Truthspresso

Here is the Sunday School lesson I taught this Sunday. Jehovah's Witnesses argue that Jesus died on an upright stake with no crossbeam. His hands were nailed together above his head. This is because the Greek words stauros and xulon only mean one piece of timber.

They're actually right about what those words literally mean. Does that mean Jesus didn't die on a cross? Let's look at some evidence from the Bible and historical works be...

This episode is part 33 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 1-6 of the book of Helaman. After Pahoran passes away, three of his sons campaign for judge. Kishkumen, a secret assassin causes turmoil in the government. The Lamanites take over most of the land. The Nephites manage to recover half of it. Helaman the Younger becomes judge and his servant thwarts an attempt to assassinate...

This episode is part 32 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 59-63 of the book of Alma. Captain Moroni wrote to Pahoran, judge of Zarahemla to accuse him of neglecting his duties. Pahoran wrote back to explain that he's been backed into a corner and the king-men faction took over the government. The new king of Zarahemla made a deal with the king of the Lamanites to let them take ov...

This episode is part 31 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 52-58 of the book of Alma. When the Lamanites realized their king Amalickiah was dead, they retreated to Mulek. They appointed Ammoron, Amalickiah's brother, to be the new king. Two thousand Ammonites took an oath to fight for liberty and made Helaman their captain.

Moroni and Ammoron tried to negotiate by letters, but they...

Happy Resurrection Day! For this year's Easter episode I will compare the Jesus of the Bible to the Isa (Jesus) of the Quran. Surah 4:157-158 says that Jesus wasn't crucified or killed but everyone thought that happened somehow. Rather, Allah raised Jesus to heaven. Jesus in Islam will eventually return for some end-times events. After reigning as a king, he will die of natural causes.

The risen Jesus of the Bible is infinitely bett...

This episode is part 30 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 47-51 of the book of Alma. A Nephite rebel named Amalickiah with a lust for power tries but fails to become king of Zarahemla. He then joined the Lamanites and worked his way through fraud to become the king of the Lamanites. He then led war campaigns to attack Nephite cities.

Captain Moroni skillfully fortified cities, det...

This is a Sunday School lesson I planned for this Sunday. Our life group class at church is studying the epistle to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 6:1-3 continues from the criticism in chapter 5 that some of the readers were perpetually immature. The writer admonishes to become mature by not laying foundational principles of the doctrine of Christ over and over again. These six doctrines are really three pairs. They all are something that the...

This episode is part 2 of 2 addressing a video from Dan McClellan called "Was 1 Enoch considered inspired scripture?"

Dan McClellan claims to be a Latter-day Saint, although his views don't reflect those of typical Mormons. He has impressive credentials and he uses them to make Tiktok and YouTube videos that promote a deconstructionist view of Scripture under the guise of "Data > dogma." He also promotes leftist political ideas t...

This episode is part 1 of 2 addressing a video from Dan McClellan called "Was 1 Enoch considered inspired scripture?"

Dan McClellan claims to be a Latter-day Saint, although his views don't reflect those of typical Mormons. He has impressive credentials and he uses them to make Tiktok and YouTube videos that promote a deconstructionist view of Scripture under the guise of "Data > dogma." He also promotes leftist political ideas t...

This episode is part 29 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 43-46 of the book of Alma. The war mentioned in Alma chapter 35 now gets detailed. We meet a new character--Captain Moroni--who reminds me of William Wallace from Braveheart or Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.

After Captain Moroni leads the Nephites to victory, the sons of Alma try to reform the church. A suave strong guy na...

This episode is part 28 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 39-42 of the book of Alma. Alma finishes talking to his sons by addressing these chapters to his youngest son Corianton. Corianton has been a bit of a rebel compared to his brothers. Alma answers questions about the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, the intermediate state between death and...

So, the World Economic Forum (WEF) met again at their luxurious resort in the alpines at Davos, Switzerland. Their theme was "A Spirit of Dialogue."

In this episode we look how the WEF has changed in recent years and how Donald Trump and Javier Milei have upset their machinery.

The media fawned over Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech bucking the United States, supporting Denmark and Greenland, forming partnerships with Chin...

This episode is part 27 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 33-38 of the book of Alma. Alma continues his sermon to the Zoramites and Amulek joins in. Alma, Amulek, and their companions move to Jershon. Many Zoramites move there too, angering the Zoramite leaders. This results in a pending war between an alliance of Zoramites and Lamanites and the Ammonites and Nephites.

Alma begins...

As we embrace Christmas we have to put up once again with the Grinches who cannot let people just celebrate the season and enjoy traditions. Because everything has to be about politics--and only the progressive form--we have to hear about Jesus being a refugee and even an "undocumented immigrant."

They'll tell you that the most important part of the Christmas story was when Mary and Joseph had to escape to Egypt. The young Jesus was...

This episode is part 26 in a series going through the story of the Book of Mormon.

This episode covers chapters 27-32 of the book of Alma. Ammon and his brothers bring King Lamoni and his Lamanite people now known as "Anti-Nephi-Lehi" to Zarahemla for safety. Another false prophet stirs up the people of Zarahemla with his libertine atheist rhetoric and gets cursed. Alma assembles a team to do missions work among the Zoramites who br...

My Mormon bishop friend recently presented a lecture about how statistics show that the Book of Mormon defies naturalistic explanations. How did Joseph Smith as a "subsistence farmer" write a book with long-form structural chiasmus and different voices?

Let's jump into some of these statistical claims to see if the Book of Mormon is truly a miracle and that it shows that Joseph Smith had to be translating an ancient record.

Sources C...

My Mormon bishop friend recently presented a lecture about how statistics show that the Book of Mormon defies naturalistic explanations. How did Joseph Smith as a "subsistence farmer" write something so amazing and long in only 65 days?

Let's jump into some of these statistical claims to see if the Book of Mormon is truly a miracle and that it shows that Joseph Smith had to be translating an ancient record.

Sources Cited:

"The Insane ...