Jennie and Dave Blaser discuss welcoming young women into the Bishop's office, emphasizing the need to empower youth through Bishop engagement and create a welcoming atmosphere for young women. They explore the personal impact of church leadership and service, highlighting the importance of valuing and involving young women in the church community.

Kayla Shields works as a Certified Personal trainer and Nutrition Coach. She earned an associate's degree from LDS Business College and is now headed back to Ensign College to finish a Finance degree. Her church callings have included Primary teacher, Activity Days leader, Relief Society counselor, and Relief Society president. She recently accepted the best calling in the Church: Primary music leader. Despite Kurt and Kayla's recommendation, we did not title this episode "When Salmonella Forms Friendships". You're welcome. Links “The Atonement Works for Me”: One Couple’s Recovery from Sexual Addiction Unashamed/Unafraid When Being Released Hurts There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here. Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 3:00 Kurt introduces his conversation with Kayla, a recently-released Relief Society president. 4:15 Kayla tells her story of getting called to be the Relief Society president, fear, imposter syndrome, and calling counselors. 9:20 Doing ministering interviews. Take the time to check in with the sisters and see how they are doing and their relationship with God and then you can get to the ministering questions. 11:00 By sharing her story and the hard things that she has been through, Kayla has been able to deepen her connection with the women in Relief Society. 12:45 Ways that Kayla has shared her and her husband’s story of sexual addiction and been vulnerable in her ward. She has decided to remove the shame from it and has found that people have been much more open with her. 15:10 Principle 1 - Acceptance of all 17:10 How Kayla and her presidency did ministering interviews and scheduled them. They decided not to meet with the companionship but have one-on-one meetings. 19:20 Principle 2 - Lean into the awkward 22:10 Working with the bishopric and elders quorum presidency 23:30 Ward counsels, correlation meetings, and personal interviews with the bishop 24:40 Doing monthly activities 27:45 The first year of being president they didn’t call any teachers and had lots of different women teach. 30:00 The overwhelm of organizing the women into ministering routes. Just start and it will work out. 32:30 The shocking grief of being released as the Relief Society president. Kurt shares some advice on ways to still connect to people and gather. 38:00 Kayla shares her final thoughts and testimony of Christ. The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 700 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.

Scharman Grimmer serves as a member of the Young Women General Advisory Council for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has served as stake and ward Primary president; ward Young Women president, Primary and Relief Society counselor, stake Young Women camp director, Sunday School teacher, Seminary teacher, and in Primary as a music leader, teacher, and Nursery leader. Scharman and her husband, Matt, have five children and live in Alpine, Utah. Scharman earned a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in Child and Teen Development from Syracuse University. She currently works as a child and teen development specialist, consulting parents on best developmental and relationship practices and healthy habits in families. Scharman is proud to be from Humble, Texas! Growing up in an area with few members of the Church, she learned valuable lessons as she watched her parents faithfully lead in their ward and stake. Her own experiences as an adult in Texas and New York have given her an appreciation that every member can contribute and is needed. Links Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here. Read the transcript of this podcast Scriptures referenced in this podcast: Acts 8, Acts 3, Doctrine & Covenants 104 Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 3:00 Getting called to be a part of the young women's general advisory council. 5:20 What does Scharman’s calling entail? Council meetings Working groups 7:30 Scharman has a masters degree in child and teen development and has been able to use her degree not only professionally but in her calling and personal life. She works a lot with parents and helps them find holy, healthy habits as a family. 8:50 Her experience in Young Women started as a young woman herself and callings in Young Women in her early twenties. She learned to mentor. 12:00 How can you become a mentor for youth? Scharman shares scriptural examples. 15:45 Leading youth to have covenant relationships. The focus of the Young Men and Young Women programs is to build a foundation on Christ. Gathering to Christ. 17:20 Do what works for the youth. Sometimes you have to switch it up for the group you have. 21:40 Build on Christ as your foundation, gather to Christ, and covenant with Christ. The focus of the youth programs are based on these three things. 22:45 What is an AOA? Area Organization Advisors. Women around the world that are trained by the general presidencies and then take those teachings and minister to the people in their areas. 24:00 How can we get the Young Women and Young Men groups to work together better? 27:20 Studies show that participation in religion as teenagers doesn’t mean belonging. When youth are connected to five or more adult members of their congregation and they feel known, seen, loved, and cared about, their feeling of belonging goes sky high. 30:30 How can we make youth-led activities? They need to be idea generators and the adults are the support team. 33:40 Helping stimulate activities with the youth 38:00 Youth can tell when you are genuine and authentic. Be open with your struggles but be careful of oversharing. 41:00 Helping the youth with emotional resilience. Combining the skills of mental health with the gospel of Jesus Christ’s eternal truths is what is life changing. The Church has an emotional resilience course that is a resource for youth age 16 and older. 46:45 Girls camp. Have a strong group of YCLs. Have youth leaders help pick a scriptural theme. 50:15 Questions that Scharman hears the most How do you balance leaders and the young women speaking in class? How do you work together with the young men’s presidency? 51:45 Scharman’s final thoughts and testimony The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top inde...

Bryan Murray was born and raised in Long Beach, California, served in the Japan Sendai mission, and met his future wife, Kristine Clawson, while attending Brigham Young University when they went skiing together with their home evening group. Bryan attended medical school at the University of Kentucky then completed an internal medicine residency with the UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program. He worked with a small group practice in Payson, Utah, before moving the family to Anacortes, Washington, where he joined a small internal medicine group and helped start a hospitalist program at Island Hospital in Anacortes. Bryan has served in five bishoprics and as bishop of the Anacortes Ward. He retired from medicine in February 2022 and two short months later he and Kristine began a full-time mission as Area Medical Advisor to the North America Northeast Area. They also filled a mission assignment as support to a Young Single Adult branch in the Hingham, Massachusetts Stake. Bryan currently serves as the ward music chairman and Kristine serves as the Relief Society president in the newly-created Fidalgo Island Ward in Anacortes. Bryan and Kristine enjoy spending time with their six children, five in-laws, and 15 grandchildren. As a family they enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking, hiking, sailing, and camping. Links Why Your Ward Needs a Podcast There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts. Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 3:10 Kurt introduces the guest, Bryan Murray. He served as Area Medical Missionary Advisor in Boston, Massachusetts. 5:30 Bryan explains his mission as Area Medical Advisor and some of his responsibilities. 7:40 What led up to Bryan serving a mission with his wife. 11:00 Bryan shares a behind-the-scenes view of what it's like to be a medical advisor for missionaries. What kinds of issues he dealt with. 15:15 When does a missionary need to go home? Can they stay if they have a medical problem? 16:15 Who helps with the missionaries’ mental health? 18:30 A service mission is great for missionaries that are struggling with mental health or medical problems. 19:40 Advice to bishops and stake presidents sending out missionaries that have medical issues. Helping them prepare missionaries for the field. 21:40 Some of Bryan’s wife responsibilities. They had an area assignment as medical advisors but they also had a mission assignment in the Boston mission in a Young Single Adult ward. 23:30 Bryan encourages other medical professionals to do a medical mission. You will have a lot of other experiences beyond medical. 25:30 What Bryan is doing now 26:30 Bryan has created a podcast for his ward. Even though we go to church with each other we really don’t know each other. A ward podcast can help ward members share their lives and stories. 31:00 How leading has brought Bryan to Christ The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 700 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission,

Brett and Kristin Walker, a dynamic couple, discuss applying the 12-Step Program to overcome struggles and connect with Jesus. They explore grace, repentance, and leadership dynamics in Church service, emphasizing the power of support systems. The podcast highlights finding strength in Jesus during adversity and the transformative impact of service and love in sharing the message of Christ.

Professor Steven Rogelberg, a renowned expert in organizational science, discusses practical insights from his book on enhancing meeting effectiveness. Topics include the hidden costs of meetings, leadership strategies, optimizing meeting times, technology utilization, and reimagining meeting dynamics for engagement and productivity.

Josh Coates studied computer science at UC Berkeley and is the executive director of the B.H. Roberts Foundation. Links The Unique Opportunity Local Leaders Have to Encourage Faith Among Latter-day Saint Millennials | An Interview with Jana Riess Josh Coates articles at Deseret News Stephen Cranney articles at Deseret News BH Roberts Foundation Mormonr.org LDSBot There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here. Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 3:20 Introduction to Josh Coates, one of the founders of the B.H. Roberts Foundation and Mormoner. They write short articles on controversial topics. 5:45 Who is B.H. Roberts? Why is the foundation named after him? 9:20 Josh and his foundation began a research project surveying Latter Day Saints. 16:00 Creating the survey in order to have useful data. You have to be very careful when formulating questions. 18:15 What were they looking to find out in the survey? 21:30 It seems like people are leaving the Church in droves. Is that really true? 23:30 They have found that there are two types of Latter-day Saints according to their analysis. Cluster 1 - 80% are pretty orthodox. Follow closely to the commandments and are very active in the Church. Cluster 2 - 20% are scattered in their beliefs even if they identify as Latter-day Saints. 29:40 Millennials are dramatically represented in the 20% of members that have scattered beliefs. We worry about Gen-Z a lot but maybe we are overlooking the millennials. 33:30 The cultural evolution of the Church has improved over the last 20 to 30 years but there have also been things that have eroded the foundation of people’s faith. 34:00 The difference between the different generations in the Church. Why are millennials struggling so much compared to other generations? 35:15 How can leaders better approach or talk to millennials? Separating policy and doctrine. 39:30 The data that Josh found on marriage and divorce in the Church. They found that temple marriages are a big deal. 42:00 Research on moral foundation theory. The five foundational values that go into making a decision: Will it hurt someone? Is it fair? Loyalty Authority Purity 52:00 The survey data on LGBTQ members of The Church of those that have left The Church and their view on marriage 54:30 Resources and places to go to find out more about Josh’s work. 56:00 Josh’s encouragement to Church leaders The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 700 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.

Sahr Doe found the Church when he was eight years old but could not be baptized until he was 13. His mission was delayed due to the Sierra Leone civil war, and at age 21 he was called into his Young Men presidency. He was then among the first missionaries to attend the Accra Ghana Missionary Training Center, and served in the Nigeria Lagos/Ibadan mission where he was an assistant to the mission president for 12 months. Two weeks after his mission he returned to the Ghana MTC as a tutor and driver for 18 months. Sahr served as district high counselor in the Freetown Sierra Leone district before being called as counselor in the district presidency. He then served as administrative assistant to the mission president of the Ghana Accra mission, Sierra Leone zone, while working as physical facilities manager for Sierra Leone. On his release from the district presidency, Sahr was called as the elders quorum president in his branch, then as branch president. He left to attend Brigham Young University-Hawaii for one semester, without his wife and son, but had an accident while working at the Polynesian Cultural Center and returned to Sierra Leone. He then started a construction company and was called as the secretary to the mission presidency, then as counselor to the mission president. When the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak sent the mission president, senior couples, and missionaries to Ghana, Sahr stayed as acting assistant to the president. He later assisted with orienting new mission leaders to the country and was called again as counselor to the president. In 2016 he was involved in a serious accident that left him partially paralyzed, and in 2017 was released from the mission presidency and called as secretary to the Area Seventy. He currently serves on the Kossoh Town stake high council. Links There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts. Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 2:45 Kurt introduces Sahr Doe and his background. 4:40 Sahr shares his conversion story. He was baptized at 13-years-old. He has been a member since 1993. 6:30 Making the decision to serve a mission and the civil war in Sierra Leone 7:50 What the church is like now in Sierra Leone in 2024 10:00 Sahr’s leadership callings 12:40 Getting called as branch president 14:00 Responsibilities while serving in the mission presidency 16:15 Working with the young missionaries and teaching them that with a willing heart nothing is impossible. 19:50 Sahr’s advice to missionaries that will go to serve in his country 20:55 Sahr is currently serving on the high council. He describes some of his responsibilities. 21:30 Being grateful amidst the challenges that present the people in Sierra Leone 24:00 Find an excuse to win no matter what you are going through. 27:30 You are in control of your pain. 29:30 Sahr shares a powerful leadership experience. When Sahr overlooked a man for a calling the Lord reminded him that whom the Lord calls, He qualifies. 33:50 More leadership stories and things Sahr learned from them 36:00 The principle of listening. Listen to people as our Heavenly Father listens to our prayers. 39:40 Great followers become great leaders and great leaders become great followers The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III,

Dean Nate Sharp talks about mentoring bishops, hopeful repentance, and making sacrament meetings Christ-centered. He emphasizes the role of stake presidents in guiding youth through the repentance process with optimism and support. The podcast also explores Jesus as the ultimate advocate and breaks down the dangers of viewing one's relationship with Him transactionally.

Julie Hillyard shares insights on teaching the gospel, working with Dr. Covey, and engaging youth in Sunday School discussions. Topics include strategies for promoting engaging conversations, adapting to online classes, and fostering a supportive atmosphere in teaching. Reflects on impactful conversations and encourages sharing episodes for teaching improvement.