The following transcript is intended to aid in your study. However, while we try to go through the transcript, our transcripts are primarily computer-generated and often contain errors. Please forgive the transcripts’ imperfections.

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Segment 1

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This week we get to study doctrine and covenants, sections 106 through 108, and we get to follow through with the prophet's invitation given to women to study the doctrine and covenants, specifically Section 107 on the priesthood. So why is Section 107 so important to women and the church as a whole?

Well, I love what the Come Follow Me lesson for this week teaches quote in teaching us about his priesthood. The Savior is teaching us about himself and how we can come unto him. I think that my guests have actually been perfectly prepared for this week's discussion because a few years ago they set out to help me and all the women in my stake learn about the priesthood.

The savior and how we can come unto him. Welcome to the Sonya Monday Study Group, a Deseret Bookshelf plus original, brought to you by LDS Living where we take the come Follow Me lesson for the week and we really dig into the scriptures together. I'm your host, Tammy Uzelac Hall. If you're new to our study group, please follow the link in our description and it's going to explain how you can best use this podcast to enhance your come Follow Me study.

Just like my longtime listening friend, Allison menthol co. Allison, I loved meeting you. She's from Chalice, Idaho and she's awesome. Now, another incredible thing about our study group is each week we're joined by two of my friends, and so it's always a little bit different. And today, oh, today I'm so excited.

We have Jolen and Todd s Scen. Hi, you two. Hello. Hello. Ta. I can't believe it's actually happening. This is so fun. Um, here's how I know them. Todd is my state president and Jolyn is his wife. I feel like I have like exclusive rights to the brain of our state president. I've never had a state president on before.

Todd. Cool. Well, I, I was just telling Jolyn a few weeks ago, I go, you've been on her show before, but I don't think she's ever going to, uh, ask me. And then I got the invite. So I was, I was pretty excited and nervous to be on this wonderful show that you do. So thank you for having me. [00:02:00] Of course, of course.

And Joly's been on before, so she's got this, this is no big deal for her, but tell us how you two met. 'cause it's such a cute story. Well, Todd and I met in eighth grade actually, and we had a couple of classes together and he was, he was just a really good friend. I mean, we, he kind of moved into my little friend group and, and, um, we had science class together.

That's how we met Junior high. Clear back when Right. Had. Well, the story, this story gets better because Uhhuh, I, I basically chased her and uh, and, and tried really hard to talk her into liking me to the point that I wasn't getting anywhere with her. And I was a freshman on the freshman basketball team and my parents were in charge of the year end banquet and Jolene's little brother actually made the freshman team.

And so I got there early and I put her mom's name tag right next to mine so I could meet her mom. And that's pretty good friend, ninth grader to, I'm impressed to do that. And so her mom shows up. I was so excited and I sat by her and we sat down and I go, hi, I'm Todd s Scen. And she goes. Nice to meet you Todd.

And I go, I'm Joly's friend and she goes, she's never mentioned your name before. So I had a long ways to go, but we dated on and off through high school and I always knew she was the one and it took her a little time to figure out that maybe I was the one. But, uh, uh, I went on a mission to Korea, came home and we were married five months after I returned home.

And Okay. I just have to interject this little part. Please do So. I knew that Todd liked me. I mean, he has given me a birthday present and a Christmas present since eighth grade and love notes. And I mean, he made it really clear that he liked me, but I was just [00:04:00] a little more free spirited and he wanted me to be his girlfriend and I just wasn't into that.

I just, anyway, we were 15 and we were walking home from, uh, football game. Todd was. Quarterback. He was, you know, he was this, he was the man. He's the man. He was the man. And we were walking home and he was trying to talk me into being his girlfriend. And I mean, we met in eighth grade. We're so young. We're 15 now, now we've known each other, what, three years, two years.

And he and I just said, I, I don't wanna be your girlfriend. We are such good friends. We just need to stay friends. And I walked off and was going into my door and he yelled to me, it's okay. You don't have to be my girlfriend today, but I'm gonna marry you someday. And I just kept walking. I was like, oh my gosh, what just happened to me?

I mean, I, and I can't believe he actually, I can't believe we actually got married, but that's, he was very determined. And I always liked him, but we just had to grow up, you know? Yeah. And so once we were old enough there, and then it worked out. There were a lot of bumps along the way. We, I always say our relationship was bumpy until we got engaged.

And then it was like, okay, we're finally committed. And then it was great. She calls me the bad boyfriend, the great husband because of my loyalty and commitment. I was just too committed early on. Um, I'd like to slow up, clap Todd Scen everybody out there because thank you. We could use a lot more of that.

Everyone needs a good dose of Todd Scen. All the men in the world need a little bit of Todd Scen in them. So I love that story. When I heard it the first time, I'm like, oh, I love these two even more. So this is gonna be fun. Now they've got kids, in fact, they have a brand new grand baby that just joined the family.

So if you guys wanna see their family pictures and if you want to read about them and read their bios and all that fun stuff, go check it out in our show notes and you're gonna find those at lds [00:06:00] living.com/sunday on Monday. So grab your scriptures and something to mark them with. We are gonna mark them up today and we are gonna dig into doctrine.

Covenant sections 106 through 108, and I think you can already tell we're gonna have some fun. Okay. You two right out of the gates, tell me what did the Holy Ghost teach you as you studied these three sections? Well, I'll jump in. Go, because you know, I, I don't know that I, that I knew this, but of course I've learned a lot about the priesthood and I heard about the nozek priesthood and the onic priesthood and the Levitical priesthood and how ironic and Levitical are synonymous.

But, um, in section 1 0 7 verse three, when it said, behold this state, it was called the holy priesthood. After the order of the son of God, I was just like, had this aha, like, oh my word. This was the, this is the name of the priesthood before it was named after Melnick. Mm-hmm. And. And I mean, that is so all encompassing to me after the Holy Order of the Son of God.

And that's something that I don't know, it, everything fell in place once I read that. Wow. And, and, and then, I mean, I know, I'm sure we'll get into more later, but all of a sudden I just started realizing how important this was because this is what Enoch, this is what the Adam, this is what our anciently, what they did, they walked after the order of God.

They, they did this to become the people that they are and that is what the priesthood is. It just made it all encompassing to me. So that was sort of what the Holy, holy Ghost taught me. Oh, I think that is so [00:08:00] beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. What about you, Todd? Well, for me, the, uh. I agree. I, I, I, I just, just to add to, to Joanne, if, if people, I mean, there's a reason that the, that the Lord wants us to call it the Mel priesthood for repetition.

But if we would consciously know, uh, the name of, of who's who, whose priesthood it is, the mm-hmm. You know, the power to create the world, the power to begin life, to restore life, the power, all spiritual blessings come from this, this power, you know, nothing is impossible, uh, with the Lord. And, and, and I think we would, I think we would maybe treat it differently if we thought of it that deeply all the time.

So that was a good reminder. One of the things that I loved that, that, uh, that always stands out to me is, is, um, in verse 99 of Section 107 and a hundred. Wherefore now let every man learn his duty and to act in the office in which he is appointed in all diligence. And President Monson used to. Almost every priesthood talk he gave to the brethren, he would use this scripture and, and I think it should say, now, let every man and woman learn their duty, because we all have the opportunity.

And I know we'll get into this a little later on, on service, but it's just so important that we, we kind learn our duties, lift where we stand, and, and then do it with all diligence, meaning fully committed to the Lord and I I, and it's the last two scriptures of this great section of the doctrine covenants, but uh, but it's very meaningful to me.

Wow. Why do you think our prophet always used those two verses Scripture? Well, just, just, just as a reminder, he was just trying to say that. When, when you are called by the Lord through a servant to do [00:10:00] something that the first thing is, is to learn all you can about it and then, and then just do it and do it in your own way.

And we don't have to be perfect in our service. We just have to, I think, show the commitment. Yeah. That we're willing to do whatever we're asked to do in, in any way possible. And I think he just wanted to continue to remind us of, of that, um, over and over. So, you know, so we would, so we would be faithful and diligent.

I like how you said we don't have to be perfect, we just have to be committed. That's a great message when any one of us receive a calling, because I think oftentimes when we talk about callings is we like to go to that place of, well, was it really from God or was it, is it inspiration or was it desperation?

That's kind of a funny thing we like to say in our culture. Yes, inspiration or desperation, and I'm so excited to talk about that. In the next segment we're gonna dive into is it inspiration? Is it desperation? But I like how you said even matter. No matter what it is, you don't have to be perfect at it.

You just have to be committed. So thank you for sharing those two verses and Jolynn. I love the idea that that was an aha for you to read that name of the priesthood, which we will get into, but I could feel the spirit so strongly when you were talking about that. Just if, like you both said, if we could really remember when we say Mel Hetic priesthood, how awesome if our brains were trained to then when we hear Mel Hetic priesthood, our brains were trained to go the holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God.

It just flows beautifully and then you know whose power it is. So thank you to both of you. Okay, well then the next segment then let's dive into is it inspiration or is it desperation?

Segment 2

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All right, so I said this at the very beginning. I do feel like I have this exclusive access to my stake president, and for those members of our stake who [00:12:00] listen to this podcast, buckle up. Guys, this is so fun. 'cause I got questions. There's things that I wanna know. So I'll tell you how I first even knew who the SCS were, and this was a long time ago.

YouTube were called to be in charge of Trek, like old school trek. I wanna know, what did you think when you got that calling? You were overwhelmed. I was like, actually, Cammie. It really goes back to a revelation. That it, it's kind of crazy. But when our past stake president mm-hmm. Was called as stake president right there in that meeting, I grabbed Todd's leg and I said, we're gonna be truck, we're gonna be called to do Trek.

No. Right. It was almost like minute, like the minute he got called and Todd just looked at me like, are you nuts? And I was just like shocked. 'cause I was still enjoying the calling of my good friend. And what were your callings at the time? I, I was, I was first counselor in the bishop brick. Okay. And I was released from that to do this call.

And I'm not sure where you were serving Joann? I, I think I was in young women. In the young women presidency. I did not know that, Todd. So you got released from being in a bishop brick to be over trek? Yep. What? Yes. And you know what's kind of crazy? He was actually called to be bishop when we were over truck.

Holy moly. So he, he was released as first counselor of the bishop in like October or September, whenever we were called sometime in that fall. And then Trek was in June and he was called to be Bishop in May. So he had a dual role on that, on that trek. [00:14:00] Okay. Be honest with me though. I need to know from the two of you when you got called to be in charge of Trek, what was your response then?

And Todd, what, how did you feel about being released to be over Trek? Well, we, we love Trek and uh, and I had been serving for about four and a half years and. It was, it was fine. I mean, it, it was, I loved, I loved my service in the bishop Brick, loved who I was serving with Bishop Feller and everyone, all the other brethren.

But when the call came, I mean, we were excited and the, uh, the spirit kind of took over and we felt very strongly about the direction we should go with family history at the time, and you did, and, and how we did that. And so it was, it was an exci, you know, it's an, it was an exciting time. So it wasn't, you know, it didn't, it didn't seem to, to phase us on being released and getting and accepting a new call at the time.

Wow. Well, listen, I've got words for you because, uh, when they said they went into church history stuff and genealogy, they did because then all of a sudden they did this crazy genealogy thing where kids were supposed to then learn how to index and look up family names, and then all of a sudden kids are getting, getting callings in the ward and in the state to be the genealogy specialists.

What, I can't, it's one of my favorite stories because I remember we were challenged to find people. You guys don't even know the story. You're gonna love it. And I said to, um, a young family, a, a man in my ward whose son was called as the genealogy specialist. And I said, well, the spirit of Elijah is not e alive and well in the hall house.

Like it's dead because we can't find any names. And I think all the names have been done, so I think we're gonna be good. And this dad said, I'll send my son over. And he was the genealogy specialist. So he came over on a Sunday afternoon, sat down at our computer within Clickety, click, click, click, three clicks.

He had 78 names for us to do the work for. I looked at him and I said, get out.

This truck is ruining our lives. Well this shows you what's happened in the last 10 years. 'cause this was [00:16:00] 2014 and it was difficult to find names at times though, just because Yeah, they didn't have the technology they have today where now ordinances ready and it's simp. It's very easy to take our own names, but, but back then, yeah, it was real challenging and we challenged every youth in the state to find at least one name that they could go trek for and have an experience with them and it was wonderful.

Wow. Yeah, it really was. You guys did a bang up job. Okay, now this is really cool then, because Jolyn, you actually shared how you knew you were gonna be over trek. That is inspiration for anyone that wonders our callings, inspiration, or desperation. A track could easily be desperation, right? Yeah. Who, who will say, yeah.

And first of all, I would never admit that if it didn't actually happen, right? Who says that? I mean, I and Todd just looked at me like, what are you talking about? Like, you know, but yeah, you're nuts. But it just, it just happened. It just, I, I couldn't even believe I said it out loud. And then it happened whenever, how many years or months or whenever it was after.

It's pretty amazing. Okay, I'm gonna ask you another question in a minute, but first, before I ask you, let's turn to doctrine into cabinet section 106 and 108. We're gonna do these two sections before we dive into 1 0 7, because in section 106 and 108, we learned some really great lessons about callings and this idea of is it inspiration or is it desperation?

And what the Lord has to say about calling. So first and foremost, let's go to doctrine, Kevin, section 106. And this revelation is given to a man by the name of Warren, a Cowdry. He's the older brother of Oliver Cowdry, and he wants to know what is his duty. He goes to Joseph Smith and says, what does the Lord want me to do?

And the revelation is pretty clear. Jolyn, will you read verse one? You bet. It is my will that my servant Warren, a Cowdry, should be appointed and ordained presiding high priest over my church in the land of freedom and the region's roundabout. Thank you. Let's highlight in the [00:18:00] land of freedom that is not speaking to America.

It's literally Freedom New York. So highlight freedom. And put freedom New York. So he's saying in the land of freedom, New York, USA, and there are things he's supposed to do. Now. I asked my two guests to read sections 106 and 108 and share with me what were some phrases that stood out to you in these revelations as a message from the Lord to us about our callings.

You know, when I, when I read these Tammy, uh, I went to section 1 0 8 and, and there's, and there's kind of a process that I thought was really, really interesting. And so the first is in verse one, it talks about forgiveness of sins. Mm-hmm. And, and, and when you receive a calling, uh, I think the first thing you wanna know is, are you worthy to do that calling?

And, and so, you know, he said, you're for, he said, you're forgiven because you have o obeyed my, your sins are forgiven you because you have obeyed my voice. So right now it gives you confidence that, that you can do this. And then, and then into it says, then let your soul be at rest. And I put in parentheses in my scriptures, peace.

Mm-hmm. So let your soul be at peace, because sometimes when you get callings, they are overwhelming and. And, you know, so a, am I worthy? Okay, my sins are forgiving. Then two, I'm a little anxious about this, but you're doing my work. So be at peace, you know, be at rest. And then you go to verse seven, and then it says, therefore strengthen your brethren and all your conversation and all your prayers, and all your exhortations, and all your doings.

And it kind of goes back to what I said earlier about just do things with all diligence. But before that, I think you need to feel like you've, like you're in the right place to do something and, and that you're, that you're, you have the confidence of the Lord and then, and then [00:20:00] you just, and then you give it your all and do your, your very best.

Okay. So those are the kind of the, the phrases that I thought were meaningful around round callings. So I'm curious to know, Todd, with what you shared, did you feel that same way when you were called as state president? Oh, yes, yes. You know, I've, I've told a lot of people this, uh, I, Joel and I have discussed this many times, but I think the calling of a stake president, not me, but a stake President's, one of the most fascinating, um, events that happen in the restored church.

Oh, tell me why. And, and the reason for that is, is because like, say I want to call someone to be president of, of the, uh, stake release society, or we wanna, or the stake presidency, we wanna call a bishop. We know the people very well. We, we go and we sit in sacra meetings. We have events. We, we talk to people, we, and we can do this process over months until the spirit kind of tells us to act on, on something.

But. A stake president is called, where the quorum of the 12 is overstate conferences, and they assign two brethren, usually a member of the 70 and a member of the, uh, an area 70, but two brethren to go into a stake where they may or may not know anybody. And sometimes it's in different languages that the individuals speak and they interview anywhere from, you know, probably 15 to 25 brethren.

And in a matter of hours the Lord tells them exactly who to call at that time to be the new stake president. And so it, the, the, that process to me is just absolute direct revelation. And, and in my case, I was called at a very un unique time in the world. President Kak had actually been called [00:22:00] to be mission president in Korea.

And it was March, and several of us were asked to go interview because there was going to be a change of the state presidency. And on Friday night we were told that, uh, we, that because of COVID, the church was basically shut down and there would be no reorganization. Hmm. And so a few months went by and p Kak and, and, and Heidi Kak, they were supposed to go in July.

And so in June it, it on June, the week of, uh, like June 15th, he said, uh, let me try and do, let me try and reorganize over Zoom. So President Kpac can actually go be mission president without being state president too. So there's one thing to be a Trek master and a bishop at the same time, but if you're the president in Korea over a stake in Utah.

Right. That would be, that would be difficult. So. Anyway, they, they set it up where we would, um, be interviewed and, uh, I was interviewed and, and then I went home and we were told not to worry. So I, um, I went in there the next night with Jolynn and uh, and they brought me in and interviewed me for the worthiness interview.

And then just said, you know, brother Scen, uh, we were, we were so excited about all the brethren in this stake. You have an amazing stake. And I agreed. And he said that, uh, we decided after the interviews that we would, that we would try and get down to three people that we thought would be the, the best candidates.

And when we started talking, he said, your, your name just came to both of us so strongly and we would, we would like you to serve in that capacity to be the next state president of the Corner Canyon State. [00:24:00] Then said, there's only one person that that can stop this from happening, and she's sitting in the next room, so we want to talk to her next.

Mm-hmm. So I went out and Jolynn came back in and they talked to Jolynn briefly, and then they brought us in together and extended the call. And, and of course it was overwhelming. And of course, you know, you're sitting there thinking all the things we just talked about. Am I worthy to do this? Um, uh, I, I can think of so many other brethren that can do this.

And, um, but he said something very, very meaningful to me. He said, I want you to know something. You're gonna have doubts about this call, but I can tell you that every time I do the have this assignment that we literally will touch the veil and know who it's supposed to be. And it was, and he goes, so if you ever think, if you're sitting there and you think on those days I can't do this or I'm not supposed to do this, you just have to know and you can even call me because I know you were supposed to be at this time.

And, uh, so it was pretty powerful. Yeah. And he pointed Todd, and he pointed to the area of the room where he knelt and where he told us it happened. It goes, it happened right there. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That I touched that. So very, very special, uh, very special experience. And, and then, and then he said to Jolyn, and I said, and now you have 10 minutes to choose your counselors.

Wow. And so not only do you have that, that, that quick, you know, kind of that sudden shock, but then it's, we, you need to, you need for the next, you know, for the next nine years, you need to pick the two people that. Are gonna be right by your side in all of [00:26:00] this. And, and fortunately, you know, when you, when you go in to be interviewed, everyone that's goes in to be interviewed, and I don't know how many people know this, they usually have you consider like two to three names that, that you think, um, conserve in that position.

So when, when I walked in, they didn't ask me about, they asked me a little bit about me, but they mostly asked like, who do you recommend? And I recommended three people that I had been thinking about and they asked me questions about that. And so in my mind, and, and then things all of a sudden occur of people that you know, and, and Phil and you trust.

And so Jolen and I were able to do that together, which was very special, but Oh, that's neat. But I did, I did say to them, I said, Hey, um. I don't know if I was inappropriate or not, but I said, I know you've interviewed a lot of people lately. Who do you recommend? And he kinda said, I'm not gonna let you off the hook that easy.

But it was, it was a, it was a beautiful experience, wasn't it, Jolynn? It was, it was. So that's, that's the calling of a stake president. It's just, it's, it, it is, uh, it's very sacred and it's, and it's, it's just an amazing experience to me that normal callings, you have so much time and in this, there's a very short window and the Lord just, um, just gives the witness of of, of who.

And, and so that, that's, that was my experience. Wow. But you still have those. Absolutely. I will say you still have those doubts. You know, you sit on the stand Yeah. And, and you're just like, oh, I just feel so, I feel so inadequate to be here. And please, I bet, please help me. And, and the Lord keeps you humble.

I will say that too. If you ever think you know what's going on or think you're in charge, um, he'll help you. He'll humble you very quickly and know that, that I'm, this is, this is my church, this is [00:28:00] my work. I'm in charge. And uh, and so I just try and do my very best to follow what he would do. You do.

You're very good at that. Thank you. Thanks for sharing that and both of you for sharing your experience where you knew your calling were inspired. Jolyn, were there anything you marked in section 1 0 6 or 1 0 8? Actually, I, I picked. The same scriptures Todd picked, but the one thing Oh, you did, but the Yeah, I, I didn't even know he picked those.

I, I picked, uh, section 1 0 8, verse one and verse two. The one thing that I would add to what Todd said that I just really stuck out to me is in 1 0 8 verse one, it says, your sins are forgiven you, because you have obeyed my voice. And I thought that is really, that's really telling. He picked someone that was being obedient.

And I think obedience is so huge. You know, as we, as we move into callings or, or, or get called, it's, it's, you know, someone that actually. Is listening and is, and is willing to obey and hearken to whatever the Lord is saying. So that was the one thing that I thought I, I kind of highlighted because of obedience.

Oh, I love that. Yeah. I thought that was cool. Okay, so let's take everything that you guys have shared then. Your beautiful experience of being called a stake President. This idea of being forgiven because you have obeyed my voice. Do you think that applies to people who aren't called a stake president?

Do you think that our sins are forgiven because we obey the savior's voice if we're called to play the organ and we say, yes, absolutely. President Hinkley said. Your [00:30:00] oblig. We are all in this great endeavor together. Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as my obligation in my sphere.

No calling in this church is small or of little consequence. Every calling is important. That came from the prophet present Hinkley. Okay, Todd, thank you for sharing that quote from our prophet. So let's do this then in the next segment, because it makes sense that a stake president would be forgiven of his sins because he obeyed his voice.

Or in section 1 0 8, the revelation was given to Lyman Sherman who wanted to know what, what can I do? Put me to work? And that was a beautiful message. But does it apply to those of us who get callings that maybe were like, I don't really know. Was it inspired or was it a desperate attempt to get someone to fill the spot?

We'll talk about that and answer that question in the next segment.

Segment 3

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So we often have that question and we wanna know was it really inspired? Does my calling really matter? I sometimes feel like I want a big calling. Sometimes you hear that where people are like, I only will serve if it's a big calling. And I'm like, oh, give me the little callings. 'cause I've learned working in the nurseries, the biggest calling there is, it's my favorite.

So I, I'd like to know your thoughts on, what do you say if people wonder, do my callings matter? I love that you brought up that you love your nursery calling because I got that calling once and I was like, okay, I need to know how to do this calling and what is the importance of this calling? And I was given this letter that was written by a, a woman from our ward that actually had the calling of a nursery leader for 10 years.

What, 10 years she had this calling and the person that replaced her then gave me this letter. So I was two [00:32:00] after her. And you know, some of her concerns that she brought up were some of my concerns, like, how am I gonna be filled spiritually? Like at the time that I was called to be the nursery leader, I had a bunch of little kids at home anyway, and that's sort of what my realm was.

And she brought up a couple of points that just touched my heart so much, and I just wanna read one of these. She talked to a mom who said, she said one day she pulled me aside and w she was, she was talking to her son about Jesus. He had a picture of Jesus on his nightstand one night when she was tucking him.

Bed. She asked him if he knew who the picture was of. He told her that it was a picture of Jesus and that sometimes he comes to visit him in nursery. Oh, it gives me chills. She said to think about that little children are perfect. Spending time once a week with perfect people was uplifting to me, so she reassured us These, these kids see Jesus.

They filled Jesus. Jesus apparently came to visit this boy in nursery. That touched my heart. Then another point she made up about this calling that she said was, look around and think about where all these nursery kids' parents are serving at this moment, and could they be doing what they're doing if their kids weren't here without interruption?

And she said it was humbling to think that here I was with these kids, so that. All of their parents could be doing their amazing work to help build the kingdom of God. And I thought that was really, really important to think about too. So when we talk about callings, all I, I couldn't agree more. [00:34:00] Every calling is, is important.

None. No calling is better than another in the church, than all callings are important. Well, and, and Tammy, this is what I've learned, uh, it about callings. I had this experience when I was a counselor in the bishop brick and, and I had called someone to be in the primary, a primary teacher, and the person basically said, you know, brother scen, I, this is my third time serving in the primary and I'm getting older and I'm kind of done.

I, I don't wanna serve in the primary again. And, and kind of said what you said at the beginning of the segment, I don't, I really don't think this is that inspired. I think that, you know, you're. You just need someone to fill in the primary. And that's me. And, and honestly, I, I was so taken back, I didn't know what to say.

I just kind of sat there and said, I, I'm sorry. And, and then I didn't, I said, well, I, I, I guess we can look for another call for you then. And, and, and, and it was kind of over, but this is where I've come since then, and I wish that I could speak to this person. And this is what I would say is I have come to believe with all my heart and soul callings are for people, for very specific people.

And if I had knew what I knew now or felt like I felt now, I would've said, um, to the person, you know, you're not called to be a primary teacher. I'm not. The Lord isn't calling you right now to be a primary teacher. The Lord is calling you to to be. Primary teacher for so and so, or for so and so. Mm-hmm.

And I think if we think of it that way, I think we would look at things differently. 'cause it's all about the people, the, the, the personal connection that we're supposed to touch. You know, I am being called to be Tammy Hall's [00:36:00] primary teacher 'cause she's gonna go on to be one of the great gospel scholars of our day.

Or I'm gonna be Wow. I'm being called to be Jolyn young women's advisor where yes, she, she, her young women's advisors. I, I still get emotional when I see them and thank them for all they did for Jolyn growing up with mm-hmm. With a single mom who had to work a lot and, and, and, and really had some mentors for her.

And so I still remember influential people that served me and my callings and, and, and I am where I am today because of those who taught me in my. Primary classes or my study school classes. Yes. And so just like any calling and I, I tell all the missionaries this, I said, you're not being called to a place.

You're being called to a people. Amen. And I think you're being called to people. Amen. Amen. And I think our callings in the church are called very specifically. And so I think if we have that perspective, I think it's much easier to accept the call. 'cause no matter what it is, there are going to be people that we have an opportunity to, to affect and to change.

And in the process it will change us. Oh, I absolutely agree with you. And I love what you both just taught us about this idea of callings. Let's go to section 1 0 6. We're gonna connect what you said to a couple of verses and then we're gonna talk about a conference talk that you guys read. That's so fun.

Okay. Doctrine and Cabinet section 106. The first thing that I love is what we're called in verse five. Jolyn, will you read verse five for us When it comes to our callings, here we go. Therefore, gird up your loins that you may be the children of light and that day shall not overtake you as a thief. And that day is speaking of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Like you will be ready when he comes because you gird up your loins, your children of light, you've been collecting the oil for your lamps. [00:38:00] And then verse eight, this is the verse that's really stood out to me and I actually wrote next to it, the Skousens in trek and in stake your stake presidency callings.

Todd, we read verse eight, and I will give him grace and assurance wherewith he may stand and if he continue to be a faithful witness and a light unto the church, I have prepared a crown for him in the mansions of my father. Even so, amen. How awesome that when you say yes to a calling, he will give you grace and assurance.

Wherewith, you may stand no matter how insecure you feel, or even doubtful that you're not quite sure if this calling came from the Lord, which I think all of us have wondered at some point in our lives when we get certain callings. And so we read a talking preparation for this discussion and I highly recommend it.

It's from Elder Carl B. Cook, and my guests read it. And I want to know what did you guys, what stood out to you from his talk? It's called Serve. That's all it's called. Serve. And he does an incredible job talking about callings. So we're, I'm gonna start out with this talk because Elder Carl B. Cook of the 70, he started the talk with one of the best hooks that I've ever had in a conference talk.

It was so fun. He talked about growing up on a farm with his Aunt Dorothy and his Uncle Lyman. And he says that when they were in this old Dodge truck, and he would hear his uncle yell to his wife, put her in compound, Dorothy. And he said at that point he would start to pray so hard because what that meant was putting it in compound.

You had to shift into a special gear with, there were a number of gears that would arrange and work together to generate more torque, which would then give the four wheel vehicle more power and the ability to really move. And I love this when this imagery that he talks about because it's, that's what callings are, put her in compound.

Dorothy. In fact, maybe Todd, you can give everyone this. When someone says they don't wanna have a calling, you put your hand on their shoulder and go put her in. Compound brother so-and-so, like [00:40:00] we need power in the stake and you're one of the gears that's necessary to get the job done. And it was so cool to read these and have that idea.

'cause I think of all the callings in my life where the Lord probably was saying, put her in compound. We need you in this calling right now. I even go back to one of my first, I was always on committees in all the singles wards. And then I just happened to get my very first gospel doctrine. Calling ever.

I did not know what I was doing, you guys. I didn't wanna be a teacher when I grew up. I was gonna be a social worker. I was loving my life, helping the homeless. And here I get this calling to teach, which then had a bishop see how I taught, which had this bishop say to me, you should be a seminary teacher.

I mean, my whole life changed because I said yes to a calling that I was very ill qualified for. And we think like, was it desperation or inspiration? For sure. Inspiration. God's like, here's where I need Tammy in 15 or 20 years from now. So let's, it's just amazing how a church calling changed the trajectory of my life forever.

So put her in compound. I think God's done with me that with me consistently. What'd you guys underline or Mark? One of the things that I, that I loved in here that I marked is all church calling come from God. I really do believe that. And then a little further down, he says, when we are on the Lord's errand.

We are entitled to the Lord's help. And I really believe that too. And, um, I had an experience. I, I don't know, I also feel, just like you said, all the little things you did before you are, what, what you're doing today helped build you to that. So I had an experience where right after we moved into our stake and actually our new ward, and I was, uh, you know, it'd been a couple months and I got the call from the Bishop Brick and I thought, oh, here we go.

You know, I knew a calling was coming and I've always felt I've never, I never had even, I never even [00:42:00] entertained the idea that I would ever say no to a calling. Like, I don't know why, but I just always thought, and that's just the way I was raised. You just, if you're asked to do something, you say yes and mm-hmm.

And just hope that you know that it works out. So I was driving to the church. And a crazy thing happened to me, and this has happened on several with other callings too. But like I already mentioned with Trek, I had this feeling like almost a voice saying, you are gonna be called to be the primary president and you're gonna replace Linda Miller.

I mean, it was actually Wow. Just like that. And I was like, oh my gosh. And I got so much anxiety I was in, so I, I just driving to the church all of a sudden and then I thought, why am I thinking this? This is ridiculous. Why is this happening? So I drive into the church parking lot. I'm getting more and more anxious because of this thought, and then I'm bugged that I had the thought.

And then I'm walking up to the door and literally this woman I thought of is walking out of the door crying, like in tears. And I'm like, oh, hi. Are you okay? Yeah, I just got through talking to the bishop and I'm a little, you know, teary and I'm like, okay. And I'm like, oh my gosh. So then. It elevates my anxiety.

I go in there and I sit with a counselor and he said, Y would like to call you to be a Cub leader in the primary. And I was like, yes. What's, I'm so happy. I would love to do that. And he's like, wow, I've never heard anybody be so excited about Cub Scout leader. And I said, oh, I'd be so happy to do that. I, I am all in.

And I thought, that is so strange that I drove all the way home. I never spoke another word of it. I never said anything to Todd. I was just like embarrassed that I had got myself worked up. Mm-hmm. Well, fast forward eight months [00:44:00] later, we had just moved into a new home that we were building in our ward and we.

We're at a Christmas party and the bishop, Rick poked Todd and I aside, and said, Hey, can we just talk to the two of you? And this is almost a year later, eight months, nine months later. And we're like, sure. And we, we go in, they sit us down and they said, we would like to call Jolyn to be the primary president.

Wow. And I was like, I mean, we were both a little stunned and surprised and a little secret that we had was, I was actually pregnant and expecting our fifth baby. And we hadn't told anybody yet. The only the two of us knew. And so on our drive home when we were talking about it and this new calling, I said to Todd, oh my gosh, I really wish we would've told people that I was pregnant.

'cause then I wouldn't have got this calling. I honestly said that. And he said, well, if that's true. Then do you not think this calling came from God? Mm-hmm. And I had to really think about it. And then right when he said that it had occurred to me what the Lord had given me nine months prior, that I was probably not spiritually mature enough.

I don't know, I, I think other people maybe sometimes have these little interviews with the Lord. And I looked back and I thought, oh my gosh. He had told me I, but I was too embarrassed to ever say anything about it because, and so, because it's just a weird, like, is it the spirit? Is it your own thought?

And I thought, why would I even think that? But yet it came true. I had followed this exact sister and I was, and, and it made, it actually helped me to see God. Through our situation. He knew that I was [00:46:00] expecting a baby, but this, this was still gonna be okay. And you know what? He helped me. He always helps you with these callings.

When you say yes, he always comes through. It's his work. It's not our work, and we're just his hands. And so yeah, that was kind of a fun, that was kind of a cool learning moment for me. I just have to say this, I like so much that you said we all have little interviews with God because I know people, including myself, who have felt like they were going to get a very specific calling and then they didn't get it.

But your words hit me. That was like a little interview with the Lord that among all the people there could be having callings in this specific calling, you're included and it might not be you, but if it were, what would you do in this scenario? And so that, I like that we all have little interviews with God.

But then it also makes me, I have to connect it now because I also had that marked too. And the thing that really hit me the hardest was the paragraph after it, because he says it is important that we make the connection that our callings literally come to us from God through our priesthood leaders. So any calling we get from a priesthood leader comes from God, I'd never considered it that way before.

Right. 'cause are some callings put in because we think the person can do a good job. Yeah. Yeah. I think of times when I'm like, thank you for thinking I could do this. That's pretty awesome. And God thinks I can do this. And the fact that it came from a priesthood leader means that it came from God. So I think all callings are inspired.

I don't think any calling is a desperation. What about you, Todd? Yeah. Scouting is, uh, or was, no, no. Okay. You might be right with scouting. I'm kidding. I got called become master and I have no voice. Yeah. Yeah. No, I, I, I believe that. You know, one thing I also, that I should say in the church is we are always called to sacrifice.

We aren't called to suffer. And so there are times and places when people, uh, [00:48:00] even if they say yes, maybe that isn't, maybe that was just the Lord's test, but, but maybe it'd be better for a different time in a season. And so w we always try to be sensitive not to make sure people are suffering in their callings because some people are suffering, uh, for certain things.

Yeah. And it just isn't the right time in the right place. Um, so, so that, that, that, that has happened too. But, uh, when, just to finish up his talk, I loved when he said, all who serve will receive God's grace. And then if you come back to your little thing, divine help, so all who serve will receive God's divine help.

Mm-hmm. Which we all need. And, and then he, I love when he said, whatever your age or circumstance, let's service, be our watch, cry. Serve in your calling. Serve a mission. Serve your mother. Serve a stranger. Serve your neighbor. Just serve. He should have TM just served. 'cause the church was gonna use that years later.

And he could have, he could have done good, but uh, yeah, but just serve, just, just, just go about doing good. And then it comes back to the living Christ. He went about doing good. We follow the savior. Yeah. He just went about doing good and, and when we're serving people and when we're doing our callings, um, we're just doing good.

We're going about doing good. Amen. Oh, I like that so much. Yes. Make sure you guys print off this talk and read it. We highly recommend it because there's so many good things and mostly for you to realize, like put her in compound. Every one of you are putting her in compound. Um, but I especially like Todd, when you said we are all called to sacrifice, not to suffer.

That's pretty cool. I've never considered that. I like that distinction. So thank you. Thank you to both of you for your comments and your stories. I do have this question though, president Scen, if you had this experience, 'cause Jolyn was telling her story, what do you make of it when people do have that experience but they don't end up getting a call?

Like are there's some people that are called to callings and then they never end up with that calling? Like how do you [00:50:00] rationalize that? Yeah, that's a very interesting question. It, it, it actually is quite common when we're calling a bishop really. 'cause the Lord will interview more than one person. He just will.

And, and some people do not receive the call. And so interestingly enough, we had Elder Meryl Bateman come to our stake one time and at the stake president at the time asked, and I was on the high council, so I heard the story, but he said, president Bateman, what do I do when a man comes to me after I've called a bishop And the man feels like, Hey, I received these promptings and he.

Just tell them that they should be honored that the Lord interviewed him. Because what it means is they were worthy, they were capable. Mm-hmm. It just wasn't the right time. Or maybe it wasn't for the right people. If we go back to that, at that, at that, you know what we were talking about earlier. And so yes, I do think it's possible that very righteous people, men and women in certain callings may receive promptings and never receive the call.

But it should never be you shouldn't be a ashamed. You shouldn't, you know? 'cause sometimes you feel guilty about those feelings. You should just feel privileged that the Lord actually interviewed you and considered you. Meaning, yeah. Maybe in a different time, different circumstance. Or maybe the calling is in the future.

Like it happened to Jolynn. I'm sure that happens a lot. Mm-hmm. But I think it's important that you look at that as a positive, not a negative. Wow. Absolutely. Thank you for answering that question. Alright, so the next segment then let's dive into section 1 0 7 and when it comes to putting her in, compound the analogy to give us more torque and power.

We're gonna find a lot of that in Doctrine and covenants. Section 107,

Segment 4

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turn to doctrine and covenant section 107 and we are going to mark two very [00:52:00] specific gears. Two, put her in compound gears that are going to give us a lot of power, doctrine and covenant section 107 and we're just going to read one verse verse one. Todd, will you read verse one for us? There are in the church, two priesthoods, namely the moches and ironic, including the Levitical priesthood.

Thank you. Highlight the two priesthoods, Mel Hetic and ironic. And the reason why it says is including Levi Levitical is 'cause that Levitical is also ironic. Um, it's called Levitical through the tribe of Levi. Now we have these two priesthoods and historically doctrine and covenant. Section 107 has always been a section like section 84 that were assumed strictly for the men.

But then we have a wonderful inspired prophet president Russell M. Nelson who said to women of the church in 2019, and this is his quote, I entreat you to study prayerfully all the truths you can find about priesthood power. You might begin with Doctorman Covenant section 84 and 1 0 7. Thank you. Alright, I wanna know, president Scen, you followed through with this.

This idea for women to learn about the priesthood. You held a special women in the priesthood fireside for all girls, ages eight and older. I brought all my daughters. We were there sitting on the left hand pew ready to go. And I wanna know how that meeting came about and what your goal was with it. Well, I think there's lots of misconceptions about women and the priesthood and the topic of the priesthoods specifically regarding women has not been talked about enough and sometimes is misunderstood.

So I really appreciate, obviously our prophet, um, talking about it. And, and so the reason the meeting came about it, I just felt that, um, I, I know it's a sensitive topic and I don't wanna, uh, mansplain things or tell women how to feel about the priesthood for sure. But I, I did want to [00:54:00] teach the doctrine to the best of my ability.

And, and, and the main goal of the meeting was to let the sisters know that the blessings of the priesthood and the power of the priesthood and the authority of the priesthood are available, are available to both men and women and just not the holders of the priesthood. And there's that distinction. And so where we have priesthood meetings for the brethren all the time to train him on the doctrine of the priesthood, I thought, well, let's have a meeting specifically for the women and the young women to, to teach them about the doctrines of the priesthood and maybe get rid of some of the misconceptions that are out there.

So that's where, that's where we started from. And, and then it led to, um, working with the state young women's president and. And, and having her, uh, help me with this agenda. And that's how the meeting kind of came, came to be. Mm-hmm. It was so fantastic. As we talked about these different priesthoods, the monik and the onic and how it applies to our lives, I'd love to know from you, Jolyn, why do you think these two gears, mok and onic priesthood are important to women?

How have they played a role in your life? Oh, Tammy. I don't even think that women have begun to understand how these two priesthoods play in our lives. Oh, tell me more. And with you. Okay, so with you kind of having a study this more and me having that aha moment about the name of the priesthood called the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God, and we learned that, that, that all things are appendages, right?

Mm-hmm. To the holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God, when our little baby was born and we were. And my daughter was laboring. I said to my son-in-law who had just recently, maybe two weeks before this baby was born, graduated [00:56:00] from law school at the University of Utah. I said, Tanner, tell me, 'cause I was thinking about this podcast.

Tell me about the priesthood. And he said, well, he said, you know what? My graduation when I was just hooded with a juris doctorate. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, yeah, 'cause you know every graduate gets this hood. Mm-hmm. He said, I was able to be hooded because I became a part of something that I had studied for and now I'm hooded in that department.

And we started, or hooded in that category of juris doctorates. So we started thinking about this and I'm like, priest hood. Oh. And then I started going, we started talking about. Childhood. Hmm. Sisterhood, brotherhood, motherhood Parenthood. And as I've been thinking about this, I'm thinking of the order of the son of God, which is what, to bring people back to our Heavenly Father.

And we, so then I look up in the dictionary, what does the suffix of, of hood mean? And these, it says, hood can also be indicated. A group of individuals who share a common characteristic or affiliation, examples, brotherhood, sisterhood, neighborhood, the septics hood roots tracing back to the old English word had, which meant condition, quality, position.

It's related to help. Hmm. So I started thinking. We are part of something that we all hold men and women together. This is not just men, this is men and women. We do this together. Of course, we are all Henley father's children. The priesthood is for all of his children. I have [00:58:00] never felt left out of God's plan for me or for women or for my daughters.

It is all encompassing for all of his children. And I started telling Todd, we are part of the priest and priestess hood. We're all a part of this, all encompassing. We have started making we and and I love it because if you think about it too, when you are born, if your parents were married in or sealed in the temple, you're automatically part of the hood.

You have those of blessings. Um, I was not, my parents were not sealed in the temple until I was six. So at that point, when they were sealed, all of those blessings automatically come to me. Yes. And I joined the hood through them. But then at age eight, because heavenly father honors our agency so much and he knows that at age eight now I want this child to choose.

He's old enough to choose if he wants to be part of the hood, if you will. Yeah. And we make our first covenant with God. We want to take on Christ's name. We want to to be a part. We wanna do. Follow in his holy order. We wanna become more like him. We wanna do all the things necessary, and we are old enough to now choose that.

And then look at how line upon line, precept and precept, our father slowly grows us into the idea that we truly are priests and priestesses in this priesthood. Mm-hmm. Under his son's holy order. And I dunno, the whole thing just started exploding. Yeah. Like I could just see this [01:00:00] umbrella of the priesthood and all of these steps and how it includes every single one of God's children.

And I don't know, I just loved it. It just, yeah. It just brought a whole new meaning to my life. Well, I love it too, because I wrote down we are all hooded. The aspect of the gospel that we've been studying. Yeah. Like it's, it's so neat because my daughter also is a lawyer, and when they hooded her, I'm thinking now, like you only, they only studied for three years.

They don't know all that there is to know. They've just done enough to become hooded. And that's us at eight, isn't it? Like we don't know everything about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we, we've done enough to be hooded or to become covenant keepers, right? And so this is such a unique way, I love your approach of this idea.

And so then here we are, because we're covenant makers and covenant keepers. We've entered into this priesthood and this sisterhood, familyhood, brotherhood, all the hoods. But how neat And that hood, with that hood comes a great deal of power. Power from in verse three, right there. The order of the son of God.

That's who, that the order of the Son of God comes from. Yeah. Right. And he hoods us. Right. Oh, that's neat. Well, and as we grow in our faith, I was listening to a talk called The Doctrine of the Priesthood by Bruce r McConkey. Okay. And I'm sure several people that have studied the priesthood have, have read this or heard this talk and something so powerful because we're eight and we have this faith that yes, we can be baptized and we want to be, and every year we get more and more faith.

Well, Bruce r McConkey says, faith and priesthood go hand in hand. Faith is power and power is priesthood. Mm-hmm. So do you see how, as are that. Do you see how our, as our faith grows, we become more and more power [01:02:00] empowered through the power of the priesthood. And we only see this more and more and more as we take on more covenants as we go through the temple and make more covenants with God and become, you know, closer and closer to his holy order.

And as we then start wearing mm-hmm garments that empower us and you can just see how God just gives us little, little, but then we slowly spiritually, maturely more as we are, as our faith grows, we become more and more powerful. And the priesthood. Jolyn, thank you. Thank you so much for sharing that and for starting our journey of section 107.

That was awesome. We all belong to the priesthood. All of us. That is so cool. Okay, so in the next segment then, let's do this. We're gonna get a little bit of history behind section 1 0 7, and we're gonna dive into some more verses, and I think you're gonna like this discussion.

Segment 5

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Section 107. If we look at the introduction, it says that revelation on the priesthood was given through Joseph Smith, the prophet at Kirtland, Ohio, about 1835. Now, something you wanna know is it says, although this section was recorded in 1835, the historical records affirm that most verses 60 through 100 incorporate a revelation given through Joseph Smith on November 11th, 1831.

This section was associated with the organization of the quorum of the 12. On February and March of 1835, the prophet likely delivered it in per the presence of those who were preparing to depart May 3rd, 1835, on their first quorum mission. Now, the thing I love about this is that much of this revelation came in 1831, and then he receives this revelation, and I'm imagining Joseph going, hold on, you're [01:04:00] about to go on your missions.

There's a lot of information you're going to need to know about the priesthood. I've actually labeled section 1 0 7. It's called priesthood and church governance, but I feel like it's mission prep or priesthood prep class. That's kind of what I've labeled it, a priesthood prep. Revelation because Joseph is preparing all of these men to go serve missions.

And he's saying, here is the administration of the priesthood. Here is what it looks like. So at the time it may feel like it was given to men, but again, our wonderful prophet has said, I need women to understand doctrine and covenant section 107 as well. So Todd, going back to the fire side that you gave us, I'd love to know a little bit more of your thoughts on, again, section 1 0 7 and connect it for us, why it matters to women.

Well, the other. I would say famous section of the doctrine covenants on the priesthood is section 84. Yes. And so when President Nelson said, start with studying section 84 and and 1 0 7, and in section 84, it's known as the oath and covenant of the priesthood. And so historically, uh, you know, the young men and, and, and talk about the oath and covenant, the priesthood, like it's just for them.

Right. But if you study, if you study it, it, it becomes apparent to me anyway, if we start considering what happens in the temple in section 84, it talks about receiving both the onic and the tic priesthood. Mm-hmm. And, and, and, and then if you start thinking about what happens in the temple, there, there are times where both men and women receive the onic and MALS priesthood.

And then in section, uh, 84 verse 38. It says, receive all that the father ha. And that's one of the things that I emphasize emphasized at the fireside, is that both men and women, um, will have the opportunity and potential to receive all [01:06:00] that the father hath as they receive both the ERO and Melnick priesthoods and the power in their lives.

And I think that's extremely important. And then President Ballard, um, has said this, inner hemly father's great priesthood endowed plan men have the unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the priesthood. Men and women have different but equally valued roles just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man.

So a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman. In the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife. So to me that is extremely powerful. That, and it goes back to the whole purpose of the fireside, that both men and women have the same opportunity.

Why the men are holders of the priesthood and why that's part of his, um, as, as Elder Ballard says, great priesthood endowed plan, we don't really know. But it doesn't, it doesn't matter because the end game is to have all that the father hath, and both men and women have that equal opportunity through the power of the priesthood.

That is a brilliant quote. I'm so glad that you brought that to share. I have a question, Jolynn and brother President Scen. I dunno if I can call you Todd or what President Scen tell me, how has the power of the priesthood worked for you in your marriage? Then, going back to that quote, what does it look like for two people, a man and a woman?

I think one of the things that happens, and you think about the covenant you make when you're married is that you, you, you basically co preside and Elder Oaks has been brilliant in explaining, uh, how we preside in a marriage and you co preside. Uh, just because, uh, a man is the [01:08:00] holder of the priest, it does not mean he is in charge.

It means that he serves. And, and so if you have, I think, a good marriage that you, you are, you feel like you're equal to each other and you both may have your strengths and you both maybe have what you do best, but in the end, in the internal scheme of things, you are equal and you, and you co preside. And, and, and President Oaks has said, uh.

Because he lost his father at a very young age that his mom presided in the home. Yes. Under the authority of the priesthood. Mm-hmm. And I think a little old school thinking is that if the, if the dad was gone, that maybe the brother who held the priesthood presided and not the mom. And that's not, not correct, but I think that was maybe an old school thinking.

And so I think it's very important that when you talk about our, uh, the, how the priesthood works in our marriage, it's, it's, it's, it works best when we respect each other and that we, that we co preside. Although a joke in our family is I sometimes have to go over to the church to feel important because we know who ultimately presides in our family.

I love it. I love it. Okay. Here's, here's a thought that I just thought of too, Tammy. Okay. Um, in verse 27 of 1 0 7, it talks about you unanimous voice of the same. And I will tell you some of Todd and I's biggest mistakes have been when we didn't talk to each other or come to the same conclusion. Mm-hmm.

You know, there was a time in our marriage when we were both so busy and, you know, I think a lot of parents understand divide and conquer. Yeah. Like, okay, you're going here, I'm going here and we'll get it covered. And, and there was a time when our, I don't know, we were just so [01:10:00] busy and Todd was this, doing these, this business and, and he would ask me about, oh, should we, I'm, I'm thinking about this.

And I'd say, did you go to the temple? Did you pray about it? Okay. I trust you and then I don't wanna hear about it because I'm too busy. Mm-hmm. And, and some of our biggest mistakes were. Because we didn't come to a conclusion together or, or both pray about it or both come to, Hey, let's, let's do this together.

Yeah. And I think this is true in the church and in a marriage, like in a presidency, they always say Revelation is scattered. You know, it, it comes with the whole presidency. And when everybody can come together and go, oh, we feel good about this. I, I used to say in presidencies, I was in, Hey, heavenly Father loves these people that we're serving too much for us to get this wrong.

Mm-hmm. So let's all pray about it and make sure that we feel good about it. And then if we all do, I feel like that is heaven saying, yes, I care about these people, you're on the right track. And I think the same is true with a marriage. When you're working with a child or a decision, you know, I, it, it always works out better when both Todd and I have done the work.

We've prayed about it and come together on it, and then we feel good about it together. And I feel like we have less problems when we've done that. So I think you just nailed what 1 0 7 is about then, because whether you're married or single, that's awesome. You can apply 1 0 7 to you in a married situation.

But if you're not married, every one of us belong to a family. We belong to the priesthood, a sisterhood, a brotherhood. We belong to a board. And I think section 1 0 7 is what you just said with being in a presidency, whatever calling you're in, there are some golden nuggets and section 107 that you can read and apply.

So let's do this in the next segment, we're gonna go over 1 0 7 and we're going to give you some of the best advice that we got from section 1 0 [01:12:00] 7 that we could apply to any life situation that we're in, married single callings. We'll do that next.

Segment 6

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Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go into doctrine and covenant section 107, and we are going to share with you some foundational truths that apply to those of us who belong to the priesthood, men and women alike. What did you guys find?

Well, my favorite verses crazy enough, I mean, I love all the instruction that the Lord gives us and how his church is set up that my favorite is verses 40 through 57 when, when he's given us all this instruction about priesthood and how it's laid out and what everybody's responsibilities are and all this stuff, and then all of a sudden it's like.

Spam right in the center of all of these verses. He talks about our family and he talks about Adam and he talks about how Adam and what he did, and that he passed this down to Seth and then it went to, you know, the next son and the next son and how Adam was so involved. And I can't help but think that this was so important for Joseph Smith and these saints at this time because here they've been, they're just getting all this information, but they're told to build Zion.

Yeah. And right in the middle of explaining how the priesthood power works, he gives the example of Enoch and how Enoch built Zion so much so that they were translated, right? Mm-hmm. And then it talks about how is it Methuselah that comes after? Yes. And how Methuselah carries on after the city's gone. Oh gosh.

Now all the, I mean, wouldn't you feel like well shoot, all the good people are gone [01:14:00] and who you know, and now he gets to try to build Zion. And it's all through what we're learning about the power of the priesthood. And if you go back to that quote from Guar, McConkey, faith is power, and power is the priesthood.

All of those people in the city of Enoch had the faith to use the power of the priesthood to build Zion and to be translated. So cool. And so I love this. That means it's a hundred verses long. And right there, the heart, the center of this section is a family and the center center. That's really cool.

I've never connected that before. Loved it. Love it. Jolyn loved it. What about you, Todd? Well, I love verse 22, 23, and 24 and 22 talks about, uh, the three presiding high priests, which make up our first presidency. And then the 12 traveling counselors are called to be the 12 apostles or special witnesses of the name of Christ and all the world.

And to me, this is so powerful and it's kind of unique to the, the current calling that I have, but I've had the opportunity to, to host Elder Raz Band and to, uh, be trained on I think four now separate occasions by Elder Christofferson and once by Elder Stevenson. And to see these to be in the presence of these special witnesses of the savior is, is so powerful to me.

And they, and they. Joyfully. I mean, we, you know, elder Karen's joyful, you know, the, the Church of Joy, but they Elder Christofferson and, and has said he joyfully can testify of, of the resurrected Lord and the, the power that we have on the earth [01:16:00] because of the priesthood. But at the very, at the very top, the, the first presidency and the quorum of the 12, these 15 special witnesses of the savior that are prophet, Sears and Revelators, and be because of them.

We have direction and, and we have, uh, it gives us more hope and it, it gives us more power. And they'll all testify and say they're very ordinary individuals with extraordinary callings. Mm-hmm. But to be a special witness of the savior is. Embodies who the, who the savior is. And so I, I just, I just love this part of the, of the doctrine covenant, I mean, of this section of when it's, when I, when you see the word special witnesses, I've been in their presence and I know that they are special witnesses.

Thank you for witnessing that to us, Todd. That is so cool, especially when you consider we all belong to the priesthood. So then at general conference time, when it comes up, pretty soon, pay attention to their witnesses, pay attention to what they witness to us, because that's their job. The number one job of an apostle is to bear witness of Jesus Christ.

So thank you. Let's mark verses 85 through 90. This is what stood out to me because it's a word that is repeated often, and I don't have a testimony of it yet. Maybe you two can help me, but in 85, 86, 87 and 89, you're gonna see the word counsel. They are to sit and counsel. Sit and counsel, sit and counsel.

And I've been in primary and young women's for a very, very long time, so I'm new to this whole counseling at the beginning of Relief Society stuff, and I just am like, why do we have to do this? Can you convert me? Because right here, if we belong to the priesthood, one of the things we have to do is counsel and I have a scripture that really helped me with this because I didn't realize this cross reference anywhere next to those verses, [01:18:00] right?

Moses chapter seven, verse 35. I found out in Moses chapter seven, verse 35, that God's title actually is man of Counsel. Which I thought was perfect. Wow. That's one of his names, man of council. He loves councils. So talk to me about the importance of councils and counseling for all of us who belong to the priesthood.

Well, Jolyn said it earlier, but councils are very, very important because revelation is scattered amongst us. And so the reason we council is because different people have received different rays of light that help, that help the council out. And, and so I'm used to ward council, state council and things like that.

Th those different types of councils we're a little different from what you're talking about, Tammy. But the counseling, um, process is very significant. I remember an experience I had as I was newly called, I was sitting in a state council. One of the sisters were speaking about something, and I can't remember what it was, but it occurred to me at that very moment that our sisters should be speaking in the state council with the high council on a regular basis to our wards.

And it happened because of our, that we were counseling together. And that's when the revelation came. And since then, our, our, the presidents of our auxiliaries, our speak with the high counselors, and I've heard of other stakes already doing that as well. But in our stake, that's, that's when it came to me when we were having a state council.

And when we talk about calling someone to the high council counselor, state council, we talk specifically about them being a member of that council because it's so important to us in, in how we run our stake. Mm-hmm. So that's, that's one of the testimonies I have had of, of the, the purpose of an an effectiveness of councils.

Wow. I love that. Thank you [01:20:00] for doing that. That is so important for women to be heard. Jolyn, why do you like a council? What have you seen, have you been in relief society when they do that? Uh, no. I've, I'm currently in primary and I have been for, okay. So I haven't experienced that yet. That's new for me, but it's new for me too.

I, I, but I do think that the great thing about a council and where it goes back to God, knowing the one and caring about the one, is he, a council gives opportunity for the one because it's, it's a, it's a question or a thought. How do you feel about it? You have the choice to exercise your agency whether you want to say something about it or not.

And I love that, that. God's opening that up. And I, and, and, and if we think about it, think about the council in our premortal existence. Mm-hmm. We all had an opportunity to choose. Right. And we know it was a council. Like we counseled about what we're gonna do and, and how are we gonna, how's Earth Life gonna be?

And how are we, and who's gonna help us? And who's going to, and we know that it was at this council that, that we had two brothers that gave ideas and then we all got to choose for ourselves. So what if, what if there wasn't a council? What if we didn't have a voice in that? I mean, it seems to be that this word council, we're following something that is an eternal truth.

Mm-hmm. Because it was before we even came. And I think God's just giving us all opportunities to have a voice or to exercise our agency. And perhaps that's how. At the end of the day, well, you were able, you had the decision to choose how you felt about that or to say something about that. Oh my gosh.

Okay. You're gonna love this. Jolynn. Next to those verses, we're gonna put this cross reference, which is what you just taught us. Put section [01:22:00] 1 21 verse 32, doctrine and cabinets, 1 21 verse 32, and then flip there really quick. This is so cool. It's what you just said. Amazing. Will you read verse 32 for us?

According to that, which was ordained in the midst of the Council of Eternal God, of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof. When every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest. That council was called the Council of the Eternal God.

That's what we met in. I have never. That's so cool. Cool. Seen that before. I've never seen that before. Tammy. We were all together in the midst and of the council of Eternal God, of all the other gods before this world was. That should be reserved into the talking about us when every man shall enter into the eternal presence and into immortal rest.

So it's eternal. The idea of counseling. Yes. It's eternal. No wonder, and I love how you said Todd, that idea that revelation is scattered among us. That is so cool. And so when we get together, we bring together truth and great things happen. Wow, that's good. And everyone has a different perspective, which comes out.

Yes. In councils too. Like we all have our own little perspective, but maybe we didn't see. Sister so-and-so, or brother so-and-so's and to see how, oh, I hadn't thought of that, or I hadn't thought of that. This is why women are so important in those meetings. And I love that you changed that. Todd. We had a relief society president that was called in our award, who is the best.

We love her so much, and when she got called, it was two weeks before she got, had a daughter get married and a child go on a mission, and all the women were like, why wouldn't you have just called her after she got all that done? I thought that's how women think. Like she say, yes, let's have her calling effective after she's gotten the married one out and the mission gone, then she can breathe.

But now she's dealing with that on her plate. So [01:24:00] yes, the councils, they really matter. And I, I love how it's addressed in section 1 0 7. Counseling with our councils is super important, so wow, this is so fun. And then it ends with the verses 99 and 100. There we go. Todd, the way you, the spirit taught you.

He, he, he and then a hundred, he the, and I read verse 99, but verse a hundred, he, that is lawful shall not be counted, worthy to stand. And he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approve, shall not be counted worthy to stand even. So. Amen. It just, it to me, it says how important it is that, uh, that we, we need to be anxiously engaged and we need to represent, uh, this great power that's a gift to us.

The power of the priesthood here on the earth. Absolutely. An amen. Wow. Thank you. You two we're done. That's the end of our episode. So gather your thoughts and just share what is an eternal truth that you learned or a takeaway or something that you were like, oh yeah, that's true from our discussion. I'm gonna start, for me, I just have to go to what Jolynn said, this idea that we're hooded.

That was so cool. The priesthood, sisterhood, brotherhood, um, that we are given power through the priesthood and that we're hooded in that aspect of the gospel that we've been studying. And it's, it's a lifelong study. Lifelong, like I love how God trusts us with the power, even though we haven't really proved ourselves yet.

We're so new at this. So that was such a cool concept. And then, um, president scs, and I loved when you said we are called to sacrifice, but not to suffer. That was a beautiful distinction, so thank you for sharing that. I have quite a few that I've, that I put down here. And this, honestly, I I loved that you brought up that section 1 21 32.

I, I had never seen that in the scriptures before, and, and I, I'm grateful that. You pointed that out to me. And by the way, Tammy, I'm grateful for all you have taught me. Thank you for this podcast. It it, you're welcome. It really does help all of us so much to learn. Oh, [01:26:00] thank you. Um, but I really liked when we're given a calling, we don't have to be perfect.

Mm. We just have to be willing and put it in compound. Yes. Like, put our faith to the test and say, yes, I will. And then that gives you power. And then just learn your duty. Learn it, and then you're gonna get more power and pray about it. And you're gonna get more power. And pretty soon you're gonna start feeling the power of the priesthood.

And you're gonna feel like, okay, God is with me and I can do this and I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna shirk from this. I'm gonna help build the kingdom of God on earth by just saying yes and doing it. Yes. Because you, you again, that another thing I learned was that quote, faith is power, and power is priesthood.

Oh, that's so cool. Thank you. All right. What about you present schon? Well, I wanna start by also thanking you, Tammy, uh, for all you've done. I, I, I was gonna mention this at the first, but we, uh, as a stake got rid of Trek for a season and, and did something called Hope of Israel. And so, God, as we were trying to put that together, you came in the state president's office and gave a chalk talk on the gathering of Israel in a way that I had never seen before.

And I thought, you have to teach everyone in our every adult member of our stake how important this is. And then I taught your thing to the youth. And so. The, the effect and impact you've had on, uh, members of our stake has just been astronomical. So I love you forever for, for that. Well, I love you for letting me say something.

'cause that was, I was just there. What was I, I was there just to get my temple recommend renewed. Yes. That was it. And the next thing I know, I'm drawing House of Israel on your chalkboard. That's right. I did not even go there with that, like. What? And I love how you just sat there and you're like, tell me more.

[01:28:00] Like everyone. So you know. Okay, hold on. Because just in case you're wondering, I'm gonna go back to section 1 0 7. 'cause this is how President Schon and his presidency and our whole stake is like, it's section 1 0 7, verse 30. The decisions of these quorums, or either of them, anybody who makes decisions in our stake are to be made in all righteousness, in holiness, in loneliness of heart meekness and lung suffering, and in faith and virtue and knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.

I mean, that is President Schon and his presidency and everybody who works in our ward, I just love it. Oh, you're, you're kind. That's what it means to belong to our priesthood in our state. That's right in right there. So I want to, I actually want to end in section 121 as well, verse 45. Section 1 21. Yeah.

Section 1 21, verse 45. And this is what our dear prophet spoke to us about in conference. Let thy bows also be full of charity towards all men and to the household of faith. And let virtue garnish thy thoughts. Unceasingly then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dues from heaven.

And you know, our prophet talked about this in conference and, and kind of invited us, but that is the, in essence, how we received the priesthood through charity, through faith, uh, through virtue. And then our confidence will be strong as we as, as we stand before the Lord and do his work and represent him and accept all the blessings he can possibly give us through the power and authority of the priesthood.

Wow. Amen. Thank you for ending that way. That was fantastic. Oh, I love you both. Thank you. Thank you, Tammy. You're the best. Love you, Tammy. How are you? You really are the [01:30:00] best. You need to know that. Yeah. Thank you. Well, what eternal truth did you learn? What really hit you? As you were listening and studying these sections, please join our group on Facebook or follow us on Instagram to share what you've learned.

And then I'm going to ask a question at the end of the week. So comment on the post that relates to this lesson and share your thoughts. You can get to both our Facebook and Instagram by going to the show notes for this episode at ldsliving.com slash Sunday on Monday, and go there anyway, because it's where we're gonna have links to all the references as well as a transcript of this whole discussion.

So go check it out. The Sunday on Monday Study Group is a Deseret Bookshelf plus original, brought to you by LDS Living. It's written and hosted by me, Tammy Uzelac Hall. And today our fabulous study group participants were Jolynn and Todd s Schon. And you can find more information about my friends at ldsliving.com slash Sunday on Monday.

Our podcast is produced by Cole Wissinger and me. It is edited and mixed by Cole Wissinger, and our executive producer is Erin Hallstrom. Thanks for being here. We'll see you next week, and please remember, you are God's favorite.