Thinking Celestial - A ”Follow The Prophet” Series Podcast · SLCC Institute of Religion

Ep 163 S6 Andrea Shelley "Lovest Thou Me?" Steven C. Barlow

·32 min·2 clips

Andrea Shelley says motherhood may come through adoption or marriage with someone who already has children.

Andrea Shelley joins Dr. Kirk Burbage to talk about Elder Stephen C. Barlow’s "Lovest Thou Me?". She introduces herself as a 26-year-old taking Institute again for the first time since right out of high school, and the conversation begins with the kind of everyday energy that leaves room for honest faith talk. The discussion opens on Heavenly Father’s plan. Kirk frames the plan as fabulous and meaningful, and connects it to the Savior’s atonement as what makes the Father’s plan possible, while Andrea keeps bringing that idea back to how life feels when plans get interrupted. The talk does not hurry past the pain. They spend time on the gap between what people hope for and what actually shows up, including the kind of frustration that makes someone not want a quick answer like go to the temple and you will feel better. Andrea pushes back on that shortcut. She says she wants space to be angry first, and the conversation treats that reaction as part of a real relationship with God rather than a failure of it. That is the center of the episode. If blessings do not appear when people want them, Kirk and Andrea ask whether they run from God or run to him anyway. The answer stays personal. Andrea talks about trauma, disappointment, and still speaking to God about things that are not polished or pious, because the prayer itself keeps the bond alive. The tone turns tender. They land on the idea that being angry at someone you trust can still end in resolution, validation, and closeness, which gives the spiritual point a very human shape. Scripture comes in naturally. Kirk points to Jesus wept, and the discussion uses that brief moment at Lazarus’s tomb to show that God can know the ending and still sit with grief. The episode closes with testimony. It settles on the paradox that believers experience God’s love more deeply as they show love for him, and that the Savior makes the whole plan possible. It is a conversational, classroom-rooted walk through doctrine. Listeners who want faith talk that meets sorrow without pretending it is simple will find a lot to sit with here.

As heard by us

A warm, practical faith conversation about staying with God when blessings are delayed and feelings are hard.

This episode stays close to the people in the room: an Institute teacher and student talking through Elder Stephen C. Barlow's "Lovest Thou Me?" and tracing it into ordinary life.

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Why you'd press play

For the days when faith and frustration sit in the same chair.

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