Unveiling Grace Podcast

Lynn share's candidly how her identity as a faithful Latter-day Saint was tied to the Mormon Church. She also talks openly about how certain things, like the recent series Under the Banner of Heaven can trigger past feelings of darkness and spiritual bondage. What we need most is not more performance, or a superficial sense of righteousness, but rather knowing and owning the radically new identity we have in Christ and experiencing the freedom Jesus alone can bring to our relationship to God and others. Changing your identity will change your life.

Lynn share's candidly how her identity as a faithful Latter-day Saint was tied to the Mormon Church. She also explains the common and dark threads that link the crimes of the new series Under the Banner of Heaven to fundamental LDS concepts of priesthood and male authority. The answer is not personal self-esteem but rather knowing and owning the radically new identity we have in Christ and experiencing the freedom Jesus alone can bring to our relationship to God and others. Changing your identity will change your life.

Eric's daughter came to him with an unusual request. Her former LDS friend wanted to better understand traditional, biblical Christianity. Was there a book she could recommend? Eric combed through his extensive library only to discover a book that introduced Mormons to biblical Christianity didn't exist. So he wrote it and it comes out this September 2022. In this final segment of our 3-part series we explore what the LDS Church gets right, and gets wrong, about the person of Jesus. We also talk about how understanding what Jesus did for us removes the burden of performance-based religion. In Jesus we can find true acceptance, unconditional love and a grace that brings the healing we all need.

Eric's daughter came to him with an unusual request. Her former LDS friend wanted to better understand traditional, biblical Christianity. Was there a book she could recommend? Eric combed through his extensive library only to discover a book that introduced Mormons to biblical Christianity didn't exist. So he wrote it and it comes out this September 2022. In part two of this series of episodes we look at why so many Mormons turn toward atheism and agnosticism, how to talk to them about God, and why LDS people struggle to understand traditional Christianity. It's full of practical information and insight that can help all of us build bridges of understanding between two very distinct faiths.

Eric's daughter came to him with an unusual request. Her former LDS friend wanted to better understand traditional, biblical Christianity. Was there a book she could recommend? Eric combed through his extensive library only to discover a book that introduced Mormons to biblical Christianity didn't exist. So he wrote it and it comes out this September 2022. In this series of episodes we look at why it can be difficult for Christians to present their faith to Mormons, and why LDS people struggle to understand traditional Christianity. It's full of practical information and insight that can help all of us build bridges of understanding between to very distinct faiths.

What happens when you have it all and still feel empty? Todd came home from a successful mission, married the LDS girl of his dreams in the Mormon temple, had kids, a job and callings in his local Mormon ward. Yet, at the end of the day he wanted more and he wanted the truth. So he prayed and asked God to guide him to the truth, wherever that was. He almost missed the answer, but God showed up through humorous circumstances to show Todd the truth he so desperately wanted. There was no "anit-Mormon" literature, no troubling historical facts, no Christians pestering him with questions, just the Holy Spirit leading him to the grace that brought healing to his spirit and fullness to his soul.

Todd's pioneer family crossed the plains to Utah and settled in American Fork at the direction of Brigham Young. He talks openly about his double life, wanting to please his faithful LDS mother to keep up appearances, but also wanting to please his friends and have fun. It's an inside look at growing up LDS, lying to your bishop, and going on your mission feeling like you don't belong. Amazingly, many years later, Todd remembers the Bible verses a Christian pastor shared with him on his mission. He never let on at the time, but those verses, shared in love, planted a seed of truth that would later bear the fruit of faith and lead Todd to a grace that healed and saved his life.

In our final episode of this series with Sandra Tanner she shares how Utah Lighthouse got its name, and then explains several myths Mormons have been taught about the Bible, priesthood, and salvation that often keep them from considering biblical Christianity. We also share encouraging stories about trusting God to bring fruit from the seeds of truth we plant, and why this may take months and years to come. She also talks briefly about how the Mormon and Christian gospels are different, and how grace as a gift radically transforms our lives from the pressure of performance to the freedom of doing good works that overflow from a heart of gratitude. It's an insightful concluding episode to this delightful series with one of the pioneers in ministry to Mormons, Sandra Tanner.

Sandra Tanner talks candidly in episode 6 about how and why the LDS church is losing credibility with its own members, and some of the signs the Mormon church as a whole is in decline.  Sandra addresses the Hoffman murders, Hans Mattson and the Swedish Rescue, and the impact Mormon of moms not being able to offer the weekly sacrament to their children during Covid. Sandra also talks about where people go after Mormonism, and how divisions and splinter groups have always been a part of LDS history. It's a fascinating, wide-ranging, and insightful conversation that will help anyone looking to better understand their LDS faith or share truth and grace with those in the Mormon religion. 

Jerald and Sandra Tanner became some of the most beloved and despised people ever to research the historical roots of the Mormon religion. In this series of episodes with Sandra (Jerald is now home with Jesus) she shares their story. In episode 5 Sandra shares the wonder of God's grace and provision in expanding the ministry, lawsuits from the LDS church, donated land, and even softening the hearts of unfriendly visitors to their bookstore. 

Jerald and Sandra Tanner became some of the most beloved and despised people ever to research the historical roots of the Mormon religion. In this series of episodes with Sandra (Jerald is now home with Jesus) she shares their story. In this fourth episode she chronicles the rise of Utah Lighthouse Ministry from its humble beginnings as Modern Microfilm, creating mimeographed sheets of LDS source material for doubting family and friends, to eventually printing the epic length volume Mormonism: Shadow or Reality?  Along the way Sandra and Jerald connected with Wes Walters, and were influential in the lives of historians like Dan Vogel, Michael Marquardt, and Brent Metcalf, creating a new wave of Mormon historical research that started a "cold war" of between LDS and non-LDS historians of Mormonism to determine its true origins and how that story should be told. Their faith and trust in Jesus to provide for their family was rewarded time and again with just what they needed to keep moving forward. 

Jerald and Sandra Tanner became some of the most beloved and despised people ever to research the historical roots of the Mormon religion. In this series of episodes with Sandra (Jerald is now home with Jesus) she shares their story. In this third episode she shares the difficult process of letting go of the Book of Mormon, and why it can be so hard for life-long Mormons to do this. In the end they both found freedom and all the truth they needed in the Bible, and a message of grace that changed the whole course of their lives.

Jerald and Sandra Tanner became some of the most beloved and despised people ever to research the historical roots of the Mormon religion. In this series of episodes with Sandra (Jerald is now home with Jesus) she shares their story. In this second episode she speaks candidly and humorously about meeting Jerald, their unusual courtship, the discoveries in Mormon history that convince them both it's not God's church, and how they are both ultimately drawn to faith in Jesus and trusting the Bible. 

Jerald and Sandra Tanner became some of the most beloved and despised people ever to research the historical roots of the Mormon religion. In this series of episodes with Sandra (Jerald is now home with Jesus) she shares their story. In this first episode she speaks candidly and humorously about growing up as a fifth generation Mormon (descended from Brigham Young, and Brigham Young, Jr.), her first encounters with Christianity, and the early questions and issues raised by her own mom, that got her labeled a trouble-maker in seminary and institute. Looking back, even then the God of grace was pursuing her heart and mind, though at the time she was content within her LDS faith. If you know the name "Sandra Tanner" this episode is for you. Then again, if you don't know who she is, all the more reason this episode is for you.

In this final episode, Daniel shares his growing disenchantment with atheism and it's lack of integrity and untrustworthiness with the historical facts. As he studies more and also begins attending some Christian churches, he discovers how Christian beliefs and relationships have been misrepresented by his Mormon religion. Brought face to face with the undeniable evidence for Jesus' resurrection and the incredible love and grace God is offering him in Jesus, Daniel decides to accept Jesus with both his head and his heart. The experience with a grace that saves and heals is unlike any he's ever had. See the show notes for Daniel's top picks for books that provide compelling evidence for the existence of God and the resurrection of Jesus.