My recent call for stories of LDS leaders who through their vision and love and ways of inhabiting their pastoral roles have made a wonderful difference in people’s lives has been answered spectacularly by four listeners—Loree, Brian Dillman, Brian Kissell, and Katie Langston (whose segment also includes a neat surprise). As each person tells her or his stories, we not only hear about loving, accepting, encouraging, inclusive leaders but also something about their own spiritual journey. Sharing stories and opening our hearts to others’ lives: a magical formula for a memorable podcast!
After listening, please share your thoughts and stories in the comments section below! Or please write me about telling your stories of wonderful leaders on a future “Good Shepherds” episode of the show! Email me, Dan Wotherspoon, at mormonmatters at gmail dot com.
Comments 5
Dan – You do such a great job. Thanks to you and all of your participants. There are so many wonderful stories within Mormonism that never get told outside of the immediate people that experience them with their leaders. Thanks for sharing.
sure loved this discussion. i appreciate people willing to balance out negative stories with positive interactions with leaders.
Well done Dan. Thank you. Please do this, as you hinted at, on a regular basis. We learn as much if not more from positive modeling as we do from negative.
This was wonderful to hear. I am one of the leaders in Brian Dillmans life. I never imagined over the years that I would be remembered. It did alot to stenthen my testimony. Sometimes in life we feel so useless as we age. I served directly with the youngmen for over 30 years and then it just all came to a abrupt end.
Dan, Thank you for doing this podcast. I thought I was going to listen to it to just get a positive perspective on the church for the day, to balance out all of the negative I find as I search out a myriad of topics I’ve been studying in my own faith journey. What I didn’t expect was that it was going to give me the personal lift it did. As someone who has been studying, for a couple of years, the many discouraging aspects of the church that are typical points in a faith crisis, yet also trying to transition my faith rather than lose it, it can feel like a lonely place when I then go out and serve in my calling in what some might consider as a more untraditional or unorthodox way of teaching/doing things. So your podcast ended up being a real boost to hear about others who took similar approaches in their callings, and better yet, that those approaches had a lasting, positive impact on others. Thanks.