Savior of the Flesh: Two Caps, One Coke, Zero Pride

A Coke machine with caps that only open together isn’t just clever marketing—it’s a mirror of how God designed our growth. We share a raw story about being lovingly called out for spiritual drift and how that hard truth reawakened desire, not shame. From there, we unpack the Hebrew roots of “help meet,” ezer kenegdo, revealing a strong equal partner who stands face to face, offering real rescue and complementary strength. That lens reshapes marriage, friendship, ministry, and the way we show up when someone we love is slipping.

We dive into the watchman in Ezekiel 33 and what it means to warn without controlling, to care without carrying another’s agency. Sometimes we are the rescuer with the alarm; other times we are the one who needs the alarm to break our denial. Along the way, we address why accepting help is so hard, how isolation starves discipleship, and why service uncovers dormant gifts that only awaken in relationship. This is not self-help with Bible verses. It’s a call to embrace the divine architecture of connection where ordinances, covenants, and everyday courage all require another person’s hands.

Look at the pattern God set: families that shape us, wards that hold us, councils that refine us, and ordinances we can’t perform alone. From baptism to sealing, from bearing burdens to mourning with those that mourn, heaven has always been a team project. If culture tells you to opt out—of dating, marriage, parenting, or community—remember the bottle you were never meant to open by yourself. Come hear how earthly angels meet us where we are and how Christ anchors it all.

If this moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s been your “earthly savior,” and leave a review telling us who helped you open a bottle you couldn’t uncap alone.

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Hear Him Kill You with Morgan and Joel. This podcast is for those who are imperfect and rough around the edges, but are still wanting to come under Christ. Essentially, it's for everyone. So join us to get yourself out of the mental mire, find meaning in emotion, and leave bad behind. This is where we hear him to be healed. All right. Welcome back, little flock. I'm really excited about this episode. This is something I learned recently. Shout out to Bishop Thorgensen for this conversation that inspired this episode.

Coca-Cola Connection Experiment

SPEAKER_00 0:33

And really today, the thing I want to get into is our saviors of the flesh. People that have got entered our lives and made a change or helped us make a change and inspired us to be better. I can think back on multiple people in my life where I would say they were earthly angels that came in and helped me in times of need. And as I was thinking about this episode, the only social media I really use day-to-day is LinkedIn. And I remember there were I was watching a short and it was showing this video of Coca-Cola. So essentially what Coca-Cola did is they'd put out this um like refrigerator with all these Coca-Cola bottles. And you would see people walk up to this refrigerator, pull a Coca-Cola bottle out, and they would try to turn off the cap, but they had these special caps on there. And basically it told them that you need someone else. You need to connect with someone else in order to open your Coca-Cola bottle. So someone would have to come along, grab a Coca-Cola bottle out of the refrigerator, and this was happening on like a school campus. And then they would have to push the two uh bottle caps together. And however it was set up, it was designed to unlock both bottles at the same time. And I thought this was a really beautiful illustration of what I want this episode to be. Is so essentially they had to come together to open two people had to come together to open up these cocoa bottles so that way they could drink the Coke, right? And it was just a really cool marketing strategy of how like you can take a product, something that everyone loves, and get them to connect with someone else so they can both enjoy something together. And as I was thinking about this, I just think that's how life is.

Needing Others To Grow

SPEAKER_00 2:27

We all are going about life. We want to get the most out of life. We want to enjoy it, just like how we would want to drink the um Coca-Cola, which is my favorite drink. If I'm gonna drink a soda, it's definitely gonna be Coke. So any Pepsi haters out there, sorry. But I think it's the same thing with life. Sometimes we can't get the most out of life. We need to connect with someone else to get a better experience, to grow a little bit more. And not too long ago, and I've probably told this story way too much to people in my life.

A Friend’s Hard Truth

SPEAKER_00 3:00

I went on a trip to Vegas with friends. And, you know, I'm not a perfect individual, and I'll never claim to be. But I remember I was got into a conversation with my friend Jenny, and on that trip, we were just talking about like, it was like kind of like your blind spots, right? What's something you're missing that people pick up on that you should probably need to change in your life? And I remember Jenny telling me that she's like, people think you're half in, half out on the gospel, because sometimes you skip second hour, and I was like taken aback. Like I never really viewed myself as someone who's half in, half out in the gospel, especially because I run a podcast like this almost weekly. And I remember it was at a time in my life where I just moved to a new ward. I kind of felt a little bit out of place, and I just didn't really love going to second hour because it was just like I felt awkward a little bit, I guess you could say. Or I was just getting lazy, you know. Like sometimes I feel we go through periods of up and downs with with the gospel where we're a little more diligent than other times, and then and this must have been a time where I wasn't as diligent. And it really like it really like cut me to the core. Because I like remember sitting there, I was like, dang, she's right. I need to be better. And and it really just like changed my perspective on what I needed to be doing in my life. It's like if I really loved my savior and those around me, and I was really gung ho and felt the song of redeeming love, I would be going to second hour. There would be no question that I'd be going to second hour. Um, and so I really appreciate that moment because it was a time, and this is just like a very little instance where and I there's been plenty of other people that have like called me out on things, but it was an instance where I was like, wow, but if that was if people felt that way about me, why didn't someone speak up sooner? And it just and I was just really appreciative to Jenny for calling me out on that because um I just like I was like, yeah, I need to get I need to kind of like get back into the gospel, you know? I need to do better, I need to um really just dive more into everything and and really just like make those changes that reconnect

Help Meet Reframed: Ezer Kenegdo

SPEAKER_00 5:28

me with my savior. And that might be a small thing to go to second hour, but it was it was a rather than just doing that thing, it was an it was an indication of how I felt on the inside. And that was actually a bigger concern to me. And as I've been thinking about this experience and as as I've shared it with others, um I I remember I was talking to our bishop, Bishop Thorgensen, and he brought up this idea of help meet. And if anybody knows, like in Come Follow Me, we've been reading the story of Adam and Eve for quite a while, the last few weeks. Um this is just one thing that made me realize that we need each other more, and God intended it to be that way. So sometimes it's kind of it's kind of unfortunate that we use this frame help meet, especially because like God gave Adam Eve to be a helpmeet. And sometimes it sounds like they're just a subordinate or an assistant, or like they're not equal, like Adam has has dominion. And so it's just like it was just a really interesting thing, and it changed my whole perspective on this. So if you really dive into where that word or help meet comes from, it comes from the Hebrew words Ezer, conegdo. And as you break down though those words, Ezer often translates to help, but it carries a different connotation than just like helping. It really means strength or rescue or a saving power. And it appears about 21 times in the Old Testament. Of those 21, 16 refers to God Himself as Israel's help. Um, it implies the ability to do for someone what they cannot do for themselves. So if Eve is being referred to as Ezra Connecto, if she's being referred to as Ezir, it means that she was introduced to Adam to help him when he can do things for himself. And I'm gonna come back to this, but basically the way God intended this to be met is it's not a lesser role, but a divine strength given to Adam. And then conegdo translates to meet. Um it really has more of the connotation of like a fit or someone being suitable, and um it also kind of literally translates to to be in front of, to be opposite or corresponding to. And so it usually it's describing someone as who's face to face with that person or an equal. And I really love that it basically what we're trying to say with this is they're a counterpart, they're not a counterpart, but a complementary piece to help us in our deficiencies. So together, Ezer

Earthly Saviors And Boundaries

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Kegnego means a strong equal partner, one who stands across from you, not beneath you. And what I think is even more interesting is like there's this language of how Eve was created from the rib of Adam to create this divine help, a savior of a of the flesh, essentially. And I think we all have saviors of the flesh that enter our lives, whether it is a spouse or not, I think they're we're all designed to be earthly saviors. And I'm not saying to replace Christ. I'm not meaning it in that sense, like they can pay the price of our sins. I don't want to go down that road because that's not how I'm meaning it. But what I'm trying to say is just like how Christ enters our life when we are deficient or can't do things for ourselves, sometimes there's people that enter our lives that help us when we're deficient and support us and do things for us and motivate us in times where we can't do that for ourselves.

The Watchman’s Duty In Ezekiel 33

SPEAKER_00 9:20

And that's why I think this is such a beautiful thing, connecting it back to the Coca-Cola bottles is I think sometimes we're standing here with this Coca-Cola bottle that we can't open ourselves, and we're waiting for someone else with the same Coca-Cola bottle that they can't open themselves either. And the only way we can really truly get more out of life is for us to enter each other's lives and be each other's saviors of the flesh. And as I as I really thought about this, I'm like, wow, this applies to so many aspects of the gospel. And I remember on my mission, there was um this scripture always came back to mind. It's from Ezekiel 33. And it talks about how, and Ezekiel is like basically giving this description of how like there's a watchman. So a watchman is designed to warn others of incoming danger. And as we are trying to help others, our job is to be watchful, to be observant. And it kind of goes on and it talks about if this watchman sounds the alarm of this impending danger that's coming, and the people don't heed it, then their sins or whatever consequences come is upon that person who didn't listen to the watchman. However, if the watchman sees this danger coming and doesn't sound the alarm, and these people are killed or or have some terrible consequence happen to them, then it's upon the watchman. All those the accountability then falls upon him. And the reason why I feel this really applies to when like there's two parts of this episode. So there's the part where we're supposed to be the savior of the flesh, and then us having to be grateful for the saviors of the flesh that enter our lives. And we will always step into one of these roles. We'll all sometimes we'll be the rescuer and sometimes we'll be the one rescued. And I think it's really important that we remember that we are watchmen.

Learning To Be Rescued

SPEAKER_00 11:20

We are trying to sound the alarm for those in our lives, not to like force them to repent. We're not trying to take responsibility for their actions, but we are trying to be someone that protects others from danger, who helps them recognize things that are going on in their lives, just kind of like how Jenny did that for me. And this is what it says. I this is the scripture, and it's really beautiful, and it says, When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die. If thou doest not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou will warn the wicked of his way, to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, and thou hast delivered thy soul. And basically, what is trying to our goal is to warn them and allow them to choose. Sometimes, like for example, I didn't recognize that I was in this weird place where I wasn't feeling connected to the gospel as much as I should have. And I needed someone to go out of their way to warn me. And then it was up to me to choose, right? And I think like this relates so well is because that is our role in this life. The gospel isn't meant to be lived by itself, right? We're not meant to be solo practitioners in the gospel of Jesus Christ or in the Church of Jesus Christ. We're meant to connect with one another. We need to bring our Coca-Cola bottles with that weird cap and find someone else so we can both enjoy it together, you know? So, kind of moving on from that part, I want to move on to being the rescued and recognizing those people and allowing people to help us too. Because sometimes I struggle really hard to allow people to help me. And

Not Good To Be Alone

SPEAKER_00 13:10

I don't think this is an uncommon thing. Sometimes we don't. We're just like, I got this. I don't need help. Like, or I don't want to like talk about my problems. I don't, you know, we like, I'll just keep it to myself, I'll bury it down, and hopefully I get by, right? Uh but I've also realized there's been points in my life where I don't always have enough capability or motivation to do the things that I need to for myself. But there's been instances where people come into my life, they become more involved in my life, and just their presence motivates me to do certain things even for myself, or we try to accomplish the goal together. And this is something I've had to learn a lot in a lot, like in my career, in sales, or in like personal goals, like health and fitness and even emotional struggles. Like, sometimes I'm like, I need someone to be here with me so I can get through this, or I can learn this, or I can actually execute upon the goals that I have set. And I've and it's been nice because I've always found it easier to do things with others or for others rather than just sitting in it by myself. And when I've been reading, and this scripture keeps coming to mind as I have read the story of Adam and Eve, and it comes from Genesis 2.18, and it says, The Lord said, It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helpmeet for him. That part where it's not good for man to be alone has always stood out to me, especially when I'm like sitting in my problems by myself, or I hear of someone sitting in their problems by themselves. Or when we feel like family life or dating life or relationships are hard and we want to give up on those things or check out. This phrase has always ringed true to me. It's not good for man to be alone. And I feel this to my very core. One thing, one lesson I've learned over and over again is connection is the path to healing. Connection with our savior, connection

Service As The Path To Joy

SPEAKER_00 15:20

with our friends, our family, our loved ones. We are not strong enough to withstand the adversary. We need to withstand him together, and not even just the adversary himself, but the adversities of life as well. It is not good for man to be alone. As I've thought about this idea of Ezerconegdo, it just once again brings this idea of when we're sitting in this pit alone that we can't call out, we need that savior of the flesh to enter in and help pull us out. And it made me realize that in the eyes of God, he knows we're not enough. But it's not meaning he's not meaning that we're not enough in the sense, because I did an episode earlier where we talked about this idea of should we put our energy into thinking and trying to solve the problem that am I good enough? By ourselves, we cannot do anything. We need a savior to enter in to save us. And I think that in the eyes of God, man was not enough by himself. He was just simply put, we were not to meant to be alone. And so a help meet that we are given is not like a requirement for worthiness or for salvation, but rather it's a gift per for progression. That phrase is as I've thought about it, is like, yeah, people can't save us or bring us our salvation, but they can be the catalyst for us to progress and move beyond the space we are in. Obviously, I am in a YSA ward, um, not married. And there's something I hear a lot um from friends and others where they talk about how like they're so sick of dating.

Ordinances Require Community

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Dating sucks. Like, I want to give up on this pursuit of marriage. And or like I'll even hear married people talk about how marriage is hard. And or and like even in the world, people are forgoing marriage, forgoing having kids. Um, they talk down about the opposite gender where men kind of crap on women and women crap on men. And this has this part has really, this idea has changed that because sometimes we I know there's plenty of people out there that are like, I want to be a better person. I want to be more kind, I want to be more service-oriented, I want to be, I want to live the gospel to a fuller sense. I want to fulfill the measure of my creation. And when we give into this attitude of like, I don't need someone else, we're foregoing the biggest tool to help us in our progression. Sometimes I'm sure God is sitting there throwing his hands up in the air, being like, you say you want to progress and grow, but you are not engaging with another person the way I need you to to get that growth. In all of my dating relationships and friendships, there comes these moments where I have to look inward and be like, I need to forgive them, or I need to apologize, or I need to be a better person. Like, I can't be so pig headed and stupid sometimes, and I need to stop being so selfish and be more service-oriented. All those have come in moments where I was with someone else. I needed to serve that person. So this is why, like, God is so adamant about connecting us with others, is because it's only as we get outside ourselves, we leave these places of loneliness and engage with another person that we grow beyond who we are. And in the there's a Mormon message called lift. And at the end of that Mormon message, Elder Christofferson has this quote where it talks essentially says, The Lord said, He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. We lose our life by serving and lifting others. By so doing, we experience the only true and lasting happiness. Service is not something we endure on this earth,

Rejecting Isolation, Choosing Connection

SPEAKER_00 19:20

so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber by which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made. One day there will be no need for a commandment because we have experienced experienced for ourselves that we are truly happy only when we are engaged in unselfish service. And he goes on to say that we've um why we find our life in service is because service uncovers these beautiful gifts that are lying dormant inside ourselves. And through service, we uncover it, and so we find more of ourselves in service, because service and connection uncover these dormant parts that come to life, and that is the beauty of the gospel. That is why the Lord commands us to do these things, is because he is trying to have us help others uncover their dormant gifts and them help us uncover those as well in our lives. And the evidence of this is all around us, like the way God has set up this world and his church is evidence enough that we are not meant to be alone. God has uh made it so that we come to this earth in families. We're not just plopped down on this earth by ourselves to do our thing. No, we come to a mother and a father with sub with siblings. And then even outside the family unit, he has established a church. In Ecclesiastes 4, it says this two are better than one, for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow, and a a threefold cord is not quickly broken. That's why we have a church. So if one of us falls, we can help our fellow brethren and lift them up. We weren't meant to worship God by ourselves. He has created a system for us to enter into each other's lives and be saviors of the flesh. Even receiving ordinances we can't do by ourselves. We can't baptize ourselves, we can't give ourselves like blessings, we can't receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost by ourselves, or even when we're going through the temple, there's so much evidence of we do work for the dead because the dead can't do it for themselves. Someone had to, we couldn't receive our endowment by ourselves. We can't get sealed by ourselves. And so every ordinance requires someone else to enter in and perform that for us. Like even in the baptismal covenant, it illustrates this. It says to bear one another's burdens and mourn with those that mourn. It comforts those that stand in need of comfort. Even exaltation and receiving the highest degree of glory.

Closing Charge To The Flock

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Is dependent upon a spouse. And in First Corinthians it says this neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. We can't do it alone. And then in the ultimate expression of we need a savior to save us, we were given Jesus Christ. And he even told his apostles this. He said, Abide in me, for without me you can do nothing. Guys, from birth to eternity, progression, exaltation, and salvation is never a solo project. Don't give in to the temptation that you have to do it alone. I give in, struggle with that temptation day in and day out. Open up, reach out, and let your heavenly savior and your earthly saviors enter in. That they may lift you up. Be the watchman that turns outward and warns those around them. I think I think the last thing I want to say, and going back to this idea where more and more people are talking down about marriage and family, even dating, or more and more people are becoming selfish and self-centered through social media. They're retreating from the physical world because it's hard. And there's almost this tone of what's the point? It is so hard. But difficulty doesn't mean designed failure by God. I true believe this ancient truth is being forgotten. It is not good for man to be alone. Not because we are weak, but because we were never meant to open the bottle by ourselves. The bottle of salvation, exaltation, repentance. It was never meant to be opened by ourselves. It's hard because it's worth it. It's not hard because we're meant to fail. It is the catalyst to progression. So with that said, remember little flock, despair not, build upon the rock, do good, and always hear him. See you guys.