I was sitting in one of those 7:00-am-and-I’m-way-too-tired-to-be-here priesthood training meetings, listening to the stake president teach. I was struggling to pay attention until a single phrase focused my thoughts and brought the promptings of the spirit on me like floodwater bursting over a levee. The stake president said, “If a young man has to come to you at the start of Priesthood meeting to find out what the plan for the upcoming mutual activity is, you’re not doing your job right.” This simple phrase changed the way I lead my young men.
I’ve been serving in the YM program pretty much continually since I turned twelve, whether formally or informally and my leadership of young men has changed dramatically over the years. I used to try leading them from the front of the room where I could speak and teach and share my wisdom and knowledge in a strong and authoritative manner. As my understanding of young men and their needs has matured, I now lead from the back of the room.
Cindy Burt is a counselor in her ward young women’s program in Kirkland, Washington. She has also served as a Relief Society president, stake Young Women’s President, and seminary teacher. She joined the LDS Church at 26 soon after she married her husband.
Jacob Khalil is a student at Brigham Young majoring in Vocal Performance. He grew up in a home with a Mormon mother and a Muslim father. In order to respect his father’s request, Jacob didn’t get baptized until he was 18 years old and could make the decision as a legal adult.
In this interview we discuss how Jacob’s parents, youth leaders, and other members of his ward influenced him during his youth. We talk about best practices a leader can make when faced with a situation where a child cannot be baptized until they are an adult.
Calling management can be a distracting task for a presidency that is striving to connected individually with members of their ward. It’s an administrative task that must be done while also giving special thought to whom should fill which calling.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe Email | RSS | MoreGreg Clawson, who you may recognize from the recent podcast on memory training, has served for 10 years in the Young Men organization, four years as Elders Quorum President, and has been serving...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe Email | RSS | MoreGreg Clawson from My Memory Works joins Kurt Francom to discuss memory tactics for LDS leaders. Remembering names and birthdays, allows leaders to be more effective with more impact, and why a...
Larry Gelwix is widely known as the Head Coach of the Highland High School rugby team where he lead his team for 36 years with an overall record of 419–10 and 19 national championships. The movie Forever Strong is based on his experience as the coach of that team. Larry and wife Cathy have also served in numerous callings in the church and recently returned from serving as mission presidents of the California Fresno Mission from 2011 to 2014. They live in the Salt Lake area and are the parents of 5 children.
There is a constant passive aggressive struggle between auxiliary leaders and those that hold the keys to extend church callings to members. This struggle is also apparent between bishoprics, and stake presidencies when stake callings are needed in the ward (i.e. clerks, elder’s quorum leaders, high priest group leaders, etc.). A Relief Society president, for example, needs an instructor called for an upcoming lesson. She knows that if the person isn’t called with enough time to prepare the lesson then the responsibility will fall on her.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe Email | RSS | MoreArdis Parshall is a professional researching that has spend the last 15+ years in LDS Church history. Over those years she has compiled some of the riches LDS leadership stories related to women...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe Email | RSS | MoreSteve Willis has served in many leadership capacities in the church including Bishop, Branch President, Stake Presidency, and is currently serving as a Young Men’s President. One aspect that he...
