Angie Young is a mother of 3 young girls and serves as a Young Women President, just outside of Ogden in Clinton, Utah. She was married in the Salt Lake Temple to her husband that she met online. When asked what makes her a unique Mormon, she says, “Her time away from the church in her early youth, gives her a unique perspective on the gospel.” She currently works from home in addition to being a mom, and has makeup line called, “Younique.”
Most bishoprics that have been set-apart longer than a few weeks will know the feeling of trying to read the mind of the speaker at the lectern that has gone over their allotted speaking time by a few minutes.
“Do they realize their time is up? It sort of sounds like they are concluding their remarks. But he said he would be sharing a list of 7 analogies and I think he is only on number 4. But look at the clock, I’m sure he realizes his time is up.”
Before the bishop knows it, the speaker has carried on and now the meeting is almost over, and there is still a 15 minute talk standing by. With only 5 minutes left in the meeting everything will feel rushed and there is little room for the Spirit to settle.
David Deford has an amazing story. Born and raised in Indiana David became involved with various drugs that contributed to his leaving home during college (without telling his parents). He experienced glimmers of God’s love during this time and ultimately met his wife, Kathy, when he picked her up as she was hitchhiking. They were introduced to the Church while hitchhiking cross-country and through God’s grace received answers to their prayers and they chose to be baptized. After several months, they did exactly that.
Manoel Bezerra is a Brazilian cab driver who makes a habit of handing out copies of the Book of Mormon; especially when the Rio Summer Olympics were in town. He is passionate about missionary work because he remembers fondly his own conversion to the LDS Church in New York after honest prayer and meeting the missionaries. He now serves as a member of his stake’s high council.
Samuel Bradshaw is a Church employee and a part-time student. His interest in music and statistic led him to creating a project called SingPraises.net where he analyses how the hymns are sung in the LDS Church. He gathers hundreds of data points from wards around the world and then organizes the data to see which hymns are being sung the most and which hymns are being neglected.
A bishopric or ward music chair would find this interview helpful as you seek to better use all the hymns in some way to invite the spirit into your meetings.
Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., M.B.A., was a psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan for almost fifteen years before moving with her husband to Montreal (where he presided over the Canada Montreal Mission), then Alpine, Utah. She founded Sixteen Stones Center for Growth, which offers seminar-retreats for LDS women (sixteenstones.net). She is a mother and grandmother, a columnist for Deseret News, a former president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapist, and a business consultant with The RBL Group. Her books include Forgiving Ourselves, Weakness Is Not Sin, and national best seller The Why of Work, co-authored with her husband, Dave Ulrich.
Mark & Lacie Sieverkropp live in Ephrata, Washington where they both grew up as non-members. Examples of LDS friends started their interest in the gospel which led to their conversion. Mark helped fellowship Lacie and they later got married after her baptism. They have now been married 9 years and have two children.
Yohan Delton received his PHD in Applied Social Psychology with an emphasis in industrial organizational psychology. He was born in France and served a mission in Louisiana. He has spent a lot of time teaching, he taught at BYU as a graduate student, at the MTC teaching French, and has been teaching at BYU Idaho for 9 years. He currently teaches the History of Psychology and Organizational Psychology.
President Bob Cowan served as a counselor in the Australia Brisbane Mission. He has also served as an Area Seventy, president of the New Zealand Wellington Mission, stake president, bishop, and temple ordinance worker. Sister Jenny Cowan has served as a multi-stake young single adult adviser, stake and ward Relief Society presidents’ counselor, stake Young Women president and stake seminary supervisor.
Imagine walking into your parents’ attics after years of living away. You hope to find the box full of your childhood toys so you can share with your own children. You approach a shelf full of cardboard boxes. Some are old, beat up, and most are dusty. Each box is labeled with a piece of tape describing in a few words the contents of the box: Christmas, Grandma’s China, Winter Clothes. Finally, you find the box labeled Children’s Toys. You take the box off the shelf and peel back the old packaging seal. As the dusty air of the box escapes you are immediately reminded of memories of happier times. You’re grateful for such memories and are excited to share them with your own children.
As individuals leave Sunday School, Relief Society, or elders quorum on Sunday the effects of the lesson rarely get put into a mental attic of retention. One of the many responsibilities of the class instructor is to frame and teach the lesson in a way that will help the students retain the principles. The learner should be able to revisit the topic and feel the same strong feelings of the spirit as they felt while in the class.
