Why do we confess to a bishop when we’ve committed serious sin? In today’s chat we’ll wrestle with the concept of two confessions, two types of forgiveness, and our own experiences on both sides of the bishop’s desk. 

Isn’t forgiving myself an essential part of the repentance process? In today’s episode, we’ll chat about what it means to “forgive ourselves,” whether the scriptures teach it as part of repentance, and an alternative to forgiving ourselves that is more Christ-centered and life-changing. 

Ever thought of the phases we go through in the repentance process? This week we chat about the real gift of repentance and what it brings into our lives. The act of repenting and the process of repenting.

Good sadness? Bad sadness? What is godly sorrow? Listen more to learn about the sorrow that inspires change, repentance, and hope.

Is it hard to have help? The Savior is always there to help us through our trials or through the process of repentance. He can be that help we need to get through our struggles but will you let Him? Listen more here on our discussion "The Savior Will Help".

Now we're gonna dive into the topic of repentance. Repentance is often discussed within the gospel but do we understand it? In seminary, we're taught what repentance is but often is confused with punishment. So let's talk on why repentance is not punishment.

Continuing the topic from Episode 1, let's dive deeper into astonishment. How do you keep your astonishment? Many loose that astonishment in Christ and his gospel but let's talk more on how we can keep our astonishment.

Meet Brother Wilkins and Brother McConkie!

These are our hosts of Gospel Chats at St. George Institute. As Institute teachers who love the gospel, they've taken on this new endeavor of discussing gospel topics on this podcast to open up a door of new thinking or understanding for listeners.

So listen to our first episode "Living in Astonishment" and think about what astonishment is in your gospel learning. Are you seeing and recognizing the astonishing world the Savior has made? Or are you passing by these experiences?

It’s one thing to know how to access Christ’s grace when I’ve sinned, but about when I’ve been sinned against? In today’s chat we’ll wrestle with the concepts of unfairness, compensatory grace, and a Savior who understands AND heals.

In the most recent LDS General Conference we were warned about “doing things our way,” “doing what works for me” and trying to live “my truth”. In today’s chat we wrestle with the societal and personal dangers that come when we rationalize away eternal truths. 

What do we mean when we say that the Church is “true”? In this episode we chat about the danger of thinking we have all truth, and the opposite danger of believing that all roads lead to heaven.  

Often the Gospel of Christ presents us with soul-stirring paradoxes where losing is winning, less is more, and DOWN IS UP. In today’s chat we discuss the power that comes from falling, as opposed to our natural tendency to try and lift ourselves up. 

When we give in to feelings of perfectionism we block the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives. Today we wrestle with some of the major problems of perfectionism and some of the beautiful solutions found in the true doctrine of Christ. 

The Holy Ghost will help us remember certain things, but can He also help us forget things? Today we’ll wrestle with forgetting, and how it might be an untapped spiritual gift that we should seek more often.

Recently, Elder Bednar taught, “You don’t pray to tell God what you want or what you need; you pray to find out what God wants for you!” In today’s chat, we wrestle with that statement and how it could transform our personal prayers in really significant ways. 

In our typical church vocabulary, we talk a lot about “feeling the Spirit,” but that phrase can be limiting. In our chat today we’ll explore how the phrase “experiencing the Spirit” might be more expansive and helpful when trying to understand how God connects with us.

In today’s chat we look at the word “ordinances” in a couple of different ways. What changes when we view ordinances as laws? And what else changes when we connect the word ordinance with the definition “to engrave”? 

When the scriptures talk about hope it is sure, firm, and unwavering. In today’s chat we try to understand scriptural hope better—what it is, how it comes, and the difference it can make in our lives. 

Elder Kearon encouraged church members recently to live the gospel in a joyful way. In today’s chat we discuss the nature of joy and how to experience it more often in our worship and in our every day lives. 

Sometimes we condemn ourselves for being exactly what God made us—human. In today’s chat we wrestle with the differences between sin and weakness, and how treating those two things differently can help us be more patient, humble, and joyful. 

A primary song poses the question “If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?” Well, in today’s chat we look more closely at the scriptures and wrestle with the truth that the Savior doesn’t want to “stand beside us,” He wants to LIVE INSIDE OF US! 

So much of life is out of our control, and our desire to remain in control can often cause stress and frustration. In this chat we wrestle with what is in our control, what is not, and how to trust God more. 

So much of the gospel of Jesus Christ is about developing personal, and individual relationships with God and Jesus Christ, but can we actually develop those relationships isolated from other people? Today we wrestle with the idea of communal salvation and why it is so important that we gather, struggle, and learn together in groups. 

In today’s chat we share favorite insights from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon about Christmas and what it means for us personally. We talk about trees, fish, stars, and a baby who changed all of our lives forever. 

In today’s chat we wrestle with another word that can mean a lot of different things—grace. What is the grace of Jesus Christ and is it something we get “after all we can do,” or is it a gift that is given to us for free? Our answer to that question makes a big difference! 

In the previous episode we wrestled with the idea of control. In today’s chat we continue that conversation and try to better understand what it really means to “be submissive.” Maybe a key to embracing submissiveness is to practice the principle of “watch and pray” more. 

The Priesthood is bigger, better than either of us realize. In today’s chat, we share some things we are learning about the Priesthood, and things we are still trying to understand.

Why does God choose to speak in symbols? In this episode we wrestle with symbolism; how to unlock it, and what happens when we embrace it. 

We talk a lot about aligning with and submitting to God’s will, but what does “God’s will” even mean? And what if His will has more to do with His heart and His desires than it does to some preset, master plan He has for our lives? Those are some of the questions we wrestle with in this episode. 

We believe that the Godhead is comprised of three, distinct individuals, but sometimes it is hard to know how to connect with each of Them. Today we wrestle with ways we can experience blessings from each member of the Godhead. 

Satan is not our favorite thing to talk about, but it is important that we understand who he is, how he works, and what his true desires are. In today’s chat we wrestle with the differences between our Accuser (Satan) and our Advocate (Jesus Christ). 

The title for this episode might sound like an oxymoron, but in the D&C, Jesus Christ connects fasting with joy and rejoicing. So how do we fast in a more joyful way—in the Lord’s way? And could true fasting be the key to overcoming any bad habit, addiction, or obstacle in our life? 

When God inspires prophets, it seems like He often gives them the vision of “what” needs to be accomplished, but allows them a lot of agency to figure out “how” to accomplish it. In today’s chat we wrestle with the beauty and messiness of ordained, inspired, mortal prophets. 

There is a common saying that “faith and fear cannot exist in the same person at the same time.” We wrestle with that statement in this chat, and discuss healthy fear, destructive fear, and how “perfect love casts out fear.” 

It’s one thing to believe that God can bless us, but what do we do when it doesn’t seem like those blessings are coming? In today’s chat we wrestle with topics of faith, trust, trials, and enduring well. 

In today’s conversation we chat about bodies. Too often we either view our bodies as negative things to despise or as an idols to worship. What does our doctrine teach us that should transform the way we view and engage with our bodies? 

Is there is difference between giving service and being a servant? Is there a way that being a slave could be a faith-strengthening thing? In today’s chat we wrestle with these questions. 

President Howard W. Hunter said that “the doctrine of the Resurrection is the single most fundamental and crucial doctrine in the Christian religion. It cannot be overemphasized.” Do we undervalue the Resurrection? In this episode we wrestle with that question, and what happens when we focus on the Resurrection now and in the future. 

Many are convinced that they, and most others, won’t ever be righteous enough to live in God’s presence. But our Heavenly Father’s plan is more hopeful and effective than most people realize. In this episode we chat about what we know about exaltation and God’s intent for each of His children. 

A lot of Word of Wisdom conversations center around what is and isn’t good for our bodies, but in this episode we wrestle with maybe more important spiritual principles connected to this commandment. 

The terms “blind faith” and “blind obedience” are used as pejoratives by non-believers, and at times by other believers. In this episode we wrestle with the concept of faith and whether it springs out of blindness or actually seeing evidence that others dismiss. 

Sometimes we limit our spiritual understanding based off of our definition of a word. In this episode we wrestle with the word “prophet” and explore the gifts all covenant-keepers can access to prophecy. 

Complaining about life, and situations, and people can come so naturally, but maybe that’s the problem. In this episode we wrestle with the roots and fruits of complaining, discuss the possibility of “righteous complaining,” and try to understand how to not give our precious agency away. 

Is self-confidence essential to a happy and successful life? In this episode we dive into the scriptures and words of church leaders to learn more about confidence, where we place it, and how to receive more of it. 

President Nelson spoke to the young adults about understanding their divine identity and three key identifiers that should never be displaced or replaced. In this chat we lean into those three identifiers and the clarity they bring into our lives in this confusing world. 

We often pit “the letter of the law” against “the spirit of the law”. Doing this causes contention, judgment, rationalization, and a host of other problems. What if one is not better than the other, what if the key to discipleship is holding on to BOTH?! 

Some of our conversations about modesty become pretty narrow, and we argue about hemlines and bare midriffs, but modesty entails much more than our clothing. In this episode we wrestle with the deeper issue of modesty and how to applies to how we talk, think, act, and dress. 

So much of our culture is built on competition—but is competition a good thing? Is it something a disciple of Christ should embrace? In this episode we wrestle with competition, stories in the scriptures that always link competition with pride, and the possibility of replacing all competitive frameworks with a spirit of cooperation. 

What do we mean when we say “the Lord’s timing” and how do we patiently and faithfully embrace that principle? In this episode we wrestle with timing, agency, faith, and active waiting. 

Is singing in the church a cultural thing or something more? In this episode we dive into the scriptures to uncover the purposes and power of music in our worship.