I joined the church in the UK when I was 23. Went on a mission to the Detroit mission, then the Deerborn mission. My wife is a RM (returned missionary). Three of my 4 daughters are RM's. So we were quite active in the church. I did not even want to entertain any thought that the church was not true. It meant everything to me. It made sense of the world to me and why we were here on this earth. Any negative thing against the church, I just shoved it on my shelf . We'll the layers slowly peeled apart, and I delved into the church history, this plus loads of other issues I realised I could no longer believe in what I was taught and also what I taught. The more I look into issues, be it church history, dishonesty of finances, racism, Joseph Smith being a sex preditator, the list just goes on and on. I was lucky enough that my wife was also going through the same, so that helped us both. One of my RM daughters no longer believes. My younger daughter never has. My two other RM daughters are still active, and we want to support them while they still believe. It was forty-two years ago I joined the church, and I stopped going about a year ago. Certainly be a roller coaster ride. There were a lot of good things, but a lie is a lie, and I no longer want to live a lie being deceived by leaders who either are decieved themselves or are decievers.
@@smaug3045 man that’s tough. Realizing that so much of what you spent your time and life decisions on is not something you believe has got to be earth shaking. And complicated when you have kids still in it. What would you describe yourself as now, if anything?
@ShiftStormPodcast Not interested in religion, still believe life has a purpose, and there is a higher being, whatever we call him/her. I keep my mind open, but I will not join any organised religion.
@lloyddouglas3650 I was Catholic before I became a Mormon, just another man made religion, and going by its history probably even worse than Mormonism.
@@lloyddouglas3650 no, actually, Jesus was the founder of his own church, then the Catholic Church came along about 300 years after his death. Catholicism is nothing more than a man-made religion.
I'm freaking out because I couldn't have said it any better than you did! I just left the church April 2024! Family doesn't know yet but my husband was right there with me🙂 after 64 years of being a SOLID member, I too could not lie anymore after what I had learned. I went into the Bishop and was asked to be released and a week later had both of our names removed, as to stick it to the church LIARS!! No more of my time and talents and$$$$. Thank you for sharing your story and like you, the internet hadwoken up a lot of mbers' eyes! Most members won't see or even listen to RFM because it is NOT CHUR H APPROVED😤🤮 Screams CULT to me! Again, THANK YOU!
Stop it. You were never "solid" in any aspect of the Mormon faith. You were just a poser without a real testimony and amazingly lasted a ridiculous amount of time posing and trying to impress others. You then took the first convenient off-ramp and now come here to try and salve your own unmasking. Stop the "solid" crap. Pathetic.
Hi, I'm a exmo of 2 years and was a lifelong generational member for 34 years. I have to say when Josh said "complete sadness" when he found out it wasn't true I can resonate with that completely. I was a TBM and I get told all the time that I didn't understand the doctrine that's why I left. Keep your head up Josh and God bless you for speaking out 🙏
That hits hard! I think there's a lot of victim-blaming that occurs when someone leaves any group. Those still in that group want an easy way to write off their reasons so that they don't have to actually confront their own doubts. Doubts are uncomfortable; groupthink is comfortable because it allows us to outsource our thinking.
@@ShiftStormPodcast that's true, I just had that conversation with my aunt who is now exmo after 60 years! In the end I love the Mormon family that I have and take the hits because I understand it's the power of group think. I don't resent my upbringing because in the end it brought me to being saved as a born again Christian ✝️❤️ I have been saved for over a year now. Praise God! I actually do a Tiktok on the differences on Mormonism and Christianity it's called Thrice_Ministry I'm working through the articles of faith right now. Thank you for giving Josh a platform to tell his story. I like to say it's the best polished cultish religion out there so it flys under the radar.
What an excellent interviewer; so often an interviewer interrupts and/or talks over the person being interviewed and in addition, doesn’t listen carefully to the person’s responses, which results in them asking questions that have already been answered.
I’m with you, guy. I was born and raised in the Church, devout like you, served a mission, and it was after that that I started challenging what I chose to accept as doctrinally true. The Church to me now is an experience in my life, probably the biggest influence to my psyche, sense of goodness of character, etc., but I reject the truth claims completely. I am happy and very open-minded and I hope you are too. Celebrate life and love the people in your life.
Stop it. You were never devout...just a poser who could up and walk away. Celebrate what you will but it won't be for loyalty and integrity. Your family weeps for you.
Thanks Josh for being brave and speaking out. I live outside D.C. Born and raised in the church. Served mission, married in the temple, and at 49 dove into church history and the church today. Said out loud by myself exactly what you said. It’s been hard. My husband is a strong believer. I did ask him to choose our marriage over the church and so far he said he chooses me. It’s had its ups and downs. We have 4 older sons. I just want us all out. We’re getting there, but when you are born and raised in this religion it’s hard to learn the truth and walk away. I think of it like the matrix and choosing to take the red pill over the blue. I’m so glad I’m out now looking in. I see it all so differently now. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. And instead of living for the next life, I’m choosing to live for this one. I love myself, my husband and my children more than ever. It’s hard to explain unless you are or have been Mormon. All the best Josh.
It seems really tough because mormonism is sooo often directly tied to the family structure. Leaving mormonism seems to be like leaving your family. What would you call yourself now?
The fact that people live for an afterlife that is unproven was one of the reasons why I was never an active member after I left my parent's home. It's just one more thing about Mormonism that doesn't ad up. In my opinion, it is the height of immorality to prey upon people's fear of death for monetary gain. It makes me want to vomit when I hear those corporate piece of shit "general authorities" and other muckity mucks talking about morality. They know nothing about true morality.
@@ShiftStormPodcast it make no sense to abandon the race before even crossing over the finish line when you see the finish line is in sight. That is why the lamps of all the foolish went out one by one and left them in to walk in darkness. The Savior said this was going to happen to the foolish that the light of their lamps will go out and it will be one by one that they will go out if they fail to fill their lamps to keep them burning.
I'm not sure if telling a spouse to choose marriage or religion is exactly the route to go. My husband and I were both raised LDS. He never returned to church after we were married. Our children were raised LDS, married in the temple and are active. Their children are baptized. I spent 40 years begging God to give my husband that "miraculous change of heart" so he would return to church and we could be that Celestial couple. He respected my decision to associate with the Church. It took 40 years for my shelf to fall and it's still falling. My advice is please be patient with your husband. It takes a lifetime to release yourself of all this heavy heavy indoctrination. Love him for who he is when you fell in love. Love him for how he honors you as his wife and the mother of your children.
@@pattyotterstrom3179 The Church is teaching the truth. See Eccl 3:6. Everything God does is forever. That's why the Church has an eternal perspective.
As a fellow exmo, this resonated with me. Not knowing, or more importantly, needing to know if some form of creator exists, and what he/she/it/alien wants of me is so peaceful. If some creator exists and is aware of me and what I am doing, then I hope they would be proud of me for using my brain for critical thought and genuinely trying to be a good kind human to my fellow humans. Why would a creator give me a talent for critical thought and seeing through lies only to punish me for using what the creator gave me?
Ostracism is the price for personal integrity. It's not easy to go through. Like Josh, I had been very strong in my commitment to mormon doctrine, culture and it's ideals. I held many of the callings over many years including: stake high council, bishopric (1st counselor), gospel doctrine teacher, high priest group leadership (1st counselor), elder's quorum presidency (1st counselor), elder's quorum instructor, sunday school presidency, sunday school teacher (various ages), ward mission leader, of course, home teacher (back in the day), early morning seminary teacher, and other callings... different callings while on the mission, etc., etc. I spent 2 years studying and praying once I began to realize that the church MIGHT not be true. Eventually, I realized that there was no possible way that GOD, the creator of the universe, could be so inept that his selected prophets on earth could be the lying hypocrites who have led mormonism throughout it's existence. I didn't have any choice but to leave the church. How could I live the lie? It resulted in divorce and ostracism by my "good christian" extended family. Hang in there, Josh.
You can personally attest to the fact that for its members, the CULT COMES FIRST. The Mormon ("Church") cult very effectively/heavily indoctrinates in members to shun/vilify any member (who comes to her/his senses, and pulls the plug on the cult).
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
Choices have consequences...stop whining and go with the flow...Did you think your good christian family would just lovingly embrace your rejection of their dearly held faith? How could they live that lie? Didn't you take any of that into consideration before you put a finger in their eye and cut and run from all they hold sacred? Your recitation of past church callings only outlines your position as a rank poser in the church. That's the reason you left...no loyalty, no integrity. Your family weeps for you but what are your family's tears compared to your "integrity"? Stop crying and accept your fate.
We were Born & raised in $1TRILLION Mormon cult led by Q15 UT CON MEN for over 50+ yrs seeking $200k tithing refund, as our money was hoarded in $180 Billion stock market Ensign Peaks accts & used to buy real property, making it 2nd largest landowner in the nation!! Instead of giving it charitably, as we gave it. Mormon tithing money should have been used to bless the hungry homeless diseased & dying. So much Blood on the hands of UT Mormon Q15 leadership! Jesus weeps at Mormon lack of generosity & charity!!
I’m sorry that you see it that way. I always thought it was pretty clear that fast offerings were what was used to help the poor and needy. Tithing is for “building the kingdom”…whatever that looks like.
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
I admire this man's courage to be true to himself rather than pretending to believe the lie just to keep the peace with his family. One should always be true to their own self above following the delusional beliefs of other people.
Hey, cousin! I liked watching your interview and it was nice seeing you again, if only digitally. At the same time, this interview pains me because I've been there. We've both experienced leaving the church and we both dove head first into similar activities that have or will prove destructive, not only to ourselves but to those around us, including those we love most. After years of traveling down that road, I discovered for myself that it is one riddled with deceit, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness. Oh, believe me, there are some great sins out there that I found quite enjoyable in the moment, but the long term effects were dark and empty. I love you, Josh, and am sorry for what you're going through. I know it seems so right at the time, but it isn't. It ultimately sucks. Fortunately, after many years out, I came to know that Jesus Christ truly lives and he will lift you the second you turn to him and ask with sincerity and real intent. I wish the best for you, cousin, and I'm always happy to talk and share my experiences with you, if you're interested. P.S. I do think your mom was wrong about one thing. Rock is the ultimate form of musical expression and I'm planning on playing bass and keyboards for eternity. We should form a geezer band.😁
Thank you for sharing this @Writing.Addict. It saddens me to see so many people who believe they’ve found a higher path. I understand that some will view this comment as condescending, but please know that isn’t my intention. Speaking from personal experience, as someone who once started down a similar line of thinking, I realized it didn’t bring true fulfillment or lasting happiness. What I’ve come to seek above all else is happiness that endures and is eternal. I firmly believe that this kind of happiness can only come from Jesus Christ and is fully accessible through His church. As your cousin mentioned, I truly wish you the best, Josh, on this journey and hope you find what you’re searching for.
I was raised mormon, left the church when I was around 19-20 years old. I still have mormon sequel... but I live to be a good person. Have a wife, 3 children At that time.. I just left without knowing everything. I just learned that stuff.. 2 years ago... I'm glad I left early in my life. I don't have much of TBM post traumatic who are leaving the church. Leaving the church made me more open to the world, more open minded to anything.
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
I am a member and disciple of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I feel fulfilled, happy, because here we are called to follow the Lord Jesus. Lehi saw the iron bar, like many children of the Heavenly Father, or removed for various reasons, but not because the Heavenly Father no longer loves him, or because the doctrine is wrong. For a drug like coffee, or other things forbidden in the Church, amazing how some feel indignant and leave the Church, it is the devil's work of rebellion. I can live without coffee, without sleeveless dresses,....because I love Jesus, He sacrificed himself for me, why can't I?
The reason Mormans put so much emphasis on member testimony because it’s a tactic all cults use to convince the members their doctrines are true using repetition. In real Christianity, the testimony of the revealed truth is primarily the Gospels. In Mormonism it’s a constant repetitive parade of members getting up in front of each other every Sunday and saying “I know the church of Mormonism founded by Joseph Smith is True after they give a some sort of an emotional presentation about some aspect of their lives. Again all cults use this tactic when their church is built on questionable doctrine
@@ShiftStormPodcastI think they are some similarities among non denominational Protestants a lot less in the major denominations. But remember you are comparing two different books. Mormans are trying to convince themselves on the revelations of Joseph Smith (his three books) and their subsequent prophets. Christians are attesting to the truth of 2000 year old gospels without any revealator that came after the death of the last apostle to Christ. So all the revelations that formed Christian doctrine two thousand years ago ended with the death of the last apostle. That is referred to as public Revelation. Christians and their leaders can have private revelations but they cannot be codified into Christian doctrine. In Mormonism it’s the inverse. It’s central to their beliefs that the living Mormon apostles private revelations can amend or completely change doctrine
48:27 I can't speak for what people say, but the church teaches that there may very well be more people in celestial glory that were not members of the church in this life. Think of all the people who have passed away as non-members, who were taught the gospel in the spirit world (see 1 Peter 3:19 and 1 Peter 4:6) and received ordinances by proxy (see 1 Corinthians 15). I would say the majority of those who will be in celestial glory will be people who were not members of the church in this life.
I didn't want to look at the relatively few wounds from Mormonism I received compared to others either, yet when you're a queer woman, it stays with you no matter how quietly or how loudly you leave it behind.
Never been Mormon, but have lived, currently living in predominantly Mormon towns for the last twenty years or so. During most of that time I didn't know it is probably the largest, (most highly polished) "religious" cult in existence. After noticing a very definitive, consistent, predictable pattern of repetitive, unusual behavior, I began to research Former Mormon UA-cam videos to learn more about the cult. It has been very enlightening. Curious how Josh avoided describing Mormonism as being a sophisticated cult (which it passes the cult definition, 'sniff test" with flying colors). At 47:15 curious how he hasn't made the association, (that for its members, the CULT always, always, ALWAYS comes first). By now, Josh should know/understand this as well established fact.
28:40 And this is exactly why you need to dig deeper when you hear anti-LDS propaganda. 9 times out of 10 when I have done this I have found an explanation for what these anti-LDS people claim. It takes faith to keep digging and looking for answers, but please don't give up.
I wouldn’t think the Word of God would be a 90/10 operation. But it seems to work for tithing. One falsehood should be enough for a logical examination to make a conclusion.
Everything this guy has said about realizing that the church was bull$hit is exactly on how I felt. You do feel alone in a new battle. It's extremely hard
After my mission, I worked as a lifeguard. I actually talked with my bishop before I took the job about not wearing my garments (magic underwear) and he said that as long as I wore them every other chance I had that it wasn't something to be worried about... I wasn't the only person in the ward at the time with a job where wearing garments wouldn't work with job required attire. Certainly there's the "Bishop roulette" we speak of where orher Bishop's have been caustic and blunt with people- don't take a job that prevents garment wearing unless you seek damnation...
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
For those who don't know, "magic underwear" is simply a symbol of taking upon yourself the name of Christ. It is just a symbol of faith and dedication, similar to the Catholics' alb (which symbolizes purity and innocence), stole (which symbolizes sacramental authority), and chasuble (which represents Christ's charity covering for our sins). It would be cool if you could use them to disappear, though. I'm not going to lie.
@@JohnDLee-im4lo I left the church for many years and ultimately found my way back. May I suggest extending a little grace to people? You never know what people are going through and we all struggle through this life in different ways. There's a reason Christ talked about lost sheep and encouraged us to go after rather than abandoning them.
56:57 Ok finally get back into the rest of this video. This is interesting because the gospel (more specifically the restored gospel) teaches that after repentance you should not be weighed down by sins of the past, otherwise you haven't truly repented. Living with the eternities in mind doesn't just guide our choices, but also our hope in the bigger perspective when things are difficult and uncertain (which life will certainly bring in this life). Coming at this as a convert who didn't used to have this perspective, I can imagine how limiting and confusing it must be to not have that perspective anymore. My heart goes out to Josh on this one.
@@ShiftStormPodcast I did, I was 26 years old in my last years in university. I was one of those folks who had the missionaries knock on their door. I was Catholic and I thought I was very knowledgeable in the gospel, so I thought I would teach the missionaries a thing or two. Boy was I wrong. haha one of the first questions I remember them asking me was, "have you ever thought about where you come from, where you're going and why we are here"? I loved conversations about philosophy and religion, so I was hooked. I started reading the Book of Mormon and continued these discussions. When I finally was willing to truly let God lead me through the power of the Holy Ghost, I received an answer to whether what I was learning was true. It was the first time I truly felt the power of the Holy Ghost in my life as a response to a prayer. I've grown in my testimony since then. I love studying the Bible and seeing how the restored gospel truly addresses everything therein. It truly is the most biblically sound faith that I have ever learned of.
13:29 "The Temple is a place where very few Mormons go". This is not true at all. All members are encouraged to prepare to enter into the Temple to make covenants with God, and to make those ordinances available to those who have been prepared to receive them in the spirit world.
It totally is true. If you are outside of Utah it isn’t nearly as common. Of course, every single member is strongly encouraged to go but a small % of the membership actually have temple recommends.
Thanks for sharing. I think questioning your beliefs is so hard but so important. My own experience has been that it only leads to good things; either releasing myself from beliefs that were not serving the truth, or by strengthening my convictions. What are some of the things you're questioning?
The vast majority of those I see "leaving the church" were actually never in it to begin with. They could have been 'active' and very much a part of things, but the lack of applying the doctrine of Christ means they built their house upon the sand. They didn't make Christ the center of their lives and exhibit faith, repentance, and commitment all the days of their lives. Sad but true.
@@ShiftStormPodcast Yes, I’m aware of the term “no true Scotsman” - which is a logical fallacy for this discussion. My point is about emphasizing genuine, continuous discipleship that goes beyond just attending church meetings-it requires consistently putting Christ at the center of one’s life, exercising faith, repenting, and striving each day to live the teachings. The gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to change the person who follows Christ. It isn't about sitting in a pew for an hour each week to check a box. Being a member of a gym doesn't make you fit or healthy. That requires following practices and principles. The same holds true in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ... membership does not equal discipleship.
It takes great humility to separate God from religion. It is such a relief to know that Mormon heaven is not real. It took my wife and I 55 years of absolute devotion to the organization to come to this realization. Now we are devoted to God only and are open to learning as much truth as we can find. Thanks to both of you for sharing your journeys with us. Keep up the good work! I hope to hear more of your great interviews.
@@ShiftStormPodcast It is a great challenge to trust another church or organization after being so deceived for so many years. Studying chaotic early Christianity and dubious origins of the Biblical text also make it very difficult to trust anything that is out there. Even the name Jesus Christ is not the correct name (maybe it doesn’t matter), but I now pray to “God” and I believe in the teachings of Yeshua which I believe do bear good fruit. I do believe that there is a designer and am still seeking to know Him or Her or It. 🙂 I believe this life is an experience and no longer believe it is a test. I do feel that sending out love and positive energy does tend to return. I’m reserving judgment on the hereafter until it happens. I guess I am still undecided as to whether I am a Deist or a Theist. Thanks again for the enlightening podcast.
@@ShiftStormPodcast or you can download the video and upload it to your channel free no copyright no license no fee just add a link to my channel I'm not here trying to make money I'm here trying to make heaven 🤗
39:02 the answer is that the spirit attracts people to the church. This includes artists, scientists, engineers (like me), doctors, scholars, maids, housewives, theologians, and anyone else who is willing to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost who is the testifier of truth. It makes sense that someone who has left the church wouldn't talk about this because if they still believed it was the spirit, they wouldn't have left.
The way the mormon holy spirit works is if you believe in the bible your a fool dishonest and insincere and if you believe in the book of mormon your a sincere honest person. No manipulation thier
@@mae-qt8hw not sure where you heard this from, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (mormons) study the Old Testament each week for an entire year, then the following year we study the New Testament each week for an entire year. So I don't think anyone can honestly say what you just said being properly informed.
I am an ex Mormon. What got me was realizing that there really was a Hell. I never heard anything about a Hell until I went to a Baptist church. My testimony is such a magnificent journey that would take an hour to tell. I'm just so thankful that I found the true God. Mormonism is a complete different culture that is not easy to leave.
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
@Writing.Addict , in 1976 Spencer Kimball denounced the theory of Adam God theory. Your so called prophet Brigham young came up with that. Your so called prophet s come and go and so do their theories. They are not from God. God is spirit. Follow Jesus not Joseph. Compare the 2 below: Isaiah 8:20 and D and C 132:13-14 Joseph Smith Testimony 1:45 ( This generation will be destroyed 1830) Jeremiah 27:12-15 Comprehensive History of the church 1:165 and Proverbs 22:3 D and C 1:37 and Deuteronomy 13: 1-3
45:03 Something important that I've noticed with people who have left or are in the process of leaving the church is that they stop praying. I would imagine that if I was having a faith crisis, that it would be the time when I would pray most ardently and become as humble and patient in listening to the spirit. But interestingly, at least with the cases that I have seen on youtube or in friends of mine, is the opposite. They intentionally sever their connection with God. I also find it interesting that the interviewer doesn't even probe more into his stopping to pray and how that may have impacted his experience.
@@jonathanduran8669 to be fair, he stopped praying AFTER his crisis of faith, not during. He was no longer a believer, so he could no longer pray in sincerity. He was praying consistently prior to that.
@@ShiftStormPodcast I guess what I meant was that he gave up seeking truth of those things he heard on those anti-LDS sites. That's something I would strongly recommend against. We are blessed with so many resources and answers to questions. I can confidently say that there is an explanation or answer to the questions that led Josh away. I do wonder if he was presented with those, if he still would have walked away. As a note, Radio Free Mormon and Mormon Stories are full of easily debunkable claims. Feel free to ask me about any of them.
When I was 21 I read the Book of Mormon and was filled with the spirit of the Lord. Knowing Joseph Smith was a prophet I researched which church to join. My research led me to join with the RLDS, not the LDS. The LDS departed from the teachings of the church when Joseph Smith was alive. Joseph Smith chose his son Joseph the 3rd to be his successor, not Brigham Young. Joseph Smith III took his father’s place as the prophet/president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1860.
58:16 This is not a church thing. In fact, in my experience you're more likely to be musically involved in some way if you're a member of the church than not. With all volunteer clergy and leaders, we always have someone to play the piano/organ/musical numbers in sacrament meeting and at the various other events/meetings. Regarding the sex, drugs, I don't think you have to be a member of the LDS church to know those things will lead to bad outcomes.
I'm Josh's cousin and knowing my aunt, I'm guessing her comment came from liking Neil Diamond more than Rush, rather than any church-based doctrine. Her musical loss. 😁 (My aunt was one of the best women I've ever known, so I mean no disrespect.)
Josh, Jesus did teach that "in the latter days there will be false prophets that deceive many people" Looks like Jesus was right!Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Matthew 24:11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 15:9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
One thing that I find very, very offensive, (as a non-Mormon Christian), is the fact that young people are interviewed about whether or not they masturbate or "touch themselves," and if they DO...they are severely punished and shamed. No wonder there is so much dysfunction in their young people. The other thing is that a woman MUST have a man to "resurrect" her and "pull her through the veil." All of this is FALSE and it is sickening. The suicide and divorce rates are sky high. Very, very sad. Simply stated...Mormons believe in a different God, different Jesus, and different Gospel. The Bible warns us about this.
You've raised four questions for me: 1. What does this severe punishment and shame for masturbation look like (Note: There's no such thing, but I'm curious to know what you've been told)? 2. Do you find a priest performing a baptism "sickening"? Since both are ordinances, why are you OK with baptisms being performed for people but not resurrections? Personally, I find the idea of my dad being commissioned by God to resurrect me quite pleasing. 3. Where did you get the idea that the suicide rates are sky high amongst Latter-day Saints? Statistically speaking, active members of the church are around seven times LESS likely to commit suicide than the general US population and suicidality amongst active LGBT members of the church is 44%, compared to 47% in other religions, and 77% amongst the non-religious. Similarly, the divorce rate amongst active Latter-day Saints is significantly lower than the national average. 4. What do you think is different between the gospel preached in the Bible and what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe (Note: We also believe in the gospel as outlined in the Bible)? Isn't the gospel simply that: • God came to Earth • Lived a perfect life • Suffered and died on the cross so we can receive forgiveness for our sins • Was resurrected after three days so we can overcome physical death • And that we will all be brought before him to be judged If not, what is different about your beliefs and where do you find them in the Bible?
Having lived on three continents; worked as a police officer; estate agent; builder; and now a school teacher, I can say hand on heart, that the happiest, kindest and most pleasant people (on the whole) that I have ever met, were all Latter Day Saints (Mormons) who strived to live their Faith. There is something so profound, joyful and positive that emulates from Mormons who are trying to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe it is a spiritual power which many fail to see, perhaps because of their own lifestyle choices which lead them away from light and truth, and their negativity and fault-finding of others. Mormons are not perfect, they are just trying to live a good life of love and service, but so many people are so quick to jump on the bandwagon when an individual Mormon, or indeed their leaders, say or do something wrong. Such people need to look in the mirror!
Many come to the Church looking for completely different things instead of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are not honest with them either, and after a while they are disappointed and leave and start speaking evil, they rebel! But the doctrine of the Church is correct, some listen the criticisms of others about polygamy, instead of researching what the Church currently teaches. Church members are not perfect, but the teaching is Christ's!
@ShiftStormPodcast I was a convert. My ex husband is Iranian. My son is half . My son was told in seminary class in Utah that he could be white when he gets to heaven. Also 2 girls his age at church told him that he wasn't supposed to be at church. If I had been told the TRUTHabout what mormons believe when I was taking the lessons I NEVER WOULD HAVE JOINED. Also when I went to the bishop for a reasonable answer I was told to "pray about it". I mean wtf does that mean. If I don't get an answer does that mean God doesn't want me or my son? Just saying...
My family were "Jack Mormons" from the Idaho/Wyoming border area, sort of free thinkers as well. We moved to Utah county when I was 11, so I was subjected to an intense Mormon influence. I gave it a good try, but I'm too curious, logical and rational. I can't think of it as true, knowing what I now know.
The truth hurts but it will set u free. Hopefully many more will learn the truth and run to Jesus of the bible. 🙏🙏🙏Mormons will run from the deception of the LDS church and run to Jesus not a religion. The devil is a liar and he loves for people to be deceived. God is great. He loves us so MUCH.
If The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints isn't the only true Church, there isn't one. For it is the only Church that fulfills all the signs Jesus Christ gave for his true followers, no other church comes close. It's okay, about 40% of those who leave come back, because there is nothing better out there. Some may take decades, so they definitely aren't brainwashed, they just take longer to realize the truth. No church is more hated of all men for Jesus Christ's name's sake, and no one loves their enemies more. No church does more to feed the hungry, clothes the naked and visit the sick and afflicted, all without a single penny going to those running the programs, yet they are also the most financially secure. The members live on average ten years longer than any others calling themselves Christians. The are more likely to marry, less likely to divorce, less likely to self terminate and less likely to be forced into intimacy. And while most churches calling themselves Christians are losing members, this Church continues to be among the fastest growing, even with all of the members Satan is tricking away, and again that's with it being hated and attacked and lied about by all men for Jesus Christ's name's sake. And nobody calling themselves Christians knows the Bible better, even when they tried to skew the data by including knowledge of the Creeds with knowledge of the Bible, even though these additions are unbiblical. By their fruits ye shall know them-Jesus Christ.
Citations needed. My understanding…. LDS church lowest per capita humanitarian aid, the highest suicide rate in the world, lowest amount of historical truth told about its origins of virtually any organization on planet earth. GFY about that run on paragraph about why you think the church is ok. 40% come back. Nope. 80% children of LDS families are leaving today. Even if 40% come back (not true) that means half of kids both in the church leave. People who stay in the church are lazy learners. Everybody knows that.
You’re amazing. God knows you. He knows your heart. He’s the only one who matters. I pray that your children will be fine. I hope you hold on to all the good habits that Mormonism once held for you. I am 79 years old. Will never leave the Church. Am grateful for the principles of the Gospel that have guided my children and grandchildren to the mainly happy lives they are living in this sad world that we have. Thanks ShiftStorm for the excellent questions you asked. Best non LDS channel I’ve happened upon. Thank you. Btw, I once used to watch the podcasts Josh referenced. I have stopped watching most of them and now listen more to John Hilton III, the Come Back channel with Ashly, and more pro Mormon discussions. I live in New Zealand, and am a product of a people (Maori) who in the mid 1800s were a very spirits believing people and many joined the church following prophecies made by chiefs who foresaw the coming of missionaries of the “true church”. LDS missionaries arrived sometime later, were recognised immediately by the natives, and the rest is history. The Church flourished.
Love the name of your channel! Josh, congrats on seeing the truth! Better late than never! There is A LOT more corruption out there besides the Mormon Corporation! Stay free! ❤
The strange thing in Christianity is when there were members of particular church who left their church because of some dissatisfaction on several things then they move to another new church and claiming they find true God and start criticizing their former churches. 😂😂😂 So, their perspective are all windy and empty. They don't look for the truth of God. They actually look for the churches whatever they want, run after self satisfaction and forgetting that Godly values are in them already.
@@Lovethisguy-kf1ku only if they’re blindly believing everything that podcast says, rather than being prompted to research and think critically for themselves.
Josh sorry I may have missed this, was your marriage on the rocks before you decided to leave or was the break up directly related to leaving. My wife and I have discussed this and our marriage is our commitment to each other, we are both members and would not leave our marriage if either of us decided to leave.
Chris here. I'm hesitant to speak on Josh's behalf regarding this point. I don't believe he specified that point during the interview. I think it's great that you and your wife have such a strong commitment and have had conversations around that. Do you believe that's a common attitude for LDS couples?
@@ShiftStormPodcast (Ive just subscribed) Thanks for the reply Chris, I'll make the most of you conversing with the little people whilst you grow your Channel 😃 To answer your question I don't think that ours is a typical attitude, ironically it is our union that the Church teaches is most important. I was recently released as an EQP and it is clear as day that I am not flavour of the month because I question. I recognise the need for faith in my life but critical thinking and faith are not always good bed fellows. Years ago (Still EQP) in an interview with a high counsellor I shared how unfulfilled I felt, serving in church, the same old tread mill, serving I love, people I love, institution not so much. I differ from a lot of people like Josh, in that I believe Joseph, as more and more information is coming to light it is clear as day that there was a lot going on behind the scenes in Joseph's times. Another irony for me is that if Joseph Smith did the things even the church claim he did, he would not be a man of God. There are a lot of people (local) I consider friends who are doing their best, but they will not even entertain that they could be wrong on anything, and that is a very dangerous position to take on anything. I think the days are past that the church can control the narrative, and label people who leave the church as those who simply want to sin. Much respect to Josh though, its not an easy journey confronting the idea that 'one' has been deceived for most of their life, I am on that self same journey.
@@williamhaddock1838 Thanks for the honest and thoughtful response. AND the subscribe 🙂 I promise this channel is not out to attack LDS. I'm actually hoping to find someone who converted to LDS as an adult, and have them on some day. I love what you're saying about being willing to entertain doubts and challenges. Truth doesn't need to be protected from doubt; doubt is how we find truth! Pardon my ignorance; what is an EQP?
@@ShiftStormPodcast Another irony, 'We have a leader of the church who once said, 'If we have the Truth it cannot be harmed by investigation, if we have not the Truth it ought to be harmed'. J Ruben Clark
I grew up in the LDS Church, I always knew that their teachings were bs..not because I didn't believe in God, because I always have, but I rejected the very foundations of their teachings when I was told the story of Joseph meeting all the God heads and the head in the hat thing..I laughed at it. My whole family is still in the church, I'm a Christian Christian, they think that I've been taken by satan🙄
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
Thanks for leaving. The weak and confused cycle in and out of the church on a regular basis. As soon as they realize this faith will actually demand something from them, they weaken and then do the easiest thing...call it a cult and leave. Thanks again for your absence.
One thing we shouldn’t confuse here., That one religion or all (religions) needless to say are false. That doesn’t mean that we should stop thinking about God all together or pray. And I’m not talking about the LDS church, I’m just stating the fact that God is real
@@pabloareas2258 yes, I’ve known many people who have had that. Many would say that the NDE was a religious experience. I guess the question is in how to define religion, and why, if you do believe in God, you don’t believe that any religion can be true
@@ShiftStormPodcast religion is just a denomination, but it doesn’t mean that the context is true. Even satanist can be a religion, do they also hold the true?
@@pabloareas2258 no, I don’t think Satanism is true. But just because examples can be given of religions that are not true, does it logically follow that NONE are true?
Interviewee skits around the question when interviewer asks question where is Mormonism on the spectrum compared Baptists and other denominations by comparing it to atheism. Like all these ex-Morman videos they always avoid the fundamental question are mormans Christians. Mormonism is not theologically Christian in anyway. Number one they are polytheists. Secondly, they do not believe in the Trinity which is the foundation for all Christian denominations.
@@williamburns7354 I don’t think he was intentionally trying to avoid saying whether Mormonism was Christian. I think because he’s never been a Christian in the traditional sense, his frame of reference is coming from “what are the inherent issues with Mormonism” more than “how does it compare to Christianity”
Josh, awesome testimony😊 It's sad the church use the name of Jesus Christ😪 I'm happy you and your family make a right choice ❤😊 The bible is the only book you find God true. That's why the Mormon Church stop people to know the truth gospel of Jesus Christ.The best thing to all members and family who left this false cult 📚 read the bible. So you would understand who God is and you will have a closer relationship with him. So no one or organisation or church would deceive you. Start reading from gospel of John. John 14:6 Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one come to Father except through Jesus Christ.🙏🏻 John 3:16 For God so loved the world 🌎 that he gave his only begotten Son. So whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.😊
Cheif midegah and the birch bark scrolls. Native Americans are meeting this September to share the records they kept hidden about christ, and are petitioning the lds church for acknowledgement (ironically)
@ShiftStormPodcast yep. They kept it back because even the church ignored them (ironically) and they were treated badly by the American government. The nemenhah records The birch bark scrolls There is also more not yet translated but known about in new Zealand and Australia (where I'm from). I also understand why the church is overwhelming, there's lots that needs to change.
If I may suggest, find a church that teaches the Bible and learn to know the real Jesus. The LDS religion does not teach the true God nor the true Jesus. He is all you need. He will make the difficult road you follow easier. Please consider that.
I am just hearing some sentences and this guy is saying internet destroy his faith and many people today. For me, it is all contrary. Internet for me have increased my testimony of the restored gospel. Internet is a full source of knowlwdge of the truth of Jesus Chirst. Not only knowing te doctrine of the LDS Church, but comparing what so many christian churches are teaching in USA and many places.
Same here. I feel that it helped a lot more when I experienced a family member leave the Church of Jesus Christ. It helped me to better understand how God is the one in control of His own plan and that we can trust our loved ones into his hands. I started asking myself the same questions this person asked himself, and it lead me to a stronger testimoy of the restored gospel. It also was a good reminder that no matter what anybody says, being true or false, as human beings we easily interpret it our own way or the way others have told us to interpret. I am so grateful for the gosper of Jesus Christ and the principle of faith, that no matter where we go, as long as we do our best to follow Jesus Christ, he will make all things work to our favor. We can trust him, and learn to trust him more and learn of his ways by experience. Just like the example of Peter, that he received his testimony not from man but of God who is in heaven. Sorry for the long response, reading your comment was a great opportunity to remember and ponder on these experiences again and have the Holy Ghost testifiy of them to me once more. I think we all really need these sort of experiences more often. Thanks!
I guess I’m really surprised that the internet has increased your testimony. If the church makes you happy and brings fulfillment, then keep it. I think for me, I just couldn’t do the mental gymnastics anymore. I suppose the main issue I have is that the church’s historical truth claims simply aren’t true. Not to say they are all false, but man if you start looking into the succession of Brigham Young and still believe it’s true, I would be amazed. You start digging and truly see how deep the rabbit hole goes. The sad part is that I still wish the church was “true” because i found so much safety and guidance in it. It was such a wonderful thing for me. But the truth is the truth, and I can’t plug my ears and blind my eyes anymore. I hope Jesus is real because this world really needs someone as perfect, merciful and just as him right now.
Sad for you. I suvived my crisis of faith , and have come to SEE that it IS _ABSOLUTELY_ *ALL* that it claims to be . There is NOTHING that you think you have seen or experienced actually PROVES it's *_"not_* true" , all you _think_ you've seen simply doesn't meet YOUR invented standard required to prove that it _IS_ . Wanting it to _be_ *false* becomes an all consimg self-fulfilling "l won't believe it" quest , and until you open yourself to SEE all that's around you , you'll remain blind to all you're surrounded with . Again sad , but absolutely self-imposed .
@@chuckintexas sounds like you’ve discovered some compelling reasons for believing it absolutely is true. Can you tell me what has solidified this belief?
@ShiftStormPodcast - Hi ! Thanks for asking ! I can go Scientific , Statistical , Medical , Archeological, Historical , Scriptural or PERSONAL , with references. How would _you_ like to proceed ?
@ShiftStormPodcast - It's not what _I_ have found . That's of NO consequence . ONLY the TRUTH is true . Any other diversion is of The Adversary . ALL that _truly_ *COUNTS* is "What does GOD say - what is _HIS _*_WILL_* " ? You can divert all you want, then try to hide behind some "you do you" nonsense , but ultimately, it's ONLY the *TRUTH* that matters . ALL else is of the father of lies .
The CES Letter is a tome of logical fallacies, biased writing, and outright falsehoods, such as the: • Gish gallop • False compromise • Distrust of authority • Myth of infallibility • Half truths • Presentism • Quote mining For example, Runnels claims the CES Letter was him asking honest questions of a CES director, who never responded to him. This isn't true. Runnels was engaged in online anti-mormonism long before he published the CES Letter on Reddit. His single interaction with a CES director was initiated by another family member trying to help him and had nothing to do with his letter outside of happenstance. Another example is Runnels' claim that Joseph Smith used names off a map for his characters in the Book of Mormon. However, most of the map names Runnels points to didn't exist at the time the Book of Mormon was published. Read up on logical fallacies and biased writing and then read the CES Letter again. You'll quickly see its deceptions. I hope this helps at least one person see through Runnels' calculated fiction.
47:32 If that was the case, it may be that they understand that having a strong faith foundation (especially in the gospel) is the best way to strengthen a marriage.
My biggest issue with critics of the church is that the ones I have looked at don't seem to "play fair." While not every apologist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is completely accurate, tactful, and/or any other virtue we would like to see, I find more logical fallacies in the materials produced by critics of the church. I have seen gish-gallops and straw man arguments especially. The problem is that most of any story gets lost to history. We have a lot of original documents surrounding the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but we still have tons of unanswered questions that cannot be answered because the documents do not exist. Then we have to sift through the differences between accepted norms then and now as well as try to figure out who the "real liar" was. Compounding the problem is that debunked documents are still being circulated as evidence. Church history is much more difficult and nuanced than most people want to admit.
@@summerlake356 I will try. I am fascinated by criticisms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I joined the faith when I was 18 and living in the middle of the Southern "Bible Belt." Local churches would offer classes on "saving Mormons" and I was witnessed to countless times while I was in college. I wanted to know where my friends were getting all of these ideas that were so different from my experiences. My favorite conversation was when a friend pulled me aside to ask if I was "really Mormon" because I was nothing like his pastor said I would be. I've done the best research I can, and I've concluded that neither side can prove their claims beyond a shadow of a doubt. I check references where I can, and I listen for agenda and bias in the words used. I've seen good and bad actors on both sides of the issue. I'm left with my own experiences, and my experiences have caused me to be a better person than I could have become on my own, brought me out of codependency into a healthy mental space, and given me a relationship with God that I couldn't find anywhere else. That's the evidence I base my membership on. I'm a little jaded about providing physical evidence. I've tried on other UA-cam videos and have been treated badly, to put it very mildly. I try to avoid those situations when I can. Instead, I will refer you to some places I go for the "church's side." (I'm leaving out the links, that may have been what got my previous answers "washed." I'll give enough info that you should be able to search.) 1. Fair Latter-day Saints: For years they were a questionable source, but the quality of the scholars and the scholarship on the site is improving. I also appreciate that I can check references in the footnotes. 2. Scripture Central has done some scholarly work on evidence, although their focus is more on understanding scripture. 3. Saints Unscripted (and now the new Keystone LDS channel) often touch on tough topics about the church, but they're not as scholarly. 4. Jared Halverson runs a UA-cam channel called "Unshaken." His channel is also about studying and pondering scripture, but he studied "anti-religious rhetoric" in divinity school. I don't know him personally, but he seems genuine and often mentions answering emails from people who have questions about church history. I think he is also a BYU professor. If you are interested about people who are "moving in the other direction," I've found two channels that I enjoy. (They do not cover historical evidence, but might be interesting.) 1. Come Back Podcast 2. Why I Stay Podcast (hosted by Lynzi Clyde) Both of these are UA-cam Channels. Channels critical of the church are pretty easy to find, so I didn't bother listing any.
I can see this happen day by.. I listen to some of you and a large number of you are very positive about the Lord's church and Satan will do his best to entice strongest to step away and strengthen his army.
What i find interesting about this is we see so many Bishops and above getting arrested for committing child crimes. Ok you could say "that's just some bad apples" and the church does tell you take that approach, problem is LDS can''t take that approach. The church claims all its leaders have the power of "Discernment" which the church teaches allows them to "know the true nature about a person or situation". Heck, you have meet with bishops and they say "the spirit testified" on your behalf to become a leader, they have to for you to get the position. That magical power is why the LDS church refuses to conduct criminal background checks like most other churches. The problem is, the vast number of bishops who have been arrested started committing the sex crimes before their last meeting with a bishop. Heck in the case of Michael Adam Davis, he was a REGISTERED sex offender and your church put him in the position of "elders quorum president" and had him watching over children. No shock at all he re-offended. So is it this power doesnt exist as the church claims it does, or is it your "god" doesnt know about he crimes these people are committing. Heck the number of LDS missionaries getting busted is extremely high, and yet this "god" doesnt seem to know about it. Bishops like (just to name a few) Bishop George William Aaron Bishop Tevita Hoihoi Mounga Bishop John Goodrich Bishop Terry George Allen Bishop James Hayes Bishop Keither richard Price Bishop Scott Dale Owen Bishop Scott Alan Darrington Bishop Douglas Stoddard Bishop Floyd C Jennings Bishop Shawn Tyler Mortensen Bishop Geoffrey James Powell Bishop Marvin Ross Harker Bishop Donnie Rue Boring Bishop Carl Matthew Johnson Bishop Stewart Allsford Bishop Shawn Cory Gooden Bishop Scott Elvin Phister Bishop Geoffrey James Powell Bishop Donald Ray Tolman Bishop Keith Lorraine Gillins Bishop Keith Richard Price Bishop Richard Blaine Sampson Bishop James Hayes Bishop Luis Gonzales Bishop Glendon Templeton Bishop Keith Robert Vallejo Bishop Fleming Westover Bishop James Haskell Bishop George William Aaron Bishop Paul Douglas Burdick Bishop Arlo Kay Atkin Bishop Stewart Allsford Bishop Gordon Brent Bodily Bishop Gary Reese Bishop Allen Brinkerhoff Bishop Charles John "Chuck" Blome Bishop Ron Phelps Bishop David James Gomez Bishop Chester Lewis Meek Bishop Arlo Atkins Bishop Rex Furness Bishop Clerk Bruce A. McAskill Bishop Lon Harvey Kennard Bishop Luis Gonzales Bishop David Maxwell Bishop Paul William Newman Bishop James Denos Bishiop Michael Lynn Bronson Bishop Spencer Dixon Bishop Errol Kent Pilling Bishop Alberto Reyes Bishop Joseph Neipp Nicholas Pierre Faivre Bishop Dylan Kevin Whiting Bishop James Douglas Robinson Bishop David N. Moss Bishop Francis Heber Fuller Bishop Jefferey Head Bishop Steven Berry Bishop Martin Joseph MacNeill Bishop Samuel H. Gardner Bishop Steven Murdock Bishop Todd Michael Edwards Bishop Timothy McCleve Bishop Paul Burdick Bishop Lon Kennard, Sr Bishop Michael Wayne Coleman
@@kenziek6707 Our child's seminary teacher was a sex offender whom Salt Lake and the local ward and stake leadership all knew about. Santa Maria Ca 2nd ward---Michael Shean. He got away with his crimes for ten years, and was finally caught and sent to prison.
@@carolyearsley That was scary when I started looking up the number of sex crimes against children the LDS church covered up. Of the crimes with like tier bishops above, most of them the lds church tried covering up.
I'd absolutely love it if you would balance this out by interviewing someone who's life has completely changed by converting to LDS or even better someone who left, removed their name off the records, and then had a re-awakening and came back. The conversion out of the church is impactful but my experience has been that going the other direction the magnitude of the change has been far greater.
Well, Jesus is the only major religious figure in history that claimed to be equal to God, Jesus said if you have seen me, you have seen God, He said HE WAS THE TRUTH! He also claimed that to go to God when we die, we have to go through Jesus. So, I recommend Josh seek to verify if what Jesus said and taught was true. There's a great book called "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell.
@@RichardHolmes-ll8ii are you serious? The one problem with the BOM of which you are aware is whether it was written by one person or many? And one stylometric test outcome is enough to just settle the matter? If you don’t know about other problems I’ll refer you to BH Robert’s ‘Studies of the Book of Mormon’, a Mormon apostle wrote it so you should feel perfectly safe reading it as it is not an ‘anti-Mormon’ author. And that is just a start.
Mormonism is NOT Christian. It is closer to Islam. The LDS do not believe in the Holy Trinty as One God Head but 3 seperate entities. Christians believe that through Jesus and Jesus Christ alone you will be saved. Mormons believe u have to do xyz. And bishops and then Prophets can become Godlike and have their own Planets...it just goes on and on...how do ppl believe it is crazy.
May I point out three things? • I don't mean to offend you, but the truth is that the "Holy Trinity" is a man-made fiction that isn't supported in any way by the Bible. • Latter-day Saints believe what any Bible-believing Christian should if they're reading and understanding the Bible. That is that salvation comes wholly through Christ's grace, which we acquire via our faith. As James points out, faith without works is dead, correct? Therefore, you must have faith (which requires work) in order to receive Christ's all-saving and infinite grace. • We do NOT believe we will have our own planet. We believe we will inherit THIS planet, just as Christ said we would in the Beatitudes.
@Writing.Addict the Holy Trinty is most certainly supported by Doctrine. The Holy Trinity is mentioned in many places in the Bible, including:     Matthew 28:19: A Trinitarian formula  2 Corinthians 13:14: Includes the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit   Ephesians 4:4-6: A Trinitarian formula  1 Peter 1:2: A Trinitarian formula  Revelation 1:4-6: A Trinitarian formula  Romans 1:7: Includes "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"  Hebrews 1:8: Includes "the scepter of your kingdom"  1 John 5:7-8: Includes the phrase "these three are one" Matthew 3:16-17: Includes the voice of the Father, the Son being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove  The Trinity is the doctrine that God exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The word "Trinity" doesn't appear in the Bible, but the Bible does contain many indications of the Trinity This along w many other teachings is what separate Mormons and Christians. They r NOT the Same.
@@mamadspeachyworld5190 You're mistaking unity for count. John 17 should clear that up for you, unless you believe we all end up in a weird gestalt glob of some sort. Trinitarianism is a man-made fiction.
@@danreich4320 that’s what everyone says from the outside of a cultish group. But there are a lot of factors in these situations that impact the process
@@danreich4320 perhaps though I’d be willing to bet that most of us have beliefs that others would look at and think it’s ridiculous that we could hold them in our head for 5 seconds.
@@ShiftStormPodcast sorry but I seriously doubt that. Mormonism is a complete distortion of reality. In order to accept it you have to believe something is true that in reslity is absolutely and verifiably false. It isn’t simply just a matter of opinion where reasonable minds can differ.
@@ShiftStormPodcast you have to completely distort reality to believe in Mormonism. Are other beliefs like that? Or is it just a matter of opinion on other things?
My friend...the comment in regards to the sacrifice of where you would have grown instead of following the Mormon church is perplexing. Ask you yourself these questions: 1) When you were attending Priesthood, where you being taught or having discussions of a) Jesus Christ B) Golf C) How to earn money 2) Did the word of wisdom help you to avoid drinking strong drinks and addiction? 3) Did the church help instill values of faith, honesty, and other moral values? 4) Did you use these values to help teach your children? Did the values of the church help raise your children? How could learning about our Savior and His life and mission be a distraction one's person life? Do you really know what you are saying? Did you stop believe in Jesus Christ all together? Okay, now what? What other church can come close to the teachings taught in the Lord's church? Where do you go from here? Swear a little more? Drink or smoke? Yes, you can find another church that will bend more to allow you to partake of more worldly things - will make you happy? My friend - in summary, your got snookered by Satan but you haven't lost your knowledge of your testimony - that you can bring back but it will take effort - a lot of it. Look around you my friend - the world can only offer you pleasures of...well, this world. Trust me - you will regret not turing back to the Savior - the world cannot offer this to you. Simple question - what church out there can bring you closer to Jesus Christ and help you and your family live accordingly to the principals God has commanded? Love you brother
@@Seaker01 thanks for your response? Does the unavailability of a clear alternative religion mean that one should keep following one they now believe to be false?
If along the course of learning and believing that the Church is true, you begin to tell yourself that you know that that which you believe and have been taught is true without actually ever having known it, then you are lying to yourself. But that doesn't make the Church untrue or a lie. It just means you never had an actual testimony that God lives and the Church is his. Believing and knowing are two different things. As a convert from a secular life, I can tell you that I know that God lives and the Church is true. But that isn't how I was raised or taught. It came suddenly to me in spirit, right out of the blue in answer to my prayer in asking if I could believe the LDS Missionaries. This isn't my belief. It is what I know. But I can only say it, as knowing can't be conveyed. If I say I know that Popeyes makes great chicken. You wouldn't know it if you didn't seek, find, and eat it yourself. Then you would know.
How do you know which testimony is true and which isn’t? He had the “burning in the heart” type of confirmation, among other things. How does one know the difference?
@@ShiftStormPodcast "Burning in the heart" isn't a confirmation. It is evidence that something is worthy of exploration. A testimony that God lives and the Church is his isn't an extrapolation of belief. It is a declaration of truth. Either God lives or he doesn't. Either the Church is his or it isn't. It isn't a matter of reasoning, concluding, or echoing ones upbringing. Neither is it a matter of academics. It can only come by the intercession of Gods holy spirit, which awakens one to a remembrance of him, to know that he lives and is divine. And to know that true life is in him rather than in ones own self or life. It is my experience that that same spirit showed me in vision that the LDS Missionaries are his servants and that the Church in its entirety is his. The faults levied against the Church are irrelevant. One could levy as much against Judaism, the Bible, Christianity, or even against our own selves, family, friends or anyone. Such criticisms are all antichrist.
Who are you to say others didn’t have a testimony? How dare you. Born & raised in $1TRILLION Mormon cult led by Q15 UT CON MEN for over 50+ yrs seeking $200k tithing refund, as our money was hoarded in $180 Billion stock market Ensign Peaks accts & used to buy real property, making it 2nd largest landowner in the nation!! Instead of giving it charitably, as we gave it. It should have been used to bless the hungry homeless diseased & dying. So much Blood on the hands of UT Mormon Q15 leadership! Jesus weeps at Mormon lack of generosity & charity!!
Where is my comment? Why are most replies yours?! Censored, yes?! How dare commentor question others’ testimony & how dare you censor comments. What BS.
35:50 If Joseph Smith instituted polygamy purely to satisfy his lustful ambitions, how come he didn't have any children with any of his wives outside of Emma..... 🤔
He was trying to hide it from the world. Fathering children with many women kinda blows up the ruse right? you never heard of the pull out method? even in the 1800s they knew to pull out. Also, abortifacients were in common usage in the 1800s. If brigham young, john taylor, heber kimball, lorenzo snow, etc ALL had many children with their many wives, why do you think Joseph's polygamous marriages didn't include sex?
I think the value proposition for converts is the plan of salvation. Mormons have the afterlife mapped out pretty well. Follow these rules and your place in the celestial kingdom is secure.
I have been a member for 35 years. It sounds like you did not do the thing’s required to build a strong testimony. I have heard it from people like you before. I am tired of hearing all of the junk that people who leave the church put out. Keep it to yourself.
Josh is my cousin and I've known him since he was born. He was a great church member and did all the right things. He's also a flawed human like the rest of us. We all have our issues and challenges, and he's currently dealing with one of his. I pray that he finds both truth and happiness down the road.
When I found the Baha'i faith,, I realized that the prophet was saying what I had always believed,, that all of the great prophets come from the same one God.. and he calls on all of the people of every Faith to unite as one... we have his writings because this all happened in the 1850s.. please read them for yourself,, and I pray that you find what I found.. a faith that makes sense
@@ShiftStormPodcast.. it's usually men who have incorrectly written down the words of the prophets that is contradictory.. and God is free to change his message as Humanity evolves.. try reading some of the Baha'i prophets writings and see if you don't see the truth
Baha’i you jumped out of the frying pan into the fire brother Read the bible start at John listen to how he explains Gods Nature John the Baptist gives the best explanation on the persona of God Our father above came to us as a son below in the flesh died for our sins A holy spirit cleans all of us from sin Believe in him and only him the rest are man made gods of wood and stone
@@ShiftStormPodcast the prophets came to us at different stages of our evolution.. that explains some of the differences in the messages.. also, sometimes we don't have the prophets exact words but an interpretation of his words done sometimes hundreds of years after their passing.. like the Bible it was written after Christ's death and only put together hundreds of years after his passing if only all of the Christians followed the teachings of Christ.. lifting up the poor.. rejecting riches and they treated everyone,, as they would like to be treated
35:11 Dang, Josh, do you believe that Joseph Smith was some kind of super genius then, to have narrated the Book of Mormon to scribes in between 53 and 74 working days?
@@jonathanduran8669 His cousin Oliver Cowdery was involved, for one. Smith already knew many fanciful stories from his youth, from when he would entertain his family on long winter's nights. Also, he and others had access to libraries full of books about history, religion, etc. that had been brought over from England. He compiled, more than likely ahead of time, from many different sources. Even King Benjamin's speech is a knock off of the ones by the famous Methodist preacher Benjamin Abbott during the Second Great Awakening." It is not uncommon for authors to complete a book in that short of a time when they have done preliminary research and organization.
First mistake was believing in dogma doctrine of any CHURCH. Don't trust a pastor, minister, reverend, priest or even a Rabbi. Put the work in YOURSELF. Search scripture of many Bibles. Then believe in your very being that the path you choose is DIVINE. COMMUNICATE WITH GOD. ASK FOR GUIDANCE FROM HIS HOLY SPIRIT. If along your journey, question God. At least you are having a dialog.
Christ himself established his church and told his followers to gather together often to teach and strengthen each other. Most of the time, the answers to your prayers will come through the actions of another inspired human being. Church groups help establish these life-blessing relationships with others.
not trying to be cynical here, just saying, if you leave one church, and go to another, one hasn't accomplished anything....one is still living under the fear of a supreme being....one is not free to enjoy life without fear of some after-life that doesn't exist. Everything dies, including the Sun even, does that mean the Sun goes to Sun heaven?...I don't think so.
What you're saying makes sense only if you assume that (a) all churches and their values are based on fear of the after-life, (b) a non-living thing (such as the sun) dying is the same as a living thing (a human) dying, and (c) there is no after-life. While you're free to believe that there is no after-life, I would challenge your second two assumptions, since not all churches have fear-based values, and using the sun dying is a false equivalency. That said, Josh has yet to join any other church.
The Holy Bible leads to the true Jesus Christ, who saves. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. The volume of the Bible is about Jesus. Read Proverbs 8.
11:05 That's not doctrine and he knows it. That's like item number 1 on the anti-LDS top hits referring to a discourse where Brigham Young extrapolated in some pretty extreme ways. This is neither taught nor considered doctrine.
Hmmm that's interesting. I had always thought it was a well-known doctrine. What's your take on this explanation: www.mormonwiki.com/As_Man_Now_Is,_God_Once_Was
It is definitely what I was taught growing up in the church. The part about planets was inferred, not explicit, but the idea that God was once like you and me was and still is doctrine. Here's an excerpt I pulled from the church's website today, in a lesson about the a revelation to the prophet Lorenzo Snow. "I formed the following couplet which expresses the revelation, as it was shown me. … 'As man now is, God once was: 'As God now is, man may be.' Feeling that he had received 'a sacred communication' that he should guard carefully, Lorenzo Snow did not teach the doctrine publicly until he knew that the Prophet Joseph Smith had taught it. Once he knew the doctrine was public knowledge, he testified of it frequently."
The stolen valor Michael Parks strikes again. Still claiming you were a sniper, ranger and have many medals from the military Michael Parks? Still claiming you were a licensed therapist in the state of Oregon Michael Parks? Still claiming you are on the Oregon Scholarship Commission Michael Parks? Still claiming you are a "practicing attorney" Michael Parks? Funny how all of those are so easy to check and so easy to find none of which are true. Commenting on video you arent even man enough to watch, obsessing on people who left your hateful cult. Why is it you can leave the cult but the cult can never leave you alone?
How terrible to belong to a church that teaches you to be honest, hard working, love your family, do good to others, stay away from alcohol and cigarettes and live a morally good life. Good thing you were able to break away from that!
@@ileneperry6609 do you think Mormonism is the only religion that teaches those things? And if it is the only religion that teaches those particular morals, does that make it true?
@@ShiftStormPodcast I'm sure there are other people and organizations that teach these things, but these are only some of the benefits of living the teachings of the LDS church, they are not what make it true. It is true, because it was restored by God to Joseph Smith. Through him, the priesthood and doctrines of God were restored, that one needs to learn and live true principles here in this life, and be able to return to the presence of God in the next life with the ability to gain all that the father has.
@@ileneperry6609it’s a shame you talk about priesthood blessings until 1978 your church not allowed blacks after they allowed according to bible Jesus same yesterday today forever he is perfect he don’t care you’re skin color Mormon Jesus hates until 1978 after he loves blacks it’s shameful to Mormon church 2 nephi 5:21 read it if you sin I will change to black skin what kind Jesus horrible if you move center Africa if you’re white I bet you you’re skin color will change slowly because of heat not for wickedness wake up worship real god & Jesus & Holy Spirit
@@localtraveler6151 Bible-based discrimination against black people wasn't exclusively a Latter-day Saint thing. Protestant religions, for instance, believed for centuries that black people were subjects to either the curse of Cain or the curse of Ham, and discriminated accordingly. Isn't it wonderful that we cast off those racial shackles almost 50 years ago? Also, if you think the Book of Mormon is a racist book, you may want to try reading it again.
Bro Josh, and Shift storm, come back♥️♥️♥️. What I perceived in this conversation is that you just stopped doing things that fueled our covenants to our God.... We members should be covenant keepers, we should not only hearers of the word but doer of the word.... The thing is if you stop making covenants, you fueled to not maintain your faith 😪😪😪. I testify that the church is true.... God bless you both I am sure that one day you both find your way back to church the true church, the LDS church ♥️♥️♥️
People that leave the church seem to do this a lot. They seem to need to justify their poor choice to those around them. How about just keep it to yourself and go on with your life? Why is your lost faith so important? Do you feel better when dragging others down?
It's only a "poor choice" from your perspective. Telling others why one left is simply a warning, a true explanation of reality instead of the missionary "milk before meat" presentation.
@@jeffsaxton716 Your reality is different than millions of other people's reality. What makes your reality correct and other's wrong? Can you prove that you are correct and others are wrong? You can't prove anything. So just keep to yourself and leave everyone else alone that is benefitting from following Christ in the way that they want to.
@@westernapache1700 you seem very vocal about this for someone who wants others to be quiet. I’d love to hear about your proof that you’re right and everyone else is wrong?
@@ShiftStormPodcast Tired of seeing people think they are right while claiming that others are wrong. For most things in this world, no one can prove what the truth is. Especially for religion. There is NO hard, physical proof that Christianity (including LDS) is a "true" religion. It all has to to with people's hearts & minds - which can't be proven either way. Do I think prophets are infallible? No. Was Joseph Smith perfect? No. Far from it. Do I feel that God used him for a purpose? Yes. Can I see the good the restored gospel does for people? Yes. Do I care what kind of sins Joseph commited along the way? Nope. Because I'm on my own journey back to God (hopefully) and I have faith that Christ's atonement will help me overcome my many sins and become a better person. There is no religion I have ever learned about that can offer more to me than LDS. These are my feelings and I can't prove they are right and you can't prove they are wrong.
All the mormon responses here are trying to attack his character like he didn't pray enough . I doubt members pray as much as thier required to other then food prayer which is bless food to nourish and strengthen body
It’s not for everyone. Very easy to leave I encourage to find something that does work for you. Maybe collecting rocks… Ridiculous to see people posting something that doesn’t work for them
I joined the church in the UK when I was 23. Went on a mission to the Detroit mission, then the Deerborn mission. My wife is a RM (returned missionary). Three of my 4 daughters are RM's. So we were quite active in the church. I did not even want to entertain any thought that the church was not true. It meant everything to me. It made sense of the world to me and why we were here on this earth. Any negative thing against the church, I just shoved it on my shelf . We'll the layers slowly peeled apart, and I delved into the church history, this plus loads of other issues I realised I could no longer believe in what I was taught and also what I taught. The more I look into issues, be it church history, dishonesty of finances, racism, Joseph Smith being a sex preditator, the list just goes on and on. I was lucky enough that my wife was also going through the same, so that helped us both. One of my RM daughters no longer believes. My younger daughter never has. My two other RM daughters are still active, and we want to support them while they still believe. It was forty-two years ago I joined the church, and I stopped going about a year ago. Certainly be a roller coaster ride. There were a lot of good things, but a lie is a lie, and I no longer want to live a lie being deceived by leaders who either are decieved themselves or are decievers.
@@smaug3045 man that’s tough. Realizing that so much of what you spent your time and life decisions on is not something you believe has got to be earth shaking. And complicated when you have kids still in it.
What would you describe yourself as now, if anything?
@ShiftStormPodcast Not interested in religion, still believe life has a purpose, and there is a higher being, whatever we call him/her. I keep my mind open, but I will not join any organised religion.
Jesus was the founder of the Catholic church , join them , no Mormon underwear 😂
@lloyddouglas3650 I was Catholic before I became a Mormon, just another man made religion, and going by its history probably even worse than Mormonism.
@@lloyddouglas3650 no, actually, Jesus was the founder of his own church, then the Catholic Church came along about 300 years after his death. Catholicism is nothing more than a man-made religion.
I'm freaking out because I couldn't have said it any better than you did! I just left the church April 2024! Family doesn't know yet but my husband was right there with me🙂 after 64 years of being a SOLID member, I too could not lie anymore after what I had learned. I went into the Bishop and was asked to be released and a week later had both of our names removed, as to stick it to the church LIARS!! No more of my time and talents and$$$$. Thank you for sharing your story and like you, the internet hadwoken up a lot of mbers' eyes! Most members won't see or even listen to RFM because it is NOT CHUR H APPROVED😤🤮
Screams CULT to me! Again, THANK YOU!
Stop it. You were never "solid" in any aspect of the Mormon faith. You were just a poser without a real testimony and amazingly lasted a ridiculous amount of time posing and trying to impress others. You then took the first convenient off-ramp and now come here to try and salve your own unmasking. Stop the "solid" crap. Pathetic.
Hi, I'm a exmo of 2 years and was a lifelong generational member for 34 years. I have to say when Josh said "complete sadness" when he found out it wasn't true I can resonate with that completely. I was a TBM and I get told all the time that I didn't understand the doctrine that's why I left. Keep your head up Josh and God bless you for speaking out 🙏
That hits hard! I think there's a lot of victim-blaming that occurs when someone leaves any group. Those still in that group want an easy way to write off their reasons so that they don't have to actually confront their own doubts. Doubts are uncomfortable; groupthink is comfortable because it allows us to outsource our thinking.
What would you call yourself now?
@@ShiftStormPodcast that's true, I just had that conversation with my aunt who is now exmo after 60 years! In the end I love the Mormon family that I have and take the hits because I understand it's the power of group think.
I don't resent my upbringing because in the end it brought me to being saved as a born again Christian ✝️❤️ I have been saved for over a year now. Praise God!
I actually do a Tiktok on the differences on Mormonism and Christianity it's called Thrice_Ministry I'm working through the articles of faith right now.
Thank you for giving Josh a platform to tell his story. I like to say it's the best polished cultish religion out there so it flys under the radar.
@@laracroftismyhomegirl that's awesome! I'm gonna follow you. I'm @madcowan on TikTok
@@ShiftStormPodcast Thank you! Can't wait to see more of your content!
What an excellent interviewer; so often an interviewer interrupts and/or talks over the person being interviewed and in addition, doesn’t listen carefully to the person’s responses, which results in them asking questions that have already been answered.
I’m with you, guy. I was born and raised in the Church, devout like you, served a mission, and it was after that that I started challenging what I chose to accept as doctrinally true. The Church to me now is an experience in my life, probably the biggest influence to my psyche, sense of goodness of character, etc., but I reject the truth claims completely. I am happy and very open-minded and I hope you are too. Celebrate life and love the people in your life.
Stop it. You were never devout...just a poser who could up and walk away. Celebrate what you will but it won't be for loyalty and integrity. Your family weeps for you.
@@JohnDLee-im4lo clearly you think you know me…
@@rkn2800 ...don't want to...
@@JohnDLee-im4lo Are you 13? 😤
@@rkn2800 Are you an idiot?😆
Thanks Josh for being brave and speaking out. I live outside D.C. Born and raised in the church. Served mission, married in the temple, and at 49 dove into church history and the church today. Said out loud by myself exactly what you said. It’s been hard. My husband is a strong believer. I did ask him to choose our marriage over the church and so far he said he chooses me. It’s had its ups and downs. We have 4 older sons. I just want us all out. We’re getting there, but when you are born and raised in this religion it’s hard to learn the truth and walk away. I think of it like the matrix and choosing to take the red pill over the blue. I’m so glad I’m out now looking in. I see it all so differently now. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. And instead of living for the next life, I’m choosing to live for this one. I love myself, my husband and my children more than ever. It’s hard to explain unless you are or have been Mormon. All the best Josh.
It seems really tough because mormonism is sooo often directly tied to the family structure. Leaving mormonism seems to be like leaving your family. What would you call yourself now?
The fact that people live for an afterlife that is unproven was one of the reasons why I was never an active member after I left my parent's home. It's just one more thing about Mormonism that doesn't ad up. In my opinion, it is the height of immorality to prey upon people's fear of death for monetary gain. It makes me want to vomit when I hear those corporate piece of shit "general authorities" and other muckity mucks talking about morality. They know nothing about true morality.
@@ShiftStormPodcast it make no sense to abandon the race before even crossing over the finish line when you see the finish line is in sight. That is why the lamps of all the foolish went out one by one and left them in to walk in darkness. The Savior said this was going to happen to the foolish that the light of their lamps will go out and it will be one by one that they will go out if they fail to fill their lamps to keep them burning.
I'm not sure if telling a spouse to choose marriage or religion is exactly the route to go. My husband and I were both raised LDS. He never returned to church after we were married.
Our children were raised LDS, married in the temple and are active. Their children are baptized.
I spent 40 years begging God to give my husband that "miraculous change of heart" so he would return to church and we could be that Celestial couple.
He respected my decision to associate with the Church.
It took 40 years for my shelf to fall and it's still falling. My advice is please be patient with your husband. It takes a lifetime to release yourself of all this heavy heavy indoctrination.
Love him for who he is when you fell in love. Love him for how he honors you as his wife and the mother of your children.
@@pattyotterstrom3179 The Church is teaching the truth. See Eccl 3:6. Everything God does is forever. That's why the Church has an eternal perspective.
As a fellow exmo, this resonated with me. Not knowing, or more importantly, needing to know if some form of creator exists, and what he/she/it/alien wants of me is so peaceful. If some creator exists and is aware of me and what I am doing, then I hope they would be proud of me for using my brain for critical thought and genuinely trying to be a good kind human to my fellow humans. Why would a creator give me a talent for critical thought and seeing through lies only to punish me for using what the creator gave me?
Ostracism is the price for personal integrity. It's not easy to go through. Like Josh, I had been very strong in my commitment to mormon doctrine, culture and it's ideals. I held many of the callings over many years including: stake high council, bishopric (1st counselor), gospel doctrine teacher, high priest group leadership (1st counselor), elder's quorum presidency (1st counselor), elder's quorum instructor, sunday school presidency, sunday school teacher (various ages), ward mission leader, of course, home teacher (back in the day), early morning seminary teacher, and other callings... different callings while on the mission, etc., etc. I spent 2 years studying and praying once I began to realize that the church MIGHT not be true. Eventually, I realized that there was no possible way that GOD, the creator of the universe, could be so inept that his selected prophets on earth could be the lying hypocrites who have led mormonism throughout it's existence. I didn't have any choice but to leave the church. How could I live the lie? It resulted in divorce and ostracism by my "good christian" extended family. Hang in there, Josh.
You can personally attest to the fact that for its members, the CULT COMES FIRST. The Mormon ("Church") cult very effectively/heavily indoctrinates in members to shun/vilify any member (who comes to her/his senses, and pulls the plug on the cult).
@@UnderSprayedWhiteSkies Oh yea and remember "it is wrong to criticize leaders of the church even if the criticism is true"
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
Choices have consequences...stop whining and go with the flow...Did you think your good christian family would just lovingly embrace your rejection of their dearly held faith? How could they live that lie? Didn't you take any of that into consideration before you put a finger in their eye and cut and run from all they hold sacred? Your recitation of past church callings only outlines your position as a rank poser in the church. That's the reason you left...no loyalty, no integrity. Your family weeps for you but what are your family's tears compared to your "integrity"? Stop crying and accept your fate.
Josh was right to choose NOT to live a lie...!!! STAY A TRUTH SEEKER. Keep seeking the Truth and know that Truth DOES exist.
We were Born & raised in $1TRILLION Mormon cult led by Q15 UT CON MEN for over 50+ yrs seeking $200k tithing refund, as our money was hoarded in $180 Billion stock market Ensign Peaks accts & used to buy real property, making it 2nd largest landowner in the nation!! Instead of giving it charitably, as we gave it.
Mormon tithing money should have been used to bless the hungry homeless diseased & dying. So much Blood on the hands of UT Mormon Q15 leadership! Jesus weeps at Mormon lack of generosity & charity!!
@@lynnjohns4650 is this the comment you were looking for? ☝🏾
I’m sorry that you see it that way. I always thought it was pretty clear that fast offerings were what was used to help the poor and needy. Tithing is for “building the kingdom”…whatever that looks like.
Tithes fund our subterranean city salt town.go go team zion
Galations 1:8
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
I admire this man's courage to be true to himself rather than pretending to believe the lie just to keep the peace with his family. One should always be true to their own self above following the delusional beliefs of other people.
Hey, cousin! I liked watching your interview and it was nice seeing you again, if only digitally.
At the same time, this interview pains me because I've been there. We've both experienced leaving the church and we both dove head first into similar activities that have or will prove destructive, not only to ourselves but to those around us, including those we love most. After years of traveling down that road, I discovered for myself that it is one riddled with deceit, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness. Oh, believe me, there are some great sins out there that I found quite enjoyable in the moment, but the long term effects were dark and empty.
I love you, Josh, and am sorry for what you're going through. I know it seems so right at the time, but it isn't. It ultimately sucks. Fortunately, after many years out, I came to know that Jesus Christ truly lives and he will lift you the second you turn to him and ask with sincerity and real intent. I wish the best for you, cousin, and I'm always happy to talk and share my experiences with you, if you're interested.
P.S. I do think your mom was wrong about one thing. Rock is the ultimate form of musical expression and I'm planning on playing bass and keyboards for eternity. We should form a geezer band.😁
Thank you for sharing this @Writing.Addict. It saddens me to see so many people who believe they’ve found a higher path. I understand that some will view this comment as condescending, but please know that isn’t my intention. Speaking from personal experience, as someone who once started down a similar line of thinking, I realized it didn’t bring true fulfillment or lasting happiness.
What I’ve come to seek above all else is happiness that endures and is eternal. I firmly believe that this kind of happiness can only come from Jesus Christ and is fully accessible through His church. As your cousin mentioned, I truly wish you the best, Josh, on this journey and hope you find what you’re searching for.
Don't be too hard on yourself. We all felt the same way.
Amen Josh! Thanks for sharing your journey with us! Love you brother!
I was raised mormon, left the church when I was around 19-20 years old. I still have mormon sequel... but I live to be a good person. Have a wife, 3 children At that time.. I just left without knowing everything. I just learned that stuff.. 2 years ago... I'm glad I left early in my life. I don't have much of TBM post traumatic who are leaving the church.
Leaving the church made me more open to the world, more open minded to anything.
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
I am a member and disciple of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I feel fulfilled, happy, because here we are called to follow the Lord Jesus. Lehi saw the iron bar, like many children of the Heavenly Father, or removed for various reasons, but not because the Heavenly Father no longer loves him, or because the doctrine is wrong. For a drug like coffee, or other things forbidden in the Church, amazing how some feel indignant and leave the Church, it is the devil's work of rebellion. I can live without coffee, without sleeveless dresses,....because I love Jesus, He sacrificed himself for me, why can't I?
The reason Mormans put so much emphasis on member testimony because it’s a tactic all cults use to convince the members their doctrines are true using repetition. In real Christianity, the testimony of the revealed truth is primarily the Gospels. In Mormonism it’s a constant repetitive parade of members getting up in front of each other every Sunday and saying “I know the church of Mormonism founded by Joseph Smith is True after they give a some sort of an emotional presentation about some aspect of their lives. Again all cults use this tactic when their church is built on questionable doctrine
@@williamburns7354 interesting! Do you think there’s any value in “real” Christians getting up and sharing their testimonies?
@@ShiftStormPodcastI think they are some similarities among non denominational Protestants a lot less in the major denominations. But remember you are comparing two different books. Mormans are trying to convince themselves on the revelations of Joseph Smith (his three books) and their subsequent prophets. Christians are attesting to the truth of 2000 year old gospels without any revealator that came after the death of the last apostle to Christ. So all the revelations that formed Christian doctrine two thousand years ago ended with the death of the last apostle. That is referred to as public Revelation. Christians and their leaders can have private revelations but they cannot be codified into Christian doctrine. In Mormonism it’s the inverse. It’s central to their beliefs that the living Mormon apostles private revelations can amend or completely change doctrine
48:27 I can't speak for what people say, but the church teaches that there may very well be more people in celestial glory that were not members of the church in this life. Think of all the people who have passed away as non-members, who were taught the gospel in the spirit world (see 1 Peter 3:19 and 1 Peter 4:6) and received ordinances by proxy (see 1 Corinthians 15). I would say the majority of those who will be in celestial glory will be people who were not members of the church in this life.
"Pure sadness." Amen, brother!
I didn't want to look at the relatively few wounds from Mormonism I received compared to others either, yet when you're a queer woman, it stays with you no matter how quietly or how loudly you leave it behind.
@@mortenle what was the straw that broke the camels back for you?
Never been Mormon, but have lived, currently living in predominantly Mormon towns for the last twenty years or so. During most of that time I didn't know it is probably the largest, (most highly polished) "religious" cult in existence. After noticing a very definitive, consistent, predictable pattern of repetitive, unusual behavior, I began to research Former Mormon UA-cam videos to learn more about the cult. It has been very enlightening. Curious how Josh avoided describing Mormonism as being a sophisticated cult (which it passes the cult definition, 'sniff test" with flying colors). At 47:15 curious how he hasn't made the association, (that for its members, the CULT always, always, ALWAYS comes first). By now, Josh should know/understand this as well established fact.
Most people are going along to get along. The Emperor has no clothes. Until the child points out the obvious.
28:40 And this is exactly why you need to dig deeper when you hear anti-LDS propaganda. 9 times out of 10 when I have done this I have found an explanation for what these anti-LDS people claim. It takes faith to keep digging and looking for answers, but please don't give up.
What about the other 10%?😂
@@philclegg8169 still working on finding answers. Why would that be funny. Do you know everything?
I wouldn’t think the Word of God would be a 90/10 operation. But it seems to work for tithing. One falsehood should be enough for a logical examination to make a conclusion.
@@philclegg8169 I agree, except I haven't found a falsehood in my faith yet.
@@jonathanduran8669 then you haven’t looked. 😂
When you say "The church is true", ask yourself "true to what"?
True to their bank account, racism, misogny, and covering up sins of leaders, massive ones.
Everything this guy has said about realizing that the church was bull$hit is exactly on how I felt. You do feel alone in a new battle. It's extremely hard
@@nedwards58 it sounds like a really tough journey. How would you describe your current beliefs?
@ShiftStormPodcast what do mean by "beliefs"? Do you mean "God"? If it is so, I'm a non -believer
@ I just mean beliefs. However you want to interpret the question
After my mission, I worked as a lifeguard. I actually talked with my bishop before I took the job about not wearing my garments (magic underwear) and he said that as long as I wore them every other chance I had that it wasn't something to be worried about... I wasn't the only person in the ward at the time with a job where wearing garments wouldn't work with job required attire. Certainly there's the "Bishop roulette" we speak of where orher Bishop's have been caustic and blunt with people- don't take a job that prevents garment wearing unless you seek damnation...
@@Gideonslc ok that’s interesting! I find those garment rules fascinating. Are you still Mormon
@ShiftStormPodcast nope. Mostly Agnostic. I put God as a cat lover in Schrodinger's box quietly playing, in life & death, with the cat.
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
For those who don't know, "magic underwear" is simply a symbol of taking upon yourself the name of Christ. It is just a symbol of faith and dedication, similar to the Catholics' alb (which symbolizes purity and innocence), stole (which symbolizes sacramental authority), and chasuble (which represents Christ's charity covering for our sins).
It would be cool if you could use them to disappear, though. I'm not going to lie.
@@JohnDLee-im4lo I left the church for many years and ultimately found my way back. May I suggest extending a little grace to people? You never know what people are going through and we all struggle through this life in different ways. There's a reason Christ talked about lost sheep and encouraged us to go after rather than abandoning them.
56:57 Ok finally get back into the rest of this video. This is interesting because the gospel (more specifically the restored gospel) teaches that after repentance you should not be weighed down by sins of the past, otherwise you haven't truly repented. Living with the eternities in mind doesn't just guide our choices, but also our hope in the bigger perspective when things are difficult and uncertain (which life will certainly bring in this life). Coming at this as a convert who didn't used to have this perspective, I can imagine how limiting and confusing it must be to not have that perspective anymore. My heart goes out to Josh on this one.
@@jonathanduran8669 did you convert as an adult? I’d like to hear more about your story
@@ShiftStormPodcast I did, I was 26 years old in my last years in university. I was one of those folks who had the missionaries knock on their door. I was Catholic and I thought I was very knowledgeable in the gospel, so I thought I would teach the missionaries a thing or two. Boy was I wrong. haha one of the first questions I remember them asking me was, "have you ever thought about where you come from, where you're going and why we are here"? I loved conversations about philosophy and religion, so I was hooked. I started reading the Book of Mormon and continued these discussions. When I finally was willing to truly let God lead me through the power of the Holy Ghost, I received an answer to whether what I was learning was true. It was the first time I truly felt the power of the Holy Ghost in my life as a response to a prayer. I've grown in my testimony since then. I love studying the Bible and seeing how the restored gospel truly addresses everything therein. It truly is the most biblically sound faith that I have ever learned of.
@@jonathanduran8669are you on Instagram? I’d like to connect with you. You can find me at @shiftstormpodcast or @madcowan on IG
@@ShiftStormPodcast sure thing! I have IG I just followed your Mad Cowan one
@@jonathanduran8669 sweet I followed you back. Gonna DM you
Not a Mormon anymore, I am happily living an honest life. viva la vida fuera de la iglesia.
13:29 "The Temple is a place where very few Mormons go". This is not true at all. All members are encouraged to prepare to enter into the Temple to make covenants with God, and to make those ordinances available to those who have been prepared to receive them in the spirit world.
@@jonathanduran8669 that answer surprised me too haha, but I don’t have a lot of firsthand knowledge
Only those who pay get to play
@jonathanduran8669. Very few Mormons know the evolution of the temple endowment and its direct ties to masonry
It totally is true. If you are outside of Utah it isn’t nearly as common. Of course, every single member is strongly encouraged to go but a small % of the membership actually have temple recommends.
@@King_Puffleump I would love to see your data on that claim.
Not quite ex yet...but definitely questioning
Thanks for sharing. I think questioning your beliefs is so hard but so important. My own experience has been that it only leads to good things; either releasing myself from beliefs that were not serving the truth, or by strengthening my convictions. What are some of the things you're questioning?
There's nothing to question.
@@RichardHolmes-ll8ii can you elaborate? Are you saying that truth shouldn’t be questioned?
@@ShiftStormPodcastTruth can't be questioned. As truth triumphs faith.
@@RichardHolmes-ll8ii what do you mean “truth triumphs faith “?
The vast majority of those I see "leaving the church" were actually never in it to begin with. They could have been 'active' and very much a part of things, but the lack of applying the doctrine of Christ means they built their house upon the sand. They didn't make Christ the center of their lives and exhibit faith, repentance, and commitment all the days of their lives.
Sad but true.
@@Sentinel28-13 have you heard of the term “no true Scotsman?”
@@ShiftStormPodcast Yes, I’m aware of the term “no true Scotsman” - which is a logical fallacy for this discussion. My point is about emphasizing genuine, continuous discipleship that goes beyond just attending church meetings-it requires consistently putting Christ at the center of one’s life, exercising faith, repenting, and striving each day to live the teachings.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to change the person who follows Christ. It isn't about sitting in a pew for an hour each week to check a box.
Being a member of a gym doesn't make you fit or healthy. That requires following practices and principles. The same holds true in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ... membership does not equal discipleship.
It takes great humility to separate God from religion. It is such a relief to know that Mormon heaven is not real. It took my wife and I 55 years of absolute devotion to the organization to come to this realization. Now we are devoted to God only and are open to learning as much truth as we can find. Thanks to both of you for sharing your journeys with us. Keep up the good work! I hope to hear more of your great interviews.
Thanks for the encouragement. Would you call yourself Christian or theist now or…?
@@ShiftStormPodcast
It is a great challenge to trust another church or organization after being so deceived for so many years. Studying chaotic early Christianity and dubious origins of the Biblical text also make it very difficult to trust anything that is out there. Even the name Jesus Christ is not the correct name (maybe it doesn’t matter), but I now pray to “God” and I believe in the teachings of Yeshua which I believe do bear good fruit. I do believe that there is a designer and am still seeking to know Him or Her or It. 🙂
I believe this life is an experience and no longer believe it is a test. I do feel that sending out love and positive energy does tend to return. I’m reserving judgment on the hereafter until it happens.
I guess I am still undecided as to whether I am a Deist or a Theist. Thanks again for the enlightening podcast.
The weak and confused eventually cut and run. It's hard to be a Mormon and they buckle. Easier to call it a cult and leave. Posers all.
How much for a 60 sec video promo & end screen link
@@1god2674 whatcha promoting
@@ShiftStormPodcast or you can download the video and upload it to your channel free no copyright no license no fee just add a link to my channel
I'm not here trying to make money I'm here trying to make heaven 🤗
39:02 the answer is that the spirit attracts people to the church. This includes artists, scientists, engineers (like me), doctors, scholars, maids, housewives, theologians, and anyone else who is willing to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost who is the testifier of truth. It makes sense that someone who has left the church wouldn't talk about this because if they still believed it was the spirit, they wouldn't have left.
People are people
The way the mormon holy spirit works is if you believe in the bible your a fool dishonest and insincere and if you believe in the book of mormon your a sincere honest person. No manipulation thier
@@mae-qt8hw not sure where you heard this from, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (mormons) study the Old Testament each week for an entire year, then the following year we study the New Testament each week for an entire year. So I don't think anyone can honestly say what you just said being properly informed.
Galations 1:8 ,
@@lloyddouglas3650 good thing it's the same gospel :)
I am an ex Mormon. What got me was realizing that there really was a Hell. I never heard anything about a Hell until I went to a Baptist church. My testimony is such a magnificent journey that would take an hour to tell. I'm just so thankful that I found the true God. Mormonism is a complete different culture that is not easy to leave.
It's a cult.
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
@@JohnDLee-im4lo, you wouldn't know the truth if it hit u in the face. Read your bible. Your so called prophets aren't prophets,,😄😇
@@marygreen2672 What is spurious or fad-like about it?
@Writing.Addict , in 1976 Spencer Kimball denounced the theory of Adam God theory. Your so called prophet Brigham young came up with that. Your so called prophet s come and go and so do their theories. They are not from God. God is spirit. Follow Jesus not Joseph.
Compare the 2 below:
Isaiah 8:20 and D and C 132:13-14
Joseph Smith Testimony 1:45 ( This generation will be destroyed 1830)
Jeremiah 27:12-15
Comprehensive History of the church 1:165 and Proverbs 22:3
D and C 1:37 and Deuteronomy 13: 1-3
45:03 Something important that I've noticed with people who have left or are in the process of leaving the church is that they stop praying. I would imagine that if I was having a faith crisis, that it would be the time when I would pray most ardently and become as humble and patient in listening to the spirit. But interestingly, at least with the cases that I have seen on youtube or in friends of mine, is the opposite. They intentionally sever their connection with God.
I also find it interesting that the interviewer doesn't even probe more into his stopping to pray and how that may have impacted his experience.
@@jonathanduran8669 to be fair, he stopped praying AFTER his crisis of faith, not during. He was no longer a believer, so he could no longer pray in sincerity. He was praying consistently prior to that.
@@ShiftStormPodcast I guess what I meant was that he gave up seeking truth of those things he heard on those anti-LDS sites. That's something I would strongly recommend against. We are blessed with so many resources and answers to questions. I can confidently say that there is an explanation or answer to the questions that led Josh away. I do wonder if he was presented with those, if he still would have walked away. As a note, Radio Free Mormon and Mormon Stories are full of easily debunkable claims. Feel free to ask me about any of them.
When I was 21 I read the Book of Mormon and was filled with the spirit of the Lord. Knowing Joseph Smith was a prophet I researched which church to join. My research led me to join with the RLDS, not the LDS. The LDS departed from the teachings of the church when Joseph Smith was alive. Joseph Smith chose his son Joseph the 3rd to be his successor, not Brigham Young. Joseph Smith III took his father’s place as the prophet/president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1860.
You made the right decision
Having made the same decision as my cousin here did for many years, I must politely disagree. Still, I respect your right to an opinion.
58:16 This is not a church thing. In fact, in my experience you're more likely to be musically involved in some way if you're a member of the church than not. With all volunteer clergy and leaders, we always have someone to play the piano/organ/musical numbers in sacrament meeting and at the various other events/meetings. Regarding the sex, drugs, I don't think you have to be a member of the LDS church to know those things will lead to bad outcomes.
I'm Josh's cousin and knowing my aunt, I'm guessing her comment came from liking Neil Diamond more than Rush, rather than any church-based doctrine. Her musical loss. 😁
(My aunt was one of the best women I've ever known, so I mean no disrespect.)
Josh, Jesus did teach that "in the latter days there will be false prophets that deceive many people" Looks like Jesus was right!Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Matthew 24:11
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
Matthew 24:24
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 15:9
And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
One thing that I find very, very offensive, (as a non-Mormon Christian), is the fact that young people are interviewed about whether or not they masturbate or "touch themselves," and if they DO...they are severely punished and shamed. No wonder there is so much dysfunction in their young people. The other thing is that a woman MUST have a man to "resurrect" her and "pull her through the veil." All of this is FALSE and it is sickening. The suicide and divorce rates are sky high. Very, very sad. Simply stated...Mormons believe in a different God, different Jesus, and different Gospel. The Bible warns us about this.
You've raised four questions for me:
1. What does this severe punishment and shame for masturbation look like (Note: There's no such thing, but I'm curious to know what you've been told)?
2. Do you find a priest performing a baptism "sickening"? Since both are ordinances, why are you OK with baptisms being performed for people but not resurrections? Personally, I find the idea of my dad being commissioned by God to resurrect me quite pleasing.
3. Where did you get the idea that the suicide rates are sky high amongst Latter-day Saints? Statistically speaking, active members of the church are around seven times LESS likely to commit suicide than the general US population and suicidality amongst active LGBT members of the church is 44%, compared to 47% in other religions, and 77% amongst the non-religious. Similarly, the divorce rate amongst active Latter-day Saints is significantly lower than the national average.
4. What do you think is different between the gospel preached in the Bible and what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe (Note: We also believe in the gospel as outlined in the Bible)? Isn't the gospel simply that:
• God came to Earth
• Lived a perfect life
• Suffered and died on the cross so we can receive forgiveness for our sins
• Was resurrected after three days so we can overcome physical death
• And that we will all be brought before him to be judged
If not, what is different about your beliefs and where do you find them in the Bible?
Genuine guy. Glad he came out of the trance
I also had my Seminary teacher have us pray all night and going to an outside for a testimony meeting ... we were all sleep deprived
Amen Bro! Had a very similar experience!
Having lived on three continents; worked as a police officer; estate agent; builder; and now a school teacher, I can say hand on heart, that the happiest, kindest and most pleasant people (on the whole) that I have ever met, were all Latter Day Saints (Mormons) who strived to live their Faith. There is something so profound, joyful and positive that emulates from Mormons who are trying to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe it is a spiritual power which many fail to see, perhaps because of their own lifestyle choices which lead them away from light and truth, and their negativity and fault-finding of others. Mormons are not perfect, they are just trying to live a good life of love and service, but so many people are so quick to jump on the bandwagon when an individual Mormon, or indeed their leaders, say or do something wrong. Such people need to look in the mirror!
I get what you're saying, and I love my mormon friends. Are you a mormon yourself, or just appreciative of them?
Many come to the Church looking for completely different things instead of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are not honest with them either, and after a while they are disappointed and leave and start speaking evil, they rebel! But the doctrine of the Church is correct, some listen the criticisms of others about polygamy, instead of researching what the Church currently teaches. Church members are not perfect, but the teaching is Christ's!
@@svetlanachiriac8095 what has lead you to believe in the Church?
The LDS church is false...Heavenly Father was not once a man who worked his way to Godhood
Left 2 years ago.
@@solitairesmith3553 what put you over the edge
@ShiftStormPodcast I was a convert. My ex husband is Iranian. My son is half . My son was told in seminary class in Utah that he could be white when he gets to heaven. Also 2 girls his age at church told him that he wasn't supposed to be at church. If I had been told the TRUTHabout what mormons believe when I was taking the lessons I NEVER WOULD HAVE JOINED.
Also when I went to the bishop for a reasonable answer I was told to "pray about it". I mean wtf does that mean. If I don't get an answer does that mean God doesn't want me or my son?
Just saying...
@@solitairesmith3553 wow, that’s wild… yeah that would be pretty concerning!!
My family were "Jack Mormons" from the Idaho/Wyoming border area, sort of free thinkers as well. We moved to Utah county when I was 11, so I was subjected to an intense Mormon influence. I gave it a good try, but I'm too curious, logical and rational. I can't think of it as true, knowing what I now know.
@@jeffsaxton716 how would you describe your current beliefs?
@ShiftStormPodcast Godless Heathen. I don't believe there's anything supernatural.
The truth hurts but it will set u free. Hopefully many more will learn the truth and run to Jesus of the bible. 🙏🙏🙏Mormons will run from the deception of the LDS church and run to Jesus not a religion. The devil is a liar and he loves for people to be deceived. God is great. He loves us so MUCH.
If The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints isn't the only true Church, there isn't one. For it is the only Church that fulfills all the signs Jesus Christ gave for his true followers, no other church comes close. It's okay, about 40% of those who leave come back, because there is nothing better out there. Some may take decades, so they definitely aren't brainwashed, they just take longer to realize the truth. No church is more hated of all men for Jesus Christ's name's sake, and no one loves their enemies more. No church does more to feed the hungry, clothes the naked and visit the sick and afflicted, all without a single penny going to those running the programs, yet they are also the most financially secure. The members live on average ten years longer than any others calling themselves Christians. The are more likely to marry, less likely to divorce, less likely to self terminate and less likely to be forced into intimacy. And while most churches calling themselves Christians are losing members, this Church continues to be among the fastest growing, even with all of the members Satan is tricking away, and again that's with it being hated and attacked and lied about by all men for Jesus Christ's name's sake. And nobody calling themselves Christians knows the Bible better, even when they tried to skew the data by including knowledge of the Creeds with knowledge of the Bible, even though these additions are unbiblical. By their fruits ye shall know them-Jesus Christ.
@@bartonbagnes4605 that’s interesting, I hadn’t heard that angle before. Which signs does it fulfill that Jesus gave his followers?
@@ShiftStormPodcast I including many, though not all, of the reasons with the edit I decided to make. You can read them there.
@@bartonbagnes4605 thanks I’ll review the added info! If you have any citations that would be helpful for me in my research
Citations needed. My understanding…. LDS church lowest per capita humanitarian aid, the highest suicide rate in the world, lowest amount of historical truth told about its origins of virtually any organization on planet earth. GFY about that run on paragraph about why you think the church is ok. 40% come back. Nope. 80% children of LDS families are leaving today. Even if 40% come back (not true) that means half of kids both in the church leave. People who stay in the church are lazy learners. Everybody knows that.
Roflmao 🤣
You’re amazing. God knows you. He knows your heart. He’s the only one who matters. I pray that your children will be fine. I hope you hold on to all the good habits that Mormonism once held for you. I am 79 years old. Will never leave the Church. Am grateful for the principles of the Gospel that have guided my children and grandchildren to the mainly happy lives they are living in this sad world that we have.
Thanks ShiftStorm for the excellent questions you asked.
Best non LDS channel I’ve happened upon. Thank you.
Btw, I once used to watch the podcasts Josh referenced. I have stopped watching most of them and now listen more to John Hilton III, the Come Back channel with Ashly, and more pro Mormon discussions. I live in New Zealand, and am a product of a people (Maori) who in the mid 1800s were a very spirits believing people and many joined the church following prophecies made by chiefs who foresaw the coming of missionaries of the “true church”. LDS missionaries arrived sometime later, were recognised immediately by the natives, and the rest is history. The Church flourished.
So well written. Genuine and rings true. Intelligent and reasonable. Kind.
Live a day well. Then repeat.
There is no greater wisdom.
Love the name of your channel! Josh, congrats on seeing the truth! Better late than never! There is A LOT more corruption out there besides the Mormon Corporation! Stay free! ❤
How do you know anything about the Corperation when they have powerful lawyers and all thier dealing are to sacred to disclose
The strange thing in Christianity is when there were members of particular church who left their church because of some dissatisfaction on several things then they move to another new church and claiming they find true God and start criticizing their former churches. 😂😂😂 So, their perspective are all windy and empty. They don't look for the truth of God. They actually look for the churches whatever they want, run after self satisfaction and forgetting that Godly values are in them already.
I found out the church wasn't true in 2022!
@@jasonvesmam7044 what put you over the edge?
@@ShiftStormPodcast radio free mormon
@@jasonvesmam7044 sounds like that podcast is shaking up a lot of people
Sounds like groupthink, right shiftstorm?
@@Lovethisguy-kf1ku only if they’re blindly believing everything that podcast says, rather than being prompted to research and think critically for themselves.
Josh sorry I may have missed this, was your marriage on the rocks before you decided to leave or was the break up directly related to leaving. My wife and I have discussed this and our marriage is our commitment to each other, we are both members and would not leave our marriage if either of us decided to leave.
Chris here. I'm hesitant to speak on Josh's behalf regarding this point. I don't believe he specified that point during the interview. I think it's great that you and your wife have such a strong commitment and have had conversations around that. Do you believe that's a common attitude for LDS couples?
@@ShiftStormPodcast (Ive just subscribed) Thanks for the reply Chris, I'll make the most of you conversing with the little people whilst you grow your Channel 😃 To answer your question I don't think that ours is a typical attitude, ironically it is our union that the Church teaches is most important. I was recently released as an EQP and it is clear as day that I am not flavour of the month because I question. I recognise the need for faith in my life but critical thinking and faith are not always good bed fellows. Years ago (Still EQP) in an interview with a high counsellor I shared how unfulfilled I felt, serving in church, the same old tread mill, serving I love, people I love, institution not so much. I differ from a lot of people like Josh, in that I believe Joseph, as more and more information is coming to light it is clear as day that there was a lot going on behind the scenes in Joseph's times. Another irony for me is that if Joseph Smith did the things even the church claim he did, he would not be a man of God. There are a lot of people (local) I consider friends who are doing their best, but they will not even entertain that they could be wrong on anything, and that is a very dangerous position to take on anything. I think the days are past that the church can control the narrative, and label people who leave the church as those who simply want to sin. Much respect to Josh though, its not an easy journey confronting the idea that 'one' has been deceived for most of their life, I am on that self same journey.
@@williamhaddock1838 Thanks for the honest and thoughtful response. AND the subscribe 🙂 I promise this channel is not out to attack LDS. I'm actually hoping to find someone who converted to LDS as an adult, and have them on some day.
I love what you're saying about being willing to entertain doubts and challenges. Truth doesn't need to be protected from doubt; doubt is how we find truth!
Pardon my ignorance; what is an EQP?
@@ShiftStormPodcast Another irony, 'We have a leader of the church who once said, 'If we have the Truth it cannot be harmed by investigation, if we have not the Truth it ought to be harmed'. J Ruben Clark
@@williamhaddock1838 well put! I’ve said something similar but I like the way this is worded
I grew up in the LDS Church, I always knew that their teachings were bs..not because I didn't believe in God, because I always have, but I rejected the very foundations of their teachings when I was told the story of Joseph meeting all the God heads and the head in the hat thing..I laughed at it. My whole family is still in the church, I'm a Christian Christian, they think that I've been taken by satan🙄
We're always glad to see the weak dross and offal leave the church. It makes us stronger and really seems to make the posers happy. Thanks for your absence.
Thanks for leaving. The weak and confused cycle in and out of the church on a regular basis. As soon as they realize this faith will actually demand something from them, they weaken and then do the easiest thing...call it a cult and leave. Thanks again for your absence.
Why would a stone in a hat as a faith-crutch bother you when the Bible has parallels like Giddeon and his fleece?
One thing we shouldn’t confuse here., That one religion or all (religions) needless to say are false. That doesn’t mean that we should stop thinking about God all together or pray. And I’m not talking about the LDS church, I’m just stating the fact that God is real
It sounds like you're saying God is real, and religions are all false. Can you elaborate? Isn't belief in God a religious belief?
@@ShiftStormPodcast have you watched testimonies of people that had NDEs? You should and then you will know what I’m talking about
@@pabloareas2258 yes, I’ve known many people who have had that. Many would say that the NDE was a religious experience. I guess the question is in how to define religion, and why, if you do believe in God, you don’t believe that any religion can be true
@@ShiftStormPodcast religion is just a denomination, but it doesn’t mean that the context is true. Even satanist can be a religion, do they also hold the true?
@@pabloareas2258 no, I don’t think Satanism is true. But just because examples can be given of religions that are not true, does it logically follow that NONE are true?
Interviewee skits around the question when interviewer asks question where is Mormonism on the spectrum compared Baptists and other denominations by comparing it to atheism. Like all these ex-Morman videos they always avoid the fundamental question are mormans Christians. Mormonism is not theologically Christian in anyway. Number one they are polytheists. Secondly, they do not believe in the Trinity which is the foundation for all Christian denominations.
@@williamburns7354 I don’t think he was intentionally trying to avoid saying whether Mormonism was Christian. I think because he’s never been a Christian in the traditional sense, his frame of reference is coming from “what are the inherent issues with Mormonism” more than “how does it compare to Christianity”
Josh, awesome testimony😊
It's sad the church use the name of Jesus Christ😪
I'm happy you and your family make a right choice ❤😊
The bible is the only book you find God true. That's why the Mormon Church stop people to know the truth gospel of Jesus Christ.The best thing to all members and family who left this false cult 📚 read the bible. So you would understand who God is and you will have a closer relationship with him. So no one or organisation or church would deceive you. Start reading from gospel of John.
John 14:6
Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one come to Father except through Jesus Christ.🙏🏻
John 3:16
For God so loved the world 🌎 that he gave his only begotten Son. So whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.😊
Cheif midegah and the birch bark scrolls. Native Americans are meeting this September to share the records they kept hidden about christ, and are petitioning the lds church for acknowledgement (ironically)
Records that native americans have kept hidden about Christ? Is that what you're saying?
@ShiftStormPodcast yep. They kept it back because even the church ignored them (ironically) and they were treated badly by the American government.
The nemenhah records
The birch bark scrolls
There is also more not yet translated but known about in new Zealand and Australia (where I'm from).
I also understand why the church is overwhelming, there's lots that needs to change.
50:53 perfect example of what happens when you choose to follow popular culture over what God wants for you.
If I may suggest, find a church that teaches the Bible and learn to know the real Jesus. The LDS religion does not teach the true God nor the true Jesus. He is all you need. He will make the difficult road you follow easier. Please consider that.
I am just hearing some sentences and this guy is saying internet destroy his faith and many people today. For me, it is all contrary. Internet for me have increased my testimony of the restored gospel. Internet is a full source of knowlwdge of the truth of Jesus Chirst. Not only knowing te doctrine of the LDS Church, but comparing what so many christian churches are teaching in USA and many places.
@@rodrigolopez9286 what are some of the things you’ve found that have affirmed your faith
Same here. I feel that it helped a lot more when I experienced a family member leave the Church of Jesus Christ. It helped me to better understand how God is the one in control of His own plan and that we can trust our loved ones into his hands. I started asking myself the same questions this person asked himself, and it lead me to a stronger testimoy of the restored gospel. It also was a good reminder that no matter what anybody says, being true or false, as human beings we easily interpret it our own way or the way others have told us to interpret. I am so grateful for the gosper of Jesus Christ and the principle of faith, that no matter where we go, as long as we do our best to follow Jesus Christ, he will make all things work to our favor. We can trust him, and learn to trust him more and learn of his ways by experience. Just like the example of Peter, that he received his testimony not from man but of God who is in heaven. Sorry for the long response, reading your comment was a great opportunity to remember and ponder on these experiences again and have the Holy Ghost testifiy of them to me once more. I think we all really need these sort of experiences more often. Thanks!
I guess I’m really surprised that the internet has increased your testimony. If the church makes you happy and brings fulfillment, then keep it.
I think for me, I just couldn’t do the mental gymnastics anymore. I suppose the main issue I have is that the church’s historical truth claims simply aren’t true. Not to say they are all false, but man if you start looking into the succession of Brigham Young and still believe it’s true, I would be amazed.
You start digging and truly see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
The sad part is that I still wish the church was “true” because i found so much safety and guidance in it. It was such a wonderful thing for me. But the truth is the truth, and I can’t plug my ears and blind my eyes anymore.
I hope Jesus is real because this world really needs someone as perfect, merciful and just as him right now.
Sad for you. I suvived my crisis of faith , and have come to SEE that it IS _ABSOLUTELY_ *ALL* that it claims to be . There is NOTHING that you think you have seen or experienced actually PROVES it's *_"not_* true" , all you _think_ you've seen simply doesn't meet YOUR invented standard required to prove that it _IS_ .
Wanting it to _be_ *false* becomes an all consimg self-fulfilling "l won't believe it" quest , and until you open yourself to SEE all that's around you , you'll remain blind to all you're surrounded with .
Again sad , but absolutely self-imposed .
@@chuckintexas sounds like you’ve discovered some compelling reasons for believing it absolutely is true. Can you tell me what has solidified this belief?
@ShiftStormPodcast - Hi !
Thanks for asking !
I can go Scientific , Statistical , Medical , Archeological, Historical , Scriptural or PERSONAL , with references.
How would _you_ like to proceed ?
@@chuckintexas Whatever you have found to be the most compelling!
@ShiftStormPodcast - It's not what _I_ have found .
That's of NO consequence .
ONLY the TRUTH is true . Any other diversion is of The Adversary .
ALL that _truly_ *COUNTS* is "What does GOD say - what is _HIS _*_WILL_* " ?
You can divert all you want, then try to hide behind some "you do you" nonsense , but ultimately, it's ONLY the *TRUTH* that matters .
ALL else is of the
father of lies .
@@chuckintexas well i'm sure you must have found it in order to be convinced of it. I'm not sure how asking you to tell me about it is "diverting."
CES Letter debunks this Cult outright on multiple accounts.
The CES Letter is a tome of logical fallacies, biased writing, and outright falsehoods, such as the:
• Gish gallop
• False compromise
• Distrust of authority
• Myth of infallibility
• Half truths
• Presentism
• Quote mining
For example, Runnels claims the CES Letter was him asking honest questions of a CES director, who never responded to him. This isn't true. Runnels was engaged in online anti-mormonism long before he published the CES Letter on Reddit. His single interaction with a CES director was initiated by another family member trying to help him and had nothing to do with his letter outside of happenstance.
Another example is Runnels' claim that Joseph Smith used names off a map for his characters in the Book of Mormon. However, most of the map names Runnels points to didn't exist at the time the Book of Mormon was published.
Read up on logical fallacies and biased writing and then read the CES Letter again. You'll quickly see its deceptions. I hope this helps at least one person see through Runnels' calculated fiction.
47:32 If that was the case, it may be that they understand that having a strong faith foundation (especially in the gospel) is the best way to strengthen a marriage.
WAKE UP PEOPLE.
@@kevinmcdonald951 care to elaborate?
My biggest issue with critics of the church is that the ones I have looked at don't seem to "play fair." While not every apologist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is completely accurate, tactful, and/or any other virtue we would like to see, I find more logical fallacies in the materials produced by critics of the church. I have seen gish-gallops and straw man arguments especially. The problem is that most of any story gets lost to history. We have a lot of original documents surrounding the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but we still have tons of unanswered questions that cannot be answered because the documents do not exist. Then we have to sift through the differences between accepted norms then and now as well as try to figure out who the "real liar" was. Compounding the problem is that debunked documents are still being circulated as evidence. Church history is much more difficult and nuanced than most people want to admit.
@@elizabethburr2512 what do you see as some of the best evidence for LDS
@@ShiftStormPodcast I've answered this twice, and then I come back to read more comments and can't find my answers? Do you know what's going on?
@@elizabethburr2512 no! I haven’t seen any other comments from you! That’s really weird!
@@elizabethburr2512 would you mind repeating it?
@@summerlake356 I will try. I am fascinated by criticisms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I joined the faith when I was 18 and living in the middle of the Southern "Bible Belt." Local churches would offer classes on "saving Mormons" and I was witnessed to countless times while I was in college. I wanted to know where my friends were getting all of these ideas that were so different from my experiences. My favorite conversation was when a friend pulled me aside to ask if I was "really Mormon" because I was nothing like his pastor said I would be.
I've done the best research I can, and I've concluded that neither side can prove their claims beyond a shadow of a doubt. I check references where I can, and I listen for agenda and bias in the words used. I've seen good and bad actors on both sides of the issue. I'm left with my own experiences, and my experiences have caused me to be a better person than I could have become on my own, brought me out of codependency into a healthy mental space, and given me a relationship with God that I couldn't find anywhere else. That's the evidence I base my membership on.
I'm a little jaded about providing physical evidence. I've tried on other UA-cam videos and have been treated badly, to put it very mildly. I try to avoid those situations when I can. Instead, I will refer you to some places I go for the "church's side." (I'm leaving out the links, that may have been what got my previous answers "washed." I'll give enough info that you should be able to search.)
1. Fair Latter-day Saints: For years they were a questionable source, but the quality of the scholars and the scholarship on the site is improving. I also appreciate that I can check references in the footnotes.
2. Scripture Central has done some scholarly work on evidence, although their focus is more on understanding scripture.
3. Saints Unscripted (and now the new Keystone LDS channel) often touch on tough topics about the church, but they're not as scholarly.
4. Jared Halverson runs a UA-cam channel called "Unshaken." His channel is also about studying and pondering scripture, but he studied "anti-religious rhetoric" in divinity school. I don't know him personally, but he seems genuine and often mentions answering emails from people who have questions about church history. I think he is also a BYU professor.
If you are interested about people who are "moving in the other direction," I've found two channels that I enjoy. (They do not cover historical evidence, but might be interesting.)
1. Come Back Podcast
2. Why I Stay Podcast (hosted by Lynzi Clyde)
Both of these are UA-cam Channels.
Channels critical of the church are pretty easy to find, so I didn't bother listing any.
I can see this happen day by.. I listen to some of you and a large number of you are very positive about the Lord's church and Satan will do his best to entice strongest to step away and strengthen his army.
What i find interesting about this is we see so many Bishops and above getting arrested for committing child crimes.
Ok you could say "that's just some bad apples" and the church does tell you take that approach, problem is LDS can''t take that approach. The church claims all its leaders have the power of "Discernment" which the church teaches allows them to "know the true nature about a person or situation". Heck, you have meet with bishops and they say "the spirit testified" on your behalf to become a leader, they have to for you to get the position. That magical power is why the LDS church refuses to conduct criminal background checks like most other churches.
The problem is, the vast number of bishops who have been arrested started committing the sex crimes before their last meeting with a bishop. Heck in the case of Michael Adam Davis, he was a REGISTERED sex offender and your church put him in the position of "elders quorum president" and had him watching over children. No shock at all he re-offended. So is it this power doesnt exist as the church claims it does, or is it your "god" doesnt know about he crimes these people are committing. Heck the number of LDS missionaries getting busted is extremely high, and yet this "god" doesnt seem to know about it.
Bishops like (just to name a few)
Bishop George William Aaron
Bishop Tevita Hoihoi Mounga
Bishop John Goodrich
Bishop Terry George Allen
Bishop James Hayes
Bishop Keither richard Price
Bishop Scott Dale Owen
Bishop Scott Alan Darrington
Bishop Douglas Stoddard
Bishop Floyd C Jennings
Bishop Shawn Tyler Mortensen
Bishop Geoffrey James Powell
Bishop Marvin Ross Harker
Bishop Donnie Rue Boring
Bishop Carl Matthew Johnson
Bishop Stewart Allsford
Bishop Shawn Cory Gooden
Bishop Scott Elvin Phister
Bishop Geoffrey James Powell
Bishop Donald Ray Tolman
Bishop Keith Lorraine Gillins
Bishop Keith Richard Price
Bishop Richard Blaine Sampson
Bishop James Hayes
Bishop Luis Gonzales
Bishop Glendon Templeton
Bishop Keith Robert Vallejo
Bishop Fleming Westover
Bishop James Haskell
Bishop George William Aaron
Bishop Paul Douglas Burdick
Bishop Arlo Kay Atkin
Bishop Stewart Allsford
Bishop Gordon Brent Bodily
Bishop Gary Reese
Bishop Allen Brinkerhoff
Bishop Charles John "Chuck" Blome
Bishop Ron Phelps
Bishop David James Gomez
Bishop Chester Lewis Meek
Bishop Arlo Atkins
Bishop Rex Furness
Bishop Clerk Bruce A. McAskill
Bishop Lon Harvey Kennard
Bishop Luis Gonzales
Bishop David Maxwell
Bishop Paul William Newman
Bishop James Denos
Bishiop Michael Lynn Bronson
Bishop Spencer Dixon
Bishop Errol Kent Pilling
Bishop Alberto Reyes
Bishop Joseph Neipp
Nicholas Pierre Faivre
Bishop Dylan Kevin Whiting
Bishop James Douglas Robinson
Bishop David N. Moss
Bishop Francis Heber Fuller
Bishop Jefferey Head
Bishop Steven Berry
Bishop Martin Joseph MacNeill
Bishop Samuel H. Gardner
Bishop Steven Murdock
Bishop Todd Michael Edwards
Bishop Timothy McCleve
Bishop Paul Burdick
Bishop Lon Kennard, Sr
Bishop Michael Wayne Coleman
@@kenziek6707 Our child's seminary teacher was a sex offender whom Salt Lake and the local ward and stake leadership all knew about. Santa Maria Ca 2nd ward---Michael Shean. He got away with his crimes for ten years, and was finally caught and sent to prison.
@@carolyearsley That was scary when I started looking up the number of sex crimes against children the LDS church covered up. Of the crimes with like tier bishops above, most of them the lds church tried covering up.
I'd absolutely love it if you would balance this out by interviewing someone who's life has completely changed by converting to LDS or even better someone who left, removed their name off the records, and then had a re-awakening and came back. The conversion out of the church is impactful but my experience has been that going the other direction the magnitude of the change has been far greater.
@@jerry_phillips I’d love to do that. Is that your story?
Well, Jesus is the only major religious figure in history that claimed to be equal to God, Jesus said if you have seen me, you have seen God, He said HE WAS THE TRUTH! He also claimed that to go to God when we die, we have to go through Jesus. So, I recommend Josh seek to verify if what Jesus said and taught was true. There's a great book called "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell.
Peer reviewed research from the Berkeley group confirm only a 1 in a 15 trillion chance that Nephi and Alma were written by the same author.
Wow! That's impressive. Do you have a link to that review?
Well in that case I guess that settles it. Thanks Berkeley! Now we can just ignore the myriad of other problems with it.
@@ShiftStormPodcastType "Word Print Studies Of the Book of Mormon FairLatterDaySaints"
@@FancifulflyfishermanOther problems??
@@RichardHolmes-ll8ii are you serious? The one problem with the BOM of which you are aware is whether it was written by one person or many? And one stylometric test outcome is enough to just settle the matter? If you don’t know about other problems I’ll refer you to BH Robert’s ‘Studies of the Book of Mormon’, a Mormon apostle wrote it so you should feel perfectly safe reading it as it is not an ‘anti-Mormon’ author. And that is just a start.
It gets it so far off that it couldn’t be right it it was right because it denies Jesus of all the glory that is his every little bit of it
Mormonism is NOT Christian. It is closer to Islam.
The LDS do not believe in the Holy Trinty as One God Head but 3 seperate entities.
Christians believe that through Jesus and Jesus Christ alone you will be saved. Mormons believe u have to do xyz. And bishops and then Prophets can become Godlike and have their own Planets...it just goes on and on...how do ppl believe it is crazy.
They are repeatedly indoctrinated at a very young age to believe in the lie. Mormons are simply going to hell in a hand basket.
May I point out three things?
• I don't mean to offend you, but the truth is that the "Holy Trinity" is a man-made fiction that isn't supported in any way by the Bible.
• Latter-day Saints believe what any Bible-believing Christian should if they're reading and understanding the Bible. That is that salvation comes wholly through Christ's grace, which we acquire via our faith. As James points out, faith without works is dead, correct? Therefore, you must have faith (which requires work) in order to receive Christ's all-saving and infinite grace.
• We do NOT believe we will have our own planet. We believe we will inherit THIS planet, just as Christ said we would in the Beatitudes.
@Writing.Addict the Holy Trinty is most certainly supported by Doctrine.
The Holy Trinity is mentioned in many places in the Bible, including:




Matthew 28:19: A Trinitarian formula

2 Corinthians 13:14: Includes the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit


Ephesians 4:4-6: A Trinitarian formula

1 Peter 1:2: A Trinitarian formula

Revelation 1:4-6: A Trinitarian formula

Romans 1:7: Includes "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

Hebrews 1:8: Includes "the scepter of your kingdom"

1 John 5:7-8: Includes the phrase "these three are one"
Matthew 3:16-17: Includes the voice of the Father, the Son being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove

The Trinity is the doctrine that God exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The word "Trinity" doesn't appear in the Bible, but the Bible does contain many indications of the Trinity
This along w many other teachings is what separate Mormons and Christians. They r NOT the Same.
@Writing.Addict
A popular Mormon quote, often attributed to Lorenzo Snow, is "As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be".
@@mamadspeachyworld5190 You're mistaking unity for count. John 17 should clear that up for you, unless you believe we all end up in a weird gestalt glob of some sort.
Trinitarianism is a man-made fiction.
It’s a mind melding cult. Not of God.
13 years? Honestly it should take 13 minutes.
@@danreich4320 that’s what everyone says from the outside of a cultish group. But there are a lot of factors in these situations that impact the process
@@ShiftStormPodcast It just goes to show how completely brainwashed they become that it takes 13 years to unravel all of it.
@@danreich4320 perhaps though I’d be willing to bet that most of us have beliefs that others would look at and think it’s ridiculous that we could hold them in our head for 5 seconds.
@@ShiftStormPodcast sorry but I seriously doubt that. Mormonism is a complete distortion of reality. In order to accept it you have to believe something is true that in reslity is absolutely and verifiably false. It isn’t simply just a matter of opinion where reasonable minds can differ.
@@ShiftStormPodcast you have to completely distort reality to believe in Mormonism. Are other beliefs like that? Or is it just a matter of opinion on other things?
Funny how the Rosetta Stone debunked this Cult.
My friend...the comment in regards to the sacrifice of where you would have grown instead of following the Mormon church is perplexing. Ask you yourself these questions:
1) When you were attending Priesthood, where you being taught or having discussions of a) Jesus Christ B) Golf C) How to earn money
2) Did the word of wisdom help you to avoid drinking strong drinks and addiction?
3) Did the church help instill values of faith, honesty, and other moral values?
4) Did you use these values to help teach your children? Did the values of the church help raise your children?
How could learning about our Savior and His life and mission be a distraction one's person life? Do you really know what you are saying? Did you stop believe in Jesus Christ all together? Okay, now what? What other church can come close to the teachings taught in the Lord's church? Where do you go from here? Swear a little more? Drink or smoke? Yes, you can find another church that will bend more to allow you to partake of more worldly things - will make you happy?
My friend - in summary, your got snookered by Satan but you haven't lost your knowledge of your testimony - that you can bring back but it will take effort - a lot of it.
Look around you my friend - the world can only offer you pleasures of...well, this world. Trust me - you will regret not turing back to the Savior - the world cannot offer this to you.
Simple question - what church out there can bring you closer to Jesus Christ and help you and your family live accordingly to the principals God has commanded?
Love you brother
@@Seaker01 thanks for your response? Does the unavailability of a clear alternative religion mean that one should keep following one they now believe to be false?
If along the course of learning and believing that the Church is true, you begin to tell yourself that you know that that which you believe and have been taught is true without actually ever having known it, then you are lying to yourself. But that doesn't make the Church untrue or a lie. It just means you never had an actual testimony that God lives and the Church is his. Believing and knowing are two different things. As a convert from a secular life, I can tell you that I know that God lives and the Church is true. But that isn't how I was raised or taught. It came suddenly to me in spirit, right out of the blue in answer to my prayer in asking if I could believe the LDS Missionaries. This isn't my belief. It is what I know. But I can only say it, as knowing can't be conveyed. If I say I know that Popeyes makes great chicken. You wouldn't know it if you didn't seek, find, and eat it yourself. Then you would know.
How do you know which testimony is true and which isn’t? He had the “burning in the heart” type of confirmation, among other things. How does one know the difference?
@@ShiftStormPodcast "Burning in the heart" isn't a confirmation. It is evidence that something is worthy of exploration. A testimony that God lives and the Church is his isn't an extrapolation of belief. It is a declaration of truth. Either God lives or he doesn't. Either the Church is his or it isn't. It isn't a matter of reasoning, concluding, or echoing ones upbringing. Neither is it a matter of academics. It can only come by the intercession of Gods holy spirit, which awakens one to a remembrance of him, to know that he lives and is divine. And to know that true life is in him rather than in ones own self or life. It is my experience that that same spirit showed me in vision that the LDS Missionaries are his servants and that the Church in its entirety is his. The faults levied against the Church are irrelevant. One could levy as much against Judaism, the Bible, Christianity, or even against our own selves, family, friends or anyone. Such criticisms are all antichrist.
I'm actually looking to hear from converts to LDS who weren't raised in it. Would you be open to that?
Who are you to say others didn’t have a testimony? How dare you. Born & raised in $1TRILLION Mormon cult led by Q15 UT CON MEN for over 50+ yrs seeking $200k tithing refund, as our money was hoarded in $180 Billion stock market Ensign Peaks accts & used to buy real property, making it 2nd largest landowner in the nation!! Instead of giving it charitably, as we gave it. It should have been used to bless the hungry homeless diseased & dying. So much Blood on the hands of UT Mormon Q15 leadership! Jesus weeps at Mormon lack of generosity & charity!!
Where is my comment? Why are most replies yours?! Censored, yes?! How dare commentor question others’ testimony & how dare you censor comments. What BS.
35:50 If Joseph Smith instituted polygamy purely to satisfy his lustful ambitions, how come he didn't have any children with any of his wives outside of Emma..... 🤔
He was trying to hide it from the world. Fathering children with many women kinda blows up the ruse right? you never heard of the pull out method? even in the 1800s they knew to pull out. Also, abortifacients were in common usage in the 1800s. If brigham young, john taylor, heber kimball, lorenzo snow, etc ALL had many children with their many wives, why do you think Joseph's polygamous marriages didn't include sex?
His good friend Dr. John C. Bennett took care of the unwanted pregnancies.
@@carolyearsley I would love to see the evidence of that.
I think the value proposition for converts is the plan of salvation. Mormons have the afterlife mapped out pretty well. Follow these rules and your place in the celestial kingdom is secure.
I have been a member for 35 years. It sounds like you did not do the thing’s required to build a strong testimony. I have heard it from people like you before. I am tired of hearing all of the junk that people who leave the church put out. Keep it to yourself.
Shame on you, entitled superior human being
Josh is my cousin and I've known him since he was born. He was a great church member and did all the right things. He's also a flawed human like the rest of us. We all have our issues and challenges, and he's currently dealing with one of his. I pray that he finds both truth and happiness down the road.
LDS is a religion in envented by one man
Exactly! And that one man was Jesus the Christ.
When I found the Baha'i faith,, I realized that the prophet was saying what I had always believed,, that all of the great prophets come from the same one God.. and he calls on all of the people of every Faith to unite as one... we have his writings because this all happened in the 1850s.. please read them for yourself,, and I pray that you find what I found.. a faith that makes sense
@@John-uq7uu what about the prophets who contradict each other?
@@ShiftStormPodcast.. it's usually men who have incorrectly written down the words of the prophets that is contradictory.. and God is free to change his message as Humanity evolves.. try reading some of the Baha'i prophets writings and see if you don't see the truth
Baha’i you jumped out of the frying pan into the fire brother
Read the bible start at John listen to how he explains Gods Nature
John the Baptist gives the best explanation on the persona of God
Our father above came to us as a son below in the flesh died for our sins
A holy spirit cleans all of us from sin
Believe in him and only him the rest are man made gods of wood and stone
@@ShiftStormPodcast the prophets came to us at different stages of our evolution.. that explains some of the differences in the messages.. also, sometimes we don't have the prophets exact words but an interpretation of his words done sometimes hundreds of years after their passing.. like the Bible it was written after Christ's death and only put together hundreds of years after his passing if only all of the Christians followed the teachings of Christ.. lifting up the poor.. rejecting riches and they treated everyone,, as they would like to be treated
35:11 Dang, Josh, do you believe that Joseph Smith was some kind of super genius then, to have narrated the Book of Mormon to scribes in between 53 and 74 working days?
He had lots of help from friends who were in on the con.
@@carolyearsley do you have evidence of that or is this just your hopeful opinion?
@@jonathanduran8669 His cousin Oliver Cowdery was involved, for one. Smith already knew many fanciful stories from his youth, from when he would entertain his family on long winter's nights. Also, he and others had access to libraries full of books about history, religion, etc. that had been brought over from England. He compiled, more than likely ahead of time, from many different sources. Even King Benjamin's speech is a knock off of the ones by the famous Methodist preacher Benjamin Abbott during the Second Great Awakening." It is not uncommon for authors to complete a book in that short of a time when they have done preliminary research and organization.
First mistake was believing in dogma doctrine of any CHURCH. Don't trust a pastor, minister, reverend, priest or even a Rabbi.
Put the work in YOURSELF. Search scripture of many Bibles. Then believe in your very being that the path you choose is DIVINE. COMMUNICATE WITH GOD. ASK FOR GUIDANCE FROM HIS HOLY SPIRIT.
If along your journey, question God. At least you are having a dialog.
Christ himself established his church and told his followers to gather together often to teach and strengthen each other. Most of the time, the answers to your prayers will come through the actions of another inspired human being. Church groups help establish these life-blessing relationships with others.
not trying to be cynical here, just saying, if you leave one church, and go to another, one hasn't accomplished anything....one is still living under the fear of a supreme being....one is not free to enjoy life without fear of some after-life that doesn't exist. Everything dies, including the Sun even, does that mean the Sun goes to Sun heaven?...I don't think so.
What you're saying makes sense only if you assume that (a) all churches and their values are based on fear of the after-life, (b) a non-living thing (such as the sun) dying is the same as a living thing (a human) dying, and (c) there is no after-life. While you're free to believe that there is no after-life, I would challenge your second two assumptions, since not all churches have fear-based values, and using the sun dying is a false equivalency.
That said, Josh has yet to join any other church.
The Holy Bible leads to the true Jesus Christ, who saves. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. The volume of the Bible is about Jesus. Read Proverbs 8.
11:05 That's not doctrine and he knows it. That's like item number 1 on the anti-LDS top hits referring to a discourse where Brigham Young extrapolated in some pretty extreme ways. This is neither taught nor considered doctrine.
Hmmm that's interesting. I had always thought it was a well-known doctrine. What's your take on this explanation: www.mormonwiki.com/As_Man_Now_Is,_God_Once_Was
Grew up in the church - this is absolutely core doctrine
You must be living under a rock. That is absolutely what I was taught my entire life
@@jonathanduran8669 interesting that there seems to be a gap in your experiences with this doctrine vs others of the LDS faith. Any thoughts on why?
It is definitely what I was taught growing up in the church. The part about planets was inferred, not explicit, but the idea that God was once like you and me was and still is doctrine. Here's an excerpt I pulled from the church's website today, in a lesson about the a revelation to the prophet Lorenzo Snow.
"I formed the following couplet which expresses the revelation, as it was shown me. … 'As man now is, God once was: 'As God now is, man may be.' Feeling that he had received 'a sacred communication' that he should guard carefully, Lorenzo Snow did not teach the doctrine publicly until he knew that the Prophet Joseph Smith had taught it. Once he knew the doctrine was public knowledge, he testified of it frequently."
Umm but sometimes to get you married in the Temple they over look somethings
@@TraceyWhitehead-j2l what do you mean?
We decide what we want to do. We don't choose the consequences and I pray and hope that you choose well..
the church is true.... ask God he will tell you.........
The stolen valor Michael Parks strikes again. Still claiming you were a sniper, ranger and have many medals from the military Michael Parks? Still claiming you were a licensed therapist in the state of Oregon Michael Parks? Still claiming you are on the Oregon Scholarship Commission Michael Parks? Still claiming you are a "practicing attorney" Michael Parks? Funny how all of those are so easy to check and so easy to find none of which are true.
Commenting on video you arent even man enough to watch, obsessing on people who left your hateful cult. Why is it you can leave the cult but the cult can never leave you alone?
Which cult do you believe in now?
@@vusicindi1609 what makes you think he believes in a cult now
How terrible to belong to a church that teaches you to be honest, hard working, love your family, do good to others, stay away from alcohol and cigarettes and live a morally good life. Good thing you were able to break away from that!
@@ileneperry6609 do you think Mormonism is the only religion that teaches those things? And if it is the only religion that teaches those particular morals, does that make it true?
@@ShiftStormPodcast I'm sure there are other people and organizations that teach these things, but these are only some of the benefits of living the teachings of the LDS church, they are not what make it true. It is true, because it was restored by God to Joseph Smith. Through him, the priesthood and doctrines of God were restored, that one needs to learn and live true principles here in this life, and be able to return to the presence of God in the next life with the ability to gain all that the father has.
@@ileneperry6609it’s a shame you talk about priesthood blessings until 1978 your church not allowed blacks after they allowed according to bible Jesus same yesterday today forever he is perfect he don’t care you’re skin color Mormon Jesus hates until 1978 after he loves blacks it’s shameful to Mormon church 2 nephi 5:21 read it if you sin I will change to black skin what kind Jesus horrible if you move center Africa if you’re white I bet you you’re skin color will change slowly because of heat not for wickedness wake up worship real god & Jesus & Holy Spirit
@@localtraveler6151 Bible-based discrimination against black people wasn't exclusively a Latter-day Saint thing. Protestant religions, for instance, believed for centuries that black people were subjects to either the curse of Cain or the curse of Ham, and discriminated accordingly.
Isn't it wonderful that we cast off those racial shackles almost 50 years ago?
Also, if you think the Book of Mormon is a racist book, you may want to try reading it again.
Bro Josh, and Shift storm, come back♥️♥️♥️. What I perceived in this conversation is that you just stopped doing things that fueled our covenants to our God.... We members should be covenant keepers, we should not only hearers of the word but doer of the word.... The thing is if you stop making covenants, you fueled to not maintain your faith 😪😪😪. I testify that the church is true.... God bless you both I am sure that one day you both find your way back to church the true church, the LDS church ♥️♥️♥️
@@jessiesagucio3387 I personally can’t come back, cause I was never LDS 😉
People that leave the church seem to do this a lot. They seem to need to justify their poor choice to those around them. How about just keep it to yourself and go on with your life? Why is your lost faith so important? Do you feel better when dragging others down?
It's only a "poor choice" from your perspective. Telling others why one left is simply a warning, a true explanation of reality instead of the missionary "milk before meat" presentation.
@@jeffsaxton716 Your reality is different than millions of other people's reality. What makes your reality correct and other's wrong? Can you prove that you are correct and others are wrong? You can't prove anything. So just keep to yourself and leave everyone else alone that is benefitting from following Christ in the way that they want to.
@@westernapache1700 you seem very vocal about this for someone who wants others to be quiet. I’d love to hear about your proof that you’re right and everyone else is wrong?
@@ShiftStormPodcast Tired of seeing people think they are right while claiming that others are wrong. For most things in this world, no one can prove what the truth is. Especially for religion. There is NO hard, physical proof that Christianity (including LDS) is a "true" religion. It all has to to with people's hearts & minds - which can't be proven either way. Do I think prophets are infallible? No. Was Joseph Smith perfect? No. Far from it. Do I feel that God used him for a purpose? Yes. Can I see the good the restored gospel does for people? Yes. Do I care what kind of sins Joseph commited along the way? Nope. Because I'm on my own journey back to God (hopefully) and I have faith that Christ's atonement will help me overcome my many sins and become a better person. There is no religion I have ever learned about that can offer more to me than LDS. These are my feelings and I can't prove they are right and you can't prove they are wrong.
Left THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, refused to repent, from all manners of wickedness. Now, endless excuses.
All the mormon responses here are trying to attack his character like he didn't pray enough . I doubt members pray as much as thier required to other then food prayer which is bless food to nourish and strengthen body
@@mae-qt8hw it’s one of the most popular logical fallacies: ad hominem
It’s not for everyone. Very easy to leave
I encourage to find something that does work for you. Maybe collecting rocks…
Ridiculous to see people posting something that doesn’t work for them
Some comes up with their podcast against, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, wickedly, for their personal gains.