If you spend any amount of time on YouTube watching religious content about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there’s a good chance the algorithm has tried to feed you videos from the channel Hello Saints. This article seeks to help you understand the intention of that channel.
Hello Saints was started by Christian pastor, Jeff McCullough, in his attempt to learn everything he can about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The description of his YouTube channel states:
This channel is devoted to fighting criticism with curiosity as I invite dialogue between Christians and Mormons. Are Mormons Christians? What do Christians and Latter Day-saints agree and disagree about? Join me as I compare and contrast the lifestyle, culture and beliefs of Mormons and other the rest of the Christian community.
While this description is compelling (especially since Jeff is respectful and doesn’t openly call us devils like man do) we need to be cautious of Jeff’s real intent which he revealed in one of his videos. In his video, “Pastor’s HONEST Reason for Exploring Mormonism” he states:
“I’m going to continue to drive it understanding and sharing what I understand, so that we can drive at an understanding of Jesus that’s rooted in truth. That’s the why behind Hello Saints.”
The YouTube channel was created in early 2022, and in his first published video on his channel, McCullough is standing on the roof of a building in his town pointing out the various churches that can be seen from the rooftop. In a visit he made to Utah before releasing the video, he noticed a great number of churches and was told that they were all Latter-day Saint chapels.
Recently, David Alexander, a new convert to the Latter-day Saint faith who came from an evangelical background shared his thoughts on his thoughts of Pastor Jeff. While he acknowledges that Jeff is a very compelling and likeable person, his could create off-ramps from the covenant path for Latter-day Saints. His perspective is well worth the listen below.
He also posted another video that was more pointed in trying to warn us of Jeff’s motives.
Hello Saints Thoughts on Joseph Smith
McCullough dedicated one of his early videos to the topic of Joseph Smith and discusses five takeaways after he spent time reading Richard Bushman’s biography of Joseph Smith called Rough Stone Rolling.
His first takeaway dealt with the fact that Joseph Smith was a man of his time. A lot of the criticism cast upon Joseph Smith deals with his treasure seeking, and also failed business ventures, but McCullough extends some grace and explains that treasure seeking was fairly common in that culture and leaders at this time were very innovative in attempting to set up these communities.
Interestingly enough, McCullough acknowledges that one of his concerns regarding Joseph Smith has to do with the multiple accounts of the First Vision and perceived inconsistencies there. If anyone reading this is in the same boat, you would do well to listen to the six-episode podcast series entitled The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast by Spencer McBride.
Each episode features insights from Church historians and scholars and is designed to help people see this theophany in a new way. (The multiple accounts of the First Vision is actually one of the things I love most about that event and cements in my mind the veracity of the experience.)
Hello Saints Goes to General Conference
Every YouTube channel that makes a mark always has one video that catapults them into relevance. For Hello Saints that video was titled Pastor’s raw REACTION at Latter-day Saint Conference. As of the date this article was written, the video has over 617,000 views and over 5,500 comments.
In this video, McCullough traveled to the October 2022 General Conference in Salt Lake City and was able to attend a session thanks to a friend who was able to hook him up with some tickets. In an email that I sent to McCullough, I congratulated him on the success of that video and he remarked that a lot of individuals in his audience ask about General Conference. Making a video about that topic just made sense.
The success of this video is also due, in large part, to the fact that because McCullough is informative and fair, he can appeal to multiple audiences. He even noted to me, “I also get the sense that Latter-day Saints are super intrigued by interfaith conversations with someone who is inquiring rather than attacking. I think that plays pretty big in the grand scheme of things.”
As you read the comments on this video, and his other videos as well, you can see that many of his viewers are Latter-day Saints who appreciate the way that he is speaking about their faith. It is always in a fair manner.
Tackling the Book of Mormon
McCullough has multiple videos on his channel about the Book of Mormon, the first one being a reaction video where he watches a church-produced YouTube video on what the Book of Mormon is. He watches and then pauses every now to share his thoughts and commentary.
At one point in the video, it references the scripture from John 10:16 when talking about Christ’s resurrection:
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
McCullough objects to the usage of the scripture in this context, explaining that according to his tradition this wouldn’t be speaking about a visit to Christ in the Americas. Later on, he then states that, while interesting, the idea that Christ would appear in the Americas and other scripture be made available isn’t something that is spoken of in the Bible. (Even though he rejected one of the scriptures from the Bible that does speak of these events according to Latter-day Saint interpretation)
Many facets of the Book of Mormon McCullough does find interesting, but he does point out another hesitancy he has – that there is “proof” of the historicity of the Book of Mormon, meaning identification of peoples, places, and archaeological evidence that would corroborate with the book of scripture.
Keep in mind, that up to this point in his truth-seeking journey, he has not read the Book of Mormon for himself and hasn’t spent any time digging into Book of Mormon evidences that would prove it’s validity to an extent.
In his other videos that feature the Book of Mormon, McCullough spends time summarizing the things that he is reading and providing his commentary on what he has read. As of the release of this article, he has read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and in another video he shares his thoughts on 1 Nephi.
Hello Saints Discovers Doctrines and Destinations
In his 25+ videos that are on the Hello Saints YouTube channel, McCullough also delves into some doctrines and practices that are unique to Latter-day Saints, like the ordinances of baptism for the dead and eternal marriage.
He also has traveled to Nauvoo, Illinois, Independence, Missouri, and Palmyra, New York to learn some of the early history of the Church.
My Closing Thoughts
Having spent a great chunk of the last 13 years online with Called to Share dealing with attacks on my faith and calls to “leave that cult or burn in hell”, I agree with McCullough that it is very refreshing to have someone who is interacting with our faith in a respectful manner, because that’s all we ask of people.
We spend so much time online defending our beliefs, our history, and our scripture from some pretty disgusting attacks so to hear from someone that they are “willing to dig into it” without just calling us cultists is very refreshing.
I know there are some that have concerns with what McCullough is doing, perhaps feeling that his version of “real intent” is misguided. One reader opined that “he seems to want to fold his intellectual background into the mix far too much and it is clouding what real intent actually is. I sense an underlining effort to set up his following, which he knows are mostly members of the church, for an encounter with doubts about their beliefs rather than his greater understanding of those beliefs.”
Obviously this is something that we need to be aware of, but at the same time, understanding someone’s intent is difficult. I’m hoping that McCullough’s search for truth is sincere and that he is open to receive whatever the Lord feels fit to reveal to him.
What are your thoughts about Hello Saints? Have you watched any of Pastor Jeff’s videos? Tell me what you think about his project in the comment section below.
I’ve been super intrigued by the idea of Jeff’s videos too. But I gotta admit, when I listen to him, I end up feeling discouraged, unfulfilled, and even darkened by them. I have felt like he is indeed planting seeds of doubt. So I then go over and watch a conference talk, and I feel revitalized and filled up. There is a huge contrast. Listen to the Holy Ghost. He will teach you all things.
I respect the way he is approaching our Faith, but there is something that is not clicking with me, and I choose don’t to watch his you tub channel, I really prefer to follow the prophet and how you said may he along the way can find the truth if he open his heart to it. I wish him all the very best.
Where are any proof of the Jews ever living in Egypt, is there any although they were there a long time?
@Stray Mormon, That would be curious development. I admit it would surprise me. I think the part of Pastor Jeff’s approach that is so unusual is that he truly says what he thinks and his thoughts do not seem to be fierce and biting. I would be much more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he is a man of integrity. I have worked with many of the Pastors in our town in Washington, and they are good people who love their Savior and serve Him every day. I am a better man because of their example. This is why it is easy for me to believe he trying to do the right thing
@Stray Mormon,
Every time we see a pastor from another faith supporting the LDS Church, there have been donations from the LDS Church to one of their entities. So, is the LDS Church funding HelloSaints? I assume yes. Pastor Jeff tagline is “Production with Purpose” based on his Linkedin page. So I will assume he was hired, by the LDS Church, to produce these videos. They may have an element of sincerity, but follow the money.
I believe anyone that turns people to God and his son Jesus Christ our savior is doing God’s work. Remember that it is not intellect that conveys truth but the Spirit of God that provides confirmation.
I truly enjoy his commentary and his open discussions and his opening statement that he doesn’t know all there is about the LDS church. Listening to him it’s like being in an elders quorum meeting with a brand new member. You have to love his energy and zeal for God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. 👏
I believe Paster Jeff had good intentions but is grappling with frustration as he learns more about the doctrine of the Church. His last post talked about how Evangelicals might feel threatened by our beliefs. We are a covenant people. The work we do is making and keeping sacred covenants as we strive to be like Christ. Members of the church are generally not threatened by the beliefs of other religions because we believe the Savior is the Savior for all people, not just a select few Christians. I feel as if Paster Jeff is creating a divide and even greater misunderstanding for his viewers by teaching about our doctrines in a distorted way. I feel uncomfortable being talked about as though we were some strange species. Many of our believers were of other Christian faiths who still believe what they always did about Jesus Christ – the He is God and the Savior of the world. That we come to the Father through Him. That is all there is to know.
If someone is seeking truth and has real intent what does that look like? I am not sure and obviously don’t know Pastot Jeff’s heart but watching his videos and his search for truth will come to a real crossroads in what truth is revealed to him and what he does about it and or accept. Right now he likes to compare and show what is different or why he is concermed or “threatened” but doesn’t say threatened by some doctrines beliefs, etc. Perhaps his intent will change with gaining knowledge, but acceptance is a part of real intent and I am not sure he is going for that. Will see I guess.
Imagine a Pastor converting along this journey. It could happen if his heart is opened. It could be a means to a following and just take steps that is about conversations and that’s all he intends. But the miracle of the restored Gospel can impact anyone who is open, available to act and is willing to seek greater light and knowledge with truth in mind and heart. Will he or won’t he? I wonder.
If he has concerns about Christ visiting the Americas, he should read “He walked the Americas” by L. Taylor Hansen. I don’t know of any relation. He discusses traditions of a man with nail marks in both hands visiting peoples al over both American continents. Hansen also found such traditions among Island nations. While not saying it was Jesus, he does suggest that it was may have been on His apostles.
As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have watched and re-watched all of Pastor Jeff’s videos on Hello Saints. I believe he is solid in his evangelical beliefs and likely started the channel to share his beliefs with an LDS audience in a reciprocal effort for us to learn his perspective while he is learning about ours. Whether or not he ends up eventually joining the LDS Church, I do feel that Pastor Jeff is serving as an instrument in God’s hands. He is willing to visit an LDS church, visit Carthage, Nauvoo, Palmyra, and Independence, dig into Church history, watch Church-produced videos, spend time and $$ to fly across the country to attend General Conference, and make an effort to read the Book of Mormon—all of which most evangelicals and those in other religions would never do themselves, but are willing to watch Pastor Jeff and learn more about the LDS Church through Hello Saints. His videos and his questions have also strengthened my desire to study more about the Church and scriptures myself to find answers to some of his questions, and to re-affirm my testimony and not take it for granted. Seeing him diligently learning about LDS doctrine and culture from scratch has been enlightening for me to share in his journey.
In his latest videos he is starting to read the Book of Mormon and share his thoughts.
Pastor Jeff is always comparing what he knows to the LDS faith. He said in one of his videos that he is looking for truth, so to me that means that he is looking for a different church than his own. But he has gone about it all wrong. All he does is take tours and scenic views of the LDS faith, which really will get him nowhere. What he should of done in the beginning is meet with the missionaries and they could show him step by step what he needs to do if he wants to convert. And lastly after reading the Book of Mormon he needs to pray about it to find out if it is true. I don’t think he has done that so I don’t really know what his real intention is in all this. Maybe someone needs to tell him this . The missionaries are his best source for finding out everything and answering his questions. But then maybe he really doesn’t want to convert even though he was saying he was looking for truth. Well anyway he is an interesting person, and I believe he really and sincer
ly wants to find out what we believe for whatever reason. He also needs to attend a church meeting rather than just tour a mormon church by himself, how stupid is that.
Although I applaud McCullough for wanting to “learn everything he can” about the Church, the article says, “he has not read the Book of Mormon for himself”. That would seem like a huge missing piece in how to learn about the Church, since it is the cornerstone of our faith. I would be willing to watch his YouTube videos about the Church AFTER he reads it.
I think it sounds like a great project, and I’m thankful that you shared this with us. He is checking out different types of our sources, which is nice to hear.
Thanks for sharing about how we can help his efforts by sending in some support money.
@Heather,
I’m not sure you understand based on your comment. Pastor Jeff has never mislead anyone into thinking he was trying to discover if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. That is absolutely not his goal. His YouTube channel is simply to learn more about the church, its members, and beliefs in an effort to be less critical and judgmental; and he is inviting his fellow Christians as well as any Latter-day Saints who are interested, along this journey with him. So in that regard he actually is the “real deal” as you put it. His agenda is to discover and explore in an effort to bridge the gap between Christians, who typically claim Latter-day Saints are not Christian, and Latter-day Saints, who actually are Christians. All it takes to be the “real deal” is to do and say, what you tell people you are doing and saying. He is being curious about us, rather than criticizing us, and it has been enlightening to see the church as viewed through the eyes of someone not of our faith.
@Heather, have you actually prayed about his findings? Please do this with a sincere heart and open mind to receive further light and knowledge from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Thank you for being honest in your response and the courtesy you have expressed in your comments.
How refreshing to hear of someone willing to learn of our beliefs before criticizing. This is a rare thing to see and hear in these latter days. Hopefully others will be as considerate and follow the Reverends approach to our knowledge.
It does seem nice to have a more civil confrontation than what usually happens when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is mentioned. I would just say to be sure to pray about it. It could be either circumstance. Honest desire to learn is a good thing, but ulterior motive would need watchfulness. So all I can say is … be fair … but pray. We are advised to bring souls to Christ and we are also advised to be not deceived. So if you want guidance, just pray about it and pay attention. But that’s just me …
I have mostly enjoyed these videos and I do watch them when they pop up on my feed.
However, I have noticed a few occasions where I think he’s more interested in showing his beliefs as being superior, while not quite understanding ours.
Plus, I noticed that rather than say, we don’t have paid ministry, he mentioned that we have members give talks, in place of a Pastor.
But I have enjoyed most of the videos due to his charming personality.
I believe that if and when he reads the Book of Mormon, that he will undoubtedly have to grapple with the Spirit on the truthfulness of what he is reading, and that may prove undaunting for him going forward.
Blessings for him on his journey. I will probably stay tuned. 🌟😊🌟
I don’t think that Paster Jeff is the real deal and he knows it. He’s riding the wave of YouTube popularity thanks to unsuspecting members. We should be welcoming but let’s not be gullible. Don’t you think he’d have already received a witness of the truth If he was worth his weight as a man of God? He has but there’s too much at stake. He’d lose his congregation and his salary. Chances are his family wouldn’t be happy that his new found truth has left him without an income. He’s probably only known pastoring so he’s got himself between a rock and a hard place. To be honest or not? If he hasn’t shown a softening by now In his videos, chances are his family wouldn’t support him. I think it’s a publicity stunt at best, at worst it’s to pull away the struggling Saints. My suggestion is to steer clear and let him resolve it on his own. He’s got access to everything he needs(missionaries and materials) if he’s seeking to be fed by the Lord.
I have watched every Hello Saints episode I could find and I believe up to this point that Pastor Jeff is sincere in his quest to learn and discover more about the LDS church and its members in an effort to fight criticism with curiosity for the sake of bridging the gap between Latter-day Saints and the Christian world. It has been an enlightening, fun and encouraging journey thus far. Kudos to Pastor Jeff!
There is one thing in his review of 1 Nephi, where he comments about the call for Nephi to kill Laben, but does not mention the reason Nephi is told to kill Laben.
I have followed Pastor Jeff on his YouTube Channel and find him to be a very smart and educated religious man on both the old and new testament. His lack of understanding doesn’t come with questions in some areas of the Godhead and the eternal well-being of human beings or the concept of families being united in heaven. He believes that it is God’s judgement of individuals that He accepts into a new family if necessary where tears for missing loved ones will be replaced with the joy of being in a state of eternal joy and happiness if one is chosen as being clean from sin and followers of Jesus Christ through repentance that can only happen down here and we are separated from God because of the Fall of Adam and it is up to us to turn to Christ in order to get back into the light and presence of God. If our loved ones choose that same path, perhaps we’ll see them there, but it is within our best interest to have our eyes set only on the Kingdom of Heaven and obedience to God’s commandments that will eventually save us. Having this thought of ‘not craving a Heaven without your spouse’ according Elder Holland, Pastor Jeff points out that this would seem like worshiping idols to him and not choosing God above all else. His stance is clear on what he understands as why we are here, but he has a hard stand against believing in the pre-existence and those in the afterlife who rejected the gospel, or didn’t get a chance to hear it,, getting another chance to hear it after they die. That would defeat the purpose of even coming to earth according to his understanding of God creating Adam after he created the world and everything in it and then a woman named Eve from him and placed them in the garden of Eden or paradise. Darkness came from outside their existence in the garden in the form of Satan and they were deceived and therefore cast out into the darkness, trying to get back into the light from whatever ritual they possibly can perceive. All attempts are considered to be worldly, even religions, since they are just part of the foolishness that is a fruit of being captive by the darkness that we have been accustomed to since Adam and Eve. I am not judging him on his stance. He has learned that like so many other religions and religious followers. He praises the church in there ability to have many interfaith Christians join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but at the same time he doesn’t believe that his stance will depart to the point of believing in the need for any priesthood, temples ordinances, baptisms and so on. I agree he is curious and does seek to learn what the ‘Mormons’ believe and try to understand it from a biblical pov. The bottom line is he is not doing it to explore whether it’s true or not. He just feels that it is possible for his beliefs to be accepted and discussed alongside any other church organization beliefs in a peaceful manner without tearing the other one down or making fun of their choices. He is going an adventure of learning LDS teachings and way of life in order to fellowship with members and have a friendly conversation about what we have in common and not exploit our differences and you can’t fault him for having that as an objective to learning about our teachings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. God bless him for extending the olive branch to the church. I pray that the church accepts it and welcomes him into our fellowship with love despite our differences.