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.

@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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

@@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.

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.

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.

"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.

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

@@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.

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

Did you ever ask your friend if they were Christian?

@@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.

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

Now that is a great story! 👍

@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.

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."

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.

@@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."

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

@@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...

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.

@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.

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

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

@@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)

Same words different dictionary.

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.

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

@@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.

@@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. :)

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.

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.

@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.

@@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!

@@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!!

@@le7262 MIP?

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.

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 KZfaq 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.

@@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 :)

Beautiful :)

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

@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?

@@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.

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

Love this!! This is how it should be!

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.

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.

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

@@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! ✌️❤️

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

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

@@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.

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

@@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.

I really miss President Monson.

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

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

@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).

@@jessekoeven3757 it is amazing. I hope growth continues

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

@@jessekoeven3757 Sounds good to me

@@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.

@@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.

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.

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

Well stated!

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.

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

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

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

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.

@@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.

@@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.

Agree

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 :)

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🙏

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?

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.

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.)

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

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.

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

​@@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.

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.

@@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.

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

@@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?

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

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.

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

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

@@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.

Wow, that sounds like a wonderful community!

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

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.

@@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.

@@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.

@@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 KZfaq 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.”

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.

By their fruits, you will know them.

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

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