Kwaku El and Aaron Shafovaloff debate: Does God have glory that he will not share? 

In case anyone missed the video description: Our main video camera crashed, so we had to use a backup camera and footage from the Facebook livestream... which had some filters inadvertently turned on at times.

Hi! Im LDS and thought this was a very nice discussion! We may not agree on everything but thanks for being respectful in others beliefs.

One difference I noticed is that Aaron always backs up his argument with references from the scripturestime and again whereas kwaku goes with his own understanding and logic ...God says lean not on your own understanding....

Kwaku has a very arrogant demeanor and he mentions that its known to be fact but rarely backs it up with scripture, something the evangelical side uses more of during this debate.

As a mormon, I find it very wholesome the amount of research Aaron really does into his debates. No man can argue he is uneducated in Mormonism, he knows what he’s talking about, tho there are arguments to be made against his statements towards Mormonism (and his interpretation of Mormon doctrine), there is no doubt that there is BASE behind his understanding of Mormon doctrine. Taking quotes from past leaders, using their doctrine, and giving an UNBIASED explanation OF their doctrine, to further prove HIS point. This is how you argue proof, do not manipulate the oppositions words to fit your view of their fallacies, if their words truly are wrong, and yours truly are correct, present them as they are, and let the truth come out naturally.

To all Mormons, I would lovingly encourage you to revisit 40:56 and read Acts 12:20-23! Kwaku did not have a clue that the Bible was just quoted. This was devastating to his position, this is when the debate was over!

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Job 5:17 | KJV

Word of God vs. Personal opinion

The Mormon guy evaded the questions so much during cross examination.

I’m about midway through and Kwaku has yet to drop one scripture.

There is not one place Jesus or any apostle EVER told anyone to be exalted they must go to a temple and receive their everlasting covenant and seal their marriage for time and eternity.

It amazes me that kwaku states thing as FACT. With having nearly no concrete scripture for a basis. And the only scripture he uses is warped and bent to his will. He must rely solely on his own interpretation.

Still praying for Kwaku, his denial of truth and his intellectual dishonesty is REALLY hard to watch.

kwaku ive watched a few of your debates and you are a young yet clever guy. it is painful to watch these i admit. in that, how do you not see that the very people you are debating are defending the bible, the Word of God, using scripture from it (which i rarely see you use) and that you are defending mormonism that contradicts the very God that revealed Himself through scripture. you keep debating the God of the bible to defend the man who clearly defies it

I know this is an old video but I want to make a comment. Aaron I think you made a good effort to speak truth to Kwaku and to those in the audience who were listening. You made some really great points and arguments I’ve never really heard articulated in the way in which you did and I really liked that. One comment on the way this debate went, I found it quite frustrating that the q&a at the end seemed to devolve to you having to debate two people as the moderator began to slowly show his bias and then began to actually debate you on points that you made and then also defend points Kwaku made. It just seems rather dishonest on the part of the moderator to show such clear bias and begin to back up the party he stands with.

Kwaku is very good at dishonestly using the Scriptures. Christians believe God became Man, but never ceased being God; He is the God/Man. Mormon cultists believe that men become gods. Do people see the deception.

Great and friendly debate! (interesting topics). Wish they could meet again - 2.0!

Well done brother Aaron!! Your videos helped me a couple of years ago - in transitioning out of Mormonism! God bless you!

Amazing point Aaron made about the crucifixion being the worst sin to ever happened and yet something that in one sense God ordained and yet in another He was grieved. I never thought about how to properly answer God’s sovereignty and the holocaust until now. Also how Aaron mentioned God forewarning Israel of the judgement He was PREPARING to enact!

Was former mormon. Awesome video Aaron. Took me a while to get thru cause i can only listen to Kwaku for so long without taking a pause.

Kwaku reminds me of Billy Madison. He states things with such confidence, but they don't make any sense.

Aaron’s style of speaking is so annoying. Talk normal and let Gods word speak for itself. It is hard to focus on Aaron’s message. When your message makes less sense you try to distract.

you keep complaining about predestination but ignoring all the scriptures that clearly say it. you need to pick a street brother. do you believe what the bible says? just bc you dont understand it doesnt make it false. you either believe the bible or you dont. heres a good one for you...2nd tim 4 "for the tine will come that they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust they shall heap teachers for themselves, having itchy ears, and they shall turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned unto fables"

Today is the day of salvation not after you die. Jesus said let the dead bury thier dead. Pray that Mormons will reject other gods and thier false prophets and spirit of deception and come to the One true God

kwaku you seem to want the bible to fit your feelings and what you think it should be vs what it actually says. you combat tue bible at every turn yet use it for a convenience for armor when it suits you

So basically Kwaku...”doesn’t know?”

The false converts thing happens when you... follow your heart!

Kwaku is deceived and is going on deceiving, look closely at what he says and you will see that he is always questioning the Word of God "does it really say that " and things like that always. Sounds familiar doesn't it ,what Satan did in the garden "Did God really say that?" Is exactly what Kwaku does "Does God really mean what he says?" Notice how he continually does this. What a deceiver !

Look, I’m not religious so I can’t begin to explain the fascination I gave with Mormonism..but here I am. I follow a few Mormon bloggers on Instagram and they almost always quote their current prophet/president, but rarely the Bible. Anyhoo, Kwaku isn’t arrogant. Confident, yes; arrogant? No. The word “arrogant” suggests he should be knocked down a few pegs and why? Because he believes differently and defends his faith? Hogwash: I will, however, say he’s not honest with himself or anyone else. He has perfected that vapid Mormon persona. All smiley smiley and complimentary to your face and then who knows who he becomes when people aren’t watching. Even the way he begins here...complimenting the “beautiful” lighting and gushing about how beautiful the church is. 🙄. If you ever meet a Mormon this is how they present. Almost like a Leave it to Beaver Type. All “Golly and Shucks” In another setting they might throw in slang words here or there to make it seem that we’re all the same but it’s crap. They fundamentally believe anyone who is not LDS is an apostate and going to hell. He totally and intentionally misrepresents his church’s beliefs, which I find strange. If you believe this church is true why do you refute things in your own doctrine? I suspect Kwaku left the Methodist church because this church allows him to thrive by being a BS artist. He’s young, so he’s a pretty benign Charlatan, no felling where he’ll be in 10 years. I wouldn’t want to take away his confidence, but would certainly love to see him grow into a more honest person.

Solid discussion; thanks for posting. Questions I would ask, had I been there: 1. Kwaku says several times that when LDS say that they will become gods one day, they do not mean that they will become gods like the God of evangelical Christianity. Do they mean they will become gods like the God of the LDS Church? 2. Kwaku several times defines worship as striving after perfection; his language seems to suggest on some level an exercise in mere moralism; as if true and legitimate worship of God can be merely the practical imitation of His behaviour on a horizontal level. While the two commandments Jesus gives in Mark 12:24-38 ("Love God, love neighbour") are inextricably linked, isn't there still a meaningful distinction between them? To put it another way, could an atheist "love his neighbour as himself", and in that indirect way love God, while still remaining an atheist? What moral benefit does exclusive, vertical, God-oriented love have, if the God in question is just one of a potentially infinite number of beings who can truly say of themselves, "I am perfect"? Especially if that perfection is not a natural outflowing of their character or identity as it has been from all eternity, but rather an impersonal abstraction or mold that these beings have simply grown into by spiritual development from an embryonic state? 3. Kwaku seems to argue that the ancient Jews weren't monotheists mainly on grounds that words like "monotheism" and "polytheism" come from Philo rather than the Bible. Given that those words are non-exclusive ways of defining particular theological perspectives (ie. the statements "There is one God" vs. "there are many gods" require neither word in order to communicate the meaning of those words), why is the absence of the word "monotheism" relevant to the question of whether or not the concept is taught in the Bible? 4. In his discussion of predestination Kwaku frames God's glorification in relation to horrendous sin as primarily happening when he causes some good to come out of that sin (but decidedly not prior). Would the good that glorifies God as a result of God performing some healing or redemption be as good or as God-glorifying without the sin or the suffering requiring that healing also happening (see John 9 for an example of this in action)? If it would, how does that square with II Nephi 2's unbiblical framing of the Fall as a "fall upward"? If it wouldn't--if the good that God brings out of sin and suffering is *more* good for having come out of that sin and suffering rather than it would be if the sin and suffering were not a part of it--why does he so strongly object to the idea that God indirectly preordains even sin to take place to result in His self-glorification and good purposes? Thanks to all who put this together. Aaron, it's always exciting and helpful to see you verbally and practically emphasizing the value of logic as worship, and reasoning from the breadth and depth of Scripture.

Why does the camera go to a distant, black and white, decreased resolution view when Kwaku is speaking?

Poor Kwaku!!

Mediator becoming a little bias

For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another. 1 Nephi 20:11

Kwaku mockes the God of the Bible. He wants a god like uno himself. It’s pure blasphemy!

Nailed him at 45:06. Ouch....."Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Kwaku Almighty. " LOL!

"we live in a world that the biboe is scoffed at"???? do you not see that is what you have been doing this whole debate???? my goodness please God open your eyes

Does the LDS church authorize Kwaku to represent their theology?

W. Cleon Skousen, a former BYU professor, wrote: Through modern revelation we learn that the universe is filled with vast numbers of intelligences, and we further learn that Elohim is God simply because all of these intelligences honor and sustain Him as such.... But since God 'acquired' the honor and sustaining influence of 'all things' it follows as a corollary that if He should ever do anything to violate the confidence or sense of justice' of these intelligences, they would promptly withdraw their support, and the 'power' of God would disintegrate.... 'He would cease to be God.' Our Heavenly Father can do only those things which the intelligences under Him are voluntarily willing to support Him in accomplishing (The First 2000 Years, pp. 355-356). Heber C. Kimball stated: "The Holy Ghost is a man; he is one of the sons of our Father and our God" (Journal of Discourses, vol.5, p.179).

Btw, increased volume, yelling and arm swinging do not equate to the Spirit.

Kwaku can never answer a question he rather be like a Christian can be asked that or a Christian didn’t see this. Defend your faith Kwaku stop blaming everyone else!

I’m not LDS anymore but this Aaron guy is pretty ridiculous.

What is the point of bringing up that it would have been better for Judas to have never been born? Is he different than anyone else going to hell?

Kwaku for president

Kwaku is a known liar. All you have to do to know this is watch his interactions with Jeff Durbin and James White.

man kwaku. you are lost in your own arrogance. and you dont even see it

Kwaku you should be ashamed of yourself for supporting the racists doctrine of the Mormon church. For over 193 years the Mormon church has supported their racists doctrine that all blacks are cursed by God. Let me quote from one of your prophets: "You must not think that I am opposed to slavery. No! The Negro is damned and is to serve his master till God chooses to remove the curse of Ham..." prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, V.2, pp 142-143. The God of the Bible would never curse an entire race of people, especially generations of innocent people born after the alleged cursed took place. This is the racists attitude and doctrine of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and the Mormon church.

This was a great debate. I'm LDS and side with Kwaku but you did really well Aaron, good job 👍

Wow....

Not jarred at all!!!

Kwaku is a full blown liberal…

It's funny how so many people are saying poor Kwaku, but don't realize they're in the same boat. Poor people that believe in religion. I'll leave with a quote from Richard Dawkins. Most christians are atheist against, Thor, Mithria, Ganesh, Osiris, Josephus, etc etc I just take it one God further!!!

At the end, Aaron himself says, "God of all gods." Soooo....he just admitted there are multiple gods. Interesting!

To the praise to the praise to the praise to the praise to the praise of God !..really ?..your version of God sounds like a vain dictator...nah you can have your god I’ll stick with my Heavenly Father