Last night, I had a lengthy conversation with Latter-day Saint apologist Jacob Hansen about the nature of God.

We covered a lot of ground — from creation ex nihilo to the Trinity, from the death of Egypt’s firstborn to hell and eternal punishment. I know I didn’t always express myself perfectly, and there are answers I would frame differently now. But overall, I’m grateful for the opportunity and proud of what I was able to share and testify about concerning the true and eternal God.

If you prefer to read rather than watch, here’s a rough transcript. It’s auto-generated, so please excuse any errors.

As I reviewed the discussion, one thing stood out to me: how often I turned to Scripture in my responses. That was deeply encouraging to see.

I asked Grok to analyze the transcript for biblical content. It found that I used 4 direct quotations, 18 citations, and 6 allusions — 28 total references to Scripture. By contrast, Jacob had 0 direct quotations, 3 citations, and 9 allusions, for a total of 12 — and several of those came from Super Chat questions or responses to my use of Scripture.

Interestingly, Jacob also only referred to LDS scripture once — and that was to critique it (specifically Joseph Smith’s phrase “one eternal round” from D&C 3:2, which he quoted as “one eternal now” and explained that he rejected it).

Reflecting on this brought to mind a sermon I heard last Sunday on 2 Timothy 3:14–4:4 and the importance of grounding our lives and beliefs in the Word of God:

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

These were among Paul’s final words to Timothy — urging him to remain rooted in God’s Word and to use it to guard against false teaching.

One of my pastors, Ryan Schomaker, offered a powerful illustration: Scripture is like braces that align us and help us grow straight and faithful to God. Without it, we drift and become misaligned. Scripture provides the “teaching,” “reproof,” “correction,” and “training” we need to stay oriented toward Him.

I respect Jacob immensely, and this isn’t meant as a personal attack. But what I heard from him relied heavily on philosophical reasoning and personal moral intuitions. That’s not a firm foundation. When we build our theology on the shifting sands of philosophy or private judgment, our alignment with God inevitably drifts.

So I’d encourage my Latter-day Saint friends who follow Jacob’s work: examine his arguments — and your own — carefully. Is God’s Word the anchor of what you believe? If not, turn back to Scripture. Let God’s Word be your anchor. It is trustworthy and true.