Outer Brightness: From Mormon to Jesus

The Missing Mormon Omni, Pt. 2

In this episode, Matthew and I continue our conversation of LDS beliefs regarding the omnipresence of God. In this part, we discuss various LDS views of God's omnipresence, the impact of God's omnipresence on practical (lived) theology, and some the Bible passages that touch on God's being present everywhere.

Bridging the Cultural Divide (w/ Ross Anderson)

In this episode we welcome Ross Anderson to Outer Brightness. Ross joined us to discuss his chapter in our book, Responding to the Mormon Missionary Message.

Ross was born in Utah and was raised LDS. After leaving Mormonism as a young adult, he earned a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry degree. Anderson has served as a church planter and pastor in Utah for four decades. He taught at Salt Lake Theological Seminary and served as a denominational church planting director for the region. Ross is currently a teaching pastor at Alpine Church. He is the executive director of Utah Advance Ministries and founder of the Faith after Mormonism project and the Culture-Wise podcast. Ross is author of Understanding the Book of Mormon, Understanding Your Mormon Neighbor, and Jesus without Joseph – a study guide for former Mormons.

The Missing Mormon Omni, Pt. 1

When I [the Apostate Paul] was an Mormon missionary in Hungary, teaching people who were investigating the LDS Church, I memorized the missionary discussions that I would share with them. In describing LDS beliefs about God, I would say, “Isten tökéletes. Ő mindentudó és mindenható.” Translated into English, that means, “God is perfect. He is all-knowing (omniscient) and all-powerful (omnipotent).”

Our listeners who are versed in classical Christian theology will notice that in that description, there is an attribute of God that is missing. In this episode and the next, Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist and I talk about the missing Mormon omni. And no, we’re not talking about the wicked prophet character in the Book of Mormon who supposedly wrote a mere 3 verses but moved the plot forward 276 years. We’re talking about Omnipresence.

Understanding Grace, Misunderstanding Mormonism (w/ Michael Flournoy)

Matthew the Nuclear Calvinist sat down with Michael a.k.a. The ex-Mormon Apologist to chat with him about his article, "Understanding Grace, Misunderstanding Mormonism: A Critique of Brad Wilcox's 'His Grace is Sufficient'."

Michael's article can be found on fromwatertowine.org here:

Understanding Grace, Misunderstanding Mormonism:
A Critique of Brad Wilcox's "His Grace is Sufficient"

Brad Wilcox's speech can be found on BYU's website here:

His Grace Is Sufficient

Church Authority and Scriptural Interpretation

In this episode, Matthew and I discuss the role of the church in interpreting Scripture. Is there a magesterium that holds unique authority to interpret the Bible? How does this question relate to Mormonism?

Book Release: Responding to the Mormon Missionary Message

Hi fireflies! Matthew and I have finally returned. In this episode we talk about a book project that we both worked on, providing chapters to the book Responding to the Mormon Missionary Message: Confident Conversations with Mormon Missionaries (and Other Latter-day Saints). The book is published by Aneko Press and is out now, available direct from the publisher or from Amazon.

Order "Responding to the Mormon Missionary Message" at the following locations:
Aneko Press (Publisher): https://anekopress.com/product/respon...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Responding-Mor...

Sharing the Good News with LDS Missionaries w/ Sarah Bateman

In this episode, we welcome a listener, Sarah Bateman to Outer Brightness. She recently shared with us that she has listened to about 2,400 minutes of the podcast. She joined us to talk share her experiences meeting with LDS missionaries and sharing the good news with them. She also posed some questions to us to get our insights as former LDS missionaries into how best to reach those young men and women with the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ.

Coinciding with this episode we are running a giveaway of five copies of Micah Wilder's book, "Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew." To receive this book for free, navigate to our Outer Brightness Facebook discussion group, find the post for this episode, and be one of the first five to request a copy.

Thoughts on the Textus Receptus vs Critical Text Debate (w/ Dwayne Green)

“Lions, and tigers, and bears. Oh my!”

Textus Receptus, and Modern Critical Text, and Comma Johanneum. Oh my!

The Apostate Paul, here. No sooner had I began attending a Christian church back in 2010, and declared myself an “ex-Mormon Christian” online did Latter-day Saints begin to challenge my belief in the Bible as the reliable Word of God. I quickly learned of critical Biblical scholars like Bart Ehrman, and had to bone up on terms like those above. I had to try to make sense of the many debates around text-types, and the impacts they have on English translations of the Bible. As I did so, I wondered how my former co-religionists were so knowledgeable on these topics when they were fairly new to me. Was it because I didn’t attend BYU? Is that where they learned to use such tactics to bolster the LDS claim to additional Scripture?

As I studied, I reached tentative conclusions that I discussed with others on Facebook as these issues came up. “So the Comma Johanneum isn’t in the earliest manuscripts, does that necessarily mean that it was an intentional corruption of the text? And even if it isn’t original, so what? Textual criticism can trace to where it seems to have been introduced in the transmission of the text.” When I did so, I was challenged vigorously by a KJV-only Christian.

It was a veritable mine field to try to navigate as a new Christian trying to defend his faith against volleys from Mormon online apologists. I struggled to get my mind around the breadth of the topic of textual criticism. Part of the answer for me was to attend a Christian Seminary to seek a degree in Biblical Studies. Not everyone can do that.

In this episode we welcome Dwayne Green to help listeners get the lay of the land regarding this topic. He’s very knowledgeable and has a YouTube Channel that is very helpful. Follow him if you want to dig deeper into topics related to textual criticism of the Bible.

https://www.youtube.com/@Dwayne_Green

Finding Christianity (w/ Sandra Tanner)

In this episode, we welcome Sandra Tanner to the podcast. She joined us earlier this year to discuss her transition from Mormonism to Christianity. Many who go through an LDS faith crisis end up jettisoning Christianity and religion altogether. We asked Sandra to talk about why she kept Christianity after deconstructing Mormonism. 

It was a pleasure to have Sandra on Outer Brightness, and to have had the opportunity to meet her in person at the Utah Lighthouse Ministry Bookstore in Salt Lake City in September.

”Aaaaand We’re Back!” Update and Relaunch

Hey Fireflies! Long time no post. Big apologies. In this episode, Matthew and I give an update on what's been going on in our busy lives and talk about the relaunch of Outer Brightness: From Mormon to Jesus.

We're glad to be back, and hope to hear from you soon!