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Video transcript:
This is a Christian comedian and content creator, John Crist. He just so happened to be in Utah earlier this year on tour. Now, as Latter-day Saints, we’re pretty used to seeing our religion ripped on social media. So when I saw that John went to one of our church services while he was in Utah, and that he posted about his experience, I prepared myself for the worst.
But to my surprise, it was the most level-headed, human reaction video I’ve seen in a long time. And he posted a second video about it later that was also great. Now, normally, when I do reaction videos, I’m pointing out the stuff people get wrong about our faith. But I wanted to bring John’s content up because 1) I think it’s hilarious, and 2) I think it models really well how to approach a faith that is different from yours, and I gotta give the guy props. Let’s watch some clips, starting with this one that gives a bit more background on how he ended up at our church. [Clip in which John explains how his Sunday show wasn’t selling out because Latter-day Saints don’t do that on Sundays, and his decision to go visit a church.]
If you have questions about another faith, go straight to the source. John hears something different about Latter-day Saints, and instead of just looking stuff up on the internet, he says Alright, where do you guys meet on Sundays? I’ll be there! I love that. If you’re curious about what a Catholic church service, an Evangelical church service, or a Latter-day Saint church service looks like, just go. Nobody is going to bite you or brainwash you… or baptize you. Unless the organization is on some kind of FBI watchlist, you should be good to go and check things out.
So he went, and of course he compares what he sees with what he’s used to [Clips about no coffee, clothing differences, reading from Alma, singing Joseph Smith hymn.] I’m fine with conscientious objectors. Sing whatever you want. But I also love that he is self-aware enough to recognize that just because we do some things differently doesn’t always mean we’re doing something wrong. For example, he spent a lot of time in both of his videos talking about the sacrament: [Clip compilation about how we use water for the sacrament, and he’s used to grape juice — even though in the Bible they used wine.]
And just in answer to his question, he’s absolutely right. We use water today but in the Doctrine and Covenants we’re taught, “that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.” If Fanta were all people had available to them, you’d probably have to get the OK from your local leaders, but in theory, yeah, it would be fine. In congregations today with members who have gluten allergies, you might see them eat something like Rice Chex instead of bread. That’s fairly common.
But as he continued to describe the meeting, there were a couple of things that really stuck out to me, and I want to know if they stand out to you, too. [Clip about him realizing that Latter-day Saints are regular humans. Specifically, the clip about the lady sleeping in the back of the chapel + the clip about the lady saying something somewhat racist from the pulpit and the other guy in the congregation looking embarrassed about it.]
Latter-day Saints are regular people, just like anybody else. I love that he doesn’t take the stance that these are deceived hell-bound cultists. No, Sheila is in the back taking a nap. People are saying weird stuff from the pulpit during fast and testimony meeting — this is stuff you’ll probably find in pretty much any church that involves human beings. But the second thing that I love is that when he heard something that seemed a little off, he didn’t throw his hands up in the air and say See, I knew these people were crazy. Instead, he looks to the member next to him, sees his reaction, and understands, Oh, ok, so this isn’t necessarily representative of the membership at large, and he doesn’t take it too seriously. By the way, why is it that whenever any content creators visit our church for some reason, it always seems to be on the one week a month when we have our open testimony meetings? It’s a great meeting, but it just always makes you tense up a bit because he’s right, it really is kind of an open mic, and you never know who’s going to get up or what they’re going to say.
Anyway, after the meeting, he starts asking questions. [Clip about temple recommends + him calling LDS kind and answering all of his questions.] First of all, temple recommends being compared to a season pass is hilarious. And I’m glad he got to see some interior pictures of a temple — I don’t know if you noticed, but he made sure to say that he got permission to take a picture of those pictures. He really didn’t need to tell us that, but what it tells me is that he knows that temples are particularly sacred to us and he is trying to be respectful, which is just good form. But let me just say directly to John if he happens to ever see this: Temples aren’t like cathedrals that you can walk through and check out whenever you want, but after each temple is built, there is an open house for the public. They do tours, and you can go through and learn all about what we use temples for. If you’re interested in something like that, hit me up and we’ll make it happen.
But anyway, it was cool to see that John was trying to understand. He saw some of the good we have to offer; he’s not agreeing with everything, but he’s withholding judgment, and he’s also trying to find common ground. [Clips about commonality in people looking for help/support/strength from church + clip about cultural hall.]
Now, if you do want to see a response to a popular creator that was a little less charitable in his comments about our faith, and actually did get quite a few things wrong, go check out this video. I’ll see ya there!