The Ward Family: Recent Episodes
Cuesta Park Ward
The Ward Family podcast has the dual goals of: (1) creating greater connectedness and community among members of the Cuesta Park Ward, and (2) supporting family history work by recording personal histories for posterity.
Members share experiences they've had with General Conference and how it's helped them and others.
President Nelson celebrates his 100th birthday on September 9, 2024. As he celebrates this milestone birthday, we celebrate him.
We're excited to welcome Phil, Jen, and their kids into our ward. Among other things, we talk about lots of sports growing up, a mission in Peru, not quite love at first sight, and now raising a young family.
Taking a moment to reflect on why we are here on Earth in the first place and how it relates to trying new things
I'm issuing a challenge to all of you to try new things and support others in trying new things. To help you meet that challenge, I share a number of practical and spiritual suggestions on how to do that based on my experience doing 73 new things in 32 days that were outside my comfort zone.
An opinion piece that I published on May 17, 2024 in the Salt Lake Tribune about the need for women to have a meaningful seat at the table when decisions are being made, have legitimate influence and say, and have equivalent authority as men in their sphere of influence.
With the publication of Saints Volume 4 expected later this year, we revisit a summary of Saints Volume 2 along with reflections by ward members on it
Revisiting a lesson given in our ward about how we can identify things in our lives that have more control over us than we have over them and what we can do as a result to gain more control over our lives
A lesson from a few years back on how to become a more effective teacher within your home and at church
We revisit a lesson given in our ward on singles in the church and how we can be more sensitive to their needs
Revisiting a group conversation about race and how our approach to it affects all of our lives.
Revisiting a conversation with our then-Bishop about a deep dive that he had done into the Priesthood and what all of us should understand about it.
We revisit a conversation with Marla about women in the scriptures and why this is an important topic for us to all know more about - both as women and as men.
As we look forward to the Stake RS Women's Conference next week, we revisiting a panel discussion from a few years ago about how to show greater Christlike love to our LGBTQIA+ brothers & sisters
Revisiting a conversation about family history work - why it matters, what holds us back, and what we can do to make this happen.
Revisiting a conversation with our then-Bishop about a deep dive that he had done into the Atonement and how we can apply it in our lives.
We hear from ward members about their experiences celebrating Easter and what this special day means to them.
Moroni 10:3-5 What happens when you read the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart and real intent? Greg shares his story.
Some observations from a 2019 BYU Devotional. For the full talk, go to https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/j-b-haws/wrestling-with-comparisons/.
After 100 episodes of the podcast, we're entering a new chapter where we'll experiment with some new ideas and approaches and things.
We hear from ward members about their experiences with the Book of Mormon and what they hope to get out of their Come Follow Me study of the Book of Mormon this year.
As you're thinking about new years resolutions for 2024, this episode provide some suggestions on things that you may want to include. Happy New Year everyone!
We sit down with Natalie and learn more about her life, including growing up in this area, going off to school at BYU, and then returning home to our stake.
We sit down with Iain, one of our High Council members, and learn more about his life, including traveling the world and being converted to the gospel, serving a mission, and building a family along with the challenges that come along with it.
As we approach Christmas, we hear from ward members about their favorite Christmas memories and traditions at this special time of year.
We sit down with Jim and Heidi, our newest members of the ward, and learn more about their lives, including experiencing new cultures, getting married last year, and now exploring and enjoying everything the Bay Area has to offer.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we reflect on the power of gratitude and ward members share what they're thankful for.
I started doing this podcast since I saw a need for greater connectedness within our ward family and an opportunity to do something to help address it. In that same spirit, I thought it would benefit our ward family to do this special episode to create greater understanding and empathy for the experience of our sisters within the Church. There is far more discussion and understanding needed over time but, as Elder Holland has said, “empathy sounds pretty inadequate, but it is a place to start.”
For those who want to read Amy Allebest's essay rather that listen to it, here is where you can find it on Medium: https://mormondom.com/letter-to-a-mormon-man-8d251aa1f062.
We sit down with Lance and learn more about his life, including being a Bishop's son, spending precious time with his wife, and now being in a new chapter as a widower and empty-nester.
We sit down with Natalie and learn more about her life, including being a farm girl growing up, serving a mission in Nova Scotia, and recently revisiting that mission three decades later.
We sit down with Ken and learn more about his life, including sparking an early interest in electrical engineering, serving a mission in Germany, and being comfortable about what he does and doesn't know in the gospel.
We sit down with Lori and learn more about her life, including an impactful move to the east coast as a youth, a challenging mission experience, and discovering she enjoys being a parent much more than she would have expected.
We sit down with AJ and learn about his life, including rollerblading down steep hills as a kid, having a transformational experience on his mission, and being the dad of two energetic kids.
We sit down with Amy and learn more about her life, including hearing "no" from the Lord at critical points in her life, discovering yoga in difficult circumstances, and being a reluctant leader within the church.
We sit down with Lily to learn more about her life, including an early passion for soccer, meeting her husband on the first day of her mission, and now having young kids.
It's General Conference weekend. This is a short message and testimony based on a talk in October 2019 by Elder Hans T. Boom of the Seventy entitled "Knowing, Loving, and Growing".
We sit down with Daryn and Anna and learn more about their lives, including growing up in very different places, getting engaged in a very magical way, and now becoming parents and building a family together.
We sit down with Karen, our Stake Relief Society President, and learn more about her life including growing up all over the world, making the transition to being a school teacher, and serving in a number of callings within the Church.
We sit down with Diane and learn more about her life, including growing up in Santa Clara County before it was Silicon Valley, becoming a teacher, and serving a mission later in life. (Note: this episode was recorded before Steve left for his trip to Wyoming)
We sit down with Steve and learn more about his life, including attending the University of Utah as both a child and a young adult, serving two missions, and building a family over 25 years of marriage. [Note: there is a fair amount of background noise from a fan but hopefully you'll still hear everything said ok]
We sit down with Soren and learn more about his life, including being a student-athlete rather than an athlete-student, serving a mission and drawing closer to Jesus Christ in the process, and now heading off to BYU to study industrial design.
We sit down with Miles and learn about his life, including hearing stories about his father's mission growing up, serving a mission of his own, and now returning to BYU.
We sit down with Cameron and learn about his life, including taking an early interest in science and math, becoming a doctor, and serving in various callings in the church.
We sit down with Garrison to learn more about his life, including growing up in a small town, gaining greater perspective as a missionary, and learning what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We sit down with Matt and learn more about his life including growing up overseas, discovering that his wife was "the one" during long car trips, and ultimately learning that you don't have to do it all yourself.
We sit down with Pete and learn about his life including serving a mission in Korea, working on the Chicago temple, and raising a family in the Bay Area.
We sit down with Deniece and learn more about her life including growing up in the Philippines, moving to Oklahoma, and then making her way to the Bay Area.
We sit down with Brian and Stephanie and learn about serving missions in Brazil and Japan, spending a lot of time in the Provo area, and now enjoying walks with dog lovers and hoping to move to walks with other dogs.
We sit down with Mike and learn more about his life, including growing up street smart, going into the Army, turning to the Savior, and ultimately finding happiness in life.
We sit down with Travis and learn more about his life including a core group of long-time friends from his youth, serving a mission in Japan and married someone from that country, and teaching the gospel to young children.
We sit down with Mike and Ashley and learn more about their lives, including having very different church experiences growing up, having different takes on how they met and came together as a couple, but a unified marriage and view of where they want to take their family over time.
We sit down with Brett & Allison, our first interview as a couple, and learn more about their lives, including early experiences at BYU and abroad, meeting at the Stanford YSA ward, and now becoming parents.
We sit down with Wes and learn more about his life, including learning to trust in the Lord through hard times, inviting your kids into your life and loving them the way they are, and helping developing the future of artificial intelligence (and helping society navigate all the challenges that will come along with that).
We sit down with Mike to learn more about his life, including being born blind, studying electronics, and meeting his wife at an ASL class at work.
We sit down with Mads and learn more about her life, including meeting her husband at BYU, having the best fries ever at the Jerusalem Center, and making the transition from IG star to full-time mom (with a likely return to the business once her kids are in school).
We sit down with Jane to learn more about her parents Amy and AJ, including helping her experience a slice of heaven here on earth, always having just the right General Conference talk or scripture at the ready, and modeling drawing closer to Jesus Christ. We also play a fun round of two truths and a lie in the hopes that you'll ask Amy and AJ directly which ones are true and not so true.
We sit down with MD and learn about her life, including growing up in an abusive home, losing her husband and kids at the same time (but in different ways), and ultimately finding happiness.
Please note: This interview contains a number of experiences that some may find upsetting and that may not be fitting for young ears. That being said, the Spirit can testify to you of the power of enduring trials and that Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ are ever-mindful of us.
We sit down with Von and learn about his life, including being best friends with his twin brother growing up, applying lessons learned during his mission later in life, and making a difference in the lives of many return missionaries.
We sit down with Andrew, the newest member of our ward, and learn about what led him to get baptized and what he hopes the future holds.
We sit down with Ammon and learn more about his life including growing up in a town named after him, meeting his wife on his mission, and being on the verge of becoming a father for the second time.
We sit down with John and learn about his life, including being a feral child, going from being a menace to society to a kid in a candy store, and having no regrets about prioritizing family over career.
We sit down with my sons Jonathan and Andy to get additional perspectives on their mom, including things they enjoyed doing with her as kids, qualities that they admire in her, and things they've learned from Amy that they're now taking into their adult years. This is an experiment so please let me know if you'd like more of these kinds of episodes in the future.
We sit down with Amy and learn more about her life, including pursuing an early career in speech pathology, seeing child development up close and personal, and being interested in travel as a way to have concentrated time with friends and family.
We sit down with Dan and learn more about his life, including how following his mom's advice led to meeting his wife, later living in a halfway house for unemployed tech workers, and how Heavenly Father has guided his path through life (often in ways that he only recognizes in hindsight).
We sit down with Ron and learn more about his life, including tracking as a missionary in -55F weather, being a prankster in college, and now being a grandfather to 12 grandchildren.
We sit down with Tom and learn more about his life, including being feral as a child, ripening during his mission, and staying humble as an adult.
We sit down with Rebecca and learn more about her life, including how she met her husband, starting and running a business, and now layering being a mom into the mix.
We sit down with Nick and learn about his life, including meeting his perfect match at the age of 17, gaining important insights and experiences during his mission, and what he hopes to pass down to his children from his experience with his own parents.
We sit down with Toni and learn more about her life including serving a mission later than most, finding her career, and how she met her husband.
We sit down with Orin and learn his early science experiments, a formative experience in third grade, and blazing his own path throughout his life.
We sit down with Katie and learn about picking her husband over a Greek god, making a hard transition to becoming a mom, and now entering the next chapter of her life with lots of possibilities in store.
We sit down with Jenny and learn about being on a jumprope team as a child, attending prom with her now-husband, passing the Bar Exam, and becoming a mom.
We sit down with September and learn about how she discovered an interest in technology, her commitment to gospel, and entering a new phase in her career.
We sit down with Jenna and learn, among other things, about her early interest in and exposure to music, the unremarkable start to her relationship with her husband, and the experience of fost-adopting.
We sit down with Jonathan and learn about how his mission and adult life have expanded his perspective on the gospel and the human experience, the ways that he shows love and commitment to his wife, and how he's trying to keep pace with his older brothers.
We sit down with Meredith and learn about how she met her husband, finally graduating with a baby bump, and the ebbs and flow of life and faith development.
We sit down with Sarah and learn about accepting change over time, including changing majors in college, changing career plans, and changing (and expanding) her worldview as an adult.
We sit down with Margaret and learn about her path to becoming an occupational therapist, getting married and becoming a parent all at once, and now looking forward to retirement in the not-so-distant future.
We sit down with Greg and learn more about his life including feeling unsettled as a youth, having a hard (but worthwhile) mission, and parlaying his calling as Scoutmaster into meeting his wife and starting a family.
We sit down with Tyson and learn more about this life including gaining a love of service at a young age, taking a risk on a long-distance relationship, and seeing the hand of the Lord in his life.
We sit down with Karina and get to know more about her life including creative endeavors, going on a mission, and meeting her husband and now building a family together.
We sit down with Eric and get to know more about his life including experiencing love at first sight, living a life of "nomadicy", and bringing more humility to his callings.
We sit down with Bill and get to know more about his life including an early divorce, meeting Lynda and joining the church, and why he's so passionate about family history work.
We sit down with Rachel and get to know more about her life including being blessed with good friends at the right moments in her life, making the tough transition to being a parent of a child with special needs, and now having so much hope in the future.
We sit down with Richard and get to know more about his life including his pioneer heritage, picking a different college and major than originally planned, and later truly growing up in our ward family.
We sit down with Pat and get to know more about her life including having Jesus in her heart from a young age, a string of bad experiences with other churches, and ultimately getting baptized in our ward later in life.
We sit down with Christy and get to know more about her life including her career in journalism, moving to the big city, and building a family with all the ups and downs that come with that.
During General Conference this weekend, let's see what inspiration we get on how to strengthen our ward family whether that's through conversations with someone you want to get to know better or through some other prompting from the Spirit.
We sit down with Ben and get to know more about his life including a near-death experience, serving a challenging mission, and feeling God's love and tender mercies in unexpected ways.
We sit down with Kay and get to know more about her life including a challenging new ward as a kid, becoming a teacher somewhat unexpectedly, and connecting with others through tennis, golf, walks with dogs, and all things active.
We sit down with Charlotte and get to know more about her life including having immigrant parents, pursuing (a lot of) schooling and professional training, and helping her children find their place in the world.
We sit down with LJ and get to know more about her life including having mixed race parents, becoming a parent herself, and still being as weird as she was in middle school.
We sit down with Jen and get to know more about her life including family challenges early in life, her path into teaching, and the work that she and others are doing to make a difference in the lives of children and families in East Palo Alto.
We sit down with Rachel and get to know more about her life including growing up in the country, seeing seeds planted during her mission taking root many years later, and now becoming a parent.
We sit down with Nancy and get to know more about her life including growing up in the LA area, having an extensive work career, and serving in a variety of callings in the church over the years.
We sit down with Chelsea and get to know more about her life including growing up in Idaho, losing her father at an early age, and having a number of things come together in her life in a very sweet way. We can also look forward to musical performances by her Family Von Trapp down the line.
We sit down with Julie, our Relief Society President, and get to know more about her life including growing up in this area and then coming full circle in many ways after graduating from college and getting married.
We sit down with Nathan, a member of our Bishopric, and get to know more about his life including serving a mission in Germany, likely being the only undergraduate at his college who was both married and had a child, and the insights he's gained over time about serving within the Church.
We sit down with Sam, now a member of our Bishopric, and get to know more about his life including how deeply introspective he is, how he had the best mission companion ever, and how he's now a gear head always willing to help someone out with a project. And perhaps some stuff related to meeting his wife, becoming a dad, and his approach to serving within the church.
We sit down with Jennie and get to know more about her life including growing up in Utah, studying law and pursuing a career in that field, and becoming a parent. As a bonus, we also get to hear perspectives about Jennie from her daughter Eliza.
We sit down with our host Greg (interviewed by his son Andy) and get to know more about his life including moving around as a kid, his early exposure to the church in college, and becoming a member as an adult.
We sit down with Camille and get to know more about her life including the fact that you can take the girl out of Montana but you can't take Montana out of the girl. Among many things, we also learn her two powerful mantras in life.
We sit down with Kate and get to know more about her life including being one of 13 kids, attending nursing school, and insights she's gained into our Heavenly Parents from being a parent herself.
We sit down with David and get to know more about his life including the honor and burden of being named after an apostle, serving a mission in Chile, and striving to minister while he administers.
We sit down with Lynda and get to know more about her life including playing baseball with the boys as a child, returning to activity in the church, and now becoming a grandparent of 14 grandchildren.
We sit down with our Stake President and get to know more about his life including being a peacemaker, his father's long arc back to the Church, and focusing on the first principles and ordinances of the gospel.
We sit down with Amy and get to know more about her life, including the challenges of moving around growing up, the challenges of becoming a parent and novelist, and knowing that you're always seen by God even when it's not obvious.
We sit down with Sarah and get to know more about her life including growing up with limited means, discovering her dream job, and learning from the older sisters in the ward how to prepare for the next chapter of her life.
We sit down with David and get to know more about his life including getting lost as a child in Venezuela, serving a mission in Japan, and building a life and family with his wife Sarah.
We sit down with Katrina and get to know more about her life including growing up in this area, being a missionary nurse in Argentina, and recently becoming a parent.
We sit down with Shirlee and get to know more about her life including asking her husband to marry her, using Primary as an opportunity for missionary service, and playing Yahtzee with an unexpected new friend.
We sit down with Luisa, one of our newest members, and get to know more about her life, including her childhood and schooling in the Philippines, falling in love with her husband through writing letters, and getting baptized after a lifetime of being a devout Catholic.
We sit down with Ed and get to know more about his life including growing up in the Depression, taking the sacrament in the midst of a war zone, and being ready to answer the question "do you have a job yet?".
We sit down with Ann and get to know more about her life including a special prompting to get baptized, her professors making it possible for her to go on a mission, and being the right height to date her now husband.
We sit down with Scott and get to know more about his life including growing up in a small town, serving a mission, and learning the importance of keeping his covenants.
We sit down with Barbara and get to know more about her life including early dreams of being a ballerina, attending BYU as an adult with two of her children, and a touching piece of creative writing for Charles, her second husband.
We sit down with Charles and get to know more about his life including years spent living with his grandparents as a youth, going off to war, and then love and loss in the years that followed.
We sit down with Laura and get to know more about her life including growing up in the area, discovering her love of teaching, and being swept off her feet by the best pickup line ever.
We sit down with Mandy and get to know more about her life including her love of music, being a cancer survivor, and missions yet to be served.
The Ward Family podcast has the dual goals of: (1) creating greater connectedness and community among members of the Cuesta Park Ward, and (2) supporting family history work by recording personal histories for posterity.