Saints Unscripted

*originally posted on YouTube near Father's Day*

We LOVE the good dads in our lives! We are grateful for Father’s Day each year which gives us extra reason to celebrate the father figures in our lives.

We are incredibly grateful for the knowledge and insight of Heath Odgen on our show today as he discusses the importace of embracing science as faithful members of the LDS Church (otherwise kwown as the Mormon Church). Heath discusses his interest in evolution and how he reconciles evolution and the theory of Adam and Eve. The theory of evolution doesn't have to contradict believe in the story of Adam and Eve but that both can be supported by each other. Do Mormons believe in evolution? Should Mormons believe in evolution? Both of these questions are explored by Heath in today's episode!!

For many decades, there has been speculation that Joseph Smith (first prophet of the LDS Church) did not practice polygamy. The speculation has ebbed and flowed over the years, though the conspiracy has picked up steam more recently.

Derek and Denise Galanis join us on Saints Unscripted to talk about Derek's conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Derek grew up in a family of crime. Prison and crime were natural parts of his formative years. Derek was convicted in 2001 and then again in 2016 for fraud. Derek talks about reconnecting with Denise, someone he had known earlier in his life, while he was in prison. He and Denise stayed in contact while Derek served his time in some harsh prison conditions. Derek read the Bible and was eventually introduced to the Book of Mormon by Denise. He read the Book of Mormon 4 times while in prison and knew he had to join the church. But joining wouldn't be easy, as he is still on probation for his crime. Watch the video to get the full story!!

Emma Wood is a remarkable new convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! We had the great opportunity of hearing her conversion story. Growing up in Arizona, she knew about members of the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) but didn't have much interest in joining. She decided to go to school in Utah where she began learning more about the Church. She went through some challenging faith crises and had many, many questions about this emerging faith. After years of diligent study, Emma took a huge leap of faith and chose to be baptized. You don't want to miss this episode!!

Ross Richey joins us today to talk about one of the most interesting topics we’ve heard from a guest on Saints Unscripted. He starts with a discussion about ChatGPT and AI. What does that have to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Well, Ross focuses on intelligence, something frequently talked about in our scriptures and in our church. David and Sabrina have a moment of expressing their fears about intelligences 😅 and how things might change in our world.

*This was released on YouTube around Mother's Day*

Today the hosts had NO IDEA what the outline of the episode would be… truly unscripted. They knew the theme would be Mother’s Day but nothing more. We surprised them by having them call a mother figure (in this case, they each chose their mom) and expressing their appreciation for a lesson they were taught by that mother. Kaitlyn talks about her mom’s ability to be calm and steady for her and for everyone around her. Cam talks about his mom’s genuine love for all people, no matter the background.

Talmage served mission for the Church of Jesus Christ (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). Upon his return, Talmage faced a lot of challenges including addiction and pornography issues. He felt worthless and purposeless. However, his family was never going to give up on him, no matter how low he felt. With their faith, he began a long healing process which led him to start an incredible podcast. He talks about what he has learned from the podcast, how he navigates criticism, and how others can get involved in sharing their light.

Filming this episode with Terryl Givens was both humbling and remarkable. Terryl Givens is a leading LDS academic who has written some of our favorite books on many religious topics.

On today’s episode, Liz shares her story of growing up in a polygamist family. She and her family moved into a neighborhood of non-polygamists and were quickly judged for their beliefs. But one of the families in the neighborhood truly embraced Liz and her family despite differing beliefs. Liz and her siblings would attend church with this kind-hearted family and Liz eventually wanted to be baptized into their religion- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (who do not practice polygamy). She was not yet 18 and could not be baptized so as soon as she left for college, she was ready to convert to the Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). But again, she was forced to jump through hoops.