Saints Unscripted

Ian and Kwaku sit down with Dr. Michael H. MacKay, a religion professor at BYU who teaches many different subjects of religion pertaining to the Mormon Church.    The three discuss the Priesthood of God, the Restoration, and the temple, as taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.    Dr. MacKay shares his thoughts on the priesthood and how in the book of Moses, we learn that the priesthood goes all the way back to Adam and that it continues on today in the LDS Church.  He also shares insight on ordinances and covenants and why both are very important in the Mormon Church, specifically in the Temple.

Saints Unscripted gets a lot of comments from their viewers. Some comments are from trolls and others are genuine. Ian and Kwaku respond to a few of their favorite questions.    Some comments ask why people join the LDS church. Others ask about Mormon marriage and Mormon temples. Many wonder about Ian’s LDS mission. And lastly, others should be comedians… we’ll just leave it at that.

Mormons pay the ancient law of Tithing that is found in the Old Testament. Through paying tithing, members are promised amazing blessings.   With money from tithing paid by members, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints builds up the Kingdom of God on earth. This means Temples are built, Books of Mormon are printed, and the poor are given help, just to name a few things (there are many other ways the Mormon Church uses tithing money).   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also has many businesses that they own that make profit. The Church then takes that money and uses it for building up the Kingdom of God just like tithing money is used.    When members of the Church pay tithing they are given incredible blessings. In Malachi 3:10 it says: “… if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessings, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."  Mormons everywhere around the world pay tithing and see the blessings that come from it

Do Mormons swear? Kwaku and Ian dive into the topic of whether swearing and profanity is okay or not.    Kwaku says that cussing can be funny at times but shouldn’t be done often and absolutely shouldn’t be done in a derogatory way. Kwaku says that when he is back home in Texas he tries not to curse very much. He does this because he knows that his non-Mormon watch how he acts and speaks as a member of the LDS Church.    Ian mentions that the scriptures do say that we should have good language and that we should refrain from swearing as best as we can. He says that saying swear words and being profane isn’t what a worth priesthood holder should do and that we should do our best to not swear. 

Kwaku shares how his seeking for the truth lead to his conversion to the LDS Church.   Kwaku’s journey to becoming a Mormon started when he was a young kind in Cyprus, Texas. He visited different churches and asked many people what they thought the truth was but he still wasn’t able to find exactly what he was looking for.   During this time, Mitt Romney was running for President of the United States and “The Book of Mormon Musical” was really popular. So Mormons became the talk of the town where he was from.  He started working at a restaurant where he met a Mormon girl who eventually invited him to church with her.  At church he met the sister missionaries and began investigating the church. After he prayed about the Book of Mormon and came to learn of the Plan of Salvation and baptisms for the Dead, he knew that the LDS Church was the church of God on earth. He was baptized soon after.   What is your conversion story? Send us an Instagram DM or Facebook Message about how you knew the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the right church!

Mormons believe the Bible to be the word of God, as long as it is translated correctly. Mormons believe that the Bible is the first witness of Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon is the second witness of Jesus Christ.   The Bible has been the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith, the prophet who restored the Church of Jesus Christ, grew up studying from the Bible. When he was questioning which church to join, he turned to the Bible and read James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” It was this promise from the Bible that brought him to pray and receive the First Vision where he saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Saints Unscripted travel around BYU campus asking students about their worst date rejection stories!   These BYU date rejection stories have many different versions. Some say they were rejected by someone they asked out, others say they rejected someone who tried to go out with them, either way, it was a lot of rejection!   One Girl, who is a convert to the Mormon church, shared a story of a time when she tried to ask out two guys but they both rejected her.   Another student shared a story of when he asked out a girl that he was getting to know through one of his classes, but she ended up “friend-zoning” him.    These BYU date rejection stories might seem discouraging, but Saints Unscripted reminds us in this video, there are many other fish in the sea!

Al Fox Carraway felt she didn’t need help from anyone, especially religion. That all changed when she met the Mormon missionaries.    Initially when Al met the Mormon missionaries, she told them she would live the LDS principles that she was being taught and prove that nothing would happen, that she wouldn’t receive any blessings.    After some time of doing this, Al’s friends noticed that she was changing and she seemed different. The only thing she was doing differently was that she was trying to prove the Mormon missionaries wrong. After this realization was made, she decided to investigate the LDS Church more fully.    A week before her 21st birthday, Al Fox Carraway was baptized into the Mormon Church and has seem so many beautiful blessings today because of that decision to follow Christ and his teachings.

Al Fox Carraway describes her experience on being a Mormon Convert. She Has many experiences that brought her to the LDS church and she shares them with Saints Unscripted.   Al Fox learned for herself that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the Church of God. She has had many experiences that have taught her that God is real and that He loves His children. Through her conversion, Al Fox has become a popular LDS figure and speaker and she even wrote her own book called the “Tattooed Mormon”!   Becoming converted to the LDS Church, Carraway talks about how her perspective on family completely changed. She shares that dating was difficult for her, but she was able to find her husband and is married and has two kids of her own and is a firm believer that families can be together forever.   Through her conversion, Al Fox learned new things like a “Ward” is a group of members, a “Stake” is not food, and how to sing hymns in church! These are some of the many new things about the Mormon Church that she learned. 

Funny things kids say about their mom for Mother's Day. Saints Unscripted hosts Kwaku and Ian invite Elijah and Lochlan on the show to express their love for their moms on Mother's Day.    Lochlan is in Kindergarten and he loves to do math. He can solve some series equations and can dab like a pro. Also, he dressed like Luigi unintentionally for the show. Can he get more cool? Well, yes indeed. The second he starts talking, Ian melts. Lochlan says that he loves his mom (even though she just cooks "good enough"). He loves that she plays Ticket to Ride with him.   Elijah says that the most important thing he learned from his mom is to always tell the truth. Kwaku agrees that telling the truth is important except under certain conditions.   Kwaku says that his mom taught he to be inquisitive. He says that his mother encouraged him to embrace diversity. And lastly, Kwaku's mom is beautiful.    Moms, WE LOVE YOU! We love your strength, your wisdom, and your love. Have a spectacular Mother's Day.