Choosing Faith

At age 38, Sulueti Kama, after caring for a number of other people’s children over the years, realised she may not be able to have children biologically. With a strong testimony of the power of praying to the Lord in His holy temple, Sulu and her husband travelled to Tonga, the nearest temple at the time, to petition the Lord for a child. What unfolded next is nothing short of miraculous.

The church of jesus christ of latter-day saints has a wondrous, inspiring, and sometimes puzzling history. While there are numerous miraculous events which testify of the restored gospel, and are the core pillars of many saints’ testimonies, other events can be more challenging to wrap our heads around.

No one understands the complexities of history better than Elder LeGrand Curtis Jr, the current Church historian and recorder, who joins me today to explore how reading stories of  saints from the past can actually strengthen, rather than shake, our faith.

If you were to meet Mia Skipwith now, you might be tempted to assume that with her warm heart and loving demeanour, she’s been a member of the church her whole life. However Mia did not grow up in a safe, nurturing home, nor did she have a knowledge of a Father in Heaven who loved her. But despite suffering through a childhood of abuse, and feeling utterly alone, Mia has defied the odds and found a life of peace through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In this episode Mia joins me to trace her miraculous journey over the last thirty years, which has involved escaping her family environment, navigating foster care, tackling trauma, meeting the missionaries, adjusting to life in the gospel as a single mother, and learning how the Atonement of Jesus Christ and forgiving those who wronged her could heal all her ‘broken bits’.

Just a quick content warning, while we don’t go into details, this episode does reference various forms of childhood abuse.

After a poignant line in her patriarchal blessing, Kasey Davidson, a Brisbane mother of four, grew up knowing that motherhood would bring some extra challenges. 

Little did she realise that marrying her future husband would form a rare combination of genetics and result in their first three children were born with Albanism. She definitely didn’t anticipate her eldest later developing a form of cancer. 

In this episode Kasey joins me to share what it’s like having children with Albanism, how her family navigated the turmoil and rigmarole of cancer, and how throughout it all, prayers to heaven were always answered.

Dr Juliet Chevalier-Watts, a Senior Lecturer and Doctor of Law at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, is not your average atheist. Juliet specialises in charity and trusts law, and despite having no religious belief herself, has recently fallen down the rabbit hole of religious law. 

Her latest project seeks to uncover the financial and sociological value that religions play in our societies, and despite many calling for the removal of laws which protect religious bodies, her research is revealing that in fact, modern societies need religion just as much as ever.

By 325 AD, a number of ideas about the nature of God and Jesus Christ had emerged in the early Christian church, which led Roman emperor Constantine to convene a council in Nicaea to attain theological consensus. Since then, the Nicene Creed is often relied upon as the basis for modern Christian thinking, and can be a point of division between members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christians.

Keith Thompson, Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, has researched this in depth. In this episode he joins me to discuss his recent book ‘Trinity and Monotheism’, which traces the evolution of the Trinity doctrine. As someone who frequently works with people of other faiths, Professor Thompson suggests that just like Constantine, who was willing to accommodate a number of differences in Christian belief, perhaps we need not be so divided when it comes to this doctrine.

Divorce is not something that Kate Mathieson, a 27-year-old Gold Coast girl, had ever envisioned for her life. However, a few years ago she married a man in the Brisbane temple, and after the magic of the wedding faded and her husband’s behaviour drastically changed, she began to realise that things weren’t quite right. 

Eventually, emotional abuse tactics, addiction struggles and a faith crisis culminated in an ultimatum that left Kate with a stark choice - her husband, or her faith.

Patrice Tipoki has been a part of the entertainment industry since she was a girl, performing cultural shows with her family as a child and her first musical The King and I at age 7. 

After graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Patrice went on to play a number of dream roles such as Nala in The Lion King, Elphaba in Wicked, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and Fantine in Les Misérables, for which she received a Helpmann Award nomination for best female actor. 

In this episode Patrice shares what it’s like to have a career in the arts and how her faith in God has influenced her life.

At age four, Lorin Nicholson was diagnosed with a genetic eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa, and with only 10% sight, was declared legally blind.  

Today Lorin, a husband and father of four, is a record breaking cyclist, award-winning musician, successful businessman and powerful motivational speaker.  

Tune in to hear how Lorin has led a rich and fulfilling life even with very little eyesight.

For more information about Lorin go to http://lorin.com.au/.

According to BeyondBlue, one in seven Australians will experience depression in their lifetime, and more than 3,000 people die by suicide each year. In New Zealand about 150,000 people at least consider the idea of suicide each year, and 680 succeed. 

Jeremy Higgins, who lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife and two daughters, is no stranger to these facts. He first started having depressive thoughts as a teenager, which continued on into his adulthood, though, he didn’t quite realise what he was experiencing at the time. Three years ago, Jeremy reached breaking point. Overwhelmed by the pressures of work, church, personal expectations, and a certain traumatic event which impacted his family, he found himself on a bridge. Thankfully, Jeremy got the help he needed, and recently founded an online community called The Bright Side of Depression to help others navigate this disease.

Jeremy is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys spear-fishing, surfing and hiking. He also loves being behind the camera and has dabbled in photography and videography. Jeremy believes in a holistic approach to wellness. You will find him in the gym as much as you might find him on a yoga mat practising mindfulness and meditation.

In this episode Jeremy shares what it’s like to suffer from depression, what tools and activities helped him on his journey of recovery, and how, after feeling spiritually disconnected, he is on his way to finding God again.

Janine Oates currently lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband, and has been working consistently for the past few years to help lighten the burden for hundreds of people who travel to the UAE for work. Many of these men, who move from countries like Uganda, Nigeria and Cameroon, are exploited by agents before they even arrive. 

Through her various humanitarian efforts, Janine has not only helped a number of people find employment, but has been able to witness the miraculous growth of her ward, half of which is now made up by these faith-filled African members. She truly has, as Elder Patrick Kearon recently encouraged us to do, found a way to provide others with a "refuge from the storm".  

In this episode, I chat with Janine about her involvement with this working community, and what we can all be doing to help refugees and the vulnerable in our own country. 

Janine loves to sew, travel, workout and go for walks. She has 3 daughters and 6 amazing grandchildren, and on a Friday afternoon (the Sabbath day in the Middle East) you’ll likely find her cooking up a Ugandan bean and chicken soup with her adopted African family.

On the 26th October 2019, lightning struck the Gospers Mountain region in NSW, causing one of the first fires of what would eventually become Australia’s worst bushfire season on record. As the fire grew, Eddie and Leigh Stachowski, who own a farm in Putty NSW, travelled to their property to carry out some fire preparations. On the 11th November they were visited by a member of the local RFS. The Gospers Mountain Fire was heading their way.  

With the weather conditions at a catastrophic level, and the fire fighting resources stretched across the state, they had no choice but to leave. After farewelling his wife, and promising her that he was only an hour behind, Eddie remained to complete some last minute chores, only to discover that all the roads had since been closed. He was trapped. 

Eddie is a husband, father, grandfather and doctor, specialising in anaesthetics and intensive care. He joined the church while at university and has never looked back. In this episode, I chat with Eddie to hear how he managed to stay calm during the 11 days he spent trapped on his farm, how he worked with the local firefighters, and what he learned about the importance of being prepared, both temporally and spiritually.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are taught that motherhood is a woman’s ultimate calling. In fact, in 1935 the First Presidency issued a statement that reads “Motherhood… is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind”. These sentiments were later reflected in the family proclamation of 1995.

I have always looked forward to one day becoming a mother, but in a world that uses personal career progression as a measure of success, as a woman, it can be challenging navigating these conflicting societal and religious expectations.

The topic of motherhood was recently explored in a three-part podcast miniseries, created and produced by my friend and journalist Josie Gleave. In this episode Josie joins me to discuss what motherhood looks like in a modern world, how women contribute value even if they’re unable or choose not to become mothers, and how we can best honour the diversity and richness of womanhood overall.

In her early twenties, Emma Wikström found success in modelling and acting, and while she was taught about God as a child, the glamour of her career seemed much more exciting than going to church.

As the years unfolded Emma began to realise that something was missing, and she plucked up the courage to utter a prayer for help. What followed was sweet heavenly inspiration, which led Emma to actively choose God again, and eventually serve a mission in Sweden, where she is now living and working as a voice actress with her husband Simon. 

In this episode I chat with Emma to hear more of her journey, particularly how she acted on promptings that helped her establish a faith in Jesus Christ.

Celeste and George Kaka met in 2016 while working at the BYU cultural centre in Hawaii. After a romantic courtship, they were married in the Sydney temple, but just three short months later, Celeste noticed a lump on her leg.  

One doctor’s appointment turned into many, and before they knew it, Celeste was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that typically manifests in kids and adolescents. Goals for raising a family and having a future together melted away as they adapted to their new reality and braved multiple rounds of chemotherapy. 

In this episode I chat with both Celeste and George to hear how they battled cancer as a newlywed couple, and how despite all odds and warnings of infertility, they are now parents to three boisterous toddlers (who Celeste likes to affectionately attribute the bags under her eyes to).

Jake Mangakahia grew up in a household filled with music, dance and performance, and realised early on that he wanted to be a professional dancer. At age 10 he successfully auditioned for the Australian Ballet School, where he trained throughout his teenage years. 

While it was challenging, he managed to take some time out of his ballet career to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Toronto. Since then he has been awarded the Telstra People's Choice Award twice and is now a soloist in The Australian Ballet company. 

In this episode I chat with Jake about balancing his spiritual and professional commitments, and how there’s no one size fits all approach to living the gospel.

As a young boy, my uncle Tobi Thornton was inquisitive, fearless, and always getting into mischief. 

As he grew, these boyish escapades took a darker turn, leading him down a path away from God, family and the stability of his childhood. 

In this episode Tobi shares how he overcame a number of challenges and addictions with the help of his family, the church's 12-step Addiction Recovery program, and ultimately, the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are taught that strong, loving families are the foundation for happiness. For Holly growing up, it was not uncommon to hear that she should strive to marry someone with similar values and religious beliefs. So when an older man with no particular religious inclinations moved into the house right behind Holly’s, her first thought was not one of romance.

In this episode, Holly discusses her experience with prayer and revelation, and shares how she courageously followed the answers she received to make the most important decision of her life. 

In 2018, Jason Hartley, an experienced counter-terrorism consultant, travelled to Hebron in the Middle East to further his PhD research.

Known as the 'hotbed' of terrorism, Hebron is certainly not your average tourist destination. Deciding to go was a process that could only be made through prayer and the comforting assurance of the Lord. As it turned out, Jason’s experience in Hebron was much more than just a research trip, and in his conversations with various Israeli and Palestinian citizens, he was able to share gospel truths to break down some of the deeply engrained cultural perceptions each had about the other. 

In this episode Jason shares his experience about following spiritual promptings, and finding the true source of peace, even amidst a conflict thousands of years old.

Welcome to Choosing Faith, a podcast where we talk with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to hear their stories, challenges, joys and everything in between. Tune in to hear some inspiring conversations and discover what it’s really like to live, and continuously choose, a life of faith in contemporary Australia.