In his talk entitled, “Spiritual Treasures” given in 2019, President Nelson stated, “The heavens are.. open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from their priesthood covenants.” We might read this and wonder, how? As women, we sincerely want to understand how we can better draw upon God’s power. And perhaps, we’d like to know what we might be misunderstanding and where we can grow.

In this episode, Jenny Guthrie shares about her life’s motto for spreading the gospel: Feed His Sheep and how she came to this conclusion when she felt prompted to answer the question, “Do I love Him?” She shares three different experiences about how this has become her life's mission: her husband’s time in the MLB where she would interact with people of all different faiths and congregations, her time spent as a mission leader in Texas where she worked with missionaries and also helped her own growing family come closer to Christ, and her time teaching teenagers seminary.

God’s power can help us to lead out, solve problems, nurture humanity, and strengthen relationships. One way we can access His power is in temple worship. In fact, President Nelson promised us this in his most recent General Conference address: “Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple. You will find His mercy. You will find answers to your most vexing questions. You will better comprehend the joy of His gospel.” And as women of faith, this is what we want! More Jesus in our lives. Because with Him, all things are possible.

When President Nelson shared his conference address, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” in October 2016, he said, “each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us,” and then he asked, “yet we are here to have joy? YES! The answer is a resounding yes!” indicating that we are built for it. In fact, today’s guest Lisa Valentine Clark even commented that it’s our birthright. But it can sometimes feel out of reach, especially if we are feeling nearly consumed by our trials. So how do we set our sights on it? Lisa puts it this way: “Joy is a creative act. Not a formula.”

In November 2018, one of the deadliest fires, known as the Camp Fire, took out the city of Paradise. Shauna Wilson Manwill had her home and everything she owned completely burned. While going through this tragedy, she was also dealing with personal loss that affected her story. But Shauna’s story is one of rising from the ashes—both physically and metaphorically. She shares: “I have big faith,” and it was this foundational faith in the gospel that carried her through. By opening herself up to letting others in, she learned that we can all be disciples of Jesus Christ through service, love, and turning outward.

With the immediacy of today’s world—the instant gratification, the ready made drive thru meals, the quick Google search for any little bump in our road—we can easily forget to let the good things come over time. So let's learn to forge the path of joy.

In an effort to show that gospel living really works, we have to show our joy! Brooke Walker and her sister Lyndsi Frandsen were discussing this, and one idea came to mind: gush more. What does this mean? The fact is our world is becoming increasingly less expressive. Perhaps we aren't necessarily feeling less, but we certainly aren’t showing what we’re feeling, which isn’t always a bad thing. But because we are women who have the light of Christ, the fulness of the Gospel, and the power of God on our side, shouldn’t we have some feelings to celebrate and share?

Ashly Stone was a heroin addict who had found herself in and out of rehabilitation centers and even jail for years. While getting help at the Salvation Army, she found a bible with a Book of Mormon bookmark in it. That was the push she needed to return to the gospel and find her way to recovery. In this episode, she shares her story, how it can instill hope in all of us who might be wandering or who are aching for their loved ones who are on their own paths, and how Jesus Christ is the reason she got clean. No matter your circumstances, it’s a conversation that matters in our efforts to show that following the Savior works and sharing that joy with others.

With all that is going on in the world—fires ravaging the country, many lives being lost, and not to mention our own personal struggles that we face every day—we hope this episode will set us up that we can have joy amidst life’s realities.

 We want to make our joy more known, and because we are followers of Jesus Christ, this should be the center of our mission! But sometimes in our desire for everyone close to us to live the joyful gospel life, it's our worry rather than our joy that comes through. This was an “aha” from Magnify contributor Shima Baughman when her personal family experiences were causing her more worry than joy. It was a moment where she had to ask herself, “am I really living the gospel?” And in this episode, Deseret Book content manager Stephanie Bryson chats with her about what the solution to this problem could be.

 We hope this conversation will set you up well for the new year ahead. The Magnify theme for these next two months is joy and more specifically showing our joy. Harry Emerson Fosdick said, “You can know a real Christian, when you see him [or her], by his buoyancy.” As we set out to be women who magnify the Lord, one way we can do that is by living buoyantly and showing by example that God's plan works.

We know that everything happens for a reason, and the scriptures tell us that “all things work together for good.” But sometimes that isn’t a comfort to hear when we’re in the thick of it. But ever since we heard BYU Professor Ellen Knell share that accepting the struggle will ultimately bring sweetness and maning to our lives, her ideas have been on our mind. She gave a BYU address called “Look for the Light” and we wanted to amplify this faithful woman’s voice.

Do you have a mantra to get you through whatever life throws at you? Especially during Christmas, you might be repeating something like, “I can do this” or “this too shall pass” or “mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again.” And we all want to prioritize the Savior and His birth during this time of year. This season, to return to the peace of Christ, repeat this mantra: “just Jesus.”

Have you ever thought of contentment as complacency? That's perhaps something we often misinterpret, but in today's conversation, we explore that contentment is actually a blessing of peace from the Lord. We hope this conversation can take a weight off our shoulders as we’re in the midst of what is not only known as, “the most wonderful time of the year,” but also the busiest! We're all searching for a little relief and source of joy, and we think it’s a conversation that will serve as a reminder that we can live differently and make our joy more apparent.

As we’re getting into the Christmas spirit, I am sure many of us ponder and study the life and birth of Jesus Christ. Many families put together a Christmas pageant where everyone takes on a role in the nativity scene to help us reflect on the birth of the Savior. And one role in that story that we want to dive deeper into is Mary the mother of Jesus. Her background and mention in the scriptures is relatively small. But in today’s guest’s words: “Her story reminds us that God is aware of all of His children and that He calls ordinary men and women to participate in extraordinary ways to help build His kingdom.”

We wrapped up our Lift Up Your Heart events last weekend. It felt so uplifting to interact with women in our community. President Nelson asked us to “seek and expect miracles,” and because we’ve been focusing on the miracles of peace, joy, courage, faith, and hope, they’ve become more prevalent in our every day. A goal here at Magnify is to build our community, so in this episode, you'll hear podcast host Courtney Spencer and producer Sarah Collins grab soundbites from both audience members and Lift Up Your Heart speakers share how they're seeking and expecting miracles.

It’s often easier in hindsight to see what God has orchestrated in our lives. President Eyring has even said, “When we find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness it will build our testimonies.” In theory we know this works. And we do it in practice as many of us make gratitude lists this time of year. But how do we make it so that we’re seeing God’s great work in our lives like it’s second nature, be it a moment of hardship or joy?

Magnify just announced our book club pick for November and December and it’s The Christ Child by Adam Miller. And this book will make your Christmas. If you're looking for that thing that will bring you that "Christmasy" feeling you love during this season, this is just the thing. This book takes us on a meditative and poetic journey to answer the question, “why did Christ come to earth as a baby?” It's all about how we can become more like the Savior by becoming more like a child—and those attributes that go along with it.

A topic that is on many of our minds is knowing what to do when a child or someone we love takes a different path that leads them away from the Church. We are hopeful that this episode will help alleviate some of the pain and anxiety that we feel when this happens. No matter your family circumstances, this is an important conversation in our efforts to be peacemakers.

Part of our mission at Magnify is to help each other be a force for good in our own spheres of influence. Sometimes that happens in ways we least expect it to. Celeste Mergens, the founder of Days for Girls, grew up in poverty. It was her understanding of what children going hungry felt like that led her first to her knees, and then to fill a need. She believes that the things you go through don't define you, but they can always bless you. Her superpower? Gratitude, and that's how she has learned to ask the right questions, listen when others are speaking, and lead with assuredness.