One of my favorite gospel stories is about the father who brings his possessed son unto the Savior to be healed (Mark 9). After pleading with the Savior’s disciples “that they should cast him out; and they could not,” the Savior quickly rebuked His disciples. He then turns to the father and says, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The father’s response has lead me to hours of pondering, the father says, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
In the same sentence it seem that the father proclaims his faith in the Savior and then has a crisis of faith. In the beginning I can hear the conviction in his voice stating an unwavering testimony as he says, “Lord, I believe!” Then doubt snatches that conviction and turns the tone into a plead, “help thou mine unbelief.”
Chris Kittle lives in Leesville, Louisiana and works as an oral maxillofacial surgeon (a really awesome dentist). He has been bishop for 2+ years for a military ward. In this episode he shares with us his Catholic background, joining the LDS Church at 19 and then serving a mission in Brazil at the age of 22.
Bishop Kittle’s 5 Leadership Principles
Be Flexible
Use Your Counselors
Communication, Communication, COMMUNICATION
Follow the Spirit
Listen to Leading Saints
We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
—Joseph Smith, D&C 121:39
In the history of the world, we’re hard-pressed to find more George Washington’s. That’s part of why he’s so revered and even deified. He could have taken a lot more power after the war, like Bonaparte and Cromwell. He didn’t. Not only did he not amass power to himself, but he even rejected consolidating too much power in the office of POTUS. The most enduring example of this is probably his refusal to put himself up for re-election for a third term. It set a precedent that was honored for well over a century afterward, and then made law in the 22nd Amendment in 1947.
This was a fun interview! I had the chance to chat with Kalee and Neal Mortensen, both Arizona natives, who have been living in São Paulo, Brazil for the last 2 years. They have had a unique experience as newly weds in a foreign country while also attending a familiar church. Neal, who served his mission in Brazil, has served as ward clerk and is currently in the bishopric. Kalee is the Young Women president and has learned Portuguese since she has been there.
As we learn about their leadership experience we also learn about the status of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil and how their culture influences the day-to-day life of a Latter-day Saint in Brazil. We talk about some of the ramifications sensitive policy changes has had in Brazil, what apps are helpful for Brazilian leadership, and what it’s like speaking in stake conference in a 2nd language.
Brigham Rupp is a full-time seminary teacher in Gilbert, Arizona. He’s served as elders quorum counselor, executive secretary, stake Sunday School, and currently serves as bishop. He served a mission in Chicago, Illinois and share many of his scriptural thoughts at The Silver Grey.
Also be sure to listen to Brigham’s How I Lead interview.
Like any Mormon boy who was raised going to a church with an indoor gymnasium, I love playing basketball. It was one of the focuses of my teenage years and it taught me many life lessons. One of the great things about basketball is you can learn so much about the character and personality of individuals that are on the court. A manager would have an easier decision about whom to hire by watching them play a pick-up basketball game compared to a sit-down interview. The only problem is, this would require each person you interview to have fundamental basketball skills. Many would look like confused rodeo clowns if you pushed them onto the hardwood.
Sesily Lee is an inspiring Relief Society president in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you are an avid listener to this podcast you might remember her husband, Trent Lee, when I interview him prior. It was a fantastic episode and this one might be a little better. 🙂
In this interview we hear Sesily’s engaging story of conversion as she grew up in a less-active home and had many influential people in her life that guided her to the gospel. She married in the temple and currently has a beautiful family as she serves as Relief Society president.
Links:
Her husband’s How I Lead interview
Elder Holland’s talk, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come”
Jeff Case is a clinical psychologist, former elders quorum president, return missionary, and gay Mormon. In this interview we primarily focus on the basics a ward leader need to understand about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, personality disorders, suicide, and other mental illnesses. It’s a fascinating discussion with best practices of how to help these individuals find a place in the walls of the church and really feel apart of the ward.
We take a few minutes at the end of the episode to discuss what life is like being a gay, married (to a woman), active Mormon.
Dan Clark is an award winning motivational speaker and best selling author. He has traveled to 59 countries in the world motivating the masses to create a life of significance. He has also served as a Young Single Adult (YSA) bishop (twice). I first came across Dan’s speaking ability when I listened to his BYU Devotional. It inspired me to be a better leader in the Church and it inspired me to get him on the podcast as soon as possible. After a few miraculous encounters, I was able to meet Dan and he willingly agreed to sit down with me for an interview.
This is definitely one of the top 3 interviews I have done on Leading Saints and I am excited to share it with you. We discuss his young football career at the University of Utah, how he became a motivational speaker, his time teaching public speaking at BYU, how he was called as a YSA bishop, what he learned from that calling, how to run a linger-longer, how to increase the rate of marriage in a YSA ward, how to increase the quality of teaching in a ward, the power of stories and how to record them, and other basic guidance for public speaking in church.
I first came across Bishop Bumbaugh’s name when I read his article called, What Happened When I Quit Home Teaching. I thought it was a fantastic story and I was pleased to see he was serving as a bishop in Huntsville, Texas. I reached out to Bishop Bumbaugh and he agreed to do an interview with me and talk about how he leads.
In this episode we discuss his conversion to the Church and what guided him to a career teaching high school German. He’s shares with us how he was called to be the bishop and how accepting the call was a very difficult decision to make.
He also shares how he has led best by serving, thinking outside the box, and focusing on the little things.
