Saints Unscripted

Kempton talks about his formative years being distant from the LDS Church, despite much of his extended family having deep roots in the Church. While he was drawn to spiritual things, he wasn't consistently taught about gospel principles. It wasn't until recently that Kempton witnessed a miracle. After praying for a miracle, missionaries stopped by his house and left a note. Kempton knew he couldn't pass up the opportuntiy to learn more about the gospel. He has been on the route to fully integrating himself in the church including receiving his patriarchal blessing.

We are so grateful to hear Jett's story on Saints Unscripted today! Jett was raised in Utah but didn't join the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) until 2014. He had an interesting upbringing and had many difficulties that contributed to his general disinterest in the Church. One day, he went to his friend's sealing in a LDS temple but was unable to enter the temple with his expired temple recommend. This experience prompted him to question his decisions and why he had chosen to distance himself from the Church. Jett then talks about his navigation back to the Church.

We say this often but this conversion story TRULY is one of our favorite conversion stories! Shane grew up being taught very little about God, though he knew some basics from school. He eventually found a path in life that wasn't leading him to much happiness. He felt lost and confused when one day, he met some LDS missionaries at a bus stop. The missionaries began cracking jokes and casually talking to Shane. They got his phone number, address, and set up an appointment to meet with him. Shane immediately went home and told his roommates about his goals to string the Mormon missionaries along. But after joking with his roommates, he had a very strong feeling that he needed to take these missionaries seriously. Shane shared his story about how he was eventually baptized and how he met his wife. In just 7 years, he had completely changed his life around and was recently called as the bishop of his ward.

Our faith is often attacked by those outside of our faith. Members of other religions often have no issue calling "the Mormon Church" a cult. BUT Steve is not one of those people. While he isn't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and has no interest in joining the church, his respect for our beliefs is incredible. He is well-studied and has read the Book of Mormon with an open heart. He gives Latter-day Saints the opportunity to defend their beliefs and to share, without criticism, their devotion to the Church. We LOVE Steve!! In this episode, we talk about Steve's YouTube channel 'Mormon Book Reviews,' how Steve conducts his interviews, and how Steve decided to start his exploration of the LDS Church.

Today we are elated to hear Alayna's mission story! And no, this isn't just another LDS missionary story... this story is unlike any mission story you've heard. Alayna always knew she would serve a mission AND she always knew she would be called to Spain. When she received her call, that is exactly where she was assigned! She was ready to embark on her new journey but, like many of us, didn't expect the world to be turned upside down when COVID-19 hit. She shares the big changes in mission life and how she finally went home after lots of tears and prayers. She felt like she had failed. She felt like the people in Spain would not forgive her for leaving early. But then a miraculous opportunity came her way...

Stephen, host of Mormonism with the Murph, joins us today to share his conversion story as someone who was raised in the Church. He lived a very normal "Mormon" life growing up but when he was 14 years old, he was going through some challenges. The missionaries prompted him to look more closely at his spiritual life, after which he truly began to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ. He served a mission in Canada and thrived as a missionary. When he returned home, he was still converted but began hearing things about the church that he hadn't heard before. He was eager to prove the critics wrong but slowly began to lose his testimony. He held to his belief in God but rejected Mormon beliefs in December 2018.

Our new friend, Jon Trout, shares his powerful story of going from being non-religious to joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He shares some profound memories of learning about the LDS Church through a friend and curious about the teachings and beliefs. Jon was only 15 years old when he felt a yearning for God and truth. He attended church with his friend and knew that the feeling he felt was something he'd been craving. His new thoughts and decisions were taking him on an incredible journey. Watch the video to find out the rest of Jon's story!!

We are so inspired by the words and example of Jensen, our new friend and inspiration! Jensen had been a member of the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the LDS Church) but slowly found herself distancing from the Church. She came to a point of feeling the necessity to remove her name from the church, meaning that she would no longer be a member of the Church and would need to be re-baptized if she decided to rejoin. After a series of difficult experiences, Jensen felt a pull back to church and decided to go one Sunday. Her experience was equal parts scary and spiritual! 

Martha Hughes Cannon was an ICON in her day and should be celebrated today! Sabrina shares some highlights from the life of female LDS leader Martha Cannon. Martha was a successful doctor, mother, politician, writer, and leader. She dedicated her life to learning and to faith. She was a powerhouse in LDS leadership.

Zach Black, a new friend of Saints Unscripted, shares his story of discovering the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) and what it’s like to be in the midst of learning LDS teachings. Zach had many questions about theology after going through a very dark period of his life. He was hesitant about the LDS Church but began reading the Book of Mormon and found answers to his questions. He shares much about his spiritual journey and his hope to becoming a Chaplain to help other people. While Zach isn’t a member of the Church, he has a great respect for the teachings of the Church. We’re so grateful for Zach for sharing his story and for his kindness and openness to new ideas!!

Sequoia knew very little about the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) in her growing up years. She had seen the Book of Mormon but never thought too deeply about it, though she always had a belief in God. Later on, Sequoia was browsing YouTube and learned about Saints Unscripted through a critic's channel. She found herself agreeing with the things that Saints Unscripted was sharing and decided she wanted to form her own opinion. Unfortunately, her curiosity spiked during the pandemic so there weren't many missionaries or church meetings available. But the missionaries finally stopped by her house and she was stoked!!

In the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church or Church of Jesus Christ), there are some interesting culture things that we have adopted over the years. Many of the LDS cultural things are just plain funny and today, we talk about those funny cultural things.   Members of the Church of Jesus Christ are very close-knit and often adopt the different characteristics of one another, which provides lots of things for us to laugh about, even as faithful members of the Church.

We’ve been in communication with Ida for years and have been desperate to meet her in person. When she said she’d be in Utah for the holidays, we were elated!! Ida joined the church a few years ago, despite having many reasons to go on different paths. While looking into religion, she decided to give the Book of Mormon a chance after being cast in the Book of Mormon Musical. She read the Book of Mormon quickly and knew it was true but was unsure about baptism. We don’t want to spoil the ending but this story is absolutely incredible, full of skepticism, peace, difficulty, and hope. You don’t want to miss this!! Ida is as charismatic and charming as they come. You will love her story!

There are some veryyyyy hilarious things about LDS culture (otherwise known as Mormon culture) that we just can't help but laugh about :) On today's episode, we talk about some of our favorite things to laugh at when it comes to LDS culture. We talk about stake dances, volunteering to pray in hopes of an attractive spouse, and missionary rules that might be a little awkward.

This topic is heartbreaking. Hearing Ethan's story was absolutely devastating but hearing his conclusions from his experiences was inspiring and hopeful.  Ethan recently returned home from his mission. In this episode, he shares his story about being bullied by his fellow mission companions. He talks about the insensitivities of the missionaries, the communication with his mission president, and his experience coming home early from his mission.   We share Ethan's story with you to illustrate some of the realities for some people who choose to come home early from their missions. If you know someone who has come home early, choose to love them.   If you have ever been a victim of bullying, our hearts go out to you. Bullying should never be normal. CHOOSE KINDNESS.

We are honored to hear Orpha's conversion story on our channel today. Orpha grew up Amish and has many fond memories of her time in the Amish community. However, when she was young, her parents secretly joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church), which is heavily frowned upon by the Amish community. Her parents wanted to ease in to the process of becoming LDS and introducing their family to the Church. Orpha learned of her parents' conversion and was shocked. She didn't want to believe their story and didn't want her parents to be destined to Hell, which is what was assumed of those who left her faith. 

For almost 200 years, modern-day prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have led the church under the direction of Jesus Christ. Over the years, many notable revelations and changes have been ongoing. In this episode, we talk about the accomplishments of the prophets of the LDS Church. 

Christopher is a long-time friend of Saints Unscripted and has been on the show many times. In this episode, Christopher talks about the intersection of repentance and therapy — how therapy can sometime negatively impact a person’s need to change, if not used correctly. Christopher talks about how therapy has changed from the idea of going to the doctor to get fixed and instead, going to the gym to get stronger. This is a good change! Therapy is a good thing. But sometimes we can rely on therapy to validate some things about our character that should be changed. This discussion is fascinating and definitely worth pondering. 

As you know, we LOVE conversion stories and this one is no exception! Tatiana shares her story of beginning to study about different religions, having a conviction that there was something more after this life. She started learning from the Islam religion and found hope. She still felt like there could be more but knew the 'more' she was seeking could not be from the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). Mormons were crazy!! She even read parts of the Book of Mormon and just knew it couldn't be true. It took lots of attending church services, seeking information online, and studying it out in her heart to find answers to some of her deepest questions.

Matthew was raised as a fundamentalist Baptist. His parents were raised in different religions, though his mom took him to church most Sundays while he was growing up. Matthew knew about the church in his teenage years but it wasn’t until he was 17 that he started to seriously consider the LDS Church.   Matthew was baptized into the Baptist church but he didn’t have a great understanding of Christ — repentance, change, and strength. He found himself in a state of depression. He felt lonely and miserable. He had a spiritual experience that led him to research more into his faith journey. He started learning more and more about the church and felt a connection with them