Leading Saints Podcast

  Register HERE for the Recovering Saints Virtual Conference Kelly Thompson Clark is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic who spent three decades battling the disease of addiction. Plagued by the effects of mental illness and addiction, she eventually descended into homelessness and prostitution. In 2016, after finding faith in Jesus Christ and entering twelve-step recovery, Kelly’s life of tragedy and despair transformed into one that overflowed with purpose and hope. Kelly is a published author, public speaker, podcast co-host, and social media influencer. She has dedicated her life to sharing the reality of hope with those who continue to suffer from the devastating impact of addiction. Heather Granata Warren and her husband are the parents of nine kids, her two nieces, a daughter-in law, and two dogs. They reside in the Lehi, Utah area, and she owns Little Adventures, a company that manufactures clothing-quality princess dress ups. Her full-time job, however, is as a wife and an Uber driver (for the kid

Pavel Mykhailovskii was born and raised in Ukraine, and served a mission in Dnipro, Ukraine. He was called as the second counselor in the mission presidency in Dnipro only eight months after serving his mission. He has also served as branch president and is currently serving as stake president. Highlights 02:35 Introduction to Pavel and his background 04:00 The current state of Ukraine due to the war. Pavel lives in one of the biggest cities in eastern Ukraine where, for the most part, life is normal. 07:30 Pavel is a 29-year-old stake president. He shares his background in the Church. 15:15 What Pavel learned as a counselor in the mission presidency 18:15 Pavel describes his experience as a branch president in Ukraine and what his ward dynamic was like. 19:30 The effect that the war has had on wards and branches 23:30 Pavel describes how his stake was created. It was a miracle that it was able to be created during the pandemic. 26:30 Getting called as the stake president 31:30 Being stake president

Karla Fonseca was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, the industrial capital of Honduras, in Central America. She graduated as an environmental engineer before serving in the Guatemala City Central Mission. She later earned a master's degree in Environmental Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and is now a senior in Marriage and Family Studies in BYU-Idaho's online program. Karla has worked as an environmental coordinator and manager and is currently the project manager at her family's insurance business. Karla has served in Young Womens as a president, counselor, secretary, and stake Personal Progress specialist; as an Institute teacher, ward Relief Society secretary, and temple worker in Las Vegas. She has also been a stake YSA representative and historian for the regional EFY conference, and has served as stake historian for over 10 years. She currently holds three additional callings as stake self-reliance specialist, Institute teacher, and ward Primary president. She hopes to continue i

Travis Richey is an entrepreneur and speaker. At the age of 25, Travis managed a hedge fund with millions of dollars under management. Due to a regulatory oversight in the State of Arizona, he was charged with transactions of an unregistered securities dealer and sentenced to 2 years in Arizona Department of Corrections. This 17,520 hours became the framework of Travis’ new mission in life; he founded AccomplishED Ventures to provide incarcerated and returned citizens the proper resources for a second chance at a successful life. Over the past 10 years he created the largest incarcerated curriculum company In America. His weekly message is seen or heard by over 500,000 inmates. When Travis is not impacting the incarcerated community, he speaks the language of identity and adversity to youth around the world, helping them understand their greatness and true potential. Travis’ message to the world is that biography is not destiny and no matter your past circumstances, you are in control of how far you go in l

Jennifer Sumko grew up in Salt Lake City Utah and graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Communications. She worked in various marketing and account management jobs prior to having children and staying at home as a full-time mother. She started a photography business while her husband was in residency and taught herself how to sew by watching YouTube videos while her babies were sleeping. It was during those years, living on the east coast, that she gained a deep love and appreciation for antiques and making old things appear as new. Jennifer has always had a love and passion for design. In 2018 She started Jen Sumko Vint—a company rooted in a love of all things vintage—and took on design clients specializing in textiles, wallpapers, and antique furnishings. She launched an earring collection early in 2019 and created her own small dress label the end of that year. Her latest project has been a spring and summer clothing, swim, and shoe collection with Dillard’s that will launch and be availab

In this episode, Kurt Francom and Ross Richey (former member of the Leading Saints Board of Directors) talk about random topics distantly related to leadership. This is a fun end-of-year episode where there are no rules. :) Links We Are Not Saved podcast Leadership Systems | How I Lead: Ross Richey, High Priest Group Leader Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast The Leading Saints Podcast has ranked in the top 20 Christianity podcasts in iTunes, gets over 500,000 listens each month, and has over 10 million total downloads as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help latter-day saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, J. Devn Cornish, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Bla

In this episode, Kurt Francom discusses the past, present, and future of Leading Saints. Links from Episode: Donate to Leading Saints Upcoming Retreats Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast The Leading Saints Podcast has ranked in the top 20 Christianity podcasts in iTunes, gets over 500,000 listens each month, and has over 10 million total downloads as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help latter-day saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, J. Devn Cornish, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, DeAnna Murphy, Michael Goodman, Richard Ostler, Ganel-Lyn Condie, and many more in over 500 episodes. Discov

Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D., is a cutting-edge leadership development author, researcher, and consultant. He helps organizations vertically develop their leaders primarily through a focus on mindsets. He is also an associate leadership professor at the College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources from Indiana University, and a B.A. from Brigham Young University. As a consultant, he works with organizations to develop their leaders and improve their culture. Ryan is the author of The Elevated Leader and Success Mindsets. He has written multiple articles for Leading Saints, presented at a live event about mindsets, and is a repeat podcast guest. As Ryan reviewed leadership research, he found it primarily answered one question: “What do leaders need to do to be effective?” The focus of his work has been on “What do leaders need to be to be effective?” This podcast is a follow-up to a previous discussion about vertical deve

Keith Erekson is an award-winning author, teacher, and public historian who has published on topics including politics, hoaxes, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and Church history. Keith grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, served a mission in Brazil, and earned advanced degrees in history and business. For seven years he directed the Church History Library, overseeing expanded online research access and enriched public exhibits, and now works for the Church History Department in efforts to encourage outreach and historical engagement. In this podcast, Kurt and Keith discuss receiving and engaging with patriarchal blessings. Highlights 2:00 Introduction and new book about understanding patriarchal blessings 6:00 Patriarchal blessings are so unique and a special part of our religion 8:00 The history of patriarchal blessings 11:45 Why a patriarchal blessing? Comparing baby blessings and patriarchal blessings 16:00 Apocryphal things people say about patriarchal blessings 18:15 Can we share our patriarchal bless

Kolette Hall is a Success and Self-Management Coach for Leaders. She teaches high-achieving leaders how to manage their thoughts and behavior so they can make aligned decisions in every area of their life—without having to micromanage their time. She is an educator, author, entrepreneur, mother, and widow. Her husband was a quadriplegic in a wheelchair and they were married for 27 years before he passed away suddenly. Kolette has served in a stake Primary presidency and ward Young Women program. She currently serves in her Syracuse, Utah, stake Young Women presidency, where she uses her superpower of offering realistic, simple, and powerful ways to help ward leaders implement the youth-led program. Highlights 02:30 Introduction and Kolette’s review of the Leading Saints women’s retreat 05:54 Kolette talks about the book, Messy Victories, that she wrote with her late husband, Jason Hall 10:40 Jason was a quadriplegic and she talks about the unique dynamic that it brought to being elders quorum president 12

This is PART 2 of a 2-part podcast conversation. Listen to PART 1 Steven Croshaw is the co-founder and President of SA Lifeline Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing hope, education and resources related to sexual addiction and betrayal trauma recovery. He was instrumental in the production of Understanding Pornography and Sexual Addiction: A Resource for Families, Religious, and Community Leaders. Steven is a commercial real estate developer. He has been married to Rhyll Anne Croshaw for 49 years and they are the parents of seven children and 27 grandchildren. They are grateful to be working recovery one day at a time. Chris Raleigh grew up in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, and served in the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Mission. He has a bachelor’s degree in business, a master’s degree in education, and has taught for 28 years in both public and private school settings—including 23 years as a seminary and institute instructor. Chris' church assignments have included callings in the elders quoru

Steven Croshaw is the co-founder and President of SA Lifeline Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing hope, education and resources related to sexual addiction and betrayal trauma recovery. He was instrumental in the production of Understanding Pornography and Sexual Addiction: A Resource for Families, Religious, and Community Leaders. Steven is a commercial real estate developer. He has been married to Rhyll Anne Croshaw for 49 years and they are the parents of seven children and 27 grandchildren. They are grateful to be working recovery one day at a time. Chris Raleigh grew up in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, and served in the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Mission. He has a bachelor’s degree in business, a master’s degree in education, and has taught for 28 years in both public and private school settings—including 23 years as a seminary and institute instructor. Chris' church assignments have included callings in the elders quorum, Sunday School, high council, bishopric, and as a bishop and st

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in September 2021. Listen to the follow-up conversation here: Part 2: The Research Behind Becoming Christlike. Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D., is a cutting-edge leadership development author, researcher, and consultant. He helps organizations vertically develop their leaders primarily through a focus on mindsets. He is also an associate leadership professor at the College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources from Indiana University, and a B.A. from Brigham Young University. As a consultant, he works with organizations to develop their leaders and improve their culture. Ryan is the author of The Elevated Leader and Success Mindsets. He has written multiple articles for Leading Saints, presented at a live event about mindsets, and is a repeat podcast guest. As Ryan reviewed leadership research, he found it primarily answered one question: “What do leaders need to do to be e

Dr. Tyler Johnson is is a medical oncologist, author, and a clinical assistant professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He also serves as a leader of the Stanford inpatient oncology services, including supervising the oncology housestaff service. Tyler has served as Bishop in the Stanford Ward and taught institute. He co-hosts The Doctor's Art podcast and writes on the intersection of medicine, ethics, and spirituality. Tyler's writings has been featured by Religion News Service, the Salt Lake Tribune, BYU Studies, Dialogue, and The San Jose Mercury News, where he is a regular contributor. Highlights 02:00 Introduction to the episode and Tyler Johnson 03:30 Tyler’s background as an oncologist and professor 09:30 Teaching experience in the church and at the institute at Stanford 14:00 Many youth are leaving the church. We can do a better job at teaching them. 18:20 Where do we fail to teach the power of the gospel to youth and others? 20:00 Us vs them dynamic when it comes to people who

Rick Bennett currently serves as family history leader in his ward and as a temple worker at the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple for the past ten years. He has served previously as ward mission leader, elders quorum counselor, membership clerk, Gospel Doctrine teacher, Primary teacher, and missionary in South Carolina/Georgia. He has a masters degree in biostatistics from the University of Utah and teaches at Utah Valley University and Western Governors University. For the past seven years, Rick has hosted Gospel Tangents, a podcast and YouTube channel focusing on Mormon history, science, and theology, where he interviews not only Latter-day Saint scholars and leaders, but Restoration leaders from other offshoots like Community of Christ, Strangites, Bickertonites, and even fundamentalist Mormon cousins in the Restoration Movement. Rick loves not only family history but Mormon history as well. Highlights 02:40 Introduction to Rick Bennett 04:40 Rick talks about his podcast, which focuses on Church history, scien

Brooke Rasmussen is completing her masters in Marriage and Family Therapy at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and is an intern at Partners with Families and Children, a social safety net for families facing neglect and abuse. Brooke is passionate about helping clients find personal and relational growth in their marriages and teaches Gottman Institute Marriage Courses online with her husband, Scott. Her research at Whitworth focuses on pornography use and its connections to emotional intelligence. Brooke and Scott traveled the world through his career as a diplomat, living in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East before putting down roots in Spokane with their eight children. Brooke's experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is fundamental to her development as a leader and thinker. Highlights 02:15 Introduction to Brooke and the topic of personal development 05:30 Brooke’s process of preparing for the Leading Saints Women’s Conference 07:45 What is a vertical rel