Let's look back at 2023, look forward to 2024, and answer some commonly-asked questions about Leading Saints and its future. This is Part 2 of a two-part podcast. Listen to Part 1 here.
Links
The Leading Saints Community Subscribe to the Leading Saints Newsletter About Leading Saints 5 Reasons Negative Church Culture Exists Unashamed Unafraid podcast episode with Kurt Francom The Cultural Hall Podcast This Week in Mormons Podcast The Art of Manliness Podcast Faith Matters Podcast Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret to a Man’s Soul by John Eldredge Warrior Heart Boot Camps There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts HERE.

Watch on YouTube  Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast Scriptures referenced in this podcast: Doctrine & Covenants 128:9 Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library
Highlights
1:10 In 2024, Kurt will be doing more firesides and traveling. Not always based on leadership but on other topics. 3:45 Find retreats near you. The podcast is great but going to a live event is a more of a transformational experience. 5:15 Why are members not anxiously engaged nor showing signs of having the gospel rooted in their hearts like the pioneers did?

 	* Never mistake an ability problem as a motivation problem
 	* Never mistake a character problem for an ability problem or motivation problem
 	* Find more on this question in the motivating saints library
 	* People are in different stages of life and we have to have grace for them

11:40 Do you know whether or not you and Leading Saints are on the radar at church headquarters? If so, what kind of reaction has there been?

 	* Leading Saints is a trusted independent advocate of the church
 	* Kurt has had the opportunity to talk to several members of the seventy

16:30 The four pillars of Leading Saints

 	* We connect leaders
 	* Enhance leadership ability
 	* Present leadership scholarship
 	* Celebrate divine guidance

18:50 What is the most practical leadership principle that you have learned that you wish that church leaders would apply in their service?

 	* There is nothing more important for a leader than to establish relationships with...

Part 2: Leading Saints in 2024

Helping Latter-day Saints be Better Prepared to Lead

Religion & Spirituality

Other

Spirituality

Christianity

Buddhism

Hinduism

Judaism

Islam

Scharman Grimmer serves as a member of the Young Women General Advisory Council for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has served as stake and ward Primary president; ward Young Women president, Primary and Relief Society counselor, stake Young Women camp director, Sunday School teacher, Seminary teacher, and in Primary as a music leader, teacher, and Nursery leader. 

Scharman and her husband, Matt, have five children and live in Alpine, Utah. Scharman earned a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in Child and Teen Development from Syracuse University. She currently works as a child and teen development specialist, consulting parents on best developmental and relationship practices and healthy habits in families. 

Scharman is proud to be from Humble, Texas! Growing up in an area with few members of the Church, she learned valuable lessons as she watched her parents faithfully lead in their ward and stake. Her own experiences as an adult in Texas and New York have given her an appreciation that every member can contribute and is needed.


Links

Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience
There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here. 
Read the transcript of this podcast
Scriptures referenced in this podcast: Acts 8, Acts 3, Doctrine & Covenants 104
Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library
Highlights
Coming soon

The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org.
Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, <a href="https://leadingsaints.org/the-grace-of-jesus-christ-in-leadership-an-interview-with...

Being a Young Women Mentor | An Interview with Scharman Grimmer

Bryan Murray was born and raised in Long Beach, California, served in the Japan Sendai mission, and met his future wife, Kristine Clawson, while attending Brigham Young University when they went skiing together with their home evening group. Bryan attended medical school at the University of Kentucky then completed an internal medicine residency with the UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program. He worked with a small group practice in Payson, Utah, before moving the family to Anacortes, Washington, where he joined a small internal medicine group and helped start a hospitalist program at Island Hospital in Anacortes.  

Bryan has served in five bishoprics and as bishop of the Anacortes Ward. He retired from medicine in February 2022 and two short months later he and Kristine began a full-time mission as Area Medical Advisor to the North America Northeast Area. They also filled a mission assignment as support to a Young Single Adult branch in the Hingham, Massachusetts Stake. Bryan currently serves as the ward music chairman and Kristine serves as the Relief Society president in the newly-created Fidalgo Island Ward in Anacortes. 

Bryan and Kristine enjoy spending time with their six children, five in-laws, and 15 grandchildren. As a family they enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking, hiking, sailing, and camping.


Links

Why Your Ward Needs a Podcast
There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts.  
Read the transcript of this podcast
Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library
Highlights
3:10 Kurt introduces the guest, Bryan Murray. He served as Area Medical Missionary Advisor in Boston, Massachusetts.

5:30 Bryan explains his mission as Area Medical Advisor and some of his responsibilities. 

7:40 What led up to Bryan serving a mission with his wife. 

11:00 Bryan shares a behind-the-scenes view of what it's like to be a medical advisor for missionaries. What kinds of issues he dealt with.

15:15 When does a missionary need to go home? Can they stay if they have a medical problem?

16:15 Who helps with the missionaries’ mental health? 

18:30 A service mission is great for missionaries that are struggling with mental health or medical problems. 

19:40 Advice to bishops and stake presidents sending out missionaries that have medical issues. Helping them prepare missionaries for the field.

21:40 Some of Bryan’s wife responsibilities. They had an area assignment as medical advisors but they also had a mission assignment in the Boston mission in a Young Single Adult ward. 

23:30 Bryan encourages other medical professionals to do a medical mission. You will have a lot of other experiences beyond medical. 

25:30 What Bryan is doing now

26:30 Bryan has created a podcast for his ward. Even though we go to church with each other we really don’t know each other. A ward podcast can help ward members share their lives and stories. 

31:00 How leading has brought Bryan to Christ

The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org.

How I Lead as Area Mission Medical Advisor | An Interview with Bryan Murray

Brett and Kristin Walker are a dynamic couple, each thriving in their professional and personal lives while deeply committed to their family and community. Brett is a seasoned marketing consultant specializing in professional development and deep technology sectors. He currently serves as a Young Single Adult bishop and is deeply committed to helping others grow. He’s an award-winning writer and loves the outdoors.

Kristin is a professional interior designer known for her innovative designs and attention to detail. She currently serves as a YSA Institute teacher, where she passionately teaches and shares her deep faith in Jesus. Kristin finds joy in traveling, reading, and spending time outside, cherishing every moment with her family and friends.

Together, Brett and Kristin embody a life full of adventure, faith, and continuous growth, always eager to explore new places and help others achieve their potential.


Links

Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program 12-Step Recovery Guide
There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here. 
Read the transcript of this podcast
Scriptures referenced in this podcast: Philippians 4:13, 2 Nephi 25:23
Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library
Highlights
3:45 Introduction to Brett and Kristin. Working with the young single adults and using the 12-step program in an Institute class. This program is not just for addiction but it applies to everyone. 

7:10 How Brett and Kristin got involved in the 12-step program. Making it applicable to everyone through their curriculum. Helping people understand and use the Atonement in their lives.

12:15 If you are called to facilitate 12-step meetings then you need to start using the steps in your own life. The steps can bring you to Christ, improve your relationships and any problem you might have. 

15:10 The program isn’t just for addiction but can help you with unrealized hopes or something you are struggling with. 

16:10 The enabling power of Jesus Christ gives us power to do things we can’t do by ourselves. 

17:15 Some leaders think that they are good and don’t need help because they don’t have any big problems. They are not truly using Christ’s Atonement in their lives to heal every part of them. 

20:50 Does the 12-step program have to happen in a group setting? If you do things alone then you feel alone. When you do things together, it creates connection. 

23:50 How Brett and Kristin run their class. It’s very tight-knit. 

26:50 A summarized application of the steps

28:45 Why can’t God part your personal Red Sea?

30:00 Be careful not to adopt a label, like "I’m an addict." It might be something that you are currently struggling with, it's not who you are. 

31:30 2 Nephi 25:23.

Helping People Overcome Struggle, Sin, & Mortality in 12 Steps | An Interview with Brett and Kristin Walker

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in February 2020.

Dr. Steven G. Rogelberg is a professor of Organizational Science, Management, and Psychology at UNC Charlotte. The author of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance, he is a distinguished scholar addressing issues such as team effectiveness, leadership, engagement, health and employee well-being, meetings at work, and organizational research methods.

The book is a culmination of 15 years of research and thousands of surveys and interviews. It’s a collection of evidence-based insights and represents a strategic approach that leaders and organizations can take that’s highly practical and accessible, but also strongly based in science. In this interview, Steve talks with Kurt about applying the insights from his book to improving meetings in the Church environment. This presentation of this episode was originally included in the Meetings With Saints Virtual Conference, which is now part of the Core Leader Library.


Links
The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance
StevenRogelberg.com
There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts. 
Watch on YouTube
Read the transcript of this podcast
Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library
Highlights
5:00 We know one thing but tend to do a different thing, but there is no formula for meeting success. Instead the key is making good choices, which is more empowering.7:00 Steve’s experience with members of the Church8:15 The cost of meetings is underestimated11:00 Being self-aware as a meeting leader: stewardship and making changes13:40 Things to reflect on that are signs that there needs to be improvement14:30 Start with a quick survey, then work on the little things and assess later17:00 Talking as the leader vs. leading the discussion20:00 Transparency and honesty allows you to lead from the back or the front in a genuine way21:10 Three phases of the meeting: planning/designing, facilitating, and post-meeting activity21:50 Planning a meeting is not time consuming and has a high return on investment23:45 Taking a “pre-mortem” moment before the meeting25:00 Agendas are a hollow crutch: what matters most is what is on that agenda and how it is facilitated

* Frame the agenda as a set of questions to be answered
* Allow other people to different agenda items
* Put the most important/compelling issues first

30:10 Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill whatever time is allotted

* How much time should it take? Dial it back a bit and create time pressure
* Volunteer time is a precious gift: build trust by respecting it

35:00 Combating minutiae in meetings by making meeting time incredibly purposeful38:00 Councils and update meetings

* What is a good update? Decide and then put people on the clock
* Silent updates via a shared document

41:20 Silence in a meeting is a way of engaging people44:25 Technology in a meeting: multitasking is a symptom of a bad meeting

* Keep meeting minutes in real time on the screen instead of a powerpoint

The Science of Church Meetings (including Ward Council) | An Interview with Steven Rogelberg

Josh Coates studied computer science at UC Berkeley and is the executive director of the B.H. Roberts Foundation. 
Links

The Unique Opportunity Local Leaders Have to Encourage Faith Among Latter-day Saint Millennials | An Interview with Jana Riess
Josh Coates articles at Deseret News
Stephen Cranney articles at Deseret News
BH Roberts Foundation
Mormonr.org
LDSBot
There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here. 
Read the transcript of this podcast
Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library
Highlights
3:20 Introduction to Josh Coates, one of the founders of the B.H. Roberts Foundation and Mormoner. They write short articles on controversial topics.

5:45 Who is B.H. Roberts? Why is the foundation named after him?

9:20 Josh and his foundation began a research project surveying Latter Day Saints.

16:00 Creating the survey in order to have useful data. You have to be very careful when formulating questions.

18:15 What were they looking to find out in the survey?

21:30 It seems like people are leaving the Church in droves. Is that really true?

23:30 They have found that there are two types of Latter-day Saints according to their analysis. 

* Cluster 1 - 80% are pretty orthodox. Follow closely to the commandments and are very active in the Church.
* Cluster 2 - 20% are scattered in their beliefs even if they identify as Latter-day Saints.

29:40 Millennials are dramatically represented in the 20% of members that have scattered beliefs. We worry about Gen-Z a lot but maybe we are overlooking the millennials. 

33:30 The cultural evolution of the Church has improved over the last 20 to 30 years but there have also been things that have eroded the foundation of people’s faith.

34:00 The difference between the different generations in the Church. Why are millennials struggling so much compared to other generations?

35:15 How can leaders better approach or talk to millennials? Separating policy and doctrine.

39:30 The data that Josh found on marriage and divorce in the Church. They found that temple marriages are a big deal.

42:00 Research on moral foundation theory. The five foundational values that go into making a decision:

* Will it hurt someone?
* Is it fair?
* Loyalty
* Authority
* Purity

52:00 The survey data on LGBTQ members of The Church of those that have left The Church and their view on marriage

54:30 Resources and places to go to find out more about Josh’s work.


Part 2: Leading Saints in 2024

Download our free app to listen on your phone