There is a growing trend in social media of Latter-day Saint (Mormon) apologists defending their faith. And because of the success of streaming shows such as The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, a general curiosity and interest in Mormonism among the general public has also spiked.

It is a golden opportunity for having fruitful and productive conversations with Latter-day Saints.

On the next two weeks of the Profile, we'll be talking with evangelist to Mormons in Utah, Aaron Shafovaloff, who has been engaging LDS on the streets of Utah since 2006. Aaron will share with us his insights and observations about how we too can have effective and winsome engagements with LDS missionaries, friends, and neighbors.

Aaron became a student of Mormonism in 1998, when he was introduced to the religion by neighbors. His life was forever changed when he discovered Romans 4:5 “And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” He joyfully looks back at his conversion in contrast to the “impossible gospel” set forth in the Miracle of Forgiveness and perfection of God’s law that he could never live up to.

Aaron is a computer programmer and a regular street evangelist. Aaron and his wife Stacie live in South Jordan, UT. Together they have a son and two daughters. He is working toward his Master of Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. https://mrm.org/team

Audio Clips Features in This Episode:
Dalin H. Oaks at BYU: https://www.youtube.com/live/bn_PsLrWyxM?si=E2oBCXxbsch0baMy
Peacemaker Summit: https://www.youtube.com/live/nAvGrn14rRY?si=RbJlVAjNH6yttx4l
Jasmin Rappleye: https://youtu.be/HkDQtyn_i7c?si=78UbZ5gk0gajb72D

Related Links:

• Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: www.watchman.org/Mormonism
• Apologetics Profile podcast What Is the Gospel? with Mormon apologist Scott Gordon and Christian apologist James Walker (YouTube): www.watchman.org/GordonWalker
• Apologetics Profile podcast list of all episodes about Latter-day Saints https://www.watchman.org/files/ldspod.htm

Additional Resources:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (two volumes totalling over 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

In Latter-day Saint scriptures, Doctrine & Covenants section 82, verse 7 states

"And now, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, will not lay any sin to your charge; go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God."

This is not only a tremendous burden for Latter-day Saints, but it is wholly antithetical to the biblical promise that God will not remember our sins. “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE" (Hebrews 8:12).

This week on the Profile we continue our conversation with Eric Johnson of MRM.org about S.W. Kimball's The Miracle of Forgiveness.

From MRM.ORG
Eric Johnson has been a student of Mormonism since 1987 when he served a summer mission outreach in Utah. Eric graduated from San Diego State University (1985, BA in Journalism) as well as at Bethel Seminary San Diego (1991, Master’s of Divinity). Eric cohosts the daily radio program Viewpoint on Mormonism and writes for MRM’s Mormonism Researched newsletter. His new book is Introducing Christianity to Mormons (Harvest House, 2022). He is also the co-author of Answering Mormons’ Questions: Ready Responses for Inquiring Latter-day Saints (Kregel, 2013), Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Baker Book, 2015), Mormonism 101 for Teens(MRM, 2016) as well as serving as a co-editor of Sharing the Good News with Mormons (Harvest House, 2018).

Also visit the Utah Christian Research Center website at https://utahchristianresearchcenter.com/

Watchman Fellowship's New Blog!
Check out Watchman Fellowship's newly revamped blog on Substack! See Daniel Ray's extended article and review of The Miracle of Forgiveness here.

Related Links:

• Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: www.watchman.org/Mormonism
• Apologetics Profile podcast What Is the Gospel? with Mormon apologist Scott Gordon and Christian apologist James Walker (YouTube): www.watchman.org/GordonWalker
• Apologetics Profile podcast list of all episodes about Latter-day Saints https://www.watchman.org/files/ldspod.htm

Additional Resources:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (two volumes totalling over 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

What might you say to a Latter-day Saint who asks you to define how you understand the concept of forgiveness? It is important to know that most Latter-day Saints understanding of forgiveness differs significantly from the traditional biblical doctrine of forgiveness.

This week and next on the Profile we will be talking with Eric Johnson of Mormon Research Ministry in Utah about an influential 1969 LDS publication, written by former apostle and later president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Spencer W. Kimball called The Miracle of Forgiveness. But as Eric will share with us, Kimball's ideas of forgiveness aren't anything like what we find in the Bible.

From MRM.ORG
Eric Johnson has been a student of Mormonism since 1987 when he served a summer mission outreach in Utah. Eric graduated from San Diego State University (1985, BA in Journalism) as well as at Bethel Seminary San Diego (1991, Master’s of Divinity). Eric cohosts the daily radio program Viewpoint on Mormonism and writes for MRM’s Mormonism Researched newsletter. His new book is Introducing Christianity to Mormons (Harvest House, 2022). He is also the co-author of Answering Mormons’ Questions: Ready Responses for Inquiring Latter-day Saints (Kregel, 2013), Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Baker Book, 2015), Mormonism 101 for Teens(MRM, 2016) as well as serving as a co-editor of Sharing the Good News with Mormons (Harvest House, 2018).

Also visit the Utah Christian Research Center website at https://utahchristianresearchcenter.com/.

Watchman Fellowship's New Blog!
Check out Watchman Fellowship's newly revamped blog on Substack! See Daniel Ray's extended article and review of The Miracle of Forgiveness here.

Related Links:

• Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: www.watchman.org/Mormonism
• Apologetics Profile podcast What Is the Gospel? with Mormon apologist Scott Gordon and Christian apologist James Walker (YouTube): www.watchman.org/GordonWalker
• Apologetics Profile podcast list of all episodes about Latter-day Saints https://www.watchman.org/files/ldspod.htm

Additional Resources:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (two volumes totalling over 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Are leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prophets and apostles in a true biblical sense? Was Joseph Smith a true prophet? We believe the answer to both questions is "No." Tune in this week to find out more.

Watchman Fellowship has published free articles on our blog related to this topic. Visit and subscribe to our new blog today! Be sure to check out these articles.

Testing Joseph Smith
Discerning False Christs

This week we continue our conversation with former Latter-day Saint and the great, great granddaughter of Brigham Young, Sandra Tanner. Sandra shares her wisdom and experience from her decades-long research of the LDS Church. Her insights will help equip you to be better prepared to engage your Mormon friends, neighbors or missionaries who come to your door.

If you are enjoying Apologetics Profile, be sure to leave us a nice review on your favorite podcast platform! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😀👍

Sandra Tanner and her late husband Jerald were raised in the LDS faith, both with a strong Mormon family history. Jerald was the great-great-grandson of John Tanner, well known for his sizeable financial contributions to Joseph Smith and the LDS church in 1835 when the church was deeply in debt. Sandra Tanner is a great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church.

As teenagers, before they met, Jerald and Sandra were challenged by different people and events to examine the origins of Mormonism. Soon after their introduction, they jointly began researching Mormonism and became engaged. Both accepted Christ during these early years of study and have left the Mormon church. Sandra remains today a Christian.

The Tanners are authors of over forty books on the subject of Mormonism. They are well known for their extensive research into Mormon history and doctrine during their time as founders of Utah Lighthouse Ministry.

Related Links:

• Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: www.watchman.org/Mormonism
• Apologetics Profile podcast What Is the Gospel? with Mormon apologist Scott Gordon and Christian apologist James Walker (YouTube): www.watchman.org/GordonWalker
• Apologetics Profile podcast list of all episodes about Latter-day Saints https://www.watchman.org/files/ldspod.htm

Additional Resources:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (two volumes totalling over 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

The Bible gives us a standard by which we may discern truth from falsehood, especially when someone proclaims themselves to be a prophet (Deuteronomy 13; 18; Matthew 24:24; 1 John 4:1; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6).

Watchman Fellowship has published free articles on our blog related to this topic. Visit and subscribe to our new blog today! Be sure to check out these articles.

Testing Joseph Smith
Discerning False Christs

This week and next on Apologetics Profile, we were privileged once again to have been able to interview former Latter-day Saint and the great, great granddaughter of Brigham Young, Sandra Tanner in Utah this past fall. Sandra shares her wisdom and experience from her decades-long research of the LDS Church. Her insights will help equip you to be better prepared to engage your Mormon friends, neighbors or missionaries who come to your door.

If you are enjoying Apologetics Profile, be sure to leave us a nice review on your favorite podcast platform! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😀👍

Sandra Tanner and her late husband Jerald were raised in the LDS faith, both with a strong Mormon family history. Jerald was the great-great-grandson of John Tanner, well known for his sizeable financial contributions to Joseph Smith and the LDS church in 1835 when the church was deeply in debt. Sandra Tanner is a great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church.

As teenagers, before they met, Jerald and Sandra were challenged by different people and events to examine the origins of Mormonism. Soon after their introduction, they jointly began researching Mormonism and became engaged. Both accepted Christ during these early years of study and have left the Mormon church. Sandra remains today a Christian.

The Tanners are authors of over forty books on the subject of Mormonism. They are well known for their extensive research into Mormon history and doctrine during their time as founders of Utah Lighthouse Ministry.

Related Links:

• Watchman Fellowship Profile on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: www.watchman.org/Mormonism
• Apologetics Profile podcast What Is the Gospel? with Mormon apologist Scott Gordon and Christian apologist James Walker (YouTube): www.watchman.org/GordonWalker
• Apologetics Profile podcast list of all episodes about Latter-day Saints https://www.watchman.org/files/ldspod.htm

Additional Resources:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free
PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (two volumes totalling over 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/Notebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/Give

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

The official teaching of the Catholic Church directs its parishioners to pray directly to Mary to intercede to Jesus on our behalf (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) paragraphs 2277-2279). The Church also teaches that Mary was herself immaculately conceived and preserved from every stain of sin common to the rest of humanity (see CCC 490-492).

But are these doctrinal statements in keeping with a biblical portrait of Mary? We will explore these topics and others on part two of our discussion with Italian pastor, theologian, and author Leonardo De Chirico.

Leonardo De Chirico is the pastor of Breccia di Roma, a church that he helped plant in Rome in 2009. He served as Vice Chairman of the Italian Evangelical Alliance from 2003-2021 and now serves as chairman for the theological commission of the IEA. Previously, Leonardo planted and pastored an evangelical church in Ferrara, Italy, from 1997 to 2009. He earned degrees in History (University of Bologna), Theology (ETCW, Bridgend, Wales) and Bioethics (University of Padova). His PhD is from King's College (London); it was published as Evangelical Theological Perspectives on Post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism. In 2015, he published A Christian Pocket Guide to Papacy and A Christian Pocket Guide to Mary: Mother of God? through Christian Focus. He is a lecturer of Historical Theology at Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione in Padova, Italy. Additionally, Leonardo is the Director of the Reformanda Initiative, which aims to equip evangelical leaders to better understand and engage with Roman Catholicism, and the leader of the Rome Scholars & Leaders Network (RSLN).

Free Profile Articles from Watchman Fellowship:
Roman Catholicism
Goddess worship
Islam
New Age Movement

Additional Resources from Watchman Fellowship:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
The complete Profile Notebook (Digital Edition, PDF, over 600-pages): www.watchman.org/DigitalNotebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.
Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

What role does Mary, the mother of Jesus, have in traditional Catholic theology? This week and next on Apologetics Profile, we will examine some of the core dogmas of Catholic Mariology and contrast them with the Bible's portrait of Mary with our guest Leonardo De Chirico, pastor, theologian, and author of several books on Catholic and Protestant theology and engagement.

Leonardo De Chirico is the pastor of Breccia di Roma, a church that he helped plant in Rome in 2009. He served as Vice Chairman of the Italian Evangelical Alliance from 2003-2021 and now serves as chairman for the theological commission of the IEA. Previously, Leonardo planted and pastored an evangelical church in Ferrara, Italy, from 1997 to 2009. He earned degrees in History (University of Bologna), Theology (ETCW, Bridgend, Wales) and Bioethics (University of Padova). His PhD is from King's College (London); it was published as Evangelical Theological Perspectives on Post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism. In 2015, he published A Christian Pocket Guide to Papacy and A Christian Pocket Guide to Mary: Mother of God? through Christian Focus. He is a lecturer of Historical Theology at Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione in Padova, Italy. Additionally, Leonardo is the Director of the Reformanda Initiative, which aims to equip evangelical leaders to better understand and engage with Roman Catholicism, and the leader of the Rome Scholars & Leaders Network (RSLN).

Audio clips about the Dallas Cowboys featured in this episode:
Play by play of Cowboys & Vikings famous "Hail, Mary" from December 1975.
Roger Staubach interview on the Dan Patrick Show.

Free Profile Articles from Watchman Fellowship:
Roman Catholicism
Goddess worship
Islam
New Age Movement

Additional Resources from Watchman Fellowship:
FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
The complete Profile Notebook (Digital Edition, PDF, over 600-pages): www.watchman.org/DigitalNotebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.
Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

When Jesus began His Church, He did not intend for us to live out our calling in isolation from our fellow believers. He prayed that we would, as the Church, be united as one body. The Apostle Paul also reminded the believers in Corinth that they as part of the body of Christ, indeed functioned like a human body, with many necessary and integral parts, fit together by God Himself for the edification of the saints and the glory of God.

This week we continue our conversation with Pastor Chris Legg of South Spring Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas about how he creatively and practically integrates apologetics into his ministry and how each one of us is an apologist, whether we are professionally trained in the field of apologetics or not.

Also, Daniel shares his recent terrifying experience in the Grand Canyon. You don't want to miss this episode!

Pastor Chris Legg, LPC, and his wife Ginger have been living out the parable of God’s love for His people since 1993 and have been blessed with five great kids. He is the Lead Pastor at South Spring Baptist Church in Tyler, TX (https://www.southspring.org ) and is also the founding owner and clinical director of Alethia Family Counseling Center
( https://www.alethiacounseling.com ), which offers training, counseling, speaking and business consulting in several locations in Texas.

He and his son Mark are the authors of the book Sex and Marriage, which is intended to
restore the power God intended in our marriages.

Learn more about SSBC at www.southspring.org More about Alethia at https://www.alethiacounseling.com

Contact Chris, read any of his articles, and look for other resources at his
website at https://www.chrismlegg.com and at https://chrismlegg.substack.com/.

Resources from Watchman Fellowship:
Apologetics Profile podcast interview with Robert Bowman, Jr., about different approaches to Christian apologetics.
Atheism Profile by Robert Bowman Jr.: www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/atheismprofile.pdf

Word Faith Movement Profile by Robert Bowman Jr.: www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/wordfaithprofile.pdf
Faith Has Its Reasons: Integrative Approaches to Defending the Christian Faith, by Kenneth Boa and Robert Bowman Jr. (https://amzn.to/2YKeecD)
Fast Facts on Apologetics.

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.
The complete Profile Notebook (Digital Edition, PDF, approx. 700-pages): www.watchman.org/DigitalNotebook
SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.
Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2026 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.