In this solo episode, Emily shares some thoughts about fear - what it means, how it shows up, and how we can cast it out! 

Enjoy!

Nicci Pucci, a self-identified "Stage 5" member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shares her faith journey, as well as her insights and experiences with meditation and yoga. 

You don't need to be a practicing meditator or a yogi to feel edified by what Nicci teaches! Finding stillness is a huge theme of the scriptures, but it's actually very hard to do. Nicci makes it seem so attainable - a great goal for the new year!

Enjoy!

Today's guest: Tony Overbay, LMFT, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and creator of the online recovery program Path Back!

Tony is an expert in his field of marriage and family therapy, specializing in helping individuals overcome what pornography addiction or compulsive sexual behavior. In this episode, Tony shares insights and advice about how to best help someone who is struggling with pornography and is seeking help. After seeing almost 1,500 clients with this issue, Tony knows well what is helpful and what is not!

Enjoy!

~*~ CHECK OUT TONY'S STUFF ~*~

• Website: tonyoverbay.com
• Podcast: The Virtual Couch
• Path Back 2.0 recovery program:  About Page, Home Page
• Book: He's a Porn Addict... Now What?: An Expert and a Former Addict Answer Your Questions

In this solo episode, Emily discusses some personal thoughts and feelings in reaction to  General Conference, as well as a turning point experience in her own faith journey.

Enjoy!

~*~SPECIAL OFFER~*~
If you have been thinking of starting your own podcast, I highly recommend our podcasting host, Buzzsprout.

As a special thank-you for subscribing and also for supporting the Millennium Member Podcast, Buzzsprout will send you a $20 Amazon gift card when you try any paid subscription for 2 months using this unique link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1021684

Executive Director of non-profit Leading Saints, Kurt Francom, brings his 10 years of experience founding, running, and growing an organization dedicated to helping leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Church runs on a volunteer lay ministry of "callings" - assignments or invitations to serve. It can be a complicated system with unique challenges. Kurt discusses leadership challenges from "both sides of the desk," as we like to say, and gives some ideas and suggestions for overcoming. This episode is full of gold nuggets of wisdom and knowledge. Thank you, Kurt!

Enjoy!

Please check out...
Leading Saints podcast (wherever you listen to podcasts)
Leading Saints website: leadingsaints.org
LGBT Saints virtual summit (FREE): Register here

After an unanticipated break due to some crazy weather in Iowa, we are back!

In this episode, we dive into the thick of what can sometimes be viewed as the messiness of discipleship with James, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. James shares with us a piece of his faith journey and an ongoing struggle he faces with an important question: Can we really trust revelation from the Holy Ghost to be true and reliable?

Enjoy!


~*~SPECIAL OFFER~*~
If you have been thinking of starting your own podcast, I highly recommend our podcasting host, Buzzsprout.

As a special thank-you for subscribing and also for supporting the Millennium Member Podcast, Buzzsprout will send you a $20 Amazon gift card when you try any paid subscription for 2 months using this unique link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1021684

Have you ever met someone who was just so on fire with their faith that it was contagious? 

I met Suzanne Spalding about eight years ago when we were both studying abroad in Costa Rica. Suzanne lived the gospel with the guitar-playing, praise-singing style of your favorite Evangelical, but kept me awake late in conversation on at least one occasion expounding upon the doctrines of the Catholic church that clearly kept her grounded. 

Suzanne now works as a Catholic youth minister in her hometown in central Kentucky. In this conversation, she talks about the joys and challenges of being a youth minister - very similar to what we may experience as youth leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! She also shares her experience coming from a mixed faith home and her journey finding Christ and truly choosing for herself to follow Him in the Catholic church. 

We discuss prayers, and we even take some time to dig into the topic of recited prayers. Some may consider recited prayers to be simply "vain repetitions," but for Suzanne, these prayers mean so much to keep her close to God. 

Enjoy!

In this Topic Chat, Brian and I discuss James Fowler's six stages of faith development. Stages of faith are incredibly useful for understanding others' faith journeys!

Advertisement: If you have ideas and/or would like to be a guest host for future Topic Chat episodes, please reach out via [email protected] or the Millennium Member Podcast Facebook page!

Also, visit the Facebook page and leave a comment - which faith stage are you in? 

Enjoy!

Racism is a heavily debated topic these days, for good reason. 

Ask the vast majority of people living on the planet whether all people should be treated fairly despite the color of the skin, and they would answer yes! Most God-fearing people would likewise agree that in the sight of God, all are equal. 

Unfortunately, for the majority of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this was not the commonly taught or accepted doctrine. The truth that racism was not only permitted but perpetuated over the pulpit is a very hard pill to swallow for members of the Church today, as most also agree that in the sight of God, we are equally His beloved children. 

Dr. Joanna Brooks - author, editor, scholar, activist, and brilliant researcher - recently published another book, Mormonism and White Supremacy. The title is enough to make many mainstream members of the Church uncomfortable, as we are striving to distance ourselves from the term "Mormon," and the term "white supremacy" is both very bold and very negative. 

Dr. Brooks explains both terms in this episode - "Mormonism" is still the scholarly term to refer to the greater Mormon movement, including all religions and people associated with the Church or any of its offshoot sects since the time of Joseph Smith. White supremacy refers to a system that favors people who are white over those of darker skin, often in subtle but important ways. 

In her book and in this episode, Dr. Brooks graciously and expertly walks us through the Church's history with racism, specifically against Blacks, or people of African descent. 

Warning - This may be a difficult episode if you are personally struggling with a testimony of prophets or have been taught to treat prophets with infallibility while acting in their calling. However, this is such an important aspect of the Church to both know and talk about, so I welcome you into the conversation!

Enjoy!

References:

• Dr. Joanna Brooks' book: Mormonism and White Supremacy
• Dr. Brooks' website
• Scripture reference in the introduction : 2 Nephi 26:33

It's Pride Month, and we are talking about same-sex attraction!

Christobal Barragan is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He crossed paths with my husband, Brian while Brian was a missionary in Georgia. Brian met Chris a few days before his baptism and was with him during Chris's fresh new member life in the Church. 

Christobal talks about his faith journey from childhood to now, hopping around to different churches as a kid and adolescent, enduring criticism and unkindness about his sexuality. Chris prefers the phrase "same sex attraction" to describe this challenge instead of labeling his entire identity as a "gay man." 

Christobal's experiences are completely his own and, while beautiful and potentially helpful, do not represent the experiences of all who live with same-sex attraction or other LGBTQ issues. 

Enjoy!