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There's more than one way to be a spiritually minded woman who wants to make and keep covenants, know her Savior and make it back home. Yes, there are essential CHECKPOINTS on the covenant path, but there are NO CHECKLISTS with a million checkboxes you must check off.
Each week on the Spiritually Minded Women podcast I’ll be sharing insights about how to embrace YOUR journey on the covenant path with CHECKPOINTS instead of CHECKLISTS.
Welcome to the Spiritual Minded Women Podcast. If you're a woman who is ready and willing to be a follower of Jesus, you're in the right place. Join me as we dive in deep to learn how the Gospel of Christ, including the doctrine of Christ and the atonement of Christ, will give you everything you need to co-create your life with God.
I'm your host, Darla Trendler, and I'm cheering you on.
Hey, I'm excited to be back with you on the podcast.
At the end of last year, I did a whole series on the Doctrine of Christ and I shared an introduction episode talking about doctrine principle and application, and then I did a a five part series where I talked about each element of the Doctrine of Christ, and I loved doing that series. And all throughout I talked about how I was going to have a discussion guide because I wanted you to be able to do more than just hear the episodes.
I wanted you to be able to apply them and live them and discuss them with other people. And so I was creating this discussion guide as we went along and got the discussion guide done, and then had all kinds of technical problems getting it out, but I finally figured all those things out. So this episode, I'm gonna talk more about the discussion guide and how it can help you to learn how to know and apply the doctrine of Christ in your life.
So remember when President Nelson said this, clear back in 2015, quote, "Attacks against the church, its doctrine, and our way of life are going to increase. Because of this, we need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ and who will use that understanding to teach and help raise a sin resistant generation.
We need women who can detect deception in all its forms. We need women who know how to access the power that God makes available to covenant keepers and who express their beliefs with confidence and charity. We need women who have the courage and vision of our Mother Eve." End quote. He shared this in his talk titled A Plea to My Sisters.
You may remember that. President Nelson's words are so inspiring and I, I love, I just loved that talk. It's one of my favorites. But have you ever read this quote or maybe a similar one, and you just felt completely overwhelmed? I'm raising my hand because I'm right there with you. I have felt that way. I felt like, how do I do that?
It can seem really daunting to have a quote, "bedrock understanding" of doctrine, and then turn around and teach that doctrine to your children or to others and to help raise a sin resistant generation. But there's hope and you can do it. I'm here to cheer you on in that. I wanna help you, and that's why I created the podcast series on the Doctrine of Christ at the end of 2022.
But I want you to do more then just listen to my thoughts on the doctrine of Christ. I want you to learn for yourself and also have a place where you can share with others about what you're learning. So to help you do that and to give you a place to start, I've created a discussion guide that coincides with the podcast episodes that are centered around the doctrine of Christ.
So the podcast series includes six episodes. There's an introduction episode about doctrine, principle and application. And then five more episodes on each element of the Doctrine of Christ: Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the sacrament, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
If you haven't had a chance to listen to all these episodes, I hope you'll go back and listen. So, when I received the prompting to do this series, I knew that sharing about the doctrine of Christ was about more than just a podcast series by me. I knew that I needed to help women come together to share with each other and learn together how to develop what President Nelson asked us to do in that 2015 talk A Plea to My Sisters, develop a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ.
I originally thought that I would have group episodes of the podcast and invite other women to come and share what they've learned about the Doctor of Christ. But when I was planning the series that didn't feel quite right, a scripture kept rolling around in my head, and that scripture is found in Isaiah 54:2.
And it says, "Enlarge the place of thy tent and let them stretch toward the curtains of thine habitations, spare not, lengthen the cords, and strengthen thy stakes. When I read that scripture, I think about enlarging the place of my tent is getting outside of myself. It's looking at the gospel as the body of Christ and that we're all different and we all have something to share.
And seeing what I can learn from other people who maybe are not exactly like me or haven't had a journey exactly like me. So that scripture just, it's just been going around in my head and I've just been thinking about that. I knew that sharing the podcast series and the content I curated on the doctrine of Christ was not the end.
I needed to help gather women and help them invite other women in to study the doctrine of Christ together. And I specifically pictured women who may feel on the outside or who may not feel comfortable sharing in a church setting and would need a place more intimate to share and learn and gain that bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ.
So I created a discussion guide that goes along with the intro episode on doctrine principles and applications, as well as the five episodes on the Doctrine of Christ to help facilitate women gathering together in homes or at the park. Or even virtually using Zoom or apps like Marco Polo or Instagram.
The discussion guide includes a summary of each episode with questions related to each episode to help you think deeper about the topic. And then there's a list of resources including scriptures, conference talks, books, other podcast episodes, B Y U devotionals, those kinds of things to help you start your own study of each episode topic.
The resources are the sources I personally use to create each episode, and it's definitely not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather just a place to start with your own study. You're gonna find other resources that are gonna be more meaningful to you or give you the insights that you need.
When I named my podcast and brand, I thought long and hard about whether it would be called spiritually minded woman, singular or spiritually minded women, plural. I felt guided to select women, plural because I wanted my platform to be more than a podcast. I wanted to build a community. My number one goal with the podcast and anything else that I offer or will share in the future, is to inspire you to draw closer to the Savior and to help others do that as well.
I believe that there is so much we can learn from each other no matter where you are in your journey on the covenant path, if you want to draw closer to Jesus Christ, you're invited to be part of the spiritually minded women community. I wanna help you enlarge your tent, strengthen others, and gain a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ as President Nelson has had admonished us.
Now, you might be thinking, well, I can just study all this stuff on my own. I don't really need a group. And I would probably fall into that category. I'm pretty much a self-starter. I don't feel like I always need a lot of people, but sometimes I step back from that and I think, you know what? But maybe other people need me.
and maybe I am missing out on insights that I could learn from someone else. So if, if you fall into that camp and you think, I don't really need this, I'll just study it on my own, think again. And then if you're someone who just feels like, oh, I don't know if I could gather other women, I wanna be part of a group, but I don't know if I could do it.
You can do it. If you fill the pool to start a discussion group and use the podcast series as a way to bring women together and share the doctrine of Christ, this discussion guide is gonna help you do this. So the premise of a discussion group is to meet, to discuss each episode. So you might meet six times, right over the course of however many months it takes you, whatever the timeframe that you wanna use.
You'll invite the other women in your group to listen to the episode ahead of time and share some questions from the discussion guide with them ahead of time so that they can be thinking and pondering, and then gather to discuss each other's answers to the questions. I realize that discussion groups are not for everyone, but if you want to be part of a group, start one.
I promise you it's not as scary as you might think. If you'd like to start a group to discuss the doctrine of Christ, I've got some tips for you to help you get started. Number one, find other spiritually minded women. Gathering in a group to talk about spiritual things isn't for everyone, but there are other women out there who are craving the connection and conversation like you are.
You may not feel like you know them n right now, but you may not know that the a woman that's lives in your ward or your neighborhood or that you know on Instagram is craving this same thing. So pray for women you can invite to be placed in your path. Ask women in your neighborhood or your ward if they want to join you.
Gather women from your family to start a group. Even friends you've met on social media may want to join you. Okay, my second tip is to choose how to gather. Gathering doesn't have to be in person. Think outside the box. With today's technology, the possibilities are endless. Use a text thread or an Instagram message to gather.
Get together on Zoom where Marco Polo or Voxer.
Meet in your home, around the kitchen table or in the car on a road trip. Grab a friend and take a walk and talk about the discussion questions. Go to the park and discuss while your kids play. Gather on the couch with your family or in any other way that you feel prompted to come together with others and share about the doctrine of Christ.
Okay. My third tip is to be open and real. If you are going to be the discussion group leader, be willing to share your own thoughts, your ideas, your inspiration, and also be open to hearing others' ideas. As the group founder, you can set the tone of your group by being genuine, welcoming, and vulnerable.
Okay, number four, pray for each. There is so much power in women coming together and praying for each other. In 1895, a Latter-day Saint woman, her name was Sarah Kimball, she shared this beautiful thought at the National Council of Women in Washington, DC. So remember this was 1895, a long time ago. But Sarah Kimball said this quote, "When through our spiritual nature, we are in communion with God. We are drawing near and nearer to each other, and our words and works will blend more and more harmoniously." End quote, Pray before you start your discussion group, but also consider asking group members to share specific things. Others in the group can pray for them. I have participated in several groups where this was done, and I can tell you I felt the power of other women praying for me specifically, and I love knowing specific things that I can pray for someone else.
Okay. My fifth and final tip is to help group members access the podcast and the discussion guide. You can simply tell group members to search for spiritually minded women anywhere they listen to podcasts. You can also text or get the link for specific episodes to send to group members.
If you're using Apple Podcasts, open the episode you want to share and click the three dots. They're in the top right and select copy link and share the link. Instead of sharing your download of this discussion guide that I'm gonna share, you can just, share the link with them where they can go and access it, and that will all be in the discussion guide.
All these tips are in there, the link for other people to download the discussion guide will be there. The link to download it will be in my Instagram and on my website, so there's lots of places that people can go to get the discussion guide. So if you have any questions about starting a discussion group or participating in one, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to help you.
I hope that being part of a discussion group will help you learn and live the doctrine of Christ and lead you to so much more. Elder Boyd K. Packer famously said, "True doctrine understood changes, attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior."
End quote. If you want to change anything in your life, you totally can, and it starts with doctrine. Knowing and living true doctrine will help you to center your life on Jesus Christ. Grow your faith, answer your questions, and change any aspect of your life and so much more.
I hope you'll download the discussion guide in the show notes and gather with other women and share what you are learning about the doctrine of Christ. There are so many voices in in the world telling you they have the perfect thing to help you change your life. And not all of them are bad. Some of them are so helpful.
Many people are sharing amazing tools and information, and I've used a lot of 'em myself, but usually they're simply personal applications others have found and they may or may not work for you. The plan of our Heavenly Parents presented to us in the premortal life is the plan of happiness, and at the center of that plan is Jesus Christ.
He is the ultimate source to help you change. Let his atonement and His doctrine be your guide as you seek to become who you are meant to be. I'm grateful for that prompting I received many months ago to start sharing about the doctrine of Christ. It has been life changing for me and I'm excited to help you know and live doctrine to change your life too.
I hope that you'll go and download the discussion guide. You can find it in the episode notes for this episode. You can also find it on my website or my Instagram profile. And just know that you can do this. You can start a group. You can join a group, you can talk about doctrine with other people, and you can learn and grow from their insights and also by sharing your own insights. And don't forget, I'm cheering you.
If you enjoyed the podcast, please share it with a friend. I would love it if you would leave a review and rate it on Apple Podcasts. This actually helps more women find the podcast and learn how to use Christ's atonement and doctrine to co-create the life they want with God by their side. To find out more about discussion guides, coaching, and more ways to be part of the Spiritually Minded Women community, head over to spirituallymindedwomen.com.
Have an amazing day. I'm cheering you on.