Imperfectly Broken The Podcast

Your favorite girl is back! It just worked out for Ellora to record another podcast episode with me, but this time, we got to do it in person!

We talked about her FSY experience last July and all the miracles that occurred for her that week. We talked about being strong in the faith, about how we can have an impact on people and not even know it, about how sometimes those who seem really strong are at times the most attacked, and about bearing our testimony.

I encourage you to be like Ellora; be “destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer in [Satan’s] kingdom.” Trust in the Lord with all you’ve got. Don’t let the greatest bully of our world let you forget who you are and what you’re destined to do. I promise fighting the good fight is worth every effort because I KNOW the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. And not only is it true, but Christ supports His people while Satan drags his down to eternal misery and woe.

I hope you learn something from this episode and feel encouraged to stay strong.

Ellora, I sure love you! 🫶🏻🥹🩵

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Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

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In today’s episode, my younger sister and I talk about the Holy Ghost and feeling the spirit. We discuss D&C 8:2-3 which talks about how the spirit speaks truth to your heart and mind.

There are lots of ways to feel the spirit: someone may feel an intense pounding of their heart; someone else may feel chills/tingles; someone may get an inspired message in their mind; another may feel at peace; and one individual may feel warmth in their chest … the list goes on. And isn’t it wonderful that the Holy Ghost speaks to us individually, in the way that works best for us?

I challenge you to ponder how the spirit speaks to you, and if you’re not sure, pray and ask for guidance. My sister and I both have a testimony that Heavenly Father loves you personally and has a plan for you. Turn to Him and He will lead and guide you. 🩵

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Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

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Okay so you know how sometimes people say (myself included), “you do *not* want to miss this episode!” Ladies and gentlemen … that does not apply today. 🫣

Perhaps you’re wondering, “Kyra, why are you encouraging me to skip this episode?”

To that response, I would say, “Great question! Let me explain!”
1- The audio quality isn’t going to make anyone jealous. I had to use my phone again (which is actually amazing if you think about how far technology has come), but that means there is extra background noise and you can hear my breaths more pronounced.
2- There is nothing of substance in this episode. Nothing inspiring, no crazy story, no miraculous experience, no new insight … nothing quote-worthy, I promise. Just a simple story of a silly mistake I made.
3- If you are new to my podcast (maybe you have listened to a couple of episodes or maybe this is your first exposure), then please go listen to one of my better episodes. Don’t let this random and sporadic eight minutes turn you away forever. Down below, there is a link to my table of contents. If you scroll to the bottom, you’ll see episodes I commonly recommend to people. Listen to one of those, and skip this one. Kapeesh? 🫡🤩

If you’ve read all of that and still want to listen, do so at your own risk (of wasting 8 minutes of your life haha). Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 😉

Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode! (Those will be better, I promise!)

Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Okay so I know I do this a lot (haha sorry), but I waited til last minute … again. This time, the audio quality suffered, and I recorded a brief intro and outro using my phone’s microphone. Forgive me!

Although this episode is last minute, I spent way longer than I wanted preparing and editing it. You’re worth it though. 😉🩵🫶🏻

I shared some quotes from varying BYU devotionals (and a general conference talk), and I hope you enjoy!

First clip: “Flashes of Light” by Steven J. Lund given in September 2022

Second and third clip: D&C 18 “One Being is as Precious in His Sight as the Other” by Barbara Day Lockhart given in May 1992

Fourth clip: “Finding Strength in the Lord” by Kendra M. Hall-Kenyon given in September 2022

Fifth and sixth clip: “The Power of Deliverance” by Henry B. Eyring given in January 2008

Seventh clip: “The Seventh Commandment: A Shield” by Neal A. Maxwell given in October 2001

Eighth clip: “Called to Serve” by Neal A. Maxwell given in March 1994

Ninth clip: “Choosing Christ’s Light Burden” by W. Justin Dyer given in May 2023

Tenth clip: “The Devil Made Me Do it” by Anthony Sweat given in 2007

Eleventh clip: “For Times of Trouble” by Jeffrey R. Holland given in March 1980

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Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

I read this article over two weeks ago, and it touched me deeply. I actually felt the spirit 3-4 times while reading it!

Wanting others to hear this miraculous story, I saved the link to later record a podcast episode. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do and can feel God’s love for us, His children, as you listen.

So many times it is clear that God was in the details and by divine design, the necessary and needed things happened in order for Dusty Smith to find the gospel and later return.

I’m grateful Heavenly Father cares about us individually, and I promise you that as you turn to Him, you’ll see miracles in your life and feel His presence.

Elder Uchtdorf’s Talk:
https://www.churchofjesuschris...

The article I read:
https://www.ldsliving.com/the-...

My table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

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Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

WE MADE IT! Wahoooo! But for real, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling relieved that I’m done with this project. I’ve spent close to 30 hours (or more I don’t even know!) preparing the idea, making the google form, sending the form out to people (and reminding them haha), reading the responses, organizing the responses, putting people’s names by their answer, thinking about what I wanted to contribute, and then recording, editing, and posting these episodes.

My hope and prayer is that these episodes will answer questions that will help future counselors be the best FSY counselor they can be. It would also be awesome if these episodes inspired people to apply to FSY! If these episodes aren’t applicable to you but remind you of someone else, please share with them!

Here are the questions I will be going over in part four:
1. How can counselors best support and work with their co-counselors? What should they do if they don’t get along?
2. What advice would you give on how to handle situations where a youth was struggling spiritually, emotionally, or socially?
3. If you could give only one piece of advice to a new counselor, what would it be?
4. Do you have any tips on how to lead effective discussions?
5. What advice would you give about ministering to the one?
6. What strategies did you use to stay motivated and energized throughout the week and summer?
7. What do you think is the most important part of your job? (Reprise of this question, final and concluding thoughts)

Thank you for sticking with me as I went through ALL the questions. Once again … we did it!

Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

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Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Hello hello! Here’s part three of the miniseries about becoming an amazing FSY counselor! To be real with you, I thought part one went well, part two crashed and burned (that was on me, plus the topics weren’t as fun haha), and part three (this one!) went amazing! I’m really happy with how it turned out, and I believe the insight and advice in this episode is super valuable.

Here are the questions I went over in this episode:
1. What did you do as an FSY counselor that you think the youth appreciated?
2. Any tips and tricks on how you remembered names?
3. What advice would you give for preparing to teach lessons that resonate with the youth?
4. How did you adapt when an activity or lesson didn’t go as planned?
5. What strategies did you use to help youth feel included and engaged in activities?

Watch out for part four (and five???) coming out soon. We still have some solid questions left that you won’t want to miss!

Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Well friends, we are on to part two of this miniseries! In case you missed part one, I highly encourage you to start with that one first as it sets the foundation for the questions I will be going through today.

Here are today’s questions:
1. What was hard about being a counselor, and how did you overcome it?
2. What was something hard that you did not expect and would want to warn other potential counselors about?
3. What tips do you have for balancing your personal needs (like rest and meals) with the demands of being a counselor?

My original goal was to answer eight questions today, but I only made it through three of them (#awkward). I’m not going to lie, this episode is not as fun or entertaining as the last one was, so I apologize in advance. I’m hoping to liven things up again for part three. (I come from the future … part three is much better than part two. Just fyi!)

In the next episode, I’ll be answering these questions:
1. What did you do as an FSY counselor that you think the youth appreciated?
2. Any tips and tricks on how you remembered names?
3. What advice would you give for preparing to teach lessons that resonate with the youth?
4. How did you adapt when an activity or lesson didn’t go as planned?
5. What strategies did you use to help youth feel included and engaged in activities?

Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Back in November, I had a prompting to create a podcast episode with tips, tricks, and advice on how to be a great FSY counselor. Because I have done it the last three years, I feel I have some good advice! Quickly after coming up with this idea (which I believe to be from God), I thought about how it would be an even cooler (and more reputable) resource if I got advice from as many counselors as I could. The next day, I created a google form and sent it out to as many people as I could think of. I asked them to share it too, and I ended up with over 35 responses!

As many of you know, I invited people to reach out to me to record a podcast episode about their experience (not giving advice but telling stories and bearing their testimony) at FSY. I had six people reach out to me from that, and I believe that is another reason why I felt prompted to follow through on this idea!

The form has 22 free response questions in addition to some demographic information, so you can imagine that there is a lot to get through! But isn’t that exciting?! I’m pumped if you can’t tell!

Because I knew that I would not be able to create a solo episode with all the insights I’ve gathered, I decided to split it into three parts. (Though it will actually be more than three parts … I’ll explain later haha!) Unfortunately, I know that oftentimes “part one” of a series is listened to most, so I asked ChatGPT for help deciding which questions to answer in each part.

For part one, this is what it recommended (and what I answer in this episode):
1. What inspired you to become an FSY counselor?
2. Why should someone be an FSY counselor?
3. What was the most rewarding part of being an FSY counselor?
4. What advice would you give about preparing to go to FSY (spiritually, emotionally, and/or physically?)
5. What advice would you give about how to make the most of the experience?
6. What do you think was the most important part of your job?
7. How can future counselors ensure they leave a lasting positive impact on the youth they work with?

I hope that this resource is a helpful tool in preparing you for your AMAZING summer at FSY. I also hope you listen to all of the parts because the advice I’ve gathered is seriously top notch! Lastly, please share with friends and family if this episode might be applicable to them. I hope these episodes will stand the test of time and will be helpful for all future FSY counselors, no matter the year. Thank you!

The goal: Set the tone and share inspiring and foundational insights that will motivate you to want to learn more.

*Thank you to the counselors who took the time to fill out the google form. It is much appreciated!!!*

Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Happy happy Easter! Since General Conference, I’ve been wanting to be more intentional about Easter. Jesus Christ’s resurrection was the most significant event in the history of the world, and oftentimes, I let Easter pass by without thinking too much about Christ or its true meaning. Well no more!

I am grateful that because of Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come. One day, the sorrows of the world will be no more and will no longer serve a purpose. Revelation 21:4 speaks of this upcoming time, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.”

As an extra resource to make Easter more meaningful, I listened to the devotional below by Neal A. Maxwell a couple days ago and absolutely loved it. It is one of the best devotionals I’ve heard that made the atonement seem REAL to me. I HIGHLY recommend!

“In Him All Things Hold Together” by Elder Maxwell
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/...
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episo...

Here is a link to my table of contents: https://docs.google.com/docume...

Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!

Thank you soooo much for listening. Make sure to turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode!