Why Mormons Don't Make Sense w/ Trent Horn

As part of their discussion on double standards Protestants apply to Catholicism, Matt and Trent touch on Mormonism. Trent gives one objection he has: Where did all this in the book of Mormon take place?

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[bradcope]

As a scripture-ignorant teenager, although I was baptized as an evangelical, I had let a pretty girl talk me into getting "baptized" in the Mormon church, I eventually left and started attending an Anglican Church. But while Mormon theology is wrong, they do alot in regards to charity, and they also were the ones that got me to realize Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide are untenable positions to forward 10 years, and Im joining the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church next Easter ❤️

[brycew]

As a mormon I'm highly offended...

That I was taken in by Joseph Smith and the more I learn about the troublinh history and incoherent theology of Mormonism.

I'm seriously looking into Orthodoxy and Catholicism as a result.

Thanks for what you do. Mormons are the genuinely nicest people. Don't be too hard on them but help them see the truth.

[ethanf.]

Latter Day Saint listener here! I've always appreciated your intellectually fair and honest approach. Despite the criticism of some of our doctrine, I felt it was done respectfully and with an honest desire for truth and edification (not to tear down or villainize)

Keep it up guys!

[RosieJ]

Thank you for acknowledging that “weirdness” is not a good reason to believe something is false. Disagree with Doctrine because it doesn’t line up with Scripture, reason, or apostolic tradition…but Christianity IS weird to worldly ears. Believing Jesus is risen is weird (albeit true!) so we need to have a better answer than “I don’t like their funny habits.” Also, thank you Trent, for your work in apologetics. I came into the Church over 10 years ago and Catholic Answers had a large bit to do with that! God is good.

[benjaminmckay]

Matt - I appreciate the way you respectfully discuss my faith, even though you have your reservations. I love your podcast and what you stand for. My wife worked with you in the anti-pornography movement and has nothing but great things to say. Keep up the good work! God bless.

[calebcleverly]

As a Latter-day Saint, I appreciate your respectful approach. I would hope that a respectful and intellectually honest LDS conversation on Catholicism would be as level-headed.

[danieltracy]

I live in downtown Salt Lake City and do appreciate having the LDS church here to provide balance to the woke and progressive tendencies of many in the city.

[darbyheavey]

I’m a traditional Catholic and I believe our theology is more sophisticated but I admire how Mormons raise their families. I’m inclined to consider them a Christian sect and fellow believers. Judge them by their fruits.

[ibond]

Just watched caught the gist of this show. As a traditional Catholic- if there is such thing since we all should be traditional- I have watched and ran across many Mormons. I do concur that they are generally charitable and closely knit as families. This is something admirable and we all need to look up to

[spencermarsh]

Mormon here. I very much appreciate that Horn actually knows a bit about the different attempts made to place Book of Mormon geography by our own apologists/scholars. He should know though that the vast majority of the most educated of them place in in Mesoamerica. If anyone is interested in seeing the best case we can make for that, see Brant Gardner, _Traditions of the Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History_ published in 2015.

[HelibearWomble]

Latter-day Saint listener here! I’m not a subscriber but I do drop by from time to time to listen to the longer podcasts you do with guests. The topics you cover are so good!

Your guest here was most respectful in how he presented his views which was refreshing.

As the beliefs and values of the world continue to disintegrate I hope that the people of our two denominations will grow closer and more unified as we focus on our common ground. It’s sad to see, judging by the reply comments I’ve read on some of the other LDS comment here, that there are some who would prefer to reject any case for common ground.

On the outside we look quite different, but digging deeper I see a lot the similarities. Especially in comparison to many of the more modern, music-focused Protestant/Evangelical churches.

- We believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
- We believe that We are saved through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that is His perfect life, suffering in Gethsemane, scourging and crucifixion and ultimately His resurrection.
- We believe in the need for priesthood authority.
- We believe in the need for saving ordinances and the sequence of those ordinances, that faith alone isn’t enough.
- We believe that a child reaches the age of accountability at eight years old, hence why Catholics reserve Holy Communion until then and we reserve Baptism until then.
- We believe in the need for partaking of the sacrament/Eucharist/communion, and the need to abstain when living in sin.
- We believe in the need for confession and repentance.
- The wearing of special clothing for adults who covenant to consecrate their lives to more deeply obey laws regarding obedience and chastity.
- The importance of ritual as well as prayer, scripture and a Christ-like lifestyle.
- The importance of marriage and having children.
- We even believe in a Queen of Heaven.

I think that’s a lot of common ground. Keep doing what your doing!

[bbqbros]

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and just want to say you guys are great. I love the podcast and catholics. You have some of the best theologians and thinkers that are so refreshing to hear at this time in the world. Honestly if we didn't have our faith- most of us would probably immediately be catholics because we share so many core beliefs- as well as the a common emphasis on the importance Saint Peter as the head of the church. For Catholics its the pope- for Latter Day Saint Christians its the current prophet Russel M. Nelson.

[JohnFromAccounting]

Mormons not drinking caffeine makes sense to me. As a purely practical health focus, its a good idea to avoid an addictive substance.

[tylerahlstrom]

Latter-day Saint here. I appreciate the initial argument that we shouldn’t mock what we don’t understand. I disagree with the latter argument implying there is no good evidence for the Book of Mormon. There are thousands of internal and external evidences supporting the veracity of the Book. For a small example, many names were thought to have been invented by Smith, but have since been found to be authentic ancient names consistent with time and place. As well, detailed, long Chiasmus are found in the Book of Mormon. As far as archaeological evidence, look up Nahom, which has been found where it should be. Also, the Book of Mormon mention’s a group of men finding a large stone with writing on it telling the history of the people. This is consistent with Meso-American culture of writing their history on stelae. Something Joseph could not have known about. There are many other things, but suffice it to say that I believe the Book of Mormon to be authentic solely off of the objective evidence before me, in addition to personal revelation.

[BlackDragon-yz]

His argument could technically be applied to a lot of low-fantasy (stories with fantastic elements, but still in our world) books as well. So it is a bit of a poor argument in that regard. If you compare the two places, meso-america and the middle-east, and look at how much we know about those respective places, it is also a bit of an unfair argument. We know a lot more about the old world in terms of archeology and it's history, than we do about the new world.

A far better question would be, "Why do we see hebraisms in a book when the supposed "author" had no education in the literary aspects of the Bible?". Or, "How did a young man write a 500 page book with 337 names, three calendar systems, and a coherent description of the geography in which it took place, in about 70 work-days?". Why have none of the witnesses of the golden plates denied their testimony even after they left the church? Why would the supposed author risk his life for a faith and book that he himself made up? Why did both the Hebrews and the Mayans use a chiastic structure in their writings? (Not that this would be evidence that the Mayans had hebrew blood, but it is still a valid question in my opinion)

If someone can answer these questions in a way that doesn't raise another one, please tell me. (Not that my notifications ever ring up, but still.)

[mr.horrorchild]

Not Mormon but a descendant of the pioneers and the first man baptized in England. He was later excommunicated, but, I love my Mormon ancestors and what they built.

[shaunkruger]

It is very interesting to consider how the Book of Mormon looks. When considering that it describes two civilizations that essentially destroyed themselves it becomes much harder to place.

I find the more interesting questions come from considering how it demonstrates human nature while focusing on cautionary stories of war and political intrigue shortly after describing that the word of god has more power to change peoples minds for the better than violence does.

[joannebywaters]

Thank you for this video & those who commented, God bless us all!!🙏❤🙏

[ryanolenick]

Matt…please get Shia Lebouf on! Praise Jesus and the intercession of Padre Pio on his Conversion!

[realCodyCurtis]

I will say this. Just as I would never debate Christianity with anyone who has never read the bible, or Islam with someone who has never read the Quran, I would also never debate Morminism with anyone who has never read the Book of Mormon. Imagine giving critical analysis of a religious text and only reading the cliff notes. Not to say that this is what happened in the clip, but it's certainly going to happen in this comment section. 😂