Saints Unscripted

This episode isn’t to convince anyone to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church)... BUT we did want to talk about the benefits, in addition to spiritual benefits, that there are to living the gospel of Jesus Christ.    Some of the benefits include:   Instant community,  More support when you move, more support during difficult/big life events, Ministering (home teachers), Support for youth (weekly youth activities), Responsibility,  Focus on family,  Self reliance, Health, Less alcohol abuse, less lung disease caused by smoking, Emphasis on education,  Financial support (and responsibility),  Honesty, Service,  Sexual purity, Seminary (free study of the scriptures),  Structure

What is fate? What is destiny? Do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as Mormons) believe in fate and/or destiny? This topic is TOUGH. Why? Because within this topic is the question of God’s omniscience, which isn’t something that the Church has clear doctrine on. But there is clear doctrine on agency -- the ability to choose for ourselves how we are going to live and know that we aren’t just playing our lives out as though they have already been written.    The Church clearly believes in agency and frequently emphasizes the importance of agency. We don’t believe in pre-determinism. God isn’t going to tell us everything that we should do. We have the ability to decide how we are going to live our lives. Fortunately, Jesus Christ has been through all that we’ll experience so he can help us make it through and be the judge through it all.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) has long produced videos to promote different topics within the Church. But let’s be honest… some of the videos from the past are downright hilarious! And today we respond to one of the classics! This is both Taylor and Justin’s first time watching the video so their responses are genuine. And we want to hear your responses!! 

This is our SIXTH response to your comments! If you follow our channel, you know that we get some AMAZING comments and some INSANE comments. Whatever side of the spectrum you are on, we’re grateful that you’ve voiced your opinion and we encourage you to keep commenting— we love hearing from you! Really though, we love it. Even the comments from the haters.    As is usual with these types of episodes, we usually choose the insane comments to respond to but if you have only commented positive things, don’t think your comment hasn’t been read. We read ALL of the comments.

Prior to this episode, we asked our Instagram audience for their questions about pornography addiction so we could ask Nic. Nic says he has been addicted to pornography for over 2 decades, some of that time during his marriage. We filmed his story in Part One of this series that will certainly give you better background into his story and will definitely give more hope to your story, whatever it may be.    In this episode, we answer questions like:  "What can I do as a loved one to someone with a pornography addiction?"  "How do I stay strong when my significant other is addicted to pornography?"   "What do you say when someone reveals to you that they have a porn addiction?"   Nic talks about common lies told by pornography addicts, what loved ones can do for those afflicted with addiction, and more.

We LOVED having Nic on our show to tell his story of overcoming pornography. His story is so genuine and powerful. If you've ever struggled with pornography, know someone who has struggled with pornography, or simply want to better understand those who struggle, this is the episode for you!    This is part 1 of a 2-part series: The first part is Nic's story and the second part is Nic answering YOUR questions (from our Instagram page) about pornography.     In this part, Nic tells about struggling with pornography for more than 2 decades. He was first exposed to pornographic images when he was around 11 years old. Since his initial experience, Nic began consuming more and more pornographic material. He was very good at hiding his addiction and was even able to hide it from his wife for many years.    However, he know what he was doing was wrong and he thought he could fix it on his own until one day, he just couldn't take it anymore. Nic and his wife were putting their kids i

In this episode, we brought back Izzy and Korinne (by popular demand) for another ALL GIRLS episode! Mimi, Izzy and Korinne talk about Mormon garments and the importance of modesty.    (PRO TIP: If you haven't seen our explanation on garments or 'magic Mormon underwear, check out this video first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMNwb...​)    The three girls discuss whether or not it's necessary to wear garments while working out. Izzy and Korinne choose not to wear the garment, saying that they don't want to dirty the garment. Mimi, on the other hand, chooses to wear the temple garment as often as possible.

Taylor and Sam were challenged to pray every day for 10 consecutive minutes for one week. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, prayer is strongly encouraged, as speaking to God is essential to understanding His will. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we don’t normally recite prayers but rather pray to God with the sentiments in our heart, as frequently as we need and even in times when we feel unwilling. God is our Father in Heaven and wants to hear from us. In this episode, Sam and Taylor talk about their experience with prayer prior to the challenge, how the challenge went, and what they will do moving forward with prayer.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as Mormons) are accused of having LOTS of commandments that they must abide by in order to gain exaltation. So today we wanted to address why we keep commandments.    What are “Mormon” commandments? Are some things just suggestions and some things commandments? Why does God give commandments and why are we supposed to keep them? Who is responsible for keeping commandments? Just like other religions, we believe in ‘commandments.’ The commandments in the Mormon church aren’t much different from the commandments you’d find in other religions. In fact, we believe in the 10 Commandments found in the Bible, just as our fellow Christians. In addition to the formal 10 Commandments, we believe in other ‘regulations’ that may be unique to Mormonism but fall within the 10 Commandments in the Bible (for example, we believe in keeping the body clean (Word of Wisdom) and paying tithing).

Samantha (who frequently goes by Sam on this channel) shares her conversion story today and it is INCREDIBLE. Sam has been a host on Saints Unscripted since last summer and she has been SUCH AN ASSET. Her episodes on women in the Church have been so important and widely popular (be sure to check them out) and her thoughts in all the other episodes have been so helpful to many members in the Saints Unscripted community.    In this episode, Sam shares her conversion story. Even though she has been a member of the Church since she was able to be baptized at age 8, her conversion story spans over the course of her life. You don’t want to miss it!

There are manyyyyy assumptions about how children are raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church). But which assumptions are true? Well, today on Saints Unscripted, we wanted to tell you our personal experiences about being raised in the LDS Church. While we have some notes about what we want to discuss, this episode is totally unscripted. We want to give you the truth! And the truth is? We were all raised by imperfect people, trying their best to teach us.

*This was originally released on YouTube on December 31, 2020** We’re fairly confident that a common sentiment about the year 2020 is that it was absolutely CRAZY! So many unexpected things occurred and didn’t seem to end… for the entire year! So today, we want to talk about all the crazy things that have occurred but also all of the things we’re looking forward to in the coming year.    Many things that have occurred have been:   COVID-19 pandemic  Quarantining   Travel bans  Election year (for the USA)   Murder hornets  Riots   Police brutality  Etc

*This was recorded for Joseph Smith's birthday on December 23rd* HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSEPH SMITH!! Today marks 215 years since the birth of Joseph Smith, Jr. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) believe that Joseph Smith was called by God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ as it had existed in the Bible. Joseph Smith was the first prophet and president of the LDS Church. We DO NOT worship Joseph Smith, as worship is reserved strictly for Jesus Christ.   In this episode, we talk about the big events in the life of Joseph Smith and try to guess his age at the time of each of those events. See how well Sam and Taylor know the prophet Joseph Smith!!

For a week, we participated in a challenge that we’ve never done before… we decided to MEDITATE every day, without fail. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church), meditation isn’t explicitly addressed BUT ‘pondering’ and finding moments of silence are encouraged. Some leaders in the Church have advocated for more diligence to meditation (or pondering) and so we decided to take their advice!!    Taylor talks about using the app called Headspace to meditate every day, which he really seemed to enjoy. He talks about the things he learned and the peace he felt. Sam used guided YouTube videos to meditate and says that while she never felt like she experienced ‘nirvana,’ she definitely found value in taking time to pause and clear her head.

Buzzfeed released a video of what it’s like to be a Mormon Missionary… and it’s pretty hilarious! We decided we HAD to react to it, especially since both hosts, Justin and Taylor, have been actual Mormon missionaries (correctly named missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS Church).    Taylor and Justin talk about the accuracy of the video, as well as some of the myths. They talk about their experience as missionaries and might even come close to shedding a few tears!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church) holds a semi-annual General Conference where they address the world about topics pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The conference is free to watch and can be viewed on YouTube or on churchofjesuschrist.org. The conference is almost always held on the first weekend in October and the first weekend in April.    In this episode, we talk about the best ways to prepare for the conference and things we do to get the most out of our attendance at General Conference.

In this episode, we talk about EASTER! In the Church of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the Mormon Church, Easter is celebrated and loved by most members of the Church. However, there definitely isn't the same emphasis on Easter within the typical LDS home as there is in other christian homes. Why not? Are we celebrating Easter incorrectly?

We’re back with another “responding to comments” video!! Friends, we LOVE the comments you make on our channel and hope you keep leaving comments in the future. We try and read every comment, the positive and the negative :) In this episode, as with the others, we’re responding to random comments made by YOU on our channel.

We’re back for part two of Peyton’s conversion story! If you haven’t seen part one, check it out before you watch this one: https://youtu.be/PRA1MnPJjeA​  In the last episode, Peyton talked about how he learned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church), how he was baptized, and how he ended up leaving. And we left you on a cliffhanger!! In this episode, Peyton tells the rest of his story (up to this point) of his return to the Church and of his current feelings about the Church. We can’t wait for you to hear!!

On today’s episode, we chat with our new friend Peyton! You are going to LOVE his story of finding the Church, waiting to be baptized, joining, leaving, and finally coming back.    Peyton learned about the Church from a friend and had decided he wanted to be baptized, but he didn’t receive permission from his parents. After he was finally baptized, Peyton experienced very difficult life events that caused him to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The way in which Peyton tells his story is humbling and inspiring. You will love it!!