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Hello, this is Dakota from I’ll Walk With You. I am honored to introduce you to my dear auntie, Diane Moses.

Diane is an inspiration. She is truly a light, and a living example of how we can overcome obstacles and choose love.

In this conversation, she shares some of her life experiences from growing up in town and on the reservation, overcoming alcohol and getting sober, leaving the gang life to raise her child in a better way, and fostering many children along the way, at one point having 16 people in the house. She says she was always seen driving 20 kids in a van.

She talks some about her personal relationship with God and how her parents helped her through every phase of life, and how caring for others has been an integral part of her life and identity.

She talks about the importance of learning healthy boundaries and learning how to say no, and take care of herself, while caring for others.

Near the end of the conversation, she talks about holding her grandbaby. She says that while she looked at him in her arms, she thought, “If you can be born in such a volatile, crazy time, and be so pure and so innocent, and strive to live, then I can too.”

Her example of love, of care, and of genuine concern for her fellow man is so honorable and admirable.

I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to welcome her onto the show, and I am excited for you to have the opportunity to listen in. Thank you for joining us!

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Hello, this is Rhonda from I’ll Walk with You. I am excited to introduce to you my friend Dina Kieffer.
Dina and I first met several years ago as a mutual friend invited her to a women’s retreat that I was facilitating. I instantly felt a connection to Dina as she is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has a career in helping others, and is married to a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians. I am also an active member of the LDS church, a licensed mental health counselor and life coach, and My ex-husband as well as my kids are members of the Spokane Tribe of Indians.
Dina and her High School sweetheart have been together for 40 years and married for 36. They have 5 beautiful adult daughters and 11 grandchildren. She is also one of 11 children. Dina has a great love for her family and others. She was the 1st certified foot zoner and instructor in the state of Washington and has been
practicing for 24 years. Dina is also a certified spinal flow practitioner. Her passion truly is serving and helping others.
Just last week, Dakota, myself, and our spouses had the opportunity to visit Dina and have her work on each of us. It was such a beautiful healing experience that this weekend I will be taking other family members to see her who are experiencing a lot of grief at this time due to a recent loss in our family.
Dina shines light. Her loving heart comes through in all she does. During our conversation she talks about some of the hurt she has experienced due to the
judgement from members of her church congregation. She also talks about what it is like being white and living on the reservation. And she talks about choosing love even in the midst of the hurt. Her message is beautiful and we were honored to have her as a guest.
Thank you for Joining us for this Episode of I’ll Walk with You.

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What a joy it is to introduce you to our next guest, Patrick Risk.

Patrick is the Author of One Day at a Time: Daily hope for those navigating their own path of healing. He endeavors each day to live and breathe HOPE in all that he does—from managing his Facebook communities "Brightness of Hope” and “Worldwide Unified,” to sharing daily messages of inspiration that are followed and shared by hundreds of thousands each week, including myself.

Patrick also volunteers in various capacities as a Chaplain and Spiritual Care Advisor. He has a great passion for improving the world around him and strives one day at a time to live the mantra of “being the change you wish to see in the world.” Patrick’s advocacy for hope was born out of his experiences in facing and overcoming great adversity in his life. Surviving years of sexual abuse as a child, overcoming a near-fatal eating disorder, and battling suicidal ideation from identity issues have all prepared him to be the fighter for hope that he is today.

Never giving up, always fighting forward, Patrick was just 20 years old when he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Colorado. At the age of 24, he received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Utah. At the age of 25, he was certified as a Chaplain from the World Spiritual Health Organization.

I first started seeing his posts on Worldwide Unified on Facebook and was moved by his vulnerability and positivity that I started following him. I wasn’t sure if he would even see my message, but I loved his posts so much that I thought it would be worth the effort to ask him if he would be willing to be a guest on our podcast.
He responded with a yes within the hour.

It was a true honor to talk with him and hear a part of his tremendous story of hope, faith, and love.
Thank you again for joining us, Patrick, and thank you for being such a beautiful light in this world.

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Today I am excited to introduce to you dear friends of mine, Becky and Scott
Mackintosh and their son Xian.
Becky and I became friends through social media many years ago as she shared her
vulnerable story of being an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and her response to Xian coming out as gay to her and Scott. I was moved by
her deep love and compassion that I read most everything she would post after that.
Becky has a huge heart and a love for others which explains why she is also so
passionate about humanitarian work.
In 2023 my husband and I had the opportunity of finally meeting Becky and Scott face to
face as we joined them in a humanitarian trip to Kenya. This trip changed our lives in
many ways and lead to Doug and I in serving a full-time mission for our church in Kenya
the following year.
Becky is the author of the book Love Boldly: Embracing Your LGBTQ Loved One and
Your Faith. She is also a popular speaker known for her honest approach and open
heart. She is dedicated to her family, faith, and inspiring others.
Scott is also an author of the super cute children’s book Silly Willy, a public speaker, and
a lover of the outdoors and hunting. He also has a great sense of humor.
Xian earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from BYU Hawaii and a master’s
degree in mental health social work from the University of Hawaii. He is the 3 rd of Scott
and Becky’s 7 children.
Xian values strong family connections and has played a key role in promoting
understanding and unity with his family, following his coming out journey. He is the
founder of High Mountain Frenchies, LLC, and is an experienced beekeeper with a
deep love for anything outdoors.
It was such a joy to finally meet Xian while recording this podcast. His wisdom, love,
and insights are so powerful.
Their family’s story, featured in a video produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, has reached over 1.5 million viewers.
We are honored that they so willingly agreed to be our guests.
We thank you, our listeners, for being here and we hope you enjoy this episode of I’ll
Walk with You as much as we did when we recorded it.

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Eva and I met in New York City when I lived there for a season, and we connected right away, becoming fast friends. Eva is an Episcopal Priest, a hospital chaplain working in mental health, and a person who loves people! Eva is living in New York City currently, and was raised in the Washington DC area.

In our conversation, we discuss the significance of curiosity in human connection and getting to better know and understand others who may be different from us. We talk about her experience of growing up in DC being surrounded by people of all different faiths, cultures, and political stances, and how that has made an impact on her life, particularly in her work as a chaplain. We discuss her experience being female clergy, and some of her upbringing that brought her to where she is today.

Eva is truly a beautiful person, and a wonderful example of how we can really get along regardless of difference.

I hope that you enjoy this episode of I’ll Walk With You.

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Our guest for this episode is Dr. Ben Schilaty.

Ben is a social work professor at Utah Valley University. He also works part
time as a therapist specializing in working with LBGTQ Latter-Day Saints and their
families. He holds 3 degrees from Brigham Young University and earned a PhD from the University of Arizona. He is an award-winning author of "A Walk In My Shoes: Questions I am Often Asked as a Gay Latter Day Saint," and co-hosted the podcast “All Out in the Open.”

I had the opportunity to hear Ben speak at a fireside in the fall of 2024 and instantly felt of his goodness. Later that fall, Dakota and I had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Gather Conference in Provo Utah.

We were honored when Ben agreed to be a guest on our podcast and we absolutely enjoyed our conversation with him. He has such a beautiful outlook on life, and truly makes this world a better place.

Thank you again Ben for being our guest and thank you to all our listeners. We truly
believe you will enjoy this episode.

https://www.gather-conference.com/

https://www.benschilaty.com/

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In this episode, we have a great conversation with Julie DeJesus, founder of I See You Living. Julie is a keynote speaker, podcast host, author, and mental health advocate who has made her brand and centered her work and much of her life on the belief that human connection restores mental health and resilience.

In this conversation, we discuss the importance of believing in something bigger than ourselves, and the importance of authenticity. Julie shares a raw story of her own mental breakdown at the age of 21, how that led to questions of faith, the existence of a God, and how the connection that she experienced with others who were willing to sit with her and hold space for her to safely question these doubts and fears provided the environment necessary for healing to occur.

We talked about the importance of showing up for others in their hour of need, and not trying to fix them in that moment, but instead allow them to feel safe, feel seen, and feel validated in order for true healing and processing to happen. Julie pointed out the importance of making big life changing choices not from a place of fear, but from a place of peace and tranquility. We discuss the importance of being aware of the emptiness that often comes in liminal spaces, the in between we experience in life transitions, and extending grace to others in this time, and also allowing grace for ourselves.

In this episode, Julie refers to the experience she had in meeting with and interviewing Kevin Franke after the release of the Hulu documentary about his family, A Devil In The Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, and the powerful conversation that the two of them had about the beauty and the humanity that he experienced after his world came crashing down in such an unfathomable way.

Julie is truly an inspiration, and it was an honor to have her as a guest on I’ll Walk With You.

I recently appeared in an episode of the I See You Podcast, the link to that as well as other links regarding Julie will be provided below.

Thank you for joining us on this walk!

https://www.iseeyouliving.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jWb7lurqR8

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On this episode, we are honored to be joined by Richard Ostler. Richard is from Salt Lake City, Utah, and is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is the author of three books, and is the host of the podcast, “Listen, Learn, and Love.” As an LGBTQIA ally, Richard has dedicated much of his life's work to the advocacy of greater love and acceptance of queer individuals, particularly within the LDS community.

In this episode, Richard shares some of his life story and personal growth journey from viewing queerness as something that could be corrected to the broader acceptance of all people exactly as they were created, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. He shares some of his experience of challenge and growth from his former church service as a Young Single Adults bishop.

In this honest conversation, we discuss the importance of self acceptance, personal revelation and relationship with God, as well as how we can all love one another more fully. We hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

My mom and I were also recently guests on “Listen, Learn and Love.” The link to that episode as well as links to more about Richard are listed below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-818501778/episode-857-rhonda-monson-and-her-gay-son-dakota-moses

https://www.papaostler.com/

https://www.listenlearnandlove.org/

Thank you for joining us.