Chocolate Cake Bytes
Chocolate Cake Bytes is a Latter-day Saint culture discussion. Chocolate cake represents everything that is good, and Chocolate Cake Bytes are the nuggets of understanding that has made my life better. And I'd like to share some chocolate cake bytes with you.
Episodes
172 episodes
Ep. 171: Gratitude
It's Thanksgiving week, which means that a lot of the world is in Gratitude mode.I'm no exception.But I'm approaching my own gratitude a little bit differently this year.And, I invite you to think of gratitude a bit diff...
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Episode 171
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13:04
Ep. 170: What Do We Deserve?
Brett is back! After another conversation together, Brett comes back to talk about the Brother of Jared story.God answered the brother's prayer with three different types of answers, after chastening him for three hours.
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Season 1
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Episode 170
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54:03
Ep. 169: It Is Done
First-time co-host Brett is a member of my church congregation. Recently, we were talking about faith, and I asked him to come on the podcast to share some of his insights.Something he said during a Sunday lesson caught my attention: He...
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Season 1
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Episode 169
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47:02
Ep. 168: What Does "Born Again" Mean?
This week, we bring back the former Elder (Kyler) Lopez, who has recently finished his mission (So, I guess he's now just Kyler)He asked the question about what it means to be born again. He's a polyglot and wanted to share some insight...
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Season 1
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Episode 168
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34:42
Ep. 167: Finding Joy
What kind of plan would you create if you were in charge of everything?Would you make it impossible for your children to return to live with you? Or would you set things up so that they had every opportunity to do things, to get things ...
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Season 1
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Episode 167
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7:42
Ep. 166: How We Can Use Prayer Better
This week, I share some thoughts about how God communicates with us as individuals, and how He works with His prophets.As we better understand prayer, maybe that will help us better communicate with (and hear) God in our lives.
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Episode 166
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7:26
Ep. 165: How does God Answer Prayers?
This week, Julia returns to help us discover what it looks like for God to answer (or to not answer) our prayers.We discuss what we should pray for, and what we should look for in our answers from Him.We'd love to hear your thou...
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Season 1
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Episode 165
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53:05
Ep. 164: The "Godliness" of Godly Sorrow
An old friend and former co-host is back!Mark joins this week to discuss Godly Sorrow, guilt, shame, and other "requirements" for the repentance process.Is Godly Sorrow from God?Let me know your thoughts.
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Season 1
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Episode 164
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52:16
Ep. 163: Does God Need to Forgive?
Annette is back, and this week we discuss forgiveness.Many times when we think of forgiveness, we imagine a transactional experience: "Repent and be forgiven."Is forgiveness transactional? With each other? With God?We di...
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Season 1
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Episode 163
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59:38
Ep. 162: You have No Idea Who You Are
I was talking to someone yesterday, and we discussed the struggles of a mutual acquaintance.We're all going through tough times, so my message to you is the same as my message to her.You are better than you know.
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Episode 162
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9:03
Ep. 161: Get Out of the Box
When we're feeling low, we tend to isolate ourselves. When others feel low, they do the same thing.We put ourselves in a box. We don't let anyone else in.When you're struggling, get out of the box. Open it up. Let the light in. ...
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Episode 161
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12:39
Ep. 160: How Many Times is Too Many to Repent?
I've recently started teaching a gospel study class for young adults in my area (Institute), and my first teaching experience brought some interesting questions from the students.One question was, "Is it possible to exhaust the number o...
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Episode 160
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15:24
Ep. 159: The Easy Way to Get Better
When we make mistakes (which is part of the plan and not a mistake in and of itself), we can forgive ourselves. This will eliminate (or at least reduce) the shame and guilt we feel.But, what can we look to for motivation or encouragemen...
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Episode 159
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44:01
Ep. 158: Developing a Loving Relationship with Each Child
This week, Carissa, Annette, and Ken discuss how to develop a loving relationship with each child, from the parent, child, and sibling perspectives
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53:57
Ep. 157: What is Faith? A High School Perspective
Kaden, a young man in my stake, visits the podcast this week. He recently competed in a cross country meet and was chatting with friends afterwards. What is faith for a high school senior?This week's discussion with Kaden m...
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Episode 157
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47:00
Ep. 156: Are We Having Fun Yet?
I was on a call when I was reminded, "This is supposed to be fun."And I wasn't having fun.So, if it's supposed to be fun, and I wasn't having fun, what was I missing?I'll ask you the same question. If you're not having f...
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Episode 156
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14:26
Ep. 155: What does Faith Feel Like?
A question hit me the other day. When we talk about having faith, we can sometimes kind of describe what that means. What faith is.But I've never heard anyone talk about what if feels like in our body to have faith.What does fai...
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Episode 155
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50:43
Ep. 154: Should I Counsel with the Lord? Or Council?
We've discussed before that Dad's favorite scripture was Alma 37:37, "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and He will direct thee for good..."What is counselling with God? And how is it different from having a council with Him?...
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Episode 154
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14:37
Ep. 153: Why Pray?
While listening to another podcast, I started wondering why we pray for other people. What are we trying to accomplish?Are we trying to change God's plan?Are we trying to change the lessons that the other person might be in the ...
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Episode 153
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13:52
Ep. 152: Stop Talking about Justice
Last week opened a new perspective for me regarding Mercy. And, after giving a talk in church last Sunday, I've been thinking a lot more about mercy vs. justice.And I've concluded that we don't need to concern ourselves wit...
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17:56
Ep. 151: Mercy, Forgiveness, and More
What is Mercy?Can Mercy exist without Grace?How does Forgiveness connect with Mercy?This week, Annette and Ken discuss all this and more
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Episode 151
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55:30
Ep. 150: But What if I Make a Mistake?
This week we discuss how to get past making mistakes.Life will not look perfect for any of us, and misakes are normal, natural, and expected.But, when we make mistakes, sometimes, we aren't very kind to ourselves. (or others!)
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Episode 150
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18:23
Ep. 149: I Forgive You. And I Forgive Me.
This week, we have a new voice joining the podcast!A friend from 40+ years ago, Julia, joins Ken and Annette to discuss forgiveness.How do we forgive? Why? What about forgiving ourselves?We discuss some ideas that maybe ...
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Episode 149
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57:07
Ep. 148: Remember the Captivity. What is Holding You Captive?
This week, Favorite daughter Allison and her husband, Justin, get in on the discussion.Alma 5 in the Book of Mormon reminds us to "remember the captivity of your fathers."Allison, Justin, and I discuss why it's important to reco...
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Episode 148
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49:25