The Acts of James E. Talmage | An Interview with Bryan Summers

Bryan Summers was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He served a
mission in Carlsbad, California, and earned a Master's Degree in
Library Science at the University of Wales-Aberystwyth. He was a
county librarian in Yuma, Arizona for 12 years, and is now a
mortgage broker in Saint George, Utah. Bryan has served in the
Church as a nursery leader, ward mission leader, elders quorum
president, and bishop. He is currently a teachers quorum assistant.
He and his wife have been married 24 years and are the parents of
three boys and three girls. Bryan enjoys backpacking—especially the
Timberline Trail on Mount Hood—and once spent three weeks wandering
around the Kurdish areas of Northern Iraq and Eastern Turkey. Links
Acts of the Apostles: @actsofapostles_ The Talmage Story There is
already a discussion started about this podcast. Share your
thoughts HERE. Watch on YouTube Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast
Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights 1:45
Introduction to Bryan Summers 3:00 Things that Bryan learned from
being a bishop. The importance of feeling the Spirit. 4:40 Bryan
has started a project, Modern-day Acts of the Apostles. He
researches apostles and shares his favorite stories on his page.
13:00 Leaders should take a little time to read the apostles'
biographies. It can be comforting to read about the apostles'
experiences. 15:20 Stories on James E. Talmage. Be careful of the
stories you hear. 16:30 Albert Einstein was friends with Henry B.
Eyring’s dad. The Mormon Scientist is a great book to learn more
about it. 17:20 James E. Talmage’s biography was written by his
son. 18:00 Most well known for his book, Jesus the Christ. He wrote
the book in just 7 months. 19:20 When James Talmage was an apostle,
they would have him speak when there was a hostile crowd. By the
end of his talk people were in tears. 20:00 He was brave first and
also had a lot of compassion. Early stories on James’ childhood and
upbringing in Britain. 24:20 The story of James’ schoolmaster who
hated the Church. He got beat a lot for challenging his
schoolmaster and stood up for his convictions. Yet he remained
friends with the schoolmaster as an adult. 26:00 The story of
James’ college friend who constantly teased him for being a prude.
28:40 He was a scientific lecturer from an early age. 31:00 A story
from when James was the president of the University of Utah. He
would do things over and over again till he resolved something. He
was very resilient. 32:50 James was almost like an Indiana Jones of
the western territory and went on expeditions to unknown places in
the Utah desert. He became a celebrity of the scientific world.
35:50 He was a part of many scientific societies, which was a very
big deal back then. 37:00 One of the most popular stories of James
E. Talmage. Compassion mixed with bravery. 41:00 The Lord calls you
to be you. He was called to be mission president in Great Britain
in the height of the anti-Mormon sentiment. He went newspaper to
newspaper and became friends with editors from all the different
hostile newspapers that were printing anti-Mormon articles. The
stories began to stop thanks to him. 45:40 The story of when
President Grant tried to teach James to play golf. He was convinced
that he needed to take up more recreational activities. 48:40 When
writing Jesus the Christ, James was in the temple 24/7. He wrote it
in just 7 months and 5 days. 49:00 The death of James E. Talmage at
age 70. He passed away from complications of strep throat. This was
10 years before penicillin and was deadly if not treated right
away. 52:30 Stories on John W. Taylor, one the apostles
excommunicated for polygamy. 55:20 “Being a leader showed me how
dependent I was on the Savior.” The Leading Saints Podcast is one
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