WARD RADIO

Cardon is joined by Adam and Madeline Packer for a candid conversation exploring how Adam used an Excel spreadsheet as part of his decision-making process when choosing his wife.The story launches with some classic Ward Radio banter and playful jokes, but quickly turns to Adam’s unique approach to relationships. While taking an advanced Excel modeling class for his finance degree, Adam realized he could repurpose a weighted averages project—originally meant for evaluating job opportunities after college—to help him decide who to seriously pursue in his dating life. Factors he ranked included being strong in the gospel, desire for a temple marriage, family compatibility, and, openly, attractiveness (“hotness” getting a high weight on the spreadsheet!).

This viral skit from Austin (Small and Simple Screens) exploded with nearly 5,000 shares because apparently… we’ve ALL had this dream.In this episode, Cardon Ellis and Austin react to:• The collective “mission recall” nightmare• The BYU transcript anxiety dream• COVID missionaries still dreaming they have to go back• The psycholog y of finishing something… and being forced to restart• The funniest (and savage) comment section responses• Exmos joking they “just need the numbers”• Whether this is mission PTSD… or just shared cultural memoryPlus: Bella’s dad from Twilight makes an unexpected appearance

Cardon Ellis is joined by Dalton Williams (of Unashamed Truth) and Brittany the Shadow to tackle a common but often misapplied critique against members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS): the use of Galatians 1:8 by Christian apologists as a supposed “kill shot” argument. The conversation centers around clarifying the context of this scripture and dispelling myths about LDS theology.

In this lively and engaging episode of Ward Radio, Cardon Ellis is joined by a diverse cast: David Boyce from “52 Churches in 52 Weeks,” Bart Markois from A Minute With Bart and his lovely daughter Emma Markois

This episode explores the unique world of Latter-day Saint (LDS) matchmaking with special guest Nicole Miller, founder of UTMatch (not Utah Match, as clarified!). Cardon Ellis hosts the conversation alongside David Boyce, and together they dive deep into the experiences, challenges, and contemporary landscape of LDS dating and matchmaker services.Nicole introduces UTMatch as a service specializing in curated introductions for LDS singles who are looking for something more meaningful than what they’re finding on dating apps or through traditional channels. She emphasizes a personalized process tailored to understand not just what clients want, but also who they are and what they bring to the table. Nicole shares her journey into matchmaking, starting with the colorful story of setting up her high school teacher on a date (which ended with a surprise visit from the fire department), hinting at her longstanding passion for helping others find connection.

This episode is an in-depth, lively, and, at times, humorous debrief of the recent debate between Joe Heschmeyer (representing Catholicism) and Jacob Hansen (representing LDS/Mormon perspectives), with moderation and additional discussion by Cardon Ellis, Jonah Barnes, and contributions from others. The debate centered on the concept of the "Great Apostasy"—whether or not there was a loss of a continuous institutional church following the New Testament period.

Is a new age coming at BYU?! Enjoy!

This lively episode of WARD RADIO brings together hosts Cardon Ellis with guests Cade and Dalton Williams (who introduces MMA fighter Kwai Thompson—aka "the Throwin' Samoan"). They dive into an unexpected yet insightful discussion about how serving as missionaries in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints equips young men and women with the resilience, humility, and toughness needed to thrive in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Cardon Ellis, Hayden Holm, and Tanner dive deep into the kind of comedy and cultural expectations that surround men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and why so many young men (and elders) feel alienated, bored, or misunderstood.The episode kicks off with Hayden Holm sharing a “cringe” church-adjacent comedy video (“Laughing All the Way”), which they all agree is emblematic of a deeper problem (and not an official church production): church humor is safe, predictable, and above all, risk-averse. The group discusses how this lack of authenticity and edge in humor makes it almost impossible to engage young men who are looking for something genuine, risky, and relatable.

In this episode, Cardon Ellis hosts Hayden Holm in a lively and insightful discussion about the 1991 movie “Hook,” starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. The central theme of the conversation is how “Hook” contains powerful, “hidden lessons” for fathers—especially within the context of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but also relevant to any father or leader of young men.

Hayden Holm lays out a creative framework for fatherhood, inspired by three main duties Peter Pan must relearn in the film: how to fly, fight, and crow.