Cloud of Witnesses Radio

Take a Look inside a Church of the Latter Day Saints | Mormonism Compared to Christianity Reaction

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Step past the beige sparse walls and into a Sunday that sparks big questions about worship, history, and truth. Jeremy Jeremiah reacts to the video that walks you through an LDS sacrament meeting—from the first hymn to the closing prayer—and hold its practices up against the standards of historic Christianity. Along the way, we unpack why a service that looks like a college lecture can feel familiar, why borrowed hymns matter more than they seem, and how bread and water signal a deeper break with the ancient Eucharistic faith.

We walk through a full LDS Sunday service, from hymns to sacrament, and compare it with historic Christian worship. Along the way, we challenge the classroom model of church and invite listeners to examine claims of continuity, sacrament, and truth.

• tour of an LDS chapel and layout
• critique of borrowed hymnody and history
• sacrament of bread and water contrasted with Eucharist
• talk-centered format versus sacramental worship
• breakdown of Sunday school and primary programs
• analysis of American church growth dynamics
• invitation to explore historic Orthodox Christianity

We take time to examine the structure: youth speakers delivering short talks, adults cycling through classes, and children moving between singing time and instruction. The building tells a story too: chapel, classrooms, nursery, and a cultural hall that doubles as a gym, all optimized for programs and teaching. That order can be comforting, but we ask whether a church centered on talks can replace a church centered on sacrament. If the early Church guarded the Eucharist as the heart of worship, what does it mean when the centerpiece is reimagined with plastic cups and water?

This episode makes a strong claim: form reflects belief. The symbols you see—or don’t see—the bread and wine you receive—or don’t—shape what you believe about Christ, grace, and the church’s purpose. We explore why Orthodox Christianity insists on continuity with the apostles, the fathers, and the councils; why creed, liturgy, and iconography are not add-ons; and why a living tradition offers more than inspiration—it offers participation in the life of God. Whether you’re LDS, curious, or wrestling with where to belong, this is an invitation to test claims by worship as much as by words.

If this conversation challenged you or sparked new curiosity, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest question or insight. Your feedback helps more seekers find thoughtful, honest conversations about faith and the church.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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SPEAKER_01:

Let's take a look inside an LDS church.

SPEAKER_00:

What it's like to attend an LDS church service. We'll come with me and I'll show you what it's like.

SPEAKER_01:

I see all the time. The LDS Faith is a modern American, literally capitalistic, cubicle style religion. And this is gonna show it to you right here front and center. This is our main a sacrament meeting. And she says the main part of their day, their main worship service.

SPEAKER_00:

Where families sit together seeing This is wild.

SPEAKER_01:

So if you look here closely at the bottom, you see who wrote this hymn. Well, it was translated by some you know Mormon woman back in you know 1830 or something, but the text is actually Michael Rinkhart, who is a Lutheran pastor from 200, 300 years earlier. And so you have these Mormons who are literally singing a hymn that was written by a Lutheran pastor during, you know, the Reformation. And you might say to yourself, yeah, but Jimmy, what's the big deal? Well, Lutherans are very, very strong. They believe in the Eucharist, they believe in the body and blood of Christ. And you're gonna see here these LDS, they're pretending with a sacrament and they use water. Bread and water. It's wild.

SPEAKER_00:

In particular, sacrament where we use bread and water.

SPEAKER_01:

Look at this room. That could be a college lecture hall. I mean, it is a college lecture hall. Zero imagery, blasted white walls with nothing to look at, no symbols whatsoever. They're just being talked to for hour after hour. If you're an LDS or if you're someone who's interested in the LDS faith, I urge you, run away. Go find a real Christian church, a church where Christ is taught and preached. It's the Orthodox Church and it was established 2,000 years ago, 1,500 years before Winkhart ever wrote his hymn. That Mormons are borrowing now here in 2025.

SPEAKER_00:

The service starts out with a song and then a prayer. Church business.

SPEAKER_01:

A song and then a prayer. Okay? Again, think of yourself. You're the Mormon faith from 1830, right? It's this brand new baby American faith. They don't have any history. So, of course, what are they gonna do? They're gonna go borrow Protestant hymns. It's sad. If you're LDS, if you're part of the Mormon faith, you've been lied to. You've been given a charlatan version of Christianity. I'm begging you, go look into the real Christian faith. There was a church that was established 2,000 years, 1800 years before Joseph Smith ever walked the face of the earth.

SPEAKER_00:

Another song to prepare for the sacrament. And then partake of the sacrament.

SPEAKER_01:

And then partake of the sacrament. Look how pathetic this is, you guys. And please understand, I'm calling it pathetic because it's sad. I'm not trying to pick on our LDS friends, but this is so ridiculous. This plastic little thing they're passing around. It's got little cups of water on it, bread. And this is what's passing for the sacrament. I find it ironic, by the way, that they call it the sacrament. Right? It's like they just took this word. Well, what is it that the you know that the Christians are doing? Well, they call it it's a sacrament. They've got this thing called a sacrament, and they partake of bread and wine, so let's do that too. Only we can't have wine, but we'll do water instead.

SPEAKER_00:

Which starts with a youth speaker that could be as young as 11 years old.

SPEAKER_01:

And then two then they get talked to for the next few hours, right? Including speakers that are often, you know, or sometimes kids. But that must be really enlightening.

SPEAKER_00:

Two adult speakers. These individuals are given a topic to talk about.

SPEAKER_01:

Look at this, you guys. These bare walls, these people sitting in these pews. I mean, can you get any more American, you know, just cookie cutter, throw them into a you know, office type building, and all of a sudden this is a Mormon church.

SPEAKER_00:

And are not paid for their services. We've then seen a clothing camp and seraph.

SPEAKER_01:

Look at this. Some guy up here, right? He's been given the title of elder. It's sad. It's genuinely, genuinely sad.

SPEAKER_00:

It usually lasts about an hour. And then every other Sunday we have Sunday school. The adults go to one class, the youth go to another.

SPEAKER_01:

The adults go to one class, the youth go to another. She's gonna describe these different classes they go to. It's they're being indoctrinated. You go to this pathetic, you know, service that's, you know, supposedly your worship service. It's the closest thing to church they get. You know, looking at these halls, they could be in a hospital right there. It looks like a hospital, right? A college, you know, University of Phoenix type stuff here. Give me a break.

SPEAKER_00:

A church, and then the younger kids go to what's called primary. The other Sundays, the men go to one class, the women go to another, and then the youth split up go to young men or young women class. And then the kids that go to primary age three to eleven, have singing time for about 25 minutes, and then class for 25 minutes.

SPEAKER_01:

Listen to that. Even the way this is programmed, they go in and they sing for about 20 minutes. Okay, guys, we gotta find some, you know, some hymns to sing for about 20 minutes. Wonder if they have any other hymns written by Lutherans or Protestants. Lord have mercy.

SPEAKER_00:

First, we have a nursery for kids, 18 months to three years old. And a typical LDS church building. Look at that.

SPEAKER_01:

It's I mean, this room is labeled like it's an American university built in the 1960s. You know, I mean, this is sad.

SPEAKER_00:

Culture hall, which I have no clue why it's called that.

SPEAKER_01:

A culture hall. By the way, I've been to a Mormon steak. I've seen this, I've been in the gym myself. I've uh years and years ago, I've seen this. This is not wrong. This is exactly what a Mormon steak looks like.

SPEAKER_00:

It's basically just a gym. A chapel, many classrooms, multiple bathrooms, a kitchen, a materials center, which is like a library, and leaders' office. This was a very quick rundown. If you have any questions, ask me.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I've got lots of questions. Don't settle for some novel, new, made-up, quasi-Masonic, quasi-Christian, polygamous, poly theist religion that is the LDS faith. Why does it continue to grow here in America? Probably for the same reason why self-help books and you know um coaching um regimes continue to flourish in this country. People like to sit down and be taught things, right? They we love the classrooms in America, right? Look at all the universities we have. This fits right into that. If you're interested in Christianity, preserving the faith once and all delivered to the saints, as we read in Jude, it is found in the Orthodox Church. Come and see true Christianity, not some cult based on fables and borrowing from all the other religions around them, some hodgepodge that is made up to try to feed you a line. Galatians warns us against counterfeit Christs. You're seeing one in the LDS faith. It is not the Christ of the Holy Scriptures. It is not the historic Christ, it is not the Christ that has been preserved and defended and honored in the body of Christ through the fathers of the church for 2,000 years. Escape the madness. Find an Orthodox Church near you today.