church of jesus christ – Page 3

July 14, 2022July 15, 2022

A Story That Didn’t Make It Into the Come, Follow Me Manual

We release a lot of podcast episodes every week on the Our Turtle House App. While these are all exclusive to those who are subscribing members, we thought we’d give you a little glimpse into one of our most recent favorites. Enjoy!

“Upon Me, Let This Iniquity Be”
Hank Helps Podcast
by Hank Smith
©copyrighted under Our Turtle House and Jumping Turtle, LLC

Watch or listen to the full episode here: Upon Me Let This Iniquity Be (Hank Helps Podcast)

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.
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Hank Smith:

Welcome to another episode of Hank Helps!

I want to do something today called What The Manual Misses and that’s because in our Come, Follow Me manual that we’re studying the Old Testament, we can’t study every every chapter. But there are some stories that we shouldn’t miss that sometimes we do, and I thought we’d hit one of those today.

The Conflict of David and Nabal

The story is of a heroic woman named Abigail and if I had my way she would be better known in the church.

This is 1 Samuel, chapter 25. David is king. He’s at the height of his reign. He is expanding Israel’s borders and thriving. He’s doing really well and the people of Israel are doing really well because of David being king. The sin with Bathsheba and Uriah has yet to happen.

Well, there’s this man who’s very rich who lives near Mount Carmel. (This is chapter 25 verse 2.) The man was very great: he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats and he was shearing his sheep there. Now, the man’s name is Nabal and his wife’s name is Abigail. She was a woman of good understanding and a beautiful countenance, but the man was, it says, “curlish” I think that’s how you say it. It means he’s rude and evil in his doings.

So David sends messengers to Nabal and he says hey when your shearers were by my Army, we protected them, we helped them. Now I need a favor from you I need some of the wool you are shearing for your sheep for my armies.

Now when the king asks you for something, you give it. Right?

But look how Nabal responds.

Two Egos Get Rocked

He says “Who is David?” (This is verse 10.) “Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays that will break every man from his master. Shall I take my bread and my water and my flesh?” Right, he wants him to feed his servants. And he says, “I’m not going give any wool to David. I’m not going to give my food to David or water to David or his men. I’m going to do that.”

So he’s really rude and David is upset. He is, like, “why don’t we go out there and take care of Nabal.” So the idea here is that if you’re not a friend to the king, the opposite of a friend to the king which Nabal says, “I’m not your friend” is his enemy. What is the king do to his enemies? Right? So here comes David he is going to go down and he’s going to lay waste to Nabal and his house.

Again you might be, like, “David’s being a jerk here, too.” Well, yeah probably, but either way, both egos have been rocked here and now it’s who’s going to win? Nabal or David.

So here comes David. Picture him with armies behind him saying, “I’ll show you what happens when you mess with the king.” Then you’ve got Nabal saying, “Bring it on. I’ll show you what happens when when you mess with Nabal.”

Then Abigail hears.

Abigail Makes Haste

One of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife (in verse 14) “David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master and he railed on them” (it actually said that he railed on them!). He says, “but the men were good to us and we weren’t hurt and they protected us and they would talk with us while we were in the fields and, man, I think we are in huge trouble.”

So, Abigail made haste.

She made 200 loaves of bread and got two bottles of wine and five sheep ready to be killed and corn and raisins and cakes and she puts all of this together with this big gift and she rode out in front of David. She basically throws herself on her face (in verse 23) in front of David.

Remember the Savior doing this in the Garden of Gethsemane? Falling on his face?

She throws herself to the ground and fell at his feet and said in 1 Samuel 25:24-28:

Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

She says, “please let the sin be upon me. I’ll make it up to you. Here’s this gift and please forgive me for this sin.” It’s really the sin of Nabal that she’s asking for forgiveness for and David decides to forgive her and not and not destroy the house and all of that.

A Christ-like Figure

All right so I want you to see Abigail as this Christ-figure who, when someone hurts us and offends us and here we go to take our vengeance, which is right. They did something wrong and they deserve to be hurt, right? They deserve what’s coming to them. And the Lord comes to us and says “upon me upon me let this iniquity be.” Please forgive me.

In essence the Lord says: That shouldn’t have happened. What that person did to you was wrong and terrible. Forgive them by forgiving me.

Here Abigail is a Christ-like figure saying, “I’ll stand between you and this person who hurt you and I will take on the sin so you can forgive someone who is not asking for forgiveness. I’ll ask for forgiveness on behalf of them even though they’re not asking for forgiveness.

I mean, it’s such a beautiful story. I love Abigail and hopefully you’ll go give this chapter a look in 1 Samuel 25. Go mark some of verses 24 and verse 28 and then think about some of the conflicts you have in your life. President Nelson has asked us to get rid of conflict, right? How can this Christ-figure help you understand how the Savior, himself, can help rid you of that conflict?

All right, my friends. Come back next time and we’ll do another edition, another episode of Hank Helps. Maybe we will do this again, the things the manual misses. I’ll look into that okay we’ll talk soon. Bye-bye.

June 23, 2022July 8, 2022

8 Pass-Along Cards That Will Brighten “Their” Day

“They” are the ones who take a deep breath as they walk through the door of yet another long appointment.

“They” are the ones who are attempting to navigate a full cart of groceries while keeping their small children from wandering away.

“They” are the ones whose smile never quite reaches their eyes…

…and “they” are the ones whose do.

“They” are the ones who just parked their car right in front of you.

“They” are the ones who live down the street.

“They” are your friends. “They” are your family members. “They” are strangers and your coworkers and everyone you come into contact with.

When we say these pass-along cards will brighten “their” day, these “they” are who we mean.

Let the Brightening Begin

We’ve gone through and selected some of the most powerful quotes from our most recent full-length Turtle Talks that we think the world should hear. These quotes from motivational speakers Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Dr. Matt Townsend, Meg Johnson, and Ganel-Lyn Condie are sure to inspire anyone who finds them along the way.

Print them, cut them, then snail-mail or hand-deliver them to someone who needs a little “brightening” in their day!

▶️ Click here to download and print out your 8 Pass-Along Cards today!

June 16, 2022September 13, 2024

What You See is What You Get: A New Talk by Hank Smith

Have you ever had a time when you looked at your situation and thought, “I wish this had never happened”?

Maybe you got a bad grade or a bad haircut. Maybe you’ve experienced loss or financial crisis. Perhaps you’ve accidentally come across a ring with possessive magical powers that some wizard is demanding you return to a far-away mountain where it can be destroyed by the fires of Doom.

Okay, probably not that last one… but you get the idea.

Life doesn’t always turn out the way you envisioned it would. Instead, you’re often thrown into circumstances that you never would have selected in the first place! While you cannot change what has already happened, you do get to choose what you’ll see in the experience.

The Choice is Up To You

Best-selling author/speaker Hank Smith recently released a new Turtle Talk talk titled What You See is What You’ll Get. This full-length talk is centered on teaching teens how to choose the way they perceive different life events.

According to Hank, “You can choose to see the good or you can choose to focus on the bad, but ultimately the choice is up to you.” Will you see the blessings and strengths that come because of what you’re experiencing? Or will you choose to focus on the pains and sorrows of it all?

Philosopher David Thoreau described it best when he said, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” That’s exactly what Hank is talking about when he relates the following Book of Mormon story.

Who Are You In the Story?

Once upon a time there were two brothers who lived in the same place with the same people at the same time. The younger brother, Nephi, was happy with their story and saw all the beautiful miracles and blessings that occurred within their family. The older brother, Laman, focused only on the negative side of the situation.

Same story. Same events. Different attitudes.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of their insights:

In reading this account, it’s safe to assume that Nephi and Laman both experienced the same (or, at least, very similar) hardships, loss, and pain.

Nephi appears to be at peace; he’s content with his circumstances. He talks about the great blessings and how they had enough meat to eat and that the women were strong and didn’t murmur…

Laman? He apparently saw things through a different filter.

How is it even possible that theses two people can have the exact same experience and still see things so very differently!?!

In What You See is What You Get, Hank explains it best when he talks about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

When thrown into unwanted circumstances, people with a fixed mindset tend to use statements like “It’s too hard.” or “I’ll stick to what I know.” They stunt themselves by seeing absolutes and limit their beliefs in the world around them. In the end, they get nothing from the experience but bad memories, complaints, and poor attitudes.

On the other hand, those with a growth mindset are hopeful and optimistic! They see new possibilities in every challenge. Because of their focus on growth, these mindsets tend to get new opportunities and gain stronger abilities as they focus on the blessings that surround them.

Laman = Fixed mindset.

Nephi = Growth mindset.

Now, the question is: which one are you in your story?

We encourage you all to take just watch or listen to Hank’s latest talk with your entire family and see what you can do to change what you get out of your experiences.

Watch or listen to Hank Smith’s full Turtle Talk here: What You See Is What You Get.

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

June 9, 2022September 21, 2024

7 Talks to Help You Create a Spirit of Inclusion

Here’s a challenge for you: scroll through your social media and see how long it takes for you to find 5 people who look different than you.

Pretty easy, right?

Now, think of all your neighbors and see how long it takes to find someone who believes differently than you do.

Maybe a little bit harder, but still didn’t take very long, did it?

Finally, imagine that you’re standing in line at your local grocery store. How long would it take for you to find someone with a different sexual orientation or someone from a different country or even someone with a different bank account balance than you.

These examples are just a few of the infinite ways we, as humans, can be vastly different from each other. Diversity is everywhere and what a beautiful thing it is! When we learn to accept and embrace our differences, the more we open ourselves to possibilities of love and camaraderie.

And when we embrace each other’s uniqueness and bond in camaraderie, we ultimately create a spirit of “inclusion”.

Listed below are 7 talks that will help you embrace diversity and navigate your way into a more inclusive mindset.

Appreciating Our Differences
Dennis Schleicher, Ganel-lyn Condie, Ronell Hugh
Digital Firesides

Three talks, one link.

Our differences are what gives us strength, and our strengths are what makes us a community. Learn how to appreciate your differences and embrace the differences of those around you.

Watch all 3 talks here on Youtube.

Love and Support to The LGBTQ+ Community
Tom Christofferson
Doing Good Podcast

The very best ways to support the LGBTQ+ in your community might not be as difficult as you may think! Learn how to break the stigma and love your fellow members more unconditionally with these simple tips from a church member’s inside perspective.

Listen here on the app.

Bridging The Gaps
Ganel-Lyn Condie
Turtle Talks

How do you deal with the “gap: between where you are today and where you want to be? We learn to accept ourselves for where we are. Join Ganel-lyn for an inspirational perspective on how Christ can help us safely bridge the gaps in our lives.

Listen here on the app.

God Didn’t Change Me
Charlie Bird
Digital Firesides

What is it like to “wait on the Lord” as a gay member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? Former BYU Mascot, Charlie Bird, helps us see through the lens of a gay man’s perspective as he details his wrestle to get to a point of self-acceptance.

Watch here on Youtube.

Questions from The Closet
Charlie Bird & Ben Schilaty
Doing Good Podcast

What does being gay look like through the eyes of a BYU adjunct professor and a former BYU mascot? Ben and Charlie talk openly about their perspective on “coming out” in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, how to apply the atonement in from a gay’s perspective, and learning to live and love unconditionally just like the Savior did.

Listen here on the app.

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

June 2, 2022September 13, 2024

Focus On The Savior: 2 Full-Length Talks by John Bytheway

Do you feel distracted? Overwhelmed? Confused? Busy?

Between work and school, carpooling and chores, your schedule probably feel so chaotic that you’re left gasping for air at the end of the day.

How can you possibly decide where to invest your time and energy when your entire world appears to “be in commotion“?

The Main Thing

At some point, we will all have to take a step back and really “zero in” on what the main thing is at that time.

Take basketball, for example.

Whenever we practice, we do so with the intent to win the next game. That’s the main thing. Perhaps we work on our passing; or maybe we work on our shots. We practice and practice until we see consistent improvement, all with the the main thing in mind.

When it comes game time and we’re out on the court, we know we have to “zero in” and focus in on the main thing. Everything we do during the game is centered around the win. We use pep talks and routines, audience members and teammates, to keep ourselves focused throughout the entire game, knowing that the opponent is tirelessly searching for a weak spot in our game to break through. He’ll smack-talk or wave his arms..anything he can do to distract us enough to steal our focus from the main thing and succeed at his own game.

In life, Satan is the opponent and The Main Thing is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In his latest full-length talk, The Main Thing: Keeping Your Eyes Focused On Christ motivational speaker John Bytheway teaches us how to filter out the distractions of the adversary. Using his uncanny humor and fun personality, John reminds us how keeping our focus on Christ will not only strengthen our faith, but will also help us weather any opposition we have to face.

Powered By The Son

The sun is one of the most powerful sources of energy in the world. Solar power not only can help plants to grow, but it can be concerted into electricity to power cars, lights, pools, heaters, and even homes!

Though the sun is such a powerful energy, John Bytheway suggests that TRUE power comes the Son.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can help us through any hurt, any trial, any heartache. When we seek to be Powered By The Son, we can seek to face His light and position ourselves to be powered by His eternal source.

How to Watch or Listen

▶ These full-length talks are both part of Turtle Talks on the Our Turtle House App. Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

May 26, 2022June 16, 2022

Why Are We Called “Our Turtle House”?

You know us by our app.

Perhaps you’ve attended one of our live events.

It’s even possible that you’ve heard a bunch of our special guests say the name “Our Turtle House” on their social media platforms.

But, what does that even mean? Better yet, where in the world did that name even come from!?!

The “Back” Story

The story stems back to 2004 when one of our founders, Meg Johnson was hiking in Southern Utah on a red rock trail near what is called Turtle Rock. She began exploring the boulders along the trail, leaping from one to the next to the next.

As she leapt to the last red boulder in her view, she discovered that there actually wasn’t a boulder there to catch her after all! Instead, she had just leapt off a 40-foot cliff.

Meg landed on her hands and knees, the impact of the fall breaking both femurs, both wrists and 3 bones in her neck. She was life-flighted to Salt Lake City where Meg was pronounced a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the chest down without the use of her hands).

The road to recovery was long and difficult; Meg was often plagued with discouragement, but never defeat. Throughout it all, Meg made a conscious effort to focus solely on optimism and gratitude. She wanted to turn what most people would consider a “devastating accident” into a sacred spiritual experience.

The App Is Born

Ten years after the accident, Meg wanted to do something fun and inspirational to celebrate. She had been doing a lot of motivational speaking and thought it would be fun to do something for an audience. She contacted fellow inspirational speakers Hank Smith and John Bytheway and together they presented a “When Life Gets Hard” Conference.

Then they did another.

And another.

Audiences loved the conferences so much that Meg, Hank, and John decided it would be fun to create a way that audiences all over the world could access these talks, so the idea of forming a membership site evolved. The site would need to be:

All-inclusive
Family-friendly
Both fun AND inspirational
Filled with a wide variety of content
Something even the youth would enjoy
And, finally, easily accessible.

Once they had a vision in they built that site, which then turned into an app: Our Turtle House…a family-friendly app filled with gospel-centered fun!

The “House” Tour

Filled with thousands of hours of exclusive podcasts, talks, firesides, and devotionals, The Our Turtle House App is home to unlimited entertainment from Hank, Meg, and John as well as hundreds of popular guest speakers like Al Carraway, John Hilton III, Jody Moore, Anthony Sweat and more.

The Our Turtle House App also has loads of resources for your weekly “Come, Follow Me” gospel studies. Download or print weekly lesson plans and stream podcasts centered around the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Plus, watch or listen to over a dozen new releases each week.

Here’s what you’ll get with a full Our Turtle House App membership:

TURTLE TALKS: Remember talks on CDs? Yeah they’re like that. We’re home to dozens of hilarious full-length talks filmed in front of a live studio audience.
COME, FOLLOW ME LESSON PLANS: Lessons designed with your family in mind. Conveniently customized for families, teens, and children alike.
BYTHEWAY PODCAST: Join John Bytheway as he gives additional insight into this week’s “Come, Follow Me” curriculum the “Bytheway” way.
DIGITAL FIRESIDES: Weekly firesides from a panel of special guests. Originally airs every Sunday night at 6pm MT.
HANK HELPS PODCAST: A powerful Q&A podcast where Hank Smith gives in-depth answers to questions submitted by listeners.
DOING GOOD PODCAST: Stories of people who change the world every day in their own way. Host Carmen Rasmusen Herbert interviews guests from across the United States that are doing good things with their lives.
MEG’S TRIAL TIPS: Quadriplegic Meg Johnson is no stranger to trying times. Still, she’s discovered hundreds of tips to help her get through life with an optimistic attitude and now she wants to share them with you.
ARMOR UP: DAILY DEVOTIONALS: Start your day the Armor Up way with short morning devotionals geared towards teens and young adults!
MARK MY WORDS: Read or listen to weekly short inspirational stories written and narrated by Mark Williams.
SCRIPTURE POWER: The entire household will love learning scripture stories and learning to implement their modern-day applications.
FOLLOW HIM PODCAST: Quickly becoming one of the most popular LDS-based podcasts, Hank and John host guests who specialize in different aspects of church history and scriptural curriculum.
TEACHING HELPS: A Vlog miniseries by Hank Smith to help the teacher/instructor in all of us with classroom management skills.
HAPPINESS 101 COURSE: Your six-week course to a happier life!
PLUS…members get exclusive ticket discounts to all our live events!
And more coming soon!!!

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

May 19, 2022September 13, 2024

The “Magical” Answer: Overcoming My Discouragement & Doubt

My name is Audrey. I am a creator, a singer, and a performer. I am the Our Turtle House Sales Manager/blog writer…and I have lived most of my life battling severe anxiety and fear.

This post is written very carefully because the blog is not about me–it’s about Our Turtle House.

Plus, I know that blog writers are typically heard and not seen and I intend to keep it that way.

But sometimes our prayers are answered by other people’s experiences and it’s often through someone else’s vulnerability that we find comfort in our own, so I’d like to tell you a story of how my unspoken prayer of discouragement and doubt was answered…by a magician.

My Story

Throughout my childhood, I experienced some severe trauma that resulted in anxieties and fears that have accompanied me into adulthood. I’ve done a pretty good job managing them, for the most part, but occasionally they rear their heads and I have to really concentrate at keeping them at bay.

For the past four years, I’ve been living at the pinnacle of my own personal “Liberty Jail“, my individual place of extreme pain, loss, heartache, and suffering. This isn’t the platform to share any of the gritty details; the details won’t contribute to this particular blog post at all, so I won’t. What I can tell you, though, is that life has been utter chaos.

For someone whose unwritten (but often spoken) motto is “Messes are stresses”, additional chaos has been a real struggle. Stress levels were astronomical. The harder I tried, the harder things got; and the harder things got, the more my childhood trauma resurfaced. Fear, anxiety, and defeat became my constant companions as I tried to juggle life’s new demands. After a severe case of adrenal fatigue settled it, discouragement suddenly made its way into my circle as well.

Life was out of my control. It was too hard.

I was suddenly hit with an unhealthy dose of low self-esteem and an even lower self-worth. I questioned everything I ever knew to be true about the love of God and the Savior’s power to make all things right. As I began to doubt, I began to fear God; as I began to fear God, I began to fear prayer. I was caught up in a cycle that I didn’t know how to break.

Mesmerized By Deception

One of my favorite parts of my job is to emcee at the Turtle Talk Live Events. I love to be on stage, interacting behind-the-scenes with all of our audience members, and getting to know the motivational speakers who deliver powerful inspirational messages. It’s kind of a dream job, really.

In October 2021, I was at the peak of my chaos. I emcee’d at an event where Brad Barton was one of the keynote speakers. As a magician, he mesmerized the audience with magic tricks that he tied into important gospel principles. As his routine went on, Brad began unveiling the 3 techniques of a magician:

Sleight of hand: Tricks of psychological manipulation, timing, story, and natural choreography.
Misdirection: Tricks with a purpose of getting the audience’s eyes off of looking at the main thing and looking at something else instead.
Mental Conditioning: Tricks that get your mental momentum going in one direction while the magic happens someplace else. These are also known as the most powerful tricks of a magician.

All magic tricks can fit into one technique or a combination of them; and all are designed to mesmerize their audience by deception. To accomplish this, the magician creates a powerfully deceptive illusion to delight and confuse the audience: it looks real, it sounds real, it almost even feels real. Yet, in the end, after you’ve seen a really good magic show, you are left with nothing but questions, confusion, and wonder.

Brad then asked, “Can you see where this is heading? Can you see how this is going to tie into a powerful spiritual fireside?”

As I began to feel the Spirit, that feeling triggered my anxiety, spun me into doubt and fear set in. I emceed my way through yet another anxiety attack.

The Devil’s Techniques

Brad’s Turtle Talk message revolved around unveiling Satan’s most powerful illusions: Discouragement. Doubt. Confusion. Hopelessness. Rage. Anxiety. Fear. His mission statement can actually be found in 2 Nephi 2:18 where it reads:

“and because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.”

He wasn’t satisfied with a few of us. He doesn’t even want most of us. He wants us all and THAT is the devil’s mission statement.

“For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good..and thus the devil cheateth their souls and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.” (2 Nephi 28:20-21)

Satan’s techniques have been carefully honed over thousands of years and have found their way into the hearts of many, using the same techniques as a magician. Here are a few Brad’s talk helped me identify in my own life:

Sleight of hand: Ironically, Satan glides very naturally, often unnoticed, in and out of my life when I am at my lowest. Whispers of doubt, discouragement, and fear often appear during the most pivotal points of my life’s story.
Misdirection: I made a mental list of things in my life that are taking my eyes off the main thing. I could identify ways I was wasting my time, habits I had developed, thought-processes I had allowed to evolve. All had distracted me from focusing on the Savior and on my true purpose here on earth.
Mental conditioning: I was surprised at how many behaviors I could rationalize as being “no big deal”. Little by little, I began to mix up the real with the fake. It all started with a thought and, before long, my anxiety and fear began to take me so far down the “what if” road of the future that I failed to recognize the miracles of today.

These are only just a few examples that appeared in my life. I’m certain that Satan knows us so well that there are numberless, individualized traps that we could all potentially fall into.

And what are you left with in the end? Nada.

(Well, actually you’re left with questions, confusion, and even more wonder, but really those boil down to “nada.”)

The Savior’s Techniques

Now, compare what we just learned about the Devil’s techniques to the ones that our Savior uses.

Because the Godhead is so united, the Savior’s mission statement can easily be summed up by the same that God has proclaimed:

“For behold, this is my work and my glory–to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

And what “techniques” does the Savior use to influence us? Certainly not the same as a magician. His techniques all stem from a higher, holier place. In studying Brad’s talk, here are a few that I identified in my own life:

Love: Everything the Savior does has always been centered around His love for me. Everything. “Greater man hath no love than this...” (John 15:13)
Free agency: Because of his belief in free agency, the Savior will never manipulate, deceive, or force me into making any decisions. Instead, He’s there help us as we choose our own path. He even sacrificed His own life hoping that we will ultimately choose to return to live with Him and Our Heavenly Parents again someday. He gave us everything, but still He leaves the choice up to us.
Peace: A lot of the fears and anxieties I struggle with stem from a fear of “the unknown,” both in the past and in the future. Though I may still have unanswered questions, Christ is not going to leave me in a spirit of confusion and wonder. There’s a reason that the Savior is called “The Prince of Peace.” When Christ is present, peace is found.

No. The techniques of the Savior are not magical, manipulative tricks that leave us feeling empty and confused. Instead, the techniques He uses are designed to leave us filled with hope, comfort, and mercy.

The Magical Answer

The Our Turtle House editing team was inspired when they gave Brad’s talk the title, “Don’t Get Tricked: Magic, Lies, & Revealing the Loving Grace of God”.

I’ve pondered this talk several times over the months and I believe I have found my own personal answer to all the prayers I couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn’t pray. For me, the magical answer was to develop a firm and unwavering testimony of the power of Satan in my life. I needed to fully comprehend that he does exist, that he is a powerful being, and that he knows me every bit as much as the Savior does.

In fact, he knows me so well that he custom-designed a strategy of small, subtle tactics just for me; tricks targeted at the weaknesses he knew I had; distractions that he knew would keep me from my main focus in life.

These ploys looked real, sounded real and felt very real, yet, in the end, they left me with nothing more than questions, confusions, and wonder.

In fact, I began to know this so intensely that I even wrote my testimony about it:

Now, please don’t get me wrong.

I am not “magically cured”. I still have fears and anxieties that stem from my own personal experiences.

In fact, I rely heavily on the beauty of modern medicine and professional therapy/counseling to help me navigate the journey of healing, and encourage you to do the same when needed.

I recognize the complications of clinical depression and anxieties and understand that this is not everybody’s story. It is only my own. I don’t claim to even pretend to have all the answers for everyone.

I also understand that we all have our own individual struggles and that my struggles probably aren’t your struggles and vice versa.

However, my understanding of Satan and God and Jesus Christ and their roles has increased substantially because of this talk. I’ve been able to more easily recognize the everyday techniques Satan uses to trick his way into my life. I’ve also discovered ways that I can hold him at bay.

I would encourage you all to take just 47 minutes out of your day to watch Brad’s talk with your entire family. Perhaps you, too, can contrast the techniques that Satan uses in your own life with the techniques the Savior offers to counteract them.

▶ Watch or listen to Brad Barton’s full Turtle Talk here: Don’t Get Tricked: Magic, Lies, & Revealing the Loving Grace of God

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May 12, 2022February 3, 2024

12 Scriptures for a Healthy Relationship by Hank Smith

Marriage. Parenting. Neighbors. Friends. Employers. Classmates. Colleagues. Customers.

Everywhere we go, we form a bond with someone somehow. Some connections are quickly created in passing, while others, like marriage, are made to linger longer. Regardless of the status, all relationships are opportunities to grow and develop as our souls become more like our Heavenly Father.

Scriptures for a Healthy Relationship

In his latest Hank Helps miniseries, inspirational podcaster Hank Smith addresses Scriptures for a Healthy Relationship. In this twelve-part series, Hank discusses select verses from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants that he has found useful in strengthening his own relationships. And, while a lot of the discussion in these episodes revolve around marriage and children, the principles could be applied to any form of relationship in their life that needs a little TLC.

Each episode ranges anywhere from 7-15 minutes long…the PERFECT length for listeners to fit into their already over-scheduled lives.

While these episodes are great to listen to on your own, we highly recommend listening to them with a spouse, parent, adult child, friend, neighbor, or anyone else you might want to improve your relationship with.

These scriptures may look familiar to you; you’ve probably heard most of them before…but you’ll be AMAZED at how Hank Smith takes the familiar verses and sheds so much new insight that can help change your relationships forever!

What Listeners Are Saying

***We created a focus group and let a few people access all of the episodes before they were released. Here are some of their reviews:

Renie: “I thoroughly enjoyed all of these episodes. Hank makes it easy to look inward because of his humility and the examples he shares. He explains why the ideas he puts forth will improve relationships both psychologically, spiritually, physically and emotionally with just the right amount of scientific studies and personal experiences. I appreciate Hank’s vulnerability and the sacred things he shares. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to enjoy this mini series.”
Denise: “I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to listen to this series! So many things sparked thoughts and impressions that I hadn’t had before. I was familiar with all of the scriptures, but several of them had a new light shined on them, and what a great view! I look forward to the improvements that this can make, not only in my relationships, but also in my life on a personal level.”
Holly: “I loved listening to these episodes! I was blown away by how simplistic but profound the thoughts expressed were. I felt extremely uplifted and enjoyed every minute of this series.”
Camie: I wish I could have listened to this 20 years ago when I was a young wife/mother. I would recommend this to everyone I know. I gained a lot of great information to help in all aspects of my life including interacting with family, friends, and co-workers. I have had a few relationships that I have been struggling with the last couple of month and this was very helpful, as it helped me look more inward and see how I can work on myself instead of trying to fix them.

Ready to Listen?

Scriptures for a Healthy Relationships are an exclusive miniseries housed on the Our Turtle House App. Listen to the entire series, beginning here.

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

May 5, 2022September 21, 2024

How to React When Your Missionary Returns Home Early

His son was called to serve full time in the Madagascar mission. Three days before the son was to leave the Missionary Training Center and fly to Madagascar, David and his wife got a phone call to come immediately to pick their son up–he was having a nervous breakdown and was being sent home.

What would their friends and family think? What could they possibly say to help others understand what was happening? Even more importantly, what resources are available to help both themselves and their son understand this challenging experience?

This story is not much different from a myriad of other missionary stories that have come to light in recent years. However, for David T. Morgan, PhD, and his wife, the greatest challenge was that this happened to their son 10 years ago, a time when not a lot of missionaries were actually coming home early. An early release was practically unheard of…and even less talked about.

Six years later, David got a phone call from his fourth son’s mission president in Mexico. He, too, was experiencing some mental health struggles and was being sent home. This time David and his wife were prepared to help support their son and many others through what would be a pivotal point in their son’s life.

What had they learned that made the difference?

Emotional Resilience

Emotional resiliency is the ability to cope with life’s ups and downs, to adapt to stressful situations, to adapt to uncertainty, challenges, and adversity. “At the heart of emotional resilience,” David states, “is learning how to improve because of our trials and not just endure them or get worse because of them.”

In a nutshell, becoming emotionally resilient means you learn to engage with trials, take them head on, and make your way through them. It means learning through your trial, becoming even stronger through your challenge and using that experience in a way that others can learn from you.

An emotionally resilient person learns to discern whether the situations are simply undesirable (meaning they’re just not what you wanted to happen) or whether they’re completely unacceptable (meaning they are morally and ethically wrong). In learning to discern between these two outcomes, you become willing to learn through the challenge or process and put yourself in a place to teach those around you. The more situations we can categorize as undesirable, the better we will be able to cope with life’s difficulties when they come.

Emotional resilience helps us learn how to deal with things as they happen so instead of running and screaming, we say “I can do this, we can make it through this and how can I get stronger as a result of it.”

David and his wife were able to look at the good that this trial could bring to themselves and to their son and use that to teach other people going through similar situations.

Return With Honor

Some young adults can live their entire childhood without having any symptoms of a mental health concern. It is not something they are typically prepared to manage on their own. Many of the youth are called to preach the gospel in foreign countries or new parts of their own country. Surrounded by new cultures and customs, many are easily blindsided when a situation suddenly triggers anxiety, depression, panic attacks compulsive behaviors, or any other disorder.

While many are able to adapt and work their way through the situation, perhaps you’re one of the many who return home to receive some additional support. Whichever scenario you are now in, please note that all faithful missionaries are equally as noble and valiant in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

So, as a returned missionary, what can emotional resilience look like for you? It certainly depends on the individual, their experiences and their own personal needs, but here are some suggestions you might consider:

Acknowledging that you did the best you could and that there is no shame for coming home to take care of a mental health need.
Knowing that perhaps the best thing for you was to come home and receive additional help.
Being proud of the time you served and that you served both valiantly and nobly.
Accepting that what you’ve done and how you served is good enough.
Embracing that whether you are out for two years or two months, the Lord accepts your effort and considers that your mission and you have returned with honor.
Learning to interpret whether your situation is undesirable (just not something you wanted to happen) or absolutely unacceptable.
Remembering that it’s all about becoming who you need to become, not about getting what you want to get.
Stop saying “Why me?” or “My life is over!” Instead, try an affirmation such as “Maybe this really is for my good.” or “This is another opportunity for growth. How can I engage with this?”
Above all, trusting that perhaps the reason Heavenly Father allowed you to be called to the place you were was because He, in all His infinite wisdom, knew that it wasn’t all about the mission; it was more about the fact that someone (maybe even you) had something to learn through the process.

When David’s oldest son came home, he spent a year getting the help he needed and then was reassigned a year later to Chicago. It was here that he met a sister missionary and, after they both completed their missions and returned home, they got married for time and all eternity.

David’s son has become emotionally resilient enough to see now that, even though the events were challenging to go through at the time, he now recognizes that the process led him to an area where he meet his future bride.

God Has a Plan

Whether it’s coming home early from a mission or going through a divorce, losing a loved one or getting your first bad grade on a test, we can all become more emotionally resilient in any difficulty. By applying the suggestions mentioned above, our hearts will be softened and we will create a stronger bond with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

“Remember that God has orchestrated [this situation] just like a good coach on a sports team,” David states. “Perhaps He’s saying, ‘I have a plan for you. I have a way for you to go from where you are now to becoming much, much better by doing this. As long as you follow what I tell you then you’re going to get really good at doing this.’ “

When you are willing to put your faith in God, you will allow a path for the healing power of the Atonement to enter into your life.

And with the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His power to save us, you’ll find that there really aren’t any unacceptable outcomes.

With the Savior’s power, what can break but can’t be fixed?

Nothing. Because, with Him everything can and will be fixed.

▶ Taken from a recent Doing Good Podcast with Carmen Herbert. Listen to the full episode here: Building Emotional Resilience for Life by Dr. David Morgan.

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April 28, 2022September 13, 2024

10 Quotes to Help You Look Beyond Your Present-Day Challenges

Life can be so heavy at times, making it hard to see past the challenges of today. As Latter-Day Saints we try to keep an eternal perspective, knowing that the trials and tribulations we experience today will help us grow into something infinitely better, but the truth is: that can be hard when you’re right in the thick of it all.

There is no doubt that no one has a magic wand to make all the hard stuff disappear, but we certainly lighten each other’s loads simply by finding little ways to help each other look beyond our present-day challenges.

One of our favorite ways is by sharing inspirational quotes that we hope will give you faith in the future and no one is more inspiring than our very own Meg Johnson, so we’ve compiled 10 of our favorite “Meg quotes” from her latest motivational talk Glide Through Life: Looking Beyond Your Present-Day Challenges.

▶ You may also like: Top Ten Motivational Talks by Meg Johnson

“When we show love for the world around us, we can take ourselces from being so sad to the point of tears to so happy to the point of tears. -Meg Johnson

“Sometimes we want to postpone our joy for when a trial is over, but why wait?” -Meg Johnson

“I can still be happy.” -Meg Johnson

“There’s always something to be grateful for.” -Meg Johnson

“Whatever you focus on will grow.” -Meg Johnson

“Heavenly Father, please bless me with love for everything I see.” -Meg Johnson

“We could GLIDE seamlessly through life if we would just be grateful for the things we have.” -Meg Johnson

“On the other side of ‘awful’ you will discover a new you and a new perspective .” -Meg Johnson

“I was as grateful as I could be.” -Meg Johnson

“Why wait until things are over to be happy when you could be happy right now?” -Meg Johnson

All quotes taken from Meg Johnson’s latest full-length talk “Glide Through Life: Looking Beyond Your Present-Day Challenges“. Click here to listen to the full talk with a FREE 7-day trial of the Our Turtle House App.