Leading Saints Podcast

Motivation & Building Teams in Latter-day Saint Councils | Guest Post by Blake Dalton

Blake Dalton is a full-time teacher from West Valley City, Utah. He served a full-time mission in Eugene, Oregon. He has served as an elder’s quorum president, a high councilman, executive secretary, and currently serves as the bishop of his ward. Also be sure to listen to Blake's How I Lead interview. Enter Brigham…

Heart of a Woman in Relief Society

In this podcast, Kurt and his wife, Alanna, talk with Melanie Meszaros, Celeste Jensen, and Michelle Miner from the team hosting the upcoming The Heart of a Woman retreat. Melanie was raised in Ogden Utah, the youngest of six children. She attended Brigham Young University, earned a Master’s Degree in Education, and served in the Vienna, Austria mission. She and her husband have four children and eight grandchildren. Melanie has served in Primary, Young Women’s, and Relief Society presidenci...

Seekers Wanted | An Interview with Anthony Sweat

Anthony Sweat is a “regular Latter-day Saint” who is trying to do his best.  He is a Church Education System educator for his career, has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, and is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University.  He is also a writer and speaker.  His Bachelors degree is in fine arts and he is a painter as well. Anthony's latest book is “Seekers Wanted”.  This is not a book to tell people what to think or to provide answers, but rather “how” to think,...

How I Lead as the Bishop’s Wife | Interviews with Jordan Brown and Amanda Fristrom

In this podcast, Kurt interviews two women with the unofficial leadership calling of Bishop’s Wife. Sister Jordan Brown First he speaks with Jordan Brown, who lives in Spanish Fork, Utah, where her husband has been the bishop of their ward for two years. Highlights 4:25 The circumstances surrounding her husband Brian’s calling as Bishop 9:45 The makeup of their ward 11:35 Leadership Principles: Communication as a couple: it first stopped being as intimate until they decided to focus on talki...

Finding the Seed of Greatness in Troubled Youth | An Interview with Kami Smith

Kami Smith grew up in Arizona, Kansas, Utah, and Idaho in an active Latter-day Saint home. She suffered abuse as a young child and had a troubled youth with anxiety and addiction, but found her way back with the help of loving leaders, earthly parents, and heavenly parents. Her story can help us as we lead and help troubled youth. Highlights 5:00 Abuse at a young age 12:00 Experience with therapy 16:00 Struggles as a teenager 18:40 Recognizing her abuse 21:00 Advice to leaders of rebellious ...

Suicide Prevention for Latter-day Saint Leaders | An Interview with Kristen Coltrin

Kristen Coltrin has a bachelor's degree in psychology and is working on a master's degree in clinical social work. She has been working as an intern with the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline, and felt called to help support Church leaders after an August 19, 2018 letter asking us to be more educated about suicide. The people she worked with at the hotline were excited to do outreach with organizations, and she stepped into the role of providing knowledge about suicide to Church leaders in her...

Implementing JustServe.org in Your Area | An Interview with Autumn Stringam

Autumn Stringam is from Alberta, Canada, and now lives in Nampa, Idaho. She and her husband are the parents of five children and have two grandchildren. She grew up with a community-minded mindset, and works in mental health nutrition and at a special-needs high school. Autumn was called as a JustServe specialist when the program was beginning in her community, and took that opportunity to help grow a thriving program in the Treasure Valley area. Highlights 7:15 Autumn's call as a JustServe ...

“I am a Young Single Adult Advocate” | An Interview with Rob Ferrell

T10 “I am a Young Single Adult Advocate” | An Interview with Rob Ferrell

Dr. Robert Ferrell has served as an elders quorum president, high councilor, YSA bishop, and YSA stake president, and has presented at firesides and conferences—including BYU Education Week—about connecting with young single adults. He grew up in the Bay Area of California but lives in Mountain Green, Utah, and is a periodontist working in the Ogden area. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a doctoral degree in dental surgery, and he and his wife are the parents of eight children. Hi...

Motivating and Connecting with Story and Vision | An Interview with Barry Rellaford

Trena Anderson and the DFCU Foundation 3:10 Deseret First Credit Union started in 1955 by a Church employee to serve his fellow employees 4:30 Formation of the credit union’s charitable organization, the DFCU Foundation 6:00 The foundation takes referrals for missionaries to help 7:10 Story of refugee twins in Buffalo, New York, who joined the Church and eventually decided to serve missions (video clips of stories available on the website) 9:10 The foundation helps outfit missionaries as they...

How I Lead as Stake Young Women President | An Interview with Kari Roppe

Kari Roppe lives in the Twin Cities area, in a lake cabin destination area in Wisconsin. She grew up in Provo, Utah, moved to Minneapolis as a young adult, and became inactive in the Church for many years. She is an elementary school teacher, the single parent of three children, and was called unexpectedly as a stake Young Women president. Highlights 6:40 Kari's experience coming back to the Church after years of inactivity 10:30 Served in Primary, Relief Society, and as gospel doctrine teach...

Balancing Church and CEO Leadership Duties | An Interview with Jim Quigley

James Quigley is a retired CEO of Deloitte, the world’s largest professional services company. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors at Hess Corporation, and on the board of directors for Wells Fargo, Merrimack Pharmaceutical, and Chatbooks. He also has a passion for leadership in education and is working to support the leadership development of school principals through Deloitte University. Jim served as a bishop while working as CEO of Deloitte. He and his wife Bonnie ha...

A Case for the Book of Mormon | An Interview with Tad R. Callister

Big Announcement!

We are excited to team up with Cumorah Tours to organize an epic church history tour that will happen in September of 2019. Listen to the attached interview to hear further details. There are only 48 seats available on this tour bus and they are going fast so check out all the full itinerary and reserve your seat on the bus today! SEE FULL TOUR DETAILS

Encouraging Faith that Sees Through Complexity | An Interview with Bruce and Marie Hafen

Maintaining Relationships When Loved Ones Leave the Church | An Interview with the Packard Family

Josh Packard, his wife Heidi, and his parents Cindy and Blair Packard join Kurt to discuss Josh’s faith transition away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the lessons learned from the entire family about maintaining love in the family while respecting decisions. Josh was raised in a traditional Latter-day Saint home, serving a mission, marrying Heidi in the temple, and attending medical school. While in medical school, Josh encountered areas that caused him to question...

When Someone Questions Their Faith…

We are excited to announce the Questioning Saints Virtual Summit. An online conference dedicated to helping Latter-day Saints validate and love those who begin to question their faith. We have some remarkable presenters including: Anthony Sweat, BYU Professor Adam Miller, Professor at Collin College in McKinney, Texas, Author of Letters to a Young Mormon David Ostler, Former Mission president and author David Snell, Co-host of Saints Unscripted Elder & Sister Hafen, Authors of Fait...

Addressing Feelings With Therapy, Life Coaching, or Spiritual Mentorship | An Interview with Beckie Hennessy

Good, Better, Best of the Addiction Recovery Program | An Interview with Brad Barber

"It is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best." —Dallin H. Oaks Brad Barber co-hosts The Next Step Podcast, which is based around the Church's Addiction Recovery Program and addiction in general. He grew up in the Church in southern California, served a mission, and attended Brigham Young University. Brad has seen many friends caught in addiction and became involved with ARP after hearing podcast co-host Jay's testimony of the program and wonder...

Finding Leaders in Your Ward Outside the Same Ten People | An Interview with Jessica Johnson

The Unique Opportunity Local Leaders Have to Encourage Faith Among Latter-day Saint Millennials | An Interview with Jana Riess

What Latter-day Saint Youth Leaders Need to Understand About LGBT Youth | An Interview with Brittany Ellis

Interview transcript is available below Brittany Ellis grew up in Riverside, California, and realized as a young woman that she experiences same-sex attraction. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband of ten years and their two children and is in school studying American Sign Language interpretation. In this interview, Brittany and Kurt talk about her journey as an SSA woman and how youth leaders can better approach the subject and work with SSA youth. Highlights 10:10 Brittany’s ...

What Young Single Adults Need YSA Bishoprics to Hear | An Interview with Rosie Card

Rosie Card is the founder of Q.NOOR, a clothing company that creates temple, baptism, and blessing dresses, and the host of the Q.MORE podcast, discussing questions about culture and doctrine in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A former model, BYU grad, and returned missionary, Rosie is also the author of Model Mormon, the story of her experience in the modeling industry and discovering that true happiness isn't found in looking beautiful, but in seeking to become more like th...

7 Self-Sabotaging Habits of Latter-day Saint Lay Leaders (and What to Do About Them)

Changing our Perspective on Addressing Welfare Needs | An Interview with Blair and Cindy Packard

Blair Packard is a physical therapist and Cindy is a midwife. They are from Utah but have lived in Arizona since 1976, first in Mesa and now in Gilbert. They have seven children and 25 grandchildren. Cindy learned some Portuguese after starting a nonprofit, Care for Life, based in Mozambique. This came in useful later when they served a short-term humanitarian mission to Mozambique, and then as mission president from 2006-2009. In this interview, Kurt and the Packards talk about how to addres...

Building Bridges and Ministering in Your Community | An Interview with Jodi Taylor

Jodi Taylor lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her husband and children, where they both work in real estate development. She is currently Coordinating Council Director of Public Affairs in the area. The coordinating council is responsible for building bridges in our communities, taking the ideas of ministering outside and into our neighborhoods to expand how the church works with community groups. Highlights 7:20 Jodi explains what the church is like in Anchorage. 8:35 Role of stake public aff...

How I Lead as the Bishop’s Wife | Interviews with Jill Walker and Kasandra Merrill

The Bishop’s Strongest Tools to Help Addicts | An Interview with Tony Overbay

How to Support Latter-day Saints Struggling With Depression & Anxiety | An Interview with Jane Clayson Johnson

One Couple’s Journey Through Sexual Addiction | An Interview with Chris & Autumn Bennett

Developing Leaders Through Immersive Learning | An Interview with LDS Business College Leadership Students

Kurt Francom, the host of the Leading Saints podcast, is an adjunct professor at LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah. During the fall semester, he taught a class called Leadership for Life and this episode is the main part of a final project of the course. You will hear from President Bruce C. Kusch, president of LDS Business College, and several students who were in the class. As this semester had gone by his class has gone thru many experiences in which they have been able to grow...

How I Lead as the Bishop’s Wife | An Interview with Alanna Francom

Alanna Francom grew up outside of Blackfoot, Idaho, the oldest of seven children. She attended Brigham Young University–Idaho and then decided to become a massage therapist and went to school in Salt Lake City, Utah. She met her husband, Kurt, in a Young Single Adult ward in Salt Lake, and has served alongside him while he was a bishop and in a stake presidency. They have three children. If you are a former/current bishop's wife, consider TAKING OUR SURVEY. Highlights 3:00 How Kurt and Alann...

#LightTheWorld

What a beautiful time of year it is to focus on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The #LightTheWorld campaign online is one of my favorite parts of this season and we hope that everyone will feel the effects of this effort. I am grateful for the opportunity we have had to team up with other Latter-day Saint podcasters and share of the sweet spirit of Christmas. In this episode you will hear from the following podcast hosts: Shawn Rapier, Latter-day Lives Podcast Nick Galieti, Latte...

Leading with Your God-Given Talents | An Interview with Dustin Peterson

Dustin Peterson is a leadership trainer with Proof Leadership Group and works with organizations to help develop their culture. He is also the author of Reset: How to Get Paid and Love What You Do, and coaches individuals to help them get unstuck in their careers. He currently serves in a stake presidency in Houston, Texas, and has previously served on a high council and as an early morning seminary teacher. In this podcast, Dustin talks about why we often believe we don't have talents, and h...

Being the Child of a Gay Parent in Latter-day Saint Culture | An Interview with Mike Ramsey

Mike Ramsey lives in Burley, Idaho, with his wife and four children (ages two to nine years). He is president of Nifty Marketing, an internet marketing company, an author and speaker, and currently serves in his stake young men presidency. He was raised in a single-parent home with a lesbian mother, and his experience coming to terms with his his mother’s sexuality has taught him tools that other leaders can use to better connect with and support the youth they lead. Highlights 8:00 Mike's m...

How I Lead as General Relief Society President | An Interview with Julie Beck

Church Doctrine, Policy, & Leadership | An Interview with Prof. Anthony Sweat

New to Leading Saints? Start Here.

What is Leading Saints? You can read more about Leading Saints on our ABOUT PAGE, but in short, Leading Saints is a non-profit (501c3) organization that is striving to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. We aim to accomplish this mission by creating content (podcasts, written articles, virtual/live conferences, etc.) Leading Saints is not a training organization. We hope the resources at Leading Saints will supplement your leadership development and help you bless the lives of ...

How I Lead as a Servant-Leader Bishop | An Interview with Jason Mount

Jason Mount is a medical doctor practicing emergency medicine in Georgia, originally from California. He is near the end of his third year serving as a bishop, after previously serving as a counselor in the bishopric. Highlights 5:20 Calling as bishop 8:20 Making calls as the bishop: sometimes the Lord leaves the decision to him 10:50 Demographics of his ward 12:35 Principles of servant leadership he has applied as a bishop 13:50 Learned the principle of servant leadership that "whatever w...

Ministering Saints Global Leadership Conference – November 27

You need to seriously look at your calendar on November 27, 2018. We are having an event calling Ministering Saints Global Leadership Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. If you can be there in person we strongly encourage you to do so. (Seats are very limited) If you will not be in the Salt Lake City area on November 27, that's okay. We are going to live stream the event online for the world to see (but you still need to register). The conference is c...

How I Lead as Relief Society President | An Interview with Rebecca Buxton Petho

Rebecca Petho currently serves as a Relief Society President in her Philadelphia, PA ward. She has spent her career working with non-profit organizations as a fundraising expert and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Leading Saints. Sister Petho grew up in the Gettysburg, PA area in a home where hard work and the expectations to contribute and play a role in the home were emphasized. Those lessons have helped shape the type of leader she has been in her church service in Young Sin...

Wild at Heart in Church Leadership | An Interview with Doug Nielsen

Doug Nielsen is a psychotherapist, executive coach, and motivational speaker who decided from an early age to become a psychotherapist and speak to and teach others. In his practice, he works mostly with individuals battling depression, anxiety, addictions, and marital problems. In his coaching and speaking work, he works with small business owners all the way up to very high-earning professionals. He works with individuals as well as speaking to groups of 1000 or more individuals. He is also...

What I Wish I Knew Before Tithing Settlement

How I Lead as Young Men President | An Interview with Aaron Chesley

Aaron Chesley lives in Boise, Idaho, and says he wouldn’t be the same person without Leading Saints. He currently serves as a bishop, but has racked up most of his church leadership experience while serving as a young men president, serving twice for a total of four years. He’s also been a scoutmaster three times and has served in his stake young men presidency. He has military experience in the Army reserves, served as a missionary, and has been married for 21 years. Highlights How Can ...

Launching a Rising Generation of Leaders | An Interview with Steven Hitz and Michael Leonard

Steve Hitz has founded and led companies, and served with his wife, Ginger, as a young single adults bishop. He is a founding member of Launching Leaders Worldwide Inc. Michael Leonard is the Executive Director of Launching Leaders and has worked in higher education and Church public affairs. Launching Leaders is a faith-based nonprofit leadership program for young adults. It started as a course at BYU Hawaii and later became a book and online course. Highlights 9:00 Come alongside: learning ...

Creating The Best Darn Ward Possible | An Interview with Mark Matheson

Mark Matheson is a visiting professor of business at "the BYU of the East Coast", Southern Virginia University. Matheson received a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix, a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Utah. In 2010, Matheson was an Entrepreneur in Residence at The Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship at BYU-Hawaii. He worked for 25 years as ...

The Art of Teaching Latter-day Saints | An Interview with Hank Smith

Dr. Hank Smith has taught seminary, institute, and now teaches at Brigham Young University. He is a regular speaker at religious programs, corporate training events, school assemblies, and educational conferences. He is a master teacher and in this episode, he shares with us some of his secrets and tactics that we can all apply to improve our teaching. This interview was originally part of the Leading Saints Teaching Saints Virtual Summit. Transcription Available Below Highlights 4:45 Start ...

Ward Mission Leaders & The Art of Neighboring | An Interview with Dave Runyon

Dave Runyon served as a pastor for nine years in the Denver area. In 2010 he launched a neighboring movement that mobilized over 70 churches and 40,000 people in the area, and then turned his experience into a book, The Art of Neighboring. Today he helps government, business, and faith leaders unite around common causes and helps businesses that have a desire to make a difference in their communities. Dave and his wife, Lauren, have four kids. Highlights 6:45 Introduction: Dave's backgroun...

What I Wish I Knew Before Organizing a Primary Program

Finding yourself in charge of planning, teaching, and organizing the Primary to put on a sacrament meeting program can be overwhelming! Thankfully, Leading Saints is here to help. In this episode we have gathered experiences from current and former Primary leaders from around the world sharing what they wish they knew before they were called to prepare and present the yearly program. You will find their advice inspiring and practical. Contribute Your Own WIWIK Experience In an effort to help ...

Helping Leaders Understand Faith Crisis | An Interview With David Ostler

Dave Ostler, who lives in Northern Virginia (Washington, D.C. metro area), was raised in Salt Lake City, served a mission in Japan, married in the temple, and was educated in the Eastern U.S. He and Sister Ostler have lived in New York, Minnesota, England, India, and Sierra Leone, Africa, where they presided over the Church’s mission until it was temporarily closed due to an Ebola outbreak. They subsequently served a mission (one of five for Brother Ostler) with a responsibility for historica...