We know that everything happens for a reason, and the scriptures tell us that “all things work together for good." But sometimes that isn’t a comfort to hear when we’re in the thick of it. But ever since we heard BYU Professor Ellen Knell share that accepting the struggle will ultimately bring sweetness and maning to our lives, her ideas have been on our mind. She gave a BYU address called "Look For the Light" and we wanted to amplify this faithful woman’s voice. Ellen is an assistant professor ...
Dec 30, 2024•22 min•Ep. 112
Do you have a mantra to get you through whatever life throws at you? Especially during Christmas, you might be repeating something like, “I can do this” or “this too shall pass” or “mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again.” And we all want to prioritize the Savior and His birth during this time of year. This season, to return to the peace of Christ, repeat this mantra: “just Jesus." Podcast producer is joined by Kristin McQuivey as she shares what has been on her mind regarding thi...
Dec 16, 2024•26 min•Ep. 111
Have you ever thought of contentment as complacency? That's perhaps something we often misinterpret, but in today's conversation, we explore that contentment is actually a blessing of peace from the Lord. We hope this conversation can take a weight off our shoulders as we’re in the midst of what is not only known as, “the most wonderful time of the year,” but also the busiest! We're all searching for a little relief and source of joy, and we think it’s a conversation that will serve as a reminde...
Dec 09, 2024•26 min•Ep. 110
Welcome to the Magnify Book Club! This month’s pick was The Christ Child by Adam Miller. Every other month, our community also does a public Zoom where you—yes you!—can join in and participate. This month it was hosted by author and Magnify contributor Melinda Brown. We decided to post the recording as a bonus episode where you can hear the host and members of our community jump in and share their thoughts on the book.
Dec 06, 2024•50 min
As we’re getting into the Christmas spirit, I am sure many of us ponder and study the life and birth of Jesus Christ. Many families put together a Christmas pageant where everyone takes on a role in the nativity scene to help us reflect on the birth of the Savior. And one role in that story that we want to dive deeper into is Mary the mother of Jesus. Her background and mention in the scriptures is relatively small. But in today’s guest’s words: “Her story reminds us that God is aware of all of ...
Dec 02, 2024•36 min•Ep. 109
We wrapped up our Lift Up Your Heart events last weekend. It felt so uplifting to interact with women in our community. President Nelson asked us to "seek and expect miracles," and because we’ve been focusing on the miracles of peace, joy, courage, faith, and hope, they've become more prevalent in our every day. A goal here at Magnify is to build our community, so in this episode, you'll hear podcast host Courtney Spencer and producer Sarah Collins grab soundbites from both audience members and ...
Nov 25, 2024•25 min•Ep. 108
It’s often easier in hindsight to see what God has orchestrated in our lives. President Eyring has even said, "When we find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness it will build our testimonies.” In theory we know this works. And we do it in practice as many of us make gratitude lists this time of year. But how do we make it so that we’re seeing God’s great work in our lives like it’s second nature, be it a moment of hardship or joy? It’s something that’s on our minds and the mind of today...
Nov 18, 2024•35 min•Ep. 107
Magnify just announced our book club pick for November and December and it’s The Christ Child by Adam Miller. And this book will make your Christmas. If you're looking for that thing that will bring you that "Christmasy" feeling you love during this season, this is just the thing. This book takes us on a meditative and poetic journey to answer the question, “why did Christ come to earth as a baby?” It's all about how we can become more like the Savior by becoming more like a child—and those attr...
Nov 11, 2024•30 min•Ep. 106
A topic that is on many of our minds is knowing what to do when a child or someone we love takes a different path that leads them away from the Church. We are hopeful that this episode will help alleviate some of the pain and anxiety that we feel when this happens. No matter your family circumstances, this is an important conversation in our efforts to be peacemakers. Author, speaker, and Magnify contributor Melinda Brown appears as a guest on this episode with Michelle Torsak, Executive Directo...
Nov 04, 2024•42 min•Ep. 105
Part of our mission at Magnify is to help each other be a force for good in our own spheres of influence. Sometimes that happens in ways we least expect it to. Celeste Mergens, the founder of Days for Girls, grew up in poverty. It was her understanding of what children going hungry felt like that led her first to her knees, and then to fill a need. She believes that the things you go through don't define you, but they can always bless you. Her superpower? Gratitude, and that's how she has learne...
Oct 28, 2024•29 min•Ep. 104
Did you know we have a bookclub? This month’s pick was Rock of Our Redeemer by Elder David A. Bednar. Our community also does a public Zoom where you—yes you!—can join in and participate. This month it was hosted by Tammy Uzelac Hall. We decided to post the recording as a bonus episode where you can hear the host and members of our community jump in and share their thoughts on the book.
Oct 25, 2024•40 min
Whitney Archibald has been rock climbing for more than 30 years. She felt experienced and always followed safety precautions. But in the summer of 2023, she had an accident that changed her entire life. Through a series of small, seemingly insignificant mistakes, Whitney fell 30 feet to the ground. Miraculously, Whitney survived and was not paralyzed. This experience doesn’t seem like the most obvious time to see miracles, but that’s just what happened. Even through our most difficult and painfu...
Oct 21, 2024•30 min•Ep. 103
In our lives, there are many scenarios we run into that feel polarizing or tricky to navigate. You might have someone in your ward that you feel strongly about because you disagree with their political viewpoints in the upcoming election, even though they hold a trusted calling. Or with General Conference just last week, perhaps you’re running into conversations at the dinner table that get heated because of how some messages are being interpreted. Or as you’re heading into the holiday season, y...
Oct 14, 2024•29 min•Ep. 102
We’re just coming off a spiritual high from General Conference weekend. And sometimes, despite our best efforts, this weekend isn’t always the relaxing, sit-in-front-of-the-tv and let-the-rays-from-heaven-pour-upon-you kind of weekend. There’s fitting in Saturday’s errands and activities, getting family members together, learning to bake rolls as good as Grandma's once were, and trying to take notes and ponder on all the words of wisdom you receive. In short, it's sometimes exhausting! But here ...
Oct 07, 2024•34 min•Ep. 101
We’re diving in deep into a topic about how the temple is a place for healing. When we learn about and serve in the temple, many of us may assume that most people are serving in the temple for these three reasons: to feel peace, to serve, and to get answers. But have you ever thought about the temple as a hospital where people come to be healed? So when we were presented with this idea from today’s guest, we were immediately intrigued. Today we’re discussing how to make the temple a more intenti...
Sep 30, 2024•35 min•Ep. 100
We launched our latest book club last week and we are inviting you to be a part of it! We’re reading The Rock of our Redeemer by Elder David A. Bednar. For this episode, podcast producer Sarah Collins is joined by Mindy Brown and Maria Eckersley. They are doing a little kick-off for the month to get you excited about the themes of the book! Then, next month, you can join in a Zoom meeting to discuss the talking points of the book with like-minded women in our community. That will be on October 2...
Sep 23, 2024•35 min•Ep. 99
In April 2024 General Conference, Elder Uchtdorf said something poignant, "Life is not an endless sequence of emotional highs." However, he went on to say that joy can be found every day. There are joys that God has given all around us that we can enjoy temporally. He wants that for us! But there is also a higher joy that can only come through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This joy is an eternal joy! In today's episode, Kathryn Davis and Kalo Latu discuss tapping into that higher, eternal j...
Sep 16, 2024•33 min•Ep. 98
This episode is one of deeper learning and understanding of a gospel topic you may have wrestled with before. In this episode, Deseret Book President Laurel Day is joined by Camille Fronk Olson, author, teacher, and scriptorian, as they discuss the question, "how do I know if messages from the prophet are revelation for the church or just good wisdom?" They discuss scriptural occurrences, modern examples, and the tension of knowing what is revelation from God and what is counsel and if that diff...
Sep 09, 2024•40 min•Ep. 97
This conversation is so special because it’s a reminder that the things that you’re going through that often feel so heavy might just mean you’re on the brink of something wonderful! That good things are around the corner. It’s a message to not give up. And we’re confident about this promise because of a scripture in James 1:2 to “count it all for joy.” In this episode, a new host to the pod, Courtney Spencer, joins fellow podcaster Tammy Uzelac Hall. Tammy is the host of Deseret Bookshelf+’s Su...
Sep 02, 2024•30 min•Ep. 96
In our community, we believe women can be a force for good in their circles of influence. One way they can do that is by being seekers of truth. In this episode, Laurel Day, President of Deseret Book Company, sits down with Sheri Dew, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of Deseret Management Corporation, and she opens up about the life lessons she has learned through continually asking questions. Sheri left a mark on all of us when she served in the General Relief Society presiden...
Aug 26, 2024•42 min•Ep. 95
We all want to make good things happen in our life, our hearts are full of the question, “are we on the right track?” And perhaps in pursuit of this righteous desire, we might be trying too hard. There’s a saying “Let go and let God...” Is that something we could do more of? Emily Snyder shares the story of getting engaged at 46-years-old. She gets vulnerable about how hard it is to embrace the unexpected, but that taking the leap has led her to a stronger connection with God. Emily's resume is ...
Aug 19, 2024•34 min•Ep. 94
We’re talking about how to get on an upward spiritual spiral, using an out-of-the-box suggestion from President Nelson – to seek and expect miracles. And sometimes we don’t realize that the miracles working in us are miracles of joy, peace, courage, hope and faith! And this is what we want you to spend a day with us thinking about. You’re invited to Lift Up Your Heart, a Magnify Gathering . And for today's episode, we've gathered a few of our speakers from this event. Deseret Book's director of ...
Aug 12, 2024•47 min•Ep. 93
There are so many things coming at us! In the hustle and hard of daily life, it can be easy to lose sight of the peace, relief, comfort, and joy that are available through Christ right now . So that's why we're inviting you to Lift Up Your Heart, A Magnify Gathering. It's a day-long gathering of Latter-day Saint women, meant to remind us of what we know—that Jesus Christ is our answer, and that we’re not alone! One of our keynote speakers is Lisa Valentine Clark, and in this episode, you'll hear...
Aug 05, 2024•54 min•Ep. 92
Last month, President Nelson extended an invitation as he reflected his approaching 100th birthday. He shared about the significance of the number 100, and how it was used in the scriptures by the Savior in the parable of the lost sheep. “Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the one who was lost.” The invitation then, is to go after the one. To do that, President Nelson invited us to think about these three questions over the coming months: who do you kn...
Jul 29, 2024•35 min•Ep. 91
We are inundated with so much content everyday--both good and bad--and sometimes it’s hard for something to breakthrough the noise. This conversation with Laurel Day, President of Deseret Book Company, and Sharon Eubank is one of those that we hope breaks through for you. Sharon redefined big concepts in this conversation like: what it means to be a humanitarian, what a miracle really is, and the power and purpose of our covenants. Many of us first became aware of Sharon when she served as a for...
Jul 22, 2024•39 min•Ep. 90
Sometimes it feels like you’re running so hard that it’s impossible to make time for spirituality. This buzzword of mindfulness that we hear about seems impossible. But in today’s discussion, Brooke Walker sits down with author Carrie Skarda who helps us understand that we can transform my relationship with God through stillness without adding anymore to the spiritual to-do list. Carrie is the co-author of The Power of Stillness and she and author Jacob Hess have a workbook coming that puts stil...
Jul 15, 2024•36 min•Ep. 89
This recent General Conference, we heard Elder Kearon share a phrase that has resonated with us for a while now: “God is in relentless pursuit of us.” That felt like one of those soul-piercing truths. It felt like coming home. Joining in this episode is contributor Shima Baughman. Shima shares a fun anecdote about her 5-year-old daughter having a crush and how she is in relentless pursuit of that crush. She gets real about how in her darkest times, she can feel God's love and that it will never ...
Jul 08, 2024•24 min•Ep. 88
This month on Magnify, our team has put our heads together to share different episodes from our past nearly 100 episodes to bring you some of our favorite moments. This week, we are featuring some thoughts from Kalo Latu's episode, "No Entry Level Requirements." Kalo stated that we often get in our own way of creating a relationship with the Savior because we think there is an entry level to starting that relationship. But this reminder that we can all do it, no matter where we are on the path, ...
Jun 24, 2024•24 min•Ep. 87
As we continue to share some of the Magnify team’s favorites this month, this week's will help remind us about what it truly means to be meek. We did a series on peacemakers last year, where we picked the many attributes of a peacemaker, including meekness. And some thoughts might come to your mind like church mouse, or pushover, but on this episode, Shima Baughman explained that meekness is strength! In fact, that was the title of this episode. Social media designer Anna Owens shares her though...
Jun 17, 2024•19 min•Ep. 86
If you're joining us for the first time this month, we have had members of our Magnify team pick some of their favorite episodes from our past and share some of those stand out moments. And this week we are going to hear from Stephanie Bryson, our content and portfolios manager. Her pick was Lisa Valentine Clark's first episode on our podcast, "How to Mourn with Those That Mourn." Steph brings a new perspective to this episode for what it means to her to truly mourn with those that mourn. Steph ...
Jun 10, 2024•23 min•Ep. 85
