Latter-day Saint Commentary from the Pacific Northwest - Rocky Mountain Sunshine Podcast

In today's episode we take a second look at Sister Sharon Eubank's talk from the October 2020 General Conference. Sister Eubank is the First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I am a HUGE fan of Sharon Eubank and I get so much out of her talks, so I wanted to go back and study this a bit more and share some of my thoughts.

My mission president was Elder Neil L Andersen, who is now serving in the Quorum of the Twelve.  I remember that he would tell us missionaries to make the talks from General Conference our walk and talk for the next 6 months.

I need to admit that when I was younger, I did not feel that anything said during the Womens’ Conference was meant for me so I really did not pay much attention to it. It was not broadcast on the internet and I didn’t go watch it at the stake center, so it was easy to ignore.

I have repented for that and sometimes talks from women’s conference are some of my favorites. I was a big fan of Sisters Sheri Dew and Julie Beck and started to listen more and more to the women’s sessions. Now with it being streamed live on the internet, it’s much easier to hear the talks. I really look forward to hearing from many of the general auxiliaries. As I said in the introduction, I’ve become a big fan of Sharon Eubank.

Eubank is a familiar name to Utah natives.

Mark Eubank was the white jacket-wearing weather guy on KSL TV. When the camera would go to him and you saw that he was wearing the white jacket, you knew that snow was coming.  His son, I’m assuming Sharon’s brother, Kevin Eubank, took over as the KSL meteorologist in 2006.

Sister Eubank is currently the First Counselor in the General Presidency of the Relief Society. If you don’t know what that is, it is the Church’s organization for 6 million female members 18 and over. She continues her role as the president of Latter-day Charities, the humanitarian organization for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a side note, I would love to work there some day, so if anyone is listening from there, and you have a position open, shoot me a message! I know the glamorous life of selling cables must be a skill that could be used in Latter-Day Charities. I often joke that my company is a non-profit, but that is not by design! Haha.  Especially in 2020…. Aye aye aye.  OK.  Tangent accomplished.

Have you seen the new Disney and Pixar movie Soul? What did you think? I thought that it was interesting that there was a pre-earth life and an afterlife. 

My special guest today is Shawn Rapier the host of Latter-day Lives, Sharing Time, and the Castle Collective. 

He is an award winning cook with Gabbacue Smoke and Grill, a speaker, a comedian, an amazing father, a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and so much more. You will love getting to know Shawn.

We learn about where Shawn grew up. 

Shawn shares a few experiences he had with Neal A. Maxwell, Brad Wilcox, President Thomas S. Monson (then Elder Monson), and President Howard W. Hunter (then Elder Hunter).

We talk about Shawn's mission in Osorno, Chile.

We learn how he met Vanessa. How his family with 8 children came about.

We talk about how his popular podcast, Latter-day Lives came about and what he learned along the way.

Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!

In today's episode, we are talking about temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

So, let's jump into this week's episode. I first want to clarify and be very clear that I am not an authority for the Church. I'm just an average member.  So the opinions expressed here are my opinions only. They are not official opinions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Okay, so the first question that I had was, what are temples? i.e Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? What are they? 

Well, on the Church website, we find temples are the most sacred place of worship on Earth. It is the house of the Lord. President Russell M. Nelson, who is the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, "Each temple is a beacon of light and hope. The temple, the house of the Lord, stands as a symbol of our faith in life after death, and as a stepping stone to eternal life for us and for our families. The temple is a sacred and essential part of God's plan for our happiness now and forever..... Listen to the episode for the rest!!! 

So until next time, cheers from the Pacific Northwest.

What are some things that you look forward to every Christmas season? Are there traditions that you have? Well, as you know, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and there are some things as I thought about it, that we do every year that I think might be unique to Latter-day Saints. So today, I'm going to talk about 10 Christmas traditions that I look forward to as a Latter-day Saint.  So let's get to it.

So the first thing that I'm going to talk about is the #LightTheWorld campaign that the church has. Every December, they come out with a service calendar, and they give you ideas on every day on things that you can do to help light the world and make it a better place. We've had so much fun with this already this year. One of the things that it's suggested that you do is for Monday, the 7th was signs of Christmas, lift others, like Jesus did decorate a neighbor's door with Christmas Greetings, and share a picture of what you wrote on social media. So we did this with our children. What we did is we cut out snowflakes, made a little Christmas card, and I decided that we were going to take it to one of our neighbors, one of our friends in the ward, and they have small children. So we thought it'd be fun for them. My son Xavier was having a blast with this. He's eight years old and just really enjoyed cutting out the snowflakes. I think we all enjoyed it. And then we go to this family's home and they actually had some stairs that we had to walk up to get to their door. So everyone was trying to be really quiet. And then we decorate the door with all these snowflakes who put the card on there. It's just a surprise for them when they they come out and they see that someone's decorated their door. And we have this nice little Christmas message for them. And so that was one of the ideas. We've been doing it all December long. And it's just a great way to keep Top of Mind ways where you can look outside of yourself and help others and to bring a smile to other people's life. So anyway, I really enjoy that. And that is the #LightTheWorld campaign that the Church does. If you want to see what the calendar is all about, you can go to comeuntochrist.org. And you'll just scroll down and see all the different things that they have with Light The World. The service calendar is just part of it. But that part that's really fun. We really enjoy that and you can print the calendar out as a PDF, to look through all the different ideas that they have for the month of December. 

One thing that we look forward to every Christmas is the Tabernacle Choir concert. This year with the COVID restrictions, there's no Tabernacle Choir concert, one of the many things this year that has been cancelled because of COVID-19. And it's really something that is, you know, disappointing for. For me personally, I love the choir. Whenever I listen to the Tabernacle Choir, I feel the spirit. The Tabernacle Choir is very special, and the music touches my heart touches my soul. To hear them live is really something incredible. And if you are ever in Salt Lake, and there's not a pandemic going on, you really need to make it to temple square and see the Tabernacle Choir. Think of a free live performance every Sunday as part of music and the spoken word. Often you can also catch them practicing. So this year, you'll just have to try and catch some of their previous recorded Christmas concerts. They're always fantastic. That has always been something that we really enjoys either going and seeing them in person, or at least watching it on TV.... (tune in to the podcast for the full show)

In this special Christmas episode, I talk about some of my favorite, and some of my least favorite Christmas foods.

Some things we will talk about:

The Best and worst Christmas foods. It's the most punderful time of the year!

Everybody has their own preference, but Jason shares his Christmas food favorites, his least favorites and some that are just, “Meh.”  You’re in for a “treat!”

Please think of others who may not have enough food. Give extra in your fast offerings or give to a food bank.

Thanks to Rob Vischer for sharing his song, "Til New Year's Eve. "Find it on Spotify and add it to your Christmas playlist! 

For more on the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

https://www.comeuntochrist.org/light-the-world-2020

For more about Rocky Mountain Sunshine and the host Jason Bringhurst:

https://rockymountainsunshine.com/

I'm originally from Midvale, Utah. I am married to the lovely and talented Jen Bringhurst. I have 6 amazing and talented children. I am a small business owner. I love a cold Diet Coke and a slice of pizza. I listen to 80's New Wave music.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (LDS) Sometimes folks call us Mormon, but that isn't the correct name of the Church.

I live in beautiful Port Angeles, Washington after moving here in 2018 from Highland, Utah.

Thanks for listening! We hope that we’ve add  a little bit of sunshine to your day. Make sure to visit Rockymountainsunshine.com for other content not found on the podcast.

We would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate and review the episode. Also, if you liked it, please share it! It will help us to be found when people are looking for podcasts.

Until next time, Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!

The views and opinions expressed on the Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast are those of the host and any guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast is not owned nor operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not officially represent The Church in any way.

In this episode, I talk about some questions that arise about Latter-day Saints when it comes to Christmas. The correct name of the Church is, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are sometimes referred to as LDS or Latter-day Saints as well as Mormons.  The questions that I found on Google all used the term "Mormon" which is not the correct name of members of our Church.

Some things we will talk about: 

My beef with Starbucks.

When I caught my friend Shawn holding a beer.

When I accepted a bottle of wine in France.

When I accidentally had alcohol on my breath and on my hands as a missionary, right before meeting with President Neil L. Andersen, our mission president.

These are some popular searches that I found on Google related to my faith that we will discuss:

Do Latter-day Saints Celebrate Christmas?

What do you get a Latter-day Saint for Christmas?

Do Latter-day Saints celebrate holidays?

Do Latter-day Saints drink alcohol during the holidays?

Do Latter-day Saints eat chocolate?

To be clear, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Russel M. Nelson, the President of The Church has asked us to use the correct name of the Church rather than the word "Mormon" or "Mormons". 

If you are of another faith, hopefully  this podcast will help you to remember the correct name. Mormon is an ancient prophet who compiled the writings of many ancient prophets and put them together into The Book of Mormon. I believe it to be the word of God right along with the Bible. I revere him as a prophet, but when we call our church, "The Mormon Church", it makes it sound like we worship Mormon, instead of Jesus Christ. Those who read the Book of Mormon, know that it is simply many teachings of Jesus Christ by His prophets who lived on the American continent between 600 B.C to 400 A.D.

For more on the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

https://www.comeuntochrist.org/light-the-world-2020

For more about Rocky Mountain Sunshine and the host Jason Bringhurst:

https://rockymountainsunshine.com/

For specifics on the name of the Church:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide#:~:text=The%20official%20name%20of%20the,of%20Latter%2Dday%20Saints.%22

I'm originally from Midvale, Utah. I am married to the lovely and talented Jen Bringhurst. I have 6 amazing and talented children. I am a small business owner. I love a cold Diet Coke and a slice of pizza. I listen to 80's New Wave music.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (LDS) Sometimes folks call us Mormon, but that isn't the correct name of the Church.

I live in beautiful Port Angeles, Washington after moving here in 2018 from Highland, Utah.

Thanks for listening! We hope that we’ve added a little bit of sunshine to your day. Make sure to visit Rockymountainsunshine.com for other content not found on the podcast.

We would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate and review the episode. Also, if you liked it, please share it! It will help us to be found when people are looking for podcasts.

Until next time, Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!

Music by Pixabay - United State Marine Band - We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

The views and opinions expressed on the Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast are those of the host and any guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast is not owned nor operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not officially represent The Church in any way.

We hope that you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

In episode 7, I talk about the similarity to sales and missions and how grit is necessary for both.

The puns get laid on heavy in this episode. Brace yourself for an epic look at the pun-story of Thanksgiving. Betsy N'importe quoi bakes a strange pie.  She’s nervous and has a lot of angst over it as she shares it at their gratitude harvest festival.

Jason gives some thoughts on Sales, Missions, and Grit and what it takes to be successful in sales and on as a missionary.

― Jenkin Lloyd Jones

Grit:

I think one of the key ingredients to success is grit. Grit is defined as “courage and resolve, strength of character.” Synonyms include: mettle, backbone, spirit, strength of will, moral fiber, steel, nerve, fortitude, toughness, hardiness, resolution, determination, tenacity, perseverance, endurance; spunk.”

Rocky Mountain Sunshine is a podcast which shares faith and spreads a little sunshine.

I'm originally from Midvale, Utah. I am married to the lovely and talented Jen Bringhurst. I have 6 amazing and talented children. I am a small business owner. I love a cold Diet Coke and a slice of pizza. I listen to 80's New Wave music.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (LDS) Sometimes folks call us Mormon, but that isn't the correct name of the Church.

I live in beautiful Port Angeles, Washington after moving here in 2018 from Highland, Utah.

Thanks for listening! We hope that we’ve add  a little bit of sunshine to your day. Make sure to visit Rockymountainsunshine.com for other content not found on the podcast.

We would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate and review the episode. Also, if you liked it, please share it! It will help us to be found when people are looking for podcasts.

Until next time, Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!

https://rockymountainsunshine.com/2017/08/25/sales-missions-and-grit/ 

The views and opinions expressed on the Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast are those of the host and any guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast is not owned nor operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not officially represent The Church in any way.

In episode 6, Thanksgiving is almost here! Today I talk about Peace, Joy, and Finding Meaning in Turbulent Times.  

With it being Thanksgiving this week, I wanted to share what I'm thankful for and recognize the blessings in my life despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 plague.  

I also share a frustration with Audacity that I had when the audio got slowed down A LOT on my recording.

Plans have been cancelled. Trips cancelled. Church cancelled. It's been a year of cancelations.  Can we #givethanks and find good when there is uncertainty? 

#givethanks for more family time.

#givethanks for good health.

#givethanks for more time on Sundays during the lockdown.

#givethanks for the unique experience of having church at home.

#givethanks for a simpler life. Things move a little slower.

#givethanks for distance making the hearth grow fonder.

#givethanks for less business travel.

#givethanks for more sleep and being more rested.

#givethanks for video calls.

#givethanks being more grateful for Church youth program.

#givethanks for virtual mission reunion. Seeing virtually President (Elder) Neil L. Andersen, Sister Andersen and President Oveson.

#givethanks for virtual family reunions. 

#givethanks for cousins, aunts, & uncles.

#givethanks for sacrament at home with Jen's parents.

#givethanks for home primary and my daughter Emma being the home primary president.

#givethanks for creative virtual youth activities.

#givethanks for my business https://buyprocable.com/

#givethanks for our home, the surrounding beauty, & remoteness of Port Angeles.

#givethanks for family and friends.

#givethanks home teaching and ministering to others.

#givethanks for being able to choose one's attitude.

#givethanks for being able to choose our response to trials.

#givethanks for being able to see some of the good.

#givethanks for starting a podcast.

#givethanks for prayers to know what am I to learn?

Nick Galieti

https://ldsmissioncast.com/

Shawn Rapier

http://latterdaylives.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sharingtimepodcast/

Rocky Mountain Sunshine is a podcast which shares faith and spreads a little sunshine.

I'm originally from Midvale, Utah. I am married to the lovely and talented Jen Bringhurst. I have 6 amazing and talented children. I am a small business owner. I love a cold Diet Coke and a slice of pizza. I listen to 80's New Wave music.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (LDS) Sometimes folks call us Mormon, but that isn't the correct name of the Church.

I live in beautiful Port Angeles, Washington after moving here with my family in 2018 from Highland, Utah.

Thanks for listening! We hope that we’ve add  a little bit of sunshine to your day. Make sure to visit Rockymountainsunshine.com for other content not found on the podcast.

We would appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate and review the episode. Also, if you liked it, please share it! It will help us to be found when people are looking for podcasts.

Until next time, Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!

https://rockymountainsunshine.com/

The views and opinions expressed on the Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast are those of the host and any guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Rocky Mountain Sunshine podcast is not owned nor operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not officially represent The Church in any way.