Corbin Allred is an American actor best known for his roles in film and television, particularly within the Mormon community. Born into the church in Salt Lake City, Utah, Allred was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and his faith played a significant role in some of his career choices. He even took a break from his acting career to serve a mission in Australia in 1999. He has since left the church and while still acting, posts reaction videos and insights on instagram.
Facts and Feelings
He shares wisdom on an Instagram post that highlights the importance of distinguishing between letting facts shape our feelings and letting our feelings shape our perception of facts. This important distinction shows that we should be mindful of the difference and prioritize basing our emotions on objective reality rather than allowing our emotions to distort our understanding of the truth.
There is a big difference between allowing facts to influence our feelings and allowing feelings to influence our facts. It’s important to recognize that difference.
Feelings are not facts, belief is not knowledge, and subjective truth is not objective truth.
Faith is what fills the void between the known and unknown…and that can be a deep, wide, terrifying void. But faith is BETWEEN the known and unknown…not OVER.
Faith cannot envelope, hide, mask, or alter what is known. Faith is belief without proof…not belief despite proof.
Corbin Allred
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4g3rxdMoEI/
Faith Fills Void Between Known and Unknown
Faith may fill the void between what is known and what is unknown, but it must stop at the borders of both. While faith can be a powerful tool for navigating uncertainty and the mysteries of existence, it should not overstep its bounds.
Faith often arises in response to the gaps in human knowledge—those areas where empirical evidence and reason are insufficient to provide answers. It can offer comfort, meaning, and a sense of purpose in the face of the unknown. By filling these gaps, faith allows individuals to hold onto beliefs about things they cannot fully understand or explain.
However, let’s avoid letting faith encroach beyond its rightful domain. On the one hand, faith should not contradict or undermine what is already known—such as established facts. To do so would be to deny reality and retreat into dogmatism. On the other hand, faith should also respect the limits of what can be known. It should not attempt to impose certainty or definitive answers in areas where knowledge is inherently limited or ambiguous.
In essence, faith should serve as a bridge between the known and the unknown, but it should not attempt to replace or obscure either. It must coexist with reason, respecting the boundaries set by both empirical evidence and the mysteries that remain beyond human comprehension. By maintaining this balance, faith can be a source of strength and guidance without falling into the traps of denial or absolutism.
The Mormon Church emphasizes the importance of faith in navigating the complexities of life and spirituality. However, the church encourages members to let their feelings, particularly those associated with spiritual experiences, guide their beliefs and actions. This approach blurs the line between subjective feelings and objective facts, leading members to prioritize emotional or spiritual experiences over empirical evidence. This turns into faith despite facts rather than faith until facts. The distinction is critical. Faith is belief without proof, not belief despite proof to the contrary. When faith is used to overshadow or dismiss factual evidence, it results in a distorted perception of reality. This is particularly relevant in the context of Mormonism, where personal testimonies and feelings are cited as evidence of the truthfulness of the church’s teachings.
Faith can not honestly override or dismiss factual knowledge. Church members are frequently encouraged to maintain faith even in the face of conflicting evidence, which often leads to cognitive dissonance. The church creates a dynamic where faith is used to justify beliefs that are contradicted by historical, scientific, or factual evidence. This encourages members to rely on faith as a shield against inconvenient truths, rather than as a tool to explore the unknown with an open mind. We can’t forget what the real definition of faith is as given by Alma, in the Book of Mormon:
21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant;
Alma 32, The Book of Mormon
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/32
Alma explains that once you have knowledge, your faith is dormant. The faith is replaced with knowledge in the thing you had faith in without evidence. Then with evidence of the “experiment” faith is less important and knowledge can take over. The church today, however, wants members to hold onto the faith, and avoid any experiment or research or evidence, but also claim “I know the Church is True.” We can’t arrive at a perfect knowledge without the experiment phase though, unless we forever pretend a testimony in order to gain one. We must experiment and read up on honest church history and learn what the Mormon church is and stands for rather than simply let it tell us.
Corbin Allred
Allred began his acting career in the mid-1990s, appearing in various TV shows and movies. He was first a small role in Robin Hood Men in Tights, as the young lad who runs screaming. Then Corbin gained widespread recognition for his lead role as Steve in Teen Angel in 1997-1998. He stared as ‘Deacon’ in the 2003 film Saints and Soldiers, a World War II drama with a strong following among LDS audiences. Saints and Soldiers is particularly notable because Mormon filmmakers made it and the film includes themes that resonate with LDS church. Corbin returned for the sequel Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed in 2012 and then starred in another LDS-themed movie based on a true story called The Saratov Approach in 2013, where he played an abducted Mormon missionary in Russia.
Satan in Temple Endowment Videos
Allred’s career has made him a well-known figure in the Mormon community, where he is not only admired for his talent but also for his commitment to his faith. After a break to pursue an education, since 2018 he continues acting and has also taken on roles in independent films, TV shows, and other projects. He even starred as Satan/Lucife/The Devil in one of the temple endowment videos as in around 2013. He had a unique approach to the character, but since he’s now left the church, he was scrubbed from scenes in the film until the church replaced the films with more of a slideshow for the endowment sessions.
Corbin: “I mean. What did they expect casting me in that role? Of course I’m going to leave and take 1/3 of the members with me.”
Some of his notable or memorable lines include:
- “You have a new world here”
- “Yes, a new world, patterned after the old one where we used to live.”
- “I see, your eyes are not yet opened.”
- “You must eat some of the fruit of that tree.”
- “You shall not surely die but shall be as the Gods, knowing good and evil.”
- “Here is some of the fruit of that tree. It will make you wise. It is delicious to the taste and very desirable.”
- “I want you to eat of the fruit of the
- Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that your eyes may be opened, for that is the way Father gained his knowledge. You must eat of this fruit so as to comprehend that everything has its opposite: good and evil, virtue and vice, light and darkness, health and sickness, pleasure and pain; thus your eyes will be opened and you will have knowledge.”
- “See, you are naked. Take some fig leaves and make you aprons. Father will see your nakedness. Quick! Hide!”
- “I have been doing that which has been done in other worlds.”
- “I am the God of this world.”
- “Oh, you want someone to preach to you. You want religion, do you? There will be many willing to preach to you the There will be many willing to preach to you the philosophies of men mingled with scripture.”
- “Have you any money?”
- “You can buy anything in this world with money!”
- “Now is the great day of my power. I reign from the rivers to the ends of the earth. There is none who dares to molest, or make me afraid.”
- “You have looked over my kingdom, and my greatness and glory. Now you want to take possession of the whole of it.”
- “I have a word to say concerning these people. If they do not walk up to every covenant they make at these altars in this temple this day, they will be in my power!”
Corbin has since left the Mormon church. He hasn’t fully shared his reasons yet, but yes said he’s open to the idea in the future. Is it all that surprising that Satan left and is taking a third of the hosts of the church with him?
Corbin Allred Left the Church
There was some speculation when members of the church as well as ex-mormons questioned if Corbin and his family had left the church or not, and after some discussion on reddit, McKenzie Allred, Corbin’s wife confirmed the news:
Hey guys, Corbin doesn’t have a Reddit acct, but I will comment for us both. I’m McKenzie, his wife. First off, we appreciate everyone’s curiosity, interest and the general good nature and humor here. We also appreciate the genuine kindness people have shown. It means more than we can say. 🥰 We live in a densely Mormon populated area which is tricky but we are doing our best. We have kids so we are protecting their wellbeing and privacy as much as we can.
Also, so many of the people we love and respect most are still believing members. Sounds cliche, but we do hope always to be people who build bridges and not wedges. Without going into too much detail, we did leave the Mormon church this past year. Corbin notified the church at the beginning of our deconstruction in an attempt to be transparent and authentic about where we were and wanting to be sensitive as a higher-profile member who people know from the temple presentation.
He asked if it might be best to be removed from the temple film. It was clear when the church immediately answered that question by photoshopping his face out of the presentation. It’s likely for the best under the circumstances. Hope this helps answer some questions. We are pretty new to all this but it’s been a beautiful journey so far and we’re very happy and feel profound peace about what the future may hold. ❤️ Corbin loves his family, friends, and fans. Hopefully he won’t lose too many. Much love to the Exmo community for welcoming us.
McKenzie Allred
https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1awpdhx/comment/krn6v23/
How has your own faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed as it has matured? Has it become more nuanced over time or has it refocused onto principles rather than organizations? What wisdom have you learned from Mormon Satan? Please consider sharing your Mormon faith story at wasmormon.org!
More reading:
- https://www.instagram.com/p/C4g3rxdMoEI/
- Facts Matter
- Facts Do Not Cease to Exist When Ignored
- Facts More Important than Cherished, Mistaken Beliefs
- What is Cognitive Dissonance?
- Does a “Burning in Your Bosom” Outweigh Physical Evidence?
- Gain a Testimony By Pretending To Have One
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1awpdhx/temple_video_actor_leaves_mormon_church/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1cgkgw5/are_you_there_god_its_me_corbin/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1awpdhx/comment/krn6v23/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1cew95s/comment/l1lbsa8/
- https://www.corbinallred.com/who-i-am
- https://web.archive.org/web/20201112011848/https://www.deseret.com/2013/8/4/20523399/lds-church-begins-using-new-temple-film
- https://web.archive.org/web/20240205172038/https://www.deseret.com/2014/7/15/20544874/lds-church-begins-using-a-3rd-new-temple-film