I watched part of a video by David Alexander who is a semi-recent convert to the LDS faith. He has been very vocal on YouTube about his conversion. I thought his story was interesting.
I was perplexed by this video. Is David just trying to get clicks and or views? I’m not sure.
First of all, I would assume Pastor Jeff’s intentions are mostly what he says. He says that he is replacing criticism with curiosity. He has expressed a desire to learn and build bridges of faith. Helping us understand one another. From what I can see Pastor Jeff has come to have a real knowledge and understanding of the LDS faith. That is awesome. He knows , he understands, even if he does not believe.
I think members feel he is on a journey of conversion. He is not and has never said so.
What has he done. He had one controversial post where he had a woman who is clearly anti-Mormon playing gotcha with missionaries. His inability to see the problem with this prior to the videos release was reflective in my eyes that he truly is not on a quest to be converted. Maybe to a degree, he wanted to see how far he could push the content. But rather, he is simply on a quest to know what we believe. It could be used to build bridges and it could also be used to teach Evangelicals why they should not convert to be LDS.
As he as read the Book of Mormon, there are a few things he has done. He has looked at it critically. Do I blame him for any of the things he pointed out? No, he studied theology. Clearly, he speaks that language and has historical knowledge and understanding most LDS members do not have. Some examples where he has found criticism of the Book of Mormon:
- Using the work church
- Repeats of bible passages
- Bible passages in old testament times that seem to mirror new testament passages
- Baptism before Jesus Christ
- Experiences with the Holy Ghost prior to the day of Pentecost
- Hinting that inspiration could have come from the bible
- Etc.
He has taken the time to articulate the real differences between the two faiths. When he has done so, he has left me confused about what evangelicals believe. Honestly, it has felt like common core math, 2+2=3. I’m sure he has found favor and possibly sewed seeds of doubt in some LDS. He has charisma. At this point, I’m still willing to give Pastor Jeff the benefit of the doubt.
He just moved to Utah. He has explained that he is partnering with other Evangelical churches in Utah; I assume to preach and earn a living. There isn’t anything wrong with that. Maybe because of the relationships he has built in the LDS community there will be increase understanding. Maybe he will a be a force for good between them and us. Maybe the ability to provide for his family will be greatly increased. Maybe we will see him featured in interfaith meetings and events.
I have a hard time believing he is calculating how many LDS converts he needs to fill his pews. If he does. That is unfortunate. But what is more unfortunate is that some LDS likely do not have strong enough testimonies to see and understand.
In the end, time will tell. It would be unfortunate if he is not being truthful. It would be awesome if in the end he ends up being a bridge builder between the two communities. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.