Magnify

Have you ever thought of contentment as complacency? That's perhaps something we often misinterpret, but in today's conversation, we explore that contentment is actually a blessing of peace from the Lord. We hope this conversation can take a weight off our shoulders as we’re in the midst of what is not only known as, “the most wonderful time of the year,” but also the busiest! We're all searching for a little relief and source of joy, and we think it’s a conversation that will serve as a reminder that we can live differently and make our joy more apparent.   Hilary Craner joins this episode with podcast host Courtney Spencer and producer Sarah Collins. This conversation was based on an article that Hilary wrote for LDS Living. You can read it here.

Welcome to the Magnify Book Club! This month’s pick was The Christ Child by Adam Miller. Every other month, our community also does a public Zoom where you—yes you!—can join in and participate. This month it was hosted by author and Magnify contributor Melinda Brown. We decided to post the recording as a bonus episode where you can hear the host and members of our community jump in and share their thoughts on the book.

As we’re getting into the Christmas spirit, I am sure many of us ponder and study the life and birth of Jesus Christ. Many families put together a Christmas pageant where everyone takes on a role in the nativity scene to help us reflect on the birth of the Savior. And one role in that story that we want to dive deeper into is Mary the mother of Jesus. Her background and mention in the scriptures is relatively small. But in today’s guest’s words: “Her story reminds us that God is aware of all of His children and that He calls ordinary men and women to participate in extraordinary ways to help build His kingdom.”    Brooke Walker hosts this episode with Gaye Strathearn. Gaye is a Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. She grew up in Australia, and she says she loves the game of cricket. In her words, she loves to, “potter around the house and yard” and even though she’s a big BYU fan, she does drive a red car... (we’ll forgive her for it). Gaye wrote this beautiful article in January 2019 called “Mary, the Mother of Jesus” that serves as the basis of this conversation.   Join us for our Book Club Zoom this Thursday, December 5th at 7pm MT. https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMud-mrrDkvHN1uEb4tBB8uFOzpSMDPLtWC#/registration  

We wrapped up our Lift Up Your Heart events last weekend. It felt so uplifting to interact with women in our community. President Nelson asked us to "seek and expect miracles," and because we’ve been focusing on the miracles of peace, joy, courage, faith, and hope, they've become more prevalent in our every day. A goal here at Magnify is to build our community, so in this episode, you'll hear podcast host Courtney Spencer and producer Sarah Collins grab soundbites from both audience members and Lift Up Your Heart speakers share how they're seeking and expecting miracles.   Register for the Zoom book club where we'll be reading The Christ Child by Adam Miller. It will be hosted by contributor Melinda Brown.