This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Passion for Christ, a ministry of Utah Partnerships for Christ. In Acts 26, 18, Jesus said, Paul's purpose was to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. and from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
We hope you'll join us for today's testimony of lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's begin today's episode. Welcome to Passion for Christ. I'm with my friends from Grace Baptist Church. They are here on a mission trip to Utah. This is, what is this, guys?
Day what? You guys caught here on Friday? Yeah, it was. Yeah, we flew in on Friday, so it's Friday. Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
Sorry, gonna count on my fingers. This is our fourth day, and we go home on Thursday. And these guys have been talking to a lot of Mormons, been sharing the gospel. It's like you're not quite done with the trip. You've still got a couple more days.
And so So Nick And Jenny Tell us about what the Lord's been doing on this trip with your students and yourself. Like, what has the Lord been teaching you on this trip so far, Nick? Wow. Yeah, the Lord's been teaching us a lot on this trip. I think one of the big things for me that the Lord has been teaching us is patience, listening to.
To others and what they believe, because I think that really communicates love. We were um getting ready to come here and one of the things that was That you are training us actually is to come with not a spirit of contention. Uh because with with that, if we're uh thinking, Oh, I want to argue with You know, people that don't believe in the same thing I do, um, that doesn't really communicate love. And that's that's really what we're trying to do, is to communicate love so that we can then talk about things that really matter, uh, truth. Uh, because That's what we're called to do.
We're not called to fight others, but we are called to carry the truth and be honest. Kind of in the same way Jesus did and his disciples did right after him. Excellent. Excellent. Well, I really appreciate.
You guys coming out here to Utah, you guys have been a huge blessing to us, and so. Thank you, thank you so much. We're going to turn to Jenny now. And so, Jenny, if you'd like to take the mic, same question. What has the Lord been teaching you on this trip?
Manress, as we sit in your office here and I'm looking at all these passages of different Bibles and different artifacts, I've been thinking a lot lately about the historicity of the Bible and the evidence. I've been following some different apologists online and some linguists, and that's been really neat in my own preparation for thinking about this trip. And even as I've been here and some of the conversations we've had about the infallibility of scripture and how can we trust the Bible and know its truth, it's been such a reminder as we've processed and debriefed with our students, our youth group kids here after our different conversations, the importance of studying God's Word and to know it and that we can trust it and why we can trust it. It is important to build our own faith. and to trust it and to have conversations that matter and to go back and reflect upon that and to think about why why do I know God's word to be true and how can I know it and how can I then talk to others about it.
Well, praise God. Thank you so much.
Well stated. And we're just going to move right along to our next person on the team here from Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita, California.
So next we have Corinne. Corinne, this is your first time in Utah? Yes.
Okay. And what has the Lord been teaching you on this mission trip to Utah? Um, something that he has taught me is I don't know. I've just been learning to be more grateful that I don't have to fill in gaps in what I believe because. what I believe and like seeing how when we are interacting with Mormons, how they don't necessarily always know what they believe.
So I'm just very grateful that I don't have to make up stuff to make everything make sense. Yes, yes. It makes you appreciate even like just things about the Bible and your home church and things, right? Yeah, it makes me very grateful. Excellent, excellent.
Well, thank you so much, Corinne. Thank you. And we are going to now hear from Weston. Yes, sir. Tell us, what has the Lord been Speaking to you about on this mission trip to Utah, you know, um, the Lord, uh, these past couple days and this past month has really just been showing and speaking to me about the importance of preparedness.
Um, you know, it's really cool because we got to do this devotional time that our team leaders, uh, Nick and Jenny, devised for us. And today's passage was in 1 Peter. And specifically, I want to pick out 1 Peter 3:15, where it says, But in your hearts, regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. And you know, It's just awesome. Um, to be able to defend our faith to people who either don't have a faith or have something and just don't understand what we believe and why we believe it.
And whether it's studying scripture or just being able to converse and try and relate to people, it's so awesome to be able to get to know our Lord and Savior and be able to talk to other people about it and just like that verse said, defend our faith and be prepared in that.
So, studying and taking time for the Lord and just not making all of our day about ourselves, but give our day to the Lord, you know, super, super. Thank you so much.
Absolutely, right. All right, thank you so much. All right, next we have. Grayson. Grayson, tell us what has the Lord been doing in your heart on this trip so far and you know what is he teaching you?
Well, one thing that he's that God's definitely taught me is uh just how aware I have to be of the definitions of words. Because from talking to different Mormons, one thing that I've recognized is we use the same words, but we mean completely different things.
So, like a lot of other people have said, just being prepared, knowing, like, that, um That God will give us the words, that he'll give us the knowledge to be able to. Decipher the differences so we won't be able, so that we won't get like sidetracked.
So, yeah. Great, great things you just mentioned.
So, thank you so much for being here. And with that, we will have Ariana share. about what has the Lord been teaching you on this mission trip to Utah. Yeah, um I think the main thing I've... been learning on this trip is just growing in appreciation of Yeah.
My like my relationship with my savior. Talking to a lot of people, it's It's very disconnected, and I can see that, and it's visible. And so the Lord has just put it on my heart of a much stronger gratitude of the fact that I have a personal relationship with him and he seeks one out with me. And that's the main thing that I've just been looking at and also like um when we've been studying That's how I've been thinking about it as well and truly like grasping that. But Great, great.
Those are great, great things for sure. And I can say this to all you guys. You know, as the Lord leads you down the road, who knows, maybe he wants you to come out to Utah again. You're always welcome back with Grace Baptist Church and UPFC to come back again and to Try to, you know, Build those relationships with Mormons back in your hometown. You know, and I'm sure that before this trip is over, you and Nick and Jenny will be talking about different ways that you can reach the Mormons, the Mormon missionaries that come to your door and things like that.
And so great.
Well, thank you so much. And then next, we'll have Naomi come up and share.
So, the question, as you've been already hearing, is what has the Lord been teaching you on this mission trip to Utah? Yeah, I think one thing that the Lord has been growing me in, I wouldn't say teaching, but growing me in, is that it's just growing my heart for the lost. And because before, when people would ask me about this mission trip, I would say, oh, I'm just going to Utah, thinking that it wasn't as big of a deal because I'm not leaving the country to go talk to some unreached people group or doing some great service in a country far away. I've really just realised that Mormons are Just as lost as unreached people groups because they have the word of God but they don't understand it, and just the twisted nature of the Bible has just really grown my heart for them because of the confusion and just the way they don't understand. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much, Naomi. Thank you. We'll be right back for the rest of today's testimony. Please know we at Utah Partnerships for Christ have been planting seeds of the gospel in Utah for over 24 years. We welcome any questions you may have and invite you to visit our website to obtain a list of words and definitions that would help you understand how Mormons think and how to be able to better witness to your friends who belong to the Mormon Church.
That website is www.upfc.org. That's upfc dot org. We'll be right back. Welcome to Passion for Christ, a ministry of Utah Partnerships for Christ. In Acts 26, 18, Jesus said, Paul's purpose was to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.
and from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. We hope you'll join us for today's testimony of lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's begin today's episode. Next, we have Bryce. Hi, so yeah, how has gotten to be. This is your second trip to Utah, isn't it? It is.
It is. Before you answer that question, get closer to that microphone.
Okay. And tell us, compared to last year so far, do you feel like. How has it been different? How has it been the same too? And then tell me how the Lord's been.
All right.
So, in ways, it's been different. Last year, when I came. I didn't know Basically, anything about the LDS church, about their culture, their habits, and just the ways they interact. Kind of like what Grayson was saying earlier with definitional things. And then also similar to Naomi, I didn't really consider it to be that like.
I don't know, high and mighty of a mission trip. And not that that was the intention, but it's just like, oh, yeah, going to Utah, talking to the Mormons. Stuff like that. And so, in that regard, it's been much different. I now realize a lot more of these things, I've done a lot more research.
Um and ways it's been similar. Um Hmm. I think the closest similarities between the two have been As I continue to interact with various missionaries. My personal Strength in my own faith has grown, and ways to interact with that. And that can lead into this next question: what has God been teaching me on this trip?
Is to really just trust in. How, even despite our efforts, he is still the one who saves. He is still the one who plants the seed and who nurtures it and grows it. He like we are the vessels of that, but despite our Or I don't know. Our words we use, the mistakes and slip-ups we make, he's still going to use whatever opportunities he can to further the gospel.
And so I've just been thinking about that in light of testimonies as well with the Oh, what do you call it? like the halfway house type of thing we're going to tonight. in that respect, just making sure that No matter like what is said, it's still going to be used For the betterment of the gospel. Right, right. I'm going to ask you another question, if you don't mind.
If you had to give advice to others that are in high school who might Think that they can maybe, you know, pursue a relationship, you know, like a dating relationship, you know, with a person who's Mormon. What would you say to that person? Like, let's let's just say hypothetically, you know, some just lovely young woman comes across your path, Bryce, and she's Mormon, you know, and You guys are just like the fireworks are happening, you know? What do you do? What do you do?
How would you advise someone a little bit younger than you? In this situation, would you just say, oh, you know, no big deal, man. You know, just kind of, you know, flirt to convert, you know, no big deal. You know, what would you say? Is that wise?
Is that wise, Bryce? Absolutely not. Can't make that any more abundantly clear. Because particularly Well, the Bible obviously says don't be unequally yoked. But to the Mormon, they don't realize that.
They misinterpret that text. And so they realize that, like, or they think it has to do with church divisions and stuff like that.
However, I would still say do not date a Mormon if you're a Christian. That's bad. They're not the same at all. And to the Mormons' credit, It If you're doing like a flirt to convert type of thing, in their minds They want to be sealed in the temple one day if they're like a devout Mormon, or they're just kind of doing it to be a good person, but they have no firm, sincere faith. And so that can just cause a lot of issues, particularly if you aren't strong in Christianity yourself and you're still working things out, as most people, like, I don't know.
At our age demographic are like teens to early 20s and stuff like that when you're most like seriously dating. Like, we're still figuring out ourselves and how to make our faith our own. And so, beyond that, just not a good call. Go do it. Maybe, maybe introduce them to introduce this young lady, this hypothetical person to some of your other Christian friends who are.
Definitely don't cease the relationship if it's one of friends, but do not go dating for friendship, no flirting to convert, stuff like that. Gotcha. Find a good, solid Christian person. Amen. Amen.
I like that.
Okay. I wanted to ask Nick to come back to the mic real quick. I just want to ask him, ask you, Nick. You're listening to your students say these things. What's going through your mind?
Um I guess what's going through my mind is Um What a great opportunity this is for students and for anybody, really, to. Get opportunities to articulate what you believe in. Um You know, in the church we talk about issues that really matter as it concerns salvation. Versus issues that might come up in the church that are more preferential. You know, I would just prefer that, you know, when I interpret this text, it means this.
And it's not really a salvific issue. But. 'Cause when you're talking to somebody That sounds Very similar to your faith. Like the at the LDS Church. There's a lot of similarities.
You know, you think about the blessings that one would get because they're involved with a community of of like-minded people or believers. Um there's so many similarities and it's You know, you... You really have to force yourself to think through: okay, well, what are the differences? And When you get down to the words. Uh and what they mean.
you notice that there are significant differences. And you know, I I think the thing that was scariest to me, or something I guess I just realized when I was um listening to a lot of the the the members of the LDS church talk about their faith, That uh they they might not even realize. Um That something like assurance. They don't even realize they don't have assurance. And when it comes to their salvation one day, that a lot rests on them and what their choices are and what they do for Jesus.
But when I look at the scripture, I don't see that. I see that. I have confidence in where I'm going to be because of not something that I have done, but something that Jesus has done for us. And you know, I I talk to a lot of LDS members and they they say the same thing, but uh their Their faith continues and relies on works on where they're going to end up one day, if they're going to be with Heavenly Father one day, or not, you know, depending on which kingdom they make it to. I don't see that anywhere in scripture.
Right. It's just, it's just you're going to be with God because of what Jesus has done. And then your life will reflect that. It'll reflect your belief that Jesus has done what He has done for you. And the Holy Spirit does that work in you.
And you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to worry if I'm good enough. You just have to worry about. Your love for the Savior. Have you put your faith and trust in Christ?
Alone for your salvation, and he did it all. You know, we're gonna we're gonna close out the program today with Weston. I wanna ask Weston if he would just kind of imagine right now that you're you're you're you're talking to a Mormon right now. Maybe they're in they're listening in Ohio or North Carolina where this is being broadcast on the radio. Maybe it's to kind of an older audience, you know, and you're a young man and and and you're you're maybe just You're talking to a Mormon.
What do you say to that Mormon right now? What would come across your mind? to share the love of Christ, grace, and truth. Say it right now. They're listening on their radio.
What would you say? He's like a 50-year-old guy, and he's given his life to this thing. And his whole reputation is on this. But what what do you say to that guy right now who's a Mormon? No, what I would say to that guy, I would also defer back to what we've been talking about a lot this trip: the Bereans, right?
In Acts 17, I believe. And just how. And they heard what Paul had to say, and they went back and they studied the scripture and they really looked and they fact-checked everything, you know.
Something that I've always been in the pursuit of, I've always found it fun and interesting, is being in the pursuit of truth. Learning about everything, but also question. You have to question everything and look at it.
Now, I think there's a lot of Latter-day Saints who don't question what they believe ever, and they just kind of stay cooped up in this echo chamber. And a lot of times it's cool when you're in it, but also when you get out of that little community, it's like you have an awakening. There's a. There's some people we talked to, and they hadn't even heard certain things we were saying. And we were like, it's in scripture.
It's in scripture. Just read your Bible. And I think the importance of reading scripture. We don't do it enough. Even as Christians, I think a lot of times we hear stuff on Sunday and we move on.
And I don't even think they do it enough in Mormon wards, for example. We were there and we didn't open any scripture. It was mind-blowing. Every person on our team. Was just mind-blown.
And when I say scripture, I mean the Bible specifically.
So it's just, it's such an important thing to do. And there's a lot of contradictions between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the Bible and the Pearl of Grace Price, and just the doctrines in general and doctrines and covenants, you know. Yeah.
So I think it's really important to do that. And also, I just real quick thought it was funny because you mentioned that this is going to Ohio to the Mormon in Ohio. I actually had my first encounter with. Members of Latter-day Saints was there was a Latter-day Saint who came to my home and I had a conversation with him and he was actually from Ohio.
So that's what that's funny.
So that resonates with me. It's awesome.
Well, thank you so much, Weston. Thank you for the team. Give yourselves a round of applause. Praising God for everything you've been doing in your lives here on Utah. Thank you so much.
We're going to sign off for now. Thank you for joining us here on another edition of Passion for Christ. Before we sign off for today, please know that all of us here at Utah Partnerships for Christ appreciate your prayers and support. We are also available to do Zoom call workshops or personal coaching on reaching Mormons for Christ. Contact us today at upfc.org.
That's upfc.org. Thanks so much for joining us on another edition of Passion for Christ.
