Millennium Member Podcast

In this solo episode, Emily shares some thoughts about fear - what it means, how it shows up, and how we can cast it out! Enjoy!

Nicci Pucci, a self-identified "Stage 5" member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shares her faith journey, as well as her insights and experiences with meditation and yoga. You don't need to be a practicing meditator or a yogi to feel edified by what Nicci teaches! Finding stillness is a huge theme of the scriptures, but it's actually very hard to do. Nicci makes it seem so attainable - a great goal for the new year!Enjoy!

Today's guest: Tony Overbay, LMFT, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and creator of the online recovery program Path Back!Tony is an expert in his field of marriage and family therapy, specializing in helping individuals overcome what pornography addiction or compulsive sexual behavior. In this episode, Tony shares insights and advice about how to best help someone who is struggling with pornography and is seeking help. After seeing almost 1,500 clients with this issue, Tony knows well what is helpful and what is not!Enjoy!~*~ CHECK OUT TONY'S STUFF ~*~Website: tonyoverbay.comPodcast: The Virtual CouchPath Back 2.0 recovery program:  About Page, Home PageBook: He's a Porn Addict... Now What?: An Expert and a Former Addict Answer Your Questions

In this solo episode, Emily discusses some personal thoughts and feelings in reaction to  General Conference, as well as a turning point experience in her own faith journey.Enjoy!~*~SPECIAL OFFER~*~If you have been thinking of starting your own podcast, I highly recommend our podcasting host, Buzzsprout.As a special thank-you for subscribing and also for supporting the Millennium Member Podcast, Buzzsprout will send you a $20 Amazon gift card when you try any paid subscription for 2 months using this unique link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1021684

Executive Director of non-profit Leading Saints, Kurt Francom, brings his 10 years of experience founding, running, and growing an organization dedicated to helping leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church runs on a volunteer lay ministry of "callings" - assignments or invitations to serve. It can be a complicated system with unique challenges. Kurt discusses leadership challenges from "both sides of the desk," as we like to say, and gives some ideas and suggestions for overcoming. This episode is full of gold nuggets of wisdom and knowledge. Thank you, Kurt!Enjoy!Please check out...Leading Saints podcast (wherever you listen to podcasts)Leading Saints website: leadingsaints.orgLGBT Saints virtual summit (FREE): Register here

After an unanticipated break due to some crazy weather in Iowa, we are back!In this episode, we dive into the thick of what can sometimes be viewed as the messiness of discipleship with James, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. James shares with us a piece of his faith journey and an ongoing struggle he faces with an important question: Can we really trust revelation from the Holy Ghost to be true and reliable? Enjoy!~*~SPECIAL OFFER~*~ If you have been thinking of starting your own podcast, I highly recommend our podcasting host, Buzzsprout. As a special thank-you for subscribing and also for supporting the Millennium Member Podcast, Buzzsprout will send you a $20 Amazon gift card when you try any paid subscription for 2 months using this unique link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1021684

Have you ever met someone who was just so on fire with their faith that it was contagious? I met Suzanne Spalding about eight years ago when we were both studying abroad in Costa Rica. Suzanne lived the gospel with the guitar-playing, praise-singing style of your favorite Evangelical, but kept me awake late in conversation on at least one occasion expounding upon the doctrines of the Catholic church that clearly kept her grounded. Suzanne now works as a Catholic youth minister in her hometown in central Kentucky. In this conversation, she talks about the joys and challenges of being a youth minister - very similar to what we may experience as youth leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! She also shares her experience coming from a mixed faith home and her journey finding Christ and truly choosing for herself to follow Him in the Catholic church. We discuss prayers, and we even take some time to dig into the topic of recited prayers. Some may consider recited prayers to be simply "vain repetitions," but for Suzanne, these prayers mean so much to keep her close to God. Enjoy!

In this Topic Chat, Brian and I discuss James Fowler's six stages of faith development. Stages of faith are incredibly useful for understanding others' faith journeys!Advertisement: If you have ideas and/or would like to be a guest host for future Topic Chat episodes, please reach out via memberpodcast@gmail.com or the Millennium Member Podcast Facebook page!Also, visit the Facebook page and leave a comment - which faith stage are you in? Enjoy!

Racism is a heavily debated topic these days, for good reason. Ask the vast majority of people living on the planet whether all people should be treated fairly despite the color of the skin, and they would answer yes! Most God-fearing people would likewise agree that in the sight of God, all are equal. Unfortunately, for the majority of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this was not the commonly taught or accepted doctrine. The truth that racism was not only permitted but perpetuated over the pulpit is a very hard pill to swallow for members of the Church today, as most also agree that in the sight of God, we are equally His beloved children. Dr. Joanna Brooks - author, editor, scholar, activist, and brilliant researcher - recently published another book, Mormonism and White Supremacy. The title is enough to make many mainstream members of the Church uncomfortable, as we are striving to distance ourselves from the term "Mormon," and the term "white supremacy" is both very bold and very negative. Dr. Brooks explains both terms in this episode - "Mormonism" is still the scholarly term to refer to the greater Mormon movement, including all religions and people associated with the Church or any of its offshoot sects since the time of Joseph Smith. White supremacy refers to a system that favors people who are white over those of darker skin, often in subtle but important ways. In her book and in this episode, Dr. Brooks graciously and expertly walks us through the Church's history with racism, specifically against Blacks, or people of African descent. Warning - This may be a difficult episode if you are personally struggling with a testimony of prophets or have been taught to treat prophets with infallibility while acting in their calling. However, this is such an important aspect of the Church to both know and talk about, so I welcome you into the conversation!Enjoy!References:Dr. Joanna Brooks' book: Mormonism and White SupremacyDr. Brooks' websiteScripture reference in the introduction : 2 Nephi 26:33

It's Pride Month, and we are talking about same-sex attraction!Christobal Barragan is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He crossed paths with my husband, Brian while Brian was a missionary in Georgia. Brian met Chris a few days before his baptism and was with him during Chris's fresh new member life in the Church. Christobal talks about his faith journey from childhood to now, hopping around to different churches as a kid and adolescent, enduring criticism and unkindness about his sexuality. Chris prefers the phrase "same sex attraction" to describe this challenge instead of labeling his entire identity as a "gay man." Christobal's experiences are completely his own and, while beautiful and potentially helpful, do not represent the experiences of all who live with same-sex attraction or other LGBTQ issues. Enjoy!

Marriage! We talk about it all. the. time... but do we really talk about it? Do we really talk about what it means when we say, "Marriage is hard work," or "We have our ups and downs, but we get through them?" What about the cliché advice, like, "Marriage isn't 50-50% - it's 100% and 100%" or "You just put your spouse's needs before your own, and you'll be happy!" or "The closer you get to God, the closer you'll be to your spouse?"Sound familiar?Nate and Angilyn Bagley host an entire podcast - Mormon Marriages - on helping members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "have a marriage that will make you look forward to eternity" (Mormon Marriages intro). In this episode, we take an hour to just skim the surface of some common marriage myths, as well some actual, sound advice from marriage experts in our very own faith community. Give it a listen, and check out the Bagleys' other resources (listed below).Enjoy!RESOURCES:Mormon Marriages podcast: https://www.mormonmarriages.com/blogGrowth Marriage resources & podcast: https://growthmarriage.com/Epic Wives Experiment: https://epicwivesexperiment.com/go33742143Angilyn & Nate's FREE marriage prep videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxiUXYrEgd8DC-71lwsWC6w

Someone familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knows that any individual in the whole world can be categorized into 4 different labels:active member (of the Church)non-memberless active memberinactive member...for good or bad, that's the reality. Crossing any of these label boundaries is a big deal. Going from a non-member to member via baptism is a celebrated occasion! Transitioning from inactive to active can take a lot of courage! Going from "active" to "inactive" can cause mourning and intense suffering for the individual and their loved ones. Dave Sereg has crossed these label boundaries a number of times. He learned about the Church in high school and became a member at 18. Since  then, he has gone through several transitions through activity, less activity, and inactivity. Of course, it is important to note that we judge "activity" based on how often the congregation sees someone, not necessarily on the state of their heart or the strength of their testimony. Like all of us, Dave has had his ups and downs with faith and doubts, but his belief is God has remained strong despite his activity status. Dave shares his thoughts and experiences as a convert and Church activity. Enjoy!

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, you likely have a desire to share the good news with others. But how? Nobody wants to be a church salesperson when sharing the gospel. That just leaves you feeling yucky and fake and leaves the receiver with yet another bad impression of a weird Christian. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared an address in the April 2019 General Conference entitled "Missionary Work: Sharing What is in Your Heart." and an accompanying article in August 2019, "Sharing the Gospel in Normal and Natural Ways." In both messages, Elder Uchtdorf outlined five ways to share the message of Christ without being awkward:1. Draw close to God.2. Fill your heart with love for others.3. Strive to walk the path of discipleship.4. Share what is in your heart.5. Trust the Lord to work His miracles.No required pamphlets, no obligatory testimony-bearing moments. Basically, try to be a good follower yourself and share whatever comes naturally. Bailey Howell and Sara Forrest are recently-returned full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their mission president was committed to missionaries sharing the gospel in normal and natural ways, and these missionaries thrived in the mission culture created. Bailey and Sara share their experiences and ideas about testifying of the good news while being themselves and acting like normal people who happen to also love Jesus Christ. Enjoy!

We all hate the feeling of someone dismissing our struggle and telling us to "get over it" before we're ready. Sometimes this reminder to move on is needed, especially when the thing is legitimately a small grudge that we really just need to let go.In my opinion, now is not the time. Now is not the time to tell people who support the Black Lives Matter movement, who support anti-racism efforts, who are protesting, to get over it and be quiet and peaceful again. To take the stance of "I'm tired of hearing about it, so let's just move on" is casting God-given agency aside, choosing to be inactive and unresponsive to real pain that our brothers and sisters are facing. I reference Galatians 5:13, where Paul instructs the people to use their liberty in love and in service of others. Whatever you do right now in light of current events, do something intentional to use your liberty and serve others, don't just seek to protect your own comfort and choose inactivity.Feel free to use your agency to disagree! Much love. 

There is a lot going on right now in the United States. COVID-19 is still raging while some states and communities are starting to emerge from quarantine/lockdown. Protests are raging across the country for racial justice. Anyone with a social media account has taken to either defending or condoning relevant aspects of culture. "Church culture" is a broad term that is thrown around a lot, and it means different things to different people. In this episode, you'll meet my former college roommate, Kara Maxwell, and my husband, Brian Ensign. Both of these lovely people served missions. Brian served stateside, and Kara served in Latin America. Their mission experiences were very different but could still find some similarities in culture. In addition, we talk about how church culture affects life after their missions, for positive and negative. Enjoy our informal conversation and consider how your experiences are affected by church culture in your neck of the woods!

Studying the scriptures... a task that members of the Church of Latter-day Saints are encouraged to complete daily. Like you, I've heard of all kinds of tips and suggestions for completing a successful scripture study, some based on prophetic counsel and some based in others' personal habits. Perhaps you know some of these:read the scriptures every dayread the Book of Mormon every day and whatever we're studying in Sunday classeswhenever you finish the Book of Mormon, start over (optional - declare how many times you've read it in testimony meeting)study Come Follow Me every daystudy Come Follow Me as a family, and have your personal study every dayhave personal, companion/couple, and family study... every dayread at least a verse a daystudy by topicread scriptures when you are most awake and not sleepyread in the morning, early enough to not be distracted by anyoneread with a pencil in handwrite spiritual impressions from scripture study in your journal.. otherwise it shows you're ungrateful for the revelationSome of these are great. Actually, most of them are great if you have the time. I don't. Right now I don't even have my scripture studying habit together. I love the scriptures. I am out of the habit of reading every day. Anyone else in my boat? This is one of several episodes I hope to produce on the topic of studying scriptures, with the goal of making this "primary answer" activity engaging, interesting, and attainable... even for people like me.Steven Ensign, my beloved father-in-law, has a great habit of scripture study and shares in this interview some of his tips and insights that help to make scripture study enjoyable. He also notes that phrases like "scripture study" or "reading my scriptures" are part of the problem because it turns the activity into a chore! When we approach the scriptures to discover something, to find answers, or to satisfy spiritual curiosity... then reading scriptures can actually be something enjoyable!

Hello! I am Emily Ensign, the host of Millennium Member Podcast. In this short solo episode, I introduce myself with a bit of my faith journey and explain the context and purpose of the podcast. 

Melodie Jackson shares her experiences growing up in the church as a Black woman. She discusses her journey with race and activism and how her mission to Brazil radically shifted her paradigm with race in the Church when (for the first time!) she was surrounded by Black leaders in her mission, stakes, and wards. Melodie talks about her journey since and some of the struggles that she has felt trying to voice her opinions in Sunday School and Relief Society. What a great discussion about truly embracing differences in the Kingdom of God!You can follow Melodie to keep tabs on her ideas and insights, especially in light of her new PhD program studying Afro Brazilian members of the Church, on Twitter: @kid_melodie https://twitter.com/Kid_melodie