According to a 2015 Pew Research study, 59 percent of Americans believe that science and religion are often in conflict. This perceived tension between the two can be especially challenging for students in fields such as biology, who may encounter scientific theories that seem to contradict their faith. As a biology professor at Brigham Young University, Jamie Jensen has seen firsthand how science can either deepen or diminish students’ spirituality. In this week’s episode, she shares strategies for helping students approach science in a way that enhances their understanding of God’s wonders, rather than detracting from it.

It's common for women to want to be full of light and, like Elder Quentin L. Cook said, “striving to be full of good cheer.” When we are around people like that, it’s contagious and infectious. We wonder what that looks like and how to maintain it, so let’s chat about it!

We hope this conversation will serve as a reminder to be more gentle with ourselves as we are letting the Savior mold us into who we need to be. That we don’t need to be in a rush to become better immediately, but that we can rest and find some calmness knowing we are a work in progress. In fact, this episode's guest calls it the “slow work of God.“

In the church, we often colloquially refer to a trial as something we’re “going through.” As if there is a finish line, or even a moment in time that we just need to get by. But perhaps the real need is to slow down in our hard times and find out what it is we can learn when we simply sit with them.

Heidi S. Swinton is an award-winning author and screenwriter whose works include the PBS documentaries American Prophet; Sacred Stone; Sweetwater Rescue; Trail of Hope; and America’s Choir. She is the author of President Thomas S. Monson’s official biography, To the Rescue. She has served on the Relief Society general board and as a member of Church writing committees. She served with her husband, Jeffrey C. Swinton, as he presided over the England London South Mission (2006–2009) and as he directed the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center (2016-2018); they are the parents of five sons, four living, and have 13 grandchildren.

Mason is an associate professor of religious studies and history at Utah State University, where he holds the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture. A Utah native, Mason was trained in American history at Brigham Young University and the University of Notre Dame. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Romania, has served on the boards of the Mormon History Association and Dialogue Foundation, and is an advisor and contributor to Faith Matters. Mason currently lives with his wife Melissa and their four children in Logan, Utah.

Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks shocked the world when he worked his way from the back of the pack to become the second American to medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase since 1984. But those who recognized Rooks’ name know that this isn’t the first time he’s come from behind. In fact, in 2023, Rooks fell in his third lap at the USA Track and Field Nationals but came back to win the race. Both races were a spectacle—incredible athletic feats—and, on today’s episode, we talk with Rooks about what he’s learned from them.

Brady C. MacKay is a retired U.S. Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration. His career spanned 24 years serving throughout the world, conducting all types of drug enforcement operations. With his family, he spent many of those years working and living in Thailand and China. He is a certified linguist in Mandarin Chinese, Thai, and Lao, along with many dialects of those languages. Brady currently works as a director of corporate security. Brady served in the Thailand, Bangkok mission and always knew he would return to Thailand. Upon arriving there for work, with his wife and children, they quickly realized their paramount reason for being sent to Chiang Mai, Thailand was for the Lord’s purposes. Brady and his family were the only foreigners for most of the six years there with the missionaries and the native members of the church. He served as the district president over an area that included the northern half of the country. His life in Thailand was quite the dichotomy—he would work in the jungles on drug interdictions and then oversee the affairs of the church on weekends. Brady and his wife, Hollee, are the parents of five children. He currently serves as a member of the high council in his stake. Brady is a true American patriot but more importantly, a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich was born in 1938 in Sugar City, Idaho. She graduated from the University of Utah in 1960 with a BA in English. That fall she moved with her husband, Gael Ulrich, to Boston, Massachusetts so he could begin graduate work at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). During the next ten years, while engaged with her growing family, she worked with a dynamic group of Mormon women to produce a popular guidebook to Boston (a fund-raising project for their local congregation) and helped to found a Mormon feminist newspaper. Exponent II (now a magazine available in print or on-line). Taking one course a semester, she completed an MA in English at Simmons College in 1971.

Yahosh Bonner was born the fifth of eight children in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yahosh comes from an accomplished musical heritage. He currently is a cohost on BYUtv’s Family Rules. He also is the Athletic Director at American Heritage School. In addition, he is a recording performing artist. Yahosh has shared the stage with Gladys Knight, Steven Sharp Nelson from The Piano Guys, Alex Boyé, and many others. Yahosh's love of music is rooted in his faith. He looks forward to sharing the gift of music “to bring the spirit into every performance." Recently, he stared in the movie called Green Flake, which is an award-winning film to hit the stores soon! Yahosh currently runs his own YouTube channel and encourages all hip hop, R&B, and music lovers to subscribe.