We’re so grateful to be hearing from Jake today! 0:41- Jake introduces himself. Jake was raised with different faiths, his parents and grandparents having differing beliefs. 1:30- Jake’s grandfather joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after learning about the church’s emphasis on genealogy, something he really enjoyed. 2:22- It c…

Daniel shares his story about his mission in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served in New England. Daniel describes his mission as challenging but beautiful. During Daniel's mission he was diagnosed with anxiety and OCD. Daniel always knew that mental health challenges were present in his life but he didn't feel the weight…

In this episode, Kaitlyn and Sabrina talk about JOY! How do we find joy? Is joy different than happiness? Can someone be joyful all of the time? What do I do if I'm not joyful?

On this episode of Saints Unscripted, Gustavo shared his incredible conversion story! Gustavo was born and raised in Mexico City. He was also raised in a very religious household. He had many spiritual experiences but struggled with mental health challenges and other difficult life challenges. Gustavo came across a video that attempted to disprove …

We're stoked to be joined by Spencer Schmidt as he shares his musical journey with us! Spencer shares his story of feeling deeply inspired to devote more attention to his musical interests. Spencer comes from a musical household, his dad being Jon Schmidt of the Piano Guys, so music has always been a powerful tool in his life. After losing his sist…

David Douglas shares his story of conversion as a teenager living in Florida. His story is so powerful! David talks about praying to know if God was real. Shortly after his prayer, he fell asleep and had a unique dream. Little did he know that his dream would come back to his mind years later and verify the spirit he was feeling!! At age 15, David …

Today on the show, the remarkable Lizzie and Nate Cottrell join us to share their story of pregnancy complications, the death of their child, and the challenges to their faith through it all. In 2019, Lizzie gave birth to twin boys born at 26 weeks gestation. One of the sweet boys died after one day and the surviving son was sent to the NICU for 8 …

Today we had the incredible opportunity to talk to Matthew Godfrey about a unique character in LDS church history, John C Bennett. Matthew shares John's fascinating story and explains how he fits in church history. Matthew is a historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). He has done extensiv…

Cecilia shares her story of faith, trials, miracles, and happiness. She talks about how she went through many mental health issues and couldn't seem to find a way out of her difficulties. She grew up in very difficult circumstances and constantly found herself falling back into such difficulties. Finally Cecilia decided to pray to God for help. Sho…

Why should I go to church?? Is it necessary to go to the full 2 hours of church? Why is church important? In this episode, we answer these questions and more. Below are some answers we discuss:- Worshiping God is a commandment- The Sacrament helps us remember Jesus- God’s Church relies on you- Church services teach and uplift- God can speak to you…

Today we had a very unique opportunity to talk to a service missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). Austin is the cream of the crop, as you'll soon see! Austin was called to a service mission in 2019. He always dreamed of serving a mission, particularly a mission on Temple Square in Sal…

Jon Schmidt, famous pianist and member of The Piano Guys, joined us on Saints Unscripted today to share his experiences with music, faith, and family. Jon talks about his process in writing music, where he generates ideas for his music, what it's like to be a member of the Piano Guys, and how his family has been fundamental to his career. Jon Schmi…

We are elated to sit down with Loren Marks and hear his thoughts on the impact of a home-centered gospel. Loren has been studying the impact of faith on family for decades. In this episode, he discusses the content of his book, Home-Centered Gospel Learning and Living.

Today we are joined by one of our favorite scholars, Gerrit Dirkmaat! Gerrit recently co-authored a book called “Let's Talk About the Translation of the Book of Mormon.” In the book, Gerrit shares his research on how the Book of Mormon was translated, including the common misconceptions and little-known facts.…

Today on Saints Unscripted we do a fun activity that is familiar to most members of the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). Today we try and relate as many random things to the gospel as we can! Do you know that person who stands up at every Fast and Testimony meeting to share how their weekend adventures made them think about the go…

Julie and Aaron Bujnowski joined us on Saints Unscripted to share their most recent project and one that has already impacted many people. During the pandemic of 2020, Julie and Aaron began writing down their experiences and feelings pertaining to the Latter-day Saint temple. They were eventually prompted to share their written thoughts with the wo…

In this episode we are joined by the brilliant and kind Lauren Cassidy! Lauren moved to Utah from New York just a few years ago after she converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). Lauren joins us to share her conversion story. Lauren grew up knowing about God and did her best to live a good…

Johnny Harris, YouTuber and independent journalist, recently made a video titled "The REAL Story of the Mormon Church." But what do active Mormons (correctly known as Latter-day Saints) think about his video? Does the video portray the real story of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or are there incorrect portrayals of the history of …

Everyone who has served a mission has a crazy story about their mission. Well, we recently came across an article that claimed to have some of the craziest mission stories ever! We wanted to put the stories to the test to see if they really were as crazy as they claimed to be. We’d love to know what you think about these mission stories :) Members …

Levi shares his story of growing up with lots of exposure to religion. He realized in high school that based on his life trajectory, he wouldn’t make it past 21 years of age. He decided it was time to look into religion because he became concerned about the afterlife. One night, Levi asked God to send religion to him. The next morning he heard a kn…

Have you seen the latest photo of Joseph Smith?! If so, you probably have a lot of questions (as did we!). We brought Curtis Weber to the show to talk about his extensive research on the subject and his research is fascinating! Thanks so much for joining us, Curtis!

Today we are joined by Tyler Gordon, one of the kindest people we have had on the show. We chatted with Tyler before this episode about his experiences and the spirit he brought with him was powerful and humble. We are so grateful for his vulnerability in sharing his story! Tyler grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served…

Have you ever heard of Pioneer Day, an official holiday in Utah? Many Utahans celebrate the day that Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah before Utah was settled. Many pioneers died on the trek across the plains, though many miracles took place on their journey to Utah. In this episode, we take a quiz to test our knowledge about the Mormon pioneers!…

Elizabeth joins us today to share her remarkable story of faith, conversion, excommunication, and regaining her faith. If you watch any Saints Unscripted episode, this is the one to watch!! Elizabeth powerfully shares how she grew up in unfavorable circumstances but remained strong in the faith. Unfortunately, poor relationships and temptations gre…

We recently had the privilege of hearing Kahlen's story of faith and forgiveness. Today we share his story with you and know you'll find strength from his words! Kahlen grew up in Utah as a non-member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). He joined the church with help from his friend but quickly…

We love seeing your comments on our YouTube videos, Instagram stories, Facebook posts, and TikTok account! Some of you are kind, some of you are savage, and some of you might just be here to troll -- but we love you for being here and hope we bring some happiness to your day! In this episode, we read some of your comments and respond completely uns…

We are elated to hear from Kerry Muhlestein on our channel today! Kerry is an incredible scholar with a great sense of humor. We had a blast hearing from him about the controversial Book of Abraham. Here are some things Kerry addresses in this video: What are some of the most common/ most problematic assumptions that Latter-day Saints and/or non-La…

Have you ever felt the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit? Have you ever wondered what feeling the spirit might feel like? Can I feel the Holy Ghost if I'm not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ (otherwise known as the Mormon Church)? In this episode, we talk about what it's like to feel the Holy Ghost, how the gift of the Holy Ghost differs from th…

We are elated to have our good friend Stephen Smoot back on Saints Unscripted! Stephen Smoot is one of our favorite scholars (and will soon be yours as well :)). In this episode, we ask Stephen about the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, where to start when trying to understand the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, and what Stephen has learned …

We are stoked to have a conversation with David Boice on the show today! David is the host of 52 Churches in 52 Weeks and today he tells us his story of faith and adventure. David talks about having a falling out with his church and decided to distance himself from churches to focus primarily on spirituality. However, he had a prompting to attend 5…

Michelle's story is one of our favorite stories. Michelle had a great interest in spirituality and religion. She moved to Idaho to learn more about religion and quickly ran into lots of information about Mormons (known as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Fast forward a little while and Michelle found herself on an airpla…

Have you ever had questions about LDS priesthood blessings? How does someone with priesthood authority give a blessing? How does a priesthood holder know what to say when giving a blessing? Spencer joins us today to share some powerful findings about priesthood blessings. Spencer conducted over 100 interviews with men who have given priesthood bles…

*originally posted on YouTube near Father's Day* We LOVE the good dads in our lives! We are grateful for Father’s Day each year which gives us extra reason to celebrate the father figures in our lives. In this episode, we celebrate dads by sharing our favorite “dad jokes.” Each host shares a joke to the other host in hopes of generating a good ol’ …

We are incredibly grateful for the knowledge and insight of Heath Odgen on our show today as he discusses the importace of embracing science as faithful members of the LDS Church (otherwise kwown as the Mormon Church). Heath discusses his interest in evolution and how he reconciles evolution and the theory of Adam and Eve. The theory of evolution d…

For many decades, there has been speculation that Joseph Smith (first prophet of the LDS Church) did not practice polygamy. The speculation has ebbed and flowed over the years, though the conspiracy has picked up steam more recently. LDS scholar and friend of Saints Unscripted, Brian Hales, agreed to address the controversy on today’s episode. Bria…

Derek and Denise Galanis join us on Saints Unscripted to talk about Derek's conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Derek grew up in a family of crime. Prison and crime were natural parts of his formative years. Derek was convicted in 2001 and then again in 2016 for fraud. Derek talks about reconnecting with Denise, someone he had known earlier i…

Emma Wood is a remarkable new convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! We had the great opportunity of hearing her conversion story. Growing up in Arizona, she knew about members of the LDS Church (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) but didn't have much interest in joining. She decided to go to school in Utah where she began l…

Ross Richey joins us today to talk about one of the most interesting topics we’ve heard from a guest on Saints Unscripted. He starts with a discussion about ChatGPT and AI. What does that have to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Well, Ross focuses on intelligence, something frequently talked about in our scriptures and in our church. David and S…

*This was released on YouTube around Mother's Day* Today the hosts had NO IDEA what the outline of the episode would be… truly unscripted. They knew the theme would be Mother’s Day but nothing more. We surprised them by having them call a mother figure (in this case, they each chose their mom) and expressing their appreciation for a lesson they wer…

Talmage served mission for the Church of Jesus Christ (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). Upon his return, Talmage faced a lot of challenges including addiction and pornography issues. He felt worthless and purposeless. However, his family was never going to give up on him, no matter how low he felt. With their faith, he began a long healing pr…

Filming this episode with Terryl Givens was both humbling and remarkable. Terryl Givens is a leading LDS academic who has written some of our favorite books on many religious topics. Today, Terryl talks about his book, Let’s Talk About Faith and Intellect. Prior to filming this episode, we noted our favorite quotes from his book and asked him to ex…

On today’s episode, Liz shares her story of growing up in a polygamist family. She and her family moved into a neighborhood of non-polygamists and were quickly judged for their beliefs. But one of the families in the neighborhood truly embraced Liz and her family despite differing beliefs. Liz and her siblings would attend church with this kind-hea…

Brooklyn was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). She has fond memories of her childhood, though recognizes how many things could have been experienced more positively. Today she shares how she eventually learned some difficult church history and had poor experiences with church leaders, She felt the need to …

Dave Dollahite, a good friend of Saints Unscripted, joins us today to talk about his most recent scholarly project, the American Families of Faith Project. David, along with his colleague Loren Marks, have conducted extensive research in the field of families of faith. Their research includes the study of many different families of different religi…

Ben recently joined us to talk about the nature of revelation in the church and has retuned to share some additional gems with us!! Today Ben joins us to talk about implicit context in scriptures. Ben, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ (otherwise known as the LDS Church) and a historian, shares his thoughts about the importance of understandin…

Charles knew he had the very best conversion story so he reached out to share with our Saints Unscripted family!! Charles didn't grow up in the church and was actually cautioned from joining the church when he announced his decision to move to Utah. He wasn't planning on joining any religion but quickly began learning more about the gospel and find…

Ben talks about starting with assumptions. He says, “The positions we take follow from the assumptions we make.” Often when we tweak our assumptions first, we’re able to address difficult information with greater understanding. He talks about how we interpret “what scripture says” based on many assumptions, a few of which we would do well to remove…

How do I know if I have fully repented? How do I know if God has forgiven me of my sins? In this episode, David and Allex share their thoughts on repentance and about the process of forgiveness. While this topic is complex, we share a basic overview and hope it provides some clarity. But please research do some additional research on your own, as n…

Every April and October, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) holds a conference meant for the entire world! The conference is known as General Conference and is cherished by many members of the Church, as it is a time when the prophets and other authorities of the Church share sermons and give pray…

Nicole grew up in Northern Ireland and was raised in the protestant faith. She was discouraged from engaging with people of the catholic faith, as their beliefs contrasted the beliefs she was taught. But she quickly learned that there was goodness everywhere. Around 12 years old, Nicole stopped attending church and prayed infrequently. At age 15, s…