Bless The Refreshments

This week we discuss the fine line between being devout and being extreme, kind of. We begin by talking about agency, then we talk about the Mandalorian, then we get around to the idea of being extreme. One way of being extreme is by imposing your theological view on others. Tyson thinks the gospel is really extreme at its core when compared to the philosophy of the world, which is extreme in a good way. We need to be on guard an not adopt the philosophies of the world, regardless if th...

Today we invite special guests Kari Lewis & Kimi Matsumura on the show to talk about how we can help and support individuals and families with special needs. Kari and Kimi both have children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and talk about their journey raising their children with unique needs. We discuss some of the support structures that were in place that helped their children and also talk about some things that were not as helpful to them. We broaden the conversation to ...

With Thanksgiving upon us, we decide to dedicate this episode to the things that we're thankful for. Jon shows love and appreciation to our listeners and mentions some recent interactions. Burgess is all for being thankful unless you're trying to bear your testimony. Tyson thinks open-mic Sunday means the church must be true. There are apparently physical health benefits to being grateful. Being thankful brings people together and removes contention from their midst. We are all grateful for e...

This week we talk about the Sabbath Day. How do we treat the sabbath compared to earlier times. Burgess has a strong testimony of the sabbath and tells us how that came about. We discuss how hard it can be to define how we keep the sabbath day holy. Tyson thinks the sabbath day is a defining characteristic of true discipleship. Jon describes the sabbath as a struggle against the natural man and will become a delight over time.

This week we talk about agency. When did agency begin? Do we honor agency now and if not how can we do that better? Is Satan the author of temptation? Would Satan's plan have even worked? What role does agency play in our salvation? How does the exercise of our own agency affect others? Lots of questions, come with us and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes...

Now that Burgess is back we do our much anticipated General Conference Fantasy Draft for October 2021. This is a huge milestone as we repeat a fun tradition. Tyson drafts in the worst spot per usual. We pick, we talk, we conquer. Enjoy!

Today Burgess is under the weather, so we invited our friend Tokie to join us on the show. Recent conference addresses have mentioned that a majority of adults in the church are single. Tokie tells us her experience about her marriage ending and taking on life in the church as a single parent. We talk about some of the struggles she had with lack of support in critical times. We also talk about how we tend to treat people that are in a different phase of life. Most importantly, Tokie describe...

In this week's episode we celebrate 6 months of the podcast and chat about the things we've accomplished (3000 downloads!) and enjoyed about the show in that time. We also talk about the word of wisdom and how it has evolved in practice over time, and how it may change in the future. John thinks beer is a mild barley drink, Burgess thinks we should all be vegetarians and Tyson apparently doesn't like energy drinks.

Today we welcome Richard Ostler, host of the Listen, Learn & Love Podcast. Richard is often called 'Papa Ostler' in social media circles. As a former Bishop, Richard was introduced to many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who were also part of the LGBTQ+ community. As he describes it, the spirit admonished him to 'wipe his hard drive' and open a dialogue with these members in order to love and understand them better. In this episode we discuss the many issues fac...

This week we discuss our initial thoughts on general conference. We also talk about the book of Mormon prophet Abinadi. Who was he and what does his ministry mean to us today? Having a prophet among the people is a privilege. The leaders were not the only wicked ones, the people were largely on board. We talk about what it must have been like to preach about Christ prior to His birth. We list out some of our favorite teachings of Abinadi. He was killed by the priests of king Noah, but probabl...