Leading Saints Podcast

In this episode we meet again with member of North Star, a non-profit organization that is a faith-affirming resource for Latter-day Saints addressing sexual orientation or gender identity, and who desire to live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On March 17-19, North Star is having a conference in Provo, Utah. A portion of that conference will be dedicated to helping Church leaders understand this delicate subject. We hope this episode gives you a clear understanding of why all leaders should attend this fantastic conference. Voices On This Episode: 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. 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 transgendered Mormons in their ward. Links: Register for the North Star Conference (Leadership Session is FREE) Ty Mansfield's Article in LDSLiving

This is a review of an episode recorded last April 2015. I am posting this here so that it can be reviewed by the podcast audience prior to the release of Part 2 and Part 3 which will be posted in a few days. To read and review the original post click HERE.  

Bishop Brandon Leavitt was called as bishop 8 months ago, and has grown greatly. He is from Logandale, Nevada (close to Las Vegas) and works in the road construction industry. 5 Leadership Principles (In Bishop Leavitt's own words) 1. Don't steady the Ark When the Ox cart shook, Uzzah touched the Ark to steady it (Samual 6:6-7). By doing so he disobeyed the Lord and the Lord smote him. I don’t pretend to know or understand exactly what happened here but I do believe there is something I can learn from Uzzah’s mistake. It comes down to a lack of faith for me. Uzzah may not have had enough faith to realize that the Lord had a plan for the Ark when it shook and would protect it. I am learning to not be so quick to “steady the Ark”. If an individual is struggling or if a program or auxiliary is not performing to the standards that are expected I have learned and am still learning that the Lord has a plan, He is still in charge, this is His work and things will most likely work out. I’ve learned to be patient with the process and to let the Holy Ghost work in the hearts of people to help them make the appropriate changes. I’m learning not to always be so quick to rush and steady the Ark unless prompted by The Holy Ghost. President Howard W. Hunter said, “Our detours and disappointments are the straight and narrow to him” (Oct 1987 April #ldsconf).   2. Avoid the Rameumptom After being released as the Young Men President in my ward and then called to be the Young Men President for our stake, I was excited to share with those I was asked to train the successes that I was able to experience by using the tools and programs given to us by the Lord through the brethren. My approach when training for the first year was doing just that… sharing MY successes. I good friend pulled me aside and told me that to some I was coming across as boastful and that my style of training may leave the impression that "my way" was the only way. I was embarrassed. I took this opportunity to ponder how I went about things in regards to training others. I came to the conclusion that I would concentrate more on highlighting the tools and resources and where and how to use them and less on how I implemented them. I found this to be a better approach. It gave those being trained the opportunity to go to the Lord in prayer and receive their own inspiration on how best to approach their calling. I highlighted our Savior more and myself much less. 3. Follow the Handbook. This is the Lord's church. He gives us handbooks of instruction to help carry out the work in a manner pleasing unto Him. I treat the Handbooks akin to scripture unless moved upon by the Holy Ghost or directed otherwise by my priesthood leaders. The handbook also helps me remember to represent the Lord to the people and not the people to the Lord. 4. Grace, Mercy, Charity All of us, I mean, ALL OF US are struggling with something. All of us want to be loved and supported by those around us. Offer a hug, a kind word, a helping hand, a prayer… judgment is not ours. When it comes to the two sided coin of mercy and justice, mercy is the only side of the coin that we have been given permission to give. We tend to judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions. I am learning to give to those around me the benefit of the doubt and realize that we are all doing our best and that the grace of Christ is sufficient. The Lord has offered me nothing but love and mercy in my life, I’m learning to do the same with those around me. 5. Covenants, Covenants, Covenants Everything we do in the church and in our homes should lead us to the sealing alters of the temple and/or in preparation for this crowing ordinance. When Elder Bednar taught that it would be appropriate to identify the next savings o...

One of the first questions Bishop Allan Reay was asked when he was ordained a bishop was, "How old ARE you?" He was 31 at the time and has two young counselors to match. In this interview we discuss their unique approach to managing a ward with unique ideas that are increasing the unity and culture of the ward. They share how they put on a "Come & See Sunday" that encouraged members of their ward to invite their non-member friends. It's something every ward mission leader needs to understand and consider implementing. Interview Links: "Come and See", by Elder David A. Bednar BillionGraves.com 7 Unbreakable Rules of a Meeting

You may recognize Chris Allen's name because he was the author of the previous post called Encouraging Young Men to Lead.  Again, Chris Allen is a Young Men President in Sandy, Utah. He works for a local blood laboratory and enjoys being with his family when he isn’t mountain biking. He has years of experience in the Young Men program and shares a fascinating approach to helping young men become leaders in his ward. After Chris wrote that awesome article I asked him to stick around and let me interview him to learn his tactics for leading the Young Men program. What came to the surface was fascinating. Below you will find his keys to leadership, but we also discuss his interesting approach to biannual visits and how that has helped him build trust with the young men in his ward. He also shared the importance of boarders and transitions. This is definitely worth a listen! Chris Allen's Keys to Leadership: 1. Vision: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18) Jesus called plain fishermen as his closest and most trusted associates. What is my vision, purpose, and associated mission? Leaders must have a vision. This dictates every activity and every goal for every level of an organization. If the vision isn't clear for everyone, people are moving in different directions and energy isn't as focused. In the Young Men program, if the vision is on preparing young men for temple ordinances and missionary service, every activity, lesson, and goal will be focused on that end. I see this in action when I teach the priest quorum assistants what the vision and mission are and help us set goals for the quorum and then let them plan activities on their own. They routinely plan activities that work towards the goals and are in line with the vision rather than just basketball or video game nights. Jesus taught this so many times when he used phrases like "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 13:9) 2. Courage: "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid" (Joshua 1:9) Jesus showed incredible courage in making his vision a reality when He went into the garden. What sacrifice am I willing to make to fulfill my mission? Courage is what a leader needs to execute the vision. It's easy to sit in a room and daydream about the perfect world, but to go out and work to make the vision a reality is scary stuff. You have to stand against the status quo and have thick skin. People will criticize new ideas and avoid making changes. It takes courage to stand in the here and now and say we want to reach perfection and this is how to do it today. To persevere even when the odds are against you and people don't yet believe in you. Be bold like Captain Moroni. Step to the edge of the current state and push the boundaries. 3. Integrity: "...when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him." (1 Nephi 4:37) Jesus demonstrated integrity. This is why we can put our faith in Him. This is the trait that holds together all the other traits. A leader must be absolutely trusted and honest. To me this means exact obedience. My current bishop comes to Sunday school every week. I know when I go sit in a temple recommend interview and he asks me if I attend my Sunday meetings, that he attends his. There is no deception. With the young men this is vital because more than just about anyone else, they watch the behavior of their leaders. They expect me to practice what I preach and if I don't, they lose trust and won't listen to me. 4. Commitment "...we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness..." (D&C123:13) Jesus was committed to the core. No matter what hunger, thirst, fatigue or other obstacle got in his way,

Chris Allen is a Young Men's President in Sandy, Utah. He works for a local blood laboratory and enjoys being with his family when he isn't mountain biking. He has years of experience in the Young Men's program and shares a fascinating approach to helping young men become leaders in his ward. Enter Chris… I was sitting in one of those 7:00-am-and-I'm-way-too-tired-to-be-here priesthood training meetings, listening to the stake president teach. I was struggling to pay attention until a single phrase focused my thoughts and brought the promptings of the spirit on me like floodwater bursting over a levee. The stake president said, "If a young man has to come to you at the start of Priesthood meeting to find out what the plan for the upcoming mutual activity is, you're not doing your job right." This simple phrase changed the way I lead my young men. I've been serving in the YM program pretty much continually since I turned twelve, whether formally or informally and my leadership of young men has changed dramatically over the years. I used to try leading them from the front of the room where I could speak and teach and share my wisdom and knowledge in a strong and authoritative manner. As my understanding of young men and their needs has matured, I now lead from the back of the room. This back-of-the-room approach is often referred to as shadow leadership and, in my experience, it's much more difficult to master than the alternative, but yields significantly better results. The Church Handbook makes clear that the young men are the leaders, and the adults are called as youth advisors. As an advisor it's my job to guide and mentor the leaders who can then lead the rest of the young men. I'm essentially acting as a sounding board and a validator. Let's look at this in action in a few key scenarios: a presidency meeting, Priesthood opening exercises, a quorum meeting and a mutual activity. As we walk through each scenario, look for principles of shadow leadership. We'll summarize them at the end of the tour. The quorum presidency meeting is where it all starts. Presidency meeting for the young men is vital and we try hard to hold it every Sunday. This is where the quorum leaders learn how to lead. This is where they develop skills, knowledge and confidence for what they need to do the rest of the week. Presidency meeting is presided over by the quorum president, who is either a Deacon, a Teacher, or the Bishop, it can be conducted by any member of the presidency, but it shouldn't be the bishop. The secretary should have prepared an agenda for the meeting as shown here. The adult advisors, including the bishop should try hard to not speak unless necessary. (For a fun exercise, try counting how many sentences you speak each meeting and try to reduce it each week). The conducting youth should lead the discussion seeking input from the adults when needed. This takes time to develop, but is amazing to see done well. At the beginning the young men will need to be prompted on each agenda item and will often look to the adult for permission to start the meeting, move to the next agenda item, or assign action items. Coach the youth to do these things on their own. Sit in silence and wait for that awkward tension to build while the youth venture out from being led to being leaders. The young men will discuss the needs of each member of the quorum, what Come Follow Me discussion topics would be best and who should teach them, what mutual activities will best meet the needs of the quorum, what training is needed for priesthood duties assigned to the quorum, and they will reflect on past activities or lessons and discuss things that went well and why as well as things that didn't go well and why. Key training items can and should be assigned to the adult advisors, but once again, let the youth pick topics to train on. As they progress you can even try not showing up to presidency meeti...

In 2013 the bishop and ward missionaries of the College Station Ward in Texas had an inspiration. They wanted to infuse the internet with positive messages of Jesus Christ that would help the world understand the Mormon Church better. That led to the creation of Aggieland Mormons and now they have created hundreds of posts that is spreading the good word and making it easier for LDS members to share content about the Church. In this interview I talk with Bishop Nate Sharp and former member of the College Station Ward, Brother Andrew Devey. We discuss their journey of stimulating the ward missionary program through this blogging effort and how it has helped excite their ward about missionary work. This is a fantastic interview for bishops, ward missionaries, and ward council to listen to and consider ways you can start being a digital ward missionary. Links: Aggieland Mormons Homepage The Power of Everyday Missionaries To Sweep the Earth As a Flood, Elder David A. Bednar 15 Signs You Might Be a Texas Mormon What Happened When I Quit Home Teaching 7 Financial Mistakes Every Latter-day Saint Family Should Avoid Taysom and Emily Hill: Faith, Football, and Trusting in the Lord Aggieland Mormons Facebook Page

Glenn Wright is a Sunday School president in Saratoga Springs, UT. In this interview we discuss his focused approach to really making an impact in his ward Sunday School program. His ward is also participating in a Church pilot program to test out adjustments to the ward teaching that should be rolled out next year. Every Sunday School presidency and bishopric should listen to this episode. It's inspiring and informative to learn about how he is magnifying his calling and to also learn about upcoming changes to the Sunday School curriculum. Links: LDS Meetinghouse Librarians Facebook Group Rethinking the Material Center Article 2012 Sunday School Auxiliary Leadership Training

Recently I was reminded of Elder Holland's April 1998 General Conference talk titled "A Teacher Come From God". It is a talk that was given soon after President Hinckley expressed that each member of the Church needs a friend, a responsibility, and nourishment by the good word of God. I took the time to listen to the talk, which led to me reading the talk, which led to me reading the talk again. It's an Elder Holland classic, but what talk of his isn't an Elder Holland classic? As I read this talk I was captivated by his phrasing, including, "Are we really nurturing our [members] in a way that will sustain them when the stresses of life appear? Or are we giving them a kind of theological Twinkie—spiritually empty calaries?" The quote that was the biggest frying pan to the face for me was when he quoted President Kimball by saying, "Stake presidents, bishops, and branch presidents, please take a particular interest in improving the quality of teaching in the Church. I fear that all too often many of our members come to church, sit through a class or a meeting, and... then return home having been largely [uninspired]. It is especially unfortunate when this happens at a time ... of stress, temptation, or crisis [in their life]. We all need to be touched and nurtured by the Spirit and effective teaching is one of the most important ways this can happen. We often do vigorous work to get members to come to Church but then do not adequately watch over what they receive when they do come." Elder Holland then quotes President Hinckley when he said, "Effective teaching is the very essence of leadership in the Church. Eternal life will come only as men and women are taught with such effectiveness that they change and discipline their lives. They cannot be coerced into righteousness or into heaven. They must be led, and that means teaching." As I studied this talk I saw it as an opportunity to share on Leading Saints and start a dialogue about some of the pitfalls many church units face when it comes to teaching. I can only speak from my own experience, but I have rarely been a student in a church classroom where it moved me spiritually on a consistent basis. I generally go to church for the ordinances, and I wish I could say, I stay for the incredible teaching. So why does the teaching become mediocre in a ward? What new approaches have been tried that have changed the dynamic of the church classroom? I am sure a higher level of church teaching has been done consistently, and I hope others will share success stories so we can all benefit. Here are a few thoughts that came to the surface as I discussed Sunday teaching with other members and leaders. Problem #1: Lack of Experienced Teachers In basketball, many teams pride themselves on having a "deep bench". What this means is that most players on their team, even the ones sitting at the end of the bench, can come into the game and make a difference. I've heard of wards with a "deep bench" where in one classroom you can have a half dozen former bishops, a few past stake presidents, and even a mission president or two. This is fantastic, but for most wards, it isn't reality. When a ward doesn't have a "deep bench", by the time teachers are needing to be called there isn't much experience left. The bishopric, Relief Society presidency, ward and stake auxiliaries have sucked up all the teaching talent and what is left is good-hearted members that will really be stretched in a teaching calling, which leads to rookie teaching. No fault to the inexperienced teacher for doing their best. It's simply the reality of the ward. Many times it's hard enough to find experienced teachers to place in the Sunday School presidency, let alone finding solid teachers to actually do th...

Robert Mortensen has just been called to his stake high council in Meridian, Idaho. Prior to this call he was the ward mission leader where he developed some remarkable strategies to inviting people to Christ. He shares these ideas in the following article and we discuss them in audio form on the attached podcast episode. Enter Robert... Being a ward mission leader (WML) can be an exhilarating experience. If you desire, you can learn how the Lord wants missionary work to go forward in your ward and you can become an instrument in His hands. Being a participant on the front lines of the Atonement with all the highs and lows that go along with this great work...now that is really living! I am currently blessed with the calling as ward mission leader for the second time. My first opportunity was in Mesa, Arizona ten years ago and now again in Meridian, Idaho. I don’t claim to be some great or special ward mission leader because I’m not. I’m observant and have studied the WML role and I am striving to be useful to the Lord. One of the things that we are doing in our stake that we find very helpful is the stake high councilor over missionary work holds a monthly training session with all the WML’s. Time is given in each meeting for WML’s to share their inspiring stories as well as their best practices. This collaboration is so advantageous and motivating. I hope sharing some of my experiences and practices might help other ward mission leaders across the church. It is important for WML’s to recognize that the bishop is the mission president for his own ward mission and he and his counselors preside over the work. The WML is the executive assistant and head cheerleader; the assistant to the president, if you will. The WML acts with delegated authority through the keys of the bishop. Be careful not to tread on the stewardship of the bishopric and auxiliary presidencies, but rather be a steady support to them. I’d like to stress the importance of a ward mission leader and of ward missionaries being able to share current missionary experiences, not just experiences from the past. Pray in faith and act in faith for daily missionary opportunities. When the Lord shows you the opportunity, act on it immediately. If you haven't had a missionary moment that day, make one happen. It can be as simple as sharing an uplifting scripture on social media. Having missionary experiences is exciting. Sharing these experiences energizes fellow ward members. Ward Missionary Meetings Ward Council & Priesthood Executive Committee (PEC): As a member of the ward council the WML can insure that all ward activities, including service, are missionary activities. Activity Days, Cub Scouts, and youth activities are some of the most successful missionary opportunities. As a member of the ward council, a WML can demand encourage strong home and visiting teachers for new members and part-member families. Missionary Coordination Meeting (MCM): Make sure missionary coordination meetings are short, but powerful and spiritually uplifting. Make sure every ward missionary leaves with an assignment. I was terrible at this my first time as WML, but I am trying to do better this time round. Ward missionaries need to feel valued and challenged. In this meeting we get updates on the status of the people the full-time missionaries are teaching as well as reports from ward missionaries on their visits to part-member families and potential investigators. We also make assignments to visit active member-missionary families and cheer them on in their efforts. In my ward, we make visits on Thursday nights at 7pm and follow those visits with our MCM with the full-time sister missionaries at 8:15pm at the Church or in my home. We sometimes also make visits on Sunday afternoons or evenings. Focus on Finding

Cindy Burt is a counselor in her ward young women's program in Kirkland, Washington. She has also served as a Relief Society president, stake Young Women's President, and seminary teacher. She joined the LDS Church at 26 soon after she married her husband. She shares with the listeners her approach to leadership; including the following key leadership principles: * The importance of personal revelation and the Holy Ghost * Prioritization * Having love for Heavenly Father's children * Stand in Holy Places * Teaching by the Holy Ghost Sister Burt also shares her unique opportunity of teaching early-morning seminary in her public school classroom. This created some unique missionary opportunities that blessed the lives of her students and their friends.

We have all done it, said to ourselves, I’m just going to go ahead and do this task because it's easier for me to just handle it. Or we might say, Oh, Brother Smith is so busy. Let me do that task for him. I think it's a natural feeling for those in leadership roles to want to take the best care of their people. We often feel like asking someone to take a task or assignment is in some way unkind. Becoming more comfortable with delegation is just like any skill, it's learned. Learning to delegate is a skill that takes time and practice. I have found these 3 simple steps extremely helpful. 1. Have Assignments for all Responsibilities Having assigned responsibilities seems pretty straightforward, right?  We all do that, don’t we? The first  step a presidency or bishopric should undertake is to determine what tasks or assignments they are responsible for and then go through the process of making assignments for those duties. So, for example, in my Bishopric we’ve decided that the First Counselor would handle Sunday School. Any change, communication, or extending of callings once we have agreed within the Bishopric is totally on his plate. In fact, we have gotten so good at this that I don’t even need to physically make the assignment. He just knows he is responsible for the Sunday School. 2. As the leader, make spiritual and temporal welfare your focus Making spiritual and temporal welfare your focus is a must for bishops; however, I feel it should be the focus of every auxiliary president as well. If we take step one seriously (assigning all responsibilities), you can assign out all of the other tasks to ensure that spiritual and temporal welfare are your priority. Of course, there are the day to day administrative things that will come up, but make sure you spend as much time as possible ministering rather than administering. If the leader makes this his or her known focus, the rest of the presidency will take assignments and allow you to be successful in this area. When I got called to be the bishop of my ward we had quite a heavy welfare load. I had no choice but to have my counselors do almost everything outside of welfare. Once I was able to figure out how to best handle it we had gotten into the habit of me mostly focusing on the spiritual and temporal welfare issues. Specifically helping with financial situations, worthiness issues and spiritual guidance. Since then the delegation has been a natural and fluid part of our serving together. 3. Training your replacement Training someone to do what you do is a very difficult one to master. As stated before, we are busy and taking the time to train someone feels like an impossibility. However, trust that the investment of time will pay off. You will find it usually only takes one or two times to get someone proficient enough to replace your need to do whatever that certain task is. And honestly it's one of the most satisfying rewards of leadership, some call it training your replacement… Delegation is a key leadership principle that requires patience and practice. But in the scope of your calling as a leader, your call is to lead, not to do it all. Make assignments, trust in your people, make adjustments or suggestions as necessary, and grow the capacity of the organization over which you preside. It will change your life, as well as theirs.

In the LDS church, leadership sometimes comes with formal responsibility through a calling or assignment. Someone newly called to positions like, bishop, Relief Society president, or ward mission leader, might find themselves subject to a life of limited time. The reality is, most callings in the church will take as much time as you are willing to give—even more if you aren't careful. Every minute that callings take rarely seem wasted. That is what is so hard about time management in church callings; it always feels like time well spent. I remember being called as a elders quorum president in a young single adult ward where I met my wife. Late at night, I found myself sitting in a clerk's office organizing the ever-changing home teaching assignments. It was essential, so I thought, to put in the time to get the assignments organized so that I could be ready for the next month when even more changes would come. It consumed my time as elders quorum president. It was to the point where I didn't do much of anything else. Not only did I have no idea how to delegate, but I was also fighting a battle of time that would never be won. One trait of a strong leader is being able to step back, with a spirit of contentment, realize there isn't enough time to do every worthwhile thing. By focusing on one priority you avoid another priority. Then there is another priority waiting after that, which is in the way of another priority. There are times I have found myself ranking a priority above other more important priorities, such as family time, simply because it is easier, or the consequences of those priorities are the most obvious to the public eye. In April conference of 1981, Bishop Victor L. Brown addresses this concept perfectly by quoting President Gordon B. Hinckley on "the evil of unnecessary sacrifice." Take a look at a clip from his talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-2F6WHEJ6Y  I should like to say that sacrifice, where needed, is an important aspect of the gospel. It is of the very essence of true worship. But unnecessary sacrifice, that requested because of extravagance or poor management, is evil.   -President Gordon B. Hinckley Unnecessary sacrifice is evil. Wow. The word "evil" seems like a strong word for poor management. However, in this instance, that word is strong enough to make a point. It should give leaders pause to reevaluate how they are organizing their time, their meetings, their appointments, and any other form of sacrifice. This point is even more valid when it comes to local leaders in the Church. I have no doubt they are inspired, they hold authority to preside, and they are called of God. However, it worries me when such good men and women fill their time with unnecessary tasks that appear urgent. They misinterpret a meeting for serving. They confuse long hours at the church with magnifying a calling. They become powerless to say, "NO". When I wrote the article, The 7 Unbreakable Rules of a Church Meeting, I got a lot of dissenting feedback. Passionately dissenting feedback. Individuals felt like I was diminishing the presence of the spirit in leadership callings. I understand why they are so frustrated with such an article when I challenged their mode of operation in their callings. I do not write such things to be critical, but rather to challenge them to achieve higher efficiency This can be done by finding better tools, and to by revisiting their approach to their leadership. Having meetings, holding appointment, organizing lists feels so good because it give the...

In this How I Lead interview we talk with Tommy Haws who is a stake president in the Gallup, New Mexico area. His stake covers 10,000 square miles! He presides over 5 wards and 7 branches that meet in 11 buildings. President Haws has years of leadership experience, serving as elders quorum president 3 times, a councilor in a stake presidency, and then a bishop before he was asked to serve as the stake president. We first discuss the unique challenges he faces with a ward so large and with so many units. We talk about the native-american branches and his approach to unity  a stake with such diversity. President Haws' 5 Leadership Principles: * “True Doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behaviors”- Boyd K. Packer. (“Little Children”, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17) * “Teaching is the very essence of Leadership in the Church” – Gordon B. Hinckley (As quoted by Jeffery R. Holland, “A Teacher Come from God”, Ensign May 1998) Quote continues, “ Eternal life,” President Hinckley continued, “will come only as men and women are taught with such effectiveness that they change and discipline their lives. They cannot be coerced into righteousness or into heaven. They must be led, and that means teaching.” * Councils are to be revelatory, not just administrative meetings (see 2010 World Wide Leadership Training – particularly comments by Elder Bednar “If I had the wish of my heart, I would remove from the vocabulary of the Latter-day Saints the word meeting. We have not been talking about a ward council meeting. We’ve been talking about a revelatory experience with the members of the ward council. And if members of councils, if members of families, as they come together, would think in terms of “I’m preparing to participate in a revelatory experience with my family” instead of going to a meeting—a revelatory experience with the members of the ward council—I think we would prepare and act much differently.” * Priesthood keys have real power and are meant to bless lives (D&C 65) * Have no personal agenda- follow prophetic priorities (see Quentin L Cook, Priesthood session April 2008 General Conference, and Richard Hinckley in BYU devotional address) Links: Elder Bednar's Book Series "Your Work is Not Yet Finished" - Elder Glenn L. Pace

Jacob Khalil is a student at Brigham Young majoring in Vocal Performance. He grew up in a home with a Mormon mother and a Muslim father. In order to respect his father's request, Jacob didn't get baptized until he was 18 years old and could make the decision as a legal adult. In this interview we discuss how Jacob's parents, youth leaders, and other members of his ward influenced him during his youth. We talk about best practices a leader can make when faced with a situation where a child cannot be baptized until they are an adult. Links: Panel Discussion About Policy Change on This Week in Mormons BYU Singers YouTube Channel Listen to Jacob sing... He's really good!