Joseph Smith’s Water-Walking Fail: Legit, or Just Another Legend?
In the Spring of 1820, the Latter-day Saint prophet Joseph Smith had his first miraculous vision. His brother, William, later said, “We never knew we were bad folks until Joseph told his vision. We were considered respectable till then,...
The Truth about Joseph Smith, Treasure Digging, Witchcraft, and the Occult
Hey guys, so before the Church was organized and before the Book of Mormon was translated, a young Joseph Smith engaged in a folk practice known as treasure-digging. Now, as the saying goes, “The past is a foreign country. They do...
Are Latter-day Saints Saved by Grace “After All They Can Do?
Hey guys, so we’ve talked in the past about the Latter-day Saint perspective on grace and works, and I’m sure we’ll talk more about it in the future. But today, I just wanted to hone in on the single-most popular scripture from the Book of...
Why Don’t Latter-day Saints Believe in Creation out of Nothing (creatio ex nihilo)?
Alright, so most traditional Christians believe that God created the universe out of nothing, or, in Latin, creatio ex nihilo. Latter-day Saints, on the other hand, believe that chaotic matter already existed, and God brought order to the...
Feeling the Holy Ghost vs. the Gift of the Holy Ghost
Hey guys, so, quick rundown on the Holy Ghost: Latter-day Saints believe that the Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. He does not have a physical body of flesh and bone but is rather a personage of Spirit (hence, ghost). The Holy Ghost...
Latter-day Saints at War: The Church During WWII
Hey guys! So in the last episode, we covered a little bit of what was happening with the Church and its members during World War I. Of course, you can’t just cover one of the World Wars, so today, we’re going to be talking about the Church...
Latter-day Saints at War: The Church During WWI
Hey guys! So World War I began in July of 1914 and ended in November of 1918. On one side of the conflict, you had the Central Powers — mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey — fighting against the Allied Powers — mainly France, Great...
The Church During the Civil War
Alright, so, the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the Civil War is … unique. In the 1840s, the Latter-day Saints had had enough of the United States. They’d been heavily persecuted for years, and the...
Did Joseph Smith Predict the Civil War?
Hey guys, so in the last episode, we talked about the Utah War. In the next episode, we’re going to talk about the Church during the Civil War, but before we do that, I think it’s important to lay some groundwork and talk about Joseph...
The Utah War: “Buchanan’s Blunder”
On July 24th, 1857, a handful of riders, including Abraham Smoot and Porter Rockwell, rode into Big Cottonwood Canyon, where Brigham Young and the Latter-day Saints were celebrating Pioneer Day. The riders brought with them...
Sacred Temple Clothing of Latter-day Saint Temples
Alright, as you already know, temples like these are very sacred places for Latter-day Saints. As we’ve explored in other videos, we go to temples to participate in ordinances and to make covenants (or promises) with God. Some ordinances require the wearing of sacred...
Why Did Joseph Smith Make Changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?
Hey guys, so, Latter-day Saints believe that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are inspired scripture largely written by ancient prophets. But we also believe that prophets today receive revelations from God as well. Some of the prophet...