God Kept Sending Angels to Levi While He was in Prison… Until He Finally Listened
“ I’ve come to know that Heavenly Father does know. He knows not just what we do or choose to do or the mistakes we make, He knows who we are and what we want. And He’s just waiting for us to just even look at Him or acknowledge Him. He has so much for us. He has so much for me. He’s given me so much already.” Tickets to the Come Back to Christ Event: www.comebackpodcast.org 00:00 Highway Wake Up Call 02:32 Levi Background And Home 03:21 Childhood Faith And Doubts 06:23 Early Smoking And Rebellion 11:46 Heroin And Rock Bottom 20:16 Prison Mentors And Letters 26:35 Relapse And Arrest Spiral 31:15 Church Return, Love And Marriage 46:01 Miracles And Angels Serve Clothing code COMEBACK for 15% off https://serveclothing…. If you have a story to share please submit here: https://comebackpodcas… 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
Terryl Givens on navigating faith and doubt, the true nature of God, and the secret of Christianity
“Doubts don’t begin as a rejection of God or his gospel, they generally emerge as a rejection of ways in which God is being characterized… So what are the expectations we bring to the table? My personal take on this is, does my faith make God present to me? Does my faith give me access to the God of truth and love? Everything else is ancillary to that question or should be, and in my case, what I find is that yes, this church does.” —- Letter to a Doubter, by Terryl Givens: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1856&context=interpreter Book Recommendation: The Crucible of Doubt, by Terryl Givens — 00:00 Choosing Faith is Courageous 05:38 Letter to a Doubter 07:31 The Role of Doubt in Faith 10:30 The True and Living Church 16:25 The Importance of Community in Faith 23:30 Addressing Culture 24:44 The Genuine Question 35:01 Rebuilding Faith from the Ground Up 42:05 The Restoration of God’s Love Memor Jewelry code COMEBACK for 10% offhttps://memorjewelry.com/Serve Clothing code COMEBACK for 15% offhttps://serveclothing.com/Mike’s Auto Shackhttps://mikesautoshack.com/ If you have a story to share please contact ashly.comebackpodcast@gmail.com For inquiries contact info.comebackpodcast@gmail.com Come Back Team: Director, Founder, & Host: Ashly Stone Editor: Cara Reed Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Assistant Editor: Britt Smallze Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell
Ashly Stone discusses her journey through rehab, the Book of Mormon, and President Nelson’s promise
“The thing that always comes to mind for me is that ye will know them by their fruits. And what I have really come to realize, especially recently, is the fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ and being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ produces such pure fruit in my life… This is the kind of community that I want to be a part of. This is the kind of community that is making a difference in the world and is kind, and obviously not perfect because nobody is. But man, if I had to associate myself with a group of people, I am so grateful and happy and proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, especially in these times.” If you have a story to share please contact ashly.comebackpodcast@gmail.com For inquiries contact info.comebackpodcast@gmail.com Come Back Team: Director, Founder, & Host: Ashly Stone Editor: Cara Reed Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Assistant Editor: Britt Smallze Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell
Carrie and Andrew’s remarkable story of marriage, disability, and a complete reconstruction of faith
“ Becoming a mom just was this huge invitation to try again, see the world in such a more beautiful and dynamic way. It’s not two dimensional, it’s not black and white and I don’t have to be afraid of the gospel. It’s not something to be afraid of. And truly just learning how to feel God’s love for me.” 00:00 Faith Crisis as a New Mother 02:42 Special Guests: Andrew and Carrie 03:37 Andrew’s Journey with Cerebral Palsy 07:57 Early Relationship and Challenges 11:16 Carrie’s Faith Journey Begins 19:28 Relearning God’s Love 24:59 Challenges and Unmet Expectations 39:41 Carrie’s Faith Reconstruction Serve Clothing code COMEBACK for 15% off https://serveclothing.com/ Latter day MatchMaker Serve Clothing code COMEBACK for 15% offhttps://serveclothing.com/memor jewelry – 10% Discount code: COMEBACKhttps://memorjewelry.com/ If you have a story to share please contact ashly.comebackpodcast@gmail.com For inquiries contact info.comebackpodcast@gmail.com Come Back Team: Director, Founder, & Host: Ashly Stone Editor: Cara Reed Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Assistant Editor: Britt Smallze Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell
Brian’s story of missionary shame, medical miracles, and a Savior that never gave up on him
“My testimony evolved a lot after I became a father. I could now relate in a different way than I’d ever understood before to what I think our Heavenly Father views with us in the trials that we go through. I think He is up at night, tears in His eyes sobbing because He knows the pain that we’re going through, but He also knows that we need to go through it. The pain is part of what teaches us so much. Oftentimes it turns us into who we are because of how stark those lessons are.” 00:00 Struggles with Faith and Health 05:31 Health Crisis in the MTC 08:08 Struggles with Church and Faith 12:36 Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 25:29 Dealing with Resentment After Returning Home 30:37 Advice for Early Returned Missionaries 37:54 Mental Health and Youth Challenges 44:09 Perfectionism and Parental Pressure Cozy Earth code COMEBACK for 40% off https://cozyearth.com/Mike’s Auto Shackhttps://mikesautoshack.com/ Serve Clothing code COMEBACK for 15% off https://serveclothing.com/ If you have a story to share please contact ashly.comebackpodcast@gmail.com For inquiries contact info.comebackpodcast@gmail.com Come Back Team: Director, Founder, & Host: Ashly Stone Editor: Cara Reed Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Assistant Editor: Britt Smallze Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell
Jillian’s story of the questions that led to her stepping away, and the Spirit that brought her back
“I studied and I prayed and I screamed at God and I sobbed in the shower when you realize you don’t know what you believe anymore and that potentially everything that you have believed and you’ve built your life on and you’ve built your eternity. When that’s suddenly gone, you are like, I don’t know who I am. I just felt like I was in just absolute misery. I didn’t know what was up. I didn’t know what was down. I knew that I was a good person. I knew I had values, I knew that he had values and was a good person, but I needed structure, I needed direction. Website: https://www.comebackpodcast.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/come.back.podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085100628137 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Come_Back_Pod Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@come.back.podcast Join our Book Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1129233501137568/ If you have a story to share please contact: ashly.comebackpodcast@gmail.com For business inquiries contact: info.comebackpodcast@gmail.com Come Back Team:Director, Founder & Host: Ashly Stone Editor: Cara Reed Outreach Manager: Jenna Carlson Assistant Editor: Michelle Berger Art Director: Jeremy Garcia Production Director: Trent Wardwell
Jennifer shares how the Savior helps her overcome personal challenges at church and how she came back from “quiet quitting.”
“Sometimes at school I would go into the bathroom when I was just having a really bad day at school and I would just close the door on the stall and pray: ‘If I’m doing the right thing, I need your help.’ And I just remember feeling my Heavenly Father’s love just pour over me. It was tangible. You know, He’s there for these hard things that we experience. He is absolutely there.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/abuse-how-to-help/preventing-and-responding-to-abuse?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/safety/protecting-children-and-youth?lang=eng https://thirtyoneeight.org/ @jen_forhealthychurches 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
Nia was single and pregnant in the Church. How her struggles brought her closer to Jesus Christ.
“Don’t put blame on anyone else. If you’ve done things that are wrong, fix them. If things have been done to you that are wrong, forgive them. Which is so hard to do, depending on the situation. I’ve had to do that with people in my past. it’s the most liberating thing that you can do to let go of that hate and let go of blaming them. Because you can blame them all you want, but it’s not going to allow you to progress. And so be honest with yourself. Be honest with what you need to change and take back your power. You have all the power in the world. God has given you this free agency. You can do whatever you want with it. Why not do something amazing that brings you so much joy and happiness? And it’s so liberating to let go of what everyone thinks about you. It’s so liberating. I literally do whatever the heck I want, which happens to be living the gospel. And living the gospel and living the standards of the gospel has made me the most free person I’ve ever been in my life.” 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
Aja shares her triumphant story of how her fellow church members help her find sobriety and healing.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains sensitive content that may be triggering or offensive to some audiences. Parental discretion is advised. “I will tell you that when you give up ‘the things’ and trust Heavenly Father, miracles happen. Absolute miracles happen. I always thought that supporting my family and working for my family was the best thing that I can do. I never realized that quitting my job and becoming sober was the best thing that I could do. I just thought ‘I have to work, there’s no way around this.’ Quitting my job was terrifying! I read the Book of Mormon during that time and my bishop had given me a blessing that said my ancestors and my posterity were watching over me. So even my children’s children were aware of what we were going through.” 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
Kat’s testimony of the strength that comes within God’s church – that she couldn’t find anywhere else
“The thought of the temple came to my mind and to my heart so clearly that I had a homesickness for it. I also had a remembrance that I could go there and within those walls, while not everything is solved or fixed, everything is okay. You leave feeling like everything is okay. You’re elevated. At that moment, I’m like, I know I have to take the steps to get back to the temple. I have to make this an active part of my life – not just a thought. I have to say that receiving the restoration of my temple blessings was the most incredibly profound experience I’ve had in coming to know the power – the atoning power – of my Savior, Jesus Christ.” contact Kat: knelsonartist@gmail.com https://www.plantwhys.com/comeback 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