Changing Church Culture by Gathering the Saints

Jacob Hansen grew up immersed in and passionate about ideas about the world. He grew up near Sparks, Nevada, in a blue-collar family with parents who now serve as a State Senator and in the Nevada State Assembly. He served a Church mission to Argentina and attended both Brigham Young University and BYU-Hawaii, graduating with a degree in Operations/Supply Chain Management. He then partnered with another recent-grad to start a company that continues to grow. Jacob married his college sweetheart, Erica, and they have four children. He loves just about anything that takes him on an adventure. Links

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What Every Bishop Needs to Understand About Betrayal Trauma

Ashly Leavitt has an associate degree in theatre and music, a bachelor's degree in broadcast communications, and a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. After a 10-year career as an educator, Heavenly Father made it clear that He wanted her to shift to counseling and specialize in betrayal trauma recovery, relationship repair, and divorce recovery. Ashly loves helping those who have experienced betrayal trauma to discover and reconnect with themselves again. As a co-founder of Rejoice! Recovery, she enjoys using her educator and counselor experiences together to create classes on healing and relationships, leading discussions on boundaries, and co-hosting the podcast, Phoenix Forte: Connecting to Healing and Joy After Divorce. You can catch Ashly presenting at conferences and retreats. On Sunday, you'll find her serving in her all-time-favorite calling as a Relief Society instructor. Ashly has previously served in Primary and Young Women's Presidencies, but she's been honored to serve by teaching Relief Society in multiple wards over the last 12 years. However, Ashly’s biggest accomplishment is managing to survive as a single mom of two. During her free time (if such a thing exists) you would find Ashly supporting the local theatre scene, playing board games with friends and family, participating in the Lamb of God Easter production on Temple Square, and laughing with her kids while they dance in the kitchen together. Links

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Tragedy in the Holy Land: What Can We Do?

Ever since October 7th, we’ve been wanting to better understand the conflict in Israel and Gaza and how we as Latter-day Saints can be good neighbors and friends to everyone impacted by it. We know there are no easy answers. Our guest this week, BYU Hawaii professor Chad Ford, has been working on peacemaking initiatives in the region for several decades and acknowledges the very real fear people involved in this conflict feel: that peace isn’t going to happen in their lifetime.

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Excommunicated as a Bishop and Finding His Way Back

In this episode, Dave Higham shares how during his 3rd time serving as a bishop in the LDS church, he was excommunicated for 5 years. This led to the painful loss of his marriage and many friends, strained family relationships, and guilt for the consequences of his actions and the effect they had on others. But even through the darkness and pain, Dave has hope for the future and is looking forward to be being rebaptized.  His difficult battle has helped him to have empathy for other's who have gone through this difficult process, and hopes that by going through this experience that he can in some way help to encourage others to find their way back.

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Operating From Abundance with Your Adult Children

We all have dreams and expectations of the relationships we will have with our children when they become adults. But far too often, they don’t follow the script we have for those dreams and we find ourselves feeling like the relationships we have with them are out of control and lacking in so many ways. Coach Brooke Oniki is on the podcast today to share how the relationships we have with our adult children can be abundant, full, and better than we ever dreamed in the first place. We just have to relax and be patient. We have to have faith in the relationship we built with them when they lived with us.

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Removing Shame from a Gospel of Grace

Richie T. Steadman is a radio host, producer, actor, and founder of the Latter-day Saint podcast, “The Cultural Hall”, where he has been entertaining and informing since 2011. Richie worked for 16 years as the producer of the popular Utah radio show, “Radio from Hell”. He served a mission in Cleveland, Ohio, and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Richie T’s interests extend far beyond the studio—he’s passionate scholar of Mormon history and a dedicated husband. In this podcast, Richie T interviews Kurt Francom about his book, Is God Disappointed in Me?, and they talk about how we can teach and lead without creating shame.

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The Secrets of Exceptional Parents

Does being an ‘exceptional’ parent mean you never make mistakes and always know exactly what to say? Maybe the ‘secret’ is being more focused on love, respect, and encouragement rather than coercion or criticism. Discover practical strategies to help you nurture resilient children, foster their growth, and build a home environment filled with warmth, support, and understanding.

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2 Nephi 3-5: Part 1

How do we address difficult topics in the scriptures? Dr. Jan Martin explores the importance of record-keeping and covenant-keeping throughout trials.

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Slowing Down by 5%

Thomas Wirthlin McConkie is an author, developmental researcher and meditation teacher. As a teenager, he met his first teacher and has been practicing for over 25 years under masters in the traditions of Sufism, Buddhism and Christian contemplation, among others. Thomas is the founder of Lower Lights School of Wisdom, a nonprofit organization committed to sharing ancient and modern teachings from the world’s Wisdom traditions. He is currently researching and writing on the topic of transformative spiritual practice at Harvard Divinity School. He lives with his wife, two kids, and rescue dog.

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