From Mormon to Catholic Part 2 w/ Stephen Johnson

[@martine5480]

There is such a similar thread in his journey that reminds me of the journey I’m on now. I was raised JW (Jehovah’s Witness), then dabbled hard in New Age, went to a charismatic non denominational ministry school, which lead me to hunger more for Christ. I’m finally starting RCIA in a week and I almost want to just skip it and get confirmed after watching his testimony 😊

[@LeHobbitFan]

Thank you for your testimony, God bless you and keep you!

[@ryderisboss]

I remember the feeling of wanting the sacraments and to dive into Catholicism so badly that I considered trying to skip RCIA. In my opinion, you're best off staying in the class. It will be finished before you know it and you can learn from it.

[@joeterp5615]

Wow - this video was amazing - and your reply gave me chills! The Holy Spirit is doing amazing things - drawing people to Christ and his Church from all kinds of backgrounds and life experiences.

[@jesseb1677]

Same here! Start RCIA this Sunday. I can't wait! God bless us on our journey!

[@prestonowens4594]

Hmm, my dad and his wife are both witnesses. I was raised Protestant by mom, but also influenced by my dad. I attended a nominally Catholic College where I studied the catechism and eastern Christianity and Islam. Did your parents cut ties with you? One of the reasons I am currently not baptized Catholic is that I do not want to destroy my relationship with my dad.

[@kyletussing2382]

I think what is so perfect about hearing this man's story is how lucid and precise he is. Anyone who has been on any type of faith journey can connect to this and see themselves reflected in his story. It can also illuminate their own story.

[@susanleon526]

Very articulate and intelligent young man. God bless.

[@GoodTrueBeautiful]

Lucid is a good word

[@bigguns126]

Ha I am LDS and I haven’t watch this yet but I’m already gonna say that there’s No shaking my faith :)

[@ourdictatorship]

This guy's story IS my story, except I came from Southern Baptism as a child, and went so deep into antitheism that I was writing for John Loftus at one point (maybe it's still on Wayback, but he purged it pretty well when I de-deconverted) and I'm a professional mathematician instead of a professional physicist. I spent time in Objectivism, so I thought I had objective morality, but it was meeting William Lane Craig and a few other high-hitting Protestant Christian apologists in a basement of a Protestant church after an apologetics conference in Fall of 2k8 in Rhode Island (Paul Copan invited John and I, and we drove all the way from Iowa and Indiana to be there!) that put an itch in my head that I couldn't scratch with what's called the Leibnizian Cosmological Argument. That's the one that popped the thread that destroyed my sweater as I pulled on it and walked away. I'd been on drugs - everything EXCEPT hallucinogens - and other things that were FAR WORSE than this guy in the interview, but it began to fade as I spent a few years going through every major world religion from all the Abrahamic faiths to Jainism to Tao (third place finisher!) to Druze (oops) to even Japanese "ancestor worship" (... bit more to Shinto than that) and even, embarrassingly enough, Wicca (less than an hour is required for a fair assessment of Wicca). Eventually I ended up converting to raw Theism and began exploring Christianity, which took me another year; by the time I reached the last six months of my search, I'd narrowed it to the five churches and Churches with an Apostolic claim. (won't capitalize the c for Anglicans with sincere apologies to breakaway hardline Anglicans). It wasn't too long into that search that I began attending Catholic and Orthodox Churches in my area, leaving the neighborhood Disciples of Christ church I'd been occasionally attending to try to follow wise advice from my future Godfather and get some actual experience into the intellectual search. It didn't take me long before I knew I'd become Eastern. After realizing the Assyrians were already merged to Rome in a way and that Oriental Orthodoxy just was not practical due to no Priest who could speak English in my city at that time, I was left with Eastern Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. When a nun in RCIA put a Mother Earth hymn in front of me halfway through the program, I walked away after that session and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church (though there's no ECC in my hometown, there's one within two hours). I'm a bit of a softie to Rome, however, after my wife started to follow me in the journey and did away with her lapsed Catholic state (isn't God wonderful?) and eventually began attending the only TLM in our area. The practice simply **is** Orthodoxy, except for the obvious ecclesial issue and a few intellectual issues that are as dense as they are important. Twelve years later and ten years into being officially Chrismated into Orthodoxy, my wife and I are happily married despite both being very deep into Traditional Orthodoxy and Traditional Catholicism. Praise God! I still struggle with so many things, though God gave me a vivid gift for the sexual part of it discussed here in this program nine years ago, when I met a former porn actress as a student in my basic liberal arts math class whose life had been devastated after attempting to leave the industry and who was later found out and chased off my campus and back into the industry after I tried to get her to join the Engineering program I ran at the time (she was exceptionally intelligent but horrifically underconfident). Never had any significant struggle again after that with God's help! Apathy and especially anger are the biggest sins I still struggle with, along with sloth. By His grace, I pray regularly, but will end up missing a Sunday mass every month or two due to having such a horrific lifelong sleep issue that my current teaching position (at a small Catholic medical college!) helps me accommodate for it. I'm a terrible, horrible Christian, and I've been merging into the Faith so slowly that I failed to have kids before a physical disability came around to end that possibility for good. Please pray for me, and thanks for reading this far!

[@kevinmauer3738]

@@bigguns126 If you're open to learning about Stephen's journey I recommend starting with Part 1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIWXXodugbehmM0 As a longtime Utah resident I know there's so much that's true, good, and beautiful in your LDS faith. Wherever your own journey takes you, you should hold on to those things. I wouldn't be the person I am or have the faith I have today if I hadn't grown up here, so I'm grateful to my LDS friends. If you live along the Wasatch Front I'd be happy to get lunch sometime. I'm in South Jordan.

[@IRISHBee4]

Stephen’s story is a gift to us cradle Catholics who were blessed to have the truth of the faith from birth. I want to always keep his story in mind as motivation to continue to seek God every day.

[@Sanee-n1l]

The daily Rosary prayer will lead you to love God and His Church more and more and be at peace with yourself. It is the STRONGEST PRAYER that will make you believe the PRESENCE OF GOD among us as Jesus promised. You start listening more closely to every word said in the MASS, you understand that it will not matter if every bishop will depart because you know that JESUS founded the CHURCH and you come to understand what the devil will do to destroy the Church. I used not to pray for our pope, bishops, cardinals and priests, now I feel obliged to pray for them daily with my Rosary prayers.

[@danjf1]

I agree completely. Stephen's story is very compelling

[@kevinmauer3738]

Catholic living in Utah 🏔️ Wish you were still out here so we could grab a beer. I went to a practically all-LDS high school (Lehi) as an Evangelical Protestant. The dialogue between Mormonism and Protestantism sent me on a quest for the truth which only Catholicism could resolve. Welcome home, Stephen! Living the Catholic faith is still the greatest spiritual and intellectual adventure I could imagine, now 11 years in. The Spirit is moving in the Diocese of Salt Lake City! If anyone here lives in Utah, let's connect.

[@GrislyAtoms12]

I attended my first TLM in Salt Lake City in March 2022. I was making a road trip to move back home to Kentucky, from Boise, ID. I planned my road trip to include a stay at Little America Hotel in SLC precisely because there was a TLM a short drive away from the hotel, on Wednesday evening. It was at St. Ambrose on Redondo Avenue. Having almost no knowledge of Latin, I was a bit discombobulated, but it was a solemn experience that I cherished. And to anyone who wants to visit SLC, I can absolutely without reservation recommend Little America Hotel. Bring your bathing suit year 'round, because they have a heated indoor/outdoor pool.

[@PhillipJordan-eo8bx]

Yo! I’m a Catholic living in Utah!

[@NorwoodingSkullMask]

These two talks are the most interesting things I've listened to in a while. His journey to Catholicism is similar to mine. Grew up a naive non denominational Christian, rejected it in my teen years, became atheist and then got into new age spiritualism and Buddhism and then came back to protestant Christianity and then finally Catholicism. This man amazes me with how much knowledge he has. He knows Mormonism, Quantum Mechanics, Eastern Mysticism, and Catholicism like the back of his hand. Plus he was in the military. Super cool. Just more proof that when you TRULY seek the truth, the path eventually leads to Christ and his one true church.

[@jimherlihy]

Thanks Stephen, as a former LDS and TBM, much of your story resonated with me. Your journey is wonderfully told and hopefully compelling to many who may wonder about the very questionable beginnings of Mormonism. I am home in the Catholic Church now as well. Peace be with you.

[@gilpolin3261]

How is it possible that part 2 is even more interesting than part 1!? Completely different topics but This man and he’s journey are fascinating

[@PatMcAnn]

I'd love to watch a Part 3! What a great discussion and fascinating journey's he's had. Given all he's done and studied, it shocks me that he's not 90 years old.

[@marystermer5983]

Omgosh, this is such an intelligent, honest, and realistic discussion. To be able to communicate like this is a gift! For all!

[@marystermer5983]

Matt is differentiating, I see it as more like an evolution of thought….

[@kristiecobb1652]

It's no wonder he couldn't be contained by Mormonism - he is brilliant. I've really enjoyed these conversations.

[@bigguns126]

🙄

[@bigguns126]

Not really, they were pretty close minded and did honest. He lied about a few things.

[@Papa-db9me]

@@bigguns126 bigguns126 is literally a subscriber to a freemason channel. Interesting.

[@crusaderACR]

​@@bigguns126Freemasonry is more than a social club, I hope you realize this. May God keep you safe and away from all evils.

[@grunt9950]

Lol you're funny. @@bigguns126

[@magnolia31611]

What a precious gift his wife gave him by recognizing just how much this meant to him, and by following him because of the efforts he has put in to find the truth. Absolutely beautiful! That brought tears to my eyes.

[@kirstipayne8903]

I see so many similarities in his conversion story to my husband and myself. Once the veil is lifted and you begin to see the spiritual warfare it’s a terrifying thing. For us becoming Catholic was one the best decisions we have ever made. OCIA this year!!! Thanks be to God.

[@georgerafa5041]

God bless you guys. I started RCIA this year but I'm about to deploy so may not be getting confirmed in April as originally hoped. But a huge part of my conversion has been learning humility and accepting the Lord's will.

[@angelicalee6]

Blessed be God. Welcome home.

[@crusaderACR]

​@@georgerafa5041 Most countries militaries have a priest around so you could at least be baptized in case you aren't. Baptism is really important. Confirmation though, that's important but not quite urgent, and can only be done by bishops so for that one you can wait until you come back :) I pray you have peace and a great time in the Church and in life. If that's not in God's will then may He give you strength for the hurdles you may face. Pax vobis, frater.

[@KaitlinRay]

This was wonderful! What a beautiful story. As a Protestant exploring Catholicism one of my favorite things is the emphasis on how reason and faith work together. I love this testimony of a process of logical elimination and reasoning leading to Christ! Thank you for this!

[@karinacd8944]

He needs his own youtube channel !! He is so bright, but most of all, he speaks humbly and meekly. Great combination!

[@josephfrazier1410]

He absolutely should have his own KZbin channel! Great mind ! Great moderator!

[@SkellingtonKing1]

I'm very grateful for these two videos you've made. I have a friend who was a mormon before I showed him these videos. Now he's no longer a mormon and is searching for answers more deeply thanks to the questions and experiences shown in your interview. Hopefuly he converts soon. I ask anyone who reads this to add my friend and me to your prayers, so he can find the Truth and so I can continue to help him get to the Lord.

[@bilbobaggins9893]

This guy has been a treat to watch, very humble and sincere.

[@charlieanderson5952]

I love me some apologetics and kick-a$$ debates, but these types of conversations do as much or more to change hearts (and minds). Thank you.

[@joeterp5615]

Yeah, I think they do even more. This man has been on quite a journey. What an inspiration. These 2 videos were completely captivating.

[@pamelarenee1]

I grew up in the Mormon church. He describes my feelings exactly when I realized that I did not know Jesus. I knew more about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Now that I have learned the truth I see Mormonism just as Stephen says his understanding of God as a Mormon was “distorted and corrupted “

[@Tom-vg5nb]

I grew up in the church and am still part of the lds church. I know who Jesus Christ is. He is my savior. Because of him I can change and I can be forgiven of my sins. Jesus is the savior of all man kind

[@MotherOf13]

​@Tom-vg5nb but he is not the Savior of gods before Him according to Mormon theology...just this planet.

[@crusaderACR]

​@@Tom-vg5nbWhat you wrote is as standard as Christianity goes. I recognize that and I sincerely believe you. It's the deeper theology about the nature of God that concerns us. Basically the question of who God _is_ instead of what God did for us, most especially regarding the Father. That's what "distorted and corrupted" is referencing. I was told by an ex-Mormon that pondering these deeper theological questions is not part of LDS church goers life. So even if you did missionary work you may not know what I'm talking about, if that's the case you may ask me anything you wish or, if you prefer, I can reference you to good resources about this.

[@amybabcock3780]

I am a Catholic in Utah. I attend the Tridetine Mass in Park City Utah. I live 1.5 hours away from Park City. Great community and many travel to attend this Mass in Park City. Living in Utah I live among many wonderful Mormons. Most Mormons do not take the time to study history of differing faiths. Therefore, they can not discern truth:( Honestly, many Catholics have not taken the time to learn our beautiful faith. All of this takes a discipline most people do not chose to save their souls. Bless you Stephen for your humility and honesty. You journey is fascinating! Bless you and Pints:)+++

[@crusaderACR]

​​​@@HaleStorm49 The only future we must care about is the one that we can influence for the betterment of our community. Around here though we say that "God laughs at man's plans", so the best is to take in day by day, week by week, doing our best at what God allows us to change. The trends of the Church at large for the next few years may be good to know, but they aren't terribly important. Church history is also good to know, but not terribly important (besides apologetics, if you want to mix up your evangelization with some of that)

[@crusaderACR]

@@HaleStorm49 I'd turn it around and say that that seems like a system that wouldn't last a weekend. But it lasted millennia, and that's something to think about. As a Catholic who knows history I also know that corruption and abuse today is nowhere near the level that was around when St. Francis of Assisi walked the Earth or even earlier with the Donatists. Donatism held that priests that were grave sinners confer no valid sacraments. I'm talking about promiscuous priests, blasphemers, former apostates. It was widespread enough that Donatism spread fast and endured for centuries. St. Francis also answered these questions, as you had at the time many priests with concubines, rampant simony, embezzlement of Church funds, all the way to the halls of the Vatican. Imagine an era where many priests advocated for leaving inheritance to their own CHILDREN using Church funds. The Church later cracked down on these. Things got better. The Church grew a hundred fold. But we went through a few Popes who didn't react as they should. But the Church endured and the Church _prospered_ and most shockingly we came out of it _larger._

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

​@@HaleStorm49nobody but God knows what the future holds, so why would we be more concerned about that than learning Church history? We need to get up every morning and ask God to show us His will and ask for the grace to cooperate with it. We don't need to concern ourselves any more than that about the future. Church history on the other hand has happened, can be studied, can show the richness of God's grace within the movements of history

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

@@HaleStorm49 meaning what

[@scroogemcduckismyspiritanimal]

@@HaleStorm49 the age of the prophets ended with the death of the last apostle. If we didn't care about church history why should Biblical events matter to us?

[@michalschroeder2187]

Thank you so much for releasing this for free on KZbin! I was most disappointed when I thought is was staying on locals.

[@pintswithaquinas]

You're welcome. We release episodes early for our Locals supporters and then they make there way to KZbin.

[@boomct8569]

Thank you so much for that, I was spewing when I thought I’d be missing out on part 2 It was worth the wait!!

[@garybrown2039]

​@@pintswithaquinasHey, Matt and team, thank you so much for this interview. I also just noticed something about his story that I guess you can bring up to him. When you were talking about certain phases of his life and how they were like idols that were getting smashed, it was like the story of Daniel and how the statue of 4 metals was eventually broken. Or the 4 beasts that lost their dominions until Christ's Kingdom was founded. All 4 of them are specifically like the 4 phases of Stephen's life. Mormanism, atheism, mysticism and Protestantism all fell or lost power over his life before this Final phase of the true Church. The Lord be with you.

[@andrewrozario5127]

Stephen Johnson is one of the most intelligent and most compelling interviews I’ve ever seen on this channel. His testimony is one of the most relevant to what people are exploring in our current culture and offers some of the most satisfying answers. Outstanding.

[@stevenshaw1299]

I have been waiting for part 2 for a long time. This is awesome. See part 1 if you missed it!

[@michellecooper5753]

What a fantastic way to spend a few hours. Matt, thanks so much for inviting this highly intelligent and yet accessible human being on the program. Listening to Stephen would save so many people the drive to search for meaning, for truth, for God, in diverse and sometimes dangerous ways. What a testimony. I want to show Part 1 and 2 to family and friends…and most everyone else.

[@joeterp5615]

I agree! These videos were amazing. What a keen yet humble mind. What a truth-seeker. Such a natural philosopher. I was completely captivated watching both Part I and Part II. People need to watch this. I’ve never seen/heard anything quite like this. This man has natural gifts, and now you can see grace building on those in service of spreading the good news of the gospel. I will keep him in my prayers, as I feel like his witness could help lead to thousands of conversions.

[@danjf1]

"The state [government] as God" - very well said Stephen Johnson. So many people have and are falling down that rabbit hole. I'm glad that you guys talked about it

[@03733]

I was Roman Catholic became Mormon 22 years and now I am back to being Roman Catholic. I've been to the Temple and all its not the answer. I really love the Catholic Church and I have a greater appreciation for the truth.❤

[@lukerogo]

As the son of immigrants who fled Communism, Reagan was 100% correct, America was a shiny city on the hill and I thank God every day my parents had somewhere to flee to. It's sad how multi-generational Americans do not appreciate what we have here.

[@boomct8569]

1:30:37 “There’s my God” 💥💥💥 Amen. Nearly brought me to tears.

[@lorrainepec7577]

Gave me the shivers - beautiful, I was almost visualizing it!

[@joeterp5615]

Both these videos were so captivating, unlike anything I’ve seen before.

[@MotherOf13]

I was working out and had to stop. It brought tears to my eyes! I let out an "OOF!"

[@mchristr]

So enjoyed this interview. Not ever LDS but can relate to an atheist dabbling in New Age, coming to grips with Jesus as an Evangelical, and currently on the path to Rome. Thanks Stephen and Matt.

[@mimisheean6648]

Mr. Johnson is so well spoken, it’s a joy to listen to him. Thank you for this great interview, very inspiring.

[@bethluther3950]

Such a delightful, challenging, educational, testimony. Thanks to Stephen…and Matt!!! I converted when I was in my 60’s. Had been a true believer almost since I can remember. Praise God, the form of Protestantism never taught against the Roman Catholic Church. Mostly just ignored it. 🥴. But my spiritual journey was a beautiful one …. And am so happy to be ‘home’ at last. And thanks for allowing a discussion to go into the dark places of a human being. Very important to know the whole picture! Stephen is a unique, remarkable person. He was seeking for some ‘truth’ was sincere …. And God quietly led him to the source of all ‘truth’. The path was long & dangerous….God knew it was the only way he could recognize and be ready for the ‘truth’.

[@the-conscious-vibe]

I relate to this journey so much. I went through a ton of the same things: atheism, new age philosophy, psychedelics, kabbalah, science, hermeticism. I mean our paths were very similar. It all came to a head when I had an experience with ayahuasca that really shook me to the core and i recognized the existence of Hell and evil were legitimate truths. Even then after coming to God and an interest in Jesus, I still didn't quite know the difference between different Christian denominations and followed a path that bordered on Manichaeism. It was a long time before I'd find the Catholic Church and it's still such a journey. Things don't necessarily get simpler once we become Catholic because we're still living in the world where immoral things are running rampant. It's struggle to maintain moral integrity even at work every day. Hopefully in the end we can end up on the right with Christ and sheep.

[@Phummuph]

I honestly wasn't interested in Mormon topics, but dang... Stephens' story hit me. This was definitely a top-tier story. Thank you Stephen and thank you Matt for having this talk. God Bless!

[@GinnyShilliday]

This was wonderful! I hope to be able to follow Stephen on his Catholic journey. Thank you, Matt and Thursday. 💕. Blessings on all of you.

[@threekidzmom04]

Thank you for this! Stephen has been such a wonderful gift to this 67 year old cradle catholic that has not always been strong in my faith. God bless Stephen and his family

[@marilynBgood]

Such a wonderful conversion story. I love how charitable both of you are towards Mormons, and I'm so happy for Stephen Johnson.

[@dianaRC]

One of the most fascinating conversations ever. Stephens intense search for Truth and Meaning is astounding. I absolutely loved it. Learned so much and it really awakened my empathy for those who are lost and seeking.

[@abbylheureux1317]

Over the past year, I've been undergoing a personal journey of rediscovering my faith. I've been delving into the origins of the church and seeking to uncover the truth. This process has been quite a journey, and while I feel like I've only scratched the surface, his story and journey really resonates with me and brings hope that I'll eventually find my place. Each day brings a mix of anxiety and fear that I may never reach a definitive conclusion.

[@SaintCharbelMiracleworker]

From conception the “Church” was an OFFICIAL sect within Judaism. When you read Acts 1 and if you are familiar with Halakhah Law you will immediately notice that the Church is a legal entity WITHIN Judaism. There are 3 requirements which are met. Firstly, notice that there are 120 members in this synagogue. Why is this important? It is the exact number of persons in the Halakhah regulations to form a full fledged synagogue. Judaism and Catholicism were born on Shavuot/Pentecost. To this day the Catholic Conclave has a maximum limit of 120 electors to elect the Pope. Secondly next according to Halakhah regulations there must be a "beit din" (Hebrew court) formed. We see that there is a beit-din and it draws lots and Matthias a disciple is chosen to take over Judas bishopric (episkopen). The first example of Apostolic Succession. So two of the three requirements are met. The third requirement is that there must be a NASI (prince/temporal) and an AB (father/spiritual) appointed. Curiously Peter is filling both these positions in this beit din. Why? In 190 BC the Kohan Gadol (jewish high-priest) fell into apostasy and beit-din gadol (Hebrew court) cast a vote of no confidence splitting the Kohan Gadol into two offices the "NASI" and the "AB" within the Beit Din Gadol. Fast forward to Matt16, in this new Beit Din Gadol (70 disciples) Christ has placed His confidence in Peter (the first AB/father/pope meaning papa) by presenting him the Keys to the temple/governance bringing the two offices back into one high priesthood the way it originally was. The pope has both temporal and spiritual powers. Peter is the NASI prince of the apostles and the AB/pope (Pope meaning papa - meaning father) as you see even today the pope as Peters documented unbroken apostolic successor is both ‘nasi’ and the ‘ab’ in Catholicism. Rashi/Jewish sage writes a commentary on the priestly role of the steward/vizier of the Davidic Kingdoms. The Keys are the keys of the Temple and Authority. When the Davidic kings were away the steward/vizier was in charge and he wore the keys the King gave him so the citizens knew who he was. The steward is given the sash/robes/keys to the temple because the role is also a priestly role. The keys were then passed onto a successor when that steward died/removed. (Isaiah 22 v15-25) The Apostles knew exactly what had occurred when Jesus gave Peter the keys. Jesus presents the keys to Peter (Pope/ab) and appoints him/his successors as His royal steward to care for HIs flock until His return. Jesus gave all the Apostles special gifts but He only gave Peter the keys to Temple and governance. First book of Kings lists all the Kings and the royal steward/vizier is always listed next to the King because in the absence of the King he was in charge of the Kingdom. Christ also renames Peter (the only Apostle renamed) as Abraham and Jacob were renamed by God in preparation for their specific role in salvation history. Jesus, Son of David rebuilt the davidic kingdom as per 2SamCh7 - He is the King, His mother is Gebirah, Peter/successor Popes are His royal stewards/viziers and the Hebrew court/beit-din is the Magesterium. Catholicism is not a new religion, it is the legitimate continuation of Temple Judaism (not Rabbinic Judaism). Catholics do not throw out what God has revealed prior and continues to hold that all that is revealed is a single continuous revelation culminating in the Catholic Faith. Jewish priests who followed Jesus brought the temple rituals over: we kept the priests, the altar, the eternal sacrifice, the holy incense, the shewbread, the tabernacle, the sanctuary etc, etc, etc Ancient Temple Judaism and Catholicism is the same faith in two covenants one old and another new. Jesus reinstated the Melchezidek priesthood (which pre-exists the Aaronic priesthood). This is why all Catholic priests belong to the order of Melchizedek, the fulfilment of the theophany of Melchizedek giving wine/bread to Father Abraham.

[@MichaelGlowacki]

Thank you for this great essay

[@ismarril]

Dear Abby, may God guide you to Him and His light shelter and comfort you. I ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen. 🔥

[@tessarmitage1813]

Thank you for this info. What can I read to learn more?​@@SaintCharbelMiracleworker

[@fun4tastickids106]

Wow… when Stephen talked about discovering God in the Bible it sent shivers all over me. His hunger for scripture was so beautiful! Praise God ❤

[@sethdarro7280]

Thanks! I got home late and need to wake up early tomorrow. Here I thought I’d play this to help relax before goin to sleep but I guess a two hour nap will have to do

[@zacharywalters7494]

God bless you Stephen. Thank you for trusting this community with such personal and painful details about yourself.

[@PatriotLady1991]

Stephen is remarkably intelligent. I've learned so much! Thank you for being so open and honest about your life and journey! Matt, I'm so glad I found your channel. ❤ ✝️

[@Tudomummeum]

Stephen, thank you for sharing your testimony and intellectual journey to the fullness of knowing Christ and His Bride. I just reconnected with a branch of my family that converted to LDS in the 60s and I had a genuinely wonderful experience meeting them. It's put the whole social phenomena of Mormon culture on my radar and made me want to drop a lot of my prejorative and patronizing stances I'd had toward their worldview when I had the 30,000 foot view of never needing to engage them as people. As a Catholic who loves Christ and the Church, I do genuinely want all mankind individually and corporately to come to Him in the intimacy and depth that only Catholicism can bring. But the older I get, the more I want to meet people where they are and see where He might already be working on their life in degrees and shadows of the Truth. I've been praying and sacrificing more for my Mormon cousins because, after encountering them person to person, I love them as people. And they're easy people to love. Thank you for showing me from the inside perspective that there is a path for someone in the LDS culture to discover Him fully. It gives me something to frame my approach to my cousins coming from a place of respect and ultimately recognizing Grace has to push them the rest of the way into Truth, not anything I can argue them toward. I have to love them into Him and his Church before I chase them with the Catechism or Church history.

[@victoriajones1575]

I'm literally shaking this is the best description of my deconstruction of religion and reconstruction of relationship GOD IS GOOD!!

[@yankeecitygirl]

When I watch testimonies of ex-mormons who have rejected all Christianity and are now atheists or agnostic, I feel so bad for most of them. Usually they are good-hearted, kind, moral people who are invested in living a Godly life but something happened to drive them away from their faith community. Most of those who are ex-mo *that I've seen* are being affirmed and indeed celebrated by a certain cohort of ex-mos who are capitalizing on the pain of these people. But I imagine if one is a true seeker, they will find their way out to the other side, as Stephen has. My prayers are with those who have left their LDS community but are still seeking.

[@TheWiery322]

Its weird being a person that experiences the things matt and steve are talking about but nobody around me even begins to know what im talking about. Its a weird situation to be in because on one hand i love my friends and family and on the other hand i want to be around people who understand me.

[@briand8335]

i went from non-denom to baptist, to presbyterian, to Anglican to eastern orthodox and finally landed in RCIA last year this time. It is a wild ride to try to find home. my wife recalled looking back at some of the older christian rock that we would listen to and two of the songs from a band just sounded like a true cry for confession. Us protestants understanding that God can forgive sins, but never feeling "free" of it. always feeling under that shadow of being a bad person, and then we hear (and that I spouted) "why do I have to go to a Priest to be forgiven?" and missing the point. It's such a healing experience, and scary, and hard, and full of love all at the same time.

[@GrislyAtoms12]

I had the same issue with Protestantism. I tried so many different denominations and non-denominations. In the end, I renounced it. Any Protestant who gets to Heaven truly has my admiration, because I could not do it, AT ALL. Now that I am Catholic, I understand why I couldn't - they don't have the true Eucharist and they don't have confession. John 20:23: “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven; whose sins you shall retain, are retained.”

[@euengelion]

His journey back to God is eerily similar to mine. Thanks be to God for allowing us to continuously be within His grace and not be drowned by evil.

[@lynnetteferguson8700]

He is such an articulate young man! Beautifully done interview. One of my favorites!

[@ambroserose762]

We will need a part 3, this is that good

[@terrykessinger4432]

I feel like I’ve just read a wonderful, meaty book. So satisfying. Thank you for not condensing this story. I can’t wait for the literal book!

[@gwendolynnorton6329]

Mind blown! Perhaps my favorite episode to date!

[@brycew2]

It's uncanny how similar my journey has been to Stephen's. Except I think I was even more "all in" to mormonism than he was. I'm still deciding between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The history of the LDS church is simply indefensible. Once you realize the historical problems, the holes in the incoherent theology come quickly behind. In any case, you both have been extremely respectful. Mormons make great converts. Please continue to reach out to lovingly helping them overcome the atheism that commonly follows from leaving the mormon faith. Thank you both.

[@jay6562]

You think catholic history is defensible, but not LDS? Are you kidding?

[@ourdictatorship]

Sorry at the outset for the long post, but I just have to open up here if I'm welcomed in this forum to do so. This guy's story IS my story, except I came from Southern Baptism as a child, and went so deep into antitheism that I was writing for John Loftus at one point (maybe it's still on Wayback, but he purged it pretty well when I de-deconverted) and I'm a professional mathematician instead of a professional physicist. I spent time in Objectivism, so I thought I had objective morality. But it was meeting William Lane Craig and a few other high-hitting Protestant Christian apologists that put the first crack in the formidible antitheist attitude I had. It happened in a basement of a Protestant church after an apologetics conference in Fall of 2k8 in Rhode Island (Paul Copan invited John and I to it). The argument that caused that first crack is called the "Leibnizian Cosmological Argument," a left hook that Dr. Craig threw at me after I'd spent hour after hour debating its more popular Kalaam version on the Internet. Fifteen years later, it remains the foremost evidentialist argument I still can't answer, though at this point experiential encounter with God through the Sacraments has pulled me in for good even if I had no intellectual arguments left whatsoever. That Leibnizian argument may have been the intellectual blow, but it was coming face to face with the "Christ Myth" theory that made me realize I was in a movement that was less intellectual than I had believed. I balked at Mythicism as a skeptic at the moment that it was **exploding** as a beloved addition to antitheism on the back of Richard Carrier and a few more giants in the movement. This was shortly before Wokeness claimed New Atheism's momentum as its first, early victim by splitting it in two with Elevatorgate back around 2011 or so, the moment I finally became an agnostic and a bare theist shortly thereafter. All of this behavior from the movement's top figures had been an opportunity for God to show me what a self-reinforcing engine of pride the whole thing was. I'd been on drugs - everything EXCEPT hallucinogens - and other things that were FAR WORSE than this guy in the interview, but it began to fade as I spent a few years going through every major world religion from all the Abrahamic faiths to Jainism to Tao (third place finisher!) to Druze (oops) to even Japanese "ancestor worship" (... bit more to Shinto than that) and even, embarrassingly enough, Wicca (less than an hour is required for a fair assessment of Wicca). I came into Christianity shortly after witnessing my sister-in-law die young of breast cancer in front of me and other family, even attending the local neighborhood church like this guy did after I converted - a Disciples of Christ joint that was more about doing small things around the neighborhood than it was about confronting the titanic spiritual issues I had been facing at the time. It wasn't long before I started looking for something that could do both, though I am still grateful for that little place for being there. Perhaps God works in some of them - judging them is not my job - but I wanted a **guarantee** that He was working in the place I was searching for. That led me to the Apostolic Churches. I spent half a year in them. The struggle with those four Churches was titanic. I could've spent the rest of my life debating the history and spirituality in them. But Assyrians are already merging with Rome, the breakaway Anglican Calvinists I was looking at didn't have as strong of a claim of Apostolicity as the others, and the Oriental Orthodox lacked an English-speaking Priest anywhere near where I lived. I hate to say it, but it was a "Mother Earth"-type hymn passed around for the RCIA group I was in to sing halfway through that program that finally did it for me, even though I left deep issues with the Papacy and Filioque unanswered. I live in the area once combed over by St. Alexis Toth, so the nearest ECC was too far to lean upon, and at the time back in 2011-12 the TLM was very, very tiny and was comprised of mostly very elderly people, presenting a picture that it may shortly leave me with a picture of Rome that did not have enough bread to sustain my especially horrific spiritual place that so many years of rabid antitheism left me in. I joined the Eastern Orthodox Church in 2012 by Chrismation on a beautiful Spring day. I'm a bit of a softie to Rome, however, after my wife started to follow me in the journey and did away with her lapsed Catholic state (isn't God wonderful?). She eventually began attending that TLM in our area years later; it is now filled joyously with many young families and happy children (as well as those glorious older persons sticking to it after all these years!). The pratice my wife has grown into, in my opinion, simply **is** Orthodoxy, except for the obvious ecclesial issue and a few intellectual issues that are as dense as they are critically important. My wife and I march on happily married despite both being very deep into Traditional Orthodoxy and Traditional Catholicism. Praise God! I still struggle with so many things, though God gave me a vivid gift for the sexual part of it discussed here in this program nine years ago, when I met a former porn actress as a student in my basic liberal arts math class whose life had been devastated after attempting to leave the industry and who was later found out and chased off my campus and back into the industry after I tried to get her to join the Engineering program I ran at the time (she was exceptionally intelligent but horrifically underconfident). Never had any significant struggle again after that with God's help! Apathy and especially anger are the biggest sins I still struggle with, along with sloth. By His grace, I pray regularly, but will end up missing a Sunday mass every month or two due to having such a horrific lifelong sleep issue that my current teaching position (at a small Catholic medical college!) helps me accommodate for it. I'm a terrible, horrible Christian, and I've been merging into the Faith so slowly that I failed to have kids before a physical disability came around to end that possibility for good. Please pray for me, and thanks for reading this far!

[@eliotwatson2793]

So true. I did a deep dive research paper on the porn industry in college and amyone who struggles with porn would benefit from meeting the actual ppl in the industry. Must is rightly focused on the damage done to women in the industry but the suicide and drug rates of male actors would put the pro football industry to shame.

[@tim_w]

35:05 “The STATE fills this role of God, for atheists and non-believers”. I felt that quote on many levels. Most of my co-workers and neighbors foundation and meaning is through political consciousness and “activism”. Would love more content on this topic, especially in todays times. Specifically how does one evangelize and defend the faith, i a society that is politically hostile.

[@theresavollor372]

Loved that there was time taken to allow Stephen to explain as he took us on his journey to Catholicism. Really really fascinating- esp his experiences- positive & negative- of the present Church. Honesty, Truth, reflection & discernment for thought in my own life. Thank you!! This interview reveals my own journey in new ways.

[@triciacarson1660]

The most fascinating conversation, well, ever. I hope to hear more from Stephen. Thanks Matt & Stephen & Thursday

[@lizfuchen]

Thank You Stephen for coming back; Your journey is fascinated and Inspiring. God bless you.

[@paulahernandez2470]

Very beautiful story. Glad to have him as a part of The One True Church. Testimonies are truly important not only so that Catholics strengthen their faith but so that other people can get that curiosity and start searching for the beauty that is this church. If you ever feel like you need more of God, more of Jesus, the Catholic Church will always be there with open arms.

[@brianamend6983]

Not related to the podcast, but my mom just went into hospice. Please pray for her. Thank you.

[@empackmanmueller1725]

Will offer up a rosary 📿 and novena for her. Godbless

[@CecileWalker-pk9mi]

Stephen Johnson, Thank you for your clarity & explanations of so many ‘paths’! God bless you, your wife & all your family!

[@Plan_it-Farm]

Dude incredible Im just finding this and his reference to the truman show. That effect happened to me and the paranoia was unbelievable. I have had ZERO religious experience in my life never even opened a bible nor went to church, that has changed since but man i wish i heard this about a year ago. Thank you for this content big help.

[@SJohnson529]

Hey there. This is Stephen from the episode. If you’d like to get context let me know. I know I’d like to hear more about your experience and where you are in your journey.

[@jennifersalts3621]

What an awesome testimony! Welcome home, sir!!!❤

[@jonahanderson9101]

Wow this is such a blessing! Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us as we travel through this sinful world

[@PuzzlesC4M]

These are some of the best shows I've seen on Pints. Thank you, Stephen Johnson!

[@donttreadonchuck8006]

Very interesting to hear that Stefan Molyneux had a role to play in this story. He also had a role in my ultimate path towards The Church.

[@Eddie-if2st]

I also that it was very interesting that Stefan was mentioned and he also had a role in my path to Catholicism haha what a world

[@JustineBrownsBookshelf]

Let’s hope he finds his way to the Church as well.

[@NonaK3856]

“Truth is a person.”❤ Thank you for this interview!

[@ChirinosNegron]

*❤️Only God knows how much grateful i am. After so much struggles I now own a new house and my family is happy once again everything is finally falling into place!!*

[@dianeponzio6035]

Amazing interview. Finding truth is what it is all about on a faith journey. This helped me to understand others and where they may be at on their journeys. Such an intelligent man. Learned much from this.

[@fabianapimentel6114]

My path from protestantism to catholicism was so close to his! And tge funny thing is that started in 2020 either. God is good!

[@cehson]

All Catholics are blessed beyond mesure. Thank be to God!!

[@sergiochacon1025]

That discussion on quantum was rough. I would recommend checking out the work of wolf gang smith. He is an Austrian catholic physicist who, in my opinion, reconciles the weirdness of quantum mechanics by rooting it in catholic/platonic metaphysics.

[@JohnBoyX570]

Wolfgang is fantastic!

[@bradleytarr2482]

I also can't wait for his first book! I'm the Parish Librarian here in Mansfield, Ohio, and his book will end up on our shelf!

[@sophial9379]

This episode is beyond incredible. Give us more Stephen!!!!!!!!

[@susanad.o.156]

Absolutely beautiful, honest and sincere journey!!!! Welcome home!!!!!❤❤❤❤

[@lux-veritatis]

Wow I’ve been blown away by this interview series! Stephen is a joy to listen to and I hope he considers going into an academic field someday if not already - he has a combination of mental gifts that would make an excellent teacher. The second half of his story so closely resembles my own. I started out culturally Catholic though but grew up surrounded by Mormons so it’s been fascinating to learn about them more deeply. A lot of what I knew was from my Mormon friends who were kind of hush about things, for obvious reasons. I did go through a very similar winding path back to Catholicism through hinduism and mysticism and he really reminds me of myself and the questions I was probing. I like to say, I was looking for God everywhere but where He was. Thanks for this amazing interview!

[@rosemariekury9186]

You were so brave to reject Mormonism ( although I love the fact they focus on the family and are always ready to help those of their own religion). I live in near Salt Lake and I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of professionals, doctors, lawyers,etc.that don’t believe but are afraid to convert to another religions as they’re usually ostracized and maybe would lose clients and patients due to this. I also read that a lot of the “Apostles” and workers in the Church don’t but are afraid they’ll lose pensions if they renounce it. I’m retired and Catholic but one time while I was working I heard a cop worker renounce someone who apparently told someone the secret word they had been issued at the temple. The co worker commented that person would go to hell as that word was sacred. I also wish there was an episode about Cora Evans who was a convert from Mormonism and was said to be a mystic. They’re trying to take steps to have her canonized in Idaho.

[@kidus_1010]

Wait they have secret words? What’s that about?

[@rosemariekury9186]

@@kidus_1010 I blieve it when they’re married in the temple that they have a handshake and are given a secret word but may be in another temple ceremony.

[@IprevailXIV]

@@rosemariekury9186 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5uWf4CIhcSdeaMsi=YORxzr2FrnemHH3Z and kzbin.info/www/bejne/en7QloZtqbCqb8Usi=f2Fm1ABQQDPgimho are videos explaining this from a Latter day Saint perspective.

[@mollyedwards7494]

It’s a “new name” that is said to never be revealed outside of the temple or to anyone else. The name that is said to be the one that Heavenly Father (or your spouse sealed to you) will call you through the veil, from this life into the celestial kingdom. Many don’t know this but there are different names on different days of the week, but the name given to you is the same name given (female’s get a female name/ men get a man’s name) to all going through the temple, that day, to receive what they call their “endowments” which are special rituals acted out in the temple. There’s more to it, it’s not very spectacular, kind of weird and Masonic, and the older endowments that my family members experienced were kind of creepy…they changed by the time I went through the temple to be a bit more palatable…although still traumatic to me. Hope that helps.

[@kidus_1010]

@@HaleStorm49 I mean we have baptismal names if that’s similar to what you’re describing

[@thankfullyforgiven9611]

Fascinating testimony! I’m not done yet, but I have truly enjoyed listening to his journey. It reminds me of Jeremiah 29:13 And you shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with your whole heart. A person will truly find the Lord if they are truly searching for truth, no matter if it takes a while, they’ll get there.😊 Thanks for a great interview.

[@ReneeG-v6f]

I am a protestant, and I’m still so happy this guy became a Catholic. It’s a blessing that he found the true words of Jesus the true life of Jesus, the true way.

[@mezzoilmare]

God bless you for putting yourself out there and telling your story. Hopefuly it will resonate with others in the same quest.

[@emilymg1]

Stephen is so incredibly brilliant, humble, and fascinating. These were INCREDIBLE episodes

[@lizal.7009]

Thank you for posting this on KZbin Matt!

[@Fortitude333]

I went down an uncannily similar path as Stephen, it is consoling to here another Catholic having experienced similar things. I have to make a small note on the double slit experiment; it was originally done with photons (you can do it yourself with a piece of paper and flashlight). It was done in the future with electrons, where the difference is that the electrons need to all have the same momentum when entering the slit, all electrons have the same mass so the same momentum simply implies the same velocity - but since it is difficult to send individual electrons at a time, you would want to send as small of an amount of electrons as possible at the same speed. A photons velocity never changes, it is the speed of light, but the wavelength can be different (green light is a different wavelength and frequency than that of yellow). The wavelength associated with the electron experiment comes out to be the De-Broglie wavelength. Look into yourself if you are interested. Just a validation statement, I am a physicist.

[@SevereFamine]

What a beautiful man Stephen is. To be so raw and open about his journey is really life-giving. I wonder if he has read The Confessions by St. Augustine as I think he would see himself in that. I certainly do! Edit: Ah, yes he did. Haha

[@SJohnson529]

Thank you so much for this! Confessions was the first patristic work that I read and it did resonate deeply with me, so you are right on target. I chose St. Augustine to be my patron saint and I wear his medal.

[@mattwhite1244]

Matt, Stephen, and Father Gregory Pine need to all do a podcast together.

[@Zacattack2077]

Wonderful testimony. I’ll be starting RCIA tonight :)

[@conovan5081]

God bless you

[@USAFWolf]

Wow, great timing. I just watched the first half yesterday!

[@DrennTheHAtter]

I had the exact same spiritual journey apart from being myself and not a Mormon. I went through all the possible paths including left hand paths. Then one day. I couldn't shake the dire need to read the Word of God. Fast forward almost 5 years now and I'm in Bible college. But the completion in my heart when I found Christ was astounding

[@SJohnson529]

Beautiful. Thank you for commenting

[@MarieGoatcher]

Waiting for part 3! This was soooo riveting thank you all.

[@chrisgardhouse9321]

Another very interesting, intense interview. Always learning something. Thank you!

[@totustuustotalmentetuyo]

Dang, Government as God! This interview is so deep! Thanks y’all so informative and transformative ❤

[@michellestansberry9101]

If he hadn’t experienced all he has, he wouldn’t be here right now! God is awesome!

[@yungbman]

not sure what you guys would talk about but i need a part 3

[@verozor911]

I really enjoyed the discussion on Part 1. This Part 2 discussion really lost me , so much to unpack. He searched for truth in different ways, I'm glad he found Christ at the end.

[@dmurph2111]

Matt, just found your channel. The episodes are inspiring and I appreciate the young community of believers you’re assembling through your work. My own journey to and from and back to the faith is one you’d appreciate!

[@preettygoood7774]

The part about the double slit experiment plays into what I've been telling my friends lately: There Are No Atheists. Everyone has some supernatural belief of some kind.

[@joshdavis6493]

When Matt said "Whats spirit cooking?" My first thought is "Oh you sweet summer child" Talk about occult and politics can of worms

[@nicoletterusso5751]

Yassss, been waiting for part 2 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Playsitloud1]

Cmon!!!!! Another hour!

[@kingv2328]

Yess! I have been waiting for this episode!

[@amandacos3280]

Again…so good and so educational. Really loved this interview series. Thank you both!!

[@IRISHBee4]

Stephen seems well on his wait to sainthood. His wife has a reserved seat about two spots away from the Blessed Mother!

[@mr-teksnail8224]

I always fall asleep to your videos, thank you for what you do and may God bless you❤️