Why We Believe

Sarah Norton grew up in a faithful home, served in her community, and believed in Jesus Christ her whole life. But belief became something far deeper the night a stranger walked up to her outside a doctor's office, wrapped her arms around her, and said, "Everything is going to be okay." That was the first of three separate angel moments, each with an identical message sent by God at three of the darkest hours of her life.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with his former neighbor and longtime friend to hear how Sarah survived losing her sister, her brother, and two nieces to suicide, healed from years of abuse and an eating disorder, and found her way to a life she once could not have imagined. Sarah is the founder of Your Beautiful Soul, a certified art healer and trauma integration coach who has hosted seven healing retreats and reached more than 16 million people through social media. Her story is not about perfect circumstances. It is about a God who keeps showing up, no matter how dark it gets, and a woman who learned to trust that He always will.

Loved this episode? If this episode reminded you that God sees you in your hardest season, please help share it. Leave a rating and review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, add a comment with the moment from Sarah's story that meant the most to you, and don't forget to download your free guide, 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, at WhyWeBelieve.com to support you as you strengthen your own testimony of Jesus Christ.

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Sarah Norton:

Website: https://www.yourbeautifulsoul.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahjeannorton/

What happens when the youngest CEO in NBA history finds himself kneeling by his bed in London, begging heaven to save his bleeding grandson? David W. Checketts ran some of the most recognizable sports organizations in the world. He took over the Utah Jazz at 28, led the Knicks to two NBA finals, owned the St. Louis Blues the year they won the Stanley Cup, and built Real Salt Lake from scratch. Through all of it, he served as a bishop, a stake president, and eventually walked away to spend three years leading missionaries in London for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with David to hear how studying Jesus the Christ on his mission cast out a lifetime of fear, how his brother's tragic death taught him that Christ carries us through grief, and why a business card with three words reshaped everything he believed about prayer. His testimony is no longer belief alone. It is sure knowledge.

Loved this episode?Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear that expecting miracles is not optimism but a decision to trust the Lord! Leave a review forWhy We BelieveonApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow David W. Checketts:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Checketts

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dwchecketts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwcheck44/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/davechecketts

What does a United States Senator say when asked why he believes? For John Curtis, it starts on a mountaintop in Galilee, where at 19 he went 48 hours without food or water and climbed alone to ask if God would forgive him. He walked down certain the answer was yes, and the first to say he would not recommend the method.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with Senator John Curtis of Utah, a direct descendant of Brigham Young and former mayor of Provo. Curtis shares the story of a great-great-grandmother who chose the gospel over her oldest son, a family legacy where all eight sons served as mission presidents, and how a 30-year-old bishop in Richmond, Virginia learned that constant inspiration is the only way to lead beyond your experience. He talks about serving a mission in Taiwan, returning decades later to sit with Taiwan's president as a senator, and why a pattern from those early mission days has guided every chapter since.

Loved this episode? Hit Follow and share it with someone who has wondered if their road back to faith is still open. Leave a review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!  

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Senator John Curtis:

Website: https://curtis.senate.gov

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SenatorJohnCurtis

Twitter/X: https://x.com/SenJohnCurtis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senjohncurtis/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenJohnCurtis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-r-curtis/

What happens when a Grammy-winning artist wakes up paralyzed from the neck down the day after auditioning for Disney? Adassa Candiani couldn't walk, couldn't talk, couldn't eat. Doctors had no answers. She went home to die. The next morning, she woke up alive and got the call: she had landed the role of Dolores in Encanto.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with the voice behind We Don't Talk About Bruno to hear how premature birth with underdeveloped lungs became Grammy-winning vocals, how her successful reggaeton career led to temple covenants, and why her husband refusing to hang up on a Disney casting director changed everything. Adassa shares what it means to live every day as your last, why your talent isn't yours, and how the Atonement turns backward lives into something better than you could ever create yourself.

Loved this episode? Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear that God's plan is better than perfection. Leave a review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Download your FREE guide, 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, at WhyWeBelieve.com to support you as you strengthen your own testimony of Jesus Christ. 

Follow the Why We Believe Show -

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam -

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Adassa Candiani -

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adassa-candiani-39047769/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adassaofficial/

Website: https://www.adassa-official.com/

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@adassaofficial

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adassaofficialpage

Twitter/X: https://x.com/adassaofficial

Linktree: https://solo.to/adassa

Brad Wilcox was born on Christmas Day, spent his earliest childhood in Ethiopia, and grew up to write the most-viewed BYU devotional in history. He has served as a mission president in Chile, a member of the Young Men General Presidency, and a BYU professor whose teachings on grace have reshaped how a generation of Latter-day Saints understand the Atonement.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam, sits down with Brad to talk about the end of scouting in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and why the fruits are already showing. They discuss why the new Eagle is a temple recommend, how bishopric involvement with the youth is changing everything, and what Brad learned from a childhood in Africa, a mission in South America, and a lifetime of teaching. Along the way, Brad teaches what grace really is, why faith is a choice rather than pretending, and how Christ does not wait for you to finish changing. He walks with you while you do.

Loved this episode? Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to know that Christ meets us right where we are. Leave a review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Visit WhyWeBelieve.com to download Your FREE guide on 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, to support you as you strengthen your own testimony of Jesus Christ.

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Brad Wilcox:

Church profile: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/bradley-r-wilcox

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradrwilcox/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YM1stCounselor/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/BradleyRWil

A 19-year-old missionary was locked in a customs shed in Fiji with pigs and cows. No one knew where he was. No one was coming. He knelt down and heard his mother's voice praying for him from thousands of miles away, and every fear disappeared. That young man was Elder John H. Groberg, the general authority whose mission to Tonga inspired the movie The Other Side of Heaven.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with Elder Groberg to hear what a lifetime of faith looks like from someone who has lived it at every extreme. Elder Groberg shares how a testimony meeting interrupted a game of hangman and changed his life, how he nearly starved to death on a tiny island and fell asleep unsure which side of the veil he would wake up on, and how one quiet decision on a wharf, when he thought no one was watching, brought a man and his family back to the gospel years later. He baptized seven people on a small island, and one of those converts now has over 300 great-grandchildren and an entire stake traces back to her faithfulness. Elder Groberg's message is simple: Jesus Christ is your closest friend, and staying faithful is all He asks.

Loved this episode?If this episode reminded you that Jesus Christ knows exactly where you are, please help share it. Leave a rating and review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, add a comment with the moment from Elder Groberg's story that strengthened your faith, and don't forget to download your free guide, 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, at WhyWeBelieve.com to support you as you strengthen your own testimony of Jesus Christ.

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Elder John H. Groberg:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnhgroberg/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JP8HO6

Eva Timothy grew up in communist Bulgaria where religion was banned, Christmas did not exist, and her father hid a copy of the U.S. Constitution like a treasure. At 14, after the Berlin Wall fell, she saw two missionaries on the street carrying a picture of Jesus Christ. A prompting told her to stop and talk to them. She had never prayed in her life, but at her first church meeting in a rented room above a soccer stadium, she spoke to God for the first time and felt His love fill her entire body.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with Eva to hear how she and her family were baptized just weeks later as some of the earliest members in Bulgaria, how her father became a district president and defended the Church before government officials, and how she eventually made it to America through a series of quiet miracles. Eva also shares how her faith now shapes her art, including the story behind her decision never to show the Savior's face in her photography.

Loved this episode? Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear that God can reach anyone, anywhere. Leave a review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Eva Timothy:

Website: https://www.evatimothy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eva_timothy/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Eva_Timothy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eva.k.timothy/

How do you find God in your everyday life? Rob Call has spent a lifetime answering that question, and his answer is simpler than you think: you look. Rob has trained himself to spot the hand of the Lord in every chapter of his story, and every time he looks, he finds it.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with Rob to hear how baptizing his little brother at 16 first awakened his testimony, how God sent him back to the exact city he mocked as a missionary, and how a desperate prayer at 10 PM saved his newborn son's life in a way that left no room for doubt. Rob also shares how a name that would not leave his mind for years led a family to the temple, and how an ancestor's handwritten journal from the earliest days of the Church still strengthens his faith today. His secret is not complicated. Pay attention, write it down, and trust that God is already there.

Loved this episode?Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear that the Spirit still speaks today! Leave a review forWhy We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  or YouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Rob Call:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-call-mba-a270917/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rdcall/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/rdcall

What happens when 17 years of saving other people's lives nearly destroys your own?  Jeremy Claridge spent nearly two decades as a paramedic with his hands in trauma every single day. When severe PTSD brought him to his breaking point, he told his doctor he was done with emergency medicine and that he was going to be a crop duster. His wife looked at him and asked if he was serious. He was.

In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with Jeremy to hear how that decision launched a chain of events only God could have planned. Jeremy and his wife drove across Idaho looking for a place to fly, and the moment they hit Main Street in Rexburg, they both knew it was the place. They moved with no job, no connections, and no plan beyond following the Spirit. Jeremy shares how walking into the Far West temple site on his mission gave him a testimony he could never deny, how a late-night walk as a new bishop brought him the only instruction he needed, and why he believes God cares just as much about a little girl's dinosaur tutu as He does about the biggest problems in the world.

Loved this episode?Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear that God has a plan even when yours falls apart! Leave a review forWhy We BelieveonApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere! Looking for practical ways to strengthen your testimony? Get your FREE guide, 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ by subscribing to the Why We Believe newsletter at WhyWeBelieve.com.

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Jeremy Claridge:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jyclaridge/

What happens when a lifelong church member realizes he has never truly tested his own testimony? Jason Barney grew up in a family with roots reaching back to Nauvoo and Joseph Smith himself. He knew the stories. He had the heritage. But when his high school friends asked him point blank if he really believed in Joseph Smith, he walked away unsure. Years later, kneeling in a remote Japanese town on his mission, Jason asked God directly and received a vivid, unmistakable witness of the First Vision. In this episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits down with the composer and land developer to hear how recreating Third Nephi scenes in the Honduran jungle made the Savior feel unmistakably real, how a family prayer hours after his father's death replaced fear with clarity, and why being a grandfather is the greatest success of his life.

Loved this episode?Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear that personal revelation can turn inherited belief into unshakable conviction! Leave a review forWhy We BelieveonApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Jason Barney:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talmage/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/t.jason.barney

Website: https://www.jasonbarney.com/

Talmage Music: https://www.talmagemusic.com/

Highbridge Land: https://www.highbridgeland.com/