Latter-day Saint MissionCast

Ben Arkell (Guest - Left) and Nick Galieti (host - right) Hello and greetings from Cartagena, Colombia in South America. This episodes guest is Ben Arkell. He runs a few different  LDS and Missionary-based Facebook groups, including the Preach My Gospel Facebook group, and web properties like Mormon Light. He talks about how he is accounting for a dry wall installer for his day job, but how he has been able to use internet technology to spread the gospel throughout the world.  He also has some really fun stories about his own mission to Panama, something about poop eating fish (yeah, you read right). Click here to visit the Mormon Light YouTube Channel. Before I move on, I want to point out something that some of you might be missing. On our website, LDSMissionCast.com is a blog where we have letters sent in from missionaries who appeared as guests on our podcast before leaving for the missions, and are now serving missions. If you haven’t subscribed to our blog, you can do that and get the latest news from these missionaries each week. One highlight I wanted to share with you came from Elder Tanner Bennett serving in Taiwan. One week he reported that they had 14 investigators in his area, the next week 17 active investigators, he tells of a family that prayed together to find out if they should be baptized, the next week he reports that they accepted the invitation and will be baptized in a couple weeks. It is so empowering to see that in these parts of the world where the gospel is relatively young, the work is expanding and moving forward. We will be adding new missionary reports from all over the world over time. So stay locked in to the LDS MissionCast blog to read some of these fantastic stories and to see pictures of missionary work going on around the world. Music from this episode comes from our main guest, Ben Arkell’s daughter, The Piano Gal. The Piano Gal - Provided Music for this episode. We have a Latter-Day Lives segment from Shawn Rapier and the Latter-day Lives podcast with his guest entrepreneur and influencer in his own way, Jimmy Rex. Then I am going to end with a story from my short time in Cartagena Colombia and the many ways we can recognize the hand of the Lord in bringing the gospel throughout the world. Jimmy Rex - Latter-day Lives Segment guest - at Machu Picchu. I travel from time to time with my day job in the Simultaneous Interpretation industry.  This time a convention has brought me to a part of the world that is new to me. I first arrived in Bogotá, then I flew here to Cartagena where I am working for the week. I have never been to any part of South America, and I have found it to be an interesting place. New cultures, new landscapes being in the Andes Mountains it has been interesting to see their difference from the Rocky Mountains. It is summer in Utah where I live which means that it is around 75 degrees Fahrenheit at night, and around the high 90’s and low 100’s. Here, people are wearing winter jackets when it hits 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This was what I saw in the middle of January in Hawaii. Some people see 70 degrees as cold enough to wear a jacket. I was standing there in shorts, sandals, and t-shirt basking in the comfort of such a refreshing temperature. There was such a difference of experience when it came to something as simple and common as temperature. What feels incredible to me, was cold to others. Cathedral Walled City Cartagena, Colombia Sanctuary of San Pedro Claver and Church - Walled City Cartagena Clock tower - Cartagena Walled City When I told people, including my mother I was coming to Colombia, specifically Cartagena, all I heard was drugs this, cocaine, heroin, you name it. It was as if Colombia was only known for one thing to people, illegal drugs and cartels. Now, I am not so ignorant to say that such things aren’t happen. This country is also one of the worst when it comes to Child Sex trafficking.

James Goldberg (guest-left) and Nick Galieti (host-right) Have you ever wanted to know the history of the country where you have been called to serve? This weeks episode features James Goldberg here to talk about a cool new project he is working on with the Church History Department; something that can be a fun tool for those preparing or those that have come back from missions. He also shares some of his experiences serving a mission in what used to be East Germany, and teaching people who over came the religious persecutions that were in place under communist rule. He has some really fun information to share.  After that we have Kori Andrews as our guest in our Latter-day Lives segment with Shawn Rapier. For those of you that don’t listen yet to the Latter-day Lives podcast, repent! Shawn just released his 52nd episode to mark his one year mark for the Latter-day Lives podcast. His guest on that episode was Kori Andrews which some of you might know as the founder of Hi-Five Live on Facebook. Click here to listen to the full interview with Kori Andrews on Latter-day Live. Shawn Rapier (left) and Kori Andrews (right) from our Latter-day Lives segment. Congratulations to Shawn and the Latter-day Lives podcast for one year of their show. Thank you for listening to LDS MissionCast, we hope you enjoy this episode. Make sure to follow LDS MissionCast on Facebook and Instagram. Links from this episode: High Five Live on Facebook To download the Gospel Library App, click here. To read the Global History section of the Gospel Library App take the following steps: Open the App, the navigate to the Church History section. From there you will find the item titled "Global History." In that section you will find the different countries that have been covered by the project. There will be new countries added all the time.

Geoffrey Allen (via FaceTime) This week's episode is a listener generated story that involves a convert, an MTC Missionary from the Mormon.org referral center, a ministering Stake President, and so much more. This episode shows the perpetual motion that missionary work can have throughout the world. I received this email from recent convert, Geoffrey Allen, that reads: "I listened to your most recent podcast with Sister Bringhurst and loved it. At one point I thought I was going to get a good story about the MTC missionaries, but she didn't have one. I'd love to hear one, as the MTC missionaries from mormon.org played a vital role in my conversion 188 days ago. I'm still in contact with that missionary, now returned. I have an odd story that I believe is a testament to Heavenly Father's Divine Guidance and includes both MTC and field missionaries. I probably make it much longer than it needs to be, but I believe the MTC missionary who helped bring me to conversion has an exceptional story to tell that includes illness, missed missionary callings, and early returns. If you'd like to talk to her I'd be happy to ask her. She has quite the story and is a very special person. My family is lucky to have "met" her.” Sister Emma Wageman - During cancer treatment Sister Emma Wageman - Post Cancer Treatment Nick Galieti (host) and Sister Emma Wageman (guest) I exchanged a few more emails and spent some time arranging the multiple guests that we have on this show. We will first hear from the man that sent this email to me, Geoffrey Allen, to get his inspiring conversion story. Following Brother Allen, we will hear from Sister Emma Wageman, the missionary referred to in his email who has an incredible story of her own, that fills out this wonderful example of the hand of the Lord guiding this work. Finally, we will hear from Geoffrey’s Stake President, David Holland who is just one of the many people that have played a part in bringing Geoffrey into the church. It was a joy to learn of this story and I hope you are able to find inspiration in us sharing that story in this episode of the podcast. Stake President and Harvard Divinity School Professor - David F. Holland Thank you for listening to LDS MissionCast, we hope you enjoyed this episode. Make sure to followLDS MissionCast on Facebook and Instagram. Stay tuned, and thank you so much for listening to this episode of LDS MissionCast.

Shawn Rapier and Daren Smith This weeks episode is a joint effort with our friend Shawn Rapier from the Latter-day Lives podcast. We both interview Daren Smith, a tv and film producer, a fellow sound guy (like me) and the creator of a unique way missionaries can approach their personal study of the Book Of Mormon (can you say Daily Mormon Email?). In our interview you will learn about Daren’s missionary service, as well as some of the spirit of missionary work that was part of his producing efforts on the BYUTv show - Relative Race. We also talk about his mission experiences in Washington DC, and so much more. I want to also encourage you to go to Latterdaylives.com and listen to Shawn’s interview with Daren. Each and every Monday Shawn starts your week off with great uplifting life sketches of these wonderful people who do amazing things and who happen to be members of the church. It’s like Meet the Mormons in podcast form. Daren tells some different experiences from his life that can also help to serve and inspire you. Click here to sign up for Daren Smith's Daily Mormon email list. In our Latter-day Lives segment this episode, Shawn Rapier talks with Q. Bryce Randle who is an editor and TV producer, who works with with Disney Animatioon, and worked on other shows like Yo Gabba Gabba, The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and so much more. Bryce Randle’s full interview with the Latter Day Lives Podcast is also pretty amazing. Shawn Rapier and Q. Bryce Randle One of the overarching themes of this podcast, I hope, is that there are so many ways that we can do and support missionary work all around us, no matter where we are at. A few years back now, President Monson lowered the age that missionaries can go into the field, and I believe it was the following general conference, President Monson invited the members to donate to the missionary program of the church to support a huge surge in missionaries going out into the field. Like some of you, I felt the desire to heed the prophets call to action, but I am not a wealthy man. I am grateful to provide what I do for my family, but that leaves me with almost nothing left each month. So in order to do what I could to sustain the prophet I had the idea to write a book, and to get others to help write a book that we would sell and then use the proceeds to donate to the missionary program of the church. So we did. It took a couple years to come out, but it is out and I wanted to bring it to everyone’s attention as all the proceeds go to the missionary program of the church. The book is called D&C 4: A Lifetime of Study in Discipleship. This book features short essays from a number of scholars, historians, my bishop at the time even has an essay in there, as well as others who have some great insights into Section 4 of the D&C. While it is just 7 short verses, President Joseph Fielding Smith said that Section 4, “contains sufficient counsel and instruction for a lifetime of study...It is as broad, as high and as deep as eternity.” With that in mind each essay tackles a different approach to those 7 verses. D&C4 and the relief society, D&C 4 and the Family, there is even an essay on applying the lessons in D&C 4 to addiction recovery. There is over 200 pages on these 4 verses of scripture including the most in-depth history on the section ever written by Russell Stevenson, a previous guest on the podcast. For more information, or to buy a copy, visit 4behold.org. It makes for a great gift for a missionary preparing to serve, on a mission, or someone who has come home. There is so much more to this section that we may initially realize and I hope you decide to check it out and support the missionary program in the mean time. Thank you to Shawn for his regular contributions to this podcast, and I do hope you go check out the interview he does with Daren as well as all his other wonderful interviews at LatterdayLives.com.

Welcome to the LDS MissionCast a podcast to educate and inspire in the great cause of Missionary Work. Returning Home From a Full Time Mission Jason (left) and Julienne (right) Bringhurst - A father and daughter pair of return missionaries and guests for this episode of LDS MissionCast Missionaries go out on missions and they come home from missions. In a previous episode of the LDS MissionCast, we interviewed Kathleen Sheffield and talked about this idea of reacculturation of missionaries after coming home. Today we have our first recently returned missionary in Julienne Bringhurst. She served a mission in Omaha, Nebraska and, at the time of our interview, she had only been home for 4 weeks. As anyone who has served can tell you, 4 weeks is still in that time frame where adjusting to non-fulltime proselyting is a challenge. Julienne shares some of her favorite mission stories, as well as some of the challenges that she has faced in that reacculturation process. We also have her father Jason Bringhurst who shares what he is doing as a parent to help ease that transition as well.  Jason is also dedicated listener to the show. He shared our interview with Dusty Smith on his blog and has some insights to share as part of how he has shared the gospel online through his blog Rocky Mountain Sunshine. I kind of sprung the interview on Jason in asking him about his experience sharing our Dusty Smith podcast on his blog, and how some of that experience has informed his own brand of missionary work online. Megan Bryant, guest on our Latter-day Lives Segment Following their interview we have a Latter-day Lives segment from Shawn Rapier where he talks with comedian, and keynote speaker, Megan Bryant.   We each have different experiences coming home from full-time missionary service. Often times the missionary is changed far more than the people “back home” have changed. In that sense, time seems to take on a whole new meaning. Life takes on a new lens through which we view the people around us. When I first mentioned to some people in the missionary department of the church that I wanted to put on this podcast and get some feedback on the idea, I was told by one individual that the greatest need that the missionary department is facing right now, is keeping missionaries active upon coming home. The adjustment process is more than just changing your schedule, and daily routines. Coming home from a mission and staying active is as important as going on a mission in the first place. We should seek to find ways to do both with honor. In future episodes we will be spending a great deal of time talking about the challenges to coming home from a mission as it is so vitally important. So, stay tuned, and thank you so much for listening to this episode of LDS MissionCast.

In this discussion, Ben Spackman, an eclectic historian with a deep understanding of ancient scripture and religious history, shares insights on using the Bible effectively in missionary work. He critiques the common practice of proof texting, highlighting its pitfalls and advocating for a richer, contextual understanding of scripture. Spackman explores how different faith traditions interpret the Bible, urging missionaries to build bridges and embrace deeper comprehension of texts. His expertise encourages thoughtful dialogue over simple doctrinal assertions.

David Geens Back on the 22nd of May, 2018, I received an email from David Geens, a listener to the podcast in Belgium. He told me a little bit about his experience in coming into the church, and how an early calling as branch mission leader in his branch in Belgium prompted him to start using social media to generate referrals for the missionaries in his mission. His successes with his approach brought on the attention of the mission president, and then on to the Area Presidency in Europe. Today, some 7 years since being baptized, Brother Geens has a calling coordinating digital missionary work for his part of the Lord’s Vineyard producing literally thousands of referrals for the missionaries each year. Click here to listen to David's Mormon Podcast (hint: Its in Dutch, so brush up to get the full effect.) In this episode he tells us his compelling conversion story, some of his experiences in the church in a small branch, and how we can follow his footsteps in generating thousands of referrals for the missionaries in our various areas of the world. It was so cool to have a Skype interview with someone on the other side of the planet, yet feel so connected in this great cause of missionary work. He also tells the story when his efforts resulted in a personal invitation to meet with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder M. Russell Ballard and David Geens - Belgium It was incredibly rewarding for me to do this interview and to hear the nice things he was saying about our podcast. As a podcaster, we don’t always get a large audience. Its not easy. Radio stations that produce their content have a staff of people to produce a show, where most podcasters have to do on their own. So, when you add up the amount of work that goes into doing a podcast, the fact that most of us aren’t getting paid to put these together, and that we are doing this by ourselves, sometimes there arises some doubt as to if it is all worth the effort. The fact that someone in Belgium was able to hear and be inspired to reach out and share their story with us, then to hear all those nice things he was saying at the end, was such a reward for me. Its also a lesson for all of us. We really don’t know sometimes the impact of what we do, nor is seeing the results of our actions the only reason that we should be doing them. But, as was the case here, it is always a nice reward and blessing to see some good come of all the hard work. I made a new friend through the gospel of Jesus Christ that I would have not likely have met in any other way. David Geens in Salt Lake City Temple Visitors Center So, thank you so much for listening to this episode of LDS MissionCast. Remember, you can listen to this episode, or any of our past episodes at LDSMissionCast.com The Herreys were the Mormon Band that was mentioned in the interview with David. These boys were proud of their membership in the church, so much so that they inspired David's wife to get a Book of Mormon. That same book was later given to her husband, David, who then joined the church (and then joined our podcast.) This was their hit song, Diggiloo Diggiley.

Chelsea Woodruff, President of B'Nai Shalom - www.mormonsandjews.org Welcome to the LDS MissionCast a podcast to educate and inspire in the great cause of Missionary Work. In a previous episode, episode #2 of the podcast, we had on Dr. Daniel Peterson to talk about things missionaries and members should know about Islam. A good part of missionary work is meeting and building a relationship with individuals of other faiths. Today’s interview will be with Chelsea Woodruff, who is President of an organization called B’Nai Shalom, that can be found and the website mormonsandjews.org. This group was founded as a fellowshipping organization for those individuals who came into the church from a Jewish background. She helps us to learn some wonderful things about the faith traditions and teachings that have informed LDS Theology, as well as helping to correct some teachings or statements that have been perpetuated that can be hurtful to believe, let alone share with others. B'Nai Shalom on YouTube B'Nai Shalom on Facebook   Nick's reflections on this episode: In an episode of the LDS Perspectives podcast with Gale Boyd on Jewish Holy Days, I learned something that has helped me shift my way of looking at the Law of Moses. Gale spent years in Jerusalem among the people absorbing their rich cultural traditions. One of the things that she shared in that podcast is how the people interpreted what we referred to as the Law of Moses, particularly the part where we talk about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, etc. I tried to allude to this in the interview, but felt like we didn’t really focus on this interpretation at the time, which is fine, but it is worth sharing here. The Law of Moses is often made a caricature by saying that when a person blinds someone their punishment is that they must also loose their eye site. In other words, what ever you do to someone is done back at you. While this might help deter some from doing harm to another, it somewhat misses the spirit of that law, which is what Jesus came to restore back and to fulfill when he came to Earth.   Gale shared how some of the people in Jerusalem see this law and say, if I have done something to cause you to loose your eyesight, then I promise to become your eyes. If I do something to bring injury to your livestock, I don’t harm my livestock, but I provide for that person in the way that livestock would have provided for their family, be it meat, milk, income, etc. See, the Law of Moses’s original intent was to help foster love of God and love of our neighbor. Taking this approach allows us to see the repentance process where individuals make restitution for the wrongs they have committed. This is less about revenge and justice, and more about love, redemption, and restitution. Not only are individuals sufficiently deterred from doing harm to others, but this also fosters a spirit of community, of forgiveness, and responsibility to each other--Zion. Thank you for listening to this episode of LDS MissionCast. Our numbers are growing, but we would still love for you to share this podcast with your friends or anyone you think that would enjoy it. Remember, you can listen to this episode, or any of our past episodes at LDSMissionCast.com Subscribe to our podcast at this page on any of the major podcasting platforms.

Jacob Pinkston - Episod 18 guest (LDS MissionCast) This episode is about Early Return Missionaries (ERM's), through the story of Jacob Pinkston. Jacob's story, in some ways is also a story shared by a number of missionaries who struggle with mental and emotional health issues prior to mission service, as well as navigating the expectations many feel with regards to serving a full 18 or 24 months in a proselyting mission. This is a longer interview, but we share it because it is an important story about the landscape that so many have to navigate in preparing to serve a mission. The music for this episode comes from Jordan James, our guest Jacob’s, younger brother. You can find his music and his videos on Facebook. Next episode we will an interview with a little known group you have probably never heard of--B’nai Shalom. This is a group is is a resource for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or those even investigating the church, that come from a jewish ancestry, or from one of the jewish faiths. The president of that organization will join me for a discussion you won’t want to miss. Thank you for listening each and every week. Our numbers are growing, but we would still love for you to share LDS MissionCast with your friends or anyone you think that would enjoy it. Remember, you can listen to this episode, or any of our past episodes at LDSMissionCast.com as well as subscribe to the podcast using one of many podcasting platforms or apps. Music for this episode comes from Jordan James

Russell Stevenson - Author of "For The Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013 Welcome to the LDS MissionCast a podcast to educate and inspire in the great cause of Missionary Work. This episode is all about Race and the Mormon Church. Some of the episodes of the LDS MissionCast feature content for those preparing to serve a full-time mission, some episodes are directed towards those that have returned home, or are wanting to be more inspired in member-missionary work. Episodes like this one are unique in that we occasionally need to take the time to learn the gospel, to learn our history better, so that we can better members of the church, better ministers to those around us. On June 1st, 2018 there will be a celebration in the conference center in Salt Lake City, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1978 revelation on the Priesthood, or Official Declaration #2. This could rightly be called the restoration of the opportunity for priesthood ordination to all worthy males, and the opportunity for all people to receive all temple blessings regardless of race or color. It is common for people to feel marginalized or to hold issue with a past policy of the church that was in place, and this is certainly an issue that missionaries in the field face on a semi-regular basis. In an effort to explain or even justify this policy, it is also common for members of the church to say things about this issue that are either wrong, possibly hurtful, incorrect, you name it. So we will spend some time in this episode learning the history, and coming to some understanding of this often controversial topic. I know in the south on my mission this issue of race and the LDS Church came up on a regular basis and was something I had to face almost every week. The information that will be shared by our guest today is vitally important in our society, if we are going to be successful in building bridges and bringing souls unto Christ and His church. Our guest, Russell Stevenson, has dedicated years of his life to the study and understanding of the issues surrounding Race and the Mormon Church. He talks about how his mission experience inspired this work, and informs much of what he does in his academic studies. Other sources for this episode: Race and the Priesthood Essay @ LDS.org Black Mormon: The Story of Elijah Ables by Russell Stevenson Latter-day Lives Segment features Shawn Rapier who interviews Brittany Whiscombe, the director and producer of the upcoming "In Emma's Footsteps" movie. She tells are great story of how not all missionary stories go the storybook way. Shawn Rapier and Brittany Whiscombe in Emmas Footsteps