The Present-Day Saint

0023 - In this episode I interview Adam Tucker from Southern Evangelical Seminary (www.ses.edu). Adam and I discuss one argument for God's existence that we think demonstrates God's existence. We then discuss the attributes that God must have (and must NOT have) based upon this argument. One of the things that cannot be true of God is that He has a body. Thus, this argument demonstrably shows that the embodied god (gods) of Mormonism could not exist. This discussion shows the need for good philosophy and how our philosophy can help our theology. I encourage everyone to listen to this episode and consider taking some classes at SES to further your theological and philosophical understanding. 

0022 - In this episode I interview Bill McKeever, the founder of Mormonism Research Ministry. Bill has been doing ministry with the LDS for decades and is one of the most knowledgable people on this subject. In this interview we discuss his history and how he got involved in this type on ministry. We then go on to discuss some tips that he has learned throughout the years in how to engage in good conversations with Mormons. He talks about some things not to do as well as how to not get frustrated in your evangelism. Bill is a wealth of information and you will be blessed from listening to this episode. Check out his ministry website here - https://www.mrm.org/

0021 - In this episode Aaron Shafovaloff and I do a final debate breakdown of his debate with Kwaku El. In this episode we look at Part 3 of the debate - Are Families Forever? We talk about the LDS view of eternity and how that compares to the Biblical view. We talk about what marriage is and why there will not be marriage in the eternal state as opposed to the LDS view. We go into the weeds a few times on this episode into some really interesting topics. We finish up by addressing some the questions that came up during the Q and A period at the end of the debate. You will be smarter after listening to Aaron (the other Aaron) for two hours. Remember that you can check out the actual debate Aaron had with Kwaku here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMAKQ9g8zT8. 

0020 - In this episode Aaron Shafovaloff and I continue our breakdown of the debate Aaron had with Latter-Day Saint Kwaku El. In this episode we take a deep dive into part two of the debate - Was there a Great Apostasy? The LDS position is that there was a great apostasy after the apostles died which necessitated a restored church, not just a reformed church. The LDS believe that they are that restored church. In this episode we review the arguments that Kwaku made for his position and then discuss why they don't actually make the case for the great apostasy. There is TONS of good info in this podcast. Aaron S. goes deep into the weeds on multiple topics. You will be educated and blessed from listening to this debate breakdown. You can watch the actual debate here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMAKQ9g8zT8.

0019 - In this episode I am joined by Aaron Shafovaloff (Evangelical Christian) as we begin to dissect his debate with Kwaku El (Latter-Day Saint) that can be seen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMAKQ9g8zT8. In this LONG interview we first touch on Aaron's history and what brought him to Utah. He then gives some big picture takeaways from the debate and gives us some background on his history with Kwaku. We then breakdown the first part of the debate - Is salvation by faith alone? Aaron expands on his opening statements and then we discuss Kwaku's opening statement and the cross-examination rounds. In the midst of this discussion we hit on the nature of God, the Gospel, the Mormon view of God, debate tactics, tips on discussions with LDS and much more. We will examine parts two and three of this debate in upcoming podcasts. 

0018 - In this episode I interview my friend James Phelps, a former Mormon who is now an evangelical Christian. James talks about his life growing up LDS, his mission trip to Taiwan and his time at BYU Law School. He then discusses the changes that started to happen in his life and the questions he began to ask about the truth claims of the LDS Religion. His wife got involved with an offshoot of the LDS church which caused huge strains on their marriage but it gave him permission to really examine his doubts. He tells us how he found the true Jesus and how his wife found the Biblical Jesus a few years later. This is an incredible testimony! He also shares some things to say and not to say to your LDS friends who are recognizing the problems within their Religion and asking questions. I hope you will listen to James' amazing testimony. 

0017 - In this episode I review the spiritual deconstruction of Link from Ear Biscuits (that you can listen to here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1AZhlyoD9s). I examine the reasons that Link discussed as to why he walked away from the Christian faith and is now an Agnostic. I talk about some of the problems with typical modern Evangelicalism and how I see some of these problems manifested in Link's story. Link's (and Rhett's) story is very similar to many Christians who have walked away from the faith and so I think it is very important that we listen to what they are saying. Typical objections regarding faith and science and Christian views on moral issues are discussed. I also discuss how agnosticism is, in some sense, an easy position to take and is not a virtuous one. I hope you will find this review helpful. 

0016 - In this episode I am joined by David Halevy of "The Jew and Gentile" podcast to discuss the spiritual deconstruction of Rhett from Ear Biscuits. In an episode of their popular podcast, Rhett described his spiritual conversion from Christianity to "hopeful agnostic." You can watch that episode here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbna6t1bzw.  We review Rhett's arguments for why he left the faith and talk about how Christianity does have good answers for these objections. We talk about the need to be good thinkers and how we have to encourage our young people to wrestle with these hard questions from a young age. This is a very important discussion. If Rhett ever watches this we would love to have him on the show to discuss these matters further!!

0015 - In this episode I discuss the weeklong mission trip that we just hosted here in Utah. We partnered with MAVEN to host 23 Ratio Christi students and leaders from across the country for a week of what we call "applied apologetics."  We think Utah is the perfect place to learn how to put your apologetics learning to use. This past week we went to Temple Square, BYU, Snow College, the University of Utah and Utah Valley University evangelizing. We even went door knocking in Provo! We had excellent speakers teaching the students and then we put all our learning to direct use as we immediately engaged in conversations.  We are hoping to do many more of these Applied Apologetics Intensive Experiences so let me know if your group is interested in coming out to Utah.

0014 - In this episode I review the book, "The Ambassadors Guide to Mormonism," by Brett Kunkle. In this short book, Brett hits on the main differences between Evangelical Christianity and Mormonism. He focuses on the nature of God, the Gospel, the reliability of the New Testament and our final authority. In this podcast I walk the listener through the book and talk about why it is such an effective tool for evangelism. I also talk about the Utah Immersive Experience we are doing here in Utah with some of our Ratio Christi people in conjunction with Brett's ministry MAVEN. We will be doing more of these in the future.