Bret and JeaNette Smith served as mission president and companion of the Santo Domingo East Mission in the Dominican Republic from 2017 to 2020. They spent 32 months witnessing miracles that had nothing to do with the COVID-19 virus. They retired from their careers—Bret as a general manager at United Technologies and JeaNette as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist—to serve their mission. Bret is currently serving as a bishop of the San Jose Spanish-speaking ward in Jacksonville, Florida. Jeanette is the author of Side by Side: Supporting a Spouse in Church Service, which she wrote the first time Bret served as a bishop. She is currently working on a novel about missionaries in the Dominican Republic. Bret and JeaNette are the parents of four married children and 12 grandchildren.

Brent and his wife Sharon Kaye have four daughters and Jacob, the youngest. Brent has lived eight years overseas including Germany, Japan, and Brazil where he served a full-time mission. He holds a BA in International Relations and Portuguese from BYU and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. Jacob is a junior at BYU where he studies statistical science among other things and enjoys playing jazz with his trombone. His paper, “The Two Atonements” was recently accepted for presentation at the BYU Religious Education Student Symposium in February 2023.

Susan (SusieQ) Hernández was born and raised in Southern California and has lived in Las Cruces, NM for the past 15 years. She loves to travel with her best friend and kitty in their RV, and they're working on visiting all 49 states; will fly to Hawaii. Just 13 states to go! Susie served a mission in the far away land of the Arizona Tucson Mission, and loved the people of the southwest! Susie is an elementary school counselor and enjoys teaching kinder to 5th graders all about social emotional learning. Her next travel destination (not in the RV) is Israel with three of her best friends. She can't wait to see where Jesus walked because her love and testimony of Him grows each day as she studies Come Follow Me and listens to each of the Sunday on Monday podcasts.

Mauli Junior Bonner works in both the music and film industry. He writes for or develops some of the biggest names in Pop music, including Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Stevie Wonder and others. In film, he is an award-winning writer and director of stories following black pioneers in the early Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mauli is also a highly sought-after public speaker and gives trainings on “The Art of Connection.”

Jacob Hess received his PhD from the University of Illinois in Community-Clinical Psychology. He is a staff writer for the Desert News and has focused his past writing on long-term, more sustainable healing from depression and pornography addiction. He has authored several books including “The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints.” He lives in Paradise Utah with his wife Monique - enjoying their four boys and baby girl.

Valleda Woodhall was born in Lancashire, England. Early on her parents recognized her love for dance, this led her to musical dance where she performed on the London stage for 6 years. Valleda met John Woodhall while on theater break. John came to America to pursue a golf career and Valleda followed shortly after to marry him and start their new life in America. Valleda is the mother to twins Ty & Tava, a grandmother to eight 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. When she isn’t working, she’s cooking and baking for her family. She is known for her incredible pies and had the opportunity to make a very special Peach pie for Elder Bednar when he visited a few years ago. Truly a highlight. Valleda and John were baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they were 80 years old and then sealed in the Gilbert Temple. They have enjoyed serving & learning all they can about the gospel.

Mark and Adria Taylor were both born and raised in the small town of Cardston, Alberta, Canada where Mark played sports with Adria’s little brothers and dreamed of one day dating their sister. Mark got his wish a whopping two days after Adria returned from her mission in Sydney, Australia, and they were married in the Cardston Temple a few months later. Mark had also served a mission, in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Daniel Becerra is a scholar of early Christianity and an assistant professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. His research focuses on moral formation in ancient Christianity and in the Latter-day Saint tradition. He is the author or co-author of numerous works, including 3rd, 4th Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction (2020) and Book of Mormon Studies: An Introduction and Guide (2022).

Wendy Stucki is a native of California, where she met and married her husband, Grant. They have lived in Alpine, UT for the last 30 years. She loves everything about being a mother and grandmother to her 6 children and 22 grandchildren. She loves learning new things, good music, especially if it involves dancing in the kitchen, and making a meal that brings people together. Her budding love of the Savior and His gospel began with faithful early morning seminary teachers and now runs deep in her soul. Wendy and Grant recently returned from serving a mission in Harare Zimbabwe.