we have them too in our church unfortunately). The two great commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. Don’t lose sight of the big picture.

[@saragroves4103]

You are amazing! I'm so grateful you have gone on this journey and invited us and your believers to join you! Thank you so much! Keep up your journey! I don't want it to end!

[@rocwelledwards8942]

"if you are thinking about how you can persuade them, rather than about them, I would argue that maybe you aren't even being spiritually led" Solid quote and inspired.

[@rahmuss]

I really appreciate your words explaining some of these possible friction points. I have enjoyed our videos thus far and am certain I will continue to enjoy them. You are doing a great work. Please continue with your reasoning and respectful tone. And Thank You!

[@JasonP313]

Excellent job Jeff. This feels (personally to me) to be one of the most respectful ways I’ve ever encountered of being “real” in addressing somewhat touchy topics. Very, very well done!

[@ginaashby9477]

Pastor Jeff- thank you for following the Spirit of God to do this work! You don’t have to, but you do it sincerely and instinctively out of love for God & His children. That is similar to how we Latter-day Saints feel about WORKS. We agree-Salvation is a beautiful gift of love and grace, not earned or deserved, but out of love from God. You can use the word FAITH interchangeably with WORKS. God tells us what is required is to BELIEVE/ HAVE FAITH IN JESUS. Faith is an action word. It takes work to believe continuously and follow Jesus. So it is by our work to have faith that we accept Christ. People get hung up on the phrase “after all we can do”…. But what’s really all that we can do? All we really can DO is HAVE FAITH. Other good works follow instinctively as the spirit of God motivates and prompts us to actively love one another. Accepting Christ’s invitation to “follow Him” is an invitation to try to emulate His character. That takes work. It takes work to keep choosing faith over fear and doubt. I choose faith in Christ every day and He continues to bless me and change me. We have much more in common than we have differences. And truly from my experience because of Jesus Christ we have far more reasons to rejoice than we have to mourn. He is the Only Way!

[@alittlestarlightbrightens]

Thank you pastor Jeff for these videos! You are the one of the most respectful persons outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints I have ever come across. I love your videos so much. May Heavenly father continue to bless you. I have been extremely blessed with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation, and being among Latter Day saints is the best experience I have ever had. These people have been the most impactful in my life🙂 Thank you again for your perspective, and I am so excited for you to continue reading through the Book of Mormon. I would love if you could read through D&C and the Pearl of Great Price as well. I would also like to see a reaction to the CES Letter which has been one of the main reasons why persons leave the church, and to hear your thoughts about it.

[@genealogystepbystep5690]

Thank you for being fair. You are awesome. I believe this is the Christlike way of interacting!

[@reu1850]

As a Latter-Day Saint, what a fantastic approach to life and the Gospel. We are closely connected in so many ways, especially as those doing our best to follow Christ. Thank you for such a great commentary.

[@GreyWolfASMR]

Thank you for helping bridge the gap. I am LDS and have been very open and curious about what others believe. I love having conversations about differences and similarities without trying to convince one another on our own bias.

[@shireecox122]

Thank you for being respectful and kind.

[@lisafristrup3988]

Pastor Jeff - I am LDS and so appreciate your thoughtfulness, kindness, love, and understanding. Thank you for sharing your beliefs as well!

[@estherlewis7458]

It is also important to remember that Jesus Christ told the Pharisees that if they refused to believe that he was God, their sins would not be forgiven and they would be condemned. John 8 Christ said that few would get into heaven. Matthew 7:13-14 Few would be saved. Luke 13:23 Christ said that he would divide people and families. The truth naturally divides people. To be worthy of Jesus and eternal life one must side with God's truth even if it divides his own family.

[@windywithachanceofsunshine5219]

Lisa, That is a wonderful ideal! But keep in mind that if believing in Jesus Christ and love were the only ticket to heaven then why would our Lord have spent three years of ministry preaching and setting examples like baptism, marriage, etc.? He also stressed that He wanted all of us to belong to His one church. The differences are a division and all the differences cannot be true. LDS believe in baptism for the physically dead, eternal marriage, becoming gods, etc. Christians do not. Jesus did not preach - whatever you believe is okay as long as you believe in me and love everyone. So I agree that believing in Jesus as our Savior and loving one another is number one but the rest is as important. If it weren't LDS would not make all the differences so important in their church. Peace!

[@lisafristrup3988]

@@windywithachanceofsunshine5219 Thank you for your response and perspective. I did not mean to imply that the only thing one has to do is believe in Jesus Christ and love others to get to heaven or that we don't have differences or divisions. I apologize if that is how it came across. I was trying to point out that believing in Jesus Christ and loving others is something we have in common, and that we can have respect for each other's beliefs, though they may be different. 💜

[@lisafristrup3988]

@@estherlewis7458 Thank you, Esther, for sharing your thoughts. I should have been more careful in my wording and I apologize for any misunderstanding. Please see my comment to "Windy with a chance of Sunshine".

[@windywithachanceofsunshine5219]

@@lisafristrup3988 And I respect that. But when the final judgement comes, those differences will be the difference between eternal life and hell. We can respect atheists beliefs, religions who worship many gods, reincarnation beliefs of people but, we know that all will not be in heaven. God's commandment tells us that we only worship ONE God. Beliefs can be the deal breaker with God. Peace!

[@greghall703]

I've never met or listened to anyone who describes differences and similarities as well as you do Pastor Jeff. Many thanks for being open minded, fair and kind. I am LDS and study with a Jehovah's Witness friend, not to convert but to understand his beliefs. What a better way to learn than to simply ask or follow someone else's doctrine for a while. Studying with my friend of another faith, or asking him sincere questions doesn't commit me to my friends beliefs but it does help endear me to him and to why we both love God.

[@mae-qt8hw]

One thing about JW is they take the bible seriously that's start

[@murffmjtube]

It's more important than ever for Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals to join together in common Christian principles and causes such as belief in a God, caring for the poor, and a devotion to Christlike virtue (Philippians 4:8). The adversary is filling the world with doubt, chaos, and misery through a large secular tide. By finding common ground, we can all be stronger whatever our differing sectarian beliefs may be. Thank you Pastor Jeff for leading this inspired movement!

[@danielmoore4024]

@@gordianknot9595 "Why is secular information the enemy?" My answer might sound contradictory to itself. Our secular information has possibly been obtained my false information due to evolution. As many cognitive scientists have provided significant evidence that evolution has shaped our physical senses to be "fitness seekers", not "truth seekers". Like historically speaking, eyes told humans that the earth is flat. I were surprised to find out people can be both religious and atheist, one side of their brain tells them one things, the other says the opposite. They use a computer interface as an anaogy to our senses. This sounds contradictory because it claims my senses have told me the truth about the books I've read when I've said our senses don't seek truth but fitness through natural selection.

[@markloe5432]

I keep saying this and I hope it doesn't sound redundant... I appreciate your perspective and this journey and how it can enlighten people of different beliefs and bring us closer to the unity in Christ.... Good job.

[@HaleyStrocchia]

I'm an lds convert from the evangelical church and I'm so happy you made this video. I love how you're always so open and nonjudgmental towards both sides. I wish I could share this video with my family and members of my old church; I feel like it would make them hate me and my decision less

[@nickharmon2157]

As evangelicals we believe that Mormons are following a false gospel, so people at your old church don’t simply see you as in a different denomination, they see you as having left Christianity. Because that’s what happened from the evangelical perspective. You may view it differently, but as an evangelical that’s still my view. I have no animosity towards you, I just believe you have too broad of a definition for “Christianity.”

[@bsjourney8545]

Pastor Jeff, I truly do enjoy your content. This video reminded me of a co-worker of a Methodist faith. I don’t remember how it started, when I mentioned my faith she was a little taken back because how I would ask for a prayer or send spiritual thoughts. Over time we now consider ourselves sisters and me being LDS, I find how many things we have in common. When we worked together, every morning we would take turns (one gives a prayer and the other a spiritual thought) those were the best mornings and I felt our love for our Savior grew. To this day I’m still curious to learn about her faith and she with mine. We truly are sisters in Christ and to me that is beautiful

[@DesertPrimrose]

I'm LDS and grew up in a predominantly Catholic community. Literally *all* of my friends were Catholic or evangelical. I attended their youth groups and backpacked in the Grand Canyon with the Baptist youth group where I had an opportunity to share my testimony along with them. I still have a letter where one of my Assembly of God friends called me her sister in Christ. She also attended youth activities at my church. We helped each other live high standards.

[@sonlighter01]

Wow, that sounds like a wonderful community!

[@rebeccajensen6746]

We were kicked out of a Christian homeschool group in SoCal because we were Latter-Day Saints. There wasn't a statement of faith, the leader was our friend and we were invited, so I was shocked and so hurt when we were kicked out. When I talked to the leader of the group, she told me it was because my daughter loved to talk about the Bible so much. She was 15 at the time and studying the New Testament in early morning seminary. She absolutely loved Paul's teachings. She spent hours studying the Bible every week. I was so confused why this was threatening. The leader explained that other mom's were worried she was going to take a young child aside and teach them about Celestial marriage. I told her that my daughter and I had never even talked about Celestial marriage with each other, and that they were being ridiculous. Nevertheless, we were kicked out for my daughter talking about Paul with moms in the park! We were broken hearted. We thought they were our friends. We loved them and we thought they loved us. We thought we were being safe by limiting our religious conversations to the Bible. But even that seemed to be threatening to them.

[@Inzpectre]

Dont let a bit of confusion split you! There is still hope, try to get along with them again, pray if it is right. and if it is, you will get a sincere and warm feeling in your heart to do it. The SECOND thought in our minds will always try to crush our spirit. That second thought is satan. For example "Wow, what a nice answer to my prayer! Wait, was that just a coincidence or was it real?". Never listen to what the oppositioner will try to convince you. He wants you to give up your friendship, because he knows how happy and important friendships are to you! I believe in you, youve got this :)

[@auroraclark5751]

My now husband's best friend since childhood, and someone I actually dated in high school, flipped out when he found out that my husband was attending my LDS church with me. He shared a bunch of misinformation he got from his sister about my faith and basically tried to scare him away from my church. This "friend" chose to quote second-hand information from his sister, who wasn't even a member of my church, instead of asking me himself. I was hurt and angry for a while. Eventually, I got over it, we married, and my husband chose to join the church later that year. It's been 7 years. Don't let misinformation or fearful people get to you🙏

[@dreamstruggleprize]

While living in Northern Virginia, we homeschooled our children, and I will never forget walking into one of the largest homeschooling schools in the area so we could learn from them. When they found out we were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints we were quickly ushered out. They would not even talk to us anymore allow our children to play with theirs, or anything of that nature. Having fulfilled a two-year mission for the church I was able to deal with it because I had experienced it. My sweet heart on the other hand struggled and just really had a difficult time, was heartbroken when she was told were told we were not Christian. She kept saying how do they know what I believe?

[@SmartByTravel]

Yea, these guys weren't friendly to us in Missouri when we voted as a block against slavery and they tried to kill us for it. Then, we fight back and win, they say our ancestors were violent. This channel is a Trojan horse for weak LDS members to get sucked into and there are sadly plenty of those. This is also a badge of honor in evangelical circles for this guy to get high-5's and claim to be "the mormon expert'. There will be plenty of these guys who will attack us, yet think that people are pre-destined to go to hell or be saved based on what continent they are born, think they can do anything they want if they simply say "I'm saved" and "a bible a bible, I have a bible and want no more bible". They live in a world where God is the same yesterday, today and forever but...he changed completely and no longer cals prophets or answers prayers with revelation. Their belief is a profession and they defend it because it's an easy income.

[@ko9s422]

Same thing happened to me. Most parents in the Evangelical homeschooling community wouldn't let their kids even associate with Latter-day Saint children. I have lots of heartbreaking stories related to how Evangelical homeschoolers treat both Latter-day Saints, Catholics, and people of no particular faith. I'm not thinking this is loving our neighbors the way Christ taught. Very sad. To be fair, I know this same type of thing happens in Utah way too often when the shoe is on the other foot. Outside of Utah, though, I have never seen Latter-day Saints reject people of other faiths. (And no, I don't live in the Bible belt, so this isn't just a majority vs minority thing.)

[@FarmhouseProclamation]

As this world gets crazier and less religious, even hostile to religion, I pray that all Christians, and even all religions, can put down our differences. Obviously I would prefer that everyone would come to know and practice the truth that I know, but I would much rather someone come to know God through a different religion's viewpoint than not at all. As religious people, we need to focus on the good that we can do together. I admire the practicing members of other Christian faiths, of Judaism, and of Muslim beliefs who are truly trying to follow God and live good lives. Eventually large groups of people are going to find out they followed a religion that misunderstood God's teachings, but I would think it'll work out better for those that spent their time trying to "Love Thy Neighbor" instead of arguing over semantics. The God I know is a loving God, and He would want us to focus on spreading His Love, even if it doesn't end in a conversion to the Truth.

[@jtalb64]

"Blessed are the peacemakers" You sir, are a peacemaker, and I appreciate the work you're doing. I'm sure you hear this a lot, but as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this channel is part of His work, and I've been blessed because of it.

[@traviscodismith889]

Thank you so very much for this explanation. It helps me to understand. That’s what we’re all here for is to spread the gospel and love of Jesus Christ. I’m grateful that you have taken this journey.

[@squidpickle]

Thank you jeff for all you do. You're an inspiration.

[@violetpup4272]

I am LDS but admire the outreach of other churches. My children attend Vacation Bible School every year at a local church and they love it. We sadly do have to keep our church affiliation quiet in some situations like this for example. I know several people who have been asked to leave homeschool groups and I would love to have my children attend a Christian school but won’t do it out of fear they will be attacked. I don’t go into these situations to convert or even share beliefs. Most of the time I am looking for fellowship/friendship with different people and are then shunned. I had made friends with a Pastors daughter in high school and when he found our my religion she wasn’t allowed to speak to me again. My understanding and belief in God and Jesus Christ should not threaten anyone. If you don’t believe as I do ok, that’s fine. I also have heard of LDS people doing this same behavior to others and it is wrong no matter who is doing the hostility. We can do more good focusing on similarities than fighting about differences. I talked about Dolly Parton in church one Sunday saying how it was amazing and powerful that she so boldly puts out over the loud speakers of Dollywood how Jesus is her Savior.

[@MaybeMable111]

My husband grew up in Texas, and for the most part, had a good experience with people accepting him and such (public school and extracurriculars). However, his cousins were kicked out of a dance academy they had all attended for years because the owner found out about their faith (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). So sad! I can see why you want to protect your kids because I can't imagine the heartbreak of something like that for a child. His family has since moved to Utah, and his youngest brother spent half of his high school years in Texas and half in Utah. He said he's been persecuted way more in Utah (mostly by nonmembers, but sometimes by members) than he ever did in Texas. So sad for him. It's hard enough to live your faith as a teenage boy, but even harder when you are persecuted by your peers for it. I lived in Texas for 3 years, and I mostly had people be respectful. Usually the people that were disrespectful were people of other faiths that had combative personalities anyway. One lady was a devout evangelical that I worked with who kind of started bringing up arguments on her own. I think she probably fit a lot of what Pastor Jeff described in this video, feeling threatened by the differences in my beliefs (even though I didn't bring them up), as well as his #5, which is the desire/call to share her faith.

[@le7262]

Friendly vacation Bible schools/camps are so great!❤ I know many LDS people in California whose kids attend VBS. It’s so encouraging❤️

[@rebeccajensen6746]

My family was kicked out of a homeschool group in SoCal because we were Latter-Day Saints. It broke our hearts.

[@lizeta8404]

An online Christian Fb group started recently bashing our religion and kept saying we were not Christians and that any curriculum that had a hint of lds would be banned from the group. That was the first time I felt discriminated for my beliefs. Needless to say I left the group.

[@charlottegardenhire6408]

Nice hoodie 😁. Gotta say, I love all your videos, but this was so good and so eye opening to me. No matter what beliefs you have, it is so easy to feel targeted and get defensive. I’m embarrassed to admit that I never thought of evangelicals or other religions as feeling the same way, or threatened by our beliefs as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thank you for bringing understanding to my eyes and for bringing the world together. Your takeaways were inspired.

[@jaymienilsson7741]

You just Rock! I think your outlook on these subjects is what our Savior wants for us to see and understand of each other. Kindness should always prevail if not we all loose out on what has the potential of being amazing relationships with our fellow beings. God bless you and keep up the work.

[@amytodd5511]

This was beautiful, I remember trying to explain the yelling to my little sister outsized the conference center and it was so hard. You words and understand are a salve to the LDS heart. Thank you.

[@JennyHansenLane]

Joseph Smith said the restoration couldn’t have happened without the reformation first. I imagine it was also a hostile climate for the reformers during that time.

[@goingindie24]

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

[@joshmahina2883]

If you haven't yet, we have articles of faith that explain what we believe as men and women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are 13 of them and I recommend that you go through them. I really appreciate what you do through your channel. Not going to lie I even learn many things about this church I've been in my whole life through your channel. So I've been binge watching and am very grateful for your curiosity. Thank you ❤️. May God be with you throughout your journey to learn more about this amazing Church of Jesus Christ.

[@tandrus3]

The points you mentioned here are so reminiscent of my mission in Washington and Oregon and how people would respond to us when we would knock on their door. Of course their responses would range from totally respectful to downright hostile, and I'm sorry to say that at times I joined in the hostility. If I could do my mission over again I would certainly approach it in a much different way. I think you're right that we each felt threatened by each other's doctrine, but now I think why feel threatened if we each are secure in the fruits of our respective faiths? I think it had more to do with the personal insecurities I had as a young missionary and that they likely had as well. I will say, to me it was clear that at least some evangelicals were being taught about our doctorine and how to respond to us in their Sunday meetings. Some would even admit to as much by saying "my pastor tells me you believe... " A surprising number of people knew the differences in our doctrine and took issue. One person who was heavily involved with the particular church in the area (not sure if he was a pastor or not) was well known throughout the mission for pulling over when he saw missionaries (happened to me at least twice) and telling us all the things we were wrong about. He would then hand us a pamphlet. (I saw this same pastor several years later protesting at the Manti Pageant). Rumor had it he had a room at that church set aside for people to come and check out videos and receive pamphlets regarding a few different Christian denominations that they took issue with. I still remember my companion staring at him blankly and waiting till he was done and then shrugging his shoulders and said "well, we're going to go with milkshakes, have a good night." A couple of other pastors we met were much more respectful. Also, to clarify something you mentioned, if I remember from my seminary days, my understanding is that we believe that Jesus will reign from both Missouri and Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:3 Zion (Missouri) and Jerusalem. I would love to know if anybody has some insight on that or know where that might have been taught or clarified in latter-day teaching.

[@lauriehoer8605]

LOVE this path you are on and that you are sharing it with all of us. As a latter-day saint, I feel this open conversation is very needed and we, as people of faith, should all embrace each other in love and acceptance.

[@tricksterAC]

My uncle was an evangelical pastor, he was an amazing man of faith. However we couldn't even go on a family vacation without some sort of anti mormon statements. At one point I even asked why he felt like he had to constantly bash my faith and he told me in bible school their actually tought how to deal with members of my faith. It couldn't have pushed me further away from learning more about his faith. In the end before he passed away he came around and realized the errors he had been taught about the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. He is still a great man to me and I fully expect to see him during the second coming of our savior. But to some extent him and the way other evangelical people have treated me has made me dislike your religion for the intolerance it seems to teach.

[@zionmama150]

This is also my husband’s experience. His family almost disowned him over getting baptized.

[@EliasB100]

How did this video make it worse? I think he did a good job explaining how both religions are message oriented which is why we clash. If nothing else, him explaining this should have helped.

[@dougspindler4947]

@@EliasB100 It's towards the end. Both religions are trying to recruit new members and get their money. The beliefs of evangelicals and LDS are so different this is why they get into heated arguments.

[@ElderMaruri]

@@dougspindler4947 Building anything requires assets and not "only" money, it also includes work, time, knowledge, skills, etc. Money is just a smart invention to store value, facilitate commerce, etc. The real question at the very end will be: "What church used its "assets" (all of them or most of them, including money) for personal, family or group enrichment or to promote evil; and, which to establish the Kingdom of God on the Earth?" Churches can deceive people but "[b]e not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7). When Paul wrote "For the love of money is the root of all of evil", he did not mean "only" money, He referred to any kind of thing, all kinds of "assets",... even intangible ones!!! Love for knowledge, love for social status, love for fame, love for carnal pleasures, love for academic achievements, etc. Remember that Paul was not an economist and, on top of that, current economic knowledge and theory was not available at that time. When our greatest love is not anchored in the Trinity, we are more vulnerable and prone to be selfish and hurt other people. I know truth shall shine at the very end (2 Corinthians 4:4). If we decide to join any kind of organization, religious or not religious, we have the duty to find out and even pray to know if such organization is using its assets in a decent way. Secret combinations to steal and fight God shall not prevail against God and His purposes. Eventually, we all will know the truth. "Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops" (Luke 12:3). But we don't need to wait until the end. We can embrace the truth now. Every effort to know the truth is worthy. If we are honest and sincere, our Father will prepare the way for us to find Him.

[@dougspindler4947]

@@ElderMaruri Are you okay with First Presidency over the past 25 years lying to church members about what the tithing and Fast money would be spent? And lying to the United State government? God has let the truth be known about LDS church, question now becomes now that you know, what will you do? Have you seen how God is having LDS church historians let the truth be known about the LDS church? The are showing church documents which shows the deceptive Joseph Smith was with the golden plates. God is exposing Joseph Smith deception. See for yourself on KZbin and TikTok. God is leading you to the evidence for you to decide. Thank your fellow LDS church members for being honest about the fraud in the First Presidency.

[@christiaan4music]

I come from a very secular country (The Netherlands), never had any religious friends in school or anywhere else outside of church. So I was pretty excited when the church called me to go on a mission in Texas at the age of eighteen. My excitement grew once I started talking to people there and found out so many of them believe in Christ. I soon learned my colleague and I were not welcome in that club though. All the times I was told I'm not a Christian......hehe, never got bitter about it though, okay maybe once or twice in a brief moment of weakness. :) Met a few of the most amazing people ever though who are evangelical.

[@theincrediblerodofiron304]

Once again Pastor Jeff, another well-done, thought-out video. My thoughts: We have gone over the works vs grace before in other videos with little response from you. James Chapter 2 "faith without works is dead". Even baptism is a form of a "work" and without that effort, you can in no wise inherit the Kingdom of God.-Yes, I do believe that the hostile evangelicals you see bible bashing in front of general conferences represent a small minority, but to be quite honest it is almost non-existent the other way around. And quite honestly the LDS church has produced zero pamphlets that I'm aware of degrading any other religion while the LDS church, to this day, stands as one of the most heavily persecuted Churches in America over most other faith-based denominations. There are thousands upon thousands of websites by other denominations belittling and denouncing the LDS church while you will find it incredibly difficult, again, to find it the other way around. It's almost as if, we LDS, are comfortable in our own skin while other faiths still seem to have something to prove, not to us LDS, but rather to themselves. Does this make sense? Can we become Gods? Let me ask you this, is Jesus a God? You should answer, a resounding "Yes!"Did Jesus not command us to "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". Forget the term "God", we are commanded to be "perfect". In this lifetime? Will we achieve that in this lifetime? No. Can we one day be "perfect"? I don't see why not. We have millions and millions of years ahead of us to exist and learn. During that time can we continue to learn and grow? Even humans on this earth are slowly becoming more "God Like" from creating fire with 2 sticks to flying in the sky. All this represents one step closer to becoming like a "god". Will we ever be better than our own Father in Heaven? A resounding NO. Anyway, back to the other question, "Can we one day have our own planet"?The idea is simple Paul taught that we are" the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."Ask yourself this. What purpose did God, the Almighty, have when He created trillions upon trillions of stars which house trillions of planets in the Universe? Was there a purpose? The whole "Own own planet" concept is based on the fact that after this life we will continue to learn and develop and as paul taught "joint heirs", FOREVER. Does that joint-heirs also include knowledge and lead us to learn to become co-creators? Polygamy. Interesting to note you have never created a video specifically on the subject. I suspect you have been very careful regarding the subject of polygamy knowing very well that it is no secret that even prophets of the bible practiced polygamy. Today's Christians will be quick to condemn the practice of polygamy but slow to remember its practice as acceptable in the Bible as well as cocubines.

[@mikeandsandy9957]

Thank you for this ❤️ The entire video was wonderful and enlightening, but the last few minutes were fantastic and I think ALL of us, evangelicals and latter-day saints, need to keep that message in mind and heart. Thank you 😊

[@wcmeyer]

I thought you had some well said comments. I'll add to your comments. First seek to understand then seek to be understood. Christ isn't the spirit of contention, contention is of the adversary and should be done away with. Because the spirit of contention is of the adversary the spirit of christ walks out the door when contention is present. And at that point nobody is learning anything, and most definately not teaching by the spirit. Again, I really liked your thoughts. Thanks for not being contentious and truly seeking the spirit of christ in how you speak and seek for truth. I learned a lot about how and why and I liled your 4 points. Thanks. It has given me a better appreciation and understanding of how to better avoid contention my self in finding common ground to speak on and learn to gether and invite the spirit of christ into the discusion in stead of sending him away. Thank you. Oh I just remembered a slight error if I may correct you. Christ on the cross is important and is a necessary part of the atonement. He took upon himself our sins while in the garden of Gethsemane and then paid the price for our sins while on the cross. The third and also critical part is the resurrection on the third day. Without all three parts there is no atonement. We need to have our sins paid for and taken away and as resurrected beings stand before our god and Jesus's advocates on our behalf because he paid that price for us and it is his grace that's save us. All three parts are critical for the atonement to take place. And saying that we don't think the cross is important is not true. It is very important part of the process. I appreciate the stance you take. You are doing a great job of bringing light and truth to people. Keep up the good work.

[@kd3738]

Hi Jeff. As usual, you have produced a very interesting video. Your third point about works based salvation will always be a source of confusion if you don’t distinguish between salvation (general) and exaltation (specific). You have to ask the members you are talking with, “Which type of salvation are you referring to when you are answering my question?” If you don’t, you will continue to hit a brick wall.

[@zionmama150]

11:14 my grandpa was a Sunday school teacher for the youth at a Lutheran church. He started reading the book of Mormon that his uncle had given him. He started to teach out of it, some of the scriptures that he thought were inspired. The pastor told him that he needed to stop teaching from the book of Mormon, or he would be kicked out of their church. My grandpa knew that the book of Mormon was of God and told the pastor that he would not stop teaching from it. So he was kicked out of the Lutheran Church, and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints a year later. I’m grateful for his testimony, and that he did not back down when challenged by people who didn’t know any better.

[@Empisee]

This sounds familiar. Vincenzo di Francesca? No, wait, he found a copy without a cover on the street. Different guy I suppose.

[@zionmama150]

@@Empisee no this is documented family history. He has a journal entry about it that is had in our family records.

[@herballady4701]

Thank you for explaining how Evangelicals can feel threatened by Latter Day Saints. I didn’t realize how deep seated some of the concerns were. My experience of faith conversations with those of other faiths often felt like they were trying to prove my faith wrong. I really appreciate it when people respectfully ask me questions about my faith, I’m happy to answer them. And I’m happy to discuss and try to understand the differences in different faiths if it can be in a spirit of kindness and respect. Thank you!

[@jackdaw6359]

Evangelicals I believe hold an older truth that Mormons reject harshly. This to them is an attack on truth. Because it seeks to overturn truth. Basically if Evangelicals are correct Mormons are wrong and vice versa. The same goes for us Catholics. Now we handle conversations better because we recognise every other cult as interesting posers. But they hardly threaten our view of truth. I don't mean to use the word cult pejorative way. We ourselves are a cult (we protect the way God is to be worshipped). But rather worship. I'm not offended by Latter Day Saints view on God although it is offensive. I can't judge those outside the Church founded by Jesus Christ himself and not a mere angel sent from heaven. I pity the LDS and I respect them too. In the end a lot of it has to do with preconceived ideas. If for example one preconceived a total failure of Christianity for 1800 years one can absolutely agree with many new supposed revelations. Although, not surprisingly there are many who make these claims. And what of fruit? I look to the saints and I see heroes of the faith that would make the most holy latter day saints look like hardened criminals in comparison. That's exaggerated by the way. I'm just saying that there is nothing that they offer that covers my preconceptions.

[@nickharmon2157]

I don’t think many LDS people truly understand how absolutely antithetical many LDS beliefs are to the fundamentals of the evangelical perspective of what “Christianity” is. Some christians have too narrow of a view of Christianity believing only Eastern Orthodox, or only Catholics are true Christians. Some have way too broad of a definition of Christianity, including anyone who simply calls themselves Christian including extreme progressives, and groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses for instance that deny the full divinity of Christ. From the evangelical perspective, LDS do not fit the definition of “Christian” for some of the reasons stated in this video. Many evangelicals do have too narrow of a view, saying things like Catholics aren’t saved or something, but it’s pretty much all evangelicals that believe LDS is not Christian. The suggestion that the Bible could have even possibly been mistranslated is like setting the Bible on fire to an evangelical, it’s the exact same language that progressives will use to try and say the Bible doesn’t actually go against lgbt or abortion. The suggestion that the Bible was mistranslated is in the LDS statement of beliefs “we believe the Bible is the word of God so far as it was translated correctly.” The second that issue is brought up to an evangelical our fight or flight instincts trigger, because the Bible being the absolute perfect word of God is one of the most fundamental beliefs of Christianity. In fact, one of my favorite Christian songs is about this, “the word remains.” By woodside worship. “Thank you for your word, holding firm through the ages, anchored in the deep when the current changes.” In my experience speaking with LDS missionaries, they talked about Christianity being lost and being restored in the 1800s with the prophecy revealed to Joseph Smith. The idea that the Bible is somehow wrong and there is actually more prophecy is very emotional to evangelicals. Some will be sad and offended, others will be angry, some will try to understand, but all will have a whiplash of emotions that’s for sure.

[@mamaday4]

I think it’s lovely that you are learning and encouraging understanding. Across the board we all really need to get to know people as individuals and love as Christ did. I do think it’s important to note that learning of Christ, as well as learning a religion, is a lifetime pursuit. A full understanding cannot be acquired by attending one general conference or one sabbath day meeting or even one reading of the scriptures. I only say this because even though you are on a journey to understand, you will still come to assumptions that are not true to the beliefs of the Church of a Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I think this is true even within any religion of their own religion. I think we are all on our own paths of understanding life, Christ, others, our personal missions, etc. It’s a good thing to remember, for me as well, that we all need each other in some way or the other and as long as we are open to learning, we will continue to grow closer to others and closer to Christ. Btw…from my perspective of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the topic of the “works based” phenomenon is that God wants us to have joy and that’s why he asks certain things of us in this life…because he knows they bring joy, lasting happiness. He knows that if we do the “works,” such as go to the temple (and as we see it, do service to those who have passed before us) we will feel joy here on earth for doing that. Whether or not you understand the whole implication of what that service really is, you still are giving unselfishly of your time for something that isn’t for yourself and that can bring joy. So those “works” aren’t to get us a higher glory when we die, they are to improve our life here on this earth and prepare us more fully for the next life. :) Happy studying!