DEPRESSION, BIPOLAR & ANXIETY - LIVING AS A LATTER-DAY SAINT, LDS

Send us a textHave you ever thought of anger as an addiction?  It is a terrible vice that can destroy your life and others.  And we who suffer with mental illness have deep tendencies to find our way into this addiction very easily.

Send us a textThis is the first episode in our mid-week series highlighting individuals who suffer with mental and emotion illness and are working to live the gospel.  The interview is raw and uncut and you will even notice a solar flare problem during the episode.  We hope you will find something inside of his story that helps you.

Send us a textHave you ever thought that there might be a celestial benefit to your mental and emotional illness?

Send us a textHave you ever wondered if God truly knows everything.  Omniscience can be a difficult concept alongside agency but the two can live together.  And when they do, the impossible becomes possible and the Atonement of the Savior demonstrates its divine power.

Send us a textWhat does it mean to be healed?  In my experience with healing and mental illness, healing is far more about the process than the destination.

Send us a textCan one be happy and suffer with mental and emotional illness?  The answer to that question depends upon you.

Send us a textWhen the Lord is silent is when I most listen in my life.  I have found that silence brings blessings given time and effort.

Send us a textWhat does it take to be spiritual healed?  And what do our trials have to do with it.

Send us a textWhat does it take to develop faith to move mountains?

Send us a textThere exist many good reasons why our communication with our Father and Savior gets interrupted.   Yes sin is always a hinderance.  But there exist many other good reasons why we are not hearing the voice of the Lord.

Send us a textWhen we consider identity and seeking out our personal identity, we should always consider our premortal identity our true nature

Send us a textWe often get lost in the idea of tomorrow without realizing the consequences.

Send us a textLGBTQ+ Issues & Covenant Desire

Send us a textRepentance is such a different process when you live with mental illness.

Send us a textWhile the world wants to define your identity, the Lord already has.

Send us a textSometimes we just need to hear it from a practical sense.

Send us a textWhy? Why must we suffer?

Send us a textWhat does is mean to have faith?  What does is mean to fear?  Have you ever thought that fear might be reduced to the emotion we feel when we know our ability to choose is about to be restricted.  Faith and Fear is about agency.

Send us a textWhen you look in the mirror what do you see?  If you do not see what the Lord sees then you are projecting a false image of yourself, a masked image and masking has consequences.

Send us a textIt is often that revelation and miracles are not seen or recognized until long after they have occurred.  Such is the case with the story today.

Send us a textThere exists two major forces inspiring Lucifer's dictatorship.  The first is fear.  And the second is contention.  Both work in the dark to inspire pride, jealously and a host of difficulties.

Send us a textThis week seemed appropriate to bring back Emma to our memory.  She was and is a valiant servant of God.  I believe that she was valiant to the end, even given what has been written.  She did not travel west.  She may have had some issues with Brigham and others.  What I see in her is a brave, kindhearted, determined woman.  Much of what occurred in her later life can be reasonably explained through the science of mental health we know today.  I sincerely hope that you enjoy this podcast.

Send us a textThe mortal natural man within our body chemistry is a powerful force that is necessary but can be turned against our spiritual nature.  It can act as a powerful Anti-Christ force if we allow for it to occur.  However, seeing these philosophies in their true light can help us avoid our mortal failings especially when we suffer with mental illness.

Send us a textFinding the Savior in our daily walk

Send us a textThis week's episode is one of my favorites recorded in 2022.

Send us a textWe can all feel like the prodigal son or daughter and yet we find that both the older brother and the prodigal were wrong in their perceptions.

Send us a textWhen we understand the character and nature of Christ, we come to understand ourselves and the power of the atonement to change our natures especially when we find ourselves in difficult trials and circumstances.

Send us a textGuilt is a primary emotion of the body that allows it to maintain habit formation but it can also be a terrible obstacle to mental and emotional illness.

Send us a textGiven that mental health awareness month is upon us.  It is important to understand that we are children of God and Christ and broken vessels are the Lord's specialty.

Send us a textMortality can be a difficult place for someone suffering with mental and emotional health issues.  It can very much feel as though your mortal body is controlling you rather than you your body.  And yet with all of this it is so important to remember that the your spirit is perfect in form and function and one day we will be resurrected perfect and "Finally Free".

Send us a textWhen we partake of covenants and live the gospel, we will find grace, mercy and protection, but it is very important to remember just how individual those blessings are to each of us.  

Send us a textAnxiety and sharing the gospel may seem like incompatible ideas.  And yes anxiety certainly causes issues. Many individuals see their weakness as failure but that is not what the Lord sees.

Send us a textThe path of the disciple is marked by our relationship with the Savior.  Often we look for the divinely appointed steps of exaltation, thinking that all must be revealed to us as we walk the path.  The truth is that beyond the revelation we know to be revelation exists a strong undercurrent of revelation that we don't see keeping us moving ever forward on the path.  The Lord can do a great deal of directing and guiding through small and simple means that we do not see or recognize.

Send us a textWe so often in our lives want to define our personal path of discipleship and then tell the Lord what the blessings should be.  Yet that is not the definition of a disciple.  It is He who determines our path and so often his path is nothing like ours.

Send us a textIs Medication really right for me?  What to consider and what medications are available?

Send us a Text Message.Are you on the path?  Are you in good standing with the Lord? Are you enough and can you feel it? So often these questions cause us deep reflection and trouble when it comes to living the gospel with mental and emotional illness.  

Send us a Text Message.What is joy?  What is happiness?  So often in the church we talk about ideas such as joy and happiness but have a limited idea as to what they truly mean in our lives.

Send us a Text Message.We all face bad days and troubling moments.  That is no secret.  But do we understand their purpose in the celestial realms and trials.

Send us a Text Message.Perfectionism is a very unique coping mechanism built to calm our personal anxieties.   However, it can be an often is problematic to life in this world and the church.  We can view the church and world's requirements as daunting, overwhelming and difficult to bear.  Yet when we come to understand why we use perfectionism as a coping mechanism we can better come to know the Savior and the mercies and grace of his atonement.

Send us a Text Message.So often in life the answer to our problems in life or when we are seeking blessings is do more, serve more, be more. The difficulty with this approach is that our personal spiritual efforts are only part of the equation.

Send us a Text Message.Sometimes we find ourselves doubting that we can complete our foreordained mortal missions because we experience emotional and mental illness.  That somehow our illness has thwarted our divine purposes.  This idea is simply not true.  The Lord made accommodations for our divinely instituted weaknesses and has provided everything necessary that we may accomplish our missions and do so while working with him through our weakness.

Send us a Text Message.Faith can be a troubling subject when you suffer with mental illness.  It is important to understand what faith is, what fear is and how we can work through the difficulties we face.

Send us a Text Message.Faith that brings forth miracles is certainly a foundational faith but remaining faithful without seeing the miracle and even in the face of severe trials is the faith that builds the temple.

Send us a Text Message.Phonography addiction is a sensitive subject, and it is one of the least understood from the perspective of mental health.  Individuals who suffer with mental health concerns are prone to addiction due to the nature of the illness and pornography is one of the most accessible drugs within our current societies.  However, you cannot address pornography addiction without addressing the underlying mental health issues.  If you do this you will fail.  When pornography addiction is intertwined with a mental health issue, you must address the underlying issue before you can arrest the addiction.

Intrusive thoughts and emotions are a significant problem within mental and emotional illness.  This is especially true for members of the Church of Jesus Christ and other Christians.  Thoughts of death, sexuality and worthlessness are just a portion of what we battle as we attempt to manage a difficult illness.  However, the Lord is infinitely merciful and kind to those who suffer.

Returning home from a full-time LDS mission early is one of the more difficult trials one will face.  Not only must you navigate a new life but you must do so with disappointed friends, family and peers all while battling a terribly controlling illness that highjacks your emotional and spiritual welfare.

We all wonder at times whether the Lord loves us.  We wonder if our relationship is growing.  Many times we desperately seek and hope to feel that love.  I hope this message helps you to see just how loved you are.

As the lepers cried out during Christ's day so do others whose fate is similar to the lepers.  Addiction affects more than the person who is suffering.  It is a power of mind and body that needs the power of the Savior.

I hope that you enjoy this episode.  It has always been one of my favorites and perhaps one of the more relevant ones to my life.

For many members and individuals blessings such as marriage, children and a loving spouse have not yet materialized.  It can be a deeply painful experience to have righteous desires left unfulfilled without answers.  Trials of righteous desires can be perhaps the most painful in one's life.  Finding peace and joy can be a difficult process fraught with doubt, unworthiness, and sleepless nights.  I hope that this podcast can bring a small measure of peace.

When we can see Lucifer's attacks for what they really are and how he works, when we are suffering from emotional and mental health issues.  We will find defenses, avoidance techniques and spiritual awareness important to our mental health.