4 Lessons from my 4th (and last?) LDSPMA Conference
People are amazing. Creativity is a responsibility as much as a gift. True impact comes through the Spirit and through love-filled ministry. Don't get so busy that you can't receive.
Okay, so the 2024 LDSPMA Conference probably won’t be my last. But it will be my last in the capacity of operations manager (a.k.a. the project manager and event manager for the conference), as I phase out of that role over the next month.
Since 2021, I have been at the heart of planning the annual conference for Latter-day Saints in Publishing, Media, and the Arts (LDSPMA). This is an incredible three days of classes, workshops, keynotes, and networking for over 450 authors, editors, songwriters, artists, publishing professionals, and other media creators.
Last weekend (October 17-19) was the fourth LDSPMA conference that I’ve been the operations manager for. It was a splendid conference—the best-run conference we’ve had so far, with the fewest fires to put out, and with an amazing selection of speakers. It was also a bit nostalgic for me, as I made the decision over the summer to phase out of my role in LDSPMA to allow more time to focus on my writing and other goals.
The LDSPMA Conference, combined with visiting family while in Utah, consumed all my time the last three weeks, hence why I was not able to release a new chapter of The Pyromancer’s Scroll this last week. I will resume my normal release schedule next Tuesday. Thank you for your patience!
I wanted to share 4 lessons from my experience last weekend:
1. People Are Amazing
By far the best part of working for LDSPMA has been the amazing people I get to work with—nearly all of whom are volunteers!
Each conference, I am wowed by the commitment, diligence, effort, sacrifice, and passion of the scores of people who make our conference happen. A short-list this year includes:
our registration manager, Kaitlyn Schroeder (who printed and alphabetized over 450 name badges and manned the registration desk nearly nonstop for two straight days)
our vendor/sponsor coordinator, Amy Bell (who oversaw the stuffing of flyers and materials into 450 swag bags and coordinated with over 35 vendors and authors)
our new director of membership, Amilee Selfridge (who spent much of the conference gathering video interviews for our social media accounts and advocating our pending premium membership program, on top of promoting her own book and business)
our camera crew and A/V coordinator, Paul Schwartz (who put together the equipment and personnel to record high-quality audio and visual in 8 simultaneous breakout sessions, plus coordinating all the complicated A/V for the gala, film screening, and keynote sessions)
our conference director, Steve Piersanti (who, besides being a tremendous mentor and believe in me, has a gift for lining up incredible keynote speakers each year and for staffing our conference committee with the best talent)
and many, many others, including Patrick and Lisa Kidder, Jen Brewer, Mike House, Jere Clune, Tricia Simpson, Maleah Warner, Kristina Bischoff, Kimberly Kofoed, Daniel Blomberg, Aurellia Saunders, Kim Clement, Heidi Peterson, KaTrina Jackson, Nicole Bay, Casey Cline, Annika Champenois, Natalia Hepworth, Brandon Isle, and over 20 other conference committee members, 25 on-site volunteers, and 30 members of other committees and teams. They are all amazing!
If you want to have your faith in humanity restored, go volunteer for a nonprofit!
Lesson 1.5: When you need help, pray for the right people, and then seek them out. Much of my fear with leaving LDSPMA was being able to find competent and committed people to replace me. After we sent out a call, screened 23 applicants, and interviewing 7 of them, the president, VP, and I are very happy to have found two amazing individuals to take over my tasks! Paul Schwartz (left) and Stacey Leybas (right) will do a tremendous job as operations manager and conference manager, respectively.
2. Creativity Is a Responsibility as Much as It Is a Gift
I got to attend at least portions of all four keynotes this year (yay!). By far the keynote that impacted me the most was Michael McLean, whose career as a songwriter, author, producer, and actor has spanned over 5 decades.
Several of Michael’s lessons (each punctuated by personal stories) hit home for me:
The point of our lives is to figure out, “Who am I? What is the unique contribution I am supposed to give to the world?”
To say that I am not amazing, that I am just ordinary, is to insult the power of that God who created me. That is false modesty, not true humility. True humility means realizing how amazing each one of us is—but acknowledging that the source of our gifts is God.
We often think that inspiration—the inspiration for a song or a story, for example—is a gift God gives us to bless and impact other people. And it is a gift, yes. But more importantly, it’s a lesson. Moments of inspiration are usually trying to communicate lessons that I, the creator, am supposed to learn and grow from.
So when God blesses us with creativity, it carries with it the responsibility to (1) figure out how awesome we are, (2) give God the credit, (3) remember how awesome everyone else is, (4) use our creativity to fulfil our unique mission in the world, and (5) learn lessons from our creative moments about how to be a better person.
3. Deep Impact Comes Through Spirit-Led Connection and Love-Filled Ministry
Michael McLean’s keynote address, and the other keynotes, especially Kristin Yee’s, deeply impacted me.
They impacted me because the speakers were able to connect with me on both an emotional and a spiritual level.
The emotional connection came as they were vulnerable, authentic, passionate, and earnest in what they were sharing (and as I opened up to receive—see lesson 4 below).
The spiritual connection came as they shared true principles and concepts, because the Spirit was then able to bear witness of those truths and teach me additional truths beyond what they actually said.
That is the formula for connecting and impacting an audience. One-to-many.
But I witnessed—and this was the most incredible aspect of the conference—another route to impact. Not impact one-to-many, but impact one-to-one.
After her keynote address concluded at 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon, Kristin Yee stayed for a meet-and-greet in the lobby for any who wanted to talk to her. A long line quickly formed.
Kristin Yee talked with people until 7:30 pm that night.
For three hours, without a break to eat or even sit down, she talked to easily over a hundred people. And I mean she actually conversed with them. It wasn’t just a handshake and a few quick comments. She took 2-4 minutes with each party. Every time I passed, it seemed like the person she was talking to was in tears. Multiple friends told me later how much their exchange with her had impacted them.
I thought I would never see, firsthand, such an example of loving ministry.
I was wrong.
The very next afternoon, after Michael McLean completed his keynote at 4 pm, he also stayed for a meet-and-greet. Again, a long line formed, and like Kristin Yee, he took his time with each person. Throughout the next several hours, as I oversaw various cleanup tasks, I watched as the line slowly inched forward, as one by one, he changed peoples lives with his words.
He left the building at 9:15 that night.
(We did get him a stool and a plate of food, though he hardly touched either one.)
Do you want to impact people? Go ahead and write something powerful that will reach millions. Speak to audiences of hundreds or thousands. That definitely works.
But never underestimate the power of ministering one-to-one with love.
4. Don’t Get So Busy that You Can’t Receive
My first three LDSPMA conferences were hectic affairs. There was always a constant stream of problems to address. Cameras not recording. Mics not working. Presentations not displaying. Editors not showing up to hear pitches. Name badges not prepared correctly. Food courts not open when they were supposed to be. Plates running out. People getting lost trying to find the building.
(It got so predictably hectic that in 2023, when our logistics manager was preparing a timeline of tasks that she and I needed to complete, she wrote for the weekend of the conference, “Get out the fire extinguishers.”)
This conference . . . was better! We had worked out many of the kinks of the venue, we had a more robust team, we were better prepared with supplies. For those and other reasons (including a fair dose of good luck), this conference was the smoothest one yet.
But more importantly, I had changed. Due to life lessons I learned this year, as well as some emotional healing and shifts in my mindset, I could approach the conference with far less stress and anxiety. I was able to delegate more. I could put more trust in other people’s ability to handle their areas of responsibility. I didn’t feel the compulsion to be running around checking everything.
As a result, I feel like I got more out of this conference than the 2021, 2022, and 2023 conferences combined. I attended 75% of the keynote sessions (instead of 25%)! I sat down and attended three breakout sessions (instead of none)! I sat down and ate lunch, during the lunch hour, all three days! And I was able to have real, meaningful, relaxed conversations with dozens of volunteers, vendors, and attendees!
Whether you’re running an event, a business, a meeting, a team, or a family, it can be easy to get so busy helping others receive the benefits of it that you fail to receive any of the benefits. Don’t let that happen. You’ll burn out. Part of the secret to enjoying an event is good preparation (so the event itself runs smoothly). But another big part is your mindset and emotional state. Too much anxiety will lock up your ability to receive.
Miscellaneous Other Lessons
From Ally Condie (bestselling fiction author):
“Heavenly Father makes us lonely sometimes on purpose. Our loneliness drives us to connect with Him. Our loneliness drives us to create things like He created things.”
“Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering.”
From Kristin Yee (second counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency):
Raise your hand and volunteer to do things you’ve never done before. Pursue new opportunities.
Pay attention to the thoughts God is giving you about your career, etc.
What we think is stable (a certain job situation) may not be stable. Our security lies in Jesus Christ, not in our job. HE is our constant. (She told a story where God told her to leave her job at an animation studio. It took great faith to quit her job and move into economic uncertainty. But then, a month or two later, that studio was shut down out of the blue.)
Do each step in a process well. Each step will be affected by the steps preceding it. Poorly done or incomplete steps will show through sooner or later.
Don’t let your identity and focus get consumed by a project, job, or task. With each, ask, “How does this fit in to the bigger picture of my life and my eternal progression?”
Also pay attention to whether you can feel the Lord in it.
“Seek to bless as He intends.”
From Kurt Francom (Leading Saints podcast host) and Pastor Jeff McCullough (Hello Saints YouTube channel) on interfaith relations:
In an interfaith dialogue, try to move from “You believe [that thing I don’t believe in”}? That’s okay, that’s not important” to “You believe that? That’s so cool! Why is that important to you?”
Assume the best intentions of people. Don’t suspect or accuse them of a hidden motive or agenda.
It’s okay to agree. Sometimes we get all uptight and feel like if we agree on a point of doctrine with someone of another faith, we’re messing up.
Don’t approach interfaith dialogues with the intention to convert the other person. Don’t even have your goal to be to find common ground. Your goal should be to understand and to love.
Be honest in your views and feelings. But mix that honesty with reassurance. (“I feel this way about your choices to pursue X lifestyle or believe Y. But I love you and want to show you my love and understanding.”)
From Ann Furgeson (mindset coach), in a session on mindset:
“Anything you want to feel is only one memory away.”
You are not your own worst enemy. Satan uses every stratagem to convince us that other people or circumstances or ourselves are the enemy—when the only enemy is Satan.
You have struggles with yourself not because you are weak, but because you are a threat to Satan and he is doing everything he can to stop you from fulfilling your heavenly potential.
How to identify the source of thoughts and ideas:
Thoughts from you: “Should I do X? When/where/how should I do Y?”
Thoughts from the Spirit: “Do X. Do Y, and do it this way.”
Thoughts from Satan: “You can’t do X because . . . . You shouldn’t do Y because . . .” (excuses, justifications, all the reasons why not)
We believe in the gift of visions. Seek that gift! Embrace and seek the vision of what you want to do/accomplish/bring about!
What an amazing adventure the last four years have been!
If you are a content creator of any kind, and especially if faith is a big part of your life, I highly encourage you to attend the 2025 LDSPMA Conference! You can become a member of LDSPMA for free at ldspma.org/join.
You are amazing, Jeremy! Thank you so much for your faith and great example as you worked so hard the last four years. And I needed this post. Thank you 😊
And thanks for the shout out! I feel honored 😁
Thanks for the recap Jeremy! This was my first year at the conference. I’m already planning on next year.