This is the Gospel

After playing her cello for many grueling hours, Nicole’s thumbnail begins to detach, causing excruciating pain as she plays, doing her best to portray the voice of the Savior through music.

Fans of the storytelling podcast This Is the Gospel rejoice: Season 4 is here! Tune in every Monday for new episodes with new stories from real people practicing and living their faith.

Facing the dilemma of how to remove the critters, Kristen and Matt learn an important lesson of the value of life and all of God's creations.

After realizing neither he nor his children really remember the presents of Christmas past, Matt created a simple tradition that changes his family's Christmastime practices forever.

The stories we tell matter. They can build our faith, help us empathize with others, demonstrate the true power of God in our lives, and help lead us to Christ. This Is the Gospel, an LDS Living storytelling podcast, collects and shares personal stories that illustrate the challenges and triumphs of living in the latter days. If you have a story to share about living the gospel, please call our pitch line and leave us a three-minute pitch at 515-519-6179. We often find many of our stories from the pitch line and we love to hear how the gospel is blessing your life.

An inspiring interview on Seagull Book’s Go and Be Show is all about the importance of telling stories and learning from the experiences of those around us. In the segment, This Is the Gospel podcast host KaRyn Lay shares what it’s like for her to ask members of the Church their stories and to have a part in sharing them.

In this week's episode of This is the Gospel, after Julie's 14-month-old son Jonah passes away in a tragic choking accident, she is plagued with insomnia and nightmares. Following a prompting, she begins to share her feelings on a public blog, but little does she know that that blog will connect her to two women who will change her life in unexpected ways.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Jenny's life comes to a screeching halt when a trip to the doctor reveals she has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Determined to continue her life mission of studying Latter-day Saint women's history, Jenny endures multiple rounds of chemotherapy and painful bone marrow transplants as the cancer returns a staggering three times. But during her lowest moments of pain and suffering, Jenny finds solace in the stalwart spirits of the women she has come to know so well.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, MeiLani and her family try to enjoy some time at the beach together while on a work trip. But when rain and snow periodically dampen their plans, they quickly realize that every moment of sunshine should be seized outside. During such a moment of fun in the sun, MeiLani gets a prompting to be near her two children who are paddle boarding in the water. As the weather quickly takes a turn for the worst, MeiLani is forced to watch helplessly as her children struggle to make it safely back to land—until she remembers two words that carried her family through a storm of a different kind.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Holly and her husband explain that they never imagined they would adopt multiple children during their lifetime. But after seeing the devastation of the Romanian Revolution, Holly and her husband felt the Spirit directing them to adopt children who were hard to place or neglected. And after feeling confirmation from the Spirit to adopt three girls from Africa in 2006, Holly felt that their family was about to grow yet again—until a devastating turn of events caused Holly to question her faith and trust in the Spirit.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Brett, a defense and prosecution attorney, shares that he is used to hearing the many terrible crimes a person can commit. But on one occasion in the courtroom, he hears 13 pages of heinous crimes his client has committed, and he can't help but feel sick to his stomach. In fact, Brett feels so terrible, he isn’t sure he can stay in the courtroom. But at that moment, he offers a prayer that changes how he sees his client—and future clients—forever.

After hearing from a drill instructor at basic training for the Air Force that the Church was racist, Isaac almost stopped his pursuit of the gospel. But after attending a church meeting for the first time with some of his fellow basic training buddies, that all changed.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, a tragic car accident takes the life of Ashley's father and leaves her with a hand so badly crippled that she is unable to find solace in the activities she once loved, including playing the piano. Ashley is left suffering emotionally from grief and physically from failed medical attempts to restore the use of her hand. Then, her mother, Michelle, remembers that she consented to have her husband's organs donated, and wonders if his bones might be the key to healing for their daughter.

In this week's episode of This Is is the Gospel, Becky endures soul-rending pain after losing her oldest daughter, Amber, to suicide. But while going through Amber's belongings, Becky discovers her daughter had secretly been donating to an orphanage in India. Intrigued, Becky eventually makes her way to the orphanage where she begins her work helping those with a crippling disease she thought had been eradicated long ago.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Wendy shares that she was always painfully aware that she looked different. At just 2 months old, she developed a blood tumor, or hemangioma, on her forehead. After enduring constant bullying her entire childhood, Wendy was able to have the tumor removed when she was 10 years old. But the damage done by others' cruel words and actions had Wendy questioning her worth until she began a lifelong process that helped her understand how God saw her.

Have you ever felt imperfect in your practice of living the gospel of Jesus Christ? If so, you’re in good company and the This is the Gospel podcast is on a mission to prove it to you. Like host KaRyn Lay says at the beginning of every episode, the podcast “features real stories from real people practicing and living their faith every day.” These people are facing real triumphs, successes, challenges, and hardships in the best way they can. Sound familiar? Whether it’s heartache, loss of a loved one, fatherhood, motherhood, or true conversion, the 23 episodes we shared this year include powerful stories of practicing faith that we’re sure will remind you that you’re not alone in your journey of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are grateful to everyone who has shared their stories with us this year and to you, our listeners, for spending time with us.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Adam thinks he has the safe path for a career as a mechanical engineer planned out—until he discovers digital design. With a lot of work, prayer, and time spent shimmying into a locked computer lab at night, Adam finds not only his dream job but what it means to be a creator.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Sue faces the grim possibility that her husband will not recover from a vital but dangerous surgery. And to add to her worries, COVID strikes, leaving her without in-person contact to her ailing parents who are in a nursing home in Pennsylvania. But right when it all seems too much to bear, a phone call from Sue's daughter reminds her of her power to call upon heaven to help her family.

“You either are thriving in your life, or you’re just enduring your life,” Stacy Taniguchi told This Is the Gospel episode producer Sarah Blake this summer.

In this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, three storytellers share what the gospel of Jesus Christ looks like in action. After witnessing two neighborhood tragedies, Ben decides to reach out to his neighbors through a new weekly practice. Read to find out how Ben applied the gospel of Jesus Christ through something as ordinary as a loaf of bread.

On this week’s episode of This is the Gospel, two storytellers share about small decisions that had lasting impacts. At 18 years old, Vinnie moved away from his family and was ready to do things his way. But he promised his mom that he would try attending church one last time. Read how Vinnie’s decision to keep this promise influenced him when he felt lost—both physically and spiritually.

On this week’s episode of This is the Gospel, three storytellers share what it means to them to “act well thy part.” Among these guests is Charlie Bird, who speaks of his wrestle with coming out as gay to his brother, Sam, for fear of damaging their close relationship. But as they were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro together, something clicked. “I have to tell him,” Charlie realized. Read Charlie and Sam’s account of what happened next.

On this week’s episode of This is the Gospel, two storytellers discuss how fitting into the body of Christ can sometimes be painful and difficult. Suzanne, who moved after ending a 40-year temple marriage, felt invisible in her new ward. After moving a second time, she was cautiously optimistic when she walked through the doors of another Church meetinghouse. Little did she know that sisters from Relief Society would welcome her with the words, “You are exactly where you need to be. This is the healing ward.” Read why the sisters’ complete honesty and vulnerability during a Relief Society lesson about temples changed Suzanne’s life.

On this week’s episode of This is the Gospel, three storytellers share why honesty plays a pivotal role in spiritual progression. Among these guests is Claire, who hid behind a “good girl” image to keep her shoplifting a secret from her family for as long as she could. But when her shoplifting became out of control and she started using drugs later in life, Claire found herself feeling hollow and desperate for change. Read what happened next when she asked an officer for a copy of the Book of Mormon while in jail.

On this week’s episode of This is the Gospel, four guests share how God has helped to take care of their temporal needs. Among these guests is Roger Hoffman, composer of the popular hymn “Consider the Lilies.” One day, as Hoffman played a piano in a Church meetinghouse, inspiration from heaven flowed into his mind as the song came to him. But his thoughts quickly went from “Oh my. That’s better than what I write,” to “I am not adequate.”

When Jessie was given her mom’s wedding ring, it helped her keep a reminder of her parents with her always. But then the ring went missing—and Jessie knew she had to rely on her Heavenly Father to find it again.

Fans of the award-winning storytelling podcast This Is the Gospel rejoice: Season 3 is here!

This week’s bonus Father’s Day episode of This is the Gospel celebrates stories from faithful men who are braving the wilderness of fatherhood. John admits he's not very handy as his attempts to create the perfect swing set fall short and, as a result, he allows comparison to take over. John isn't sure he's got what it takes for fatherhood to begin with but when infertility makes that even harder, he learns that “what it takes” might be different than he imagined.

As we adjust our routines in an effort to flatten the curve of the novel coronavirus there is still so much good we can see and do in the world. On this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Host KaRyn Lay shares a story of a time when her already terrible driving record hit an all-time low and the undeserved kindness of a stranger changed everything.

On this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, as a missionary in Chile, Brad Wilcox struggles to find the answers to his gospel questions—including the existence of God—until a tender meeting with his mission president leads him to the light and hope he is looking for.

Editor's note: Exciting news! This Is the Gospel is going to be joining Deseret Book at Rootstech 2020 on February 27 and 28 in Salt Lake City. We are going to be there Friday and Saturday helping you learn how to record your own audio stories for family history and sharing our top tips for telling them well. And, as always, we’ll also be gathering your story pitches for a few special episodes we’re planning for season three.

A lost set of scriptures devastates Mark, but how they come back to him years later is nothing short of a miracle.

On this week's episode of This Is the Gospel, Jim, a devout Baptist, sends five of his seven children on Latter-day Saint missions despite his misgivings about what they will teach and finds himself “tapped on the shoulder” by God.

In this week’s episode of This Is the Gospel, Christie Gardiner shares the story of how she and her brother learn they are never alone as they name-drop their eccentric great-uncle and embark on daring adventures wandering a local hospital.

Something didn't feel right.

Somewhere on the Utah-Nevada border in the dead of winter is not the ideal place or season to have a car break down, especially when that car is full of six children.

Brooke never wanted a new car.

You've waited more than three long months for it, and now, season two of This Is the Gospel is almost here!

It was something Lindsey saw almost every day as she drove in and out of her neighborhood: An elderly man sitting in his wheelchair under a tree at a nursing home.

Over the decades, the details of various calls Steve responded to as a paramedic have faded or even disappeared from his memory.

Eric couldn't get up.

"You obeyed orders. You did it precisely. You did it accurately, and if you didn't, then you paid for it."

"You have to let him go."

Sandy beaches and turquoise ocean, skyscrapers and spas. Benidorm, Spain, is the perfect place for a vacation.

Dancing to a Mariachi band with her fellow high school peers on graduation day, Lauri felt like she was Superwoman.