Leading Saints Podcast

Jill Johnson was born and raised in Cache Valley, Utah. She graduated with a dual major in Elementary Education and Special Education from Utah State University and taught both high school resource classes and fourth grade before beginning a career as full-time mom. She is a self-taught graphic designer and designs for several companies including Snapfish and Swivelhead. Jill served in the Venezue...

Brant Hansen is an author, nationally syndicated radio host, and advocate for healing children through CURE International. He’s won national “personality of the year” awards for his work on his offbeat and quirky radio show, which airs on more than 200 stations. His podcast with his friend and radio producer, Sherri Lynn (“The Brant and Sherri Oddcast”) has been downloaded more than 10 million tim...

Daniel Brown currently serves as bishop of the Searcy Ward in Searcy, Arkansas. He has previously served as a counselor in the bishopric, elders quorum president, Young Men president, and a counselor in the stake Young Men presidency, among other callings. He served in the Nevada, Las Vegas mission and has been married to Lacey Brown for 20 years. They are the parents of five children. Highlights...

Emily Belle Freeman has written more than a dozen books and spoken at a variety of conferences, workshops, and gatherings. She taught for many years in the Church Educational System and has served in numerous callings in the Church, including in Young Women, Sunday School, Relief Society, and fourteen times as girls camp director. She was called to be the next Young Women General President at the...

Jeanette Bennett is a mother of five, magazine publisher, cancer survivor, current Relief Society president, and former ward and stake Young Women president. She is a frequent emcee, moderator, and speaker along the Wasatch Front. Jeanette was named Top Entrepreneur in Media in 2018, along with Martha Stewart. She sits on the Board of Trustees for Utah Valley University, Thanksgiving Point, and Un...

Brooke Petersen lives in Cleveland, Utah, a rural town south of Price. Her husband, Hans, commutes to West Valley City, Utah, where he practices pediatric dentistry. Brooke and Hans have five children, and Brooke enjoys working in the yard. She currently serves in the Church as the stake Young Women president of the Huntington Utah Stake. Thomas Sitterud also lives in Cleveland with his wife and t...

Dr. Derwin L. Gray and his wife Vicki Gray are the co-founders of Transformation Church, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he serves as Lead Pastor. They met at Brigham Young University where he played football and she threw the javelin on the track team. They have two adult children. After graduating from BYU, Pastor Derwin played professional football in the NFL—five years with th...

Meagan Patterson is studying fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise in Los Angeles. She is currently serving in her ward Young Women presidency in California. She has previously served as a ward Relief Society president and stake Relief Society president as a young single adult in Utah. She also served in the Zambia Lusaka mission. Highlights 2:40 Meagan’s background 4:3...

This is Part 2 of a 2-part podcast. Listen to Part 1 HERE . Sara Newman Sara Newman currently serves as a member of her ward’s Relief Society service committee in whatever capacity is needed. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Family Science from Brigham Young University and enjoyed raising five children with her husband. She anticipates “retiring” soon, once her youngest is launched, and i...

Kurt Francom is the founder and executive director of Leading Saints, manages the day-to-day efforts of Leading Saints, and is the host of the podcast. Kurt graduated from the University of Utah in 2008 with a degree in Business Marketing. He ran a web development company for five years before focusing on Leading Saints full time. Kurt currently lives in Stansbury Park, Utah with his lovely wife A...

Ben Thatcher is a life-long church member, having grown up in small wards and branches across Texas. He served in the France Paris mission and has degrees in Mass Communication (University of Utah) and Public Administration (University of North Texas). Ben has worked in local government in several cities across Texas and currently is the city manager of Boerne (pronounced Burn-nee), Texas, northwe...

Bonnie Oscarson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah but her family moved and lived in several different states as she was growing up. She attended Brigham Young University and majored in commercial art. Bonnie met her husband, Paul Oscarson, when her family lived in St. Louis, Missouri. They are the parents of seven children and have 29 fascinating grandchildren. Paul and Bonnie served as mission pre...

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in December 2019. Jason Coombs is a Utah native and lives in the Boise, Idaho, area with his wife and 7-year-old twins. They own a chain of substance use disorder treatment centers called Brick House Recovery. Kurt previously interviewed Jason as part of the Liberating Saints Virtual Conference, and for the upcoming Recovering Saints Virtual Confer...

Kurt Brown hails from Sacramento, California, where his family joined the Church when he was young. He played two years of college basketball, studied Finance and Economics at Brigham Young University, and dropped out senior year to go to Wall Street, where he was a trader on the New York Stock Exchange and the co-manager of an investment fund for 13 years. He started his own firm, TownSquare Capi...

Tommy Wilson was born and raised in Georgia. He now lives in Crestview, Florida, and serves as first counselor in the stake presidency. He has also served in the stake Young Men organization and as a bishop. Highlights 02:40 Introduction to Tommy Wilson. He shares about getting called to the stake presidency. 09:00 Tommy describes his area and the demographic of his stake 11:15 Advice to a new bis...

Keyth Pankau was baptized a member of the Church about six months after joining the Navy when he was 21 years old. He spent nine years in the Navy, including deployments to Fallujah, Iraq, as a member of a convoy security team, and providing relief immediately following Hurricane Katrina. During this time he obtained a degree in Persian Studies from the Defense Language Institute and a bachelor of...

Jenna Rhoads currently serves as stake activities director, ward nursery leader, and temple ordinance worker. She has loved planning ways to gather the saints, create a fun relaxed environment, and provide a great place for missionary opportunities. Jenna’s previous church callings have mostly been with the young women and the youth. She loves Girls’ Camp and has only missed about four years...

Reyna Aburto studied Industrial Engineering in her home country, Nicaragua, and holds a degree in Computer Science from Utah Valley University. She owns a translation business with her husband. She has served as the second counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency and is the author of Reaching for the Savior . Elena was born in Utah and served a mission in Modesto, California. She graduat...

Dave Olsen is a husband, father, business owner, and mountain biker. He grew up in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, and married his high school sweetheart, Jacki, soon after his mission to Melbourne, Australia. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a masters in Information Systems, and from University of Virginia with a masters in Accounting. Dave has spent 18 years mostly in youth-focused cal...

This is Part 2 of a 2-part conversation. Listen to Part 1 here . Katherine Herrmann lists all things Apple, new wave/alternative music, and fantasy/science fiction among her fandoms. She works as a principal software engineer/architect for a video streaming company, and recently published TransLucent: How I put off my natural man and found a spiritual woman . At church, she has served as secretary...

Katherine Herrmann lists all things Apple, new wave/alternative music, and fantasy/science fiction among her fandoms. She works as a principal software engineer/architect for a video streaming company, and recently published TransLucent: How I put off my natural man and found a spiritual woman . At church, she has served as secretary for deacons, teachers, and priests quorums, as a Sunday School a...

Ashley Smith is serving her second term as mayor of Cañon City, Colorado, after serving on the city council four years prior. Ashley serves on the Region 15 Opioid Governance Committee, Cañon City Schools Compass Advisory Committee, Cañon City Urban Renewal Authority, Community Solutions for Homelessness, and Fremont’s Exceptional Women Board. She is a member of her local Lion’s and Rotary clubs,...

Although Riley Jensen enjoys the arts, music, and a good, sappy romantic comedy, he is usually mistaken for a jock. Riley started as a quarterback at Utah State University and currently works full time as a sport psychology consultant, or mental performance coach, addressing the innermost fears of most athletes: failure. He enjoys giving athletes, corporate employees, and young people the tools to...

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in January 2020. Kim Partridge is originally from West Valley City, Utah, and has lived in Phoenix, Arizona for 20 years. She is a nurse and a life coach for teenage girls, and has served as a Young Women president in her stake Young Women presidency. Kim and her husband are the parents of four children. Since this podcast was originally broadcast,...

Tyler Bastian is an educator, filmmaker, father, and founder of Roots Charter High School. Tyler loves to teach and has a passion for discovering and developing potential in everything around him. For four years, Tyler taught Character Education at a local high school and believes positive character is the greatest indicator of success. In 2012, Tyler began to develop the concepts that have become...