LeadingLDS Podcast

Angie Young is a mother of 3 young girls and serves as a Young Women President, just outside of Ogden in Clinton, Utah. She was married in the Salt Lake Temple to her husband that she met online.  When asked what makes her a unique Mormon, she says, “Her time away from the church in her early youth, gives her a unique perspective on the gospel.”  She currently works from home in addition to being a mom, and has makeup line called, “Younique.” 5 Key Leadership Principles * You gotta have love (11:25) * Overcomes  the challenge of having a large group of children * Know their story (11:55) * When you know about them it’s easier to love them and apply them to the program. * Love them through their challenges * 13:15 use social media to contact them * Anytime you know of something to encourage or support them * 14:16 Be with them, be true and connected with them in the minute. * Getting to know you activity (15:08) * Write numbers on a beach ball then play music.  When the music stops, which ever number your right thumb is closest to it corresponds with a question.  The girl with the ball answers the question along with anyone else who would like to.  Quirky questions are the best.  An example is, “If your life was a book, what would the title be?” * Making Fudge in ziplock bags. * Do as I do (17:33) * Never ask the girls to do something you won’t do yourself.  An example of this is a service project at girls camp. * “In the middle, hands on leader.” * 18:48 Bubblegum pink cowboy outfit * Feelings (20:40) * “It doesn’t matter if the girls like me or if they don’t, it only matters how they feel around me.” * My goals it to have them feel the spirit, to feel important, and to feel like they matter. (21:40) * It takes a village (22:25) * As a leadership team, together we have everything we need. * Recognize unique talents in each other. * Presidency meets every other week and once a month with the class advisers and personal progress specialist * Meet at around the circle table to talk. * Working with the Bishop (28:55) * They have always had her back and trusts her.   A big thanks to Buster Summerhays for writing up this summary.

Tithing settlement is, no doubt, a busy time of year for not only the bishop but for the bishopric. Thousands of wards and branches around the world will all make it happen starting October 15 and so it would be helpful to share notes and find the best approach to tithing settlement. In this episode 5 bishops or bishopric members share how their ward approaches tithing settlement. They each share some great ideas that can improve you efficiency to tithing settlement this year. We will build on this episode each year and add additional tithing settlement ideas. If you would like to share your approach in order to help other wards better execute tithing settlement, please contact us and we will give you further details. Links: How I Lead: Brandon Leavitt How I Lead: Mark Sieverkropp How I Lead: Nathan Waldron How I Lead: Marco Ferrini Tithing Settlement Tear Off Schedule Tithing Settlement in 2 Days Quotes about Tithing A Prerequisite to Higher Ordinances Tithing is one of the many standards that allows us to receiving saving ordinances. Brigham Young wrote in an epistle of the Quorum of the Twelve: “Enter steadily and regularly upon a strict observance of the law of tithing … then come up to the House of the Lord, and be taught in his ways, and walk in his paths.” (History of the Church, 7:282.) Elder Taylor then taught: “It is our duty to pay our tithing, one-tenth of all we possess, and then one-tenth of our increase, and a man who has not paid his tithing is unfit to be baptized for his dead. … It is our duty to pay our tithing. If a man has not faith enough to attend to these little things, he has not faith enough to save himself and his friends.” (History of the Church, 7:292–93; italics added.) The Lord’s Revenue System Tithing is the Lord’s revenue system, and He requires it of the people, not because He is lacking in gold or silver, but because [we] need to pay it. … The prime … purpose behind the establishment of the law of the tithe is the development of the soul of the tithe-payer, rather than the providing of revenue. The latter is an all-important purpose, for so far as money is needed for the carrying on of the work of the Church the Lord requires money that is sanctified by the faith of the giver; but blessings beyond estimate … are assured unto him who strictly conforms to the law of the tithe because the Lord hath so commanded.” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1924, pp. 528–29) A Test of Faith “I think when people say they haven’t money enough to pay tithing, they should say they haven’t faith enough to pay tithing. It is my conviction that we pay tithing with faith and not with money, because when a man has so much money that he has a large tithing, he can’t pay tithing. He has too much money and too little faith to pay tithing, and just feels he can’t afford it.” (Improvement Era, June 1953, pp. 435–36.) George Q Cannon How Much Tithing to Pay? The law of tithing was given to the whole Church. The First Presidency has written what the law of tithing is for us today: “The simplest statement we know of is the st...

Most bishoprics that have been set-apart longer than a few weeks will know the feeling of trying to read the mind of the speaker at the lectern that has gone over their allotted speaking time by a few minutes. “Do they not realize their time is up? It sort of sounds like they are concluding their remarks. But he said he would be sharing a list of 7 analogies and I think he is only on number 4. But look at the clock, I’m sure he realizes his time is up.” Before the bishop knows it, the speaker has carried on and now the meeting is almost over, and there is still a 15 minute talk standing by. With only 5 minutes left in the meeting everything will feel rushed and there is little room for the Spirit to settle. This is a tough situation, especially if you have little experience presiding over a meeting. The reality is, most members of the Church are inexperienced when it comes to public speaking. They tend to over prepare because they don’t want their message to sound shallow or be too short. When a member of the bishopric asks them to speak for 10 or 15 minutes that feels like an eternity to them. After spending weeks preparing they think their outline will take 10 minutes to deliver but it will actually take 25 minutes. The task of putting a well-rounded outline together hasn’t left them any time to practice to see how long the talk will actually last. Their nervousness is generally magnified once they stand at the lectern and they fail to ever look at the clock to pace themselves. They have one mission: get through their outlines and then sit down. They then plow through their 25 minutes of notes and sit down not realizing they have been unintentionally disrespectful to the other speakers and to the audience. This inexperience causes the bishop to sweat, the other speakers to become frazzled since they now have to cut down their talk, and the audience is more distracted by the sideshow of everyone stressing out on the stand. An in-depth discussion took place in the LeadingLDS Helpers Facebook group about this topic (yes, you should join this group). Many noted how difficult it is to be that concluding speaker when the previous speaker takes up all of your time. Others talked about the agenda gymnastics the bishopric has to do in order to conclude the meeting on time, including skipping the intermediate hymn or musical number, asking the concluding speaker to simply bear a testimony, or just riding it out while the Sunday School teachers glare at the bishop. After reading the discussion in the LeadingLDS Helpers group the solution is found in two simple priorities: (1) bishopric preparation and communication, and (2) having the presiding authority ask someone to pass a note to the speaker reminding them that their time is up. Bishopric Preparation & Communication As the old proverb goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I would encourage any bishopric or ward council to review the article 3 Tips For Bishoprics That Lead to Better Sacrament Meeting Speakers. This article includes great tips on how a bishopric could effectively prepare and communicate to potential sacrament meeting speakers instructions that would lead to more spiritual meetings, or using a term from Elder Bednar, more spiritual revelatory experiences. In short, the bishopric or presiding authority could communicate quickly with the member prior to the meeting and simply emphasize that the purpose of the meeting should be focused on the Savior and His gospel, and clarify when they expect them to conclude their remarks. Gently Tell Them Their Time is Up There is something awkward about passing the speaker a no...

David Deford has an amazing story. Born and raised in Indiana David became involved with various drugs that contributed to his leaving home during college (without telling his parents). He experienced glimmers of God’s love during this time and ultimately met his wife, Kathy, when he picked her up as she was hitchhiking. They were introduced to the Church while hitchhiking cross-country and through God’s grace received answers to their prayers and they chose to be baptized. After several months, they did exactly that. Three years later, at the age of 22, David was called as bishop of the ward in Lexington, Kentucky. As bishop, he focused on the youth—including attending seminary, youth conference and girls’ camp–and put the best people he could in youth leadership positions. He even released one of his counselors to serve as Young Men President! Later, as branch president of a small branch in Wahoo, Nebraska where there were only two youth, he thought creatively and, through the stake president, called other young members of the stake to attend church in Wahoo. David also served as branch president of a Sudanese refugee branch and had the opportunity to teach self-reliance. Serving with people who came from very violent backgrounds, David faced death threats and other unique situations where he learned a lot. While service as social media and public affairs representative, David trained other leaders how to use social media to help in missionary work and to benefit the church. David now serves as bishop again in Omaha, Nebraska where he lives with his wife. 5 Leadership Principles: * Shake it up – intentionally break with traditions * Treat the Ward Council as Senior Executives – trust their revelation as leaders of the ward * Focus less on Sunday business and more on Sunday worship – leaders need to be in class where they can worship with the other members of the ward * Focus on the Youth (Adults can take care of themselves) – listen & ask questions during * Let Counselors and Councils handle the organization; focus on ministering – leaders need to know they can make decisions David works as a leadership speaker, trainer, coach, and author. Links: http://www.daviddeford.com/

As Elder Dallin H. Oaks referenced in his 2016 October General Conference, Manoel Bezerra is a Brazilian cab driver who makes a habit of handing out copies of the Book of Mormon; especially when the Rio Summer Olympics were in town. He is passionate about missionary work because he remembers fondly his own conversion to the LDS Church in New York after honest prayer and meeting the missionaries. He now serves as a member of his stake’s high council. Ashley Kewish of KSL News put a spot light on him when she was in Brazil for the Olympics. She was originally planning on interviewing an Area 70 of the Church, but when she found her cab driver to be LDS and a strong missionary, she knew she had a story to bring back to Utah. Manoel always heard of people who had never heard of the Savior and after a brief car ride with a Chinese individual, he was determined to carry around copies of the Book of Mormon in every language possible so he could be ready. He put his card inside of every book so that anyone who receives it has a way to contact him with additional questions. He strives to let the spirit be his guide as he brings up the gospel with clients who ride in his cab and in his everyday life. Manoel has had many experiences sharing the gospel as a cab driver. He’s always looking for a moment where he can bring up the gospel and share his testimony. Manoel has helped his family join the church. He’s held many callings that have strengthened his desire to serve and find the joy in each calling. He recognizes that he’s on the Lord’s errand to share the message of the gospel and he’s been blessed with the opportunity to share with so many different individuals. Interview Transcription The following is a rough transcript of the interview. Please excuse the many grammar mistakes or misspelled words. It is our intention to make the transcript available as soon as possible rather than perfect. Kurt Francom (LLDS): Today we are headed down south to the beuatiful land of Brazil to Copa Cabana Beach just outside Rio De Jenero to talk to Manoel Bazerra. How are you, Manoel? Manoel: I’m doing very well, sir! I’m doing well, Kurt. LLLD: We are recording this at the beginning of September of 2016 so how is the weather down there in Rio De? Manoel: It’s cloudy, it’s drizzling. You know it is not one of those gorgeous buatufil days. As I’m a cab driver, raining is a wonderful day because people have need for the cab. LLLD: So you pray for rain as everyone else prays for sunshine? Manoel: Well, I just let it come. When it comes I appreciate it. LLLD: I bet! That’s fantastic! The original way I got in contact with you, I saw a story on KSL here in Utah and I am sure there were other news outlets that carried this story of you being a cab driver during the Olympics that just ended there a few weeks ago and sharing the gospel through sharing copies of the Book of Mormon. It was a wonderful experience. How was the experience of having the Olympics there? 5:06 Manoel: Oh it was fantastic, Kurt. It was really amazing seeing the whole world was here. So many people; different people, you know, they are all very excited and having fun and having a good time. We showed them a lot of hospitality and good manners, it was amazing! I really appreciated it. 5:44 LLLD: Was it quite busy for you then as a cab driver? Is that the busiest you have been in a while? Manoel: It was very nice, it was very busy and especially because of my cab it is written “English Spoken” so people really reach and want, “Hey, come over!” 6:06 LLLD: They like to have the cab driver understand them?

Samuel Bradshaw is a Church employee and a part-time student. His interest in music and statistic led him to creating a project called SingPraises.net where he analyses how the hymns are sung in the LDS Church. He gathers hundreds of data points from wards around the world and then organizes the data to see which hymns are being sung the most and which hymns are being neglected. A bishopric or ward music chair would find this interview helpful as you seek to better use all the hymns in some way to invite the spirit into your meetings. Top 10 Most Sung Hymns in Sacrament Meeting (Excluding Sacrament hymns) * I Know That My Redeemer Lives (168) * Because I Have Been Given Much (153) * How Firm a Foundation (150) * Lord, I Would Follow Thee (145) * I Believe in Christ (134) * Now Let Us Rejoice (124) * High on the Mountain Top (121) * Teach Me to Walk in the Light (116) * We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet (116) * Choose the Right (114) See the full list HERE. Highlights from the interview: * What is SingPraises.net? (2:00) * How do you gather information about what hymns wards are singing? (7:00) * What are some of the more popular hymns sung? (8:30) * Visit the hymn statistic page * What information do you collect on hymn books? (13:20) * What is the best way a ward could use SingPraises.net? (14:00) * What is the best way to resurrect some forgotten hymns? (17:05) * To get involved with the SingPraises.net project and submit your weekly hymns CLICK HERE  

Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., M.B.A., was a psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan for almost fifteen years before moving with her husband to Montreal (where he presided over the Canada Montreal Mission), then Alpine, Utah. She founded Sixteen Stones Center for Growth, which offers seminar-retreats for LDS women (sixteenstones.net). She is a mother and grandmother, a columnist for Deseret News, a former president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapist, and a business consultant with The RBL Group. Her books include Forgiving Ourselves, Weakness Is Not Sin, and national best seller The Why of Work, co-authored with her husband, Dave Ulrich. Presenter at FairMormon Conference * 2005, 2007 Presentations * 2016 Presentation: What I hope we will teach our daughters (and sons) about the priesthood * What topics interested Wendy most as she researched this topic? (5:35) * Information on how to view / purchase presentations from FairMormon conference Research and Published Books * Let God Love You * The Temple Experience * Habits of Happiness * Forgiving Ourselves: Getting Back Up When We Let Ourselves Down * Weakness Is Not Sin: The Liberating Distinction That Awakens Our Strengths * The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win * Amazon author page The Why of Work (18:48) * Leaders as meaning makers. * Creating meaning for people vs. creating meaning with people. * What is real leadership in the church? * Leaders who focus on meaning create an abundance response (33:55) * How the Lord seeks to empower us * How we can follow the lead of our Heavenly Father to empower others (45:30) * 7 Questions that Drive Abundance (49:38) * What am I known for? * Where am I going? * Whom do I travel with * How do I build a positive work environment? * What challenges interest me? * How do I respons to disposability and change? * What delights me? * “What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life — daily and hourly.

Mark & Lacie Sieverkropp live in Ephrata, Washington where they both grew up as non-members. Examples of LDS friends started their interest in the gospel which led to their conversion. Mark helped fellowship Lacie and they later got married after her baptism. They have now been married 9 years and have two children. Episode Highlights: * How Bishop Sieverkropp was called as bishop (11:00) * Dealing with the complacency of a ward (21:20) * How Lacie has taken on the role/calling of bishop’s wife (23:00) * How Bishop Sieverkropp manages the Spanish group in his ward (49:20) * Bishop Sieverkropp’s approach to home teaching (53:15) * How has Lacie’s time serving with her husband made her a better disciple of Jesus Christ? (57:00) * How has Bishop’s Sieverkropp’s time as bishop made him a better disciple of Jesus Christ? (58:00) 5 Principles of Leadership * Delegate a lot, focus on doing what only I can do (25:00) * Focus on individuals, connect with members 1-on-1 (31:15) * Stick with the Brethren (33:50) * Train, Train, TRAIN (36:15) * Show appreciation (44:15) Links: What I Wish I’d Known Before My Mission, by John Bytheway  

Yohan Delton received his PHD in Applied Social Psychology with an emphasis in industrial organizational psychology.  He was born in France and served a mission in Louisiana.  He has spent a lot of time teaching, he taught at BYU as a graduate student, at the MTC teaching French, and has been teaching at BYU Idaho for 9 years.  He currently teaches the History of Psychology and Organizational Psychology. In this episode Bro Delton shares his personal experiences as well as his knowledge in organizational psychology, and how it applies to leading in the church. * Story if working for the LDS church in Risk Management (13:30) * He started a company called the Burton Group, where he works hands on with students in South East Idaho, to get real world experience in Organizational Psychology (16:30) * The Burton Group was created to make the workplace human * They have found that mangers have a hard time interacting and motivating employees, and making a healthy workforce.  These environments are often too compulsive and mechanical or are too money or incentive driven.  They are missing the human component. * Employees often feel like they are in a machine, are a machine or treated as if they are a replaceable part. * The leader and member relationship becomes transactional * Common themes in programs and missions (16:59) * They are connected to people * Money is a means, it is never an end. * Companies that do things because of traditions (18:00) * Employees feel like they are a machine or a part * There are often more policies and procedures * Theere is little room for the employe to breath * In these circumstances employees are limited as to what they can do.  They very seldom do more than what is asked. * What can a leader to influence the human aspect of the church (23:00) * Ego hinders the work (25:00) * Remember the Lord gives blessings, not us (27:00) * Danger of seeing blessings as transactional * Eternal Rewards * Pavlov’s Primary Children (34:00) * Addressing the behavior not the heart * Great story about displacing the internal desire by awarding behavior * Appealing to the core (36:45) * Reaching out to others hearts is hard to do * Do we worship principles or use them to point to Christ? * Are we trying to create a machine? * People need to feel love. * When we are trying to serve and are we approaching them with the heart of Christ or our ego?  If we approach with our ego then we are wanting them to be more like us, not like him. (46:00) *  Home teaching is a Covenant, not a calling * In regards to home teaching perfection is not 100% of visits, perfection is an event when a home or visiting teacher visits a family and the Lord speaks through them (48:00) Links: Burton Group Drive Book, by Dan Pink Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl Teaching, No Greater Call Manual Elder Holland’s Education Week 2016 Talk   Thanks to Buster Summerhays for writing up the summary to this interview. 

President Bob Cowan served as a counselor in the Australia Brisbane Mission. He has also served as an Area Seventy, president of the New Zealand Wellington Mission, stake president, bishop, and temple ordinance worker. Sister Jenny Cowan has served as a multi-stake young single adult adviser, stake and ward Relief Society presidents’ counselor, stake Young Women president and stake seminary supervisor. Bob learn on his mission that leadership is more about the individual that you’re leading than the group as a whole. After Bob returned from his mission he married Jenny and they struggled with infertility and this taught them to have empathy and that there are always opportunities to reach out and comfort those going through similar situations. Children eventually came into their family and have three grandchildren. Being a mission president was rewarding to Bob and Jenny because they enjoyed being a part of the missionaries lives and seeing how the Gospel change them and helped develop stronger testimonies. As a temple president and matron, they like to focus on making sure that each patron can connect with Heavenly Father during their service at the temple and that the individual is important to include and being flexible helps each person find the comfort and joy in serving. Bob suggested an idea for stake presidents and bishops to invite one individual each week to come in for an interview and help that person become more focused on temple attendance. This individual would be someone who is unendowed, unbaptized, or uncommitted in some way and the invitations would help them focus on their personal journey back to Heavenly Father. (minute marker 40:00) 5 Principles of Leadership (minute marker 44:00) Teaching them correct principles and letting them govern themselves. Return and Report This concept applies to life outside the church as well. We also must not give false praise or over the top praise so they have the opportunity to self reflect and improve. Focus on Outcomes and not Procedures Leadership isn’t about having people do things your way but making sure that end results are what matters most. How did you encourage missionaries to not focus on baptism numbers? Having missionaries feel that they are an essential part of warning the people of Christ’s coming Getting the right leaders in place Zone leaders were never chosen by who baptized more or whether baptisms mean that a missionary is better than any others. The individual’s focus on Christ is the only leadership quality to look for in a potential leader. Worthy Workers Win became a mission standard to be obedient and hardworking. The 90% vs The 10% If your ward has a low percentage of tithing payers, a normal strategy is to having a sacrament meeting to help inspire the members, but really it’s a limiting move. It’s more important to sit down with the individual and talk to them face to face to have them commit to change. The same idea applies to home and visiting teaching, it’s easier to motivate the individual on a personal level rather than as a whole.

Imagine walking into your parents’ attics after years of living away. You hope to find the box full of your childhood toys so you can share with your own children. You approach a shelf full of cardboard boxes. Some are old, beat up, and most are dusty. Each box is labeled with a piece of tape describing in a few words the contents of the box: Christmas, Grandma’s China, Winter Clothes.  Finally, you find the box labeled Children’s Toys. You take the box off the shelf and peel back the old packaging seal. As the dusty air of the box escapes you are immediately reminded of memories of happier times. You’re grateful for such memories and are excited to share them with your own children. As individuals leave Gospel Doctrine, Relief Society, or Priesthood meeting on Sunday the affects of the lesson rarely get put into a mental attic of retention. One of the many responsibilities of the class instructor is to frame and teach the lesson in a way that will help the students retain the principles. The learner should be able to revisit the topic and feel the same strong feelings of the spirit as they felt while in the class. Many times we attend a class and find it extremely insightful and full of the Spirit. Unfortunately, a week later we have difficulty recalling the specific principles taught. The lack of retention causes us to forget the feelings of the meeting. As an instructor, there are many ways to frame a lesson in order to create retention and engagement. This article is meant to share with you one method I have found effective in helping class members retain principles taught in a class. Using the analogy of the attic and how items are stored using the BOX, the TAPE, and the SPIRIT. The Box—Framing the Lesson In Sunday School the teacher may overwhelm the class with quotes, scriptures, and other content as the brain attempts to compartmentalize them. In other words, the brain is trying to figure out what “box” to put the information in. It’s paramount that the teacher (metaphorically) pass out boxes to the class to give them something to “hold on to” during the lesson. Or in other words, frame the lesson in a way that will create boundaries. One of the best ways to give context or frame the lesson is through stories. An example of someone who has mastered this technique is Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (one of the most effective speakers). It’s hard to think of a talk he has given that hasn’t included a well told story that frames his entire discourse. In 2012 October General Conference he did this amazingly well by telling the story of the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. He stated some verses verbatim then took personal liberties with the story in order to more effectively engage the audience. Something remarkable happened when he framed his talk in this manner. At the end of his biblical retell every last person listening was 100% engaged. All seemed to hold an empty “box” ready to receive the core principles he was about to tell in the remainder of his speech. Telling a story is not only about gaining their attention by making it interesting or funny. It should create engagement AND create a reference point for each principle taught in the lesson. When Elder Holland used the biblical story it didn’t end after the first couple paragraphs. It changed from a story to a theme and gave the listener reference throughout the talk. Elder Holland would teach a principles, relate it to the story, and then the listener was able to relate it to their life. Framing the lesson or creating a reference poin...

Wayne Brockbank was a mission president in the Nigeria Uyo and the Ghana Accra missions from 2006-2009.   He has lived and worked as a consultant and professor in Abu Dhabi for the past 7 years and experiences the unique culture of the LDS church in a Muslim country.  He was born in Salt Lake City and grew up in Petaluma, California. As a young man, Wayne along with his wife served missions in the South German mission.  He has degrees from BYU and UCLA and has taught at the University of Michigan where he also served as a bishop for 9 years. He also was recently released as a bishop in Abu Dhabi. In this episode we cover the following topics: * The feelings of being called as a bishop 21:00 * Being LDS in Abu Dhabi among Muslims 29:30 * The growth of the LDS Church in Abu Dhabi 35:00 * The unique challenges of being a bishop in Abu Dhabi 45:00 * Advice to share with other bishops 48:00 * Experiences as a mission president in Africa 56:20 Links Chris Kittle Interview

I live in a very transient ward. Some month we get up to 30 new members moving in and roughly the same amount moving out; most of these we never see in church. It’s the nature of our ward and it has its pros and cons. This results in the fact that we have a significant number of members on our rolls that we don’t know. They are just a name with few facts. About a year ago I went through the ward roster and marked each name that I didn’t know. With roughly 500 members on the roles, 190 names were unfamiliar to me. This was concerning. I stewed over this problem for weeks and knew I needed to find a solution. Reactivating these 190 names was a long shot; however, I felt it was our duty to at least know who these people were and understand their basic life situation even if they didn’t want to attend church with us. To solve this problem I did what most leaders do; I created a program. I called it the Hour a Week program. If I, as bishop, could find extra time in my week to do interviews and fulfill other responsibilities of my calling than I am sure each active member of the ward could find one hour to knock on doors in the ward and say, “Hi! Who are you? We are here to serve.” So that is the program I created. I challenged each member of my ward to find one hour they could take a few names and go find out who these people were. They could choose any day Tuesday through Friday at 7pm; we would meet at a center point in the ward, and then start visiting. To be honest, it worked. We got the number of unknowns down to about 25. It was a great experience! After a few months of doing the Hour a Week program, I realize it took a lot of motivation from me as the leader to keep encouraging members to participate. Once I stopped nagging about the program in church and to my auxiliary leaders it faded away. What happened? Why did I have to create a program in order to get people to seek out the lost sheep? Why did I have to “command them in all things? (D&C 58:26) Why were they not “anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will?” (D&C 58:27) I realized I had a leadership deficit. I had to “compel in all things” rather than building a culture that naturally influenced other to serve. Why Do We Compel Others to Serve? What if all the “programs” that compelled service were abolished? No more home or visiting teaching. No more callings focused on simple tasks (i.e. door greeter, church cleaning, stacking chairs, etc.).  No more activities committee. I realize there needs to be some level or organization of those called to serve. If we opened up all positions (including leadership positions) to anybody that “felt like serving”, we may suddenly have a circus on our hands. However, the service culture of our organizations skews towards those in leadership positions to pick up the slack. The list of what only a bishop can do is really quite short. The fact he is greeting people at the beginning/end of church, or that he is visiting more families during the week isn’t because he is the only one that has authority to do so. So why don’t more member just DO without being compelled? That’s the million dollar question and has been analyzed in many forms at LeadingLDS. Doing proactive service is much more difficult than doing reactive service. Leaders realize this and create a “program” that changes the proactive act to a reactive act. Instead of just visiting and fellowshipping members naturally, we make lists of families and then follow up at the end of the month to see if they have visited them. Is it good leadership to make everything reactive?

Today we head down to Friendswood, Texas to visit with Beth Young. Prior to becoming a Texan Sister Young was raised in Arizona in a family without the blessings of the Gospel. In this episode Beth shares what it was like to be raised in a home without the restored gospel by a father and mother who loved her but struggled with alcoholism. Sister Young was introduced to the Gospel in high school which ultimately led to her being baptized, serving a full-time mission, being sealed in the temple and holding leadership callings such as ward and stake relief society president. Beth discusses how her leadership and experience in her own home prepared her to be a leader in the church as she shares how she navigated the waters of motherhood when her children experienced the struggles of mortality. She is very candid in discussing her experiences with one child who battled drug addiction and another who experiences same gender attraction and the heartache of his excommunication. Sister Young teaches us how to show tough yet unconditional love to our children. Links: North Star International 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey Young Captain Hook (Beth’s son) Andy Young Youtube Channel LDS Addiction Recovery Program A Bishop’s Guide to Gay Mormons   A big thank to Brandon Leavitt for doing the summary for this episode.

Jason Lyle Black is an award-winning concert pianist, composer and stage performer from Salt Lake City.  He is also know as “The Backwards Piano Man,” who’s music videos have over 30 million views.  In this interview Jason tells the story of how he went from an EFY performer to performing on the Ellen Show. He gives great advise to parents on how to support your musically-inclined child as well as how leaders can help support members with musical talents in our ward or branch. Black also shares different ways to Home Teach and serve in a Single Adult Ward, and stresses the importance of being a true friend to those you serve. Links: JasonLyleBlack.com Jason’s Youtube channel Check out his newest album, Piano Preludes Text “Lyle” to 444999 and get updates about Jason’s upcoming concerts.   A big thanks to Buster Summerhays for writing the summary for this episode