Leading Saints Podcast

On a scale from 1 to 10 how well does your ward members know each other? During a 3rd hour 5th Sunday lesson we had a short activity that was quite telling. As the bishop, I allowed everyone to settle into their chairs where ever they wished. Many sat by friends or spouses, others found any available seat. During the lesson I randomly seated everyone into groups of four. I then had each person rate on a scale from 1-10 how well they knew the other three people in their group (1 = just met, 10 = BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!!!). I then asked the group to add up and find the average rating between the four group members. We then wrote down each average on the board and then took the average of the entire room. My ward is generally friendly so I anticipated the average to be 5 or 6. I was shocked when the average came out as 2.5. Two point five!?!? We then discussed ways to improve that average. Imagine if the fellowship average was a strong 8 or 9. Think of what a new member of the ward would experience as they walked into the chapel for the first time? They would never want to leave or they would for sure look forward to attending the following week. Is a 9 or 10 possible? I think so. If not, it is worth trying for. I challenge you to put your elders quorum or Relief Society through this experiment. Post your findings below. If you are above 7 I want to visit your ward and see what you are doing right.

This Leader to Leader story comes from a BYU Devotional called Constructing Spiritual Stability, by Elder Dale G. Renlund: On one occasion I was assigned to accompany Elder Neal A. Maxwell, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, to a stake conference. It was marvelous to be with one of the most remarkable gospel teachers of this dispensation. At the conference I gained an insight into how he had developed and magnified what was undoubtedly a God-given gift. As we were driving away from the stake center on Saturday evening, he turned in his seat and asked me, “What could I have done better to teach the principles we taught?” I thought he had to be joking. But he kept on grilling me until he extracted from me a comment about some minor thing that might have been slightly unclear. The next day, in the Sunday general session of the stake conference, he clarified that minor thing that I had mentioned. I realized that I was with a humble disciple of Jesus Christ who welcomed counsel, was committed to being a lifelong determined learner, and desired to become better. How we receive counsel makes a difference in whether those around us will feel comfortable in giving us counsel. We can become prickly, cantankerous, and defensive, or we can welcome the input, knowing it is given with loving motives and, if taken in the right spirit, will help us learn and improve.

In this episode we hear from Trent Lee in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has rich experience as an instructor, teaching Gospel Doctrine, early morning seminary, ward mission leader, and currently serves on his stake's high council. We start off the interview by sharing both of our personal experiences of with Elder Oaks and how that influenced us as leaders. Trent's Leadership Principles: * What I learned from Elder Nash * Presidency meetings * Monthly home teaching PPI’s * How and what to report for home teaching numbers * Family mission plan Elder Bednar Quote About Alma: “You will be called President by all the people in the stake and that’s appropriate. But I never want you to hear the word ‘President.’ Every single time someone calls you ‘President’ I want you to think of Alma. You read Mosiah 23 through Alma 40 and you become Alma. You’re not running an organization here. You are Alma. And as you begin to organize this new stake, I don’t want you to just fill up the boxes; don’t just call a new stake Relief Society president, don’t just call a new Young Women’s president. You get real clear about the priesthood work. You need help from the Relief Society and the Young Women and others, and you be real clear about what that is and you can’t be clear if you haven’t figured it out for yourself. In fact, don’t you call any stake auxiliaries until you, President Alma, are clear about the priesthood work you need help with.” I said, “And by the way, you only have one task, Alma. Shepherd people to the temple. that’s it. You’re Alma. Shepherd people to the temple, that’s it.” ("A Conversation On Leadership", February 24, 2010) Links: Download Trent Lee's Agenda Template Here justserve.org Increase Home Teaching by 20% WorkFlowy Doctrine & Covenants 43:8 Leading Saints also interviewed Trent's wife

A story told by Bruce C. Hafen in 1979 in his talk Love Is Not Blind: Some Thoughts for College Students on Faith: I once had an experience that taught me a great lesson about the way a highly developed tolerance for “being realistic” can inhibit the workings of the Spirit in our lives. When I had been on my mission in Germany about a year, I was assigned to work with a brand new missionary named Elder Keeler, who had just arrived fresh from converting—or so he thought—all the stewardesses on the plane from New York to Frankfurt. Within a few days of his arrival, I was called to a meeting in another city and had to leave him to work in our city with another inexperienced missionary whose companion went with me. I returned late that night. The next morning I asked him how his day had gone. He broke into a big smile and said that he had found a family who would surely join the Church. In our mission, it was rare to see anybody join the Church, let alone a whole family. I asked for more details, but he had forgotten to write down either the name or the address. All he could remember was that the family lived on the top floor of a big apartment house. “Oh, that’s great,” I thought to myself as I contemplated all those flights of stairs. He also explained that he knew so little German that he had exchanged but a few words with the woman who answered the door. But he did think she wanted us to come back—and he wanted to go find her and have me talk to her that very minute. I explained to him that the people who do not slam the door in missionaries’ faces are not all planning to join the Church. But off we went to find her, mostly to humor him. He could not remember the right street either, so we picked a likely spot in our tracting area and began climbing up and down those endless polished staircases. After a frustrating hour, I decided that I really needed to level with him. “Based on my many months of experience,” I said, “it is simply not worth our time to try any longer to find that woman. I have developed a tolerance for the realities of missionary work, and I simply know more about all this than you do.” His eyes filled with tears and his lower lip began to tremble. (That elder was no dummy—he recently graduated from Boalt Law School at Berkeley.) I remember it so well—he said to me through those tear-filled eyes, “Elder Hafen, I came on my mission to find the honest in heart. The Spirit told me that that woman is going to join the Church, and you can’t stop me from finding her.” I decided that I had to teach him a lesson. So I raced him up one staircase after another until he was ready to drop, and so was I. “Elder Keeler,” I asked, “had enough?” “No,” he said. “We’ve got to find her.” I began to smolder. I decided to work him until he pled with me to stop—then maybe he would get the message. Then, at the top of a long flight of stairs, we found the apartment. She came to the door. He thrashed my ribs with his elbow and whispered loudly, “That’s her, elder. That’s the one. Talk to her!” Not long ago, brothers and sisters, up on Maple Lane a few blocks from here, that woman’s husband sat in our living room. He was here for general conference because he is the bishop of the Mannheim Ward. His two boys are preparing for missions; his wife and daughters are pillars of the Church. That is a lesson I can never forget about the limitations of the skepticism and the tolerance for ambiguity that come with learning and experience. I hope that I will never be so aware of “reality” that I am unresponsive to the whisperings of heaven.

Brigham Rupp is a full-time seminary teacher in Gilbert, Arizona. He's served as elders quorum counselor, executive secretary, stake Sunday School, and currently serves as bishop. He served a mission in Chicago, Illinois and share many of his scriptural thoughts at The Silver Grey. In this episode we discuss how he decided to become a seminary teacher and how he was later called as bishop. We also talk about how he handles spiritual thoughts in ward council, being reactive verse proactive, and how to improve one's ability to teach. Brigham's 5 Leadership Principles: * Effective Teaching * "Small changes we could make in things we do often." Pres. Eyring, 1998 CES * "Feast Upon the Words of Christ" 2 Nephi 32:3 * "If ye have not charity, ye are nothing" Moroni 7:46 * "whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" Matthew 16:24-25 Links: The Silver Grey Talk, by President Boyd K. Packer Teaching, No Greater Call: A Resource Guide for Gospel Teaching The Silver Grey Blog

In this episode you get to meet Rick & Karen Francom (my parents). They recently returned from an 18 month of service in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn about how church leadership works in a foreign land like Mongolia. They also talk about their formal leadership experience and how surprised they are that I turned out as an adult that contributes to society. ;) Listen in. Links: Read/See more of their experience at their mission blog.

Preparing to go to the temple for your first time can be an experience like none other. Many have complained that their first experience left them a bit stunned and confused (count me among them). Comprehensive preparation is a must and can be difficult at times when we must be careful to keep sacred things sacred. Nobody wants to say too much and many temple prep teachers simple don't know what can be talked about and what cannot be talked about, so it is easiest to remain vague and push the individual into their first experience unprepared. The way I see it, saying too much is less of an offense than saying too little because a first-timer with little knowledge is forced to be an innocent swine witnesses an experience full of pearls--that is the greater offense. Bishops are tagged with the role of making sure each individual is worthy and also understands the sacred steps they are about to take. The church has produce various temple prep resources but many leave too much up to the teacher in determining what will be said and lack practical advice. Dear Jeff: Candid Advice from an Older Brother on Preparing to Enter the Temple Back in November of 2012 J Washburn posted a question on MormonLifeHacker (worth a read). He wanted to know if others shared his concern about the inadequacy of typical temple prep classes to prepare one for their first visit to the temple. He received some interesting feedback and was determined to do his part to provide a better resource. I received a copy of J's book and read it in just a few weeks. I was so impressed by how solid his book was that I asked if he would sit down with me for an interview. I feel leaders in the church would benefit from knowing about this resource. Take a minute to watch (or listen to the mp3) of my interview with author J Washburn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlPF9cvbMBw Buy the book HERE. Check out J Washburns temple photography at Helaman Gallery (really cool stuff).

A touching story told by Elder David A. Bednar in his book Act in Doctrine: Some time ago I spoke with a priesthood leader who was prompted to memorize the names of all of the youth ages thirteen to twenty-one in his stake. Using snapshots of the young men and women, he created flash cards that he reviewed while traveling on business and at other times. This priesthood leader quickly learned all of the names of the youth. One night the priesthood leader had a dream about one of the young men whom he knew only from a picture. In the dream he saw the young man dressed in a white shirt and wearing a missionary name tag. With a companion seated at his side, the young man was teaching a family. The young man held the Book of Mormon in his hand, and he looked as if he were testifying of the truthfulness of the book. The priesthood leader then awoke from his dream. At an ensuing priesthood gathering, the leader approached the young man he had seen in his dream and asked to talk with him for a few minutes. After a brief introduction, the leader called the young man by name and said: “I am not a dreamer. I have never had a dream about a single member of this stake, except for you. I am going to tell you about my dream, and then I would like you to help me understand what it means.”The priesthood leader recounted the dream and asked the young man about its meaning. Choking with emotion, the young man simply replied, “It means God knows who I am.”The remainder of the conversation between this young man and his priesthood leader was most meaningful, and they agreed to meet and counsel together from time to time during the following months. That young man received the Lord’s tender mercies through an inspired priesthood leader who turned outward from his own concerns to gain a greater acquaintance with the youth whom he served. Similarly, as we develop the character of Christ and act in doctrine, we become His agents in performing His work among His sons and daughters.  

Neylan McBaine was born and raised in New York, New York. She is the founder of the Mormon Women Project and the author of the book Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact.  In this episode we discuss the ways local leaders in the Church can consider ways to bring more purpose to women in their wards and branches. It's a fascinating discussion and it will bless the lives of all leaders that listen. Links: Buy the book Women at Church The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women's History A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine and Church History Liz Wiseman's Book Mormon Women Project Friend Article, "When I Grow Up … I Want to Be an Architect" Ensign Article, "Progression into Relief Society" Sunday School Supplements for Women Neylan's Blog  

A story shared by Elder Dale G. Renlund shortly after his call as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve: My dear brothers and sisters, thank you for sustaining me yesterday as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It is hard to express how much that means to me. I was especially grateful for the sustaining vote of the two extraordinary women in my life: my wife, Ruth, and our dear, dear, dear daughter, Ashley. My call gives ample evidence to the truthfulness of the Lord’s statement early in this dispensation: “That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world.” I am one of those weak and simple. Decades ago, when I was called to be the bishop of a ward in the eastern United States, my brother, slightly older and much wiser than I, called me on the phone. He said, “You need to know that the Lord hasn’t called you because of anything you have done. In your case, it is probably in spite of what you have done. The Lord has called you for what He needs to do through you, and that will happen only if you do it His way.” I recognize that this wisdom from an older brother applies even more today. Something wonderful happens in a missionary’s service when he or she realizes that the calling is not about him or her; rather, it is about the Lord, His work, and Heavenly Father’s children. I feel the same is true for an Apostle. This calling is not about me. It’s about the Lord, His work, and Heavenly Father’s children. No matter what the assignment or calling is in the Church, to serve capably, one must serve knowing that everyone we serve “is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, … has a divine nature and destiny.” "Through God's Eyes." by Elder Dale G. Renlund

Eric Shuster is the author of 3 books, (1) Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest (2) The Biblical Roots of Mormonism (3) Where Are the Christians? He currently serves as bishops in a small farming community in Taylor, Texas. He was raised devout Catholics, married a former nun, and joined the LDS Church 26 years ago. In this episode Bishop Shuster briefly shares his conversion story and what inspired him to write books. He also shares what his experience was like as a young elders quorum president and his progression through church leadership. He has a remarkable perspective of home teaching and how to organize assignments for your quorum. We also discuss, bishop's calendar organization, ward assignments, Family History Olympics, and avoiding the "same ten people". Leadership Principles * You can't teach what you don't know, and you can't lead where you won't go. * Give the Lord His time first. (Matt 6:33) * Where much is given, much is required. (Doctrine & Covenants 82:3) Links: Eric's Books EricShuster.com Matthew 25:14-30

A great leadership lesson from Elder Charles A. Callis as told in the biography of Harold B. Lee: Elder Charles A. Callis (1865-1947) Elder Charles A. Callis had presided over the Southern States Mission for over twenty-five years prior to his being called to the Council of the Twelve and was virtually "sainted" in the hearts of Church members living there. The assignment to create the first stake of the Church in the South had been long contemplated in 1946, but was reserved for Elder Callis to perform when his failing health permitted him to travel. At the beginning of 1947 Elder Lee was assigned to accompany this mighty Apostle and on January 11 the Lees departed for Jacksonville, Florida. Elder Callis arrived in Florida a day ahead of the Lees to clear up a personal matter with a dear friend. Once this was taken care of, Elder Callis told Elder Lee. his junior companion, that he was willing to leave the details of organizing the stake in his hands. In the course of the interviews, however, some difference of opinion arose concerning whether Orlando and some of the other mission branches should be included in the new stake. Differing from Elder Lee and some of the local priesthood leaders, Elder Callis was insisting that Orlando, Florida, ought to be included. Eleven years later Elder Lee used this experience to teach an important characteristic of prayer to seminary teachers of the Church. He recalled: When Mission President Heber Meeks and President Douberly from the Orlando Florida Branch and I all disagreed, it worried President Callis. That was always a rather serious situation to me, too, to not be in agreement with Brother Callis. He was a man of strong, vigorous, and powerful thinking. He said finally, "I will have to sleep on this." With that statement he dismissed me. The next morning he called me into his room, and as he pulled his chair close alongside mine, he said to me with an impressiveness which I shall never forget, "Last night I talked with God, and he has given me to understand that you are right and I am wrong." (From an advanced course in theology at Brigham Young University, July 6, 1956.) Goates, Brent L. (2011-01-14). Harold B. Lee: Prophet and Seer (Kindle Locations 3271-3272). Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.

Every six months stake conference is a symbolic mile marker for most stake presidencies. When one ends the next one is ready to be planned for. Having the experience of going through my first stake conference as a member of the stake presidency, I realized what a hectic time it is for stake presidencies as they plan each detail. Not to mention we had a visiting authority that makes you feel like you are being graded each step of the way. With so many items to consider when planning a stake conference, stake leaders can be left holding their breath when the weekend arrives, hoping that people actually show up. I'd like to share with you a strategy we used to assure that people showed up to stake conference. It's hard to say what works and what doesn't, but we were very pleased by the results and we calculated that we had about 20% more people in attendance then prior stake conferences. Step 1: Create a private Facebook event for stake conference I remember being in the bishopric and announcing stake conference for 4-6 weeks prior and then being frustrated when a member would ask why nobody was at sacrament meeting the day of stake conference. The reality is, announcements or ward bulletin notices are not very effective. Most people need a constant reminder the days leading up to the stake conference. A Facebook event is a great way to do this. I would recommend that you create the Facebook event 4-6 weeks prior to your stake conference. In my situation, I was a little late and created it 2 weeks prior to the stake conference and it still made a huge difference. When you create the event you can add event name (stake conference), location (stake center address), date and time (generally Saturday evening until Sunday) and a description. Be sure to allow guests to invite friends to the Facebook event. Just to give you an idea, this is what we put in the description: Dear members of the _________ Stake, Stake Conference will be held on January 16th and 17th. _____________________ Quorum of the Seventy will be our visiting authority. Please join us at the following sessions: General Session Sunday, January 17th, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon Stake Center Chapel Adult Session Saturday, January 16th, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Stake Center Chapel *Nursery will be provided for children ages 1 and up Priesthood Leadership Session Invited: High Council, Bishoprics, Clerks, Executive Secretaries, Assistant Clerks & Secretaries, High Priest Group Leaderships, Elders Quorum Presidencies, Young Men Presidencies, and Ward Mission Leaders & Assistants. Saturday, January 16th, 4:00-6:00 p.m. Stake Center Relief Society Room As you prepare to receive instruction at these Stake Conference sessions, please consider your next ordinance, whether it be baptism, priesthood ordination, temple endowment, marriage sealing, or partaking of the sacrament in remembrance of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How will that ordinance bless your life? What must you do to prepare yourself for that sacred ordinance? How will that ordinance increase your faith in the Savior and help you return to our Heavenly Father? We look forward to strengthening our faith and testimonies with you as we learn together and enjoy this conference with each of you. Sincerely, The Stake Presidency Step 2: Dress up your Facebook event page Using a free design tool call Canva I made a simple image for the event image. This took no design experience at all since I used on of the Canva templates. Here's what it looked like: I used a simple photo from the

In this interview I sit down again with Liz Wiseman who has been such a wonderful resource for Leading Saints and I truly consider her a great friend and mentor. Liz recently spoke at a BYU Forum and spoke wonderfully about the power of rookie smarts and how what one knows can be a disadvantage to a growing leader. She discusses how learning how to learn is more important than the content of what one is learning. She also shares some rich stories of what she learned from Lee Perry (Dean of BYU School of Business, and son of L. Tom Perry), when she was a student at BYU, why her husband was recently called to a bishopric, and how to focus on being a hungry, and humble leader. There's a lot of information here and it is definitely worth a thorough listen. Links: Liz Wiseman's BYU Forum Address Other Liz Wiseman interviews with Leading Saints Liz Wiseman's website Elder Bednar's talk

In this episodes we continue the conversation with leaders from North Star as we focus on Brigit Pack's story of finding peace and faith in her home and in her Church. Her spouse was born Ryan, but now prefer the name Ann. Ann is a transgender Mormon and Brigit tells her story of how leaders are working on finding a place for Ann in their LDS ward. It's an inspiring discussion that will definitely help other leaders understand available resources and where to start in loving transgender members of their ward. Editor's Note: Throughout this interview I use the term transgender-ed. Brigit was kind enough to correct me after the episode had been edited. I hope you can all learn from my mistake and refer to these individuals as transgender.  Voices On This Episode: Brigit Pack, North Star Conference Co-Chair Brigit's story is a story of inspiring faith. As she tells the story of her spouses journey through gender identity, she helps leaders understand how they might find a place for transgender Mormons in their ward. Greg Harris, President-Elect of North Star At the time of this recording Greg Harris is the incoming president of North Star. He shares a unique story of coming to terms with is sexual orientation soon after his brother announced to his family that he was gay. There is a lot to learn from Greg and Church leaders will find he is a remarkable resource to helping navigate the SSA world. Read more of his bio HERE. Joseph Stith, Director of Talent for North Star I hope everyone gets the opportunity to meet Joseph in person. I consider him a wonderful friend and he is doing wonderful things for North Star. Joseph shared the details of his story in PART 1 and continues in the conversation in this episode talking about his experience working with youth that experience SSA. Read more of his bio HERE. Links: Journeys of Faith Project