Gary Miller hosts the Narrow Gate Podcast, "what happens when a hellfire preaching Independent Fundamental Baptist discovers the Book of Mormon and becomes a Latter-day Saint." A former preacher/pastor, he served in the military and studied at Liberty Theological Seminary and Graduate School. He works in sales and marketing. Highlights 5:00 Gary's pathway to conversion from a Baptist preacher to a Latter-day Saint 8:10 Always interested in hearing things out 14:25 Discovering additional scripture in the Book of Mormon: the Gospel in hi-def 4k 18:25 Facing down and wrestling with the cultural change and his own identity 28:07 God's pathways can appear impossible 32:00 From the full court press to post-baptism follow up: what does this person bring? Are we truly connecting with the person in the pew? 40:40 How do you bring people together outside of the confines of Sunday morning? 47:00 Connecting to people through ministering 52:30 How do we engage better as ministers? Fight for the feedback 56:15 Finding informal ways to connect and you will eventually be able to have the important conversations that otherwise would not happen 1:01:00 The process of becoming a Baptist minister 1:03:30 What happens when someone takes interest in leading, and how this compares 1:07:00 Paul to the Corinthians: different gifts 1:12:00 A desire to lead is the reason to create opportunities to minister and have an impact 1:15:25 If you feel you don't have influence, what can you do? 1:19:10 How can we reconcile the discomfort of accepting the grace built into the plan of salvation? 1:21:30 When we are operating in grace, we can start working to become like Jesus, and we can extend that grace to others 1:24:20 How do you lead from the standpoint of grace? 1:28:50 Part of leadership is setting the example, which drives us to get closer to Christ Links http://www.narrowgatepodcast.com Transcript This transcript was machine-produced. We would be grateful for help correcting errors. You can help! Simply copy/paste the transcript text into a document, make the corrections, and then copy/paste the corrected text into a comment on the page (below) and we will get the corrected text published! 00:00:01 - 00:05:02 Welcome back to another episode of the leading saints. Podcast if you've enjoyed content on this podcast. It's important that. I tell you about the leading saints newsletter that we send out every week this newsletter keeps you up to date an all the current leading saints content releases including podcasts articles online events and even live events. That might be happening in your own area in this newsletter. We recommend some past episodes and written articles that you don't want to miss each week. We include additional leadership perspectives and thoughts. That you can only find in the weekly newsletter. So you definitely don't want to miss out to subscribe to the weekly newsletter simply text. The word lead to four seven four seven four seven or visit leading saints dot org slash. Subscribe again text. The word l. e. hd two four seven four seven. Four seven or visit leading saints dot org slash subscribe. So you don't miss any future leading saints content. Welcome back to the leading saints podcast. My name is kurt. Franken will be your host. And i'm glad that you found especially you newbies out. There may be somebody sent you this link or you've just listened to a few episodes and you're thinking what is this all about well. Let me tell you leading. Saints is a nonprofit five. Oh one c. three organization with a mission to help latter-day saints be better prepared elite. And we do that through various methods of the podcast where we have fantastic conversations like you're about to hear we also have a newsletter that goes out every week you gotta make sure you're on that list and the website. We have virtual summits. We have just all sorts of content online where you can jump in and discover principles relat...

Leading Saints Podcast

From Baptist Preacher to Latter-day Saint | An Interview with Gary Miller

Kevin Pfleger is a lifelong member of the church residing in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and three kids. He has served in the bishopric of a student ward and in an Elders Quorum presidency. But his favorite callings by far, have been working with the young men of his ward. He served a full-time mission in the Arizona Phoenix Mission, Spanish- speaking. He enjoys playing soccer, running and making Christmas candy! Enter Kevin… In December I am busy making Christmas candy at home. With three children home all day doing virtual school, I have been making a LOT of Christmas candy- multiple batches of fudge, divinity and toffee. These candies are unique in that they are all made with a base of sugar syrup, heated to varying degrees depending on the recipe. For the uninitiated, cooking with sugar syrup involves heating sugar and other ingredients on the stovetop until a desired temperature is achieved. Sugar syrup behaves in different ways depending on the temperature. If you heat the syrup to 235 degrees, “soft ball” stage, you can make fudge. Continued heating of the syrup, to 250 degrees, will take the syrup to “hard ball” stage, required for making divinity. And if you heat the syrup even longer to 300 degrees, you get to “hard crack” stage, necessary to make toffee. Mortal Heating and Testing Our lives are a crucible wherein we are heated and tested and proved. The pressure and heat of our testing is most apparent in our service. Whether it is the difficulty in our labors as a bishop or as the leader of our family, the men and women of this Church give all and are sometimes bowed by the difficulty of the task. It is common for the families of a bishop to give much and sacrifice much, as well as the families of Elders Quorum presidents, Relief Society presidents, and anyone else who has a calling that requires a large time commitment. For the families of full-time missionaries, who may not all be active members of the church, the sacrifice of being without their young son or daughter for two years might say it is too much to ask of them. Remarkably, that is how it has always been, service in the kingdom often means: Service when it is not convenient Service when we are already tired Service when we have already given so much Service when the cost is high There are times when the life changing temperature is already high and rising. Sometimes as the heat is increased, like the bubbling sugar syrup on the stovetop, the temperature inches upward as we become something different than we were before. We become new. That is how it has always been. Service on Fire I think of the Savior who provided us with the best example of service under fire, or service on the fire. Our lives, and the service we provide as mothers and fathers, plus the formal callings we receive at church, makes us into new creatures. My vivid imagination conjures up images of our Father, bustling away in a heavenly kitchen, apron and all, monitoring the temperature while knowing exactly what the recipe demands. His recipes require much because He is making something great, much greater than fudge or divinity. This candy He is cooking will more appropriately reach Divinity as the spark within us grows, changes, and becomes. Christ did the same in his mortal crucible-serving even as He suffered. Some specific examples of His divine and difficult service remind us of the cost- the ingredients and heat required for God’s most special recipes. The Price of Service After the dark and lonely night of agony in Gethsemane, Christ is confronted with the most bitter betrayal. His three closest disciples, Peter, James and John, could not keep watch with him through the difficult hours of the night. Thus, he suffered alone through the dark. By morning, His strength is flagging, He is tired, His robes are stained with expiatory blood, that oozed from His body as he suffered seemingly endless pain,

Serving on the Way to Something Else – Becoming a Noble Shepherd

Norm Hill worked for Exxon Mobile for 25 years and then for Reliant Energy as the vice president of Human Resources. He served as the mission president of the Ghana Accra Mission, temporarily including the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission, and is the author of What They Don't Teach You at the MTC. Highlights 6:00 Getting from an application to an idea; example of identifying competencies from Preach My Gospel and creating a self-assessment and training program for missionaries; example of creating reverse dinner appointments for missionaries; example of the innovation in missionary work 11:00 Applying general principles: the same principles apply to virtual teaching 15:15 Getting past the creative barrier to do something different; example of air conditioning in church buildings 17:00 Example of basketball courts in Ghana: applications can be customized without compromising gospel principles 19:35 Design Thinking focus on problem solving together Empathy Defining: gathering good information; example of self-assessment for teachers Ideating Creating a prototype Measuring your success Experimenting Improving 24:00 Information leads to inspiration: identifying local/individual circumstances where an organization can make changes to lift to a higher ground; example of using ministering brothers and sisters to gather information 28:20 How do you know you're gathering the right data? We have basic gospel principles and structures for guidance 29:30 Example of effective virtual teaching Asking "what" and "how" to get good information Look for themes Bring information to a council/quorum and seek inspiration and revelation 34:20 Example of request for a hospital in Ghana and recognition of the high number of people receiving financial assistance 38:35 Example of more men than women being baptized in West Africa and recognition of the need for literacy training for women 43:20 Brainstorming using a facilitator and reframing the problem; example from Tom Sawyer: redefining to change perspectives 47:55 "Too often problem solving is a solution in search of a problem" as opposed to gathering information first 48:30 Are there other ways of defining the problem? Example of slow elevator/impatient people problem; example of missionaries teaching starting with the fruits of the gospel and moving back to the doctrine 54:30 Reframing the problem of making connections during isolation; example of how church members connected during "the freeze" in Ghana; example of Sierra Leone during the Ebola epidemic 1:03:00 Applying the process: mindset of testing/observing and being willing to experiment outside of your comfort zone 1:09:50 Adjustments and guard rails: example of New Orleans bridge 1:12:40 The new normal: what are we learning about ourselves that we can take with us? Links What They Don't Teach You at the MTC, by Norman Hill

Problem Solving Together to Lift and Improve | An Interview with Norman Hill

In this solo podcast, Kurt talks about the history and purposes of Leading Saints, answers questions, and shares where we are going from here. Highlights 01:30 Remembering David Farnsworth 04:30 How Leading Saints came to be 09:00 What Leading Saints seeks to do: Four Pillars of Leading Saints 10:00 Connect leaders 10:50 Enhance leadership ability through learning opportunities 12:25 Present leadership scholarship, connecting leaders to experts and scholars 13:30 Celebrate divine guidance 14:50 A community of leaders 15:35 Questions from social media 16:15 What about Leading Saints in Spanish? 17:45 What’s your approach to figuring out what home-centered church-supported means? 20:00 How can Leading Saints stay relevant in a home-centered church environment? 22:20 How can we help leaders who aren’t interested in improving? 24:20 How do we adapt to changing world conditions without acting outside leaders’ guidance? 25:10 What’s on the docket for 2021? What is Leading Saints’ mission in preparing for the second coming? How much happens as exposure/business/feedback and how much happens as inspiration? 27:00 What contact has Leading Saints had with Church headquarters or authorized leadership? Have any ideas presented to Leading Saints caught the attention of General Authorities? 29:20 What about an app? 30:15 Have you thought about doing some sort of fireside/workshop/training tour? 33:00 What about retreats? 34:00 What about moderated forums where people with similar callings can ask questions and create discussions? 34:35 What about leading from the bottom up? 35:10 How do you get and schedule interviews? How do you prepare for the interviews? What techniques do you use to help the interviews flow? What are you doing behind the scenes? 38:30 Fundraising and financing the goals of Leading Saints Core Leaders contributing monthly/quarterly/yearly Virtual Summits have raised additional funds Larger donors 46:40 The impact we are having 250,000+ podcast downloads each month (that’s 830 wards and 120 stakes of leaders) Testimonials 54:55 Bringing every topic back to the Savior Jesus Christ because we are building His kingdom in each of our lives Links Donate to become a Core Leader Contact Leading Saints with questions, suggestions, or possible donations Register for group virtual meetings with Kurt Becoming a Master Interviewer | An Interview With David Farnsworth Wild at Heart in Church Leadership | An Interview with Doug Nielsen Heart of a Woman in Relief Society

Leading Saints in 2021

Jeff Harbach is the CEO of Kaufmann Fellows, an organization helping venture capitalists focus on becoming better versions of themselves. He serves as a bishop in Austin, Texas, Highlights 8:00 The overlap between work and church service 10:00 Leading in uncertain times: Why are we doing what we do? Gathering Israel and helping individuals along the covenant path. 11:30 The brain handles bad news better than it handles uncertainty. Uncertainty and fear come from the adversary. The Savior is completely certain about what we're going through. 14:15 Infusing this into the culture of our organizations Example of a Christmas gathering during a pandemic: Is there a way to accomplish this in a different way? This requires getting uncomfortable and pushing ourselves. 18:30 Setting a vision in uncertain times: Do it despite uncertainty. Some goals will be met and some will not anyway. A goal might need to be done differently, but it still needs to be intentional. 21:00 Goal-setting is the process of creating measurable steps toward the vision, not a test of perfection. 22:40 Vision is not a feel-good warm blanket, but needs to be taken down to the specifics of the individuals. 25:20 We have inspired leadership that gives us the framework for what we should be doing, and delegation to allow individuals to receive revelation for the people they are responsible for. 28:40 Despite uncertainty, we will be looking back and asking how we did with our goals. This is an invitation from the Lord to figure out a new way of ministering. Challenge to come up with just one new thing to do. 31:45 Example of Summer of Heroes project for goal-setting for the youth. There are heroes all around us. 39:30 How can you lead like this without taking over for the youth and allow them to lead? Their experience is part of this and they will be in different places. Invite them to the process and allow them to learn from their successes instead of their failures: Help them towards that. Walk alongside them as they have their experience. There is no one size fits all strategy. Maintain communication and help them know they can trust you and always ask for help. 46:00 Results of the Summer of Heroes: reward for striving 50:15 There will always be hard times and something that we can blame for our difficulties, but great things come from hard times. The Lord is preparing the youth for great things. 54:12 Think outside the box and set your goals high despite uncertainty 55:00 SCARF model developed by David Rock The brain processes physical threats and social threats in the same way. What is being triggered for us? What matters for us? What happens when we are triggered by these things? 57:40 Newness removes certainty and our brains start to focus on these threats. Instead, go back to the basics and focus on three areas: diet sleep, exercise. Your body will respond better and it gives you something certain to focus on, bringing control over what you can control and the certainty that comes with it. Embrace the boring and the minutia. 1:01:50 There is a lot of new and we have been invited to embrace it 1:03:00 Solving problems in the calling he has been given has taught him to rely on the Lord and embrace his relationship with the Savior Links Your Brain at Work, by David Rock

Taking Youth Engagement From Life-Less to Life-Changing During the Pandemic | An Interview with Jeff Harbach

Serving as a Sunday School President during a time of change and a pandemic can be challenging. In this podcast, Kurt speaks with two leaders who have sought to implement different strategies that might push Sunday School teachers and students in ways that make gospel learning more powerful. James Grandon James Grandon has been an elementary school principal in Missouri for over 25 years and holds a master’s degree in education and educational leadership. He currently serves as a bishop, and previously served as a stake Sunday School president. Highlights 7:40 Principles from Teaching No Greater Call using teaching strategies that were different from lecture Sought to make social connections between the Sunday School presidents in the stake Stake Sunday School presidency modeled the teaching strategies, pairing them with doctrines during ward conferences Principles of Leadership 14:30 Change takes time Teacher council meetings are still stretching the culture and can be a revelatory experience 16:50 Focus on gospel doctrines and people 19:30 Asking class members to teach what they know about a topic, rather than asking them to read a quote “Turn and talk”: Challenging the class a little to make it more personal Modeling in meetings 27:15 Reimagining teaching strategies Appendix F in Teaching No Greater Call It’s about action and not knowledge 34:45 Online teaching can still be very personal and connect people Greg Nalder Greg Nalder lives in Meridian, Idaho, where he works as a software engineer. He currently serves as a Sunday School president and previously served as a bishopric counselor. Highlights 40:00 For pandemic teaching, his ward has a gospel doctrine class and a youth Sunday School class with split in-person and online students 43:10 Coordinated to hold teacher councils on alternate weeks and had the Primary President lead the Primary teacher councils 45:30 Rotate through attending Sunday School classes to look for some topics they can focus on in teacher councils Principles of Leadership 46:50 Don’t just stick to what you know Lead a discussion instead of teaching a class 52:00 Getting away from the lecture: be persistent and don’t be afraid of silence 53:30 Observe Visit the classes; take the responsibility for finding a substitute, use a list provided by the bishopric, and step in to teach as needed 58:00 Counsel together as a presidency and invite the bishopric member who is over the Sunday School; don’t do all the talking in teacher councils 1:02:40 Using an online spreadsheet to organize classes, instructors, and rooms, coordinating with the bishopric 1:05:10 Seek to make your calling a joy and blessing to you

How I Lead as Sunday School President | Interviews with James Grandon and Greg Nalder

Dan Duckworth is a changemaker, teacher, and community-builder. He founded Crux Central to facilitate his mission to make deep change accessible to the masses—not just to executives. He writes and podcasts at danduckworth.net and hosts high-intensity leadership workshops at cruxcentral.com. He’s also a member of the Leading Saints Board of Directors. Highlights 7:30 The struggle with virtual church: Dan’s experience as a youth Sunday School teacher moving to once-a-month teaching opportunities, then to no church, and then to virtual church 10:00 The realization that came from creating an online transformational learning community: This can actually work 13:10 Switching your mindset into humility, self-awareness, and acknowledgment of your own mediocrity: “Broken but Brimming” 14:30 For an individual to intentionally have a transformational experience, it requires connecting with others 15:25 Current You has to go into the refiner’s fire in order to transform into New You. What we want students to do is want to go into the fire, and feel safe enough to do it. 18:00 Do the people need the leaders or do the leaders need the people? 19:10 Dan’s experience Learned from his previous teaching experiences that community is key and leads to people wanting to leap into the fire 21:00 His key belief that was wrong: You can’t develop authentic community virtually. He enrolled in an online workshop and realized he was connecting with strangers. 26:15 Creating his own workshop and struggling to get past the focus on the content and getting it “right” 27:30 “You’re giving me content. What I came for was the conversation. The magic was the community and the conversations that we had. That’s what changed my life.” 29:45 The conversation started to change and people started to care about each other 31:30 Of the people who participated, 100% has a transformational experience 32:50 Experiment with his Sunday School class Texted a video inviting them to class, including one principle and a story 34:55 The error was his investment, not the students 35:45 Principle 1: Curate people Let people self-select 37:50 Get the right people into the room in the right mindset: it’s your job to protect your guests from the “party spoiler” Your goal is to get people to want to be there Set the expectations of the group: turn your cameras on no matter what you are doing, so we can be ourselves 42:28 People want to be part of something awesome. Focus on creating something magnetic, not on controlling them. 45:08 Principle 2: Connect people What am I doing to connect them to each other? (not to the lesson content) 46:50 Stop the “lesson” and get one person to share their story 49:30 Start with your own authenticity: share your truth without being plastic because everyone recognizes plastic Break the rules and show others that they can, too 53:20 Principle 3: Create arguments An argument is making a claim that can be proven wrong Inspire them to engage in the wrestle: let go of the need to be right and create cognitive dissonance, planting questions (not about the doctrine) about our experience 56:10 It’s never appropriate to be a devil’s advocate in the church setting; this is an argument for the sake of arguing, which only entrenches beliefs instead of creating transformation People should walk away having shared their truth, heard the truth of others, and looking to change 59:30 Principle 4: Ground it in real life Why Gospel Principles class is better than Gospel Doctrine class 1:01:00 Share a principle, what it means to you, and a story from your own experience 1:03:30 Experience teaching in elders quorum, talking about the Sharon Eubank talk, By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power with God, and creating a powerful discussion Stepping into the fire when you try to do something positively deviant Go find people to listen to this interview and ask their opinions

Why Wards Struggle with Zoom Church & How Leaders Can Fix It | An Interview with Dan Duckworth

Jason Hewlett is a speaker, performer, and entertainer. In 2020 he added “bestselling author” and “virtual entertainer” to his repertoire. Jason has served as an elders quorum president and currently serves on the high council in his stake. He is also a husband, and a father to four children. Highlights 5:00 Introduction 7:45 Advice to leaders handling virtual events 10:55 Instruct people attending meetings to turn on their camera Warm up with a question in chat 14:15 Jason’s experience serving on the high council 16:30 Jason’s journey writing and publishing The Promise to the One The foundation of his message is in keeping promises to ourselves 19:20 Experience serving as an elders quorum president and trying so hard to do it all that he wasn’t keeping the promise to himself 24:00 Signature Moves: The unique talents, skills, and traits you can share with the world Identify, clarify, magnify Do this with others and recognize what others see that you might not 31:40 Property line living: recognize where we can stop or keep going in the service of others Keeping a promise to those we serve 39:20 Experience struggling to figure out how to work during a pandemic, and the gifts of a friend playing music outside the house, and friends offering to help 44:00 Leaving a legacy: What can you create now that will live beyond you? What do I want the end game to be? How can I serve at the highest level of engagement? 49:35 Experience of choosing to leave in chapter 10 56:00 What it means to keep your promise as a disciple of Jesus Christ Links JasonHewlett.com The Promise to the One, by Jason Hewlett How This Professional Entertainer Can Help Improve Your Next High Council Talk | An Interview With Jason Hewlett

The Promises We Make as Leaders | An Interview with Jason Hewlett

Chad Ford is best known as an analyst and entrepreneur covering the NBA and NBA Draft for ESPN. His primary work, however, is as a peacebringer, an international conflict mediator, college professor, and director of the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding at BYU-Hawaii. In this interview, Chad discusses the concepts in his book Dangerous Love: Transforming Fear and Conflict at Home, at Work, and in the World, and how they apply to church leadership. Highlights 4:00 Chad’s path to BYU Hawaii 6:30 The path to writing the book started with writing a textbook, then changing to writing it as stories that connect with people in a variety of circumstances 8:30 Written for a secular audience but doesn’t shy away from faith and religion 10:00 Connection with the Arbinger Institute 12:50 Leaders aren’t called because of their pastoral qualifications and training, but a lot of the day-to-day work in leadership revolves around conflict 14:30 Association of sin with conflict and contention leads to conflict avoidance 21:00 “Easy love” and relationships 23:00 Agape: the Greek notion of love described by Paul 25:30 Outward accommodation and keeping conflict inside is not love 26:30 The most difficult person is the person you actually need to get closest to 27:45 This is the calling of discipleship. This is what Christ does. We naturally pull away when people need us the most, when there is struggle and conflict. 30:35 Learning this concept from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call to love your enemies 34:15 This means I have to humbly seek to understand their experience and perspective 37:10 We need to see people we struggle with as people and not as objects. Chad’s own experiences missing this in his life and seeking to truly see at least one person each day. 44:50 The concept of “turning first”: choosing to see the person first and turning toward them, inviting them to connect 48:05 Example of the prodigal son and the father’s open arms 50:00 Example of reconciling with a man in the ward 52:00 We create justifications for loving people less, but can commit to loving more. “In the litany of sins, not loving one of our brothers and sisters is probably there at the top.” 54:10 The unsolvable conflict: you’ve probably tried all of the wrong things on the inside even as you do and say all of the “right” things on the outside 55:00 The seven why’s: Get deeply curious about people. Keep telling me why. 56:15 There can still be disagreement, and this is when you take the time and patience to seek to find the common ground 58:00 Failing to invite those labeled as the terrorist to the peacebuilding process. Unanimous decisions begin with exploring the perspective of others, as with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 1:01:00 When people do feel heard, valued, and seen, they are willing to make adjustments. This can’t be faked and must be felt at a deeper level through the hard work of intentionally building a relationship. 1:03:35 Dangerous love is always a struggle because we are imperfect, but the key is the humility to repent and reconnect. 1:04:30 We have the same stigma around conflict that we have around sinning. Repentance is a gift and our lives should be spent repenting, using this gift to correct relationships and not simply to correct outward sins. 1:07:30 Offering grace to others just as we receive it from Christ 1:10:50 Begin to encourage this by talking about what a Zion ward would look like and how we can build the relationships we need Links dangerouslovebook.com Dangerous Love: Transforming Fear and Conflict at Home, at Work, and in the World, by Chad Ford The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict, by The Arbinger Institute Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box, by The Arbinger Institute

When Leading with Others Results in Conflict | An Interview with Chad Ford

KaRyn Lay produces LDS Living's This is the Gospel podcast and the Sunday on Monday study group, and hosts and writes the This is the Gospel segments. KaRyn has a degree in English Literature and a masters in Communication with an emphasis in film, and loves storytelling and the power of story. She has served in Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society presidencies. Highlights 5:15 KaRyn’s background and path to podcasts with LDS Living 7:30 Careful with the wording in the introduction to This is the Gospel: Every one of us is practicing discipleship. 11:00 Bringing storytelling into your organization: We discount our own experiences, but everyone has a story of transformation. 14:15 Vulnerability: we are missing an opportunity for connection when we fail to share our failings and struggles because it helps us see one another the way Christ sees us. 17:30 Our first reaction might be to step back, but if we keep listening we can lean in and connect. Our brains are wired for this. 19:15 Sharing past sins: no need to give the details, but don’t leave out your mistakes. Example of the Brother of Jared. 21:00 Formulating a story Tell your own story, not someone else’s story. Create an outline of the main points of decision in your story. Set up the context, tell what happened, the results, and your takeaway. Determining what details to include: choose carefully, keep it short, and be real. Be curious about your own story and consider previous experiences where it was different. Don’t gloss over moments of doubt or other hard experiences. Find the moment of transformation and build around that. Touch lightly on the takeaway. Know your audience. Tell the right story to the right people. How will it be useful, interesting, and meaningful to them? Consider telling the story from the perspective of where you were at the time. 28:25 Speaking to youth: how to get them to pay attention and respond 31:30 Vulnerability with youth will increase the power of hope and connection in your message, and show youth that you can be trusted with their struggles 33:05 Doctrine & Covenants 50:21-23 Edifying and rejoicing together is a gift of storytelling, creating true communion 34:00 Developing questions to encourage youth to talk, offering them an opportunity to tell a story of their own 35:20 KaRyn’s own learning experience with believing in “inappropriate pulpit disclosure” and coming to recognize that the listener needs to offer grace and mercy to the speaker telling their story. Sharing difficult experiences so that the ward can share your burden. Vulnerability hangovers 39:45 It’s the leader’s place to gently pull the conversation back from situations where there was uncomfortable oversharing. Teach and train that this is a safe space. 41:30 Part of a leader’s stewardship is to practice sharing stories and to set the tone. We get better at telling stories by listening to stories by great storytellers such as Elder Holland. 44:30 Brene Brown: You cannot tell your story until you’re far enough removed from it that you don’t care what other people think of it. Know yourself well enough to know when you’re at that point. 46:00 Journaling about your stories to process what it means and why it’s important. 46:25 Sister Aburto’s response to the difficulty of telling her difficult stories 48:20 Boundaries for storytelling: Will it do harm for the person telling it or to the faith of someone listening? Ask for guidance with knowing what stories to tell. 51:05 The weight of ministry and understanding the love the Lord has for her through hearing the stories of others Links LDSliving.com/podcasts Instagram: @thisisthegospel_podcast Facebook: @thisisthegospelpodcast A Deseret Book Live Conversation with Sister Reyna Aburto hosted by Yahosh Bonner This is the Gospel Podcast, Episode 51: Weak Things Made Strong Contact Kurt with your thoughts on storytelling in the church: https://leadingsaints.

Creating Ward Unity Through Story | An Interview with KaRyn Lay

Brother Jared Halverson, PhD, has been an institute teacher at the University of Utah for the past six years. He hails originally from Los Angeles. His YouTube channel and podcast, “Unshaken,” helps people study the scriptures. He and Sister Halverson are former residents of Tennessee where Brother Halverson studied in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. While attending Vanderbilt, he sometimes was called upon to speak to college classes or to non-LDS congregations in the Nashville community to explain his religious beliefs, especially during the Mitt Romney presidential run. Bro. Halverson was an avid athlete in high school (football and track) and interacted with a broad spectrum of religions among his boyhood friends. He served a Spanish speaking mission. Highlights 05:20: Feeling at home as a religious minority. 07:15: Guidance to leaders confronted by tough gospel questions. Conviction brings courage. 10:30: Open your mouth and it shall be filled (D&C 84), if you are prepared. The Holy Ghost can help us remember things we have studied. Respect people’s questions. Study; learn from experience/mistakes. 14:50: Being defensive can offend the Spirit and invite contention. Unity, not just orthodoxy, is vital. Seek to understand. Sometimes being loving will earn us a second conversation with someone whereas being overly bold will not. Open your ears and the heat will evaporate (elephants). Don’t stomp around with big head and sharp tusk like elephants, which also have a thick skin. Create safe space for questions. 27:00: Be grateful for faith of others. Brother Halverson has worshiped with Quakers, Bahai, Evangelicals, Catholics, etc. Beauty is everywhere. The Church has a monopoly on a few things but not all good things. Holy envy. Some Evangelicals are concerned about “cheap grace” too. 32:00: Responding to questions about grace. Just as Martin Luther may have overcorrected in breaking away from Catholicism, have we overcorrected in not trying to understand grace? Toxic perfectionism. Serving God does not mean we are trying to earn His love. The Book of Mormon addresses grace often. Joseph Smith spoke of proving contraries. Jesus was justice and mercy combined. Broad brush answers may be just what half the class needs and not at all what another half needs at a given time. People are all over the map. It’s often difficult to have a pat answer that speaks to all of them. Ministering visits are an opportunity for one-on-one, tailor-made dialogue. 41:25: General authority discourses, of necessity, often speak to the masses who are at different places of spiritual development. Alma 42 is dissected as to Alma’s balance in teaching his son Corianton about justice and mercy. 45:32: Don’t make interfaith activities a covert missionary operation. God has made ample provision to bring us all home. Do not lessen your zeal but show an increase in patience. Cheer on people in other faiths who are doing good things. 47:30: Interfaith work. The meaning of“ward.” Be a good neighbor. Brother Halverson was clearly a religious minority in his Tennessee neighborhood. Find common goals with which to team up. Non-members sometimes don’t trust our intentions. Based on doctrine and practice, our church can be patient because of what we know about temple work and spirit world. 53:30: Come Follow Me YouTube channel “Unshaken.” Many people’s scripture study habits are changing for the better during Covid-19. Striking a balance between external resources available vs pure scripture study. The purpose of scripture study is not merely an academic exercise but to draw us closer to God. We have eternal life in Christ, not the scriptures per se. Scriptures as a signpost or burning bush to get our attention. How does the phrase “Expectation without education is frustration” apply to scripture study? The flipped classroom model under Covid-19. Example of Philip and the Eunuch in Book of Acts re: Isaiah.

Experiencing God Through the Scriptures | An Interview with Jared Halverson

Jody Moore is a master certified life coach, well known as the host of the Better Than Happy podcast and for her live events and online coaching program, Be Bold. She also has a BA in Communications and an MA in Adult Education along with 15 years of experience as a corporate trainer and leadership coach. Jody and her husband live in Spokane, Washington, and are the parents of four children. Highlights 9:00 We hear counsel or advice and immediately see where others could use it. 11:10 We have an idea of what the "right way to be" looks like for certain roles that people fill in our lives. 12:00 Expectations are premeditated disappointment. We create manuals for others and are disappointed when they don't follow those rules. 14:00 We lose our own authority for ourselves when we blame others for our thoughts and emotions; instead we can get to compassion by recognizing they are imperfect people doing their best. 15:30 The Atonement has two parts: the saving part, and the strengthening and enabling part; we can access that strengthening and enabling power. 17:00 We are punishing ourselves and it doesn't change the other person; we also then unconsciously mirror them and we end up "doing it wrong", and that's what feels terrible. 19:30 How to recognize when you default to these negative thoughts: Examine yourself instead of others. What am I doing that might be similar to what they're doing? In what way am I doing the very thing that I'm judging this person for? 21:45 Next we start to judge ourselves. Recognize that sometimes we are also imperfect. When we can do that for ourselves, we get better at doing it for other people. 23:20 The adversary helps us take the gospel and turn it into part of our manual, and then we judge others by it, driving a wedge between us. We should look at the gospel and counsel for ourselves, not others. 27:00 David O. McKay quote: "The purpose of the gospel is to make bad men good and good men better." Susan Easton Black quote: When I go to church, I go to take the sacrament. That part's for me. But everything else, I go there thinking, What am I bringing? What can I give to other people? 29:15 Sometimes we take the principle of obedience too far; obedience should not come at the expense of our own integrity and relationship with Jesus Christ. 30:10 Be clear about the difference between the gospel and the people. If you want to believe and sustain your leaders, that is enough. The Lord will work with you where you are. 31:40 Giving people permission to be themselves. Sometimes we can manipulate people to be what we want, but then they aren't really who they are. 33:10 What if our only expectation is that they be themselves? 34:25 We can make requests of people, but it becomes a problem when we hang our emotions on whether or not they do it. 36:40 We don't need more people who are like us. We need people who think differently than we do. 38:00 We can define our own success, keeping our expectations to ourselves and holding ourselves to them because others are outside our control. 40:40 When you are the leader, you can start to wonder what others expect of you and become a people pleaser. 42:10 We step into our best version of ourselves as leaders when we try to be ourselves instead of trying to live up to the expectations of others. 44:00 Managing up: you can make a request of the person above you to try or change things. 45:00 Have boundaries and don't allow mistreatment, but don't take it too far and have expectations that diminish the quality of your life and relationships. 48:00 If you want to do something differently, do it now, wherever you are. Example story of people asking a farmer about the people in the town. You will find whatever you are looking for. Links JodyMoore.com Better Than Happy: Expectation Pain Leading Others to be Better Than Happy | An Interview with Jody Moore

Leader Expectation Pain | An Interview with Jody Moore

See all the details and register to attend in-person or online at LeadingSaints.org/hunt Listen to Jason's original episode HERE.

Leading Saint Live in Idaho with Professor Jason Hunt

At the age of 23, Michael Brody-Waite was a full-blown drug addict. Today, Michael is an acclaimed speaker, Inc. 500 entrepreneur, award-winning, three-time CEO, a leadership coach, and an author. He is on a mission to teach individuals, organizations, and communities how to how to be vulnerable, surrender the mask, and do uncomfortable work. In this podcast, he shares the leadership principles he learned through addiction recovery, which he speaks and details in his book, Great Leaders Live like Drug Addicts: How to Lead like your Life Depends on It. Highlights 8:00 Michael has a whole part of his family tree who are Latter-day Saints, and one of his Latter-day Saint cousins turned down the opportunity to date one of his NFL idols on the San Francisco 49ers. 9:00 Michael is originally from California, had a normal growing up experience there, but in college, he remembers “losing his marbles” over his good friend asking a small thing of him. That night he was confronted with the reality that he didn’t feel equipped to deal with life on life’s terms. He said something like “I don’t think I got the instructions on how to deal with life.” It was that night that he first drank alone. 10:28 Michael gives a tip for all parents: If you think your kid might have the genetic proclivity to be an addict, DO NOT sit them down and tell them, “You will probably be an addict, so never do drugs or drink.” That’s going to be the first thing that child wants to do. 11:28 “I can’t be an academic, I can’t be an athlete, but I think I could be a drunk.” It was one thing Michael could control over his life, he was able to make himself numb. Michael believes that addicts have an obsessive-compulsive variant that makes the person want to be able to predict how they are going to feel. He would rather choose a drug I knew would make him feel bad than one that he didn’t know how it would make him feel. It was about having control and knowing how he would feel. Since he couldn’t get that from life, he turned to addiction. 13:15 In the summer of 2002, Michael’s life took a severe downturn. He was a junior in college with only one year’s worth of college credit. He was kicked out of college, kicked out of his house, fired from his job, and his car was repossessed. He was throwing up blood on this twenty-third birthday, and he knew he wouldn’t be alive for his thirtieth birthday, and maybe not even his twenty-fifth, and that didn’t sound too bad to him. His friend let him stay on his couch, but he completely overstayed his welcome, but at that point, if he didn’t stay there, he would have been homeless and Michael didn’t want that. His father would reach out and come take him to breakfast every once in a while, and his father said he just wanted to buy him a meal, but Michael knew it was because he just wanted to see if his son was still alive. He always offered to pay to send Michael to rehab, but Michael denied having a problem. 15:00 Michael’s friend eventually talks him into considering rehab. “I chose to go to rehab to have 28 days of bedding and food.” But Michael hasn’t used drugs or a drop of alcohol since. It was in rehab that he was introduced to the 12-Step program, which he still participates in. 16:00 Michael gives his 3 principles he has learned from living the 12-Step program: Practice rigorous authenticity We talk about being authentic, but we don’t really practice it in leadership. How to take off the “masks” we wear to be strong? Surrender the outcome Leaders are not taught to surrender the outcome In faith, we are taught to surrender the outcome, but not in our career Do Uncomfortable Work “Hard work” is physical or mental, “Uncomfortable work” is emotional. We will do more physical work to avoid uncomfortable emotional work. 20:00 Principle 1 allows you to see how you are hiding your true self. Principle 2 is how do I let go of “What’s going to happen when I...

Vulnerability is the Key to Uniting a Quorum | An Interview with Michael Brody-Waite

Dave Ulrich is a professor at the University of Michigan and a partner at The RBL Group, a consulting firm. He studies and writes about how organizations build and use human resources, and has published over 30 books on leadership, organization, and human resources. He researches and consults with organizations around the world and has been called the “father of modern HR”. Dave is married to Wendy Ulrich. They co-authored the Wall Street Journal #1 business bestseller, The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations that Win, and presided over the Canada Montreal Mission. Dave has also served as a bishop. Highlights 5:00 Dave's background and work 10:30 As a mission president, worked creatively to build the mission to support the missionaries and give them what they needed 12:00 Focused less on the goal and more on the people: the goal of the Church is to help you find the blessings of the gospel and they worked to help investigators find those blessings 14:10 Created themes for the month and for zone conferences; experience of getting the message wrong and making it right 18:30 Experience going out with every companionship, modeling for them and serving with them 21:30 Listen and take risks that are within the boundaries; experience of rededicating the city for a small branch instead of closing it and how that led to doing that throughout the district 24:10 The outside-in perspective: Leadership is what we help other people know and do, how we use our strengths to help other people see their strengths, the ability to create value in other people; What do those you lead need to know and do more of? What would the Lord want for them? 27:45 "So that…" We want to do ____ so that our people have ____. 30:30 Good leaders are also good anthropologists: observe those you lead, collecting data and soliciting input; experience of a prayer for a blessing at a funeral 33:50 Sharing gospel beliefs with others without being preachy 35:30 Leadership starts with who you are trying to bless and serve, not with you; what can you do to help those people fulfill those needs? 37:00 Working within the tension of policy and local leadership choices; we are a global church and we need to understand what the Lord wants for those we have leadership over 39:20 Inspiration is navigating paradox instead of solving it; experience leaving sacrament meeting to visit with a young man who had been part of a conflict 41:20 There is a pattern we follow, but there are also different ways the Lord can use us as leaders 43:30 We become vehicles through which our Heavenly Parents express love for their children 45:00 Modeling ministering, sometimes in unexpected, inspired ways 47:50 Being a doughnut-hole bishop: encouraging members to turn to those who have stewardship 49:30 Even introverts can serve; be willing to make mistakes; experience with saying the wrong thing to Elder Scott 54:00 Reflections during the pandemic: Pro athletes get better during the off season; he chose to step up instead of stepping back 56:40 Finding creative ways to bless people: Experience polishing the shoes of the missionaries 1:00:15 The Savior wants to give us power to empower others to reach their potential Links Dave Ulrich on LinkedIn The RBL Group Women in Council Meetings | An Interview with Wendy Ulrich The Why of Your Calling | An Interview with Wendy Ulrich

How Can We Bless the Members Through the Leadership We Provide? | An Interview with Dave Ulrich

Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Leadership Best Practices

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Leading Saints Podcast

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