The Present-Day Saint

Summer Review - Trip to Israel and Conversations and a Plug for Summit Ministries

0073 - In this episode I talk about what I have been doing the last two months since I have recorded an episode. In June I was able to help lead a trip to Israel with my buddy David who lives there. It was amazing!! I discuss some of the things we did and the places we went. I also discuss some of the conversations that we had and why I think they are more productive than many Christians who go there to evangelize. I also talk about my daughter going to Summit Ministries two week summer camp (after she came on the Israel trip) and why we think that is such a great ministry to get your high school and college students to attend. All that in more in this episode!!! If you want to learn more about Summit go to - www.summit.org

Does God Exist - Apologetics Series #8

0072 - In this episode in our "Apologetics Series" we take a look at one major argument for God's existence - the Kalam Cosmological Argument. We talk about the two premises in the argument and the evidence for them both scientifically and philosophically. We also take a look at how some atheists respond to this argument. Finally, we briefly touch on the young earth - old earth discussion and how General Revelation and Special Revelation will always match up if Christianity is true. Lots of good information in this episode. I hope you enjoy!!

Loving Your LDS Neighbor - Part 7 - The Transmission of the New Testament Documents

0071 - In this episode of our "Loving Your LDS Neighbor" series we discuss the transmission of the New Testament documents. One of the claims of the LDS church is that the New Testament has not been translated correctly. That usually means that they think certain New Testament teachings were lost during the transmission of the text over all the years. In this episode we touch on some basic Textual Criticism and show how the New Testament has actually been almost perfectly accurately preserved. We show that we can trust that we have what the authors wrote in the New Testament and thus we can be confident that what the New Testament teaches is the accurate teachings of the Apostles.

Loving Your LDS Neighbor - Part 6 - Nature of God and Jesus

0070 - In this episode of our "Loving Your LDS Neighbor" series we take a look at the Biblical and LDS view of God and Jesus. We first look at God and discuss two arguments for God's existence that help us understand God's nature. We then compare this view of God with the LDS view to show the impossibility of the LDS view of God. We then look at how Jesus is viewed by the LDS and compare and contrast that with the Biblical view of Jesus. Your view of God and your view of Jesus has eternal implications so we better make sure that our views are correct (or at least in line with what the Bible teaches).

Loving Your LDS Neighbor - Part 5 - What about Faith and Works (and Baptism)?

0069 - In this episode of our "Loving Your LDS Neighbor" series we tackle some questions that always come up in regards to the Biblical gospel in our conversations with our LDS friends. In our last episode we presented the Biblical gospel. In those conversations with the LDS two topics will almost always emerge - baptism and faith and works. In this episode we show that the verses that seem to imply baptism is required to enter God's family (have eternal life) don't actually mean that. We also show that James and Paul are hitting at two very different points in their discussion of justification in Romans 3-4 and James 2.  We show how good interpretation of these verses can reconcile apparent contradictions in the text. This is a long but important episode!!