Matt Richardson Podcast

Hakim survived what no child should ever see. At 11 years old he watched his parents and baby sister be killed, was kidnapped by rebels, trained as a child soldier, and forced to do unthinkable things just to stay alive. Years later, as a refugee in Utah, he met Wyatt, walked into an LDS church he did not want to be in, and felt something he could not explain. That moment eventually led him to the...

I sat down with my dad to walk through his remarkable journey from addiction, aimlessness, and life without God to faith, redemption, and spiritual purpose. What begins as a story about partying, nicotine, and searching for direction becomes a powerful testimony of how Jesus Christ changes hearts, heals wounds, and gives people entirely new desires. This is not a story about becoming perfect overn...

The story of the Provo Tabernacle is not just history. It is a metaphor for our lives. In this episode of the Redeeming Love Podcast, we tell the true story of the Provo Tabernacle fire in Provo, Utah, and how a building that was burned from the inside out was later rebuilt into the Provo City Center Temple. What looked like destruction became preparation. What looked like loss became transformati...

In this episode of Redeeming Love, a young girl shares two sacred experiences that surrounded the loss of her father and forever changed the way she understands grief, faith, and connection. One week before her father passed, she felt prompted to begin journaling. Each night, she wrote what she loved about herself and what she was grateful for. When the hardest day came, that simple act became a q...

For the twelve days leading up to Christmas, I’m sharing something really special on the Redeeming Love Podcast. Each day I’ll be posting a miracle. A real moment where someone saw the Lord’s hand in their life and felt the love of Jesus Christ in a way that changed everything. My hope is that these stories lift your heart and draw you closer to Him during this season. Christmas is about joy, peac...

In this episode I share an important changes to the podcast and the reason behind them. The Overcoming Trauma Podcast is becoming the Redeeming Love Podcast. Every story we tell, every post we share, and every conversation moving forward will center on Jesus Christ and His redeeming love. His power to heal, restore hope, and lift us out of darkness is the message I want at the core of this show. T...

In this episode, Adam Allred shares the kind of story most men never let themselves speak out loud. He opens up about a marriage that slowly broke apart behind closed doors. Years of trying to make it work. Years of grinding, praying, pushing, and hoping that effort alone would heal what was falling apart. Then one moment changed everything. A reversal. A shock. A decision he never expected to fac...

In this profoundly raw and inspiring episode, Jen Saunders opens up about a lifetime of trauma and a descent into darkness that nearly cost her everything. Jen shares the story of a childhood fractured by sexual abuse that lasted for eight long years at the hands of a trusted figure who was active in the church. A broken home. A loss of innocence. A young girl's fervent prayers went unanswered, tr...

In this episode, Gina opens up about a tragedy no wife ever imagines could happen to her. She shares the story of a marriage that looked picture perfect from the outside. A driven husband. A beautiful family. A future planned out with purpose. Then one unexpected moment at work triggered panic, sleepless nights, a mental spiral, and a darkness that took over faster than anyone could recognize. Wha...

In this episode, Nick shares how a divorce and a slow build of casual drinking spiraled into full blown addiction. What began as a once a month social drink turned into needing alcohol just to function, to have fun, to escape, or feel anything at all. Before he knew it, twenty ounces of hard liquor a day was normal. He ignored the scares. He ignored the anxiety. He ignored the warnings. Until one...

After 20 years of heartbreak, frustration, and unanswered prayers, Melissa told God she was done with dating. She hadn’t given up on marriage, just on trying to make it happen herself. When she told her mom, “If I’m supposed to get married, the Lord will take care of it,” her mom laughed and said, “What do you think He’s going to do, send someone to your doorstep?” That’s exactly what He did. In t...

In this episode, Matt shares his raw and honest story of being excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how it became one of the most defining spiritual experiences of his life. After returning home from his mission, Matt struggled with temptation, broke sacred covenants, and drifted from God. When his choices caught up with him, he sat down with his stake president...

When Hunter Rasmussen went hunting with his cousin, he never imagined how that day would change his life forever. One gunshot. 132 pellets. A split-second moment that took his leg but gave him a mission. In today’s episode, we sit down with Hunter as he walks us through the accident that nearly killed him, the trauma that followed, and the miracles that carried him through months of pain, surgery,...

I told my mom I was drinking, watching porn, sleeping around, and that I’d been excommunicated from my church... But she just loved me. And honestly, that shocked me. In today’s episode, we sit down with my mom as she walks through what it was like hearing about my mistakes everything from addiction to excommunication and how she chose love over judgment. We filmed this conversation to help parent...

“They say leaving the Church feels free, but it is a trap.” In this solo episode, I share my own story of leaving the LDS Church lifestyle to chase what looked like freedom. Drinking, partying, doing whatever I wanted felt like freedom in the moment, but it left me more empty, lonely, and trapped than ever before. True freedom is not found in walking away from God. It comes through Christ, through...

In this episode, Julia shares the gripping story of a marriage that began with love and security but descended into abuse, addiction, and tragedy. What started as a relationship that felt safe and stable slowly revealed hidden pornography use, controlling behavior, and escalating violence. Through pregnancy complications, postpartum anxiety, and countless arguments, Julia fought to hold her family...

In this episode, the host of Overcoming Trauma opens up about a deeply personal struggle: how Satan’s quiet influence pulled him away from God during one of the hardest trials of his life. Drawing from the Book of Mormon, he shares three tactics the adversary uses to sway us from the truth—convincing us there is no God, stirring our hearts to anger against Him, or lulling us into carnal security....

In this episode, Ben Foskey shares his powerful journey of surviving abuse, addiction, and despair, and discovering the relentless love of God that carried him toward healing. What began with a childhood marked by divorce and instability spiraled into years of anger, loneliness, and searching for belonging. Drawn into an unhealthy relationship with a mentor who became his abuser, Ben carried silen...

In this episode, Matthew Richardson shares the raw and personal story of how God guided him step by step through the most painful chapter of his life—his marriage and eventual divorce. What began with undeniable revelation to marry became a marriage filled with instability, abuse on both sides, and years of pleading with God for direction. Time after time, he felt prompted to keep trying, to endur...

In this episode, Tom shares how one football hit in the Marine Corps left him instantly paralyzed and changed the course of his life forever. A gifted athlete with dreams of making his family proud, Tom suddenly found himself waking up from a coma, told he would never move again. What followed were years of pain, reckless choices, and nights spent yelling at God in frustration. Yet, even in the da...

In this raw and powerful solo episode, Matthew opens up about the relentless lies Satan tells us—that we're too far gone, too broken, too unworthy to be used by God. But through scripture and personal experience, he shares a message that cuts through the shame: God doesn’t call the perfect. He calls the willing. Matthew walks us through the stories of Moses, Paul, the woman at the well, and Peter—...

In this raw and deeply moving episode, Shelby opens up about her journey from childhood trauma and addiction to healing and purpose. Shelby shares how her identity was rooted in being the best—at school, at sports, at being the “good girl.” But underneath that drive was pain she didn’t yet understand. From struggling with eating disorders in fifth grade to experiencing sexual assault in high schoo...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Connor Shaw opens up about his journey from a successful college athlete to hitting rock bottom—and ultimately finding spiritual transformation. Connor shares how his identity was rooted in sports and performance, and how, after losing that foundation, he turned to partying, drugs, and temporary pleasures to fill the growing void. Despite outward succe...

I'm asking others to be vulnerable on this show. So that's what I did today...This isn’t just about a story of pain — it’s about what happens when your world falls apart and you're left wondering who you really are. I share:How my marriage ended and left me completely alone The darkest season of my life — battling addiction, depression, and spiritual disconnectionThe night I felt Satan...

I’m Matthew Richardson, and I want to welcome you to the Overcoming Trauma Podcast. I’ll be bringing on individuals who have been through the darkest moments of their lives — people who’ve been broken, lost, and felt like they were in the depths of hell — but who’ve found a way to rise, heal, and turn their trauma into triumph. The whole purpose of this podcast is to assist the Lord in His work. I...