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How to Navigate Polarizing Situations in a Christlike Way

In our lives, there are many scenarios we run into that feel polarizing or tricky to navigate. You might have someone in your ward that you feel strongly about because you disagree with their political viewpoints in the upcoming election, even though they hold a trusted calling. Or with general conference just last week, perhaps you’re running into conversations at the dinner table that get heated because of how some messages are being interpreted. Or as you’re heading into the holiday season, you’re gearing up for a snarky comment to be made at the extended family party about your parenting styles. However, at Magnify, we strive to be a force for good, and a powerful way to do that is by being peacemakers, especially in these polarizing situations.

Jenny Oaks Baker: The Wisdom in God's Plan For Our Lives

Jenny Oaks Baker began playing the violin before elementary school and she has not stopped since. Her violin has taken her all around the world and given her opportunities she’d never dreamed of. But there have also been opportunities she has sought that have never come to fruition and other opportunities she didn’t even know to seek that have made her life much richer than it would have been otherwise. On this week’s episode, Jenny shares her witness that sometimes the Lord’s plans are much better than the plans we have for ourselves.

3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi: Fullness of Joy

Christ asked His disciples in America three questions before His ministry there ended: 1) What shall I give unto you? 2) What do you desire of me? 3) What should I do unto you? We can think about how we would answer these questions today and learn a lot from the people’s responses in 3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi. Their answers set up one of the great eras of unity recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Mormon 1–6: Fair Ones

Take a moment and place your hand over your heart. How is your heart today? If it could talk, what would it say? Have you ever heard the sound of your own or a loved one’s beating heart on a stethoscope or ultrasound? Of all the things to hear, it is the heart that connects you to life because it is life. And for today’s discussion of Mormon 1–6, the heart dictated life for the Nephite people. Let’s dive into the impact their hearts had not only on themselves but also on our lives today.

How Listening Leads to Making a Difference

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.

Bonus Episode: Rock of Our Redeemer Book Club

Did you know we have a book club? This month's pick was Rock of Our Redeemer by Elder David A. Bednar. Our community also does a public Zoom where you—yes you—can join in and participate. This month it was hosted by Tammy Uzelac Hall. We decided to post the recording as a bonus episode where you can hear the host and members of our community jump in and share their thoughts on the book.

Mormon 7–9: Miracles

Moroni addresses us directly in Mormon 8:35 when he says, “I speak to you as if you were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.” What do you think Jesus showed him? And as a result, what do you think Moroni is going to say to us? This week’s chapters of Mormon 7–9 answer those questions. Let’s prepare our hearts to receive his counsel.

Carrying the Temple With Us with Melinda Brown

We often look at the temple as sort of a finish line, but can we reframe our temple experience so that it feels like a starting point? In this episode, you'll hear a fresh approach to the temple experience. Melinda Brown, author of An Endowment of Love joins and shares this revolutionary message: "if the temple is making your life better now, then the concerns for the eternities will figure themself out."

CHAPTERS: An Endowment of Love by Melinda Brown

The house of the Lord is just that, His house. In her new book An Endowment of Love, author Mindy Brown talks about the temple, our attitudes toward it, and the sacred covenants we make there, with that mindset. Reminding us all that we have Heavenly Parents that will welcome us lovingly back home.

David and Catie Borland: Cleaving Amid Questions of Faith

When questions of faith shake the foundation of one partner’s belief, what happens to the marriage built on shared spiritual foundation? On this week’s episode, David and Catie Borland share the story of a season of searching that spanned years and how a marriage rooted in open communication, faith and love helped them cleave to one another through it all—and ultimately resulted in stronger faith than ever before.