Amazing paper I had to write when I interviewed a baptist preacher.
Chris Isaacs


I have to say that when I received this assignment, I thought of people that would be easy to get a hold of just to do the assignment. Then I remembered how sincere our teacher Brother Embry was about perception checking. So I thought about what matters more to me than anything in the world, which is my religious belief. I went to the Rexburg chamber of commerce to get a list of local churches. I called many of them with no luck. Finally I spoke to pastor Chris Isaacs, of the Upper Valley Bible Church in Saint Anthony, Idaho. In this paper I will be explaining Chris Isaacs and his background, why he holds the view he holds and my feelings about meeting with him.
Chris Isaacs was born in Idaho. Believe it or not Chris was born and raised a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. He explained that his family was never really active members of the church but they did attend on occasion. Religion had never meant very much to Chris, until he was in a jail for his third DUI. He was at the lowest point in his life. Following this experience he went on a quest to find truth. He knew that two people couldn’t both be right. He read the bible while meeting with the local pastor of the Upper Valley Bible Church. After studying the Bible, he felt as if he were called to the work of God or approved to do his work! Chris Isaacs pinpointed that the Bible was one hundred percent truth.
He then explained to me his beliefs. The Holy Bible is the truth we have on the earth. It is unchangeable and all we need to know the will of God. You cannot have faith if you do not have the Bible as the foundation of your belief. What about the people that never hear the truth? Chris used the scripture Rom 2:11-12 and Rom. 13:8 to explain his belief. No one can be saved by their works, we are only saved by Jesus Christ when we accept his will and accept him as our lord Rom 9:30. There is absolutely no way that any works you or I do can save us in the kingdom of God. He believes that no one can obtain perfection. Implying that God was once a man as we are is false, and any one who believes that is not Christian! We will never become perfect if we accept Jesus because then we would be with him but never perfect. He then began to tell me why he believed that the LDS faith couldn’t be right. The people on the American continent are not from Jerusalem descent, which has been proven by scientists. God would never call another prophet as described in Heb 5: 1. He now speaks to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is not absolute for you to be saved in the kingdom of God. Joseph Smith was a fraud and the things that he did were wrong. A true prophet would never do them. At the end of the discussion Chris was determined that I understand that the Bible can never be added to for any reason. He does not believe in continuing revelation. In conclusion he said there were three core beliefs he has.
1. Jesus is God.
2. Salvation can only come by grace.
3. The Bible is unchanging truth. " Meaning it has not changed."
I tried hard to understand why Chris believes the way that he does. It is hard to feel hard feelings for someone who truly and sincerely believes something. Even though Chris and I hold different views on a lot of things. I have come to the conclusion that Chris was at a very low point in his life. He wanted something greater and he grabbed a hold of the first piece of truth he could find. I think many of us do this often with small things in our daily lives. Chris holds the views he holds because he studied the Holy Bible and interpreted it in his own way. I respected that the Bible was the foundation of everything he believed. I was so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet Chris and to be able to better understand why he believes the things he does. When I First sat down with Chris it was so hard to not say anything when he would read a scripture and it would be a completely different interpretation than I had. It truly takes humility to listen to someone else’s views on something that means so much to you. No wonder in Mormon it states that, "Charity never faileth." I came to understand what it means to first seek to understand. For the first time in my life I was able to just listen to what someone believed with out having to make sure they knew the way that I thought it should be. I realized how prideful I am when I won’t listen to anything unless they are willing to hear my point of view first. Overall this was an amazing experience; it changed the way I will communicate with people for the rest of my life. Chris Isaacs is a great man with great faith in Jesus Christ. I close with D&C 123: 12
" For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it."
Thank you Brother Embry you will never know how this assignment help me understand the importance of seeking to understand people and their views. This gave me a reality check, or as the book states a perception check.