Bless The Refreshments

Today we sit down for our third session with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife to talk about divorce. We discuss the factors leading to the decision to, or not to get a divorce and how we can best help those we care about to navigate that difficult event.This is our last episode for the summer while we take some time with family, vacations, etc. We look forward to being back with you in the fall for more great gospel discussions. 

This week we get some new reviews, thanks to all of you who are listening and interacting with us, we really appreciate it! We also take a few minutes on the whistleblower 60 minutes interview and share our thoughts. Finally, we devote the balance of the show to the last, but not least of the Three Witnesses, David Whitmer. His life, the part he played in the restoration of the gospel and his legacy in the church today. Hope you enjoy!

This week Xander Clark joins us to discuss his experience with addiction and describes his journey to recovery as well as healing his relationship with God. He talks a lot about both Alcoholics Anonymous and the Addiction Recovery Program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as instrumental in helping him attain his sobriety that he has sustained for the last ten years. He also tells some amazing stories about the people within those programs that helped him to heal. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction of any kind, please visit www.addictionrecovery.churchofjesuschrist.org to find meeting times for support groups that can help.

This week we each talk about what our favorite secular books are that also contain a gospel theme. Come join us and see if we pick some of your favorites too!

This week we break our own rules and talk about a recent Come Follow Me topic - the Parables of Jesus. We go over some of the parables that speak to us and discuss why Jesus taught in parables. We also get a really fun call from a listener...

This week we do our much anticipated General Conference fantasy draft! Join us as we select the general conference talks that spoke to us. They may not be the talks that you think... Spoiler alert, Jeffrey R. Holland is not chosen ;)

This week we discuss the beauty of the earth. How does care and stewardship over the earth relate to the gospel plan? What is the divine destiny of the earth and how can we show more reverence and appreciation for this wonderful gift? We talk about all the reasons why our earthly home is awesome!

In today's episode we discuss the life and legacy of one of the elect ladies of the church, Emma Smith. We talk about many of the events in her life surrounding the restoration of the gospel and the sacrifices she made in order that the work could roll forth, including the translation of the Book of Mormon and the first hymnal. Hope you enjoy!

This week we talk about our thoughts on this past General Conference. We discuss the major themes of the talks as well as the messages that resonated more with each of us. We also talk about our takeaways and what we want to work on for the next six months. Hope you enjoy!

After much anticipation, we get to our episode on Sacrifice. What has the Lord's people been required to give historically for the gospel sake? What are we required to give today? We discuss some personal examples of sacrifice and the blessings we have received. Hope you'll come join us!

Our best laid plans were derailed this week and we departed from our planned topic (sacrifice) to talk about the fall. Jon and Tyson have an interesting disagreement about Eve in the garden. A very good discussion about all aspects of the fall ensues and we have a very fun episode. Hope you enjoy!

This week we discuss The Chosen: Season 3. Spoilers abound, come join us for a fun chat.

This week we talk about Apostasy. We start out with the 'Great Apostasy' and continue into more general apostasy as we see it in the church today. We discuss patterns of apostasy in church history as well as some examples of people who have succumbed to apostasy in our own lives.

This week we guest host the This Week in Mormons podcast. We talk about the past week of news that includes controversy involving Heather Gay of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City being sued by the church. We also talk about the recent earthquake in Turkey, saving the Great Salt Lake and the Super Bowl. It's a fun one, come and enjoy!

This week we welcome back to the show Bonnie Young! Bonnie is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and author of the book Sex Educated: Letters from a Latter-day Saint Therapist to Her Younger Self. In the book, Bonnie gives insights and advice to her younger self about things she wishes she understood about sexuality at various times throughout her life. We have a great conversation about many of the issues she discusses in her book as well as some 'bonus material' you'll only get here. 

This week we discuss the 2023 changes to the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. We compare it to previous versions and talk about the ways it improves on the efforts of the church to safeguard youth development in the gospel. We also discuss some of our favorite sections.

This week Burgess and Tyson discuss lost scriptures. Books that are referenced in standard works that we don't currently have access to. We delve into what that means to our gospel understanding and how knowing about these books impacts our faith. We also get into a side tangent about movies, surprise? Ironically Tyson is uploading this episode from Paris...

This week we discuss the second of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon - Oliver Cowdery. Where did he come from, how did he come to be involved with the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how do we remember him in the church. It turns out to be a pretty complex issue, hope you enjoy!

This week we prepare to start studying the New Testament in Come Follow Me by drafting our favorite New Testament stories. Join us as we review our most beloved events from the life of Jesus Christ and His apostles.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! This week we take a look back on 2022, talk about our favorite moments on the podcast and discuss some of the things we're all looking forward to in the new year. 

Merry Christmas everyone! This week we talk about people who had visions of the birth of Christ and what they each teach us about the Savior. We hope everyone feels closer to the Savior this Christmas season, enjoy!

We're all very excited for Christmas, so we decided to discuss the wise men mentioned in the New Testament. Who were they and what do we know about them? What makes someone wise and how can we attain more wisdom in our gospel journey? Merry Christmas!

The long overdue October 2022 General Conference Fantasy Draft is here! We spin, we pick, we conquer. Relive the best of general conference with us and let us know what you think of our picks!

This week, as always, the BTR crew is excited about Thanksgiving! We talk about how we can know if we are spiritually feasting or spiritually starving. It's easy to tell if we're physically feasting or starving, the spiritual is sometimes harder to determine. We talk about why food is often used to help us understand our relationship to the Savior. We also dive into some of our favorite Thanksgiving dishes and how those correlate to specific things we enjoy about the gospel. 

This week Jon and Tyson talk about translated beings. We discuss the few who we know have been translated as well as those we suppose might have. We talk about the process of translation and why it occurs. We also discuss what translation might mean for us as we get closer to the second coming. Enjoy!

This week we open the show talking about the trailer for the upcoming season 3 of The Chosen. After that, we get into some spooky discussions about the afterlife. Jon is really into ghosts apparently. We talk about what we know about what happens after we die and dive into some of the questions we have about our next estate. Hope you enjoy!

Today Tyson & Burgess are talking about the last days. Prophecies that we know have come to pass, what we know has yet to be fulfilled and many of the signs that tell us that the second coming of the Savior is near. Why are the last days important and what does the Lord want us to understand so that we can be prepared? It's a great discussion, hope you enjoy the episode. 

This week we are inspired by Burgess' family experience this summer of planning to move and then having those plans go on hold. Even though spiritual promptings come, the outcome is not always clear and we need to search for the reasons and meaning behind things that don't turn out the way we would like in the time frame we have in mind. The simple truth is sometimes we need to wait on the Lord in order to receive understanding and see the fulfillment of spiritual promptings in our lives. Each of us share things that we have needed to wait for and how we have drawn closer to God through those experiences.

This week we talk about our thoughts on this past General Conference. We discuss the major themes and how they will impact each of us the next six months. Christ is the answer! Jonny is disappointed that there wasn't more Twitter buzz. Talk about temple announcements and where we think some of the large metro temples might be announced in the future. Enjoy!

Today we decide to discuss the topic of idolatry and how it applies to us today. How has idolatry evolved over time and how does it manifest in our society. Is fantasy football an idol? How do symbols affect our worship? Do we desire things that are of the world or of eternity? We discuss how humankind is susceptible to falling into the trap of idolatry as much today as in any time in history.

In this weeks episode we set the record straight on one of the most misunderstood figures in the Bible - John the Baptist! We talk about the prophecy about his birth, his mission and ministry. We also debunk a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions about who he was as a person and lay out many of the reasons he was such a great prophet.

In this episode, we answer questions from our listeners that Burgess and Tyson don't know beforehand. Have a listen and see if your question made it on the air. It was a good time, hope you enjoy!

It's been a minute, but we're back! Talking about what we did over the summer, is this finally the picture of Joseph Smith we've been waiting for? Who is the oldest prophet ever? Plus a controversial AP article. Hope you enjoy!

Quick update, this will be our last episode for a little bit, while we all take care of some personal busyness, but we wanted to get one more episode in before Father's day. Today, Burgess and Tyson talk about fathers from the scriptures and the lessons we can learn from them and how they can help us look at our own journey as parents and children. Until next time, hope you enjoy!

In this week's episode, Jon & Tyson discuss a YouTube post by Dallas Jenkins regarding the "LDS Issue", specifically if members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worship the same Jesus Christ. We discuss generally what it means to be a Christian and how that term can be understood by believers of various denominations of Christianity. We also talk about how beliefs about Jesus Christ may differ, even between members of the same church. 

This week we talk about the Book of Abraham. We discuss what is known by first hand accounts about how Joseph Smith encountered the documents, but that they were later destroyed in the great Chicago fire. We talk through the points in the gospel topics essay on the subject and how we each feel about the text itself and how we approach our testimony of the book of Abraham. Tangents abound!

This week we invite a special guest, Tyler Tolley from the podcast 2 Guys On A Tangent. We talk about aspects or people in the church being represented in the media. The meat of the discussion is how accurately are members portrayed by Hollywood and what does that mean for us in the church. How does that portrayal affect other discussions we have with people not of our faith. How do we feel when we're represented in a negative or untruthful light? 

This week we decide to talk about how Star Wars can be related to the gospel. Jon hates Star Wars and was supposed to be gone for this episode, but decided he wanted in on the action. We talk about some of the good and bad of why members are drawn to Star Wars as well as some other fiction. How can we have passionate hobbies and balance them with our dedication to the gospel? Does a certain prophet bear a striking resemblance to master Yoda? We recorded this episode on May the 4th, so come have a few laughs with us and enjoy!

This week we sit down and discuss why we need a church. We are obviously able to be close to God away from church, so what do we gain from belonging to and attending church regularly. Why are so many people shying away from church affiliation and can that be a reason for some of the ills we see in society? How can we get more out of our regular church attendance? Is church attendance just about us? Enjoy the show!

This week we welcome Mace Sorensen and Sam Peterson who are the actors behind Laman & Lemuel in the Book of Mormon Library Project. They talk about their amazing experiences getting into the roles and what it was like to work on the project. We also talk a little bit about how the church approaches videos production. Did they try out for the roles they eventually got? Are Mace & Sam like Laman & Lemuel in real life? Tune in and find out!

In this episode we are happy to have Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife back on the show to talk about sex. How to talk about sex in a positive way with our partners, children and youth. We dive into some of the traps we fall into when tackling this subject and how we can turn that into a more positive, uplifting experience and better that aspect of our lives.

Celebrating one of our favorite traditions on the show, we have our fantasy draft of general conference talks for April 2022. This one was a lot of fun as we stepped a lot on each others picks and had to dig deep to rebound. Burgess had no undrafted free agents! We have a lot of fun and exchange some good-hearted banter.

This week we talk about our thoughts on this past General Conference. We discuss the major announcements as well as the emphasis placed on missionary work. We talk about some items that had mixed responses among members and how we feel about those issues. We also mention some less frequently discussed items we noticed in talks this time around. Hope you enjoy!

This week we finish our two part series on the power of the priesthood. And we start our second season! We start at the dispensation of Christ and follow through the restoration of the gospel in the last days. John the Baptist was ordained to the priesthood and prepared the way for Jesus Christ. Christ ordained his apostles to the high priesthood. The great apostasy was a different times in the old and new worlds prior to the restoration of the priesthood by John the Baptist and Peter, James & John to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. We talk about the different offices in the priesthood and how we administer the blessings of the gospel through the priesthood today. Nest week - General Conference recap!

This week we start our two part series on the Power of the Priesthood. We discuss the beginnings of the priesthood in the pre-existence and through the time of Christ. We talk about the distinction between the priesthood and officiating in the priesthood. We discuss dispensations and how we may not know all the dispensations in the history of the church. The priesthood has been utilized in the church whenever it has been established on the earth to bless the human race and bring souls to salvation.

This week we discuss the law of the fast. We talk about fasting and the giving of a generous fast offerings. We go into what fast offerings are used for and how to make our purpose in fasting more meaningful. Fasting is a very personal way of receiving more spiritual strength and a greater conversion to the gospel. The Savior received strength to rebuke the temptations of the adversary as He fasted in the wilderness. As we fast each month, we are given a great opportunity to receive blessings we need and bless the lives of others in solidarity before the Lord.

This week we do a fantasy draft of our favorite general authority talks. We have a dramatic shakeup in the draft order, this may never happen again... ever! We have some old ones, we have some new ones. Even though we have countless options, one of us steals one the other wanted. We have a real good time, hope you enjoy!

This week we continue our discussion of Laman and Lemuel. Ishmael's family joins the caravan. We talk about some cultural context of this nomadic lifestyle. We also discuss the family unit and it's role in keeping the peace. The parents have a big role in making the expedition work. Laman and Lemuel are persuaded by status and power and Nephi is seen as a threat to that aspiration. The birthright rarely goes to the eldest son in the scriptures even though that would be the cultural norm. The Lord is no respecter of persons and entitlement is a dangerous thing spiritually. Laman and Lemuel will not cry to the Lord and so they can't understand what Lehi and Nephi expound to them. They also take the words of the Lord to be hard and are not willing to do the work required to be converted and gain spiritual knowledge.

Today we discuss the quintessential antagonists in the Book of Mormon - Laman & Lemuel. We discuss the context of their experience fleeing their homeland into the wilderness and how that impacted their spiritual state. We talk about the birthright culture they were brought up in and how that motivated many of their actions. We look at how the gap between Laman & Lemuel and Nephi & Sam widens quickly when their road became difficult. Doesn't take long before Laman & Lemuel want to kill their father and brother. We also discuss some reasons why Laman & Lemuel didn't just give up and go back to Jerusalem. We get so interested in this story, we run out of time, so tune in next week for part 2!

This week we invite our old friend, Spencer Winegar on the show. Spencer has recently sent his oldest son, Cooper on a mission. We talk about what it's like to prepare our children to serve missions. We talk about things from the youth perspective, but also as a parent our youth leader guiding the way. What are the most important things to focus on when preparing to serve a mission? How can we best influence our children to make the best choices? We all give perspectives on these questions, enjoy!

This week we invite guests Angilyn and Nate Bagley from the Mormon Marriages podcast. We talk about some of the struggles we fall into in marriage and why it's important to face those challenges and be proactive in creating relationships that are awesome. The Bagleys share personal experiences from their own marriage as well as examples from the many people they've helped over the years. One item in particular we discuss is what the Bagleys term 'Roommate Syndrome', where you fall too much into a comfortable routine and forget what really being in love feels like. This is a natural part of being in a relationship, but it's important to get out of our comfort zone and find lasting ways to make your relationship new and exciting. Enjoy the show!