Verbal Motivation Podcast

Text me a comment This is a live talk given for the Paradise Rotary Club 80th anniversary

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Text me a comment Is there a fundamental change happening in the standards of The Church, or are we just being given more freedom to choose for ourselves?

Text me a comment As we celebrate this most sacred Easter season, we should honor the sacrifice of our Savior by making our lives a sacrifice for him. In other words, taking advantage of the opportunity He gave us to improve ourselves and become what He would have us become.

Text me a comment Every year we stumble into the new year, full of sparkling cider and hoping that the magic of a new year will transform us into something new. Maybe there is a better way.

Text me a comment Motivation is a powerful and necessary fuel that animates our lives. But somehow it can be difficult to stay motivated, even with things we truly want. We get distracted with the ancillary details of how and what we do and sometimes forget why we are doing it. The key is to stay focused on why.

Text me a comment This is the full interview that produced the soundbites for episode number 40 called Live and Let Live. Jae and I talked about many more things than what I was able to get into that episode. If you are interested, here is the whole interview.

Text me a comment There are different cultures developing within our society. We need to have more conversations with those we don't understand or agree with, not less. This is an excerpt from an interview I had with a young non-binary person about the queer community. The full interview will be posted at a later date.

Text me a comment There are many different people and personalities. What effort are we making to understand people that we disagree with? We have more similarities than differences, yet we don't venture outside our own comfort zone. It's time to find a bridge of understanding so we can all get along.

Text me a comment This life is a master class or a dress rehearsal, if you will. What we do in this life is a foreshadowing of who we will be on the day of judgement when we are made permanent, through resurrection. 

Text me a comment We live in a world of quick fixes and instant gratification. But there are some experiences that can only be had the hard way. 

Text me a comment The Book of Genesis records that there was one people and one language. The people at that time tried to build a tower to heaven and God confounded their language and scattered them across the globe. The technology of today has once again brought the world back together. Not unlike those Biblical times, idols are being erected in society through the medium of social media. Worshi...

Text me a comment As the spirits from what we call the pre-existence pour onto this planet, we inherit bodies that reflect what nationality we are born to and reflect a host of other talents, disabilities and cultures. But those identifiers are not what we are. But they do serve to help us become who we came here to become. How shameful it will be for us if we judge or mistreat another child of Go...

Text me a comment In life we want to compare ourselves to the progress of others. That type of thinking is a waste of time. I think the standard will be how much we improved ourselves. 

Text me a comment The Gospel of Jesus Christ is hard. But is it hard...intentionally. There is only one way to true conversion and discipleship and that is by living the Gospel with intention. 

Text me a comment Far too often we judge ourselves based on how few mistakes we make. We are not robots. We were sent here to learn through experience. I think that while we are down here kicking ourselves for yet another mistake, our Heavenly Parents are looking down with great pride at our efforts to be more like them.

Text me a comment We often feel that we have to put on a happy face and tell others that we are doing well when in truth we are hiding grief, pain or just feeling overwhelmed. The key to being ok is being able to admit when we are not ok. When we hide too long, it can have devastating effects on our long term happiness.

Text me a comment We have "unwittingly" allowed the name of the Church of Jesus Christ to become hidden behind nicknames like Mormon Church or LDS Church. Only after people get to know us, do they find out that we believe in Jesus Christ. That is an indictment of our discipleship. We should make a commitment now to never again allow the Church of Jesus Christ to be hidden behind nickname...

Text me a comment There is a misunderstanding and even a stigma associated with excommunication in the Church. I would like to offer my perspective about this topic and it's role in repentance.

Text me a comment It's easy to judge others based on their appearance. Yet when we do, we are diminishing our own chances for salvation. Judgement is a mirror that will reflect back on us when it is our turn in the light.

Text me a comment If there are prophets, the Holy Ghost and the Book of Revelations, do we actually have a choice in the way our lives turn out or is it all decided for us?

Text me a comment Addiction is not something we wake up with one day. It develops over time. Like the frog that doesn't notice the water warming around it, we allow the influences of the world to hook us with things that may prove fatal to our spiritual progression in this life.

Text me a comment I have heard it said that, "there are no atheists in foxholes." A reference to the fact that in our moments of greatest need, we turn to God for help. But what if we treated our relationship with God the same as with do with our earthly parents? In other words, what would happen if you spent time in prayer, on a regular basis, telling God how your day went...

Text me a comment Many of us excuse our behavior because there are no immediate consequences for our actions. We do it just because we can. The phrase "because I can" should be a call to give more and take less. Not because we have to but just because we can.

Text me a comment We experience many real offenses in life. But we can also choose what occupies our lives and our hearts.  Anger and love cannot occupy the same space within us. We must find a way to forgive those who offend us, that we may also be forgiven ourselves. Alexander Pope said it best, "To err is human, to forgive is divine."