In this episode of the Witnessing Christ Podcast, Mike and Molly are joined by Truth in Love Ministry's seminary evangelist interns Charlie, Calvin, and Aaron to discuss some of the major themes and conversations coming out of the latest Latter-day Saint General Conference.

After watching and reading several conference talks, the team reflects on what Latter-day Saints are hearing from their leaders and how Christians can use those teachings to begin meaningful, gospel-centered conversations with their LDS friends, family members, and missionaries.

From the controversy surrounding gambling to teachings about tithing, grace, and suffering, this episode explores important differences between biblical Christianity and LDS theology. But the goal isn't simply to identify disagreements or win theological arguments. It's to better understand what Latter-day Saints believe, ask thoughtful questions, and share the comfort and certainty found in Jesus Christ.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why a General Conference talk condemning gambling generated so much discussion among Latter-day Saints.
• How differing reactions to the gambling talk raise questions about prophetic authority and the teachings of living and past LDS leaders.
• How Christians can use these conversations to point to the unchanging authority of Scripture.
• What recent conference talks taught about tithing and the blessings associated with financial giving.
• How biblical Christian offerings differ from required tithing and why Christians give out of thankfulness rather than obligation.
• Why the word grace can mean something very different in LDS theology than it does in biblical Christianity.
• How LDS teachings about grace as an enabling power differ from the Bible's message of God's undeserved favor.
• Why understanding the definitions behind familiar religious words is essential when witnessing.
• How General Conference speakers discussed suffering as part of God's plan for human growth and progression.
• Why the biblical account of suffering points us to a Savior who entered our broken world to rescue us.
• Practical questions Christians can ask to begin loving conversations about authority, grace, forgiveness, and suffering.

One of the most important lessons from this episode is that using the same words doesn't always mean we're proclaiming the same gospel.

Christians and Latter-day Saints both talk about grace, salvation, obedience, and blessings. But what do those words actually mean?

When biblical Christians speak about grace, we are talking about God's completely undeserved love for sinners. As Ephesians 2 reminds us, we were dead in our transgressions, but God made us alive with Christ. Our salvation doesn't depend on how much progress we make or how successfully we obey God's commandments. It rests entirely on what Jesus has already accomplished for us.

That difference becomes especially important when we face suffering.

When tragedy strikes, Christians don't have to explain every hardship as a necessary step toward spiritual progression. We can acknowledge that sin and death have broken God's good creation. We can grieve alongside those who are hurting and point them to Jesus, who entered our suffering, bore our sins on the cross, and rose again to give us the certain hope of eternal life.

Our comfort isn't found in understanding why every hardship happens. Our comfort is found in knowing what Jesus has done about it.

As you talk with your LDS friends about General Conference, begin with genuine curiosity. Ask what stood out to them. Listen to their reactions. Find out what these teachings mean to them personally.

And when the opportunity comes, open God's Word together and share the wonderful news that forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life are not rewards we must earn. They are gifts Jesus has already won for us.

The goal isn't to win an argument about General Conference. The goal is to point people to Christ and the gospel that never changes.

Music used in this episode under license. License code: BSIPX0EWJ87RCGZL

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In this episode of the Witnessing Christ Podcast, Mike and Molly are joined by Dr. Mark Paustian, professor at Martin Luther College, for a conversation about one of the most important—and often overlooked—aspects of witnessing: listening.

With decades of experience in pastoral ministry, teaching, and Christian apologetics, Mark shares how learning to listen transformed his approach to evangelism. What began as an intimidating challenge for an introverted young pastor became a lifelong appreciation for genuine curiosity, meaningful questions, and the incredible opportunities that come from simply taking the time to understand another person.

The conversation explores how Christians can approach their Latter-day Saint friends, family members, and missionaries with genuine love rather than an agenda to win arguments. Instead of focusing entirely on what we want to say, what happens when we begin by asking what another person believes, why they believe it, and what their beliefs mean to them personally?

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How an unexpected conversation with an atheist helped shape Mark's approach to witnessing.
• Why listening can be more valuable than having the perfect argument.
• How introverts can use their natural strengths to share the gospel.
• What makes a question genuinely thoughtful, loving, and productive.
• Why curiosity should come from a desire to understand rather than a hidden agenda.
• How vulnerability and honesty about our own struggles can help build trust.
• Why sharing the certainty of forgiveness in Christ can open meaningful conversations with Latter-day Saints.
• How Christians can use LDS Come, Follow Me readings to begin respectful, Scripture-centered discussions.
• What to do when conversations with missionaries become uncomfortable or tense.
• How hospitality, friendship, and genuine compassion can communicate the love of Christ.
• Why spending time in God's Word prepares our hearts to share his love with others.
• Four essential qualities for meaningful conversations: curiosity, high regard, mutual openness, and carrying one another's burdens.

One of the central lessons of this conversation is that we don't need to prove someone wrong before we can show them Jesus.

Too often, witnessing becomes a contest of arguments. We prepare answers, study theological differences, and search for the perfect question that will finally convince someone to agree with us. But in doing so, we can forget the person sitting across from us.

Mark encourages Christians to approach witnessing differently. Be genuinely curious. Ask questions you actually want answered. Listen without immediately preparing your response. And when the opportunity comes, share what Jesus means to you and the incredible peace that comes from knowing your sins are forgiven.

For Christians witnessing to Latter-day Saints, this creates opportunities to discuss questions that go beyond theological definitions. How do you know God loves you? What does forgiveness mean to you? How can you be certain that God accepts you?

These questions allow us to move beyond arguments and point to the beautiful promises of Scripture.

And that is where our confidence ultimately rests. We don't have to manufacture the perfect witnessing experience. We have a Savior who has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has secured our forgiveness and given us peace with God.

The more we listen to Jesus in his Word, the more his love, mercy, and promises fill our hearts. And when our hearts are full of Christ, we have something wonderful to share with the people around us.

Listen to Jesus. Then listen like Jesus.

Music used in this episode under license. License code: BSIPX0EWJ87RCGZL

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In this episode of the Witnessing Christ Podcast, Mike sits down with returning Truth in Love Ministry interns Charlie and Calvin after their year serving as vicars in local congregations. After a year of preaching, teaching, meeting new people, and having countless conversations about faith, they reflect on how practical ministry changed the way they think about witnessing.

Although they served in very different places—Calvin in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, and Charlie near Greenville, South Carolina—both discovered something similar: effective witnessing is less about finding the perfect argument and more about listening, loving the person in front of you, sharing Jesus, and trusting God's Word to work.

Calvin shares the story of a man who unexpectedly walked into his church after beginning discussions with Latter-day Saint missionaries. For several months, Calvin walked alongside him as he simultaneously studied with the missionaries and worked through a Christian Bible information course. Their conversations continually returned to the simple message of what Jesus had already done for him.

Charlie reflects on how his previous work with Truth in Love prepared him to minister to people from many different religious backgrounds. Instead of immediately attacking beliefs he knew were false, he learned to slow down, listen, ask questions, and recognize how deeply personal someone's faith can be.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How a year of practical ministry shaped Charlie and Calvin as future pastors.
• How Calvin unexpectedly used his TILM training while working with someone studying with LDS missionaries.
• Why the biblical teaching of direct access to God through Christ stood out in those conversations.
• How listening can transform conversations with people from different religious backgrounds.
• Why attacking someone's beliefs often closes doors rather than opening them.
• What it means to let God's Word work instead of searching for the perfect “silver bullet.”
• Why Christians don't have to say everything in a single witnessing conversation.
• How face-to-face ministry taught them to become more comfortable thinking on their feet.
• Why witnessing often means planting and watering seeds whose growth you may never see.
• How simply being present in a community creates natural opportunities to talk about Jesus.
• Why Christians can take risks in witnessing without making the outcome depend on themselves.

One of the biggest lessons from their year of ministry was learning to abandon the “silver bullet” mentality—the idea that if we could just find the perfect verse, argument, or question, everything would suddenly fall into place.

Usually, witnessing doesn't work that way.

Sometimes you're simply planting a seed. Sometimes you're watering one somebody else planted years ago. And sometimes you may never see what God eventually does through a conversation. Especially when witnessing to Latter-day Saints, spiritual change can take years. Our responsibility isn't to manufacture that change. We share God's Word and trust Him to work through it.

That truth also takes enormous pressure off the witness. You aren't the most important person in someone's story—God is. You don't have to know everything, speak perfectly, or win every argument. You get the privilege of sharing the Savior who has already done everything necessary for sinners.

So listen. Ask questions. Be willing to stay in someone's life for the long haul. Share Jesus. Plant the seed. And then trust God with the growth.

As Charlie puts it, witnessing can feel risky—but sometimes the best thing you can do is simply go try something risky and see how the Lord uses it.

Music used in this episode under license. License code: BSIPX0EWJ87RCGZL

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