Gary Rhoads grew up in Pocatello, Idaho and received his undergraduate degree and MBA from Idaho State University. He holds a PhD in Marketing from Texas Tech University.
Has the “loneliness of leadership” gotten you down? Do you feel inadequate or unmotivated in your calling? In this episode brother Mark Grandstaff Ph.D reads and article that he wrote on the struggles that sometimes beset us as leaders. He provides us with wonderful examples of prophets who have felt the crushing weight of their stewardships as well. He also discusses with us his own version of a faith crisis in his life.
Brother Grandstaff was born in Detroit Michigan. He was raised Catholic and served in two different branches of the military, the Navy and the Air Force. It was during this period of his life when he was introduced to the Restored Gospel. He received a Ph.D in American history and was a professor at Brigham Young University for 17 years. Listen in as Brother Grandstaff also shares with us how he had the opportunity to team up with Bronco Mendenhall and mentor some of the BYU football players.
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.
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.
Wayne Brockbank was a mission president in the Nigeria Uyo and the Ghana Accra missions from 2006-2009. He has lived and worked as a consultant and professor in Abu Dhabi for the past 7 years and experiences the unique culture of the LDS church in a Muslim country. He was born in Salt Lake City and grew up in Petaluma, California. As a young man, Wayne along with his wife served missions in the South German mission. He has degrees from BYU and UCLA and has taught at the University of Michigan where he also served as a bishop for 9 years. He also was recently released as a bishop in Abu Dhabi.
Geoff Thatcher grew up in Farmington, Utah in an LDS home. He is a descendant of the apostle, Moses Thatcher. He served his mission in the Kentucky Louisville Mission. He graduated from BYU in Journalism and now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio where he works with large corporations to help them create attractions and museums to advertise their brands.
Geoff Thatcher’s calling involves working with all stake public affairs directors in a coordinating council (group of stakes). In the interview Geoff talks about the shift that is happening in the direction we are receiving from the general authorities to use social media and technology more activity to spread the message of the gospel.
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.”
