Leading Saints Podcast Leading Saints

Dr. Nate Sharp is a scholar and academic leader who currently serves as Dean of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, served in the Korea Seoul West Mission, then taught Korean at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, while attending Brigham Young University.



Nate graduated from BYU’s Marriott School of Business with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and later completed a PhD at the University of Texas at Austin. During his time at Texas A&M, Nate has served in multiple leadership positions, received multiple awards recognizing excellence in research and teaching, and been widely published in top peer-reviewed scholarly journals..



Nate married Holly Carroll, they are the parents of five children, and their oldest daughter is currently serving in the Peru Lima Central Mission. Nate has previously served as an elders quorum president, ward Young Men president, ward executive secretary, bishopric counselor, high councilor, and bishop. He currently serves as stake president in the College Station Texas Stake, a calling he has held since 2016.





Links



Linking Every Sacrament Meeting to Christ | An Interview with Thomas Griffith

Thomas Griffith's BYU Speech: The Very Root of Christian Doctrine

Why Every Ward Needs Digital Ward Missionaries

There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here.

Transcript coming soon

Scriptures referenced in this podcast: Doctrine & Covenants 45:3-5, John 5:38-40

Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library

Highlights

2:30 In a previous episode, Nate talked about having digital missionaries for the ward and the blog they created and the impact it made.



4:30 Getting called as stake president



8:40 Their stake has a large number of single adults. The recent changes to put singles and students in leadership has created lots of positive change in the singles ward.



10:45 Nate currently works for Texas A&M and is the dean of the Mays Business School.



12:30 The role of being a dean is about building relationships, selfless service, and elevating the school. The values they have on campus have created an environment similar to BYU.



19:30 Stimulating a positive culture as a stake president. They set a vision of creating a culture and doctrine of belonging. Including more students in leadership opportunities even if they won’t be there very long.



22:50 Approach to mentoring bishops and helping them establish culture in their wards



25:30 The bishop has the opportunity to demonstrate to the youth hopeful repentance.



28:15 How can bishops apply this idea of hopeful repentance? Let the youth know you are proud of them for coming forward with their sins. Share hope filled conference talks about repentance.

Hailing from the heart of Utah, Joe Speredon's diverse background and experience led him into leadership within men's work. Having embarked on his own path of crisis and self-discovery, Joe discovered the healing nature of brotherhood and masculine support. From that place he founded the Utah Men's Circle and later the Algiz Guard. Working with Sacred Sons and many other influential leaders and groups, Joe has had the opportunity to travel all over the world, meet men from diverse backgrounds, and guide them through their own healing and evolution as a coach, leader and inspirational speaker. Joe currently serves in the Church as a Sunday School teacher and as a stake emergency preparedness specialist.





Links

UtahMensCircle.com Instagram: @utahmenscircle Facebook: Utah Men's Circle AlgizGuard.com Instagram: @thealgizguard Facebook: The Algiz Guard The Intentional Father: A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here.



Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library

Highlights

1:40 Introduction to Joe Speredon and his background 4:20 Joe shares why mens work is so important to him and how he got started in it. 6:00 Too many men are suffering in silence. However, when men open up they will find that they are suffering with the same things. 8:00 We have the engine (elders quorum) but we don’t know how to turn it on. We need men to be courageous enough to open up during elders quorum. 10:00 What is brotherhood? We’ve had a cultural shift that the cool thing is to be a lone wolf. Men think they have to do it all and do it alone. 14:30 The war that we fight is mostly against ourselves. The idea of brotherhood is it's me against myself and having brothers to help us be the best version of ourselves. 15:30 How can an elders quorum president stimulate brotherhood in Sunday meetings?



* Take off your own mask as the leader. Be open with your struggles.

* Be the first to be vulnerable and authentic and others will follow.



17:30 Joe created the Utah Men's Circle, a gathering twice a month for a couple hours, a time to check in and talk about how you are really feeling. 21:40 Have less formal gatherings and activities to connect and have conversations. 23:00 Doing men's work outside of elders quorum. We need to create a place for active and inactive members to connect without preaching. 26:00 The vilification of men and toxic masculinity 30:30 Due to wounding and conditioning and because they are mortal, men can turn into:



* The sadist, meaning I’m going to hurt you before you hurt me

* The masochist, meaning I’m going to hurt me before you can hurt me

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in April 2020. John Hilton III was born in San Francisco and grew up in Seattle. He served a mission in Denver and earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, where he met his wife, Lani. They have lived in Boise, Boston, Miami, Mexico, Jerusalem, and China. Currently they live in Utah, and have six children. John has a master's degree from Harvard and a PhD from Brigham Young University, both in Education. John is a professor of Religious Education at BYU. John has published several books with Deseret Book, including Considering the Cross and his latest book, Voices in the Book of Mormon. He is also the author of the podcast and video series, “The Book of Mormon: A Master Class.” John loves being with his family, doing humanitarian work, learning Chinese, and performing magic.



©BYU PHOTO 2011 All Rights Reserved

Links

The Founder of Our Peace: Christ-Centered Patterns for Easing Worry, Stress, and Fear John's article discussing this topic: A Fence Around the Law – Safety Net or Beam in Our Eye John Hilton III books John's education research There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here.



Read the transcript of this podcast Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library

Highlights

7:04 John quotes President Uchtdorf addressing the many “shoulds” and “should nots” that become a challenge in our lives. We can lose peace in our lives when we focus on admittedly good ideas, but aren’t grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 8:50 What are “Fence Laws”? Imagine an unfillable hole in your backyard, which poses a threat to children who may fall in. You therefore put a fence around this hole, which represents sin. The fence represents the protective effort against anybody falling into the sin. 9:45 We are already protected from sins by commandments, which John refers to as “core laws”. Yet some still feel the need to add additional “fence laws”. E.g.:



* Core Law: The law of chastity, i.e., no sexual relations outside of marriage

* Fence Law: No kissing until the fourth date, and kiss will last no longer than five seconds

* Fence Law: No going into the bedroom of a member of the opposite sex



10:47 Some fence laws have prophetic sources, like those found in the For the Strength of Youth, etc. There is a goodness to fence laws as guided by the Spirit or other divine sources, like prophets. 13:57 Examples of positive fence laws 15:22 Dangers of focusing on the fence laws while forgetting the commandments: “I didn’t go into the bedroom of a member of the opposite sex, but I still broke the law of chastity.” Children need fences, but the choices should shift away from extrinsic fences to self-imposed fences. 16:50 Too many good fences can become a burden. 22:58 “Take my yoke upon you” meaning 25:49 Ward traditions that become fences 28:56 Allowing the Spirit to fill in the details around prophetic direction 30:14 Anecdotes where a personal fence laws caused harm:

Jacob Hansen grew up immersed in and passionate about ideas about the world. He grew up near Sparks, Nevada, in a blue-collar family with parents who now serve as a State Senator and in the Nevada State Assembly. He served a Church mission to Argentina and attended both Brigham Young University and BYU-Hawaii, graduating with a degree in Operations/Supply Chain Management. He then partnered with another recent-grad to start a company that continues to grow. Jacob married his college sweetheart, Erica, and they have four children. He loves just about anything that takes him on an adventure.

Links



YouTube @thoughtfulfaith2020

"Creating Genuine Belonging: Could This Revolutionize the Church?"

Thoughtful-Faith.com

Facebook Thoughtful Saints group

There is already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your thoughts here.

Read the transcript of this podcast

Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library

Highlights

1:40 Introduction to Jacob Hansen, the creator of Thoughtful Faith YouTube channel.



3:10 A part of Jacob’s YouTube channel are formal debates. Listening to Christian vs Atheist debates saved Jacob’s testimony.



6:30 Contrast is what creates clarity. That’s why Jacob likes to talk to people that disagree with him and have debates.



7:30 Should most people debate? Formal debate is a skill set and not recommended for everyone. It’s not a good way to minister to someone.



10:00 Although argument doesn’t create conviction and belief, a lack of argument destroys the climate where belief can flourish.



11:30 Interest-based programs. Why are they important in the Church? We can combine values and people’s interests to create a great experience.



17:00 Ministry should happen at a ward level but when it comes to interest based activities you can do them at a stake level. Stop forcing people to go to activities they have no interest in.



20:30 We need to gather in these sub-interest groups for community and human connection between the saints. It’s not about entertainment.



22:00 How can Relief Society presidents and elders quorum presidents begin to implement interest-based activities? It can happen at the ward level but it’s easier for stake leaders because there are lots of people.



26:45 More people will engage in these interest-based activities because it’s actually something they are interested in. It’s also something that non members will show up to. Activities are a much better way to do missionary work.



29:30 These activities are not a ploy to get people baptized but we are bringing the Spirit into someone’s life and then they can decide what they want to do with it. We are facilitating opportunities and loving people.



34:00 Ultimately life is about being one with God and one with each other. The most valuable thing that we have in our lives is our relationships. That's why we do what we do.