Shows
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesCalled to Serve? Women's Stories from Doubt to Direction: Tayma Johnson's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat do you do when God’s plan for your life looks completely different from the one you carefully mapped out?In this week’s episode of Latter-day Lights, Scott and Emily sit down with author and special guest — Tayma Johnson — to share her journey from never planning to serve a mission, to feeling unmistakably called by the Lord to step into the unknown. Through moments of prayer, spiritual prompting, and unexpected mundane confirmations that subtly nudged her towards mission prep, Tayma recounts how she learned to trust God’s timing over her own fears about the future. He...
2026-03-0151 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesAlisha Says Goodbye - Scott & Alisha Reflect on Four Years & 200 Stories of FaithWhat have we learned after four years and nearly 200 stories of faith? As the show passes the four-year mark, long-time co-host Alicia Coakley shares why she is reluctantly stepping away, and together she and Scott revisit several moments of hope, healing, and inspiration that have changed their lives and those of the Latter-Day Lights community. From heart-wrenching accounts of pain, loss, and difficult trials to inspiring stories of faith, redemption, and mercy. Each one reflects, in its own unique way, how God’s light often shows up in the most unexpected forms, places, and timing.
2026-02-231h 03
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesWhen Creative Dreams Face Rejection: Trusting God's Plan: Heather B. Moore's Story - Latter-Day LightsHow do you keep pursuing your dreams when rejection, discouragement, and life’s responsibilities seem to stand in the way?In this week’s episode of Latter-day Lights, Scott and Darla Brandley sit down with U.S. Today’s bestselling author, Heather B. Moore, to hear how she built a full-time writing career through perseverance, prayer, and years of steady effort, despite the mountain of rejections as a new name to the publishing scene. Starting as a young mother who wrote her first manuscript at 30, Heather shares how critique groups and constant learning shaped her growth and prepar...
2026-02-1542 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesFrom Excommunication to Redemption Through Christ: Clint Huston's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat happens when everything you’ve built your life on falls apart in the blink of an eye?In this week’s episode of Latter-day Lights, special guest Clint Huston shares his deeply personal journey from being raised in the Church and appearing to do everything “right” on the outside, to an affair that led to divorce, a battle with pornography addiction, excommunication, and the painful loss of identity that followed. Until, at his lowest moment of feeling cast off, broken, and unworthy, Christ met him with unmistakable love and began a powerful work of restoration.Throug...
2026-02-081h 20
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesTurning Testimony to Music in the Age of Technology: Jake Jacobsen's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat opportunities are possible like when faith, creativity, and technology collide later in life?In this week’s episode of Latter-day Lights, Scott and Emily sit down once again with former Bering Sea Captain and guest, Jake Jacobsen, to explore a life-changing chapter of his journey—using AI and modern technology to bring decades-old lyrics, spiritual reflections, and life stories to life through music and video.After spending nearly three decades navigating some of the most dangerous waters on Earth, Jake shares how long hours alone in the sea became a sacred space for songwriting, pray...
2026-02-011h 07
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesSpiritual Resilience and the Power of Covenant Living: Sharla Goettl's Story - Latter-Day LightsHow do we build spiritual resilience and encourage the youth of today to do the same?To celebrate the anticipated release of her latest book, “Covenant Power,” Scott and Emily sit down with author, seminary teacher, and temple ordinance worker Sharla Goettl to explore what spiritual resilience really means, and how it’s formed over time.Drawing from her first book, “Spiritual Resilience,” and leading into three years of wrestling with promptings and reluctance, Sharla shares how patterns found in the life of Nephi reveal a practical, repeatable way to strengthen faith through action, covenant keeping, a...
2026-01-251h 18
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesFrom Grief to Grace: When God Rewrites Your Story: Anneka Walker's Story - Latter-Day LightsHow do you keep your faith in God when grief keeps rewriting the life you always dreamed of?In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott and Emily sit down with author, mother, and Praiseworthy Award Winner Anneka Walker, to explore how faith, loss, and creativity brought about healing and renewed purpose into her journey as a writer.When multiple miscarriages and high-risk pregnancies crushed her dreams of becoming a mother to 13 children, Anneka’s belief in God still led her to unexpected miracles—including a life-saving experience with her miracle baby, and a newfou...
2026-01-1839 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesModern Miracles from the Medical World: Dr. Mark Saunders' Story - Latter-Day LightsWhen life feels uncertain and stakes are high on the operating table, how do we learn to trust in the Lord’s plan?On this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott and Emily sit down with Dr. Mark T. Saunders, a semi-retired OB/GYN whose quiet, faithful listening opened the door to dozens of sacred and miraculous stories. While conducting his routinely in-home medical visits, Mark found that his patients—often without prompting—felt compelled to share their deeply personal experiences of divine intervention, healing, and guidance from the Holy Ghost.From a young student...
2026-01-1147 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesThe Eternal Perspective of Loving Through Depression: Amanda Harms' Story - Latter-Day LightsWhen depression shapes the life of the person you love the most, will your faith hold—or begin to break under the pressure?In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott and Emily sit down with Amanda Harms — a counselor, mother of six, and newly minted PhD in social psychology — to share her personal journey through supporting a spouse living with chronic depression.With mental illness and frayed communication leading to years of financial hardship, cross-country moves, spiritual denial, and seasons of uncertainty in her marriage, Amanda reflects on how compassion, understanding, and Christlike love slo...
2026-01-0449 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesGuided Back to God with the Gift of Interpreting Dreams: Tyler Christen's Story - Latter-Day LightsHow does Jesus reach for us when we’re convinced we can never return back to Him?In this week's episode of Latter-Day Lights, Tyler Christen—a returned soldier and lifelong Latter-Day Saint who spent years in and out of the Church—shares his raw, unfiltered journey through addiction, isolation, spiritual darkness, and repeated attempts to walk away from the Gospel.From battling the temptations of pornography and party culture in the military, surviving serious car accidents, grieving a miscarriage, and experiencing terrifying demonic encounters and sleep paralysis, Tyler describes what it felt like to believ...
2025-12-281h 34
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesWalking the Via Dolorosa & Learning The Language of Heaven: Trina Boice's Story - Latter-Day LightsHow can the ancient Hebrew language unlock a deeper way of listening to Christ with our whole heart, soul, and might?In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott Brandley and guest co-host Emily Hemmert sit down with Dr. Trina Boice—university professor, longtime author, avid scripture educator, and Hebrew enthusiast—to explore the “Via Dolorosa,” more commonly known as the sorrowful path Christ walked from condemnation to crucifixion. Dr. Trina shares what it’s like to trace the traditional stations through Jerusalem, why this journey can reframe the Atonement as more than a single moment, and how sacr...
2025-12-141h 19
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesSurviving Loss, Overcoming Trials, and Keeping the Faith: Leilani Speck's Story - Latter-day LightsWhat if the trials in your life were actually invitations to hear God more clearly?In this episode, Leilani Speck shares her touching story—from being adopted and growing up in a foster home, to early encounters with real spiritual darkness, sacred moments with angels, and a life of service that included a rare stake mission pilot program and the Hill Cumorah Pageant.Along the way, she faced some incredibly hard things: a marriage that slowly fell apart, six miscarriages, multiple car accidents, skin cancer, and a major nose reconstruction. Yet woven through all of it...
2025-12-071h 48
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesStill Serving: Faith through Chronic Illness and an Early Return: Kenley Broadbent's Story - Latter-Day LightsHow do you hold onto faith when life takes a turn you never expected?On this week’s episode of Latter-day Lights, early-returned missionary Kenley Broadbent opens up about the day everything changed on her Peru Lima East mission. What started as occasional migraines spiraled into debilitating dizziness, nausea, and unexplained symptoms that eventually sent her home just nine months into her service.Kenley shares the heartbreak of facing the stigma of being an early returnee, living with chronic illness, and her darkest months when depression made her question her purpose in the world. But th...
2025-11-3048 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesSculpting a Legacy to Christ w/ The Monument of The Americas: Steve Neal's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat if God called you to build something far bigger than yourself?In this inspiring and educational episode of Latter-Day Lights, former plastic surgeon-turned-sculptor and painter Steve Neal shares how a lifetime of small artistic promptings—and a powerful temple experience—led him to an unexpected divine calling: building The Monument of The Americas, a large-scale Book of Mormon and American covenant sculpture park in Heber Valley. What began as what Steve describes as a “barely adequate” talent grew into decades of paintings, sculptures, and spiritual mentorship that shaped his mission in ways he never imagined.Steve...
2025-11-231h 08
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesRising Above Self-Doubt Through Faith & Creation: Cassidy Beck's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat happens when divine identity collides with self-doubt—Can our fears become the doorway to purpose?This week on Latter-Day Lights, fellow author, podcaster, and life coach Cassidy Beck shares her deeply personal journey through imposter syndrome. After interviewing her father during his final moments on Earth, in an attempt to write his life’s story, she found herself creatively blocked after his passing, in doubt that she would ever be able to write without him. From then on, she studied impostor syndrome, its causes, and all the tools she’s learned over the years to overcome it. He...
2025-11-161h 00
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesOn Grieving and Healing After Child Loss: Lawrence's & Melissa Stone's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhen tragedy strikes not once but twice, how do you keep your faith — and your loved ones — from falling apart?In this deeply moving episode of Latter-Day Lights, Lawrence and Melissa Stone open up about the unimaginable loss of their children due to a driving accident and miscarriage. But from the heartbreak, take us through a journey of rebuilding faith, marriage, and hope through grief. From heartache to healing and Heaven's quiet reassurances, their story reveals how Christ’s light can transform sorrow into strength and love into lasting purpose.Their message is a tender remind...
2025-11-0958 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesRaised in Isolation. Denied an Education. Saved by Faith: Calvin Bagley's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat do you do when the people who were supposed to protect you… become the source of your deepest wounds?In this unforgettable episode of Latter-Day Lights, author Calvin Bagley shares his extraordinary journey from isolation, abuse, and “no-schooling” in the Utah desert to faith, healing, and freedom. Once a boy who hid from the school bus, Calvin now helps others overcome trauma and reclaim their lives through faith, therapy, and unconditional love.His new memoir, Hiding from the School Bus, reveals how the power of Christ—and the courage to face your pain—can turn even...
2025-11-021h 00
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesSunflowers After the Storm: Turning Their Mother's Tragic Death Into Hope & Light - Jessie Lake and Molly Johnson's StoryWhat do you do when your mother’s voice is silenced—but her words refuse to be forgotten?In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, we sit down with sisters Jessie Lake and Molly Johnson, whose mother was tragically killed as a result of domestic violence. Years later, while unpacking old boxes, they uncovered something extraordinary—eight beautifully written children’s stories she had finished before she died. What began as heartbreak has now become a mission to publish her work, share her light, and help other families heal.Their story isn’t just about...
2025-10-261h 26
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesBlessed Beyond Coincidence-The Miracles of a Mother's Faith: Tiffaney Castañeda's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhen life seems to unravel all at once, will you trust that God is still there?In this deeply moving episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott and Alisha sit down with lifelong Latter-Day Saint—Tiffaney Castañeda—as she shares her remarkable journey of faith through unimaginable trials and unmistakable miracles.From her daughter’s near-fatal battle with autoimmune hepatitis, down to the sudden and unexpected passing of her youngest daughter, every step of Tiffaney’s story reveals the Lord’s hand at work in the details. Through moments of heartbreak, healing, and grief, Tiffaney’s experiences t...
2025-10-191h 47
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesEmbracing Rebirth in Midlife - From Breakdown to Belief: Aisha Jermy's Story - Latter-Day LightsIs it ever too late to come home to Heavenly Father?When life’s pressures nearly consumed her, Aisha Jermy reached a breaking point that affected her emotionally, physically, financially, and, most importantly, spiritually. But through one unexpected encounter on an airplane, she discovered the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. And from that moment on, everything changed. In this week's episode of Latter-Day Lights, Aisha shares how joining the Church in her 50s helped her find peace, healing, and a renewed purpose.Now an author and coach, her story teaches us that it is never to...
2025-10-1254 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesBeyond Prison Walls: Finding Faith Amid Workplace Misogyny: Jac Woodhouse's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat if the struggle that nearly broke you was the path God used to bring you back to His light?Aussie mom and former maximum-security corrections officer, Jac Woodhouse, hit rock bottom in a myriad of ways—dehumanizing workplace misogyny, parting from a 15-year career, navigating her son’s serious health challenges, and fighting her own battle with suicidal ideation. It felt as though one more misstep would’ve broken the camel’s back, until one tender mercy flipped everything around for the better.In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Jac walks Scott and Alisha...
2025-09-2152 min
I Love Mortgage Brokering675: From Burnout to Breakthrough: Alisha Manning’s Journey from Hustle to HealingWhat if the pressure to be the expert for everyone is what’s holding you back the most?
Alisha Manning spent years behind the scenes underwriting over a billion dollars in mortgages for top producers—until burnout and addiction forced her to hit pause and rebuild everything.
In this honest, powerful episode, she shares how working 12+ hour days led to personal collapse—and how recovery, clarity, and better systems helped her come back stronger as a broker running her own business.
If you’ve been pushing too hard for too long, this is your per...
2025-09-1530 min
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesBecoming Nephi's Apprentice: How One Father Is Revitalizing LDS Youth Programs: Josh Chapman's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat if your child's youth nights became adventures modeled after Book of Mormon heroes?On today’s episode of Latter-day Lights, we’re joined by Josh Chapman, a creative father of six from Ogden, Utah, who retired from his day job to create 'Nephi’s Apprentice'.Nephi’s Apprentice is a gospel-centered program that takes life skills like compass work, tool-making, and conflict resolution, and ties them directly to the stories and examples of Nephi and other Book of Mormon heroes. Designed to complement and work within the guidelines of the Church’s new youth...
2025-09-151h 05
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesPlanking Through Prayer—Turning Habits into Record-Breaking Miracles: DonnaJean Wilde's Story - Latter-Day LightsWhat happens when years of faith-formed grit turn minutes of daily discipline into record-breaking triumphs?This week on Latter-day Lights, Scott and Alisha welcome Guinness World Record holder, book worm, and Gospel-loving Latter-Day Saint—DonnaJean Wilde—to the show, whose once broken wrist and five-minute planking challenge sparked a decade-long journey of fitness fueled by scripture study and mindset training. More than just a story, she unpacks the habits and “living toolboxes” that moved her from classroom to the world stage: Memorizing the Success Scrolls and inspirational quotes from The Book of Mormon, cultivating an unwaverin...
2025-09-071h 11
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesFrom Excommunication to the Savior's Embrace: Martin Onken's Story (Part 2) - Latter-Day LightsHow far can mercy reach when a decades-long double life finally unravels, shaking a ward’s trust and a family’s heart?This week on Latter-day Lights, Scott and Alisha welcome back Martin Onken for Part Two of his story—the hope-filled conclusion to his twelve-year journey of repentance.In part one, Martin opened up about a lonely, complicated childhood that left him hungry for love and belonging. Leaning on his relationship with God to seek out the acceptance he was lacking, he found purpose in the Church and eventually served as a bishop. In time...
2025-08-311h 35
LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS StoriesAddiction, Deception, and Living a Double Life — But God Never Gave up on Him: Martin Onken’s Story (Part 1)What happens when bad choices and "small sins" spiral into life-altering consequences?Martin Onken's raw testimony reveals how a single decision at age 16 to "sin a little" led to decades of deception and a double life that impacted countless people.Born to Dutch-Indonesian parents who survived Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, Martin's childhood was marked by emotional disconnection and a desperate search for love. Finding temporary solace in Catholicism, he developed a relationship with God that provided the affection his family life lacked. But everything changed when teenage Martin convinced himself that balancing sins with g...
2025-08-251h 41