Summary: Melody Warnick is an author and freelance journalist living in Blacksburg, Virginia. Her book, This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are, investigates and experiments with the sense of connection that binds some of us to our cities and increases our physical and emotional well-being. Melody lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, where her husband serves as a stake president.<br> Highlights<br> 5:30 Serving in Melody’s stake in Virginia<br> 8:20 How the book came about<br> 10:50 Experiments in loving where you live: micro-action steps you can intentionally take to create positive experiences for yourself<br> 18:45 Applying these principles to wards and stakes<br> <br> * 19:20 Creating a community based on geography creates a situation where we can practice being more Christlike<br> * 21:50 Benefits of “instant community” in the ward, as compared to moving for people not in the Church tribe: familiarity and similarity<br> <br> 25:45 When you struggle fitting into the community<br> <br> * 26:25 Leaders need to pay attention to these people<br> * 27:30 The more engaged you are, the more you will feel at home<br> * 28:30 Everyone can feel left out or like they don’t fit in<br> * 30:10 Being proactive can have a big impact<br> <br> 34:00 Serving in callings and outside of callings: have a personal ministry from a desire to be of service<br> <br> * 37:35 Taking your talent to the community<br> <br> 41:30 Do we have to participate in the Church community?<br> <br> * 43:30 It can be easier to socialize with Church members<br> <br> 46:10 Serving in a Church community within the larger community<br> <br> * 50:55 Being the mayor of your street: building social cohesion in your neighborhood<br> <br> 54:40 Cliques and community: creating horseshoes, not circles<br> 59:00 Detaching from your ward and going forward: moving or changing callings<br> 1:07:00 Choosing to live near family… or not<br> 1:13:00 Finding joy wherever you live<br> 1:15:00 Two-hour church and missing connections: You don’t have to ask permission to create community<br> 1:17:45 Asking, “Where are we needed?”<br> 1:20:00 Building relationships with people and finding ways to serve them is key to living a Christlike life<br> Links<br> <a href="http://melodywarnick.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">melodywarnick.com</a><br> <a href="https://amzn.to/2Nua3wS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">This is Where You Belong</a>, by Melody Warnick
