Naomi Was Furious with God and Ready to Give Up… Then Came Her Miracle
“I didn’t think happiness existed in this capacity whatsoever. I’m so grateful that I never gave up. I encourage anybody listening who even considers giving up, don’t do it. I promise you that there’s good things to come, and grander than you could ever imagine. But you have to grow close to your Savior, and that doesn’t mean you have to be doing all the right things. I’m just saying talk to Him and lean on Him and seek His presence in your life, and He will do the rest.” – 00:00 A Stranger’s Lifeline 06:13 Faith Roots and Early Signs 13:23 Partying Spiral and California Call 27:23 Ticket Out to BYU Idaho 30:07 Jail Wake Up Call 32:22 Bishop and 12 Step Struggle 39:30 Hope Rescue and Sobriety 47:29 New Life and Testimony – Mike’s Auto Shack https://mikesautoshack.com/ Serve Clothing code COMEBACK for 15% off https://serveclothing.com/ – If you have a story to share please submit here: https://comebackpodcast.org/submissions/ – For inquiries contact info.comebackpodcast@gmail.com – Come Back Team: Director, Founder, & Host: Ashly Stone Editor: Cara Reed Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Assistant Editor: Britt Smallze Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell
Leland’s journey: How Jesus Christ helped a gay man find a place in His restored church
“God has been miraculous. And the best thing that ever happened is I learned that I love Jesus Christ. I love what he does for us. I know he is real and I know that he loves me, which I never knew that before. I was just going through those experiences to have to tell the story here, and there’s just so much more about being a gay man and navigating through the church.” Come Back Team Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Cara Reed Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell Episode sponsor: Serve Clothing https://serveclothing.com/?gad_source=1
Brent struggled silently as a cop with PTSD, until he sought counseling and returned to Jesus Christ.
“When President Nelson came out and said to repent daily, I’m like, how about hourly? Or every 15 minutes for a while. That’s when I realized, after going through all of this, that I was a better cop. I had learned an empathy that I didn’t know existed in me and I realized that most people are good, even when they’re doing stuff that’s not. I realized that a lot of people were going through things that led them to deal with us. That they were broken too and this is how they coped with being broken. I wasn’t in a different place than they were. My outlet was just different than theirs. But that brokenness was still the same.” Brent’s Podcast: Covered With the Utah FOP https://utahstatefop.com/10-about-the-association https://www.utahstatefop.com/images/Home-officers-in-distress/Officer-in-Distress_-The-Real-EnemyC2A0C2A0_C2A0C2A0The-Salt-Lake-Tribune.pdf https://mikesautoshack.com/ Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Cara Reed Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Episode sponsor: Serve Clothing https://serveclothing.com/?gad_source=1
Rajiv grew up in a troubled home, as a young adult he re-reads the Book of Mormon and realizes the gospel is where he needs to be.
“The purpose of the gospel is to restore ourselves to God. And time and time again, Christ has taught that. He’s taught that this is why He did what He did. This is the whole reason why we’re doing this, is to restore you to Me. So it’s about love. The expectations can come later. Once we restore that prodigal hug with the father on the road, once we find that coin, once we put that sheep on our back, then we can bring them back and talk about some expectations. But initially, that first meeting especially is so powerful because it has to be about love. I suggest this not to just church leaders, but also to parents. Just put your arms around them, love them. If that first meeting is an expression – or any type of an expression – of a failure of commitments or a failure of expectations, love can’t fully enter into that person’s heart. So I would say to anyone who’s scared, I hope you understand the gospel is about what you’re about to do. Go and see your bishop and know that God is proud of you and he’s already at the end of the road waiting for you.” Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Cara Reed Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Episode sponsor: Serve Clothing https://serveclothing.com/?gad_source=1
Steven’s struggles with addiction and how the gospel has the tools to help his marriage to Kayla.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains sensitive content that may be triggering or offensive to some audiences. Parental discretion is advised. “I was driving home and I was so angry at Steven and at God and at myself and just feeling like an idiot. I was like, ‘I can’t do this, I’m so mad,’ but my brother asked me to turn on Conference. And he’s trying so hard on his mission. He’s such a good missionary that I’m just gonna do it. So while I was driving home to our apartment in Provo to say our marriage is over, the talk that was on at that exact moment was Elder Gong’s talk called ‘Trust Again’ and the Spirit came over me so strongly and told me you can trust him again. The whole talk was about various forms of betrayal — specifically marriage problems and pornography. A lot of trust with your spouse was talked about and the spirit spoke so strong that our marriage could be mended. So instead of driving all the way home to Provo I got off on the Lehi exit where he was watching Conference with his family and I said ‘Okay, I’m ready to talk. I am in a better place.’” Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia
Jason’s testimony of how the Power of Christ’s Atonement changed him from a homeless addict to running successful rehabs.
“I had an experience laying in my bed where I asked God to help me to know His will for me. I then had a powerful experience where I felt water rush off my body as I was coming up out of these waters. Then I see one of my very best friends’ faces pulling me up and he’s in white. It was that experience where I understood that God would like me to consider being rebaptized. I had a long road until that point. I hadn’t even been excommunicated yet. So when I was asked in the disciplinary council, ‘what do you think, Jason?’ I said, I wanted a fresh start where I could finally forgive myself for all the things that I have experienced and done. Through the ordinance of baptism — I feel like if I can go through that experience I would be able to forgive myself. Where maybe just a disciplinary counsel and a probation, being less extreme, I would have missed going through that and burying that old guy and to symbolically start fresh. And I had some beautiful, beautiful, powerful experiences.” – Jason’s Business: https://brickhouserecovery.com/ Jason’s book “Unhooked” https://a.co/d/cSqfNCI – Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia
Ashly and Jesse Stone share their experiences overcoming addiction by utilizing the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the church’s 12 Step program.
“One thing that I noticed when I started coming back to church was I put my focus on who I wanted to be – instead of trying to fix who I was. Instead of trying to stop doing all of these things, it was, okay, I want to be this person. I imagined myself being a mom and a wife. I wanted a family and I thought, ‘Who is the type of person that I need to be to have those things?’ I envisioned that for myself. Then my focus just really shifted into the steps that I needed to take to be who that person was.” Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia
Aaron opens up about his struggles with addiction stemming from his parents’ divorce and how he used the atonement to heal.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains sensitive content that may be triggering or offensive to some audiences. Parental discretion is advised. “I was able to bring suppressed memories to the surface, deal with it as an adult, go back and forgive my mom and forgive myself. That was when real healing began. If you are holding a grudge against someone — no matter how bad it was — number one you have to forgive them, or else you will get eaten up. You aren’t hurting anyone but yourself if you’re not forgiving someone. Number two pray, and God will guide you on how to do that. That is where healing came, it was still a process and work but then I was able to deal with committing to someone and not running. I no longer had the desire to use women anymore because I had dealt with that.” Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia
Kyle’s journey through his struggles and triumphs as he experiences tragedy at a young age. His testimony of God the Father and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains sensitive content that may be triggering or offensive to some audiences. Parental discretion is advised. “These miracles that I have had in my life will never lead me astray from the church again. I cannot deny these things and it is because of the strength and relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father.” – Recommended: Poem: “The Race” by D. H. Groberg – Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia
Todd takes us through his intimate story of his struggles with same-gender attraction, addiction, self harm, and how the Atonement worked in his life when turning back to The Church of Jesus Christ
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains sensitive content that may be triggering or offensive to some audiences. Parental discretion is advised. “So I go into disobedience council and I told them my story. The love that these brethren had – how they treated this sinner, how they treated this gay man, was probably the most spiritual experience I have had, and I have had some big ones. These people loved me, this was the Atonement. This is how it works. The Lord is going to bless me, He has continually blessed me and forgiven me.” — Recommended book: The Undaunted, by Gerald Lund — Come Back Team: Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Producer and Senior Editor: Lauren Rose Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia