From a young age growing up in a Catholic home, Fred had strong desires to become a priest, but several years into his studies he realized that he had a lot more questions than answers.
Fortunately, through a series of inspired events, Fred was able to find the answers he was looking for in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and has been a faithful member ever since.
As a professional therapist, the gospel has helped Dr. Dodini to help many of his clients to view their lives from a different, higher, and holier perspective. These ideas and perspectives are so valuable that he wrote a book about them, titled "Shine Brighter: Choosing a Life of Greater Clarity, Purpose, and Joy".
*** Please SHARE Fred's story and help us spread hope and light to others. ***
To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/Hc8ZKu-xC_0
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To READ Fred's book "Shine Brighter", visit (direct link): https://www.amazon.com/Shine-Brighter-Choosing-Greater-Clarity/dp/1631953346
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Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Scott Brandley (00:00):
Hi everyone, I'm Scott Brandley.
Alisha Coakley (00:02):
And I'm Alisha Coakley.
Every member of the Church hasa story to share, one that can
instill faith, invite growth andinspire others.
Scott Brandley (00:10):
On today's episode we're going to hear how
a Catholic priest in trainingand a powerful answer to prayer
led one man to seek truth andfollow the promptings of the
Spirit.
Welcome to Latter-day Lights.
Hi everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Latter-day
(00:34):
Lights.
We're so glad you're here withus today.
We're really excited tointroduce our guest, dr Fred
Dodini.
Dr Fred, how are you doingtoday?
Fred Dodini (00:42):
I am well.
I hope you are too.
Alisha Coakley (00:45):
We are.
Scott Brandley (00:45):
We are, yeah, we're doing great.
Alisha Coakley (00:47):
Yeah, I was just asking Scott earlier if he got
a Sunday nap in, did you?
No Busy day today Me neither,so if we fall asleep, Scott will
just have to keep the showgoing for us.
Scott Brandley (01:03):
Huh, I didn't have a nap either.
Oh no, I think.
I think this is going to be areally interesting episode.
Actually, I'm excited.
Alisha Coakley (01:11):
I, I concur so, dr Fred.
Scott Brandley (01:17):
Yeah, how do we, how do we address you, dr.
Fred?
Fred Dodini (01:20):
Fred is just fine.
Okay, that's what my motherWell, fred, fred is just fine.
Alisha Coakley (01:24):
Okay, that's what my mother tells me Well
cool, Well, Fred, why don't youtell everyone a little bit about
yourself?
Fred Dodini (01:33):
Well, I grew up in Northern California, a little
farming community called Gridley, and grew up in an active
Catholic family, which isthey're in the minority, as you
may know, when it comes toCatholics.
But served as an altar boy whenI was a kid.
I started parochial schoolsfrom fifth through eighth grade
(01:53):
and then my freshman year, highschool.
I entered the seminary system.
So if you're going to be aCatholic priest and you start as
a freshman in high school, it'sa 12-year process.
So four years of high school,four years of college and three
years of theology school.
So that was the plan.
Alisha Coakley (02:10):
That's longer than it takes to be a doctor.
Fred Dodini (02:13):
Yeah, yeah, I mean not everybody starts, you know,
freshman year of high school,but-.
Alisha Coakley (02:17):
And it's less pay oh absolutely Absolutely.
Wow.
Fred Dodini (02:24):
That is a commitment.
Alisha Coakley (02:25):
I did not know that, yeah.
Fred Dodini (02:27):
So, my wife and I, we just celebrated our 50th
anniversary.
Last year we have 10 childrenand 34 and counting
grandchildren.
So we are a fun group,especially for family reunions
are quite the experience.
Alisha Coakley (02:47):
Okay, so I have to ask because my parents are at
the point now where they've gotgrandkids and great grandkids
and like their Christmas budget,for each person gets smaller
and smaller and smaller.
And I told him I said justdon't buy for the adults, Like,
just buy for the little ones.
You know, like be like under 18, you get gifts, but over 18,
you don't.
So how do you guys do it with34 grand?
Fred Dodini (03:06):
Yeah, we have a wheel, so each of our 10 kids
each year we turn the wheelright.
So there's names on the outside, names on the inside, and so it
lines up.
One sibling buys for anothersiblings family.
But my wife insists on usgetting something for each of
the 10 families, so it's it'snot elaborate, elaborate, and
she's doing things for thegrandkids all the time.
Alisha Coakley (03:27):
Oh wow, oh my gosh, that's cool.
So it's like the wheel ofChristmas.
Fred Dodini (03:33):
Yes, yeah, that's what it is.
We try to keep it within thebudget.
Alisha Coakley (03:38):
Wow, that is so cool.
Oh, my goodness.
Well, that's awesome.
So we know that you're a doctor.
A doctor of what?
Fred Dodini (03:46):
Yeah Well, I got a master's degree in clinical
social work from BYU and then aPhD at Purdue University in
marriage and family therapy.
So I have a practice privatepractice where I work with
couples and families and peoplewith anxiety and depression and
all sorts of challenges in theirlives.
Alisha Coakley (04:06):
And being 50 years married.
Yeah, oh, lots of experiencethere.
Fred Dodini (04:11):
Yeah, as soon as I tell people that their mouth
falls open.
Yeah, that's incredible Instantcredibility when it comes to
talking about marriage andparenting issues.
Alisha Coakley (04:21):
Oh, for sure that is awesome.
Well, wonderful, super cool.
Well, fred, we're definitelyinterested in hearing how you
got from altar boy to superMormon grandpa.
Fred Dodini (04:36):
Yeah, yeah, so why don't you go ahead and share
your story with us?
You know, when I was in sixthgrade, it was a Catholic school
in Marysville, california.
Each year there would be apriest from the diocese, which
is kind of like a stake in theCatholic church.
They would go to all of theCatholic schools in the area and
(04:57):
talk to the sixth, seventh andeighth grade boys about the
possibility of, you know,considering a vocation as a
priest.
And I was just really struckwith the conversation because,
you know, I was aation as apriest.
And I was just really struckwith the conversation because,
you know, I was a mischievouskid, to say the least.
But there was a serious side tome too.
And I remember thinking thatday it sounded like a great idea
.
This showed slides of every youknow it's an all boys school,
(05:19):
so there are, you know, kinds ofsports stuff and fun kinds of
things.
But I just really felt that if Iwanted my life to matter, I
should just let God decide howto use it.
And becoming a priest was thenatural choice to let God direct
my life.
So I remember going home thatday and just announcing around
(05:39):
the dinner table that I'd mademy decision I was going to be a
priest.
You know, when you're 11 yearsold you're going to be a
baseball player one week and,you know, an astronaut the next.
So nobody took much interest init.
But I kept the brochure theygave me, I put it in my desk in
my bedroom and, beginning ofeighth grade, I pulled it out
(06:01):
and filled out the little formto request information and
mailed it off.
I don't even remember if I toldmy parents that I'd done that.
So, yeah, my mind was prettywell made up at that point and I
spent the first three years ofhigh school in the seminary the
minor seminary system and mysenior year.
Father Bruce was the dean ofthe school and, like I said, I
(06:26):
was a bit of a mischievous kid.
I kind of led the way in thepillow fights and the kitchen
raids and that sort of stuff.
So I got myself into a prettygood amount of trouble and so it
was a very conservative place,you can imagine, and Father
Bruce didn't think I waspriesthood material at that time
.
So they suggested I spend mysenior year of you know
(06:49):
somewhere else.
So I went back to public schoolmy hometown and that was not a
good year, um, and said.
You know, I really didn't planto become priest.
So I went on to the, to thecollege section section, my
freshman year of college, andthat's when I really began to
feel like I did not feel, like Ihad that confirmation from the
(07:11):
Spirit that I felt I had before.
And the more I thought about itand prayed about it, the more
convinced I was that there were,and I was learning more and
more about Catholic doctrine andthe history of the church and
there were obvious, you know,some glaring problems there.
Scott Brandley (07:26):
How does that happen?
Like what's the schedule?
Like how much studying do youdo?
Fred Dodini (07:33):
Well, in addition, you know normal school
curriculum stuff.
There's religion classes and wewere involved in communities
teaching what they called CCDclasses.
They were religion classes youknow to, to kids in various
parishes and stuff, and it wasjust the mindset that you know
you've made this commitment soyou need to live your life
(07:53):
prepared for that.
So you can imagine we were wewere dating during summer
vacations was stronglydiscouraged if you were going to
be a priest.
So yeah, that was interestingwhen I went back to public
school and not very great socialskills around girls at that
time, but yeah, it was just.
(08:14):
I mean, we went to mass everyday and we had time for
meditation and prayer andreading the scriptures and stuff
was part of the curriculum andour daily routines.
So it was just that we weretrying to live our lives in a
way that would prepare us forthat responsibility.
Alisha Coakley (08:32):
Gotcha.
Fred Dodini (08:33):
And then, after I so that freshman year of college
, I just really felt stronglythat this was not what God had
intended for me.
And so I went home really kindof really didn't feel any
direction in my life at thatpoint because what I, you know,
dreamed about doing since I was11 years old, here I am 18.
(08:53):
And it just I didn't haveanything else, I didn't have
plan B, but I remember Ienrolled some community college
classes and stuff, but my headwasn't in it.
And so I really began to pray,and I mean I did normally each
night before bed, and I remembervividly it was a midweek,
(09:19):
weekday night in mid-January of1970.
I'd just been out of theseminary for a few weeks and I
just knelt by my bed and Iprayed and I asked Heavenly
Father, and I said this isexactly what I said.
I said, father in heaven, ifthere is truth to be found on
the earth, please lead me to it.
I got an immediate,unmistakable, undeniable
(09:43):
response.
Response, and the spirit madevery clear to me that my prayer
had been heard and would beanswered in a specific time
frame when that would happen.
It would happen in two years,which I wasn't happy about
because you know, I'm ready now.
You know, give me the answer.
What am I going to do for thenext two years?
Right, my thumbs waiting forsomething, and uh, you know, the
(10:06):
old saying is that god can'tsteer a parked car.
So I figured, okay, if, if thecatholic church wasn't the
answer and I didn't know which,which direction I was supposed
to go, I had friends that went,you know, attended different
churches and stuff, and i'd'dactually attended some LDS
services with a couple offriends in high school who were
(10:26):
LDS, and it was a time of kindof upheaval in my life.
I was in a band, we made thetrip to Hollywood to try and get
a recording deal and stuff likethat, and that didn't go well.
And came back from that anddecided I was ready to go back
to college and started back atthe community college, and that
(10:48):
was the fall of 1971.
And there were some really goodkids in the chorus class that I
was enrolled in and we got tobe good friends and we used to
spend our lunch hours justtalking about religion and
philosophy and things like that.
And there was a girl, pattystott, that was in our little
(11:09):
group and we used to and she waslds and, um, it was just a, you
know, very open kind ofconversation and I think,
gradually, the more time I spentwith her, the more I think the
spirit began to work on me and Ijust felt strongly drawn to
learning more about uh, the ldschurch.
The Spirit began to work on meand I just felt strongly drawn
to learning more about the LDSChurch.
So I went to a friend of mine,one of the guys I'd been in a
(11:31):
band with.
He was LDS but he wasn't activein the church, and asked if I
could borrow a Book of Mormonfrom him, if he had one.
And he said he didn't have onebut he knew his grandmother
would.
So he was at his house, he goton the phone and called his
grandmother and a couple minuteslater I looked out the window
and she was sprinting down thestreet.
She was probably in herseventies, at least with a Book
(11:55):
of Mormon in her hand.
So I started reading andcouldn't put her down.
I read the whole book in acouple of weeks and then I went
to one of the faculty members oncampus that I knew was LDS and
just said I read the Book ofMormon, I want to know more.
What's the next step?
And he said well, I can contactthe missionaries.
So in my little farming town ofGridley, california, I got a
(12:20):
call one day from a gentlemanwho wanted to come by and he and
his friend were wardmissionaries.
They were funny, they were bothpig farmers, so a little
uncouth.
And I had all these veryintelligent questions, I thought
, and they struggled, I think,to answer them.
But the more I took thediscussions, the more convinced
(12:44):
I was in the spirit to continueto work with me.
And so they asked me aboutbaptism.
I said, yeah, let's do it.
Alisha Coakley (12:51):
So how long was this after your prayer?
Fred Dodini (12:56):
That was a little well, almost two years at that
point, almost two years at thatpoint.
It was a little after thetwo-year period that I actually
got baptized.
I got baptized in March andthat prayer experience had been
in January, two years before.
But I was reflecting on that afew months afterwards and the
(13:20):
big changes in my life, andespecially with the gift of the
Holy ghost and radical change,uh, it was like the spirit was
cleaning house in my head.
Um, I just began to with theold doctrines, the old ideas
just began to kind of drift awayand be replaced with, you know,
the doctrines of the restoredchurch.
And and I was readingeverything I could get my hands
(13:41):
on.
I read the book of Mormonprobably three times in the
first three or four months, wow,and you know President
Kimball's book and, just like Isaid, I just tried to devour as
much information as I could.
And one day, like I said, a fewmonths afterwards, I was just
thinking back and reflecting onwhat had happened and that whole
(14:04):
process.
I was just thinking back andreflecting on what had happened
and that whole process and Irealized that the day I opened
the Book of Mormon and beganreading it for the first time
was almost two years to the dayof that prayer experience, so I
didn't write it down at the time.
But it was in a midweek day inmid day in mid January two years
(14:24):
later that I opened the bookmore for the first time.
So, um, that is so cool.
Things went, uh have gone wellever since.
Scott Brandley (14:34):
What was that like Um, having grown up with a
certain way of looking at Godand and certain doctrine, and
then having the book of Mormoncome in out of nowhere and just
with new ideas and new teachings.
Because you?
Fred Dodini (14:49):
know as I read, because I had a lot of.
There were a lot of questionsyou know Catholic doctrines and
stuff that weren't reallyanswered in the Bible.
There were, you know, policiesand doctrines that the Catholic
church taught that weren'treally taught in the Bible.
But reading the book of Mormonjust kind of filled in most of
the blanks that I had questionsconcerning about some of the
doctrines and things and it justfelt right.
(15:12):
I mean, that's what the Spiritdoes.
It felt like home.
In fact, the morning I gotbaptized I jumped on my bicycle
and decided I was going to makeone last trip to make sure I was
making the right decision.
So I pedaled past the LDSChurch on Spruce Street in
Gridley and felt thisoverwhelming feeling like I was
(15:35):
coming home.
And then another, you know,maybe half a mile away.
I drove by the Catholic ChurchI had grown up in.
I had been in there hundreds oftimes, served as an altar boy,
and I felt nothing.
I just felt empty, and to methat was just the final
(15:55):
confirmation that I was makingthe right decision.
I was home.
Alisha Coakley (16:00):
Wow.
So can I ask, and I don't know,I mean you don't have to share
if you don't want to, becausenormally we don't really do this
on the show.
It's more just about theexperience and not like the
doctrine part.
But I'm curious, like for youwhat were some of the things
that you struggled with inregards to the Catholic Church
that were answered as you werereading the Book of Mormon?
Fred Dodini (16:23):
You know the doctrine of the Trinity that
really came out of the Councilof Nicaea in 325, the idea that
God was a mystery, that there'sthe three-in-one concept.
It didn't jive with me on whatI was reading in the scriptures.
The Savior addressed the Father.
He always said the Father isgreater than I.
And you know, when he said theFather and I are one, he also
(16:44):
said the same is greater than I.
And you know, when he said thefather and I are one, he also
said same thing to the apostles,that they needed to be one.
So that was an issue, um andthe whole concept of
transubstantiation, that somehowthe eucharist or the, the
sacrament, is somehow actuallytransformed into the body and
blood of christ like thephysical body, right, yeah?
(17:04):
even though it still maintainsits appearance of, you know,
bread and wine and that sort ofthing, and it just um, you know,
I knew about the last supper, Iknew about what the savior had
said to the apostles and um,that just didn't, you know, that
didn't stick, didn't work forme.
Yeah, and there were.
There were practices back inthe ancient church, you know the
popes who were sellingindulgences and doing some bad
(17:26):
things, and just overall thehistory of the church changing,
of the form of baptism.
There were all kinds of thingsthat to me seemed not in harmony
with what the New Testamenttaught.
Alisha Coakley (17:39):
Did you ever bring that kind of stuff up
while you were in the seminary?
Did you ever ask anyone elseabout it, or did you kind of
keep it in internal?
Fred Dodini (17:46):
Yeah, we didn't talk about in the high school
part.
We didn't really get that deepinto some of the doctrines.
But in the in the collegedepartment you know our freshman
year we got more into thephilosophy and that sort of
stuff and and yeah, we used totalk about some of these things
in our classes.
There were a lot of young menthere that really were kind of
(18:07):
on the fence as far as whetherthey believed the scriptures
were literal or not.
And even today there are peoplein a lot of mainline religions
that aren't entirely sureexactly what the Savior's role
was.
They don't understand theatonement very well.
Alisha Coakley (18:21):
Wow, what about the doctrine of, you know, with,
with priests being single, youknow, and having that life of
celibacy?
Like how did that?
Fred Dodini (18:32):
that policy and that didn't really come out
until it was the fourth or fifthcentury at least, and the idea
was that somehow, if you'regoing to be serving God and
serving you know, your fellowman is a priest that you didn't
have the time and the energy todevote for family.
And there was, there weredoctrines about that kind of
(18:54):
made the flesh, you know, anykind of sexual relationships and
stuff like that kind of.
That was a lower level of faith, I suppose, and so you know
priests and nuns were consideredthey were living by a higher
standard, I guess, if they tookvows of poverty, chastity and
obedience.
So.
But I knew a lot of prieststhat were struggling with a lot
(19:14):
of things, you know, even theones in the seminary where I
lived.
It was a boarding schoolenvironment, so we lived there
nine months of the year and someof the priests were struggling
with, you know, alcohol issuesand some other stuff.
So I knew it was a difficultlife and I knew there were some
things missing from their lives.
Scott Brandley (19:34):
that didn't necessarily have to be Gotcha.
Did they encourage you to askquestions or was it more like
you don't ask?
Fred Dodini (19:54):
No, that was typical of the Vatican Council,
which was a big church councilin the Catholic Church in the
60s really opened up a lot ofecumenical kinds of ideas we
started.
You know it used to beconsidered a mortal sin to even
attend another church's service,but there in the seminary we
had a really good choir and Iplayed in the combo and sang in
the choir and stuff and we usedto perform at other churches in
the seminary we had a reallygood choir and I played in the
combo and sang in the choir andstuff and we used to perform at
other churches in the Sacramentoarea and so there was more of a
kind of an open position oninquiry and learning more about
(20:17):
other religions and the GreekOrthodox Church, which had
broken off from RomanCatholicism back in the 13th
century.
Now it was okay for GreekOrthodox priests to come
celebrate Mass with RomanCatholic priests.
It was considered valid.
So that was huge.
Alisha Coakley (20:38):
That's cool.
Fred Dodini (20:39):
So there were changes.
Alisha Coakley (20:42):
And I don't know again, this is not normally
where we go with the show, but Iam really intrigued with like
knowing a little bit more aboutthis, Because one of the things
that I didn't even know aboutthe Council of Nicaea until and
maybe I'm saying that wrong, Isit?
Fred Dodini (20:57):
Nicaea.
Alisha Coakley (20:58):
Nicaea.
Okay, so I didn't even knowabout them until probably 10 or
15 years ago, something likethat, you know.
And then when I heard the storyof how that all came out and
what their purpose was, I wasjust like holy cow, like how
come everybody doesn't knowabout this?
Like how come this isn't common?
Fred Dodini (21:19):
knowledge.
It's a really important event.
Constantine was a newly mintedChristian at that time, and so
the Roman Empire allowedChristianity.
It became the state religion.
But there was a big conflictbetween the eastern part of the
church based in Constantinople,which was separate from the
(21:40):
Roman church, the western church.
The Roman church had morepeople, more the Pope was there
and all that, and soConstantine's the one who called
that council, and one of thebiggest issues that they
addressed was the Trinity.
There was an Eastern Orthodoxscholar by the name of Arius who
was teaching that the Fatherand the Son are not of the same
(22:04):
substance, that they areseparate individuals.
That didn't go over well withthe Western part of the church,
who had more political clout.
So they went out in thatcouncil and Arius' writings were
destroyed and he was branded aheretic.
So that's really where thatthree-in-one mystical kind of
(22:25):
concept was really canonized wasat the Council of Nicaea, and
it's still part of Protestantand evangelical Christianity to
this day.
Alisha Coakley (22:35):
Yeah, all mainstream Christianity, right.
Yeah, I don't really know ofany other faiths who believe in
the Godhead, despite the factthat I founds who believe in the
Godhead, you know, despite thefact that I always I found it
interesting that the wordGodhead is found multiple times
throughout the scriptures, butthe word Trinity is never once
found in there.
Is that correct?
So it's interesting how they,how they came to, like, gather
(23:00):
that idea, and I know thatthere's a few scriptures that
are kind of confusing when youread about.
You know, I am the father andthe father's in me and you know,
like I understand that, but itit was just, it was almost like
jaw-dropping to me when Ilearned about this council and
like the history of it and Ijust thought how, how did how
did christianity get so far?
You know, I mean like it was agradual thing that happened,
(23:24):
yeah there's a book I'm tryingto remember.
Fred Dodini (23:27):
I believe it's written by one of the other I
think he's in the presidingbishopric, and his name escapes
me at the moment.
I think it's called theblueprint for the savior's
church or something to thateffect.
Okay, and it's really good bookand he documents a lot of these
changes that occurred over thecenturies.
And, um, he found there was wasa letter by the Bishop of
(23:47):
Carthage, northern Africa, andthis was in the early, I think
in the early fourth century,like around 300, well, maybe in
the third century.
He was the bishop of thatcongregation and there was a
letter that was found, that fromsomeone who was part of the
congregation saying you know, wereally need to rethink this
(24:09):
baptism thing because there area lot of older people who want
to get baptized.
I mean, we can't dump in water,they could get sick and you
know, blah, blah, blah.
We should, we should come upwith an alternative.
And this was I can't rememberhis name again, but he was a
well-known scholar in that timein Christianity and his response
(24:29):
was I don't have a problem withthat, but you're going to have
to convince the people back inRome that that's okay.
Well, within a century.
That's exactly what happened,and that was when the mode of
baptism they allowed sprinkling.
Alisha Coakley (24:45):
Wow, I didn't know that, so they used to
baptize like we did.
Fred Dodini (24:51):
Yeah, in the first second century of the Christian
church there were still a lot ofthe original first century
doctrines that were surviving,but over time, just a lot of
it's an apostasy.
A lot of false doctrine beganto creep in and gradually gain
acceptance over time.
Alisha Coakley (25:12):
Gotcha Very interesting.
Scott Brandley (25:15):
So, as you're learning, reading the Book of
Mormon and stuff, you must becomparing all these things that
you've learned to these newideas from the LDS church, right
it?
Fred Dodini (25:29):
wasn't really a comparison, it just made sense
and that's how the Spirit works,right.
You know truth when yourecognize it.
I knew it when I read the Bookof Mormon for the first time.
I knew it when I prayed aboutJoseph Smith and about whether
the church was true.
So it spoke to me and so Ididn't really struggle over
(25:51):
those changes.
I was all in when I made thedecision to get baptized and if
I was interested, after I'd hadthe missionary discussions, I
went to one of the other facultymembers at Community College
and I also heard it was LDS andI said I've read the Book of
Mormon, I've taken themissionary discussions, I want
to get baptized.
I said are you authorized to dothat?
It just so happened he was thestate mission president.
Scott Brandley (26:14):
Oh how cool.
Fred Dodini (26:15):
He's the one who baptized me.
Alisha Coakley (26:18):
Oh, that's awesome.
Scott Brandley (26:21):
So how did that affect your family?
Fred Dodini (26:23):
It didn't go over well.
In fact, my parents asked me tomove out soon after that.
My parents are great people,just good human beings.
You know, the Catholic Churchgoes back in our two sides of
the families back five, six,seven hundred years, I mean
literally.
I've traced our genealogy backto interesting back in the 1600s
(26:48):
in this little village inSwitzerland where my father's
family came from.
We've traced it back to aCatholic priest who had some
children with a young woman hewas in a relationship with in
that community.
They couldn't be married but itwas not uncommon for priests to
have relationships Reallyuncommon for priests to have
(27:09):
relationships Really yeah.
So yeah, wow, I've got someCatholic priests on both sides
of my family, my mom's and mydad's.
Alisha Coakley (27:14):
How scandalous.
Fred Dodini (27:17):
I know I try to bear the shame.
Alisha Coakley (27:24):
Oh man, Did your family ever, you family ever
come around at all you?
Fred Dodini (27:29):
know we kind of had to understand.
I had moved out for a while andwas living in an apartment in
Chico where I was going toschool.
And then that young woman thatwas in my class and that's
another story.
I'm reluctant to share thisbecause it's going to give some
(27:49):
people the wrong impression shewas over at another friend's
house.
There was another girl in ourcollege class we were all
friends with and I rememberedjust wondering what role she
might play in my life.
Or I was really just kind ofpraying and asking you know
what's the next step, kind ofthing.
And I remember I was sitting ina friend's car and I said just
(28:13):
kind of out loud that's the wayI used to pray, I used to talk
to God.
I said you know, maybe we'regoing to wind up married.
And boom, I mean I felt theforce come through the top of my
head and explode in my chest.
That's the best way, you know.
You talk about the burning inthe bosom.
And the answer was very clearthat's it, she's the one.
(28:35):
And I was not even a member ofthe church then.
Wow that was a couple months, atleast a couple months before.
So yeah, that was weird and Ithought, well, I can't tell her
that She'll make it reallycrazier than they already
thought it was.
But the Spirit just keptpushing and, pushing, and
(28:58):
pushing and she had experiencedone day.
It was lunchtime, she was justpraying about what direction the
Lord wanted her to take in herlife.
She had this really strongprompting to get up and walk
over to the outdoor lunch area.
There I was there.
(29:18):
She just felt directed to sitdown and we started talking.
I said, well, I've gotsomething I'm supposed to tell
you.
I don't want to because you'regoing to really think I'm crazy.
But I had this experience and Iexplained it to her and she
just kind of smiled and noddedher head.
She's LDS, she's not going tomarry somebody.
(29:38):
That's not LDS.
And I had no idea, no timeframe, none of that stuff.
I just had that experience.
But yeah, after I was baptizedand we started dating and um
yeah, kind of engaged
Alisha Coakley (29:53):
a few months later.
Wow, that's cool, really.
Yeah, that's awesome, oh mygosh.
Okay, so take us to.
You're in college.
Now you're baptized.
You know how do you go topicking this profession that
you're in with.
You know wanting to be amarriage and family counselor
and all that kind of stuff likewhere do you get?
Where do you go from there?
Fred Dodini (30:12):
well, I mean, that was my plan.
I was, I majored in psychology,minored in music and and I
played in bands, you know, youknow dance bands and stuff like
that in high school and collegeand we used to play for all the
church dances when I was incollege and, um, I was, I was
applying for graduate programsin counseling fields, psychology
and all that sort of stuff, andI just got a call from out of
(30:33):
the blue.
The guitar player in our bandwho was leaving on his mission,
had run into another couple ofmusicians in the music store who
played in a 50s show band youprobably guys have never heard
of, but they were.
Uh, yeah, I have, you had, okay.
So they were a bunch of youknow guys from columbia
(30:55):
university in new york and theyplayed at woodstock and so 50s
music was really popular at thetime in the in the mid 70s.
Happy days was on tv and stuff,yeah, and they were looking for
a bass player.
They wanted to leave school andgo on the road and I thought,
you know, 50s music isn't reallynot very challenging and I was
a better musician than that andyou know I don't want to get up
(31:18):
and jump around on stage and putdippity do in my hair I mean,
that was beneath me, right but Ifelt this prompting I need to
go audition with them, and I did, and I got this another
powerful spiritual impression.
That's what you're supposed todo, and I remember going home to
my wife and saying this iscrazy.
(31:39):
I have no idea, this doesn'tmake any sense at all, but I
feel like I'm supposed to dothis, and so we both fastened a
prayer about it and made thedecision, and so I graduated,
finished my undergrad about sixmonths later and the band went
on the road and I spent twoyears with the Bop-A-Dips that
was the name of the band.
(32:00):
They are still in existence inMissoula, montana.
The guy who was the leader ofthe band started another
incarnation of them and it wasterrible.
I mean, it was dangerous.
You could have gotten killedseveral times.
You know, traveling in Canada40 below zero in the middle of
February and having vehiclesbreak down, so it was a little
(32:22):
scary.
Yeah, we had two kids at thetime and so it came to the point
where I said this is, thisisn't working.
You know this can't be theright thing to do.
So I quit the band and and uh,it was planned to, you know, go
back, get my plan started forgraduate school.
And then we moved to Utah so itwould be closer to BYU, because
(32:42):
I thought, you know, they had aprogram in social work and
marriage and family therapy andpsychology.
So that was kind of the plan.
And I got another phone callfrom somebody I'd never met and
didn't know, who wanted me tofly to Phoenix and audition for
his bigger 50s touring band.
He was picking musicians fromdifferent groups around the
country and he'd heard about theBop-A-Dips because we played
(33:05):
one club in Boise that we werereal popular at and his band
wound up in the same club andthe coincidences are kind of
really weird here.
The guy who was leaving used todo a Ray Charles the comedy Ray
Charles impersonation.
We did a lot of tributes frompeople in the 50s and early 60s.
(33:26):
Just so happened that I did twoin my other 50s band.
I played a nerd character.
The other bass player was anerd character.
So yeah, I just felt again mywife and I had the same
impression this is what you'resupposed to do.
This part's not over yet and Ithought this really is a bummer.
(33:46):
I was on jazz to go to gradschool and stuff.
It's not over yet and I thoughtthis really is a bummer.
I was on jazz to go to gradschool and stuff.
And so I joined that band andthe next six years it went from
crazy to crazier.
I remember just a few monthsafter joining the band I was
home back when we were living inUtah and the band was based in
(34:10):
Orlando, florida, and we had alittle time off and I was home
and made an appointment to seethe bishop and we had just moved
from one ward into this newward in Orem just a couple of
weeks before I left to go tojoin the band and go on the road
.
And so the bishop thought Ithink he thought I was inactive
or something.
And I asked for the meetingwith the bishop because I want
to go to join the band and go onthe road.
And so the bishop thought Ithink he thought I was inactive
or something and I asked for themeeting with the bishop because
(34:32):
I wanted to make sure that thefamily had good home teachers
and visiting teachers, because Iknew I was going to be gone a
lot.
And so I met with him and Iwalked in and he shook my hand
and I sat down in the chair infront of his desk and he just
stared at me for a few secondsand then he said I've been
(34:54):
thinking about this conversationall day.
I had all my remarks rehearsed.
I was going to tell you youneed to quit this band, come
home, take care of your family.
But when we shook hands and yousat down, the spirit said to me
you cannot tell him that.
Scott Brandley (35:03):
Wow.
Fred Dodini (35:04):
And I said I'm so glad that you are in tune with
the Spirit, because I can'texplain this either.
I just know that this is whatI'm supposed to be doing.
I don't have any idea why.
I just want to make sure myfamily is getting what they need
.
And so about a year and a halflater, just being based in
(35:27):
Orlando, we toured all over thecountry and internationally.
But I didn't want to leave thefamily.
They would travel with me asmuch as possible.
We just decided to move toOrlando.
So we did that and we'd beenthere a few months and we went
in to see the bishop for how weused to do the budget assessment
and stuff like that.
(35:48):
So my wife and I were there andwalked in.
Bishop greeted us, we sat downin two chairs in front of his
desk and he just stared at mefor a few seconds and then he
said I've been thinking aboutthis conversation all day.
I had all my remarks rehearsed.
I was in a pain.
You need to quit this band andcome home and take care of your
family.
(36:08):
But when you walked in and youshook hands and we sat down, the
Spirit said to me you cannottell him that it was virtually
what had happened to peoplebefore and my wife and I just
looked at each other and startedlaughing.
I said you're not the firstbishop to have that experience,
and I mean he'd been inactive atone time.
The club I was based in was a50s themed club, but it used to
(36:31):
be well, it's to say, not a verysavory place that the bishop
used to hang out in.
So he knew, you know, thereputation and the guy who owned
the club that's another story.
He was involved with the mafiaand bad things happened.
It's crazy stuff.
You know when, when my wife andI tell people they just they
(36:53):
can't imagine that that part ofmy life is just so bizarre.
But so, yeah, again, and Iexplained the mission, I said I
don't understand it.
I've been praying and praying,and praying to just get some
clear guidance here.
Why?
Why am I supposed to be in thissituation?
It's not safe.
I'm in a really bad environmenta lot.
It's not good for the family,it's dangerous, you know.
(37:15):
But I never really got a reallyclear answer of what it was.
But when the time came, when Iknew it was over, the Lord made
it very clear.
I mean, the door slammed shutand it was done.
Alisha Coakley (37:30):
So you still don't know why.
Fred Dodini (37:31):
I still don't know why.
Alisha Coakley (37:35):
I was going to say you must have affected
somebody along the way.
Fred Dodini (37:39):
Yeah, a couple of people who joined the church
that were friends of ours,especially my wife, and so I
mean my logical mind has to comeup with some explanation.
Well, that must've been thereason, but but I've never
really felt like I had any clearexplanation.
At one time I thought, well,maybe this is just kind of
preparation for something elsethat's going to come later.
So that seemed to make sense.
(38:00):
And when I did get a chance togo to grad school and become a
therapist, a lot of thoseexperiences really helped me
understand people from verydifferent backgrounds and people
with all kinds of addictionsand bad stuff going on their
lives and trauma, and so in thatregard, I think it's it's
helped me feel more compassionfor people who are very
different than me, certainly,and whose lives they really
(38:24):
struggle oh huh, that's aninteresting perspective.
Alisha Coakley (38:30):
So I'm noticing, you know you've got a few books
behind you and I know we talkeda little bit about this book,
so do you want to kind of leadus into that?
Fred Dodini (38:41):
Sure.
Well, it kind of follows thatsame idea of following the
spirit, searching for truth inour lives, and so I was the
clinical director for theAnasazi Foundation in Arizona.
It's a wilderness program forteenagers and young adults and
it's run by some LDS families.
We didn't really emphasizespirituality per se, but people
(39:01):
would come from literally allover the world with various
different kinds of religiousbackgrounds.
So we always try to include atleast a recognition of spiritual
values if they had any in theirlives In the Native American
community, because one of thefamilies was Ezequiel Sanchez.
He's Totonac Indian and hiswife is Navajo, so a lot of
Indian kind of culture about thegreat spirit and the creator
(39:24):
and those kinds of things.
That language would be part ofthe way we spoke to kids, so we
were always trying to find stufffrom their wilderness
experience.
They're spending six weeks atleast out in the wilderness
living really primitively as away as a teaching method, and so
I still remember theconversation.
It was a 17-year-old boy fromBeverly Hills whose family was
(39:47):
very wealthy and entitled and hehad rejected all that and was
kind of angry and rebellious andhe was kind of hard to connect
with and we were just sitting ona mountaintop one day and I
said you know, we're not here totell you how you live your life
.
That's a choice you get to make.
But can I help you figure outwhat the options are?
He said what do you mean?
I say, well, there's threekinds of people in the world sun
(40:07):
people, moon people and starpeople.
You say what are you talkingabout?
I say look up.
What do you see?
I see the sun, okay.
So what?
Okay, well, what does it do?
Provides light, yeah.
Warmth, yeah.
Nutrition.
Vitamin D comes from sunlight.
We need it for plants to grow,so we have food to eat.
We need it for photosynthesisso we have oxygen to breathe.
(40:29):
So life on the earth couldn'texist without the sun.
And the sun uses its mass tocreate a gravitational force
that guides the orbit of theearth.
We are just the right distancefrom the sun or life couldn't
exist on this planet.
So I said the sun exists toserve the earth.
It's the strongest, mostpowerful thing in our solar
(40:50):
system, but its whole focus ison us, a tiny little blue ball
in the night sky.
So I said sun people are thesame way.
They provide light in the formof knowledge, wisdom,
understanding.
They provide warmth in the formof compassion and love.
They provide nutrition in theform of service to the bodies,
(41:12):
the minds, the spirits of allthose around them.
And they use their knowledge,their wealth, their positions of
influence in the world, theirpower to guide other people's
lives in a positive direction,toward happiness.
And I said have you ever metany sun people?
And he stopped for a minute andsaid yeah.
And I said have you ever metany sun people?
And he stopped for a minute andsaid yeah.
I said how do you feel whenyou're around them?
(41:34):
He said I feel good.
I know I have value.
They see me as a person ofvalue, regardless of what I'm
doing.
I said, yeah, that's been myexperience too.
So, yeah, some people are thebest.
What about the moon?
What do we know about the moon?
Does it produce its own light?
No, just what's reflected fromthe sun.
So I said well, that means themoon is always half in the light
(41:56):
and half in the dark.
You know, know, part good, partevil, part truth, part error.
And then every now and then youhave a little process where the
sun, you got a full moon in thenight sky and all of a sudden
it starts to get darker anddarker and darker, until the
moon is totally in the dark.
I said you know what causesthat?
He said yeah, it's a lunareclipse.
Dude, he's from California.
Scott Brandley (42:19):
And I said yeah.
Fred Dodini (42:20):
And so isn't that amazing.
We've got a reminder in thenight sky what happens when
people let the world get in theway, and that's what moon people
do.
Their focus is on temporalthings.
It's about power and wealth andprestige, and entertainment and
good looks and popularity Allthe stuff we leave behind when
we die.
But moon people are part in thelight, part in the dark.
(42:44):
They're ambiguous.
They got the devil on oneshoulder and the angel on the
other.
They're struggling to choosebetween good and evil and their
focus is on themselves, not onthe welfare of other people.
And I said do you know any moonpeople?
And he laughed.
He said, yeah, yeah, I livewith them.
So, okay, didn't want to go anyfurther about that.
(43:04):
Yeah, so, uh.
I said oh, okay.
And I said what about stars?
Stars are just a tiny pinpointof light in the night sky,
hardly any light at all, and no,no heat, no warmth comes from.
Then they're too far away.
And I said, yeah, star peopleare the same way.
What little light and goodnessthey have within them they don't
(43:25):
value, they don't nurture it,they don't want it to grow, they
don't have anything to sharewith other people.
So their lives are in the darkand they prefer it that way.
They want power and they'll dowhatever it takes to get it.
They lie all the time, theysteal, they cheat, they kill.
(43:47):
It's all about control andpower over other people.
And I said have you ever metany star people?
And he said yeah, you do notwant to be around those people.
They will hurt you.
I said, okay, yeah, he knows.
So I said you know, I just wantto help you figure out your
options in life.
You're meeting some real sunpeople here.
The people on the trail, thestaff were great.
I mean, a lot of them were just, you know, college kids.
They weren't that much olderthan the kids that were in the
(44:09):
program, but they just had alight about them.
They were so positive andoptimistic.
And I said you know, you havethese opportunities here.
You can see the way thesepeople live their lives compared
to some of the other peopleyou've known.
So those are your choices sun,moon or star.
And again, I can't make thedecision for you, neither can
your parents and neither willGod.
(44:30):
But if you want to know whatthose look like, if you think
being a sun person is the way togo, by all means go for it.
And as I got up to leave and inour conversation I turned back
to him.
I said oh, by the way, for therest of your life, every time
you look up in the sky, you'regoing to remember this
(44:51):
conversation.
He said dude, you're totally inmy head now.
I said, yeah, that was kind ofthe idea.
We laughed.
We had some good conversationsafter that, so that became the
theme for the book.
I just write about what itlooks like to be a sun, moon or
star person.
A lot of it's from the Doctrineand Covenants, section 76, and
1 Corinthians, chapter 15.
(45:13):
So people of faith certainlycan relate to it, and I just use
those metaphors to talk aboutour choices as individuals, as
spouses, as parents and then ascitizens in the broader
community.
Alisha Coakley (45:25):
Wow, that's really cool.
I love that, so okay, so whereare we now?
Fred Dodini (45:34):
Where are we now?
We're Carmel Indiana.
We're Carmel Indiana.
We came back out here.
Our kids are spread literallyfrom coast to coast.
We have a daughter in thePortland Oregon area, we have a
son in Arledge in Virginia andvarious places in between.
So when we downsized from ourfamily home in Arizona and I'd
(45:58):
left the Anasazi Foundation, itwas in private practice and we
just decided to come back thisdirection.
We were a little bit closer toa few more of our kids on the
eastern half of the US than onthe western and we've enjoyed it
here.
And my wife's a massagetherapist.
She continues to do some workand works a lot with people that
(46:18):
have had trauma and stuff likethat too.
So we work and works a lot withpeople that have had trauma and
stuff like that too.
So we work together a lot ofour clients.
Alisha Coakley (46:24):
That's really neat.
Oh, I love that and what.
Scott Brandley (46:27):
so what does that look like Like?
What does your day to day looklike in your field?
Fred Dodini (46:35):
Boy.
Yeah, I see clientsindividually and couples and
families.
I get a chance to use that thesun, moon, star metaphor quite a
lot, because a lot of timespeople are in bad situations
because they made misguidedchoices or they've been involved
with other people who are doingthe same kind of bad stuff.
(46:56):
So I think it's a good, just asimple metaphor that resonates
with everybody.
You don't have to have anyparticularly religious
background.
If you do, you can relate to itat a deeper level.
But even then, it's, it's just,it's a.
It serves as a simple metaphorto people.
You want a better life?
Okay, this is what it lookslike.
(47:17):
A better life.
Okay, this is what it lookslike, and I can help you if you
want.
But you got to make thatdecision.
It's like the old uh, it's theold joke.
How many psychologists does ittake to change the light bulb?
Just one, but the light bulbhas to want to change.
That's the challenge fortherapists is finding people who
(47:38):
want to change.
Unfortunately, they're not inthe majority.
Alisha Coakley (47:43):
Oh wow, man, you have just like a very full life
.
I really have loved hearingabout it.
I'm sure you have a millionother stories too.
Fred Dodini (47:55):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
But my wife and I, we laughabout some of this stuff.
You know, um, we have had, allyou know, very diverse, uh, set
of experiences in life, but it'sall good, we've.
We've grown.
I think so much and appreciateso much because of a lot of the
diversity and some of theadversity that we've had to deal
(48:17):
with.
And our kids have done reallywell.
You know, they're all active inthe church, all married in the
temple, so we just feel thatthat's maybe that was the Lord's
blessing.
Alisha Coakley (48:27):
You have an awesome resume.
Like for a marriage and familyLDS counselor.
Like check, check, check.
Your phone's going to beringing after this episode, oh
yeah.
Scott Brandley (48:42):
I enjoy what I do.
Fred Dodini (48:44):
And it's even more satisfying when I can actually
help people who are ready tomake some changes in their lives
.
Scott Brandley (48:50):
Wow.
Fred Dodini (48:51):
And I think those challenges, you know our older
kids five of the kids were bornduring those traveling years and
then the next five were not sothey can't relate to any of the
experiences their older siblingstalk about, but they've really
been there for each otherthrough some really difficult
challenges that some of themhave faced.
And we feel so blessed andthat's one of the things I kept
(49:15):
thinking Maybe because I madethat sacrifice for whatever
purpose the Lord had in mind.
I think he has blessed ourfamily tremendously.
And I tell our kids that I said.
You know the fact that we didmake some sacrifices.
There was a reason for it andthe Lord is going to remember
that.
Alisha Coakley (49:32):
And we've been blessed in a lot of ways so just
a little off topic, but if youhad to give advice to someone
who wants what you have, whowants the 50 years under their
belt with marriage, happymarriage, yes very happy anyone
anyone can be married for 50years.
Fred Dodini (49:52):
Just that's a little harder no, we, we, we,
great, great relationship.
Um, yeah, um, you know, it allgoes back to the, the basics.
It's.
It's about faith, it's about, Ithink, it's about seeking for
truth, and that was what led meon this whole thing in the first
place was a simple prayer to myheavenly father.
(50:13):
I just wanted to find the truthand the promise came that I
would and I did, and that reallyis what it all goes back to.
If we have you know, moronitalks about it in Moroni 10, if
you have the desire to know thetruth and the willingness and
the attention to act on it, whenyou receive it, the Lord's
going to bless you, he's goingto open up all of this knowledge
(50:35):
.
But you have to want to, youhave to ask, ask right, ask,
seek, knock, um.
And if you have that desire,there's, there's, there's no
reason not to believe that theanswers will come, and they
certainly will.
Scott Brandley (50:49):
That's been my experience wow awesome well, do
you want to have any lastcomments?
Um, or any last thoughts beforewe wrap things up?
Fred Dodini (51:03):
I was thinking of something funny.
One of my clients said recentlywe were, we were talking, he's
a nurse and he's had some realchallenges in his life.
And I say how you know, how areyou coping with all this stuff?
And and he says I just tell myfriends I'm just waiting for the
rapture, just waiting for therapture, just waiting for the
(51:25):
rapture and it may come soonerthan we, than we, some of us
expect it, but for him that'sit's not just a joke, it's, it's
the way he copes.
He's a man of faith.
He's dealt with a lot ofchallenges in his life.
You know he's got some sexualorientation issues going on
there.
We don't, you know, focus onthat so much.
It's mostly about.
(51:45):
It's mostly about being a goodperson and that's what he wants
to be and he's striving to beand so anything I can do to help
him in that process.
So I've encouraged people thatif you make the commitment, if
you want to be a sun person, infact I kind of have it.
There's a secret to the book.
When I talk about the sun, themoon, the stars, I always spell
(52:06):
it the same way S-U-N.
Right, there's one place in thebook where I spell it
differently and I did that onpurpose.
So if people of faith arereading the book, they're going
(52:27):
to see that and they're going towonder oh, this just isn't
about the S-U-N, it's about theS-O-N.
And I've told people who'veread the book I say read it
again, but this time keep apencil handy and every time you
come across the word S-U-N, justput a line through it and write
S-O-N above it, and you'lldiscover you're reading an
entirely different book.
I did it myself, and there's somany references, comparisons of
the sun and the sky to God andthe Savior.
(52:50):
It's just to me that'sultimately the direction
people's lives need to go in andstore the Savior.
That's where ultimate happinessis, that's where we find truth
and that's where we find thesolutions to our problems as
individuals, as spouses, asparents and as citizens in the
community.
If we would just turn to thesavior, turn to the source of
(53:13):
truth, everything would be somuch better.
Alisha Coakley (53:19):
And so your book is called shine brighter.
And where do we find it?
Can we find it on Amazon, or isthere?
Fred Dodini (53:26):
Yeah, I think most of them, although online Barnes
and Noble Amazon.
There's a couple other ones.
I think most of them have awidespread.
Yeah.
Okay, awesome, and we're justfinished with the audio book
here, cause a lot of peopleprefer audio books.
Yeah, scott and I are big audiopeople, I'll actually give my
(53:47):
kids to read my book, butthey'll listen to it.
That's another reason.
Scott Brandley (53:52):
I've done some research on that and it's about
one-third read the physical book, one-third read the digital
version and one-third listen tothe physical book.
One third read the digitalversion and one third listen to
the audiobook yeah you kind ofhave to do all three if you want
to get the full exposure.
Fred Dodini (54:06):
Everybody, yeah, yeah yeah, it's been fun.
I've been doing the narrationmyself and I'm learning a lot
about that process.
Alisha Coakley (54:14):
So it's a lot of work.
Fred Dodini (54:16):
It's a lot, lot of work.
Alisha Coakley (54:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah .
I've been practicing myself forwhen mine comes out and I'm
like I think I'm going to haveto hire someone.
Fred Dodini (54:28):
You know, I thought about that, nobody knows the
material as well as I do and Ihave stage experience.
I played a nerd character inthe bands I was in, so I did all
the comedy as well as playingbass guitar and with one hand
while I'm reading a comic bookwith the other.
I just did all kinds of stuff,so I think I'm getting up to
(54:50):
speed on the narration gig.
Alisha Coakley (54:53):
There you go.
I love it Awesome.
Fred Dodini (54:56):
Well, it's so great to meet you guys.
I'm excited for what you'redoing.
Thank you, because you'rebringing, I think, a great
message to other people outthere and we all need that.
We're living in verychallenging days and so many of
my clients in the LDS ones arereally struggling because of you
know just situations we're alldealing with, and I think when
(55:20):
we hear stories of hope andfaith, it really it gives us
something tangible to hold on toso we can get through some
difficult times.
Alisha Coakley (55:26):
Yeah, and we didn't pay you to say that.
No, not at all.
That's free advertising rightthere.
But it really is true, fred.
You know, I think that thecloser we get to the second
coming, the more we need to havein our arsenal and I feel like
(55:46):
we've said it before on the showthe scriptures are just a set
of stories and experiences ofpeople's lives.
That's all it is.
It's just an accumulation ofthat, and if we're supposed to
liken the scriptures to ourlives, then we too are supposed
to share our stories, and so Ireally appreciate you coming on
here and sharing some of yourstories with us today.
(56:07):
This has been such a great show.
I always feel like the telltalesigns for Alisha, whenever I
feel like I have a really goodshow, is either one I cry a lot,
or two I smile so much that mycheeks hurt, and my cheeks are
hurting really bad, and I'mreally thankful that I didn't
cry my mascara off this time.
Fred Dodini (56:29):
I tell you I try to bring as much humor into my
sessions with people because itreally laughter is a very
healing experience and I'vealways felt that, so I try to
keep it light and engaging.
I agree.
Scott Brandley (56:43):
I feel like we're kindred spirits, Fred.
We're both trying to sharelight.
Fred Dodini (56:49):
Yeah.
Scott Brandley (56:50):
I love your analogy of the sun.
You know, because the worldneeds it and however we can
deliver it, that's you knowGod's going to be happy,
absolutely.
Fred Dodini (57:02):
And I think there are a lot of ways, because
there's a lot of people outthere that you know they're not
attracted to traditionalreligion because the institution
has problems for some of themif they've grown up in bad
environments, and I see that alot.
But you know, you can still getinto people's hearts and their
heads by, by stories and andthey can relate.
Other people's experiences aresimilar to theirs and I think
(57:25):
that's it's one of the greatmissionary tools we have is that
ability just to connect witheach other's lives and
experiences and and find thehumor in it, in it all too.
Alisha Coakley (57:35):
Yeah, definitely .
Yeah, I agree, Wow.
Well, fred, it has been awesomehaving you on here today.
We really really appreciate youand your stories and the light
that you're bringing to theworld too.
um, if you uh are listeners here, if you guys would do our
little five second missionarywork, your your five second
(57:56):
missionary work, uh, and hitthat share button, get Fred's
story out.
I think that that would beawesome.
Definitely.
Leave us a comment, let us knowwhat you thought about it.
Let us know when you guys goorder his book too.
I think that that would bereally really cool just to see
who picked it up or who iswaiting for the Audible to come
out.
Right.
Fred Dodini (58:15):
And the people at Audible, book and Amazon keep
telling me you need morecomments or reviews or stuff
like that, so I encourage people.
Alisha Coakley (58:22):
There you go, there you go, see.
So it would all help.
It would help get more lightout to the world.
Fred Dodini (58:26):
It's just getting the, getting the message out
there.
That's what it's all about.
Alisha Coakley (58:30):
It's very true, very true.
Scott Brandley (58:32):
Yeah, awesome, awesome.
And if you have any storiesthat you'd like to share, go to
latterdaylightscom and send itin.
Let's have you on the show.
And if you want to hear morestories like Dr Fred's,
subscribe to our channel so youcan get alerted when we have
another show.
Fred Dodini (58:52):
Absolutely.
Scott Brandley (58:52):
With that, thanks again, Fred, for being on
the show.
My pleasure, and thank youeveryone for being here and
we'll talk to you next week whenwe have another show.
Take care, Bye-bye.
Hi everyone, I'm Scott Brandley.
Alisha Coakley (00:02):
And I'm Alisha Coakley.
Every member of the Church hasa story to share, one that can
instill faith, invite growth andinspire others.
Scott Brandley (00:10):
On today's episode we're going to hear how
a Catholic priest in trainingand a powerful answer to prayer
led one man to seek truth andfollow the promptings of the
Spirit.
Welcome to Latter-day Lights.
Hi everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Latter-day
(00:34):
Lights.
We're so glad you're here withus today.
We're really excited tointroduce our guest, dr Fred
Dodini.
Dr Fred, how are you doingtoday?
Fred Dodini (00:42):
I am well.
I hope you are too.
Alisha Coakley (00:45):
We are.
Scott Brandley (00:45):
We are, yeah, we're doing great.
Alisha Coakley (00:47):
Yeah, I was just asking Scott earlier if he got
a Sunday nap in, did you?
No Busy day today Me neither,so if we fall asleep, Scott will
just have to keep the showgoing for us.
Scott Brandley (01:03):
Huh, I didn't have a nap either.
Oh no, I think.
I think this is going to be areally interesting episode.
Actually, I'm excited.
Alisha Coakley (01:11):
I, I concur so, dr Fred.
Scott Brandley (01:17):
Yeah, how do we, how do we address you, dr.
Fred?
Fred Dodini (01:20):
Fred is just fine.
Okay, that's what my motherWell, fred, fred is just fine.
Alisha Coakley (01:24):
Okay, that's what my mother tells me Well
cool, Well, Fred, why don't youtell everyone a little bit about
yourself?
Fred Dodini (01:33):
Well, I grew up in Northern California, a little
farming community called Gridley, and grew up in an active
Catholic family, which isthey're in the minority, as you
may know, when it comes toCatholics.
But served as an altar boy whenI was a kid.
I started parochial schoolsfrom fifth through eighth grade
(01:53):
and then my freshman year, highschool.
I entered the seminary system.
So if you're going to be aCatholic priest and you start as
a freshman in high school, it'sa 12-year process.
So four years of high school,four years of college and three
years of theology school.
So that was the plan.
Alisha Coakley (02:10):
That's longer than it takes to be a doctor.
Fred Dodini (02:13):
Yeah, yeah, I mean not everybody starts, you know,
freshman year of high school,but-.
Alisha Coakley (02:17):
And it's less pay oh absolutely Absolutely.
Wow.
Fred Dodini (02:24):
That is a commitment.
Alisha Coakley (02:25):
I did not know that, yeah.
Fred Dodini (02:27):
So, my wife and I, we just celebrated our 50th
anniversary.
Last year we have 10 childrenand 34 and counting
grandchildren.
So we are a fun group,especially for family reunions
are quite the experience.
Alisha Coakley (02:47):
Okay, so I have to ask because my parents are at
the point now where they've gotgrandkids and great grandkids
and like their Christmas budget,for each person gets smaller
and smaller and smaller.
And I told him I said justdon't buy for the adults, Like,
just buy for the little ones.
You know, like be like under 18, you get gifts, but over 18,
you don't.
So how do you guys do it with34 grand?
Fred Dodini (03:06):
Yeah, we have a wheel, so each of our 10 kids
each year we turn the wheelright.
So there's names on the outside, names on the inside, and so it
lines up.
One sibling buys for anothersiblings family.
But my wife insists on usgetting something for each of
the 10 families, so it's it'snot elaborate, elaborate, and
she's doing things for thegrandkids all the time.
Alisha Coakley (03:27):
Oh wow, oh my gosh, that's cool.
So it's like the wheel ofChristmas.
Fred Dodini (03:33):
Yes, yeah, that's what it is.
We try to keep it within thebudget.
Alisha Coakley (03:38):
Wow, that is so cool.
Oh, my goodness.
Well, that's awesome.
So we know that you're a doctor.
A doctor of what?
Fred Dodini (03:46):
Yeah Well, I got a master's degree in clinical
social work from BYU and then aPhD at Purdue University in
marriage and family therapy.
So I have a practice privatepractice where I work with
couples and families and peoplewith anxiety and depression and
all sorts of challenges in theirlives.
Alisha Coakley (04:06):
And being 50 years married.
Yeah, oh, lots of experiencethere.
Fred Dodini (04:11):
Yeah, as soon as I tell people that their mouth
falls open.
Yeah, that's incredible Instantcredibility when it comes to
talking about marriage andparenting issues.
Alisha Coakley (04:21):
Oh, for sure that is awesome.
Well, wonderful, super cool.
Well, fred, we're definitelyinterested in hearing how you
got from altar boy to superMormon grandpa.
Fred Dodini (04:36):
Yeah, yeah, so why don't you go ahead and share
your story with us?
You know, when I was in sixthgrade, it was a Catholic school
in Marysville, california.
Each year there would be apriest from the diocese, which
is kind of like a stake in theCatholic church.
They would go to all of theCatholic schools in the area and
(04:57):
talk to the sixth, seventh andeighth grade boys about the
possibility of, you know,considering a vocation as a
priest.
And I was just really struckwith the conversation because,
you know, I was aation as apriest.
And I was just really struckwith the conversation because,
you know, I was a mischievouskid, to say the least.
But there was a serious side tome too.
And I remember thinking thatday it sounded like a great idea
.
This showed slides of every youknow it's an all boys school,
(05:19):
so there are, you know, kinds ofsports stuff and fun kinds of
things.
But I just really felt that if Iwanted my life to matter, I
should just let God decide howto use it.
And becoming a priest was thenatural choice to let God direct
my life.
So I remember going home thatday and just announcing around
(05:39):
the dinner table that I'd mademy decision I was going to be a
priest.
You know, when you're 11 yearsold you're going to be a
baseball player one week and,you know, an astronaut the next.
So nobody took much interest init.
But I kept the brochure theygave me, I put it in my desk in
my bedroom and, beginning ofeighth grade, I pulled it out
(06:01):
and filled out the little formto request information and
mailed it off.
I don't even remember if I toldmy parents that I'd done that.
So, yeah, my mind was prettywell made up at that point and I
spent the first three years ofhigh school in the seminary the
minor seminary system and mysenior year.
Father Bruce was the dean ofthe school and, like I said, I
(06:26):
was a bit of a mischievous kid.
I kind of led the way in thepillow fights and the kitchen
raids and that sort of stuff.
So I got myself into a prettygood amount of trouble and so it
was a very conservative place,you can imagine, and Father
Bruce didn't think I waspriesthood material at that time
.
So they suggested I spend mysenior year of you know
(06:49):
somewhere else.
So I went back to public schoolmy hometown and that was not a
good year, um, and said.
You know, I really didn't planto become priest.
So I went on to the, to thecollege section section, my
freshman year of college, andthat's when I really began to
feel like I did not feel, like Ihad that confirmation from the
(07:11):
Spirit that I felt I had before.
And the more I thought about itand prayed about it, the more
convinced I was that there were,and I was learning more and
more about Catholic doctrine andthe history of the church and
there were obvious, you know,some glaring problems there.
Scott Brandley (07:26):
How does that happen?
Like what's the schedule?
Like how much studying do youdo?
Fred Dodini (07:33):
Well, in addition, you know normal school
curriculum stuff.
There's religion classes and wewere involved in communities
teaching what they called CCDclasses.
They were religion classes youknow to, to kids in various
parishes and stuff, and it wasjust the mindset that you know
you've made this commitment soyou need to live your life
(07:53):
prepared for that.
So you can imagine we were wewere dating during summer
vacations was stronglydiscouraged if you were going to
be a priest.
So yeah, that was interestingwhen I went back to public
school and not very great socialskills around girls at that
time, but yeah, it was just.
(08:14):
I mean, we went to mass everyday and we had time for
meditation and prayer andreading the scriptures and stuff
was part of the curriculum andour daily routines.
So it was just that we weretrying to live our lives in a
way that would prepare us forthat responsibility.
Alisha Coakley (08:32):
Gotcha.
Fred Dodini (08:33):
And then, after I so that freshman year of college
, I just really felt stronglythat this was not what God had
intended for me.
And so I went home really kindof really didn't feel any
direction in my life at thatpoint because what I, you know,
dreamed about doing since I was11 years old, here I am 18.
(08:53):
And it just I didn't haveanything else, I didn't have
plan B, but I remember Ienrolled some community college
classes and stuff, but my headwasn't in it.
And so I really began to pray,and I mean I did normally each
night before bed, and I remembervividly it was a midweek,
(09:19):
weekday night in mid-January of1970.
I'd just been out of theseminary for a few weeks and I
just knelt by my bed and Iprayed and I asked Heavenly
Father, and I said this isexactly what I said.
I said, father in heaven, ifthere is truth to be found on
the earth, please lead me to it.
I got an immediate,unmistakable, undeniable
(09:43):
response.
Response, and the spirit madevery clear to me that my prayer
had been heard and would beanswered in a specific time
frame when that would happen.
It would happen in two years,which I wasn't happy about
because you know, I'm ready now.
You know, give me the answer.
What am I going to do for thenext two years?
Right, my thumbs waiting forsomething, and uh, you know, the
(10:06):
old saying is that god can'tsteer a parked car.
So I figured, okay, if, if thecatholic church wasn't the
answer and I didn't know which,which direction I was supposed
to go, I had friends that went,you know, attended different
churches and stuff, and i'd'dactually attended some LDS
services with a couple offriends in high school who were
(10:26):
LDS, and it was a time of kindof upheaval in my life.
I was in a band, we made thetrip to Hollywood to try and get
a recording deal and stuff likethat, and that didn't go well.
And came back from that anddecided I was ready to go back
to college and started back atthe community college, and that
(10:48):
was the fall of 1971.
And there were some really goodkids in the chorus class that I
was enrolled in and we got tobe good friends and we used to
spend our lunch hours justtalking about religion and
philosophy and things like that.
And there was a girl, pattystott, that was in our little
(11:09):
group and we used to and she waslds and, um, it was just a, you
know, very open kind ofconversation and I think,
gradually, the more time I spentwith her, the more I think the
spirit began to work on me and Ijust felt strongly drawn to
learning more about uh, the ldschurch.
The Spirit began to work on meand I just felt strongly drawn
to learning more about the LDSChurch.
So I went to a friend of mine,one of the guys I'd been in a
(11:31):
band with.
He was LDS but he wasn't activein the church, and asked if I
could borrow a Book of Mormonfrom him, if he had one.
And he said he didn't have onebut he knew his grandmother
would.
So he was at his house, he goton the phone and called his
grandmother and a couple minuteslater I looked out the window
and she was sprinting down thestreet.
She was probably in herseventies, at least with a Book
(11:55):
of Mormon in her hand.
So I started reading andcouldn't put her down.
I read the whole book in acouple of weeks and then I went
to one of the faculty members oncampus that I knew was LDS and
just said I read the Book ofMormon, I want to know more.
What's the next step?
And he said well, I can contactthe missionaries.
So in my little farming town ofGridley, california, I got a
(12:20):
call one day from a gentlemanwho wanted to come by and he and
his friend were wardmissionaries.
They were funny, they were bothpig farmers, so a little
uncouth.
And I had all these veryintelligent questions, I thought
, and they struggled, I think,to answer them.
But the more I took thediscussions, the more convinced
(12:44):
I was in the spirit to continueto work with me.
And so they asked me aboutbaptism.
I said, yeah, let's do it.
Alisha Coakley (12:51):
So how long was this after your prayer?
Fred Dodini (12:56):
That was a little well, almost two years at that
point, almost two years at thatpoint.
It was a little after thetwo-year period that I actually
got baptized.
I got baptized in March andthat prayer experience had been
in January, two years before.
But I was reflecting on that afew months afterwards and the
(13:20):
big changes in my life, andespecially with the gift of the
Holy ghost and radical change,uh, it was like the spirit was
cleaning house in my head.
Um, I just began to with theold doctrines, the old ideas
just began to kind of drift awayand be replaced with, you know,
the doctrines of the restoredchurch.
And and I was readingeverything I could get my hands
(13:41):
on.
I read the book of Mormonprobably three times in the
first three or four months, wow,and you know President
Kimball's book and, just like Isaid, I just tried to devour as
much information as I could.
And one day, like I said, a fewmonths afterwards, I was just
thinking back and reflecting onwhat had happened and that whole
(14:04):
process.
I was just thinking back andreflecting on what had happened
and that whole process and Irealized that the day I opened
the Book of Mormon and beganreading it for the first time
was almost two years to the dayof that prayer experience, so I
didn't write it down at the time.
But it was in a midweek day inmid day in mid January two years
(14:24):
later that I opened the bookmore for the first time.
So, um, that is so cool.
Things went, uh have gone wellever since.
Scott Brandley (14:34):
What was that like Um, having grown up with a
certain way of looking at Godand and certain doctrine, and
then having the book of Mormoncome in out of nowhere and just
with new ideas and new teachings.
Because you?
Fred Dodini (14:49):
know as I read, because I had a lot of.
There were a lot of questionsyou know Catholic doctrines and
stuff that weren't reallyanswered in the Bible.
There were, you know, policiesand doctrines that the Catholic
church taught that weren'treally taught in the Bible.
But reading the book of Mormonjust kind of filled in most of
the blanks that I had questionsconcerning about some of the
doctrines and things and it justfelt right.
(15:12):
I mean, that's what the Spiritdoes.
It felt like home.
In fact, the morning I gotbaptized I jumped on my bicycle
and decided I was going to makeone last trip to make sure I was
making the right decision.
So I pedaled past the LDSChurch on Spruce Street in
Gridley and felt thisoverwhelming feeling like I was
(15:35):
coming home.
And then another, you know,maybe half a mile away.
I drove by the Catholic ChurchI had grown up in.
I had been in there hundreds oftimes, served as an altar boy,
and I felt nothing.
I just felt empty, and to methat was just the final
(15:55):
confirmation that I was makingthe right decision.
I was home.
Alisha Coakley (16:00):
Wow.
So can I ask, and I don't know,I mean you don't have to share
if you don't want to, becausenormally we don't really do this
on the show.
It's more just about theexperience and not like the
doctrine part.
But I'm curious, like for youwhat were some of the things
that you struggled with inregards to the Catholic Church
that were answered as you werereading the Book of Mormon?
Fred Dodini (16:23):
You know the doctrine of the Trinity that
really came out of the Councilof Nicaea in 325, the idea that
God was a mystery, that there'sthe three-in-one concept.
It didn't jive with me on whatI was reading in the scriptures.
The Savior addressed the Father.
He always said the Father isgreater than I.
And you know, when he said theFather and I are one, he also
(16:44):
said the same is greater than I.
And you know, when he said thefather and I are one, he also
said same thing to the apostles,that they needed to be one.
So that was an issue, um andthe whole concept of
transubstantiation, that somehowthe eucharist or the, the
sacrament, is somehow actuallytransformed into the body and
blood of christ like thephysical body, right, yeah?
(17:04):
even though it still maintainsits appearance of, you know,
bread and wine and that sort ofthing, and it just um, you know,
I knew about the last supper, Iknew about what the savior had
said to the apostles and um,that just didn't, you know, that
didn't stick, didn't work forme.
Yeah, and there were.
There were practices back inthe ancient church, you know the
popes who were sellingindulgences and doing some bad
(17:26):
things, and just overall thehistory of the church changing,
of the form of baptism.
There were all kinds of thingsthat to me seemed not in harmony
with what the New Testamenttaught.
Alisha Coakley (17:39):
Did you ever bring that kind of stuff up
while you were in the seminary?
Did you ever ask anyone elseabout it, or did you kind of
keep it in internal?
Fred Dodini (17:46):
Yeah, we didn't talk about in the high school
part.
We didn't really get that deepinto some of the doctrines.
But in the in the collegedepartment you know our freshman
year we got more into thephilosophy and that sort of
stuff and and yeah, we used totalk about some of these things
in our classes.
There were a lot of young menthere that really were kind of
(18:07):
on the fence as far as whetherthey believed the scriptures
were literal or not.
And even today there are peoplein a lot of mainline religions
that aren't entirely sureexactly what the Savior's role
was.
They don't understand theatonement very well.
Alisha Coakley (18:21):
Wow, what about the doctrine of, you know, with,
with priests being single, youknow, and having that life of
celibacy?
Like how did that?
Fred Dodini (18:32):
that policy and that didn't really come out
until it was the fourth or fifthcentury at least, and the idea
was that somehow, if you'regoing to be serving God and
serving you know, your fellowman is a priest that you didn't
have the time and the energy todevote for family.
And there was, there weredoctrines about that kind of
(18:54):
made the flesh, you know, anykind of sexual relationships and
stuff like that kind of.
That was a lower level of faith, I suppose, and so you know
priests and nuns were consideredthey were living by a higher
standard, I guess, if they tookvows of poverty, chastity and
obedience.
So.
But I knew a lot of prieststhat were struggling with a lot
(19:14):
of things, you know, even theones in the seminary where I
lived.
It was a boarding schoolenvironment, so we lived there
nine months of the year and someof the priests were struggling
with, you know, alcohol issuesand some other stuff.
So I knew it was a difficultlife and I knew there were some
things missing from their lives.
Scott Brandley (19:34):
that didn't necessarily have to be Gotcha.
Did they encourage you to askquestions or was it more like
you don't ask?
Fred Dodini (19:54):
No, that was typical of the Vatican Council,
which was a big church councilin the Catholic Church in the
60s really opened up a lot ofecumenical kinds of ideas we
started.
You know it used to beconsidered a mortal sin to even
attend another church's service,but there in the seminary we
had a really good choir and Iplayed in the combo and sang in
the choir and stuff and we usedto perform at other churches in
the seminary we had a reallygood choir and I played in the
combo and sang in the choir andstuff and we used to perform at
other churches in the Sacramentoarea and so there was more of a
kind of an open position oninquiry and learning more about
(20:17):
other religions and the GreekOrthodox Church, which had
broken off from RomanCatholicism back in the 13th
century.
Now it was okay for GreekOrthodox priests to come
celebrate Mass with RomanCatholic priests.
It was considered valid.
So that was huge.
Alisha Coakley (20:38):
That's cool.
Fred Dodini (20:39):
So there were changes.
Alisha Coakley (20:42):
And I don't know again, this is not normally
where we go with the show, but Iam really intrigued with like
knowing a little bit more aboutthis, Because one of the things
that I didn't even know aboutthe Council of Nicaea until and
maybe I'm saying that wrong, Isit?
Fred Dodini (20:57):
Nicaea.
Alisha Coakley (20:58):
Nicaea.
Okay, so I didn't even knowabout them until probably 10 or
15 years ago, something likethat, you know.
And then when I heard the storyof how that all came out and
what their purpose was, I wasjust like holy cow, like how
come everybody doesn't knowabout this?
Like how come this isn't common?
Fred Dodini (21:19):
knowledge.
It's a really important event.
Constantine was a newly mintedChristian at that time, and so
the Roman Empire allowedChristianity.
It became the state religion.
But there was a big conflictbetween the eastern part of the
church based in Constantinople,which was separate from the
(21:40):
Roman church, the western church.
The Roman church had morepeople, more the Pope was there
and all that, and soConstantine's the one who called
that council, and one of thebiggest issues that they
addressed was the Trinity.
There was an Eastern Orthodoxscholar by the name of Arius who
was teaching that the Fatherand the Son are not of the same
(22:04):
substance, that they areseparate individuals.
That didn't go over well withthe Western part of the church,
who had more political clout.
So they went out in thatcouncil and Arius' writings were
destroyed and he was branded aheretic.
So that's really where thatthree-in-one mystical kind of
(22:25):
concept was really canonized wasat the Council of Nicaea, and
it's still part of Protestantand evangelical Christianity to
this day.
Alisha Coakley (22:35):
Yeah, all mainstream Christianity, right.
Yeah, I don't really know ofany other faiths who believe in
the Godhead, despite the factthat I founds who believe in the
Godhead, you know, despite thefact that I always I found it
interesting that the wordGodhead is found multiple times
throughout the scriptures, butthe word Trinity is never once
found in there.
Is that correct?
So it's interesting how they,how they came to, like, gather
(23:00):
that idea, and I know thatthere's a few scriptures that
are kind of confusing when youread about.
You know, I am the father andthe father's in me and you know,
like I understand that, but itit was just, it was almost like
jaw-dropping to me when Ilearned about this council and
like the history of it and Ijust thought how, how did how
did christianity get so far?
You know, I mean like it was agradual thing that happened,
(23:24):
yeah there's a book I'm tryingto remember.
Fred Dodini (23:27):
I believe it's written by one of the other I
think he's in the presidingbishopric, and his name escapes
me at the moment.
I think it's called theblueprint for the savior's
church or something to thateffect.
Okay, and it's really good bookand he documents a lot of these
changes that occurred over thecenturies.
And, um, he found there was wasa letter by the Bishop of
(23:47):
Carthage, northern Africa, andthis was in the early, I think
in the early fourth century,like around 300, well, maybe in
the third century.
He was the bishop of thatcongregation and there was a
letter that was found, that fromsomeone who was part of the
congregation saying you know, wereally need to rethink this
(24:09):
baptism thing because there area lot of older people who want
to get baptized.
I mean, we can't dump in water,they could get sick and you
know, blah, blah, blah.
We should, we should come upwith an alternative.
And this was I can't rememberhis name again, but he was a
well-known scholar in that timein Christianity and his response
(24:29):
was I don't have a problem withthat, but you're going to have
to convince the people back inRome that that's okay.
Well, within a century.
That's exactly what happened,and that was when the mode of
baptism they allowed sprinkling.
Alisha Coakley (24:45):
Wow, I didn't know that, so they used to
baptize like we did.
Fred Dodini (24:51):
Yeah, in the first second century of the Christian
church there were still a lot ofthe original first century
doctrines that were surviving,but over time, just a lot of
it's an apostasy.
A lot of false doctrine beganto creep in and gradually gain
acceptance over time.
Alisha Coakley (25:12):
Gotcha Very interesting.
Scott Brandley (25:15):
So, as you're learning, reading the Book of
Mormon and stuff, you must becomparing all these things that
you've learned to these newideas from the LDS church, right
it?
Fred Dodini (25:29):
wasn't really a comparison, it just made sense
and that's how the Spirit works,right.
You know truth when yourecognize it.
I knew it when I read the Bookof Mormon for the first time.
I knew it when I prayed aboutJoseph Smith and about whether
the church was true.
So it spoke to me and so Ididn't really struggle over
(25:51):
those changes.
I was all in when I made thedecision to get baptized and if
I was interested, after I'd hadthe missionary discussions, I
went to one of the other facultymembers at Community College
and I also heard it was LDS andI said I've read the Book of
Mormon, I've taken themissionary discussions, I want
to get baptized.
I said are you authorized to dothat?
It just so happened he was thestate mission president.
Scott Brandley (26:14):
Oh how cool.
Fred Dodini (26:15):
He's the one who baptized me.
Alisha Coakley (26:18):
Oh, that's awesome.
Scott Brandley (26:21):
So how did that affect your family?
Fred Dodini (26:23):
It didn't go over well.
In fact, my parents asked me tomove out soon after that.
My parents are great people,just good human beings.
You know, the Catholic Churchgoes back in our two sides of
the families back five, six,seven hundred years, I mean
literally.
I've traced our genealogy backto interesting back in the 1600s
(26:48):
in this little village inSwitzerland where my father's
family came from.
We've traced it back to aCatholic priest who had some
children with a young woman hewas in a relationship with in
that community.
They couldn't be married but itwas not uncommon for priests to
have relationships Reallyuncommon for priests to have
(27:09):
relationships Really yeah.
So yeah, wow, I've got someCatholic priests on both sides
of my family, my mom's and mydad's.
Alisha Coakley (27:14):
How scandalous.
Fred Dodini (27:17):
I know I try to bear the shame.
Alisha Coakley (27:24):
Oh man, Did your family ever, you family ever
come around at all you?
Fred Dodini (27:29):
know we kind of had to understand.
I had moved out for a while andwas living in an apartment in
Chico where I was going toschool.
And then that young woman thatwas in my class and that's
another story.
I'm reluctant to share thisbecause it's going to give some
(27:49):
people the wrong impression shewas over at another friend's
house.
There was another girl in ourcollege class we were all
friends with and I rememberedjust wondering what role she
might play in my life.
Or I was really just kind ofpraying and asking you know
what's the next step, kind ofthing.
And I remember I was sitting ina friend's car and I said just
(28:13):
kind of out loud that's the wayI used to pray, I used to talk
to God.
I said you know, maybe we'regoing to wind up married.
And boom, I mean I felt theforce come through the top of my
head and explode in my chest.
That's the best way, you know.
You talk about the burning inthe bosom.
And the answer was very clearthat's it, she's the one.
(28:35):
And I was not even a member ofthe church then.
Wow that was a couple months, atleast a couple months before.
So yeah, that was weird and Ithought, well, I can't tell her
that She'll make it reallycrazier than they already
thought it was.
But the Spirit just keptpushing and, pushing, and
(28:58):
pushing and she had experiencedone day.
It was lunchtime, she was justpraying about what direction the
Lord wanted her to take in herlife.
She had this really strongprompting to get up and walk
over to the outdoor lunch area.
There I was there.
(29:18):
She just felt directed to sitdown and we started talking.
I said, well, I've gotsomething I'm supposed to tell
you.
I don't want to because you'regoing to really think I'm crazy.
But I had this experience and Iexplained it to her and she
just kind of smiled and noddedher head.
She's LDS, she's not going tomarry somebody.
(29:38):
That's not LDS.
And I had no idea, no timeframe, none of that stuff.
I just had that experience.
But yeah, after I was baptizedand we started dating and um
yeah, kind of engaged
Alisha Coakley (29:53):
a few months later.
Wow, that's cool, really.
Yeah, that's awesome, oh mygosh.
Okay, so take us to.
You're in college.
Now you're baptized.
You know how do you go topicking this profession that
you're in with.
You know wanting to be amarriage and family counselor
and all that kind of stuff likewhere do you get?
Where do you go from there?
Fred Dodini (30:12):
well, I mean, that was my plan.
I was, I majored in psychology,minored in music and and I
played in bands, you know, youknow dance bands and stuff like
that in high school and collegeand we used to play for all the
church dances when I was incollege and, um, I was, I was
applying for graduate programsin counseling fields, psychology
and all that sort of stuff, andI just got a call from out of
(30:33):
the blue.
The guitar player in our bandwho was leaving on his mission,
had run into another couple ofmusicians in the music store who
played in a 50s show band youprobably guys have never heard
of, but they were.
Uh, yeah, I have, you had, okay.
So they were a bunch of youknow guys from columbia
(30:55):
university in new york and theyplayed at woodstock and so 50s
music was really popular at thetime in the in the mid 70s.
Happy days was on tv and stuff,yeah, and they were looking for
a bass player.
They wanted to leave school andgo on the road and I thought,
you know, 50s music isn't reallynot very challenging and I was
a better musician than that andyou know I don't want to get up
(31:18):
and jump around on stage and putdippity do in my hair I mean,
that was beneath me, right but Ifelt this prompting I need to
go audition with them, and I did, and I got this another
powerful spiritual impression.
That's what you're supposed todo, and I remember going home to
my wife and saying this iscrazy.
(31:39):
I have no idea, this doesn'tmake any sense at all, but I
feel like I'm supposed to dothis, and so we both fastened a
prayer about it and made thedecision, and so I graduated,
finished my undergrad about sixmonths later and the band went
on the road and I spent twoyears with the Bop-A-Dips that
was the name of the band.
(32:00):
They are still in existence inMissoula, montana.
The guy who was the leader ofthe band started another
incarnation of them and it wasterrible.
I mean, it was dangerous.
You could have gotten killedseveral times.
You know, traveling in Canada40 below zero in the middle of
February and having vehiclesbreak down, so it was a little
(32:22):
scary.
Yeah, we had two kids at thetime and so it came to the point
where I said this is, thisisn't working.
You know this can't be theright thing to do.
So I quit the band and and uh,it was planned to, you know, go
back, get my plan started forgraduate school.
And then we moved to Utah so itwould be closer to BYU, because
(32:42):
I thought, you know, they had aprogram in social work and
marriage and family therapy andpsychology.
So that was kind of the plan.
And I got another phone callfrom somebody I'd never met and
didn't know, who wanted me tofly to Phoenix and audition for
his bigger 50s touring band.
He was picking musicians fromdifferent groups around the
country and he'd heard about theBop-A-Dips because we played
(33:05):
one club in Boise that we werereal popular at and his band
wound up in the same club andthe coincidences are kind of
really weird here.
The guy who was leaving used todo a Ray Charles the comedy Ray
Charles impersonation.
We did a lot of tributes frompeople in the 50s and early 60s.
(33:26):
Just so happened that I did twoin my other 50s band.
I played a nerd character.
The other bass player was anerd character.
So yeah, I just felt again mywife and I had the same
impression this is what you'resupposed to do.
This part's not over yet and Ithought this really is a bummer.
(33:46):
I was on jazz to go to gradschool and stuff.
It's not over yet and I thoughtthis really is a bummer.
I was on jazz to go to gradschool and stuff.
And so I joined that band andthe next six years it went from
crazy to crazier.
I remember just a few monthsafter joining the band I was
home back when we were living inUtah and the band was based in
(34:10):
Orlando, florida, and we had alittle time off and I was home
and made an appointment to seethe bishop and we had just moved
from one ward into this newward in Orem just a couple of
weeks before I left to go tojoin the band and go on the road
.
And so the bishop thought Ithink he thought I was inactive
or something.
And I asked for the meetingwith the bishop because I want
to go to join the band and go onthe road.
And so the bishop thought Ithink he thought I was inactive
or something and I asked for themeeting with the bishop because
(34:32):
I wanted to make sure that thefamily had good home teachers
and visiting teachers, because Iknew I was going to be gone a
lot.
And so I met with him and Iwalked in and he shook my hand
and I sat down in the chair infront of his desk and he just
stared at me for a few secondsand then he said I've been
(34:54):
thinking about this conversationall day.
I had all my remarks rehearsed.
I was going to tell you youneed to quit this band, come
home, take care of your family.
But when we shook hands and yousat down, the spirit said to me
you cannot tell him that.
Scott Brandley (35:03):
Wow.
Fred Dodini (35:04):
And I said I'm so glad that you are in tune with
the Spirit, because I can'texplain this either.
I just know that this is whatI'm supposed to be doing.
I don't have any idea why.
I just want to make sure myfamily is getting what they need
.
And so about a year and a halflater, just being based in
(35:27):
Orlando, we toured all over thecountry and internationally.
But I didn't want to leave thefamily.
They would travel with me asmuch as possible.
We just decided to move toOrlando.
So we did that and we'd beenthere a few months and we went
in to see the bishop for how weused to do the budget assessment
and stuff like that.
(35:48):
So my wife and I were there andwalked in.
Bishop greeted us, we sat downin two chairs in front of his
desk and he just stared at mefor a few seconds and then he
said I've been thinking aboutthis conversation all day.
I had all my remarks rehearsed.
I was in a pain.
You need to quit this band andcome home and take care of your
family.
(36:08):
But when you walked in and youshook hands and we sat down, the
Spirit said to me you cannottell him that it was virtually
what had happened to peoplebefore and my wife and I just
looked at each other and startedlaughing.
I said you're not the firstbishop to have that experience,
and I mean he'd been inactive atone time.
The club I was based in was a50s themed club, but it used to
(36:31):
be well, it's to say, not a verysavory place that the bishop
used to hang out in.
So he knew, you know, thereputation and the guy who owned
the club that's another story.
He was involved with the mafiaand bad things happened.
It's crazy stuff.
You know when, when my wife andI tell people they just they
(36:53):
can't imagine that that part ofmy life is just so bizarre.
But so, yeah, again, and Iexplained the mission, I said I
don't understand it.
I've been praying and praying,and praying to just get some
clear guidance here.
Why?
Why am I supposed to be in thissituation?
It's not safe.
I'm in a really bad environmenta lot.
It's not good for the family,it's dangerous, you know.
(37:15):
But I never really got a reallyclear answer of what it was.
But when the time came, when Iknew it was over, the Lord made
it very clear.
I mean, the door slammed shutand it was done.
Alisha Coakley (37:30):
So you still don't know why.
Fred Dodini (37:31):
I still don't know why.
Alisha Coakley (37:35):
I was going to say you must have affected
somebody along the way.
Fred Dodini (37:39):
Yeah, a couple of people who joined the church
that were friends of ours,especially my wife, and so I
mean my logical mind has to comeup with some explanation.
Well, that must've been thereason, but but I've never
really felt like I had any clearexplanation.
At one time I thought, well,maybe this is just kind of
preparation for something elsethat's going to come later.
So that seemed to make sense.
(38:00):
And when I did get a chance togo to grad school and become a
therapist, a lot of thoseexperiences really helped me
understand people from verydifferent backgrounds and people
with all kinds of addictionsand bad stuff going on their
lives and trauma, and so in thatregard, I think it's it's
helped me feel more compassionfor people who are very
different than me, certainly,and whose lives they really
(38:24):
struggle oh huh, that's aninteresting perspective.
Alisha Coakley (38:30):
So I'm noticing, you know you've got a few books
behind you and I know we talkeda little bit about this book,
so do you want to kind of leadus into that?
Fred Dodini (38:41):
Sure.
Well, it kind of follows thatsame idea of following the
spirit, searching for truth inour lives, and so I was the
clinical director for theAnasazi Foundation in Arizona.
It's a wilderness program forteenagers and young adults and
it's run by some LDS families.
We didn't really emphasizespirituality per se, but people
(39:01):
would come from literally allover the world with various
different kinds of religiousbackgrounds.
So we always try to include atleast a recognition of spiritual
values if they had any in theirlives In the Native American
community, because one of thefamilies was Ezequiel Sanchez.
He's Totonac Indian and hiswife is Navajo, so a lot of
Indian kind of culture about thegreat spirit and the creator
(39:24):
and those kinds of things.
That language would be part ofthe way we spoke to kids, so we
were always trying to find stufffrom their wilderness
experience.
They're spending six weeks atleast out in the wilderness
living really primitively as away as a teaching method, and so
I still remember theconversation.
It was a 17-year-old boy fromBeverly Hills whose family was
(39:47):
very wealthy and entitled and hehad rejected all that and was
kind of angry and rebellious andhe was kind of hard to connect
with and we were just sitting ona mountaintop one day and I
said you know, we're not here totell you how you live your life
.
That's a choice you get to make.
But can I help you figure outwhat the options are?
He said what do you mean?
I say, well, there's threekinds of people in the world sun
(40:07):
people, moon people and starpeople.
You say what are you talkingabout?
I say look up.
What do you see?
I see the sun, okay.
So what?
Okay, well, what does it do?
Provides light, yeah.
Warmth, yeah.
Nutrition.
Vitamin D comes from sunlight.
We need it for plants to grow,so we have food to eat.
We need it for photosynthesisso we have oxygen to breathe.
(40:29):
So life on the earth couldn'texist without the sun.
And the sun uses its mass tocreate a gravitational force
that guides the orbit of theearth.
We are just the right distancefrom the sun or life couldn't
exist on this planet.
So I said the sun exists toserve the earth.
It's the strongest, mostpowerful thing in our solar
(40:50):
system, but its whole focus ison us, a tiny little blue ball
in the night sky.
So I said sun people are thesame way.
They provide light in the formof knowledge, wisdom,
understanding.
They provide warmth in the formof compassion and love.
They provide nutrition in theform of service to the bodies,
(41:12):
the minds, the spirits of allthose around them.
And they use their knowledge,their wealth, their positions of
influence in the world, theirpower to guide other people's
lives in a positive direction,toward happiness.
And I said have you ever metany sun people?
And he stopped for a minute andsaid yeah.
And I said have you ever metany sun people?
And he stopped for a minute andsaid yeah.
I said how do you feel whenyou're around them?
(41:34):
He said I feel good.
I know I have value.
They see me as a person ofvalue, regardless of what I'm
doing.
I said, yeah, that's been myexperience too.
So, yeah, some people are thebest.
What about the moon?
What do we know about the moon?
Does it produce its own light?
No, just what's reflected fromthe sun.
So I said well, that means themoon is always half in the light
(41:56):
and half in the dark.
You know, know, part good, partevil, part truth, part error.
And then every now and then youhave a little process where the
sun, you got a full moon in thenight sky and all of a sudden
it starts to get darker anddarker and darker, until the
moon is totally in the dark.
I said you know what causesthat?
He said yeah, it's a lunareclipse.
Dude, he's from California.
Scott Brandley (42:19):
And I said yeah.
Fred Dodini (42:20):
And so isn't that amazing.
We've got a reminder in thenight sky what happens when
people let the world get in theway, and that's what moon people
do.
Their focus is on temporalthings.
It's about power and wealth andprestige, and entertainment and
good looks and popularity Allthe stuff we leave behind when
we die.
But moon people are part in thelight, part in the dark.
(42:44):
They're ambiguous.
They got the devil on oneshoulder and the angel on the
other.
They're struggling to choosebetween good and evil and their
focus is on themselves, not onthe welfare of other people.
And I said do you know any moonpeople?
And he laughed.
He said, yeah, yeah, I livewith them.
So, okay, didn't want to go anyfurther about that.
(43:04):
Yeah, so, uh.
I said oh, okay.
And I said what about stars?
Stars are just a tiny pinpointof light in the night sky,
hardly any light at all, and no,no heat, no warmth comes from.
Then they're too far away.
And I said, yeah, star peopleare the same way.
What little light and goodnessthey have within them they don't
(43:25):
value, they don't nurture it,they don't want it to grow, they
don't have anything to sharewith other people.
So their lives are in the darkand they prefer it that way.
They want power and they'll dowhatever it takes to get it.
They lie all the time, theysteal, they cheat, they kill.
(43:47):
It's all about control andpower over other people.
And I said have you ever metany star people?
And he said yeah, you do notwant to be around those people.
They will hurt you.
I said, okay, yeah, he knows.
So I said you know, I just wantto help you figure out your
options in life.
You're meeting some real sunpeople here.
The people on the trail, thestaff were great.
I mean, a lot of them were just, you know, college kids.
They weren't that much olderthan the kids that were in the
(44:09):
program, but they just had alight about them.
They were so positive andoptimistic.
And I said you know, you havethese opportunities here.
You can see the way thesepeople live their lives compared
to some of the other peopleyou've known.
So those are your choices sun,moon or star.
And again, I can't make thedecision for you, neither can
your parents and neither willGod.
(44:30):
But if you want to know whatthose look like, if you think
being a sun person is the way togo, by all means go for it.
And as I got up to leave and inour conversation I turned back
to him.
I said oh, by the way, for therest of your life, every time
you look up in the sky, you'regoing to remember this
(44:51):
conversation.
He said dude, you're totally inmy head now.
I said, yeah, that was kind ofthe idea.
We laughed.
We had some good conversationsafter that, so that became the
theme for the book.
I just write about what itlooks like to be a sun, moon or
star person.
A lot of it's from the Doctrineand Covenants, section 76, and
1 Corinthians, chapter 15.
(45:13):
So people of faith certainlycan relate to it, and I just use
those metaphors to talk aboutour choices as individuals, as
spouses, as parents and then ascitizens in the broader
community.
Alisha Coakley (45:25):
Wow, that's really cool.
I love that, so okay, so whereare we now?
Fred Dodini (45:34):
Where are we now?
We're Carmel Indiana.
We're Carmel Indiana.
We came back out here.
Our kids are spread literallyfrom coast to coast.
We have a daughter in thePortland Oregon area, we have a
son in Arledge in Virginia andvarious places in between.
So when we downsized from ourfamily home in Arizona and I'd
(45:58):
left the Anasazi Foundation, itwas in private practice and we
just decided to come back thisdirection.
We were a little bit closer toa few more of our kids on the
eastern half of the US than onthe western and we've enjoyed it
here.
And my wife's a massagetherapist.
She continues to do some workand works a lot with people that
(46:18):
have had trauma and stuff likethat too.
So we work and works a lot withpeople that have had trauma and
stuff like that too.
So we work together a lot ofour clients.
Alisha Coakley (46:24):
That's really neat.
Oh, I love that and what.
Scott Brandley (46:27):
so what does that look like Like?
What does your day to day looklike in your field?
Fred Dodini (46:35):
Boy.
Yeah, I see clientsindividually and couples and
families.
I get a chance to use that thesun, moon, star metaphor quite a
lot, because a lot of timespeople are in bad situations
because they made misguidedchoices or they've been involved
with other people who are doingthe same kind of bad stuff.
(46:56):
So I think it's a good, just asimple metaphor that resonates
with everybody.
You don't have to have anyparticularly religious
background.
If you do, you can relate to itat a deeper level.
But even then, it's, it's just,it's a.
It serves as a simple metaphorto people.
You want a better life?
Okay, this is what it lookslike.
(47:17):
A better life.
Okay, this is what it lookslike, and I can help you if you
want.
But you got to make thatdecision.
It's like the old uh, it's theold joke.
How many psychologists does ittake to change the light bulb?
Just one, but the light bulbhas to want to change.
That's the challenge fortherapists is finding people who
(47:38):
want to change.
Unfortunately, they're not inthe majority.
Alisha Coakley (47:43):
Oh wow, man, you have just like a very full life
.
I really have loved hearingabout it.
I'm sure you have a millionother stories too.
Fred Dodini (47:55):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
But my wife and I, we laughabout some of this stuff.
You know, um, we have had, allyou know, very diverse, uh, set
of experiences in life, but it'sall good, we've.
We've grown.
I think so much and appreciateso much because of a lot of the
diversity and some of theadversity that we've had to deal
(48:17):
with.
And our kids have done reallywell.
You know, they're all active inthe church, all married in the
temple, so we just feel thatthat's maybe that was the Lord's
blessing.
Alisha Coakley (48:27):
You have an awesome resume.
Like for a marriage and familyLDS counselor.
Like check, check, check.
Your phone's going to beringing after this episode, oh
yeah.
Scott Brandley (48:42):
I enjoy what I do.
Fred Dodini (48:44):
And it's even more satisfying when I can actually
help people who are ready tomake some changes in their lives
.
Scott Brandley (48:50):
Wow.
Fred Dodini (48:51):
And I think those challenges, you know our older
kids five of the kids were bornduring those traveling years and
then the next five were not sothey can't relate to any of the
experiences their older siblingstalk about, but they've really
been there for each otherthrough some really difficult
challenges that some of themhave faced.
And we feel so blessed andthat's one of the things I kept
(49:15):
thinking Maybe because I madethat sacrifice for whatever
purpose the Lord had in mind.
I think he has blessed ourfamily tremendously.
And I tell our kids that I said.
You know the fact that we didmake some sacrifices.
There was a reason for it andthe Lord is going to remember
that.
Alisha Coakley (49:32):
And we've been blessed in a lot of ways so just
a little off topic, but if youhad to give advice to someone
who wants what you have, whowants the 50 years under their
belt with marriage, happymarriage, yes very happy anyone
anyone can be married for 50years.
Fred Dodini (49:52):
Just that's a little harder no, we, we, we,
great, great relationship.
Um, yeah, um, you know, it allgoes back to the, the basics.
It's.
It's about faith, it's about, Ithink, it's about seeking for
truth, and that was what led meon this whole thing in the first
place was a simple prayer to myheavenly father.
(50:13):
I just wanted to find the truthand the promise came that I
would and I did, and that reallyis what it all goes back to.
If we have you know, moronitalks about it in Moroni 10, if
you have the desire to know thetruth and the willingness and
the attention to act on it, whenyou receive it, the Lord's
going to bless you, he's goingto open up all of this knowledge
(50:35):
.
But you have to want to, youhave to ask, ask right, ask,
seek, knock, um.
And if you have that desire,there's, there's, there's no
reason not to believe that theanswers will come, and they
certainly will.
Scott Brandley (50:49):
That's been my experience wow awesome well, do
you want to have any lastcomments?
Um, or any last thoughts beforewe wrap things up?
Fred Dodini (51:03):
I was thinking of something funny.
One of my clients said recentlywe were, we were talking, he's
a nurse and he's had some realchallenges in his life.
And I say how you know, how areyou coping with all this stuff?
And and he says I just tell myfriends I'm just waiting for the
rapture, just waiting for therapture, just waiting for the
(51:25):
rapture and it may come soonerthan we, than we, some of us
expect it, but for him that'sit's not just a joke, it's, it's
the way he copes.
He's a man of faith.
He's dealt with a lot ofchallenges in his life.
You know he's got some sexualorientation issues going on
there.
We don't, you know, focus onthat so much.
It's mostly about.
(51:45):
It's mostly about being a goodperson and that's what he wants
to be and he's striving to beand so anything I can do to help
him in that process.
So I've encouraged people thatif you make the commitment, if
you want to be a sun person, infact I kind of have it.
There's a secret to the book.
When I talk about the sun, themoon, the stars, I always spell
(52:06):
it the same way S-U-N.
Right, there's one place in thebook where I spell it
differently and I did that onpurpose.
So if people of faith arereading the book, they're going
(52:27):
to see that and they're going towonder oh, this just isn't
about the S-U-N, it's about theS-O-N.
And I've told people who'veread the book I say read it
again, but this time keep apencil handy and every time you
come across the word S-U-N, justput a line through it and write
S-O-N above it, and you'lldiscover you're reading an
entirely different book.
I did it myself, and there's somany references, comparisons of
the sun and the sky to God andthe Savior.
(52:50):
It's just to me that'sultimately the direction
people's lives need to go in andstore the Savior.
That's where ultimate happinessis, that's where we find truth
and that's where we find thesolutions to our problems as
individuals, as spouses, asparents and as citizens in the
community.
If we would just turn to thesavior, turn to the source of
(53:13):
truth, everything would be somuch better.
Alisha Coakley (53:19):
And so your book is called shine brighter.
And where do we find it?
Can we find it on Amazon, or isthere?
Fred Dodini (53:26):
Yeah, I think most of them, although online Barnes
and Noble Amazon.
There's a couple other ones.
I think most of them have awidespread.
Yeah.
Okay, awesome, and we're justfinished with the audio book
here, cause a lot of peopleprefer audio books.
Yeah, scott and I are big audiopeople, I'll actually give my
(53:47):
kids to read my book, butthey'll listen to it.
That's another reason.
Scott Brandley (53:52):
I've done some research on that and it's about
one-third read the physical book, one-third read the digital
version and one-third listen tothe physical book.
One third read the digitalversion and one third listen to
the audiobook yeah you kind ofhave to do all three if you want
to get the full exposure.
Fred Dodini (54:06):
Everybody, yeah, yeah yeah, it's been fun.
I've been doing the narrationmyself and I'm learning a lot
about that process.
Alisha Coakley (54:14):
So it's a lot of work.
Fred Dodini (54:16):
It's a lot, lot of work.
Alisha Coakley (54:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah .
I've been practicing myself forwhen mine comes out and I'm
like I think I'm going to haveto hire someone.
Fred Dodini (54:28):
You know, I thought about that, nobody knows the
material as well as I do and Ihave stage experience.
I played a nerd character inthe bands I was in, so I did all
the comedy as well as playingbass guitar and with one hand
while I'm reading a comic bookwith the other.
I just did all kinds of stuff,so I think I'm getting up to
(54:50):
speed on the narration gig.
Alisha Coakley (54:53):
There you go.
I love it Awesome.
Fred Dodini (54:56):
Well, it's so great to meet you guys.
I'm excited for what you'redoing.
Thank you, because you'rebringing, I think, a great
message to other people outthere and we all need that.
We're living in verychallenging days and so many of
my clients in the LDS ones arereally struggling because of you
know just situations we're alldealing with, and I think when
(55:20):
we hear stories of hope andfaith, it really it gives us
something tangible to hold on toso we can get through some
difficult times.
Alisha Coakley (55:26):
Yeah, and we didn't pay you to say that.
No, not at all.
That's free advertising rightthere.
But it really is true, fred.
You know, I think that thecloser we get to the second
coming, the more we need to havein our arsenal and I feel like
(55:46):
we've said it before on the showthe scriptures are just a set
of stories and experiences ofpeople's lives.
That's all it is.
It's just an accumulation ofthat, and if we're supposed to
liken the scriptures to ourlives, then we too are supposed
to share our stories, and so Ireally appreciate you coming on
here and sharing some of yourstories with us today.
(56:07):
This has been such a great show.
I always feel like the telltalesigns for Alisha, whenever I
feel like I have a really goodshow, is either one I cry a lot,
or two I smile so much that mycheeks hurt, and my cheeks are
hurting really bad, and I'mreally thankful that I didn't
cry my mascara off this time.
Fred Dodini (56:29):
I tell you I try to bring as much humor into my
sessions with people because itreally laughter is a very
healing experience and I'vealways felt that, so I try to
keep it light and engaging.
I agree.
Scott Brandley (56:43):
I feel like we're kindred spirits, Fred.
We're both trying to sharelight.
Fred Dodini (56:49):
Yeah.
Scott Brandley (56:50):
I love your analogy of the sun.
You know, because the worldneeds it and however we can
deliver it, that's you knowGod's going to be happy,
absolutely.
Fred Dodini (57:02):
And I think there are a lot of ways, because
there's a lot of people outthere that you know they're not
attracted to traditionalreligion because the institution
has problems for some of themif they've grown up in bad
environments, and I see that alot.
But you know, you can still getinto people's hearts and their
heads by, by stories and andthey can relate.
Other people's experiences aresimilar to theirs and I think
(57:25):
that's it's one of the greatmissionary tools we have is that
ability just to connect witheach other's lives and
experiences and and find thehumor in it, in it all too.
Alisha Coakley (57:35):
Yeah, definitely .
Yeah, I agree, Wow.
Well, fred, it has been awesomehaving you on here today.
We really really appreciate youand your stories and the light
that you're bringing to theworld too.
um, if you uh are listeners here, if you guys would do our
little five second missionarywork, your your five second
(57:56):
missionary work, uh, and hitthat share button, get Fred's
story out.
I think that that would beawesome.
Definitely.
Leave us a comment, let us knowwhat you thought about it.
Let us know when you guys goorder his book too.
I think that that would bereally really cool just to see
who picked it up or who iswaiting for the Audible to come
out.
Right.
Fred Dodini (58:15):
And the people at Audible, book and Amazon keep
telling me you need morecomments or reviews or stuff
like that, so I encourage people.
Alisha Coakley (58:22):
There you go, there you go, see.
So it would all help.
It would help get more lightout to the world.
Fred Dodini (58:26):
It's just getting the, getting the message out
there.
That's what it's all about.
Alisha Coakley (58:30):
It's very true, very true.
Scott Brandley (58:32):
Yeah, awesome, awesome.
And if you have any storiesthat you'd like to share, go to
latterdaylightscom and send itin.
Let's have you on the show.
And if you want to hear morestories like Dr Fred's,
subscribe to our channel so youcan get alerted when we have
another show.
Fred Dodini (58:52):
Absolutely.
Scott Brandley (58:52):
With that, thanks again, Fred, for being on
the show.
My pleasure, and thank youeveryone for being here and
we'll talk to you next week whenwe have another show.
Take care, Bye-bye.
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