LDSIA's Podcast

We decided for this special Juneteenth podcast that we'd start the podcast with some music from a formerly enslaved person who was freed in Texas.  I'm thrilled today to have Tarienne Mitchell who is on our board of directors here at Latter-day Saints in Action.  She found some recordings from interviews of formerly enslaved people. While Tarienne works for the Library of Congress, she is not representing the Library of Congress in any way.This podcast has the N-word that was spoken during an interview.  We decided not to bleep it out so that the historical record is accurate, so keep that in mind while listening.Here are some resources we referenced in our interview:Intro Music from Laura Smalley: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941016_afs05497a/Pictures of Billy McCrea: https://www.loc.gov/item/2007660042/#, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015647534/Library of Congress Slave Narratives project: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/Interview with Laura Smalley: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941016_afs05497b/Interview with Billy McCrea: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1940003_afs03975a/Original Order read in Galveston: https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/juneteenth-original-documentUtah Black History Museum for information on the Bus: https://www.ubhm.org/home/

My guest today is a member of the house of representatives in Utah and former board member of this organization's predecessor, Latter-day Left.  We're talking about gun violence again and focusing on those that survive mass shootings as well as offer 3 solutions from an op-ed Gay Lynn published in the Salt Lake Tribune.Links from places referenced in the conversation:http://wslcofutah.org/https://momsdemandaction.org/https://braverangels.org/

Over the past few weeks, my wife Brittany and I have had many discussions about the senseless gun violence we hear about every day in the United States.  The mass shootings in Uvalde Texas and Buffalo New York have sparked especially poignant conversations and I wanted to share with you some of her wisdom in how to cope with grief. I hope you gain as much insight and value from this conversation as I did.Resources:Try Softer by Aundi KoblerOn Grief and Grieving by David Kessler and Elizabeth Kubeler RossDavid Kessler podcast with Brene Brown Unlocking UsGrief.com@jaimegrantcoaching on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimegrantcoaching/Professional counselingMeditation: headspace app, CalmHeadspace specifically has a course on griefGeorgia Anderson coaching

I'm delighted to have on as my guest someone from the Mormon Literature scene, James Goldberg.  We took a few minutes and talked about an annual short-story competition that he helped create. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with James and learn more about the Mormon arts world.  I hope you take some time to browse the wonderful literature from previous competitions and learn more about it and maybe enter something in yourself in the future.https://lit.mormonartist.net/

For this podcast we have gathered the board of directors to talk about the last General Conference.  We also introduce the newest member of the board of directors, Tarienne Mitchell.  Elisabeth was not feeling well when we recorded, so listen for her during our next book club episode. Let's take a listen.I'm so glad I got to chat with Tarienne and Kristin.  I'm so happy to have such a wonderful board of directors and hope this episode helps you hear their perspective and love.

I recently got the chance to interview Tarienne Mitchell, who is an archivist for the Library of Congress.  She and Lex Scott, who was a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Utah, created a Utah Black History Bus.  I hope you enjoy our conversation.I'm so glad I got the chance to interview Tarienne today.  I learned quite a few stories from history from her. I hope you learned something too.https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/bankhead-mary-lucille-perkins-1902-1994/https://www.ubhm.org/introducing-the-muse/

Did you know that Black folks have been in Utah since at least 1822?  I was surprised too.  I learned this from an organization dedicated to sharing the truth about African American genealogy and history: The Sema Hadithi Foundation (semahadithi.org).  I had an incredible conversation with the founder of the organization, Robert Burch.  One of the things I loved that he said was this, “As long as we continue to manifest untruthfulness, then it makes it difficult for us to have a community.”I hope that as we learn more about the truth of our past and our ancestors, we can heal from the animosity of the past and move into the future with stronger communities.

I'm excited to have on our book club chair Elisabeth Westwood to talk about an exciting new book: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.

 As part 2 of our focus at Latter-day Saints in Action on Ukraine, I got the chance to speak with Owen Grimshaw about his experience as a missionary in Ukraine.  I am so glad I got the chance to speak with both Owen and Betsy while focusing on Ukraine and the conflict there.  It has been a privilege to get to know the Ukrainian people and culture better.

Like many of you I've been watching in horror as Russians have invaded Ukraine and seen refugees fleeing in terror from their homes to safety.  My staff and I reached out to returned missionaries who served in Ukraine to help us understand their culture and what is going on a little better.  I got the chance this past week to speak with Betsy Croft. I'm so glad I got to speak with Betsy.  I love her encouragement for us to look for or create something beautiful to help us cope with this crisis.Betsy is hosting a fundraiser at the end of this month.  You can find out more about that here: https://betsycroft.bigcartel.com/products?fbclid=IwAR1Yu4B9TrjJ-ULSm-4RGl3Gw2E3dR-jNiWFJL9kJ7CM8omVUP5crkMZBtcYou can also find more of her creations here: https://shop.thehousethatlarsbuilt.com/products/pysanky-easter-egg-e-book?fbclid=IwAR2dsBl4j8-eujvd7ZoeyuBRqsmbQjZJP84l2JDeOp_B0Cn37TLQSk0763A

In the past week my heart has been broken hearing about the war in Ukraine. Such pointless death and destruction. About a million have been displaced and more are fleeing daily. Before Putin decided to invade Ukraine, I sat down with a woman named Samira Harnish.  She started a non-profit in Utah called Women of the World. This non-profit helps forcibly displaced women become gainfully employed and financially independent.  This upcoming Wednesday March 9 they will be having a fashion show to raise funds for the ladies seeking aid.  It was awe-inspiring to learn about this incredible organization.  I'm so glad I got a chance to chat with Samira and learn more about this organization.  Go to womenofworld.org for more information and stories.  I hope you enjoy our conversation. 

I can't think of a book that is more needed right now than the one Elisabeth chose for our book club: The Nature Fix by Florence Williams.  With so much stress and sadness all around us, needless war in Ukraine, and having lived through what seems like an interminable pandemic, a little more nature is probably just what we need.  Elisabeth and I preview this book for you.  I am really excited about this book! I can't wait to get started.

I have loved getting to know this organization: the Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance over the past 2 episodes.  I hope you have too. Rounding out the last episode, highlighting this fantastic organization is a conversation I had with Rachael Lauritzen who is the Chair of MESA.  I'm so excited to start implementing some of the environmental ideas that Racheal shared in my daily life.  I loved chatting with her and I hope you've enjoyed these episodes with MESA as much as I enjoyed making them.

Today is part 2 of our series on the Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance or MESA.  I got the chance to speak with Marc Coles-Ritchie about his role at MESA.  He was the chair of the non-profit until this past January. I'm so glad I got the chance to talk with Marc. I love his optimism and enthusiasm for ideas that help make our water more pure and our air more breathable. I'm looking forward to the future of non-polluting energy.

In our Latter-day Saints in Action Facebook community page, one of our members  posted a message about an organization called Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance.  I decided to reach out and see if they would be willing to come onto the podcast and talk about the organization.  The next 3 episodes will be featuring members of the Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance (or MESA) board of directors.  I got the chance to speak with Soren Simonson who is a member of the board of directors.  After talking with Soren, I feel like my mind has been expanded as to our mission here on Earth and what we will be doing during the millennium. I'm hopeful for the future. We can do a better job in caring for our planet.  I'm looking forward to the next episode when I talk with Marc Coles-Ritchie, the chair of MESA.

 I love chatting with our book club chair Elisabeth Westwood about what she's reading and ideas she has for the book club.  We chatted earlier in the week about a new book she's highlighting called The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore.About half way through the interview, my daughter started practicing violin, so you might hear some violin in the background.I'm so glad I had the chance to chat with Elisabeth and I'm looking forward to reading The Paper Daughters of Chinatown.

Last episode there was a lot that we couldn't get to because of time, so I invited Heather Gardner on again to talk about boundaries and further expound on how to keep ourselves mentally healthy during the pandemic. I'm so grateful for the things that I learned from Heather and I'm excited to implement them as I work on creating clear and kind boundaries for myself and my family. 

This pandemic just keeps dragging on.  We are closing in on 2 years since everything shut down. I am finding myself exhausted thinking about life, work, and maintaining my relationships. I invited my Sister-in-Law Heather Gardner onto the podcast today to talk about mental health now that the pandemic is entering more of an endemic phase.  She is a licensed marriage and family therapy associate. I'm so grateful for the ideas and tools that Heather gave us and I'm excited to try some of them in my own life.  

This episode our host Matt Gardner borrows a remembrance from a member of congress who was there during the attack on our Capitol.  A reminder that the missing word in "E Pluribus Unum" is Love.

For the book club this month, our book club chair Elisabeth has decided on the book How to Change by Katy Milkman.  I'm super excited about this book.  Since recording the podcast I've started and it is so good! I can't wait to chat with you about it on January 18 at 6:00 pm Mountain Time.For a preview of the book, listen to this episode of the podcast.

On this podcast you have heard me talk a lot about how we need the voices of women in places of power and influence.  As a father of only girls I know how important it is for those voices to be heard and for women to be elected into positions of influence in our society.  Recently a friend of Latter-day Saints in Action board member Kristin Hilman was elected to be the first female mayor of Bountiful in Utah.  We asked her to be on the podcast and she agreed.  I'm so grateful for good people in our places of government.  I am amazed at the number of honorable women and men of integrity are placed in governmental positions.  I am really excited to watch Mayor Harris' career and look forward to more women joining her in positions of influence in our communities.

Last year I had the chance to interview my wife about the traditions we have in our family and this year my two daughters joined us for this podcast.  We talk about traditions, what they mean, and how they help shape our lives.

Recently the Davis School District in Utah received a Justice Department report talking about widespread racism in the schools and how administrators and teachers routinely ignored or downplayed when students reported racist harassment. The report stated that, “Many Black students said the harassment was so pervasive and happened so often in front of adults that they concluded school employees condoned the behavior and believed reporting it further would be futile.”I reached out to Grace Soelberg, one of my friends on Twitter who is Black and grew up in the Davis School District.  I wondered what her experience was like and I also asked about her perspective as a newly graduated history major from BYU.

Latter-day Saints in Action has decided to create a Facebook group for our community.  This episode goes into detail into why we made that decision and how to start thinking of our own neighborhoods as communities.

At Latter-day Saints in Action we want to make sure that candidates get a chance to educate the public about who they are and what their stance is on issues that are important to their constituents. As such, I had the great privilege to interview and get to know a candidate running for a United State Senate seat here in Utah. Her name is Becky Edwards. She shared stories of how the Church has impacted her political life and helped her emphasize listening. She shared stories of successes and failures during her time in the Utah State House of Representatives, and even talked about how perceived failures can turn into successes when given enough time.It is incredible to see how members of the Church are impacting so many areas of life.  During the interview, Becky said something that I think is indicative of her political philosophy, "I want the average Utahn to look at a piece of legislation and say, 'That actually connects with my life.  That makes a difference.'"To learn more about Becky and her candidacy go to beckyforutah.com.

This week I'm joined by Elisabeth and Kristin, frequent guests of the show and fellow board members from the Latter-day Saints in Action board of directors.  We talk about a few talks and themes that struck us during General Conference.  Hopefully this helps spark some of your own thoughts and ideas that came to you.

It has been a while, but we're back!  I have missed the book club and can't wait to dig into the book for this month: Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri. Join Elizabeth and me as we preview this entertaining book!

Every time I start thinking about Climate Change I get stressed out.  It seems like no matter what I do individually, I can't make a dent in the problem.  While that may be partly true, it still feels good to sit down with someone like Emily Hales who is doing something who IS making a difference. She is doing the work to make change stick, and has the faith to pull us through.  I am increasingly convinced that the best way to solve climate change is systemic - creating laws that fund effective solutions and defunding problems.I'm so glad I got the chance to speak with Emily.  As you listen, I hope you feel her enthusiasm for this issue like I did when interviewing her.

I think this Summer and the past year have really opened so many of our eyes as to what climate change and the warming of our planet can really do and is currently doing.  Fires burning throughout the Western United States have left a smokey haze over the mountains in my region here in Utah.  We are in our second year of incredible drought, while at the same time having 25 year flooding storms happen within a couple weeks of each other here in my city. And we are only beginning to feel the effects.  While attending a political event at my sister-in-law Camie Hodlmair's house for a fantastic Senatorial Candidate Becky Edwards, I struck up a conversation with 2 women who advocate for policies that reverse the effects of Climate Change.  This week I got the chance to speak with Christi Leman who works with Mormon Women for Ethical Government's (MWEG)'s Environmental Advocacy.  Christi made it clear that she is not representing MWEG and what she said here is her own.  It was such a fantastic conversation.

We can't go back and change the beginning.  But we can start where we are and change the ending. - CS Lewis.What if we did go back to learn from our mistakes in the aftermath of 9/11?  What if instead of endless wars, we focused our energy elsewhere?  And what should we do from today?This episode explores these things and more.

This episode our host Matt Gardner talks with the Latter-day Saints in Action Board of Directors to discuss the last season and some ideas of where we are headed from here.

A good number of our listeners are from the Intermountain West where we are experiencing incredible drought.  The Vice-President of our Latter-day Saints in Action non profit, Kristin Hilman, has a brother (Rob Sowby) and father (Steve Sowby) who work in water engineering and conservation.  I got to chat with them about some things we as individuals can do and what is being done collectively to alleviate our water shortages. With the planet continuing to heat up and weather systems changing, it is important for us to know how to prepare for the future.

On our podcast, through our book club, and our Facebook and Instagram posts, we've really focused our efforts and energy on following President Nelson's plea for us to lead out in racial justice.  This week I got the chance to speak with a woman named Darci who lives in Saratoga Springs, Utah.  She has adopted children of different races and talked to me about what it has been like raising them in a very White part of the country.   As you listen, I hope you feel the importance of speaking and educating our children around race.  After the conversation was over, Darci and I talked about ways we can help educate our children.  One of my favorite resources on how to teach children about race and racial justice is a podcast called First Name Basis hosted by Jasmine Bradshaw.  Feel free to look it up and take a listen there. 

 I love hearing about different ways that Latter-day Saints are pitching in and making a difference in our communities.  In this podcast we've talked a lot about race relations and how our Prophet has called on us to lead out in racial justice.  Elisabeth Westwood, our book club charwoman, talked to me about her mother who is doing just that.  In the Columbus Ohio area where she lives, Vilo Westwood joined a group called Courageous Conversations.  The group is full of women like Vilo who want to build a dialogue so that we can build a greater bridge of understanding.  One of my favorite things Vilo said was, “If you can say Black lives matter is Marxist, then you don't have to pay attention to what they're saying - you've de-legitimized it, at least in your mind.”I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.  I hope you feel inspired to create more courageous conversations in your own lives.  

This week our host Matt Gardner joins with our book club chair Elisabeth Westwood to discuss the upcoming June reading - Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult.  Our book club will be on July 20 at 6 PM.  Join us!

A year ago our host Matt Gardner had a conversation with Kamaal Ahmad following many Black Lives Matter protests.  We talked about the real struggle Black folks have had since the inception of our country.  We also talked about police brutality.  He caught up with Kamaal to see the progress we've made from where we were a year ago.This episode was recorded on Juneteenth.

This is part 2 of a conversation our host Matt Gardner had with Allison Dayton.  If you haven't listened to part 1, you will need to in order to understand the conversation to this point.  During the course of their conversation, Matt and Allison briefly discuss sex.  In this episode they also mention suicide.

This month is Pride month and this month on the podcast we are going to share ways that we can create a more welcome place in our congregations - and in our hearts - for our fellow LGBTQ Latter-day Saints.  Our host Matt Gardner came across and organization in his search for topics and people to interview.  This organization is called Lift and Love.  The organization was created by Allison Dayton who was raised with a gay brother and has a gay son.  Lift and Love helps to create a more loving church environment and an educational resource for parents of LGBTQ Latter-day Saints.  I got the chance to speak with Allison.  In this episode we talk about suicide, so if that is something that will be difficult for you, then feel free to skip this episode.  This conversation ended up being a little longer than one episode, so I split it into 2 parts.  Look for part 2 next week.

This week our host Matt Gardner joins with our book club chair Elisabeth Westwood to discuss the upcoming June reading - A Desolating Sickness: Stories of the Pandemic.  Our book club will be on June 22 at 6 PM.  Join us!

A lot of wards are starting to go back in person, including our host Matt Gardner's ward, and we thought that now would be a good time to chat about how we are feeling about this transition.  Matt chats with his wife Brittany about how they will take the lessons learned and move forward with grace - making space for everyone to feel comfortable at church.

In this episode our host Matt Gardner continues his conversation with Christina Dee from Mormons Building Bridges.  If you haven't had a chance to listen to the previous episode, please go back and listen as this episode is the second part of that conversation.  In this conversation our host references a list of do's and don'ts.  They are from a Facebook post of a mother of a gay son.  Here is that list: https://www.facebook.com/1534811771/posts/10219726331658849/?d=nChristina also referenced a document of historical references.  That document is found here: https://lattergaystories.org/record/

At Latter-day Saints in Action we focus much of our energy on those in the margins and how we as Latter-day Saints can take action to build a more inclusive place for them.  In preparation for pride month in June, over the next few episodes we will be focusing on yet another marginalized group: our LGBTQ sisters and brothers.  This week I had the chance to talk with one of the moderators of the Mormons Building Bridges Facebook group, Christina.  The conversation was fantastic, but ended up being longer than a normal episode, so I broke it into 2 parts.  Look for part 2 next week.  

This episode our host Matt Gardner talks with Book Club Specialist Elisabeth Westwood about this month's book: The Hate U Give.  This book was especially poignant given the most recent trial of Derek Chauvin and the consistent inequality from police against Black folks.

This episode our host Matt Gardner speaks with fellow podcaster Amy McPhie Allebest about her podcast Breaking Down Patriarchy.  They talk about her feminist journey, what made her decide to make a podcast like this, and what those of us as allies can do to help break down the barriers for our sisters.

This episode our host Matt Gardner speaks with fellow Latter-day Saints in Action board member Kristin Hilman about various talks in the April 2021 General Conference.  They chat about President Oaks' landmark talk on the Constitution.  They talk about the diversity of the speakers, and noted absence of women (again).  They talk about so many other takeaways as well.  

This episode our host Matt Gardner reviews our book club book for the month of April: The Person You Mean to Be by Dolly Chugh.  This book talks about effective ways to exercise our privilege to affect change in our communities.  The book reviews social science and helps us understand how to talk with family and friends about issues in a non-combative way.  Very helpful for this day and age!

This episode our host Matt Gardner finishes the series of 3 Texas Emergency episodes.  This week he talks with Dana Spear from the San Antonio, Texas area.  She shares how she was able to be prepared when others struggled.  She shares how she's been preparing to help others in a similar situation for a number of years.  She shares how various leaders in the church have helped her become more prepared.  Join us as we talk through inspirational stories from this emergency.

This episode our host Matt Gardner continues a series of 3 Texas Emergency episodes.  This week he talks with Terri Edstrom from the Dallas, Texas area.  She shares the incredibly inspirational stories of people that have helped her family and what she's seen in others helping each other.

This episode our host Matt Gardner begins a series of 3 Texas Emergency episodes.  Over the coming 3 episodes Matt interviews 3 individuals from different parts of Texas, asking about how they fared during the snowstorm and power outage.  This week he talks with Wendy Law from the Austin, Texas area.  In order to survive, she braved the un-plowed streets and drove to her brother-in-law's house and lived there for a few days. 

This episode our host Matt Gardner interviews Sara Bateman from Salt Lake City as they talk about a non-profit foundation that Sara and her family have created helping orphans from a city in Peru.  They talk through the beginnings of the foundation and the remarkable beginning of the private orphanage as Sara shares powerful stories from her experiences.

This episode our host Matt Gardner talks with fellow LDSIA board member Kristin Hillman about how the pandemic has shaped education, some of the struggles teachers faced and are facing, and where we are now: 1 year later.