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This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast. Smart move. Being financially savvy. Smart move. Another smart move. Having State Farm help you create a competitive price when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
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If you grew up around members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known in American discourse as Mormons, you probably remember two things about them. One, they are very nice and two, they are very committed. I mean, no one is just like casually Mormon. No one's like, yeah, Mormon on Christmas and Easter. It's not that kind of religion. It is a lifestyle with rules and rituals and missions. An entire system built around family. And from the outside it can seem a little bit strange, like no coffee. Why are you guys sending your 18 year olds around the world? Why the temples? Why the modesty? What is the this genealogy obsession? But here's what a lot of people miss. It's not random. It is a chain of logic. And that is what we're doing today. We are deep diving into the core of the LDS beliefs and their daily practices. Because once you see the worldview from the inside, a lot of the weird stuff that you don't understand all of a sudden starts to make a lot more sense. So if you are interested in the life and practices of the LDS Church, this is the episode for you. So sit back, relax, and welcome to Religion. What's up people? And welcome back to Religion Camp. My name is Mark Gagnon and thank you for joining me in my tent where every single Sunday we explore the most interesting, fascinating, controversial stories from every religion from around the world, from all time, forever. Yes, this is my attempt to understand what everybody truly believes. And I personally, I love humanity. I think human beings are amazing. And in my attempt to connect with other people that share this giant planet with me, I, I will need to understand the God that they worship. And today we're diving in to good old folks over there at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Now, a few things before we begin. First, I want to say thank you so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it, LDS and non LDS alike. I want to make it very clear I did not grow up lds. I am not a practitioner or a reader of the Book of Mormon. This again is just my good faith attempt to try to understand what my friends actually believe. Now furthermore, if there's any mistakes or things that I maybe get wrong or discretions or little discrepancies throughout the script, please don't hesitate to correct me. Drop a comment, YouTube, Spotify and I'd love to know what you guys think. Also, I want to give a shout out to the big man to directly to my right. Christos, how are you? What's going on, Christos? Look, we don't have time because today we're talking about Joseph Smith and the congregation that he gathered together that are known as the lds. I'm also here with my pal David. How are you? I'm good. Most people don't know a ton about Mormons and I might interchange Mormon and lds. I've made this comment in a different video that the Book of Mormon is the book that the LDS practitioners read. It's kind of like calling Christians like Biblers. So it's sort of like a colloquialism. Most of my like LDS friends don't super care but it is a distinction and I might flip flop. So I apologize if that happens. But I mean most people don't know a ton. They probably saw the Book of Mormon on Broadway. I saw it, awesome show. I thought it was very funny. But yeah, they kind of, you know, kind of poke fun at, at Mormonism or LDS and highlight some things and also show like a lot of heart internally amongst some of the characters. And south park obviously has done a bunch of episodes on LDS and you probably saw like Real Wives, Real Lives of Mormon Wives. You ever heard of that? No. It's a very popular show that kind of shows like these influencer girls and what they go through and people kind of have like this interesting fascination. I personally love the lds. I, I've always said this. I've, I've maintained this position that they are just the nicest people. They're very sweet. I just got back from Salt Lake City, the highest population of LDs in America. And yeah, I just find them to be extremely charming. They're the best. They're genuinely the best.
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Have you ever met a Samoan Mormon?
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No, but there's a lot of them.
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Think of by the way. So if you have anyone who has been in like the North Shore of Oahu, there's a BYU campus out there and like none of the gas stations sell booze. There's this huge Mormon population of Samoans slash Hawaiians out there.
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Samoa.
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Samoa.
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Wow.
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So imagine the niceness.
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Plus the nice.
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With the nices of the Mormons.
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Oh, My goodness, they're just the best.
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Human beings in the world.
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And they're also giant too.
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Massive.
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Yeah, I mean, that's a big dude.
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And Lilo and Stitch.
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Oh, I thought you were gonna say Moana.
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I've never seen the movie.
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Really? No. It's pretty good, actually. I'm not typically the movie guy, but it's quite nice.
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Mormons are the goat.
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Yeah. Truly. I love the mission. I kind of like how it's organized around family. Now, there are, let me just be clear, some theological discrepancies as myself, as a Catholic, do not ascribe to. This is the reason why I'm not lds. But again, I think you can appreciate people without having to subscribe to every single one of their beliefs. With that said, a lot of people know, like, we're getting a bunch of little ding dongs over there. Christos. Is that okay? Yeah, I kind of caught it, but that's fine. Whatever. No, some old Christos and his technology machine over there. But again, people I think have misconceptions about, about lds. They're like, no coffee, no alcohol, extremely modest. There's underwear. You get a planet. I don't know if people fully understand everything. And so as a result, they look at it from the outside and they're like, oh, this makes no sense. But there is a consistent sort of logical thread that exists internally. But today, in the act of, you know, trying to understand what everyone believes, I'm going to try to break it down the best that I can. So right off the bat, we did another episode on Religion Camp about Joseph Smith and kind of like the history of the founding of the church. Also, shout out to Keystone. He's a. An LDS YouTuber that did a response to that video where he outlined the things that we got right and then the things that he disagreed that we. That we got wrong. If you are interested in learning more specifically about, you know, LDS beliefs and practices and kind of like how LDS people interpret, you know, the world and stuff, his channel is great. You should go check him out. And, you know, if you specifically want LDS content, he's your guy. So where do we go from here? Okay, well, perhaps a good starting off point would be to acknowledge the, you know, closeness that LDS has with Christianity. So the founder, Joseph Smith came from a mixed Presbyterian and Methodist background and was also, you know, influenced by many other things going on in America at the time. But with that said, Mormons don't reject the, you know, Christian Bible at all. They read it, they quote it, they believe that it is God's word. But this is where things get interesting. They don't think the Bible is as infallible as many Christians might say. So obviously within Protestant or Presbyterian, you know, sort of American Christianity, there's this idea that, you know, sola scriptura, that the Scripture is infallible, it is divinely inspired by God, and Therefore it is 100% totally the truth. Okay? And for many, you know, Protestants, it is the totality of God's truth put into one book. But think about it this way. The Bible has been translated from, you know, Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English, copied by hand for centuries, passed down through different cultures and languages. And a lot of Mormons will look at this and say, like, yeah, we trust it, but some stuff probably got, you know, lost or maybe mistranslated along the way. And this is where the Book of Mormon comes in. They don't see it as the Bible 2.0 or like a replacement for the Bible. They see it as a second witness. Like if you're trying to figure out what really happened at an event, you're going to get two different people's accounts instead of just one. And according to the lds, both are telling the truth, but together they might give you a more full picture. And the story behind it is pretty wild. According to Mormon belief, there were ancient prophets living in the Americas between 600 BC and 400 AD. Alright? These people, descendants of a Jewish family that left Jerusalem before it was destroyed, kept detailed records of their civilizations, their wars, their prophets, and most importantly, a visit from Jesus Christ after his resurrection. Yes, they believe that Jesus showed up in the Americas after Easter and taught the people there and established his church. And that is the centerpiece of the entirety of the Book of Mormon. These records were supposedly engraved on sheets of gold and buried in a hill in upstate New York where they sat for over a thousand years until Joseph Smith was led to them in the 1820s. Smith said an angel named Moroni showed him where they were hidden and then he spent a few years translating them. The translation process itself is, you know, perhaps unique. From the outside, Smith used what he called seer stones, basically stones that would show him the English words. When he looked at them, he put his face basically inside a hat with the stone inside to dictate what he saw so that he could write it down. And it sounds strange, but that is the account and it is documented by multiple witnesses. Now, the Book of Mormon tells a story about prophets, families, wars, faith, apostasy and, and redemption. Talks a lot about Jesus Christ. In fact, some estimate that there's over 3,000 references to him in the book. So for members of the church, reading it feels like getting additional testimony that Jesus is real, that he loves humanity, and that God's plan has always been bigger than just, you know, one part of the world. And here's another thing that makes LDS unique from other Christian schools of thought, and that is that many Mormons believe revelation didn't stop when the Book of Mormon was published in 1830. They believe God still speaks through living prophets today, like the current president of the church. They see him as a prophet the same way that ancient Israel had Moses or Isaiah. And that means that their faith isn't frozen in time. It's dynamic. And that means new guidance, new clarifications, and new applications for modern problems. So when you ask a member of the LDS Church why they need both books, they'd probably say something like, well, you know, why would you just want one witness when you could talk to two people, right? So in Mormonism, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, they're not competing. They are companions. They both point to Jesus, they both teach the gospel, and together they make the case that God has always been reaching out to his children, no matter where they live. And honestly, that's the foundational teaching that almost everything else is built on. Because if you believe that God speaks through modern prophets and additional scripture, then all the other unique Mormon beliefs that can't be found in the Bible, like the ones that we're going to talk about, the. They start to make a lot more sense. Okay? So at this point, you understand where, you know, the colloquial name Mormons comes from. You understand what the Book of Mormon generally is and that it is an additional scripture. And, you know, the modern prophets and all the stuff that builds on a lot of, you know, kind of the Christian foundation. But then the question is, do they classify as Christians or not? And to be honest, it's debated. I mean, they believe in Jesus, they follow his teachings, they even pray in his name. But there are a few core beliefs in Mormonism that might stray from mainstream Christianity. And this honestly prevents many Christians from considering LDS as a part of the greater orthodox Christian family. The biggest one is that they have a different belief about the Godhead. So Christians, broadly speaking, Catholics and Protestants, believe in the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, AKA Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit, are three persons, but one God, one divine substance or essence, a, you know, mysteriously unified triune being. But it is ultimately monotheistic. It is one God with, you know, three forms, so to speak. And it's one of those concepts that theologians have spent centuries explaining and explaining again. And even then, most people just kind of nod along and don't even really understand and just accept it, like divine mystery, like myself included. But Mormons generally don't buy that. So for them, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings, not one God and three persons, but distinct individuals united in purpose, but not in body or being. So God the Father has a physical body of flesh and bone, and so does Jesus Christ, and he got this during his mortal life, and he kept it after the resurrection. The Holy Ghost, on the other hand, is a spirit without a physical body, which is actually why many LDs believe that he can dwell within people and be everywhere all at once. Now, if you're thinking, wait, God the Father has a body like a physical. Yes, that's exactly what they believe. And it gets more interesting. Mormons teach that God the Father wasn't always God. He was once a mortal man, just like us, living in another world. Through faithfulness and obedience to the gospel, he progressed until he became an exalted being, a God. There's this famous couplet from an early Mormon leader named Lorenzo Snow that kind of sums it up. As man now is God once was. As God now is, man may become. So let that sink in for a little. They're saying that at least, you know, Lorenzo is saying that there is a potential to become like God. Not that we'll replace him or overthrow him or anything like that, but that through faithfulness and obedience and temple covenants and, you know, progression, that we can inherit all that God has and become divine and ourselves. For most people hearing this for the first time, it sounds maybe inspiring or just completely heretical, depending on what kind of faith background you have. But for lds, you know, members, it's kind of the point. Earth isn't just a test to see that if you're good enough to go to heaven and, you know, play a harp or something, right? It's school. It's a preparation. It's where you develop Godlike attributes, you know, like love and patience and creation and family, so that you become more like God in a way, and one day you can do perhaps what God does. And that brings us to another unique belief. If God the Father was once mortal and became exalted, then logically, at least in Mormon theology, he has an eternal companion. So many LDs believe in a heavenly mother, a divine female counterpart to the heavenly Father. And I just want to mention that she's rarely talked about in official church settings, mostly out of reverence. And there's not a ton of, like, detailed doctrine about this, you know, female entity. But the belief is there. And it's significant because it reinforces the idea that the family unit, husband and wife together, is the model for Godhood. Which means Jesus isn't just the Son of God in a metaphorical sense. He's literally the firstborn spirit child of the Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Mother. And you, according to lds, you're his spirit sibling. So is everyone else who's ever lived. And that's why LDS members sometimes refer to Jesus as their elder brother. Yes, he's the Savior, of course, and the one who atoned for all of humanity's sins and the one who resurrected and makes eternal life possible. But he's also family. And this is where LDS cosmology starts to feel less like traditional Christianity, more like something completely and, you know, unique on its own. It's not that they don't revere Jesus. They absolutely do. He's central to everything within the LDS Church. I mean, it's literally in the name the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But the framework around him is very different from mainstream Christianity. He's not God the Father in another person. He's the Son doing the Father's will, showing us the path that we are supposed to follow. Does that make sense? So when you hear people ask, are Mormons Christians? This is why it's complicated for many Christians to explain. They believe in Jesus. Yes. They believe in atonement and resurrection. Great. They believe he's the Savior. But their understanding of who Jesus is and who God the Father is is pretty different from, you know, the Nicene Creed and, you know, a few thousand years of, like, traditional Christian theology. And honestly, Mormons aren't trying to be Catholics. Right. They're trying to be what they believe is the restored Church, the original Christianity as Jesus Christ himself established it with all the pieces that got lost or changed over the centuries. So whether you think they got it right or not is up to you. But now at least you know what they believe and why it matters. Because if you accept this framework that, you know, God was once mortal, that we are his literal children, that Jesus is our brother, that we have divine potential, then many of their other beliefs and a lot of the other cultural lifestyle components start to make a lot of sense, right? The missions, the temples, the eternal families. It's all about progression and becoming our fullest Potential, which is divine beings. What's up, guys? We're going to take a break really quick because I got to tell you something. The holidays wrecked me. Yeah. Travel. I mean, it was eating whatever I wanted. I wasn't working out. And I just hit January and I felt like I was 100 years old. What I didn't realize that I now know is that your body. My body starts losing collagen way earlier than you think. Like mid-20s. And that's why recovery sucks. I mean, your joints will feel stiff and your hair will get thin and your skin will look tired. All that. And that's why I started taking Bubs. Natural Collagen Peptides. Yes. Everyone's tossing around that P word, and I'm telling you, Bubs is the best one. I toss it in my coffee in the morning and you don't even taste it. It dissolves instantly. It doesn't like clump up or anything like that. And honestly, I feel better. I recover faster, my joints feel better, and I just feel less like I got hit by a car. It's like the first New Year's resolution that I actually kept up with. And what I also like is that Bubs is a legit brand. There's no sugar, there's no fillers. It's third party tested. It is Whole 30 approved. It's NSF certified for SP, all the good stuff. And on top of that, they donate 10% of the profits to charity honoring Glenn Bub Doherty, who is a Navy SEAL who was killed in Benghazi. So it's not just wellness and gonna make you feel better. It's also built on something real that'll make the world better. They also do electrolytes, mct, oil creamer, all the clean stuff. So great news for you is that right now you're gonna get 20% off your entire order. Yes. That's what you get for being a camp listener. 20% off the entire order when you go to Bubs. Naturals, that's B U B S Naturals. N A T U r a l s.com and use the code camp at checkout. And after you buy, they're going to ask you how you heard about them. Tell them that Camp Gagnon sent you. Yeah, the diesel. Peptide it up, bro. Over at Camp Gagnon. All right, let them know. And it actually helps the show grow and it helps keep the fire burning here at the campsite. All right, now let's get back to it. So the whole point of life is to work on becoming like God and God exists in a family unit with an eternal companion, then obviously family is going to be a pretty big deal, like arguably the center of your entire life. And you know how most wedding vows are like till death do us part. Mormons actually see that as kind of tragic. They don't want their marriages to end just because someone passed away. They want their families to continue forever. Parents with children, husbands with wives, all of it intact in the afterlife. And they don't just hope for it or pray for it. They believe that there's an actual way for it to happen. And it's called being sealed. Now, sealing happens in a temple, and it's basically a marriage ceremony that binds a couple not just for life, but for all eternity. And the vows are different, the promises are different, and the entire theology behind it is different. When you get sealed, you're not just saying, I love you, I'll be faithful, and, you know, sickness and health. You're entering into a covenant with God that this relationship will continue beyond death, through resurrection and into eternity. But here's an important detail. Temples are not the same thing as regular Mormon churches. If you've ever driven past a Mormon meeting house, those are the chapels where they hold Sunday services. Anyone can kind of walk in. No membership is required. You know, you can have shorts and flip flops. But temples are extremely different. Temples are sacred spaces, and they're very restricted. You can't just wander in to, like, check it out. Only faithful members of the church who have a temple recommend can actually enter. And getting one isn't automatic. You have to meet with your local bishop and a member of the Stake Presidency. Think of it like the regional leader of the church. And you go through a series of interviews. They'll ask you if you have a testimony of God and Jesus Christ, if you're keeping the commandments, if you're paying a full tithe, if you're living the word of wisdom, that's basically a spiritual check in to make sure that you're living up to the standards required to participate in the actual temple ordinances. Now, once you're inside, the ceremonies are considered sacred. They're not entirely secret, but they're very sacred. Members of the LDS Church don't generally talk about specifics publicly because they view it the same way that you wouldn't casually describe your most intimate spiritual experience to strangers. Right. It's extremely personal and it's extremely holy. But here are a few things that, you know, I was able to find about what happens inside. They occasionally will have baptisms for the Dead, where living members can get baptized on behalf of deceased ancestors who never had the chance to hear the gospel. And the idea behind this is that people in the spirit world can choose to accept or reject the ordinance. It's not forced on anyone. It's just making the opportunity available if they wish. Mormons are really big on genealogy. Because of this, they want to identify their ancestors so that they can perform their these saving ordinances for them and ultimately offer them salvation. There's also something called the endowment ceremony, which is a ritual where members make covenants with God, promises about how they'll live, how they're going to serve, how they will dedicate themselves to building God's kingdom on earth. And in return, they receive specific blessings and knowledge that LDS members believe will help them navigate mortality and ultimately prepare for exaltation. During the endowment, members also receive their temple garments for the first time. And we'll get to that in a second. Now, of course, there are sealing ceremonies, eternal marriages, but also sealings of, you know, children to parents. So if a couple gets married outside the temple and then later converts, they can be sealed together along with their kids, again binding the entire family for eternity. And all this ties back to what we talked about earlier, working to become like God. You see, LDS members believe that heaven isn't just one place. It's divided into three kingdoms of glory. The celestial, the terrestrial, and then the telestial kingdom. Now, the celestial kingdom is the highest, and within it there are 3 degrees. The top degree is exaltation. This is where you become like God, where you live in his presence, where your family relationships continue. And if you're faithful, you eventually gain the ability to create and organize worlds just as God did. But here's the catch. You can't reach exaltation without being sealed to a spouse in the temple. That is a requirement. A single person can make it to the celestial kingdom, sure, but they can't reach the highest degree without an eternal marriage. So you can see, family isn't just important to Mormon theology. It is essential to reach the highest forms of godliness. Again, it is the structure of the Godhead itself, the Divine Mother and the Divine Father. And that's why, you'll notice Mormon culture is so family focused. And that's why they have so many kids, right? It's why family night on Mondays is a church wide thing. And why their church leaders constantly talk about strengthening marriages and raising righteous children. Because in their worldview, your family isn't just something you have during, you know, your lifetime on earth. It is the eternal unit that you were going to be a part of forever, for all eternity. That's high pressure. And even more than that, you kind of need them to actually reach your highest potential in heaven. So when you understand that, a lot of other things about the lifestyle start to make sense, like the strict dating standards. Well, they're preparing young people for this sealing ceremony, the missions. It's partly about sharing the gospel, but also about gaining maturity to be more like God. The emphasis on morality, on worthiness, on keeping covenants, it's all so members can qualify for temple blessings and ultimately exaltation with their families in the great beyond. So, yeah, Mormons are pretty serious about family, but it's not just sentimental and, you know, the lovey good feelings that people feel, you know, it's doctrinal and spiritual and it really affects how you spend your eternal life. All right, so up until this point, I know it's a lot if you didn't grow up lds. And we've covered a lot of the big theological stuff, right? The Book of Mormon, the nature of the Godhead, eternal families. But now let's get into the day to day quirks that people often notice about members of the LDS Church. Like maybe you had a LDS friend, you might have called him a Mormon probably. And you were like, hey, you want to get a beer or a coffee? And they said no. You'd be like, well, what is it the alcohol thing? Is it like haram? Or the caffeine thing? Like, why, why can't you do that? Well, back in 1833, Joseph Smith received a revelation called the Word of Wisdom. It's recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89. And it's basically like a health code. But unlike modern diet advice or FDA guidelines, it wasn't framed as like, here's what science says is good for you. It's presented as God giving specific instructions on how to treat your body. The revelation says to avoid strong drinks, typically interpreted to mean alcohol. It says tobacco is not for the body. And then it says to avoid hot drinks, which is kind of a confusing thing that people will go back and forth on because Joseph Smith didn't spell out exactly what that means. But early church leaders, including Smith's brother Hyrum, clarified pretty quickly that hot drinks means coffee and tea, specifically coffee and tea made from the tea plant. So black tea, green tea, oolong, all that is off limits. But herbal teas are totally fine. So like chamomile, peppermint, whatever, those don't count. So here's where people get tripped up. It's not about temperature, okay? Like, I'm sure you're like, oh, well, can I have an iced coffee? Can I get an iced latte? Nah. Cold brew. Banned. Iced latte, Banned. It's the coffee itself, not whether or not it's hot. The same with tea. It's the actual substance that's prohibited, not just how you serve it. So naturally, everyone is like, oh, you can't have tea, you can't have coffee, but you can have herbal teas. It must be the caffeine, right? That would make sense. Caffeine's a stimulant. It's addictive. Maybe God doesn't want people dependent on these addictive chemicals. Except it's not that either. You see, I was just in Salt Lake City and there's a place called Swigs and it's like a big, like, you know, like soda shop. And like people go there and just like crush like 40 ounce sodas. They love them. Now a lot of LDS can drink soda and, you know, they drink a lot of soda. Matter of fact, the state of Utah has some of the highest per capita consumption of Diet Coke and Mountain Dew in the country. Energy drinks, not banned. Caffeinated chocolate, also fine. In 2012, the church put out an official statement clarifying that caffeinated beverages aren't against the word of wisdom, just coffee and tea. Which leads to the obvious question, if it's not about caffeine and it's not about temperature, then what is the actual reason behind this hot drink thing? And the honest answer is, I don't know. Like, the revelation doesn't explain why coffee and tea are prohibited. It just says don't consume them. And so for lds, that's enough, right? It's a commandment from God, and ultimately it's the obedience that matters. It's not about, you know, dissecting the science or finding loopholes. Is about showing commitment to the covenant that they made. Like, imagine you, you know, you're Jewish and you keep kosher, you don't eat pork. And you're not doing it because like the modern nutritional science says that pork is bad. Or back in the day pork was bad, but now it's fine, but you still can't do it. You're just doing it because God commanded it in the Torah. Again, it's about obedience and identity and discipline. And it's kind of the same concept here. Now I'm curious if there's LDs out there listening, because I was asking people in Salt Lake. And they were like, yeah, no, we drink caffeine. And I was like, but coffee? And they're like, nah, I'm not coffee. So I'm curious if I'm missing something. If there's a better answer, I would love to know. Or if it's purely just, you know, obedience to the covenant. Now, this covenant, this word of wisdom I was talking about, it's not just a list of don'ts. It also gives advice on what Mormons should eat. And it encourages grains, specifically wheat. It says that fruit and vegetables are good and should be eaten with prudence and thanksgiving. It even says that meat should be used sparingly because, you know, basically reserved for times of, you know, cold winter or famine. Now, generally, LDs don't, you know, follow that part nearly as, as strictly. It seems like you're, you know, if you went to, like, a church or a temple or something, enforcing vegetarianism or, you know, you're not going to see them, like, limiting state consumption. And these prohibitions on coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco are really the hard line. It seems like as far as diet goes, just talking to my LDS friends, like, you can't get a temple recommend, right, to enter that most holy place if you're drinking wine on the weekends. But if you eat like a burger four times a week, like, they might not check on that. So it just becomes a cultural marker more than anything. If you're at a church event, you'll see, you know, dessert tables with cookies and brownies and sugary stuff. Definitely not low carb, health, focused, spread. But, you know, some people even joke that, you know, LDS gave up coffee and just replaced it with sugar. That's kind of like the stereotype. But again, the word of wisdom isn't really about being the healthiest people on the planet. It's more, it seems like, about obedience to God's word. It's about showing that you are willing to set yourself apart, to live differently, to follow what you believe God has asked of you, even when it doesn't always make the most perfect logical sense. And for members, there's a promise attached. The revelation says that those who keep the word of wisdom will receive health in their navel and marrow in their bones. It's a pretty good trade, right? They will run and not be weary, and they'll find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge. Now, a lot of LDs will take that literally. They point at studies showing, like, lower cancer rates in Utah because of the low tobacco and alcohol use. Others see it more spiritually as, like, a promise of like strength in life. Either way, it's a daily visible practice. And when your LDS co worker turns down a beer or, you know, declines like the, you know, coffee run, they're not trying to be difficult or judgmental. They're just living out a commandment that they believe came from God. And in their mind it's a small sacrifice, especially compared to the eternal promises and the goal that they're working towards. All right, we've covered a lot of ground, all right, and we've talked about some of the more visible practices. But what does being, you know, a member of the LDS Church actually look like on a day to day basis? Well, let's talk about some of the key customs and the rhythms that will shape a, you know, an LDS member's life. First up, church attendance. So members of the church will take their Sabbath very seriously. Every Sunday, faithful members attend a three hour block of meetings at their local meeting house. Well, it used to be three hours in 2019 and then the church condensed it to two hours after that. Now the main meeting is called sacrament meeting where the whole congregation gathers together to take the sacrament, which is their version of communion. They hear talks from other members and sing hymns. And after that, the adults will split off into classes. Men go to priesthood meetings, women go to Relief Society, and kids and teens have their own, you know, age specific Sunday school classes. But it doesn't stop with Sundays. LDS members are heavily involved with their local congregations called wards or branches throughout the entire week. There's Family Home evening every Monday where families are encouraged to stay home together and teach gospel lessons and play games. Then there are youth activities on Wednesdays. And besides that, there are service projects and temple trips and leadership meetings. And if you're an active member, I mean, the church is woven into your entire week Now, I mean, I think it's pretty obvious that LDS members go to church a lot. But do they have special prayers like the Lord's Prayer, you know, the Our Father or the Hail Mary? And the answer is not really. There's no set liturgy, no memorized prayers that they recite five times a day. Like, you know, Muslims will have Salah. Mormon prayer is actually really personal and conversational rather than communal. They're taught to pray in their own words, addressing the Heavenly Father, expressing gratitude, asking for help, and closing in the name of Jesus Christ. That said, there are definitely a few standard rituals around prayer. Like LDS members pray before meals, every meal, if they're being diligent. They pray as families, usually morning and night. They're Encouraged to pray individually multiple times a day. And they're actually really big on kneeling when they pray, especially for personal or family prayers. It's just a physical act of humility or reverence before God. There's also something called the sacrament prayer, which is read aloud every Sunday during the sacrament meeting. It's a fixed prayer, word for word, the same way every time, blessing the bread and the water. But that's really the only scripted prayer. It seems like in regular LDS worship, everything else just kind of comes from the heart. Now let's talk about one of the most visible things that Mormons do that sets them apart. And maybe my favorite feature of LDS belief. That's the mission. Now, missions are a big deal and you know, it's massive for not only, you know, the doctrine, but also the culture. So at the age of 18 for young men, and previously it was 19 for women, I think they actually lowered it recently to 18 from talking to some friends recently. And LDS members can choose to basically serve a full time mission for the church. So for men it's two years. For women it's, you know, 18 months. And you submit an application to the church, you get assigned to a location anywhere in the world and you go. You don't get to pick where you might end up in Japan or Brazil. I met a guy this weekend that was in Iowa, or maybe you might just be, you know, in Salt Lake City. Wherever you're sent, that is where you serve. And it's fascinating. I actually heard an interesting thing that LDS members that have many times it seems like LDS members that have like mental, like disabilities will typically be sent in Salt Lake, like near their families. So they send them on a mission, but like, they'll keep them close to home, which is kind of sweet.
- [33:38]
C
It's very nice.
- [33:39]
B
Right? Like you can't send them to Brazil.
- [33:42]
C
Our friend that we know where did he went somewhere crazy.
- [33:46]
B
Washington, D.C. yeah, not super crazy, but.
- [33:49]
C
Yeah, but like you're in the nation capital spreading Mormonism.
- [33:51]
B
It's kind of nuts wild, right? Yeah, but no, I was talking to a dude that was in Argentina, which is just like the coolest thing. Like you just, at 18 years old, you just get sent around and like it's full time, like legit. Like missionaries, they wake up early, they study scripture for a few hours, and then they go out and just proselytize and kind of the way it was specifically back in the day, it seems like they've changed a little bit. They would go around, knock door to door, teach religious lessons and serve in the community. And they would do this six days a week. And they don't go home, they don't date. They. They are supposed to, you know, barely use their phone except for when they can make calls to their family. Like the old school way was like Christmas and Mother's Day. Those are the only days you could call home. And it seems like they've opened it up a little bit more where you can call like once a week. But, you know, that was kind of the way it was. And I think the hardcore ones still do that regardless. They're just fully immersed in the work.
- [34:44]
C
Is there anything to the. The button downs that they wear?
- [34:48]
B
The outfits?
- [34:48]
C
The outfits.
- [34:49]
B
I'm glad you asked. We're going to get to that. Now, here's the thing. It's not technically required. Like, the church is not going to force you to go. They're not going to like kidnap you and put you on a plane and be like, you're going to Iowa. But culturally, it's just really encouraged, especially for young men. If you're a guy and you don't serve a mission, people will kind of notice. And that might affect your dating prospects and that might affect your marriage, it might affect your reputation within the community and ultimately affecting your family. And as we know, family and that eternal, you know, family we talked about is so important, so many of them opt to do it. So for young women, it's more optional. It's seen as just a great thing to do, but not socially expected the way that it seems to be for men, I think since they lowered the age, like more women go. But before, like, if you went on a mission because the age was like 21, if you went on a mission, they'd be like, oh, like, she doesn't have marriage prospects, she's not getting married. So it was almost like frowned upon. But I think more women are going now regardless. His, like internal LDS politics. So why do they do this? Why do they do the mission? Well, there's a few reasons. First, it's seen as a commandment to share the gospel. I mean, that's pretty obvious, right? Jesus told his apostles to go into all the world and preach. And members of the LDS church take that extremely seriously. Second, it's sort of a rite of passage in your spiritual journey. Like, missions are typically hard. They test your faith and they test your physical resilience to handle some foreign country you've never been to. It challenges your ability to connect with people. And most returned missionaries will tell you that it was maybe the hardest thing they ever did. And also the most formative. I mean, a lot of my friends that I talk to would be like, I went on my mission as a boy and I came back a man. It absolutely matures you and it teaches you discipline and humility and how to rely on God when everything else is stripped away. And that's really valuable for anyone's spiritual life. And third, it's about building the kingdom. So members of LDS Church believe that they have the fullness of the Gospels and all these other Christians have just a part of it, and they want to share the entirety. And they're not there to annoy you or like, rack up conversion numbers. Like, they truly believe that they're offering people eternal life with their families, and that's why they're so persistent. To them, it's not just recruitment. They're giving you salvation. Now, beyond church and prayer and missions, there are a few other things that will affect LDS member's daily life. So, for example, the tithing thing is big. The LDS Church members are expected to pay 10% of their income to the church. And it's not suggested, it's really expected. You sometimes can't get into a temple recommend without it. And for a lot of members, especially those who aren't wealthy, that's a big sacrifice, right? Like you're getting taxed by state, getting taxed by county, and then you have a 10% ties to the church. But they see it as a commandment and there's a promise that's attached, which is blessings that are both spiritual and temporal for those who pay. Modesty is another big thing. We'll talk about the temple garments in a minute. And even before members go through the temple, modesty is emphasized. I mean, no shoulders are showing, shorts and skirts to the knee, nothing too tight or revealing. It's about respecting your body as a temple and not drawing unnecessary attention. And then there's service. LDS members don't have paid clergy. Your bishop volunteer, the Sunday school teacher volunteer. They teach that every member of the church has a calling, a role they're asked to fulfill in the congregation. It could be teaching a class or organizing activities or coaching a sports team or visiting other members who need help. Everyone is expected to contribute in some way. It's deeply communal. And you're not just showing up on Sundays. You're actively building and supporting all those members around you. What's up, people? We're going to take a break really quick because I got to tell you a little story. All right. This is a story About a man who turned 29 years old and slowly, slowly, everything started to fall apart. Not in like a dramatic way. Life just got more difficult, all right? You know, the same workouts all of a sudden, not getting the same gains, you know, in the musculature area, same diet all of a sudden, just, you know, still being a little bit soft around the middle. And around 2pm every day, just feeling terrible brain fog, you know, and not to mention, you know, hair falling out, thinning. And that man is my friend David Sanchez. And so naturally, what did he do? He started to panic. Google, okay? He was like, low testosterone. What do I do? What do I do? And it was terr. Because doctors act like, oh, the solution's casual. Like, yeah, just inject yourself with testosterone forever. Use needles, dirty old needles from the streets of Kensington, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, whatever, all right? But then you actually look at like trt, you know, it's thousands of dollars a year. Could have fertility issues. It could shut down your body's natural production. I mean, yeah, you look better, but it might actually leave you worse in the long run. And that's why there's something natural. Something I found called Mars Men. Yes. And I've been taking it consistently, and some men have actually reported, I mean, better energy all day, better focus, stronger lifts, not just a spike, but a steady, consistent drive. And yeah, it's not trt. There's no needles, no synthetics, no dependency. It's designed to support healthy testosterone using real ingredients like zinc, boron, you know, Tonga ali. Things your body actually recognizes and needs to fuel the testosterone use. Yeah, I genuinely like it. I just wake up in the morning, toss a couple pills back, and I start feeling better and so can you. With Mars Men, I feel great. And you should start feeling great, too. And the way you do that is you go to mengotomars.com and for a limited time, the listeners of this program are going to get 50% off for life, plus free shipping and three free gifts@mangotomars.com. that's right, use the promo code camp. And you're going to be getting all that and more. And better yet, 90 day money back guarantee. If you don't like it, just be like, hey, this isn't for me. Send it back if you feel no difference, which odds are you won't because 91% of men say that they feel more energetic when they're taking it, but maybe you're in the 9%, you send it back, money back. I'm telling you, there's no reason not to try it. And after you purchase, they will ask you how you heard about them. Please say heard about it from the good old folks here at camp. It really helps the show, and it keeps the fire burning. Let's get back to it. So in addition to the dietary codes and the words of wisdom, remember the thing that we were talking about before about, you know, not drinking coffee and tea and stuff? Well, there's also a special kind of dress code that was established by smith in the 1840s because, yes, the rumors are somewhat true. Faithful adult Mormons typically will wear special religious undergarments. And yes, people make fun of it all the time. Now, first off, this is not like magic underwear or whatever people say, which is kind of disappointing because if it was magic, I might switch up. But no, Mormons don't think that our underwear has superpowers. Like, the term like the magic underwear is something like just people on the outside came up with. And, you know, you wouldn't call like, like my Catholic rosary like magic beads. Well, maybe you would. It's kind of funny, but it's not true. And so what are they? Actually, they're called temple garments. And they are white underclothes, typically like a top and bottom set that looks like a modest, like, T shirt and shorts kind of thing. And they're pretty simple. They're plain. And you can buy them from the church in different fabrics and different styles, depending on what your needs are. And they all have the same basic design. They all have small symbolic markings sewn or printed on them in specific places. There's a mark over the left breast that, you know, has a geometric shape. There's a another geometric shape over, you know, the right breast. And then there's a mark on the navel, and then another on the knee. And each of these symbols has spiritual meaning tied to the covenants that Mormons or LDS members will make in the temple. The church doesn't broadcast exactly what each symbol represents because, again, it's sacred and really personal. But the idea is that these marks serve as a constant reminder of the promises that they made to God. Now, here's the thing. Not every LDS member wears them. You only start wearing garments after you've gone through the endowment ceremony in the temple, that ritual that we talked about earlier where members make specific covenants. So, like, kids, teenagers, they don't wear them. Even adult members who haven't been to temple yet don't wear them. It's something you receive as a part of that temple experience. And from that point on, you're expected to wear them day and night for the rest of your life. With some exceptions. You take them off to shower, obviously to swim, sports, you know, intimate times with your spouse. But otherwise they're going to be on all the time. And that's where the cultural impact comes in. Because if you're wearing a shirt and shorts under your clothes at all times, that affects what you can wear on the outside, right? You can't really wear like a tank top if your garment has sleeves. You can't wear short shorts if your garment bottoms, you know, go to the knee. A low cut shirt can't do that mid drift, that's going to be tough. And it's not just about being conservative or modest. You know, it's practical in a lot of ways. For members of the LDS Church, they literally can't show their temple garments, so they dress in a way that keeps them covered. Now, over the years for women especially, this has been a point of tension. The original garment design was basically the same for men and women, kind of boxy, not really flattering or comfortable for many women. So in recent years, the church has started offering new styles, including the sleeveless option for women that was rolled out in late 2024. So very recently they said that there is a sleeveless option. Women can show their shoulders. So when those became available, women reportedly were lining up trying to get to the church door to actually get them. But back to the main question, why wear them at all? Well, for members of the LDS Church, the garments serve two purposes. First, they serve as a reminder of their dedication to God. Every time you get dressed, every time you feel the fabric, you're reminded of the covenants you made in the temple. It is a physical, tangible connection to that covenant, to those promises that you made. And second, they believe that the garments offer a type of spiritual protection, not like a bulletproof vest. It's like, you know, nothing like that. It's like protection from temptation, from spiritual harm, from influences that would pull you away from your commitments and your ultimate goal. Kind of similar to like putting on the armor of God that like, you know, Catholics or Protestants would talk about in the New Testament. So some LDS members talk about feeling like the garments strengthened them. You know, it helps them resist bad choices and it reminds them of who they are. And others see it, you know, symbolically, like, you know, the act of wearing these garments, you know, it matters. It's not the fabric itself. It's. It's almost like maybe like wearing a crucifix or other type of, like Religious, you know, symbol on your neck. It's like. It's not, you know, doing something literally, but it makes you feel like, oh, I should be, you know, orienting myself towards God again. The experience is different for different people. But remember, Mormons are on a spiritual path to become like God. They've made covenants in the temple that they believe are essential to reaching this exaltation. These garments are a daily physical way of honoring those covenants. It's not that different from, like, a monk wearing a robe or, you know, a Punjabi Sikh guy wearing a turban or, you know, a nun wearing a habit. Religious clothing has been around since the dawn of mankind. But the Mormon garments are hidden, which in a way, makes it even more personal. It's not for show. It's not for the outside world. It's not to signal to other people how righteous they are. It's between them and God. Now, we've gone through a bunch of things. We hit on the undergarments, we hit on the temples, we hit on the ceilings. But there's a misconception that we should talk about. You probably heard this before. I mean, I heard it for the first time in the Book of Mormon, the musical. And basically, it's that when LDS members die, they think that they're going to get their own planet. And it's become like, just a punchline whenever people want to, like, make fun of LDS people. But like most jokes, it can sometimes oversimplify, and it actually kind of misses the point. So do LDS members believe that they're going to get their own planet? Kind of, but not really. It's sort of complicated, and I barely even understand it. But here's what I know. Here's what's taught. Remember earlier when we talked about exaltation, the highest degree of that celestial kingdom where faithful members become like God? That is the key. Becoming like God doesn't just mean being really good or being really holy. It means literally inheriting the same powers and attributes that God himself has. And what does God do? He creates. He organizes matter into worlds. He has spirit children. He governs and guides his creation. So if you are becoming like God, the logical conclusion is that you will eventually do what he does. You create worlds. You would populate those worlds with your own spirit children. You would be a God over your own creation, just like the Heavenly Father is a God over us. And that is basically the theology behind it. It's been taught by church leaders for generations. Joseph Smith taught it, Brigham Young taught it, and it's in Old church manuals and conference talks. This idea that exalted beings will have eternal increase, meaning, you know, endless posterity, and, you know, they will organize matter into worlds. And it's just a foundational element in the doctrine. But, and this is a big caveat, the church has been backing away from this language in recent years. And the reason why it's hard to really pin down it might be because it sounds a little strange or like a little sci fi and you know, it's a little off putting for some people on the outside. But again, that's not how LDS members see it. In 2014, the church posted an official statement on their website addressing this exact question. Do Latter Day Saints believe they will get their own planet? And the answer was basically no. That's an oversimplification. They clarified that yes, members believe in eternal progression and becoming like God, but framing it as getting a planet just misses the point. The focus isn't on all the stuff you get. It's about the relationships and the progression. It's about continuing to grow and create and love and build for all eternity. It's about your family being with you through all eternity. And the planet thing, to them it's just logistics, right? That's like sort of the practical, functional element, but it's not the why. So think about it this way. If someone tells you they want to get married and have kids, you're not saying, I want to own a house and fill it with furniture. The house is a part of it, the furniture is a part of it. But the point is the love. And the point is the relationship with your wife and children. It's kind of the same idea here. The worlds, the creating, the organizing matter, that's all a part of becoming like God. But that's not the goal. You're not trying to get a house. You're trying to, you know, fill it with love. And the end goal is eternity and eternal life with your family progressing and, you know, growing in knowledge and holiness and becoming more and more like your heavenly parents. Now, does every LDS member think about this in this exact same way? Probably not. Some members still use their, you know, own planet language, especially older generations who were kind of taught that more growing up and kind of more explicitly. Some people take it very literally. Others see it as symbolic or maybe metaphorical, less about like a literal planet out there in, you know, the cosmos, and more about just infinite potential and infinite creation. And honestly, the church kind of seems content leaving it like a little bit personal in interpretation. Because here's the Thing, nobody really knows the specifics. How does eternal progress work? What does it look like to be like a God or to be like God? How does one get a world or multiple? And what does creation look like? You know, the scripture and modern prophets don't give a detailed blueprint and it's kind of just open ended, which makes sense when you're talking about eternity in the cosmos and concepts that are way beyond human understanding. So what Mormons do know for sure is this, that exaltation means becoming like the Heavenly Father. It means having the same kind of life he has. Eternal and creative and family centered and full of glory and power and knowledge, all that stuff. And if that includes creating worlds, then cool. But again, that's not the headline. The headline is eternal families and endless growth. So when you hear people be like, oh yeah, they're gonna get their own planet, like, it's like, yeah, there's like a sort of a truth in there. But the eternal progression does involve creation and governance. But reducing it to a planet is like, oh, you're a Christian, that means you're gonna be on a cloud with a harp. You know, it's like a caricature, not the actual belief. Still, it's kind of funny to make jokes about. But regardless, now you know, the real now the honest belief is kind of more interesting to me, right? It's about like human potential and the way that they see their life on earth. And you know, it's about the idea that you're not just like a random little like, you know, sim, that God made that like he's just like watching do stuff, like you are his literal child. Within, you know, the LDS Church, you have divine potential. You're here to learn and to grow and to become something more, to transcend. And if you're faithful and you know, you keep covenants and if you can endure to the end, then there is no limit to what you can become. Which is ultimately the idea that, you know, the LDS Church is, you know, it's not a planet that you're trying to get. It is a path. It is a, a journey to exaltation. So there you have it. That is the majority of the LDS beliefs and the customs and the practices in a nutshell, or at least as close to a nutshell as you can get when you're talking about an entire religion with its own scripture and cosmology that goes back hundreds of years. Now if you don't agree with all of it, I don't blame you. It's a specific kind of subset that is a little strange for a lot of Christians that practice a more mainstream orthodoxy to really understand. Maybe you think it's weird, and maybe you kind of land in the middle, and maybe you come from completely outside the Abrahamic religions and you're like, oh, that's pretty interesting. But, you know, I think that's totally fair, however you feel. But at least now you understand the logic. You can see why an LDS member might, you know, turn down a coffee or, you know, why they might spend a couple hours trying to figure out their genealogy or, you know, why they would commit to wearing, like, an undergarment for the rest of their lives. It's not just, like, random rules. Well, the coffee and tea one kind of is, but it's about preparing for eternity. So the next time you see those, you know, missionaries riding around on their bikes or, you know, your co worker politely, like, turns you down for happy hour, it's not just, you know, they're trying to be modest or judgmental. It is an entire framework and logic behind it. And the missionaries, you know, they're not just out there because the church needs more members. They are sharing what they genuinely believe is a path to eternal life and a way to reunite you and your family forever and unlock human potential on Earth. It's about covenants and family and a vision of eternity that puts relationships and growth at the center of everything. Everything has a purpose, and everything connects. And in a world where most people are kind of just winging it, you know, Mormons at least have a path, right? And whether it's the right one or the wrong one, look, that's between you and God, or them and God, or you and Vishnu, whatever you think it is, all right? And, you know, I think there's some good stuff to take away, but that is an abridged understanding of Mormon theology. That was a lot to take in. It is interesting. I went to the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, and they have, like, a visitor area, and then they have, like, the main, like, internal chamber. And you can't go into the main internal chamber, but you can go to the visitor center. And in the visitor center, I went when I was a kid. I was probably, like, 13, 14. They have a bunch of computers set up where you can, like, type in your name, like, your family name, and it can tell you about your family genealogy. So, like, you can kind of, like, connect and see, like, if your family members and their legacy and yada, yada. That's what I'm pretty sure it was. My memory Is kind of fuzzy on that. But yeah, it's interesting. The genealogy thing makes so much sense because you're like, oh yeah, I can get baptized for people that already passed away. Fire. Like, I don't know. To me again it's like, yeah, it all kind of makes sense. Like I get why they're so kind because they're like, yeah, they're trying to transcend, they're trying to reach exaltation, they're trying to approach that sort of godlike status. Do they.
- [54:35]
C
Have their equivalent of a church or mass early, early in the morning?
- [54:40]
B
I don't know the exact timing, but kind of the thing we're talking about like that three hour block. Yeah, that like the timing, I guess like kind of shifted more recently. But like that multi hour block where they're like, we're going to do hymns and read and pray and all that stuff.
- [54:52]
C
Yeah, I grew up. Not grew up. I went to high school with one kid who was Mormon. The one Mormon in South Florida, swear to God. And he would just tell us like, yeah, I have to wait. I have to be at like mass at 5am every single day. And then, then we, when I find out he doesn't drink coffee. And I'm like, dude, how are you? This is like my first, you know, introduction into the lds.
- [55:13]
B
And I was just like, that's so funny. Another funny thing about it, I, I saw a tick tock that actually sent to my LDS friend. I was like, yeah, what do you think of this? He was like, eh, kind of true. But it was that like a lot of like lds, AKA Mormon dudes will do like extreme sports and they'll do like backflips and like they like are physically active and like do cool shit because it's the way that you can prove that you're hardcore without drugs and alcohol.
- [55:40]
C
No, that's, yeah, that's, it's like, sounds about right.
- [55:43]
B
I'm, I'm sick and I'm hard and I like do crazy stuff. Yeah, but if you're like a regular kid growing up in Florida like us.
- [55:51]
C
You'Re gonna be like, you drive drunk.
- [55:54]
B
Yeah, you do fit. And you're just like, dude, I'm so sick.
- [55:57]
C
Like the dopest.
- [55:57]
B
I literally sell drugs. But for them it's like, well, that's not an option. And if I do this, like my family will be disgraced. And on top of that it'll affect my ability to reach exaltation in the afterlife.
- [56:09]
C
Now watch this drive.
- [56:10]
B
Now watch this freaking backflow. Dude, I'm Coming off the top rope.
- [56:13]
C
Mitt Romney would have done wonders.
- [56:16]
B
Well, also another thing to mention. I'm pretty sure the LDS church is. Oh wait, what is this? Oh, famous members. Are these current or former? Maybe both. A little bit of both. Who do you Flowers? He's Mormon. Makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Brendan Urie is too.
- [56:34]
C
Who's Brendan Urie?
- [56:35]
B
The lead singer of Panic the Disco.
- [56:39]
C
Wait, wait, slow down, slow down, slow down. Steve Young. Bryce Harper. Oh yeah, Bryce Harper. Noted. There's a, there's a famous clip of Bryce Harper getting interviewed at 19 years old after a game in Canada. And the guy is like, hey, you know, I know you're not old enough to drink in the US but like maybe a celebratory beer here in Canada where you can drink it. And he just. And he's like, it's a clown question, bro.
- [57:02]
B
Really?
- [57:03]
C
Yeah, like you should watch it on your own time. It's, it's pretty funny.
- [57:06]
B
Like he gets mad.
- [57:07]
C
He gets like not mad but like upset.
- [57:11]
B
Like because he felt like, oh, you should know.
- [57:14]
C
I don't know.
- [57:15]
B
I don't know because most of my LDS friends, if I'm like, hey, you want to drink?
- [57:18]
C
Yeah.
- [57:19]
B
They politely decline. They'd be like, I'm good. Yeah, they wouldn't even bring it up.
- [57:22]
C
Danny Ainge, Mitt Romney, John. John Heater.
- [57:26]
B
No way. Napoleon Dynamite, David Archetta.
- [57:31]
C
All these Mormons are just number twos. Wait, Katherine Hagel Baddy.
- [57:38]
B
Wait, who's Catherine Hagel?
- [57:39]
C
She is in the movie Knocked up with Seth Rogen.
- [57:42]
B
Oh yeah. But let that, let that be known that LDS members are maybe the most attractive of any dude. Like walk around Salt Lake City, men and women. Gorgeous.
- [57:52]
C
Can you pull up some baddies for us?
- [57:54]
B
Chelsea Handler grew up lds. Yeah, look. Wow, that's really interesting.
- [58:03]
C
Type in female, please.
- [58:06]
B
They are beautiful. Also I believe it. Apparently the, the white shirt, black tie thing is that they want to have an instantly recognizable non threatening appearance. So like visual purity, which is like, you know, white shirt, serious. And then kind of like gets rid of like some of the individuality. Like hey, you're not here for you. Like you're here for the kingdom of God.
- [58:30]
C
It's just like stuck in the 1950s. They look like every extra in Oppenheimer when they can walk around.
- [58:36]
B
It's also like trust signal. It's like, hey, I'm coming to your door and I'm knocking and I want to talk to you. And we're in a random favela in Brazil. Like, you see a guy in like a white shirt and a tie, you're like, oh, this is a non threatening, like, imagine they sent him out in sheisties. Like, that's a tough look, you know?
- [58:53]
C
I wonder if they have to mix up the outfits. They have to.
- [58:57]
B
Yeah. They must come with like. It's like, Doug, funny, you got like all your same outfit in the. In the closet.
- [59:02]
C
You can't go to Rio de Janeiro with a white button down and it's high. Walking through the favelas.
- [59:06]
B
No, that's what they were. There's no way. Apparently some. I was talking to a dude that like, went to. I think it was in Samoa.
- [59:13]
C
Samoa.
- [59:13]
B
Samoa. Like, he would wear like the, like the skirt vibe. Like, like the. I don't even know what you call it. Like the, like, like the grassy skirt. Yeah, but like they would wear. Or like the guys and like. But I think they would still do white shirt, tie.
- [59:29]
C
Yeah. I forgot how Mormonism got to the Samoa. I think it was to Hawaii.
- [59:37]
B
Mm.
- [59:37]
C
And then that just like. But if you look at like there's a bunch of Samoan athletes, like, Tony Finau went to Utah.
- [59:45]
B
Okay.
- [59:46]
C
Huge Mormon, my friend Tweak. A very good football player. Mormon, grew up on the North River, Oahu. Went to BYU in the North Shore. And like, there's a huge Samoan population in Utah as well.
- [59:58]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, dude, I was also saying this on episode of Flagrant recently that part of the reason why Salt Lake City and the people there are so attractive. Like, obviously no drugs, no alcohol, but. And like, they're very outdoorsy and they're doing stuff. Yeah. But on top of that, they. Because they send them all over the world and like, they're proselytizing. You're having like these interesting mixes. So you'll have like a girl that looks very distinct. And you're like, you just look so interesting. Like, you just. There's like a striking visual. Visual beauty. And you're like, what's your ethnicity? And she's like, oh, I'm Pakistani. Guatemalan. And you're like, damn. Well, how. And she's like, oh, my parents are lds. Oh, yeah, of course. Or like, you'll meet a girl. She's like, yeah, I'm, you know, Japanese, you know, Chinese.
- [60:47]
C
Yeah.
- [60:49]
B
And you're like, oh, I couldn't really tell. But that's also beautiful, you know? Yeah.
- [60:52]
C
My. My friend. That's so funny. My friend, the. The Samoan, his mission was to Japan.
- [60:58]
B
Interesting.
- [60:58]
C
And he also said like, the mixes, you would see out there.
- [61:01]
B
Yeah, like gorgeous.
- [61:02]
C
He said the most beautiful woman you'll ever see in the world is a half Japanese, half Aussie.
- [61:06]
B
Sure. Mormon? Yeah, always. Dude, it's like half Japanese, half Senegalese.
- [61:12]
C
What do you say about the Asian genetics?
- [61:16]
B
What? Oh, it's like butter. Like you put a little like Japanese on anything and just makes them hotter. It goes with anything. It goes with anything. Yeah. Like it just works. Yeah, right. Like Japanese Greek. Right. Christos dreaks. Yeah, I don't know what that word means, but I'm with you. But that probably makes a beautiful person. Yeah, right? You have like the, the strength and the power of a Greek woman without the hair. That's. That's racist. I shouldn't have said that.
- [61:45]
C
Every single Mormon I've ever met is top notch great people.
- [61:49]
B
Yeah, they're great people.
- [61:49]
C
And they're not very pushy with their beliefs either.
- [61:52]
B
No. I have heard from some people that live around Salt Lake. Is that like you feel a judgment, really? Like you feel like a judgmentalism from some of them, which I can't imagine that, you know, that's in the doctrine. But it could create a culture of that.
- [62:04]
C
Yeah.
- [62:04]
B
And then like the more like radical kind of elements, like the polygamy thing, obviously, like historically was a big deal. That now is not really much of a thing.
- [62:11]
C
Yeah, but does Mitt Romney have many wives? That's not true.
- [62:15]
B
Right?
- [62:15]
C
He has a big ass family.
- [62:16]
B
Yeah, you got a bunch of kids.
- [62:18]
C
But I can see that being true in Salt Lake because they are the majority and therefore the things that.
- [62:25]
B
It's a culture that reinforces itself because it's everyone.
- [62:28]
C
Yeah.
- [62:29]
B
And then of course, like any religion, you're gonna get some bad eggs that, you know, put you off. I haven't met him yet.
- [62:34]
C
Me neither.
- [62:35]
B
Every morning. I mean, is great.
- [62:37]
C
True kid in high school is kind of lame.
- [62:39]
B
I mean, they might be dorky, but they're nice.
- [62:41]
C
He was, he was dorky and kind of like aloof, but like, just like he always had like the. He always tucked in his shirt buttons all the way up. And I'm like, pencil in his ear. Always. He had the crew cut.
- [62:53]
B
You're describing Mac Miller.
- [62:54]
C
No, no.
- [62:55]
B
You're driving Prime 2012 Mac Miller.
- [62:56]
C
No, no, no. Not like it was a collared shirt. Private school collared, always down, buttons all the way up, pencil in his ear, shirt tucked in, pants high, with a crew cut. Have you ever seen the movie Glory Road?
- [63:09]
B
Yes. Yes. My favorite movies.
- [63:13]
C
What's it about?
- [63:13]
B
It's about A Mormon missionary?
- [63:15]
C
No.
- [63:15]
B
Okay. That goes on the road.
- [63:17]
C
Those of you who've seen Glory Road, Glory Road is the movie about college in Texas that won a national title. And he looks like the power forward on that team. Sorry, only maybe one person will get it, but Chrisos is gonna cut it.
- [63:28]
B
No one's listening anymore. No one's even listening. Anyway, thank you guys for tuning in to this abridged theological discussion about what the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints generally believe. Now, there's probably a lot of stuff that we missed, okay? We're trying to describe an entire, you know, faith and worldview in, you know, a matter of in minutes. But if there's anything that I missed that is, you know, massive, please drop a comment. Let me know if you grew up within the faith, if you are still an active member, maybe an ex member, but there's some things that I got incorrect, please don't hesitate to correct me. I'm always interested in knowing the truth and trying to represent people in the best way that I can. Now, I got great news for you. If you are a fan of this channel, we drop these episodes every Sunday, all right? So you can check it out. Whenever you're done with your LDS temple work, you check out camp, all right? We got religion camp. We're dropping episodes once a week. We also got history camp, if you like history deep dives. And we got camp gag on the main camp channel. And we also got an X community. If you want to join the convo. I would love to know what you guys are thinking. It's where all the campers chap it up so you can check it out there in the description. And as always, you know, this has been religion camp. Thank you so much for tuning in and making this show possible and making my dreams a reality. God bless you all and I'll see you next time. Close your eyes. Exhale. Feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.
- [64:47]
D
Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast.
- [64:56]
B
And breathe.
- [64:57]
D
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