Wonderful, thoughtful and insightful interview. After 27 years as a committed member of the LDS faith, I am home in the Catholic church now as well. I especially enjoyed Jeremy's "pitch" towards the end of the interview explaining why he is Catholic; It is well thought out, and he lays out a compelling case for the appeal of the Catholocism. Thank you Mr. Pynakker, well done.

I am in the same boat! Born and raised in the Mormon church...very serious about it...very faithful....and then I found out the truth and left. Fast forward to the Easter Vigil of 2018 where I was received into the Body of Christ in the most stunning Latin mass you can imagine. Praise God! I still pinch myself! I can't believe I got out of Mormonism and I am now the most grateful Catholic you will ever meet. I truly believe that Mormons would make the best Catholics. They would love it and appreciate it more than anyone after the wasteland of "putting their shoulder to the wheel" for years on end with no end in sight. I really loved hearing how my brother Steven worked his way through everything. I was completely fascinated.

Former Mormon to Catholic convert here! Grew up in southern California and my family raised me Mormon, besides being surrounded by a Mormon culture, we have a pretty similar story and I’m really enjoying this book from Jeremy. Thanks be to God!!

Awsome. Im also a former Mormon of 18 years and I became Christian back in 2019. Im a part of the Orthodox Church now. Glad to hear your story❤️

As a Catholic was so pleased to see this interview. Jeremy, you would make for a great interview on the Coming Home Network/The Journey Home. I've only seen a couple of previous Mormons on all of their 100's and 100's of episodes.

Thank you so much for the video. I found it very interesting and informative. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have experienced many witnesses in my life to the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe we are on this earth for many reasons, to grow, to learn and to serve others. I don’t have an absolute knowledge that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God. However, through the witnesses I have experienced, I have a strong faith and believe that it is the true church of God. I also believe that our Father in heaven is fair and just and will bless those who seek to know His will. I pray, the Lord, will be with both of you in your quest for increased knowledge and understanding. Thanks again!

As a Catholic nevermo that has been following you channel since day one, I was very happy to see this interview and look forward to more engagement with Catholicism. Somewhat understandably, but unfortunately, it often gets left out of the Mormon-Protestant/Evangelical dialogues. Keep on keeping on, Steven!

Re: Mormon Book Reviews Discussion with Jeremy Christiansen: From the Susquehanna to the Tibor - a Mormon Catholic Journey Jeremy, I enjoyed, and was fascinated, watching your discussion with Steve Pynakker about your faith journey from a faithful member of the LDS Church to Catholicism (posted on or about 2 Feb 2023). First, I am glad you do not seem to be at all bitter towards the LDS Church or life in general, and am glad you found what you obviously believe is a better path (which probably explains your lack of bitterness). You are obviously a scholarly, deep thinking and high achieving-type person, and I can relate to some elements of your journey and thought processes. To summarize your journey, your conversion to the LDS Church started, or at least took a significant step, when you received what at the time you “knew” was a spiritual witness from God that the Book of Mormon is true (at about 12:30) and later when you had a similar experience when you received the Melchizedek Priesthood (at about 18:15), including the “burning in the bosom” so often spoken about in the LDS Church. You had a similar experience when your stake president set you apart as an Elders Quorum president, promising that, in spite of all your responsibilities, your results at law school would be as good as you hoped and expected in spite of all your responsibilities (at about 26:00). This promise gave you a great sense of relief and other positive emotions. Your turning or breaking point was when you received a poorer grade than expected in a key course, which caused, or started, a downward spiral, leading to suicidal ideation and a full-blown faith crisis. All this happened when you were incredibly stressed-out being a young husband and father, carrying a heavy load at law school and having the added burden of weighty Church callings (earlier you were a counselor in a bishopric at 22). (In other words, you followed the “correct,” “expected” or “ideal” LDS path: serve a mission, marry soon thereafter, do not delay having children, have lots of children, and provide for your family while somehow going to school full time and actively serving in your local ward and stake - an incredibly demanding and stressful path.) Later you reassessed these, and perhaps additional similar “spiritual” experiences, as something you now believe can come through naturalistic means; that “everyone” experiences similar feelings and emotions, even those who are secular. At about 53:00 you quoted Jerimiah 17:9 to the effect that the heart is very corrupt. I think your point was that we should not trust our feelings. At about 53:45 you got to the gist of the issue, I think saying that that there is no difference between our emotions and the supposed influence of the Holy Ghost. Now, I am not going to just bare my testimony, partly because you think it’s a bad idea in this context, but also because I have struggled for many years with my testimony, largely due to ongoing depression, anxiety and other difficulties. However, what mostly keeps me “hanging on” to my hope and faith in the LDS Church are spiritual/mental/emotional experiences I had with what I believe was the Holy Ghost. Notice that I placed “emotional” last, since many secular experiences can produce strong emotions, including those that are sublime. Examples: 1) When David Bowman in “2001: A Space Odyssey” is transformed from an old man on his death bed into a “star child” and then apparently almost instantaneously travels back to earth across many light-years, I feel very full and have even shed tears (the theme music adds a lot to the mood); 2) When “AC” in Isaac Asimov’s “The Last Question” after eons of time learns how to reverse entropy and gives the answer by re-creating the universe, very deep and profound feelings can occur, and did when I first read the story (Asimov himself wrote about this very effect on readers of this story). The experiences I believe came from the Holy Ghost were nothing like these, but were more about the spirit and mind. Two such experiences stand out far above the rest I have enjoyed (no, I have not had many such experiences, and wish and pray for additional similar experiences). During both of these experiences I felt that I was “sanctified in the flesh,” having no desire for sin, and felt that I could not sin, even if major temptation was placed directly in my path. During the first experience I walked to school and, as usual, socialized with peers before classes began. When I heard someone take God’s name in vain or something similar I did not feel to judge or otherwise condemn the person, but experienced spiritual sorrow that he would say what he did. During the second experience I was in a YSA ward after my mission, and it was, of course, very much my time to seek a spouse. As I looked at the young women around me, those I normally found attractive were even more attractive, and my desire for physical intimacy was enhanced (i.e., my libido had increased), but at the same time these passions were refined and purified so that the idea of fulfilling them outside God’s bounds (i.e., outside of marriage) seemed repugnant. Unfortunately, these states only lasted for about 15 to 30 minutes. So, can the human brain and body, acting by themselves, conjure up such experiences, or can Satan instill such things within us? If so, then we could never know the source of such things and could never trust anything except for, perhaps, hard, “objective facts,” things we can see, feel, hear, taste or touch, but even then we might be deceived (an extreme example of this idea was illustrated in “The Matrix” movies). Before your first experience with what you at least believed, or, at the time, “knew,” was the Holy Ghost (as you were reading the Book of Mormon), had you felt similar feelings before, perhaps even in a “secular” setting? If so, why did your Book of Mormon experience seem so remarkable or special to you (as it obviously did, and is what seemingly inspired you more than anything else to serve a mission)? Have you had similar feelings after joining the Catholic Church? Your testimony of said Church, and Christianity in general, seems to be largely intellectual, though there is a clear “feeling level” of your devotion. (The Gregorian chant during Mass seems to deeply affect you, as well as other elements of Catholic history, tradition, ritual and doctrine, including “transubstantiation” and God being totally “other” - my words.) I have only attended a few Catholic services, but have seen more in movies. The chants in Latin, the iconography, splendid vestments, the soaring spaces with light filtering in through stained glass, and other elements do produce feelings of awe, wonder, humility, mystery, ancient origin and devotion -- things that few, if any other churches, can match (LDS temples don’t come close, though the intent is not the same). At about 1:03:00 you mentioned Tad Callister’s talk/article in which he reasoned that those who leave the LDS Church have no place to go since every other church’s teachings fall far short. You found this “lamentable.” It is unclear if you found the fact that almost all who leave the LDS Church do end up as agnostics and atheists lamentable or if Callister’s opinion that they will do so is lamentable. If the former, I agree. Such people apparently never developed a sufficiently meaningful relationship with God and Jesus while active in the LDS Church to continue to believe and, after leaving, to feel to seek out a new church to attend or at least to remain Christians. However, if they had developed a sufficiently meaningful relationship with God and Jesus while active in the LDS Church to do so, why would they leave in the first place? As I said, I still have hope and faith in the LDS Church mainly due to experiences I have had with what I believe was the Holy Ghost. Another reason is the teachings and doctrines of the LDS Church answer far more questions, make far more sense, are far more just and fair, and are far more beautiful than those of any other church or faith tradition of which I am aware. Just one example that, for reasons I do not understand, is rarely mentioned/asked, even by atheists: Why did/does not God create all human souls to be saintly, or even as strong/perfect as Christ? After all, if God creates souls out of “nothing,” then, presumably, He could make them anyway he wants. Why did God create Cain’s soul with so much weakness that he became a devil while Abel’s soul was much more heavenly in nature? If it was God’s plan and intention that Adam and Eve and their descendants live forever without sin in a paradise, why did not God create their souls to be sufficiently temptation and sin-resistant so they never would partake of the forbidden fruit? (For that matter, why did God even place such a tree in the Garden in the first place?) Now, I would be very surprised if people far smarter and more insightful than me have not already addressed these issues and, perhaps, supplied plausible answers, but, if so, I have yet to be enlightened. Actually, I have already been enlightened and received satisfactory and understandable answers to these and many other issues, and that was by a man named Joseph Smith.

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview! Sad to see Jeremy leave but happy to see him committed and fulfilled

Terrific interview! Thank you for presenting the RC view of faith🙏🏻

Great interview, I learned a lot about Church history, a conversion story, long talk, but I stayed engaged.

What a great discussion. Thank you Jeremy for sharing the faith!

A very interesting episode for me, as I was born and raised in a catholic world., long ago. And I have been walking through the LDS world for months now, to see if I could find a home there, after being religiously homeless for decades. So it was very interesting to see both worlds combined in one person. And Jeremy is really a deep thinker and great speaker, so I loved listening to him. I went ahead and ordered his book. Looking forward to reading it. So thanks for this, Steven (and hi from The Netherlands).

Well i just finished this 2 hour interview. I must say that i did enjoy it. I can respect jeremy for seeking all sides of mormon theolgy and found his home in catholicism. Sad to see him go but I'm glad he's progressing in his spiritual journey. Also convinced me to eventually check out no man knows my history.

Jeremiah 17 is a beautiful chapter worthy of a thorough study. I believe verses 5 through 8 of Jeremiah chapter 17 set the stage for verses 9 through 11 (verse 9 was referenced in this interview around 52:39). Other scriptures related to the heart: Deuteronomy 15:7; 1 Samuel 6:6; 2 Chronicles 36:13; Proverbs 28:14; Isaiah 6:9-12; Ezekiel 3:7; Matthew 13:14-15; Matthew 15:8-9; Mark 3:5; Mark 8:17; Mark 16:14; Acts 28:26-27; Ephesians 4:18; Hebrews 4:7. I caution that those who believe/understand that God’s Holy Spirit communicates primarily or exclusively via emotions will one day find that this simple understanding does not hold true against the complexities of this fallen world. When that day comes, we can decide to study why our simple (perhaps imperfect) working definition does not hold true, or we can decide to abandon the simple working definition and apparently relieve our souls of the turmoil it caused. I know that if we choose to study why our simple definition does not hold up to the complexities of life, we can arrive at a more complete and simple understanding on the other side of complexity. “For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn’t give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” -Oliver W. Holmes I now know God will tell me in my mind and in my heart and pure truth eventually makes sense spiritually and intellectually. I know that God is the source of all truth and will reach our reaching. As we nearer ourselves to God we will understand more than if we nearer ourselves to any other source. Thanks be to God that Jeremy found the Catholic Church and has not abandoned God.

You are miss, because you are loved. Our Savior will always, welcome us and precious family with open arms.

I've been of the opinion for a while that if I ever left the latter day saint movement, I would become Catholic. I've even been to a few Latin celebrations of the Mass with a Catholic friend of mine recently! I found myself very much enjoying the liturgy, the reverence, the beauty of the church, and the use of Latin. The theology of the true presence of Christ in the eucharist does make a certain sense to me as well. That being said, I'm not planning on changing religions anytime soon, and if I do, I'm most likely to join a different restoration denomination (probably the Church of Jesus Christ (bickertonite)). I love the book of mormon too much

Thank you for this !

Amazing vid!

♥♥♥

Great interview... Thanks for sharing... But I can't be the first to think it's Tiber and not Tibor

When I was in high school, I had a friend who was Catholic. To my shame, when I found this out I began to bully him. For a couple of years I had been castigated by evangelicals for being Mormon and I guess I took my frustration with them out on him and on catholicism. One day while reading the book of Mormon I realized that my attitude and behavior toward this person and his religion was contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Though I stopped attacking my friend's faith and tried to make ammends, I regret my past actions to this day. There is a ton of stuff this guy said that I strongly disagree with and feel that I can demonstrate to be in error or at least logically inconsistent. However, I never want to take even a single step towards doing what I repented of doing years ago. The only thing I want to say is that I hope he can one day come to appreciate the book of mormon again, and that it will help to make him a better Catholic.

Im Sorry I'm commenting as I'm watching this train wreck. I'll stop. This dude right here is truly a marvelous work and a wonder. I'll give u props for sticking with Jesus bro thats more then most ex Mormons do.

I was raised catholic, left and came back. In high school they made us read anti-catholic stuff (luther, Henry VIII etc) so we knew why we knew they were wrong, with references. Mormonism blows my brain apart - I know the church is true - How exactly do you know that? No real apologetics whatsoever, its a joke. The fact that the LDS church doesn't want the members to read 'unapproved literature' is a massive red flag that it must be BS. If something is true and historical you can prove it, if its not then you have to brainwash people.

Who wrote the Book of Mormon.

Great discussion. Jeremy is very articulate and well read. Important to note that Jeremy never claimed he read essential Catholic dogmas in the church Fathers such as universal jurisdiction and infallibility of the pope. In fact Catholic Church teaches such things are doctrinal developments. This historical discontinuity, the modernist slippery slope the Catholic Church is currently on, especially with frank in charge is why all Mormons seeking after the Ancient Faith should become Orthodox not Roman Catholic.

I see no beauty in this story. Mormonism is works based as is Catholicism. But at least the Catholics have the correct Jesus though…..Anyways, only true Christianity offers true GRACE.