ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

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Right and wrong didn’t disappear. We just started treating them like opinions, and that shift is costing us more than we realize. We dig into why a moral code matters more in 2026 than it did for previous generations, because today we have more technology, more anonymity, more influence, and more ways to do something wrong while convincing ourselves it’s fine.

We connect the dots between freedom and character through the lens of America’s Founders, including the blunt warning from John Adams that the Constitution depends on a moral and religious people. Laws can punish theft, but they can’t manufacture honesty, generosity, or self-control. When personal morality fades, we keep stacking rules and enforcement to compensate, and we still end up asking the same uncomfortable question: what happens when we expect government to replace self-government?

From a Christian perspective, we turn to scripture and the Book of Mormon to argue that agency is always taking us somewhere liberty or captivity, life or death. We challenge the “if it feels right, it must be right” mindset, talk about discernment in a world of deepfakes and information overload, and lay out seven modern moral battlegrounds from integrity and sexual purity to words, money, power, and self-control. We also share “Ten Commandments for modern life” as practical, grounded commitments to help you govern yourself before something else governs you.

If you found this meaningful, subscribe, share it with someone who’s been wrestling with moral confusion, and leave a five-star review so more people can find the show.

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“The pursuit of happiness” doesn’t mean chasing whatever feels good. We dig into a deeper definition that’s rooted in virtue, character, self-government, and a life aligned with God, and we draw a bold line between short-term pleasure and lasting joy.

We connect the Founding Fathers’ moral framework to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon’s teachings on agency. In 2 Nephi 2, agency isn’t framed as unlimited permission. It’s the power to choose between outcomes, liberty and eternal life through Christ or captivity and spiritual decline. That context makes “men are that they might have joy” feel practical, not poetic: God’s plan is designed to shape what we become, not just deliver quick comfort.

We also get honest about what steals freedom in real life. If you can’t govern appetites, emotions, and impulses, you may have choices, but you aren’t truly free. Romans 6:16 warns that what you repeatedly obey becomes your master, whether that’s food, money, sex, entertainment, approval, anger, or even comfort. From there we reframe commandments as a “happiness system” (D&C 130:20–21), explain why “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10) still allows for sin to be pleasurable, and show how temptation hides consequences by compressing reward.

If you’re tired of the “I want, I consume, repeat” loop, this is a better map: choose, become, receive. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with the biggest idea you’re taking into your week.

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A single sentence in a dorm Bible study can crack a worldview wide open and sometimes it takes years to understand what just happened. We sit down with Laura Ruth Stewart and her daughter, Hope, to talk through a long, honest path from spiritual seeking to a life centered on Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

We get into the real-life details people actually wrestle with: confusion from mixed religious exposure, the pull of yoga and “Christ consciousness,” the role of science questions, and the humbling moments that reveal how much we build walls against God. Laura shares how a series of seemingly small interventions, a Spirit-filled mentor, a chiropractor’s office, Christian music, and opening the Gospel of John, became turning points in her born again Christian testimony.

Then we go practical with Christian prayer. We talk about using scripture-based prayer to stand on God’s promises, and the surprisingly hard discipline of slowing down to listen so intimacy with God becomes real. Hope adds her own voice, including what she loves about Queen Esther and how she prays quietly in daily life.

If you’re hungry for spiritual growth, a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, or a clearer way to pray when you don’t know what to say, this conversation will meet you right where you are. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find it.

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You might be waiting for “bigger” faith before you try again, pray again, repent again, or hope again. We challenge that assumption head-on with the Savior’s promise: faith like a grain of a mustard seed can move mountains. Not because the seed is impressive, but because it is alive, planted, and willing to grow. We lean on teachings from President Russell M. Nelson and the scriptures to show why the Lord does not require perfect faith before we can access His perfect power, and why the next step matters more than a dramatic feeling.

We also take a surprising detour into aviation. When a pilot flies in clouds, feelings can mislead, panic can spike, and the only safe move is to trust the instruments. Spiritually, life has IMC moments too: fear gets loud, answers feel delayed, and the horizon disappears. We talk about what it looks like to “fly by instruments” with prayer, scripture study, the temple, covenants, personal revelation, prophetic counsel, and the Holy Ghost, plus why holding the ground you have already won can keep you steady.

Finally, we get practical about “moving mountains.” Sometimes the Lord removes obstacles, and sometimes He hands you a shovel and the strength to dig through addiction, grief, resentment, self-doubt, financial stress, or uncertainty. You’ll leave with a simple seven-day faith practice to plant, act, and nurture that seed until it becomes spiritual strength. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs steadier faith, and leave a review with the one next step you are going to take.

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The fastest way to drain your faith is to bury it under extra rules, endless debates, and spiritual overthinking. We keep returning to a simple claim: Jesus Christ made the gospel clear, and the power is in living it, not endlessly complicating it with opinions, comparison, or checklists. 

I connect discipleship to a pilot’s instinct during an emergency. When the cockpit gets chaotic, you do not invent new principles, you simplify and go back to fundamentals: aviate, navigate, communicate. That same pattern can steady your spiritual life when stress hits, relationships strain, or your mind starts spinning. We talk about why “profound” does not mean “complicated,” and why adding complexity often creates distraction, perfectionism, and burnout instead of real growth. 

Then we get practical and scriptural. We walk through the doctrine of Christ and the primary answers that keep you moving forward: love God, love your neighbor, follow Christ, repent, forgive, serve, pray, keep covenants, and endure faithfully. We also name the pressures that try to hijack your focus, from social media to church culture to political arguments, and offer simple questions to test whether something is essential or merely interesting. 

If you want Christian discipleship that actually leads to transformation, start with small daily steps and repeat them with steadiness and cheer. Subscribe, share this with a friend who feels spiritually overloaded, and leave a review so more people can find the simple path back to Christ.

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Commandments can feel like fences until you notice what they’re actually doing for you. I’m digging into a question that changes everything: what if God’s commandments aren’t restrictions on your happiness, but instructions for accessing God’s blessings and becoming the kind of person who can hold more peace, strength, and joy?

We talk honestly about what following Jesus does and does not promise. Christ never said we’d avoid sickness, heartbreak, financial pressure, or adversity. He did promise His presence, His power, and His peace. I connect that promise to the idea of universal law: just like your body adapts to exercise and your mind responds to what you feed it, your spirit adapts to prayer, gratitude, repentance, and covenant keeping. Sometimes the blessing is not that God removes the problem, but that Christ changes what the problem can do to you.

From physical health and the Word of Wisdom to mental and emotional steadiness, money stress, tithing, debt, and marriage, I walk through practical gospel principles that build real-world resilience. If you want less chaos inside your head and more stability in your life, this is about consistent discipleship, not perfection. I close with a clear 30-day challenge: don’t just believe in Christ, follow Him and watch for the miracle happening inside you.

If this helps, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a five-star rating and review so more people can find it.

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A scholarship offer can feel like a lifeline until it forces the real question: what does God want me to do? Todd sits down with his friend Spencer Kimball, a stake president in Destin, Florida, to talk about building faith when the road ahead looks murky and you are tempted to take the easiest exit. Spencer shares the moment he had to choose between a basketball dream and serving a mission, and how one act of prayer changed the entire trajectory of his life.

We get honest about what faith looks like when it is tested: financial stress, family pressure, chronic pain, and the kind of uncertainty that takes you to your knees. We connect personal stories to scripture, including the idea that the storm you fear may be the very wind carrying you to where you are meant to go. Along the way, we dig into spiritual promptings, how to act when you do not know the full plan, and why hindsight so often reveals God’s steady hand.

We also explore “looking forward with an eye of faith” as a practical, gospel-centered form of visualization, plus the power of language and mindset in dark seasons. Spencer explains how he helps people rewrite the story they are telling themselves, return to the habits that once made them feel close to the Lord, and choose a healthier circle of influence. If you want Christian encouragement, faith-building tools, and a grounded approach to spiritual resilience, you will find it here. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

To work with Spencer, visit his website: Xpansion.com

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Fear sells fast right now. Headlines stay hot, social feeds stay loud, and it’s easy to confuse constant тревога with “being aware.” We take a different approach: we look at what Jesus Christ actually taught about the last days and why His repeated counsel is not panic, but steadiness. The world may be in commotion, but discipleship does not have to be.

We talk through why prophecy is meant to produce preparation, not obsession. Using the story of Christ calming the storm, we ask the uncomfortable but freeing question: do we see the waves more clearly than we see the Savior? Faith is not pretending everything is fine; it is recognizing the storm and still trusting who is in the boat. We also unpack the promise “if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear” from the Doctrine and Covenants and what that preparation looks like beyond food storage and finances.

From President Russell M. Nelson’s invitations to become still and hear Christ, to the call to stand in holy places and stay on the covenant path, the focus stays practical. We break down three kinds of spiritual preparation: strengthening testimony, refining character, and deepening a real relationship with Christ. We also challenge the habits that feed fear, like doomscrolling and timeline obsession, and replace them with daily practices that invite personal revelation through prayer, scripture study, the temple, and quiet listening.

If you want a clearer, calmer way to think about the second coming, the latter days, and faith over fear, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who feels overwhelmed, and leave a review with one takeaway you want to live this week.

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You can feel inspired in a single day, but you don’t rebuild a life that way. Real transformation comes from the quiet work you repeat when nobody is clapping for you and when progress feels slow. We dig into the power of consistency and why the small choices you make daily are the choices that eventually shape your body, your mindset, your relationships, and your discipleship of Jesus Christ.

We start with a simple truth from lived experience: inconsistency brings inconsistent results, while steady effort compounds. That’s true with exercise, better eating, and mental toughness, and it’s just as true with spiritual habits like daily prayer, scripture study, gratitude, and listening for promptings. We connect practical habit building to scripture and teachings such as “be not weary in well doing” and “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass,” plus the idea that spiritual growth works like compounding interest.

Then we get practical and honest about the part most people miss: consistency is not perfection, it’s persistence. Missing a day isn’t the end, quitting is. We talk about why intensity burns people out, how simple routines and accountability make change sustainable, and how repeated actions become identity over time. If you want a clear next step, we invite you to pick one spiritual habit and one life habit and commit to them for 30 days.

Subscribe for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, share this with a friend who needs momentum, and leave a review so more people can find it. What two habits are you choosing for the next 30 days?

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If you’ve ever wondered why someone can look impressive and still feel hollow, this conversation gets straight to the point: goodness is not a brand, a bank balance, or a perfectly curated life. We start with a simple idea that came out of real-world talks with pilots about judgment and character, then move into the question that actually matters for Christian living: what makes a good man or a good woman? 

We pull from Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Aristotle to explore virtue, self-mastery, and the power of repeated habits, then place those insights next to scripture and modern prophetic counsel. President D. Todd Christofferson’s teaching that Christlike character grows out of a Christlike heart reframes the whole project. Behavior is the fruit, but the heart is the tree. That leads to a practical self-audit: if God could change one thing about your heart, what would you ask Him to change? 

From there, we get concrete. Goodness shows up when it costs something, when strength is paired with restraint, and when integrity holds in private. We talk about meekness as real power under control, the danger of “curated character” in a social media age, and why honesty is more than not lying. We also connect President Russell M. Nelson’s call to be peacemakers with the daily chain that builds character: thoughts, words, actions. 

Finally, we name what philosophy can’t supply on its own: grace. The hope isn’t manufacturing perfection through willpower, but coming to Christ and being changed from the inside out, “even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). If this helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us what daily habit you’re choosing to practice this week.

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