Unleashing Sister Saints

When exploring a business idea she thought had potential, Emily Bell McCormick found herself asking, “If no one else is doing this, why not me?” Knowing failure was possible but that learning and growth were guaranteed, Emily jumped on the idea and founded the successful clothing company, Shabby Apple. On this week’s episode, Emily discusses lessons learned from starting her business, growing her...

This week I’m stepping outside my comfort zone and sharing more about my background and life experience for new listeners and those less familiar with my story. Join us as my friend, Karlie Guymon, takes the interviewer seat to ask me about growing up the only girl with SIX brothers, serving as a young missionary in Tampa, Florida, and pursuing masters and doctorate degrees as a young mother. I re...

Several years ago, Kristin Andrus and her husband sold a portion of their extremely successful business, Traeger Grills. But instead of feeling relieved or celebratory, she immediately felt a heavy weight of responsibility and a strong spiritual prompting to choose the path less traveled, give back, and get out of her “bubble.” In this week’s episode, Kristin joins me to talk about the ways she an...

This week we’re replaying a listener favorite, Episode 28: “Distractors and Strategies for Discovering Gifts, Talents, and Strengths.” In this episode I talk about three things that distract us from understanding, embracing, and utilizing our gifts, talents, and strengths in the Church and in the world. I briefly talk about three distractors, and then I mention five approaches I recommend to help...

Does motherhood take women away from learning, growth, and professional development, or is motherhood an effective school for becoming a better human, influencer, and leader? Join me as I share stories as well as an extensive list of what I learned talking to leading women around the world about the skills and capacities they have learned as mothers. It is clear to me that motherhood prepares wome...

I'm sure you've heard of the gender pay gap, but did you know there is a connection between lower pay for women and religiosity? The gender wage gap is a complicated issue, but research shows religion affects the individual choices, organizational practices, and societal norms that impact the gap in pay between men and women. Today I share from a study that compared the pay gap in religiou...

In this episode I briefly honor Sister Patricia T. Holland, who passed away on July 20, 2023, and share one of my favorite quotes from her about her honest hatred for sewing. (Isn’t that great?!) Then, I share some thoughts about the truly incredible gift we have to choose what we believe. After a recent trip to Eastern Europe, I have reflected often on the freedom we have today to choose our reli...

Join me for a few reflections on feeling seen and loved by Jesus Christ after studying and teaching about His resurrection to my local congregation. I share the differing biblical accounts of women witnessing His resurrection, and relate it to the way we as women today are sometimes still invisible or not acknowledged by our fellow men and women. I affirm my testimony that we are each loved and kn...

Have you ever thought about how cultivating a more equal partnership in the home can better invite the Holy Ghost to teach, inspire, and uplift a family? Join me for part two of my conversation with Tim Willden, my younger brother, as we discuss ways men and women can work together to create a more equal partnership in the home, resulting in a more Spirit-filled, loving, and safe home and family l...

As members of the church, we live in a culture that literally and metaphorically puts men on the stand. On this week's episode, I invite my younger brother, Tim Willden, to share his experiences as a bishop and stake president learning and striving to allow women in his stake to be more equal partners in the work of salvation. Tim shares ways his wife Danai was a more active partner throughout...

Join me for a conversation with special guest Dr. Valerie Hudson to learn about her work on international security and gender and why she chooses to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Valerie shares how she was initially drawn to the sensible and practical nature of the gospel as a young teenage convert, and why she believes that sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is “the most feminist act one...

Does giving clear and direct feedback at home, church, or work make you feel uncomfortable or nervous? Girls and women are often socialized to be less direct in giving feedback, and I have found that women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can sometimes be ineffective in giving feedback in an effort to be more warm, kind, or compassionate. However, feedback is critical in helping...

Getting a better job or making more money are good reasons for women to pursue higher education, but are they the only reasons? Join me this week as I discuss the vast benefits and uses of higher education, from living a longer and healthier life to improving your self-understanding and critical thinking. I share inspiring stories of women who are “showing up” to complete or advance their educatio...

Young women today are struggling, and the research is discouraging. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report discussed some disturbing findings that teen girls are experiencing record high levels of violence, sadness, and suicide risk. On this week's episode I discuss the serious mental health and safety challenges today’s young women face, and how as parents, sisters,...

Join me for Episode 43 as I talk about a movement that is taking much of my time these days. I’ve felt very moved this week to discuss “A Bolder Way Forward” that was formally launched the past Friday. Although it is focused on Utah, I feel inspired to tell you about it as an example of how one person can follow personal revelation, including when it is big, bold, uncertain, and scary! I truly bel...

Join me as re-release an episode that I really liked from the beginning of this podcast. I discuss what I call “The Box.” Within the Church, we can hear messages from Church leaders, local leaders, or from members in our wards and stakes that can influence us in positive ways—but occasionally there are messages than can influence girls and women in negative ways. Many of these are engrained in wha...

Join me in this episode for a quick review of who I am, the purpose of this podcast, and why I named it “Unleashing Sister Saints.” I then close the loop on the last few episodes (39 and 40) where I shared research related to sexist comments at Church. In this episode I want to share a few ideas or tips on how we might respond in ways that could be helpful in both giving ourselves a few minutes to...

Join me in this episode as I continue my discussion around sexist comments at church. I will share the results of some research we did on this topic and focus specifically on defining benevolent sexism and provide examples of comments made related to undervaluing women’s contributions, sexualization/objectification, and priesthood. I’ll share some of my own insights as well. Overall, the goal of t...

Join me in this episode as I share some of the research my team and I at the Utah Women & Leadership Project did in the state of Utah when we gathered sexist comments from nearly 1000 women. Robbyn Scribner, Allie Barnes, and I analyzed the specific comments focused on Latter-day Saint settings and published a piece on it last year in the Square Two Journal. It was titled “Sexist Comments in L...

Join me in this episode of the “Unleashing Sister Saints” podcast as I talked about some of the content of the 25-minute speech I gave at BYU Women’s Conference yesterday. I recorded the episode when I had just finished preparing and had a lot of thoughts in my mind. I was asked to speak about the essential role of women in ward and stake councils. Of course I discuss why women need to “lean in” a...

In the last episode I started talking about why I believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, particularly as a women, mother, scholar, teacher, author, and daughter of God. I talked about believing because I was raised in a believing family, that I was blessed with a believing heart, and that I have children and grandchildren who need me to believ...

Weekly I have someone ask me about the Church and why I believe. I’ve thought about this a lot through the years, and I wanted to share some of my answers in this episode called “Why I Believe.” Last fall, I spoke to a large audience at the Washington, DC Temple Visitor’s Center and called my fireside speech, “Why I believe as a women, mother, scholar, teacher, author, and daughter of God.” Join m...

I recorded this episode a few days after General Conference in April 2023, and I share some of my learnings and insights. It is always amazing to me that each of us has different ahahs depending on here are heads, hearts, and hands are as we are listening—and I should say as we listen and read to talks after conference as well. Join me as I share a few insights I gained from 6 different talks.

Join me as talk about some insights about peace from the first session of General Conference, particularly with President Henry B. Eyring’s talk about finding peace. We can have faith and peace amidst the uncertainty, the storms, the challenges, the violence, the meanness around us, the fear of what is happening in this world, the impact of media and social media on our children and youth, and so...

General Conference is around the corner, and I want to get a lot out of it. In this episode of the “Unleashing Sister Saints” podcast, I discuss two things. The first is to highlight some findings from a scholarly article I read a few weeks ago titled “Quoted at the Pulpit: Male Rhetoric and Female Authority in Fifty Years of General Conference” by Eliza Wells. Second, I share some of my feelings...