Latter Day Lives - Talking with Latter Day Saints

A announcement on Latter Day Lives

Jen Spencer spent many years dealing with issues of self-esteem, self-harm, drug addiction and suicidal ideation. Through God's amazing grace, she found her way back to peace and happiness and now gives back through her amazing charity work. Jen's story is one you will never forget.

Sorry but we are having major technical difficulties No episode today. A new episode is coming soon.

Dejan Tahic was a young teen when his native country of Bosnia erupted in war. He and his sister fled as refugees. This later led to Dejan reuniting with his parents, and moving to Canada where he finds a new life, an eternal love, and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Steven Lloyd Neal is the visionary behind the Monument Of The Americas project. He a practicing facial plastic surgeon and artist who lives in Pendleton, Oregon where he and his wife Susan raised their six daughters. Dr. Neal is an artist first and foremost. It was his background in art that attracted him to pursue a career in facial plastic surgery. Noticing the strong similarities in both fields, Dr. Neal has fused them together to form his life‘s work. For over two decades Dr. Neal has instructed and taught sculpture classes to his fellow facial plastic surgeon colleagues to improve their aesthetic judgment—the most difficult aspect of plastic surgery. In the field of art, Neal is best known for his achievements and dedication to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints and his love of the Book of Mormon. When sculpting, Neal‘s favorite medium is oil-based clay. Despite his affinity to this medium, he has also learned to carve marble. Working among craftsmen, artists, and masters, Neal has spent time over consecutive summers in Pietrasanta, Italy, not far from the same marble quarry used by Michelangelo, and received invaluable training there. He has also been trained by other professional artists in New York. Some of Neal‘s best known sculptures are the marble “Other Sheep I Have” placed in the lobby of the Mission Training Center in Provo, and the colossal “Mormon Battalion Monument, Duty Calls” and “Duty Triumphs” found at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since his youth, Neal has been painting oil paintings. As he grew so did the size of his pieces. While still in surgical residency at University of California San Diego, Neal began painting his most famous work, “The Tree of Life“ or “Lehi‘s Dream”. “Lehi’s Dream”, which won the grand prize for the Church’s First International Art Contest, has been on display for 32 years at the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City Utah. Since then Neal also painted numerous other large pieces from scenes within the Book of Mormon. As an adult, he has received years of training in the style of the old European masters and continues to employ these techniques in his work. Neal graduated magna cum laude with high honors in Asian studies and Pre-med from Brigham Young University and graduated sixth in his medical school class from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He currently serves in the Church as the second counselor in the Walla Walla, Washington Stake Presidency. He and Susan are grandparents to 14 grandchildren.

This week, rather than publishing an episode, we are taking the time to listen to, read, and study the amazing conference we just had. We invite you to do the same!

Brock Blake is the CEO and founder of Lendio, the largest online marketplace of small business loans in the U.S. Brock believes that access to capital should be simpler and quicker for small business owners, and he’s built a successful company around solving this problem. Brock leads the team that has helped business owners get access to more than $1B in funding. An Inc. 500 CEO, national keynote speaker, Forbes columnist, and Utah’s Emerging Executive of the Year, Brock’s dedication extends far beyond the boardroom. Brock is passionate about giving back. For every loan facilitated on Lendio’s marketplace platform, Lendio Gives, an employee contribution and employer matching program, donates a percentage of funds to low-income entrepreneurs around the world through Kiva.org. Brock’s most important accomplishments come from being a husband and a father of four.

Helen Post is the former Executive Director for the Utah Parent Center, an organization dedicated to providing training and support for parents. In the episode, we talk about her life growing up in a large family, meeting her husband, giving birth to daughters, discovering that oof their sweet daughter is deaf, serving, volunteering, and ultimately inspiring and teaching so many through her service. Helen is a wonderful soul. You will love her story.

Britain Covey is a standout star playing football for the University of Utah. In this episode we talk about his famous family, growing up playing sports, his mission to Chile, meeting his wife, life as a college football star, his plans for the NFL draft, his work on suicide prevention and so much more. Britain has an incredible perspective on life and is amazing on the field and off.

Brian and Karen Hill served as leaders of the 1997 Pioneer Mormon Trail Wagon Train Re-enactment. In this episode we talk about Brian's younger years, his mission to the Navajo people, Karen's early life, her conversion to the gospel, how they met, their love of the outdoors, and then their role in the re-enactment. It is a beautiful story of honoring and celebrating our pioneer ancestors.

Brandon Rowberry is the CEO for Digital Health for the Group. He lives in Dubai. In this week's episode, we talk about his life growing up as a member of the church, his mission, school, his career and what led him to move his family to Dubai. We then talk about the church in this beautiful part of the world. Brandon is an amazing man. You will love this conversation.

This week, for our 200th episode we are sharing a new podcast. Jason Bringhurst is interviewing people about their mission experiences on the Go Ye Forth Podcast. In our episode this week, we talk to Jason about how he started the show, what he has learned from it, and then we share his interview with Garth Smith.

This week, we catch up with one of our favorite past guests, Allie Gardner. In the three years since we met Allie, a lot has happened. She tells us about getting married, being called to be a Young Women's President in a brand new ward right as a pandemic was breaking out, moving to a new state, getting her uplifting message of hope out to fans during the pandemic, the miracle of finding her manager, touring again and her plans for the future. We love Allie. She is so bright, talented and inspiring. You will love catching up with her. https://en.alliegardnermusic.com

Shawn Tucker is the author of the new book Humility: A Practical Approach. In the episode, we talk about his early struggles with education, his mission to Chile, falling in love with learning, becoming a professor at Elon University, his study of humility, the role of humor in our lives, and how being a member of the church affects it all. Shawn is so bright and insightful. You will love this conversation! Get Shawn's new book here: https://www.amazon.com/Humility-Practical-Approach-Shawn-Tucker-ebook/dp/B09ML7BQNM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=274FOYKM6IXHY&keywords=Shawn+Tucker+humility&qid=1644119859&sprefix=shawn+tucker+humility%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-1

Portia Louder has led a remarkable life. In the episode, we discuss her growing up in a small town, discovering drinking, getting pregnant at a young age, marriage and divorce, having more children, finding her eternal companion and having an active, growing family, falling into addiction, getting caught up in real estate fraud, serving time in prison, and coming out with a new perspective on life. Portia is so bright and resilient. She has an incredible view of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will love her story! https://www.facebook.com/portialouder/

Greg Bretzing grew up with the goal of working for the FBI, just like his Father. After serving a mission in Spain, he studied accounting at BYU, where he met his wife. He began his career as an FBI special agent in 1995 and reported to the Phoenix Field Office, where he investigated drug, corruption, and violent crime matters. He was the case agent of a large, multi-national organized crime and corruption case and received the Office of National Drug Control Policy National Task Force Investigation of the Year award, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator’s Award. In September 2000, Greg was promoted to supervisory special agent in the Criminal Investigative Division’s Money Laundering Unit at FBI Headquarters. Following the September 11 attacks, he was instrumental in tracing funds used by the hijackers to carry out the attack. Greg was promoted in August 2002 to unit chief in the Terrorist Financing Operations Section. He was recognized for his work by the CIA and received the National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction for his contributions to the FBI’s counterterrorism efforts. In January 2004, he transferred to the Salt Lake City Field Office, where he managed the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He was promoted to assistant special agent in charge in September 2007 and led the office’s Criminal Branch. In August 2009, he was assigned as the FBI on-scene commander in Afghanistan, where he served for four months. In December 2009, Greg returned to Salt Lake City as the assistant special agent in charge and assumed responsibility for Salt Lake City’s National Security Branch in July 2010. He was appointed as an inspector in August 2012. He was then selected to serve as special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland Division. There he was in charge of multiple high profile cases including the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Takeover. Greg is a true patriot, devoted husband, and proud father. His stories from the field are fascinating and give a rare glimpse into the life of a FBI agent.

Becky Edwards began her career as a social worker and counselor, where she worked closely with Utahns to strengthen families and address personal challenges. In an effort to expand her service and advocacy for Utah families, Becky ran for the Utah House of Representatives in 2008. She was a Republican legislator for ten years. She worked to expand affordable housing options, improve Utah schools, and support clean energy opportunities across the state. Each Saturday during her ten legislative sessions, Becky invited constituents to her home for “Bagels and Briefings” to share their concerns, answer questions, and learn about the very real struggles and opportunities in their lives. Becky is a 26-year resident of Davis County in Northern Utah. She is married to John Edwards, son of iconic BYU football coach Lavell Edwards, and has four children and ten grandchildren. She recently served in Samoa with her husband as a humanitarian missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from May 2019–January 2021. She is now seeking a US Senate seat representing Utah. https://beckyforutah.com

Kerry Muhlestein is a professor and former associate chair of the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, where he has taught about the First Vision for over two decades. He is also the director of research for that department. He has taught in the history department of three universities and has been part of award-winning history publications. He received his BS in psychology with a Hebrew minor from BYU, his MA in Ancient Near Eastern studies from BYU, and his PhD from UCLA in Egyptology. He is also the director of the BYU Egypt Excavation Project. He and his wife, Julianne, are the parents of six children, and they have lived in Jerusalem on multiple occasions with Kerry taught there. https://www.outofthedust.org/

On this year end episode, Shawn is joined by author and blogger Brad McBride. Brad tells us about his new novella, Up On The Housetop - A Christmas Story. Shawn and Brad then talk about what they love about this most wonderful time of the year. Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Up-Housetop-Christmas-Bradley-McBride/dp/0988622351/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1639968772&sr=8-2

Graciela Moore is an ICF Certified Coach with a beautiful conversion story. In this episode, we talk about growing up in Puerto Rico, her dreams of being a writer, working at a casino, a life altering car crash, moving to the US for a career change, meeting the man of her dreams, finding the gospel of Jesus Christ, and her mission to spread the Savior's love through a message of hope. Graciela has a tremendous spirit. You will love her story.