In this edition of Mormon Stories we visit with Roger Hendrix - possibly the highest ranking and most well-connected LDS church leader interviewed on Mormon Stories Podcast to date.  In these 5 episodes we cover his experience growing up in the LDS Church in Southern California in the 1950s and 60s, his ascent through church leadership including time as a CES Director, Bishop, Stake Presidency Member, Mission President, and serving for 18 years as a Trustee on the board of the Deseret Trust Company(called to the position by President Gordon B. Hinckley).  Throughout this series Roger provides fascinating commentary on top church leadership, the changes he's seen in Mormon culture and policy during his lifetime, and rare insight into the financial workings of the LDS Church. Included throughout the interview are interactions Roger had with church leaders such as Paul H. Dunn, Ezra Taft Benson, Boyd K. Packer, Jeffrey R. Holland, Henry B. Eyring, Dallin H. Oaks, Gordon B. Hinckley, and more.

We will be interviewing Roger Hendrix for a few more hours in the coming week.  If you have any final questions for Roger, please post them below.

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• Part 1: Roger discusses his early life as a Mormon including his bout with polio as a child, how he compensated for his illness as a teenager, straying from the church for a time, returning to the church after being inspired by an LDS Institute class, and his decision to serve an LDS mission.
• Part 2: Roger joins the Church Education System (CES), ultimately becoming director of the LDS Institute at the University of Southern California.  He also shares his interactions with numerous general authorities including Paul H. Dunn, Boyd K. Packer, Ezra Taft Benson, Henry Eyring, and Jeffrey R. Holland, among others.
• Part 3: Roger ascends through high-level LDS church leadership callings including Bishop and Stake Presidency Member, culminating in a call to serve as mission president in Chile. Roger discusses in detail what it was like to serve as a mission president in Chile in the 1990s.
• Parts 4-5: Roger begins this segment discussing the vetting process he went through after returning from his mission presidency as he was offered a position as an area authority (which he ultimately turned down).  We then discuss Roger's call to serve on the Deseret Trust Company Board of Trustees by LDS church president Gordon B. Hinckley.  We discuss in detail the purpose and inner workings of the Deseret Trust Company, and its interactions with Ensign Peak Advisors Inc., the Deseret Management Corporation, and the LDS church.   In these two parts Roger provides important insight into the financial workings of the LDS Church

In this edition of Mormon Stories we visit with Roger Hendrix - possibly the highest ranking and most well-connected LDS church leader interviewed on Mormon Stories Podcast to date.  In these 5 episodes we cover his experience growing up in the LDS Church in Southern California in the 1950s and 60s, his ascent through church leadership including time as a CES Director, Bishop, Stake Presidency Member, Mission President, and serving for 18 years as a Trustee on the board of the Deseret Trust Company(called to the position by President Gordon B. Hinckley).  Throughout this series Roger provides fascinating commentary on top church leadership, the changes he's seen in Mormon culture and policy during his lifetime, and rare insight into the financial workings of the LDS Church. Included throughout the interview are interactions Roger had with church leaders such as Paul H. Dunn, Ezra Taft Benson, Boyd K. Packer, Jeffrey R. Holland, Henry B. Eyring, Dallin H. Oaks, Gordon B. Hinckley, and more.

We will be interviewing Roger Hendrix for a few more hours in the coming week.  If you have any final questions for Roger, please post them below.

________________________

• Part 1: Roger discusses his early life as a Mormon including his bout with polio as a child, how he compensated for his illness as a teenager, straying from the church for a time, returning to the church after being inspired by an LDS Institute class, and his decision to serve an LDS mission.
• Part 2: Roger joins the Church Education System (CES), ultimately becoming director of the LDS Institute at the University of Southern California.  He also shares his interactions with numerous general authorities including Paul H. Dunn, Boyd K. Packer, Ezra Taft Benson, Henry Eyring, and Jeffrey R. Holland, among others.
• Part 3: Roger ascends through high-level LDS church leadership callings including Bishop and Stake Presidency Member, culminating in a call to serve as mission president in Chile. Roger discusses in detail what it was like to serve as a mission president in Chile in the 1990s.
• Parts 4-5: Roger begins this segment discussing the vetting process he went through after returning from his mission presidency as he was offered a position as an area authority (which he ultimately turned down).  We then discuss Roger's call to serve on the Deseret Trust Company Board of Trustees by LDS church president Gordon B. Hinckley.  We discuss in detail the purpose and inner workings of the Deseret Trust Company, and its interactions with Ensign Peak Advisors Inc., the Deseret Management Corporation, and the LDS church.   In these two parts Roger provides important insight into the financial workings of the LDS Church

In this gripping interview on Mormon Stories, we interview Jen and Todd who share their personal experiences when bringing issues of abuse to the attention of Mormon Bishops.  Throughout her life, Jen suffered through periods of abuse that greatly impacted her physical, emotional, and spiritual health, including severe bouts of anorexia.  In this interview, we learn of the failures to deliver the help Jen needed from some Mormon bishops, but also the success of another Mormon bishop, Todd.  We learn how Todd helped Jen during her darkest time, and what tools Jen used to begin living her best life.

__________________________

Part 1: Jen shares her abuse story and the impact it had on her life

Part 2: The abuse continues into her marriage, and Jen details her unsupportive experiences with Mormon Bishops

Part 3: Jen finally has a positive experience with a Mormon Bishop, Todd.  We also explore Todd's experience losing his faith

__________________________

In this gripping interview on Mormon Stories, we interview Jen and Todd who share their personal experiences when bringing issues of abuse to the attention of Mormon Bishops.  Throughout her life, Jen suffered through periods of abuse that greatly impacted her physical, emotional, and spiritual health, including severe bouts of anorexia.  In this interview, we learn of the failures to deliver the help Jen needed from some Mormon bishops, but also the success of another Mormon bishop, Todd.  We learn how Todd helped Jen during her darkest time, and what tools Jen used to begin living her best life.

__________________________

Part 1: Jen shares her abuse story and the impact it had on her life

Part 2: The abuse continues into her marriage, and Jen details her unsupportive experiences with Mormon Bishops

Part 3: Jen finally has a positive experience with a Mormon Bishop, Todd.  We also explore Todd's experience losing his faith

__________________________

In this gripping interview on Mormon Stories, we interview Jen and Todd who share their personal experiences when bringing issues of abuse to the attention of Mormon Bishops.  Throughout her life, Jen suffered through periods of abuse that greatly impacted her physical, emotional, and spiritual health, including severe bouts of anorexia.  In this interview, we learn of the failures to deliver the help Jen needed from some Mormon bishops, but also the success of another Mormon bishop, Todd.  We learn how Todd helped Jen during her darkest time, and what tools Jen used to begin living her best life.

__________________________

Part 1: Jen shares her abuse story and the impact it had on her life

Part 2: The abuse continues into her marriage, and Jen details her unsupportive experiences with Mormon Bishops

Part 3: Jen finally has a positive experience with a Mormon Bishop, Todd.  We also explore Todd's experience losing his faith

__________________________

Heart of the Matter's Shawn McCraney sits down with John to have a discussion about:

*(Part 1) John's Mormon story,
*(Part 2) The history of Mormon Stories and how his motivation behind the podcast has transformed over time, and
*(Part 3) An interesting back-and-forth as John gives his take on Christian concepts including God, sin, redemption, and much more.

Continuing a theme this year of capturing updates from some of our most impactful past interviews, in the coming weeks John will interview Shawn again to see what life has been like since his Mormon Stories interview released February 2010!

Heart of the Matter's Shawn McCraney sits down with John to have a discussion about:

*(Part 1) John's Mormon story,
*(Part 2) The history of Mormon Stories and how his motivation behind the podcast has transformed over time, and
*(Part 3) An interesting back-and-forth as John gives his take on Christian concepts including God, sin, redemption, and much more.

Continuing a theme this year of capturing updates from some of our most impactful past interviews, in the coming weeks John will interview Shawn again to see what life has been like since his Mormon Stories interview released February 2010!

Heart of the Matter's Shawn McCraney sits down with John to have a discussion about:

*(Part 1) John's Mormon story,
*(Part 2) The history of Mormon Stories and how his motivation behind the podcast has transformed over time, and
*(Part 3) An interesting back-and-forth as John gives his take on Christian concepts including God, sin, redemption, and much more.

Continuing a theme this year of capturing updates from some of our most impactful past interviews, in the coming weeks John will interview Shawn again to see what life has been like since his Mormon Stories interview released February 2010!

Ahead of a possible Utah medical marijuana ballot initiative in the Fall of 2018—and in light of the LDS Church signaling its opposition to the initiative—Mormon Stories seeks to have an open, facts-based discussion about the medicinal uses of marijuana and the LDS Church's role in the legislative process to prevent its passage in the state of Utah. To begin that conversation, we continue our interview with Andrew Jolley—an entrepreneur in Nevada who started The+Sourcedispensary in 2013 after Nevada passed legislation allowing the use of medicinal marijuana in that state.

We cover:

*What Andrew learned about the medicinal and societal value of marijuana that lead him to become involved

*A historical discussion about the political and cultural motives to making marijuana illegal

*The economic impacts seen in the states that have chosen to legalize marijuana use

*The medical impacts of the different types of cannabinoids found in marijuana

*Efforts made 'behind the scenes' by the LDS Church to oppose the initiative to allow for medicinal marijuana use

*What Andrew believes Utahns should do to inform their decision on legalization

Ahead of a possible Utah medical marijuana ballot initiative in the Fall of 2018—and in light of the LDS Church signaling its opposition to the initiative—Mormon Stories seeks to have an open, facts-based discussion about the medicinal uses of marijuana and the LDS Church's role in the legislative process to prevent its passage in the state of Utah. To begin that conversation, we continue our interview with Andrew Jolley—an entrepreneur in Nevada who started The+Sourcedispensary in 2013 after Nevada passed legislation allowing the use of medicinal marijuana in that state.

We cover:

*What Andrew learned about the medicinal and societal value of marijuana that lead him to become involved

*A historical discussion about the political and cultural motives to making marijuana illegal

*The economic impacts seen in the states that have chosen to legalize marijuana use

*The medical impacts of the different types of cannabinoids found in marijuana

*Efforts made 'behind the scenes' by the LDS Church to oppose the initiative to allow for medicinal marijuana use

*What Andrew believes Utahns should do to inform their decision on legalization