Grow in the Light Podcast

"It will be because we practice Zion. We'll practice it first in our hearts, and then in the collective." - NiCole Hale

Are you an introvert who genuinely loves being alone? Maybe solitude is where you rest, think, pray, and recover when life feels overwhelming. But could “I'm an introvert” sometimes keep you from recognizing another kind of restoration God designed you to receive through other people?

After an exhausting month caring for her father through serious illness, NiCole wanted nothing more than to stay home and recover alone. She almost skipped a simple paint night with friends. What surprised her was how healing it felt to create, laugh, and simply be in a room with people who cared that she was there. She didn't discover that her need for solitude was wrong. She discovered that connection could restore something different.

In this episode, Emily and NiCole explore why personal and spiritual growth need both individual reflection and meaningful connection. NiCole shares what she has learned as an introvert, a caregiver, and a member of a Grow In the Light Growth Group about vulnerability, collective prayer, human flourishing, and allowing herself to both support and be supported by others. Together, they consider what it means to stop thinking of Zion only as something God will establish someday and begin practicing Zion in our hearts and relationships now.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

NiCole Hale is an instructional designer with a master's degree in educational technology and instructional design, focused on transformative learning in adult education. She loves her Savior, Jesus Christ, and strives to apply his eternal Atonement in infinite ways daily. She and her husband, David, are the parents of six amazing children and love to draw their family close.

Doctrine and Covenants 45:57, Receive truth, take the Holy Spirit as your guide, and be not deceived

Moses 7:18, Zion as a people of one heart and one mind

Truth and the Plan, Dallin H. Oaks

00:00 Why growth isn't meant to happen alone

02:30 When an introvert wants to recover alone

05:20 Discovering unexpected healing in community

07:45 From “fix-it-myself” to collective growth

10:00 Neuroscience, gospel principles, and wise woman growth

13:00 Vulnerability and the courage to examine ourselves

14:30 From surviving to flourishing

16:00 What the collective gives us that individual growth cannot

17:00 Discovering the power of collective prayer

19:00 Holding and being held in Zion

20:00 Practicing Zion in our hearts and relationships

"I do believe we can foundationally transform how we walk through this world." - Stan Bennion

Have you spent years trying to “do the gospel right,” but still find yourself longing for more joy, peace, or connection with God? Maybe prayer doesn't feel as meaningful as you think it should. Maybe uncertainty in your family, relationships, or future leaves you anxious. Or maybe you simply sense that God is inviting you to grow, but doing more isn't bringing the transformation you seek.

In this episode, Emily talks with coach and mentor Stan Bennion about the difference between transactional growth, changing our lives through discipline, action, and willpower, and transformation that happens from the inside out. Stan shares how struggles in work, parenting, and personal prayer led him to examine his relationships with God, himself, others, and the present moment.

Together, they explore how Jesus Christ invites us beyond performing the right behaviors into deeper discipleship that begins with a shift in perspective. What if greater peace doesn't require getting everything figured out, but learning a different way to be with God in the life you're living right now?

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Stan Bennion is an integral coach who works with individuals and executives on personal change. After a 30-year career as an HR executive, primarily in the oil and gas industry, he retired from full-time work and became certified in integral coaching. Stan lives in Alaska with his wife and has four adult children. His own spiritual journey has led him to explore meditation, transformation, and the deeper relationships that shape how we experience God, ourselves, and others.

Stan Bennion’s podcast
The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5–7
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Centering Prayer, Thomas Keating
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
“Enduring to the end means changing to the end.” “Keep the Change,” Becky Craven

00:00 Finding greater peace through spiritual transformation

00:31 Meet Stan Bennion

03:34 Can people really change and transform?

04:08 Spiritual growth from the inside out

08:56 Why doesn't prayer feel meaningful or connecting?

11:31 Finding greater peace and connection with God through presence

14:58 Transactional vs. transformational spiritual growth

20:22 How Jesus teaches transformation in the Sermon on the Mount

23:49 Letting go of fear when parenting teens and adult children

27:10 What if your spouse doesn't want to grow or change?

32:00 Finding faith through change and an ongoing Restoration

33:07 Is fear or love guiding your spiritual life?

"I used to believe fear meant I was failing. Now I understand it may be evidence that God is helping me grow." - Emily Layton

Have you ever started making positive changes in your life, only to find yourself feeling more anxious, discouraged, or full of self-doubt? Maybe you're trying to strengthen your relationship with God, improve your marriage or family relationships, create healthier habits, or become more intentional in the way you live. Instead of feeling more peaceful, you're wondering if you've made things more complicated, if your growth is affecting your relationships, or if it would simply be easier to return to the status quo than keep pushing through the messy middle of change.

In this episode, Emily shares a personal experience that changed the way she understands resistance. As she created a new back-to-school routine centered on living more soulfully aligned, she unexpectedly experienced fear, doubt, and emotional heaviness. Through journaling, Newton's Third Law, and Lehi's teaching that there must needs be opposition in all things, she discovered a powerful truth: resistance isn't always evidence that you're failing. Sometimes it's evidence that you're moving forward.

If you've ever questioned yourself because positive change suddenly feels harder instead of easier, this episode will help you recognize resistance with greater clarity, respond with curiosity instead of shame, and continue moving forward with faith.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Emily Layton is the founder of Grow In the Light. With a master's degree in Family Life Education and Human Development, a passion for combining gospel principles, brain science, and practical tools for lasting growth and development, she helps women receive light, magnify light, and share light as they become who God created them to be. 

2 Nephi 2:11 - "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things."

Doctrine and Covenants 45:57 - "Receive the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for your guide."

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

00:00 Recognizing anxiety and fear during positive change

04:00 Understanding resistance and the "Growth Force"

08:00 Connecting physical and spiritual laws of opposition

12:00 How the brain resists positive change

16:00 Turning G-force into Growth Force

20:00 Recognizing self-sabotage and all-or-nothing thinking

24:00 Distinguishing truth from fearful stories

28:00 Holding resistance with curiosity instead of shame

32:00 Seeing resistance as evidence of growth

36:00 More invitations to grow

“Consecration was never about giving things up, but about trading our tattered life for something celestial.” - Jessica Lewis

Have you ever wondered what it actually means to live a consecrated life, and whether it's even possible in the middle of laundry, work, parenting, and the ordinary responsibilities of everyday life? If consecration sounds intimidating, or makes you wonder what God might ask you to give up, this episode offers a different way to understand it: not as losing yourself, but as gradually allowing Christ to purify and transform you.

In this episode, Emily talks with civil engineer and mentor Jessica Lewis about a powerful gospel analogy that grew out of Jessica's work with BYU's Global Engineering Outreach program in Peru. Jessica helped develop sand filtration water filters for families living on the Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca. As she considered how layers of sand gradually purify contaminated water, she saw a parallel to the slow, refining process of consecration and discipleship.

Together, they explore how small and simple choices, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and the people in our lives can help us become more holy over time. They also consider what consecration looks like in different seasons of life, including the mundane work of laundry, parenting, and going to work. The goal is not perfection or dramatic change, but one faithful step at a time, trusting Christ to help us become more like Him.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Jessica Lewis studied civil engineering at Brigham Young University and worked as a structural engineer. She served with BYU’s Global Engineering Outreach program, including on a water-filtration project in Peru. Jessica lives in Dayton, Ohio, with her husband, Ben, and their three children.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:32–33

Ephesians 4:15–16

Neal A. Maxwell, on consecration and the path of discipleship, “Consecrate Thy Performance”

Dallin H. Oaks, “Coming Closer to Jesus Christ,” BYU devotional, February 10, 2026

Primary song: “I Will Walk with Jesus”

New hymn: “Holy Places”

00:00 What consecration can look like in ordinary life

04:00 Building a water filter in Peru

08:00 The water-filtration metaphor for consecration

12:00 Small and simple changes and the “living layer” of community

16:00 Consecration in laundry, work, and everyday responsibilities

20:00 Why consecration can feel scary

24:00 Finding your next step in a new season of life

28:00 Speaking truth in love and building Zion together

32:00 Living for God and for the good of others

36:00 Walking with Jesus on the path of discipleship

“AI can be a tool to help enhance what you are already doing, not a substitute for personal revelation.” - Mindy Zeigler

Do you want your scripture study to feel more meaningful, personal, and connected to revelation, but struggle to make time for deep study or to remember the insights you have? Maybe you find yourself relying on podcasts, manuals, or other people’s interpretations before giving the Spirit a chance to teach you what you need to notice for yourself. Or maybe you are curious about using AI for gospel study but unsure how to use it without letting technology replace your own spiritual work.

In this episode, Emily talks with Mindy Zeigler, a mentor in scripture study and personal revelation, about her Think, Feel, Do, Record framework for studying the scriptures. Mindy shares how she uses Gospel Library to capture and organize insights, and how she uses ChatGPT as a personal organization tool to transcribe, sort, and retrieve the thoughts and promptings she has already received.

Together, they explore how scripture study can become a whole-souled practice involving body, spirit, heart, and mind. You will hear a live example using 1 Nephi 1:1, learn how to notice patterns such as “The Lord that... He will...,” and discover why recording your own thoughts and promptings can strengthen the process of personal revelation. The episode also offers practical guardrails for using AI wisely: let the Spirit teach you first, use AI to support your study rather than replace it, and verify anything AI provides before relying on it.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Mindy Zeigler is a pharmacist, mother, teacher, and passionate student of the scriptures. She served a two-year service mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2022 to 2024, helping individuals and teachers use Gospel Library to deepen scripture study and learn to receive personal revelation. She lives in Ohio with her husband and four children and is an advocate for thoughtful, intentional gospel study.

1 Nephi 1:1

1 Samuel 17:37

President Thomas S. Monson, “Learn of Me,” March 2016

President Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” April 2018

Gospel Library

ChatGPT

Scripture Notes with Shauna and Oak Norton

00:00 Why Think, Feel, Do, Record can deepen gospel study

00:28 Discovering Gospel Library

03:10 Letting the Spirit teach you first

04:54 Think, Feel, Do, Record

07:29 A whole-souled approach to scripture study

09:27 Practicing the framework with 1 Nephi 1:1

12:00 From scripture insight to personal revelation

14:27 Using AI to organize gospel study

16:02 Creating a ChatGPT project for scripture study

21:34 Using AI as a tool, not a source

23:11 The Lord that... He will...

27:06 Faith is built by remembering

32:00 Making scripture study your own

“It’s okay to cry. Wise women cry.” - Karen Young

What do you do when life suddenly changes in ways you never expected? How do you stay grounded, trust God, and care for your whole self when uncertainty, fear, and grief are part of everyday life?

In this episode, Emily talks with her friend and mentor Karen Young about what happened when war broke out in the Middle East while Karen and her husband, Rob, were serving in Qatar. Karen describes living through missile alarms, sheltering in place, and being unexpectedly evacuated to Morocco. Her experience offers a candid look at faith, emotional resilience, preparation, and what it means to keep moving forward when God's plan looks very different from your own.

Together, they explore what it means to have oil in your lamp before a crisis arrives, to recognize the difference between faith and emotional suppression, and to let tears, grief, and other physical responses move through the body without shame. Karen's story invites women to trust the Savior, keep their covenants, remain open to God's direction, and develop the spiritual, emotional, and relational capacity to meet life's unpredictable turns with greater equanimity.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

 Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Karen Young is a mentor to Emily in saying yes to God's will, in covenant living, and in wise-woman resilience. In this episode, Karen reflects on her experience serving with her husband, Rob, in Qatar, where they lived through the outbreak of war and were later evacuated to Morocco. Her story is grounded in a lifetime of faith, service, and learning to trust God when life does not unfold as expected.

Matthew 25:1–13, The Parable of the Ten Virgins

John 11:35, “Jesus wept”

“Best Days and Worst Days,” Emily Belle Freeman, April 2026 general conference

00:00 War begins in Doha

02:11 Alarms and shelter routine

03:41 Ordered to evacuate

07:27 Tears on the way out

10:34 Oil in the lamp and resilience

16:31 Signs of the times

21:24 Leaving her heart in Doha

23:06 Equanimity means crying

“Meditation is a powerful tool for you to not only become like Jesus Christ, but to connect with Jesus Christ.” - Shauna Norton

Have you ever felt like you are doing all the right things, but still aren’t experiencing the peace or connection with God you desire? Maybe prayer, scripture study, service, and Church responsibilities are all part of your life, yet you still long to feel more present with Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Emily talks with meditation mentor Shauna Norton about gospel-centered meditation as a way to be with Jesus Christ, not simply another thing to do. Shauna shares how unexpected turns in her life, including divorce and remarriage, led her to meditation and eventually to creating Refill My Soul when she could not find meditations centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The conversation explores stillness, breathwork, revelation, and learning to recognize God’s assurances and “divine signatures.”

Together, Emily and Shauna explore how meditation can help us become more present like the Savior, calm our nervous systems, open space for revelation, and experience a deeper connection with God. The episode closes with a guided meditation inviting you to abide in Christ.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

 Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Shauna Norton is a meditation mentor and the creator of Refill My Soul, a gospel-centered meditation app designed to help members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints be still, ponder truth, and strengthen their relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She describes herself as a wife, mother, and grandmother and has experienced significant “Plan B” turns in her life, including divorce and remarriage. Her own search for spiritually nourishing meditation led to the creation of Refill My Soul.

Doctrine and Covenants 101:16, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

2 Timothy 3:14, “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of”

John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you.”

Matthew 26:38, “Tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

President David O. McKay, "Meditation is the language of the soul."

Shauna Norton, meditation resource: Refill My Soul 

Oak Norton, scripture resource: Scripture Notes

00:28 Meet Shauna Norton

03:10 Why I started meditating

04:54 From doing to being

07:29 Learning stillness

09:27 Refill My Soul

12:00 Ask, seek, knock

14:27 Breathwork basics

16:02 A God of assurances

21:34 Divine signatures

23:11 Frequency of heaven

24:00 Guided meditation: Abide in Christ

“Food is to be shared. Our lives are to be shared.” - Shelli Spotts

Have you ever wished for stronger community, deeper friendships, or a greater sense of belonging, but wondered how to create it in everyday life? Maybe you want to know your neighbors better, make your home more welcoming, or find simple ways to help people feel seen and cared for.

In this episode, Emily talks with writer and BYU writing teacher Shelli Spotts about how something as ordinary as food can nourish more than our bodies. Drawing from Shelli’s essay “I Call It Community: Ponderings on the Sunday Pantry,” they explore how sharing ingredients, recipes, meals, traditions, and acts of service can create belonging and strengthen relationships.

Together, they explore the difference between a transactional exchange and a gift economy, and how small acts of sharing can teach us to rely on one another, receive help, and contribute what we have. Food becomes a beautiful metaphor for community: no one person has every ingredient, but when we share what we have, we can create something none of us could make alone.

Recognize how food, hospitality, and shared traditions can build community and belonging.

Notice simple opportunities to strengthen relationships with neighbors, friends, family, and people around you.

Understand how sharing what you have can create connection without turning every interaction into a transaction.

Explore the idea of a gift economy and what it can teach us about relying on one another.

See how meeting physical needs can also nourish the heart, spirit, and mind.

Create small habits of generosity, such as making an extra loaf of bread, sharing an ingredient, or opening your home to others.

Discover how food can carry culture, memory, identity, vulnerability, and love from one generation to another.

Consider how your everyday choices can help create the kind of connected, generous community you want to live in.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Shelli Spotts is a writer and writing teacher at Brigham Young University, where she has taught since 2013. She earned an MFA in creative writing from BYU. Shelli and Emily also work together on communications for Big Ocean Women. She lives in a close-knit neighborhood where everyday experiences with food, neighbors, and shared resources have shaped her thinking about community.

Connect with Shelli

Read Shelli’s essay “I Call It Community: Ponderings on the Sunday Pantry”

00:00 Introduction: How food nourishes community

00:36 Meet Shelli Spotts

03:21 Food, belonging, and the symbolism of sharing

07:55 Food as our common ground

10:19 How the Sunday Pantry began

14:00 From transactions to a gift economy

15:45 When a neighborhood rallies around a new baby

19:20 Food nourishes more than the body

23:45 Sharing food, traditions, and ourselves

27:45 Defying darkness through collective good

30:05 Look for who needs to be fed

“I knew at a different level how much the Savior loved me because of this experience, and then I could understand how to love more like Him.” - Whitney Archibald

What would change if you could see the people around you through the Savior's eyes? What if receiving Christlike love could actually increase your own capacity to love others?

In this second conversation with Whitney Archibald, Whitney shares another transformation that began after her devastating rock-climbing accident. As first responders cared for her broken body, Whitney experienced their concern as something almost tangible. In a powerful spiritual moment, she understood what she was experiencing as the pure love of Christ. That experience changed not only how deeply she understood the Savior's love for her, but also how she saw and loved other people.

Emily and Whitney explore what it means to see others through the Savior's eyes, give and receive love with greater humility, and recognize simple acts of service as expressions of God's love. Whitney's experience reminds us that Christlike love is not reserved for extraordinary spiritual moments. Our capacity to love can grow as we practice seeing, serving, receiving, forgiving, and allowing the Lord to expand our hearts.

Understand how receiving Christlike love can increase your capacity to love others.

Recognize the pure love of Christ in ordinary acts of care, service, and connection.

See other people with greater compassion, grace, and awareness of their whole souls.

Receive help and love from others without seeing your needs as a burden.

Discover how adversity can deepen empathy and help you better support someone else’s suffering.

Practice seeing people through the Savior’s eyes, even when relationships or interactions are difficult.

Notice small opportunities to help others feel seen, known, and loved.

Grow your capacity for charity by intentionally asking God to fill your heart with His love.

If you're walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don't have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

Whitney Archibald is a mother of five, musician, outdoor enthusiast, writer, and podcaster. After surviving a 30-foot rock-climbing fall, Whitney experienced extensive physical recovery and a profound spiritual transformation. Through receiving extraordinary care from first responders, medical professionals, family, and friends, she developed a deeper understanding of the pure love of Christ and an increased capacity to see and love others through the Savior's eyes.

Family Lab podcast

Y Magazine podcast

Email Whitney

Family Lab podcast 
Y Magazine podcast 
Email Whitney

00:00 Introduction: Putting together the puzzle of Christlike love

00:52 Experiencing love from first responders

04:14 Feeling seen, soothed, and cared for

08:26 Recognizing the pure love of Christ

12:01 Seeing others through the Savior’s eyes

17:02 How receiving love increases our capacity to love

25:44 Practicing Christlike love in everyday relationships

31:03 Giving and receiving love with humility

“I wouldn’t trade to go back to who I was even right before the accident. I am very happy with who I’ve become because of the accident.” - Whitney Archibald 

What happens when an accident, illness, disability, loss, or other unexpected adversity changes the life you thought you would have? How do you grieve what you’ve lost while learning to recognize what is still possible, rebuild your identity, and trust God in a life that may never look the same?

In this episode, Emily talks with Whitney Archibald about the 30-foot rock-climbing fall that left Whitney with devastating injuries and a long physical recovery. Whitney shares the immediate spiritual experience that helped her release shame, the difficult process of accepting new limitations, and how she learned to shift her attention from everything she couldn’t do toward the abilities, relationships, and gifts that remained.

Their conversation explores trauma and healing through the whole soul: body, spirit, heart, and mind. Whitney shares how music helped her communicate with God and eventually grieve her experience, how adversity reshaped her identity and priorities, and how suffering has deepened her gratitude, testimony, and capacity to receive and give love. Her story offers hope that transformation doesn’t require denying what you’ve lost. Growth can include both grief for what is gone and gratitude for who you are becoming.

Find hope when illness, injury, disability, or adversity changes the life you expected.

Release shame and self-blame for being human and making mistakes.

Understand how grief and gratitude can coexist during healing and recovery.

Separate your essential identity and worth from your abilities, productivity, or physical capacity.

Focus on what you can do while gently making room for what has been lost.

Recognize music as a powerful way to process emotion, connect with your soul, and communicate with God.

Discover new gifts and possibilities that can emerge through unwanted change.

Strengthen your trust in God’s love even when healing doesn’t mean returning to who you were before.

If you’re walking through the messy middle of personal growth, you don’t have to do it alone. Grow In the Light Growth Groups provide Christ-centered community, practical tools, and supportive coaching to help you continue becoming who God created you to be.

Learn more at www.GrowInTheLight.com.

 Whitney Archibald is a mother of five, musician, outdoor enthusiast, writer, and podcaster. She hosts How She Moms and has contributed to the Y Magazine podcast. After surviving a 30-foot rock-climbing fall, Whitney has navigated extensive physical recovery, chronic limitations, grief, and a changing sense of identity. Her experience has also deepened her faith, gratitude, relationship with God, and understanding of the transformative power of love. 

How She Moms Family Lab podcast 
Y Magazine podcast 
 Email Whitney 
 

“It Is Well with My Soul” Hymn recording

 00:55 Whitney's Background and Podcasting Passion

01:36 The Rock Climbing Accident

05:07 Processing the Accident and Divine Intervention

10:46 Music as a Healing Force

16:36 Physical and Emotional Recovery

19:18 Identity and Acceptance of New Limitations

25:54 Grieving the Loss of Expected Roles

27:51 Focusing on What I Can Do

32:31 Finding Respite and Coping Mechanisms

38:32 Rediscovering Fun and Creativity

44:11 Transformative Gifts and Spiritual Growth

48:37 The Power of Love and Relationships