Speakers
Listed Aphabetically
Topic: Worship through Music
Leader: Sunday Worship Leader
Kathy Alexander
Bio Coming Soon
Topic: Why Zion Attempts Have Failed
Jennifer Bowler
Bio Coming Soon
Topics: 1. Worship and Music: A Hymns Journey 2. Living the Covenant – Learning to “Sing” as a People
Nancy Genys
Nancy Genys is the founder of Talent Team Performing Arts, a sponsor of Songs of Everlasting Joy Conference, the creator of the Becoming Character Curriculum as well as Gatewings (*Grieve *Awaken *Thrive * Embrace - Learning How to Mourn Productively). A lifelong teacher, director, writer, and music enthusiast, she has spent decades working with children, youth, and families through the performing arts.
With family roots reaching back to the earliest days of the Restoration, including ancestors who participated in the movement during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Nancy has a deep personal connection to its history and musical heritage.
She is currently organizing the Covenant Christian Hymns project, including the restoration of the 1835 and 1841 Emma Smith hymn collections and the creation of a new collection of Christ-centered hymns. Nancy believes deeply in the power of music, worship, and covenantal living to help people become one in Christ.
Topic: Songs of Redeeming Love
Leon Hall
Bio Coming Soon
Topic: And They Shall Also Teach Their Children
Lisa Oberstadt
Lisa lives north of Seattle with her husband, David, to whom she has been married for 15 years. Together, they have 8 children ranging in ages from 8 to 28. Lisa has homeschooled her kids from the beginning, also teaching and leading in co-ops. Now she teaches other kids along with her own in a home learning center and leads a weekly homeschool nature club.
Growing up in the LDS Church shaped Lisa's faith. Losing her mother when she was 16 years old challenged and deepened that faith. It was during this difficult time that Lisa gained a lasting testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet. That testimony has supported her over the past few years as she and David have gotten more involved with the Covenant Christian movement.
In addition to teaching, Lisa enjoys reading, sewing, and music, including singing and playing the piano. Her whole family likes to hike the many trails around their home. She loves the mountains and trees of the PNW and never wants to leave.
Topic: Operating in God’s Economy
Dr. Cari Skirdla
Dr. Caroline Skrdla, affectionately known as Dr. Cari, is the Lead Steward of Higher Love Ministries, where her work centers on helping people experience love, forgiveness, acceptance, and greater freedom. She teaches what she calls “living in God’s economy”—a life of whole-life integrity in which faith, prosperity, and freedom are brought into alignment.
Dr. Cari brings decades of experience in training, business, and personal development. Her professional background includes developing sales and marketing strategies for organizations such as MCI, Siemens, 100 Black Men of America, the City of Detroit, and Apollo Education Group. She also continues to work in real estate investment and land development, helping build communities throughout the Southwest.
Her academic background is equally diverse. Dr. Cari attended Eastern Michigan University, earned an MBA from Western International University, completed doctoral studies in Psychology at Argosy University, and holds a doctorate in Neuroscience from the University of Boston in fellowship with Greenwich University. She brings together her understanding of the mind, decades of practical experience, and a deeply held faith as she helps others examine how their beliefs, choices, and principles shape the lives they build.
Topic: Facing death He sang...
Denver Snuffer
Denver Snuffer Jr. is an American attorney and religious writer whose work has significantly influenced a growing Restorationist community. Raised Baptist in Idaho, he converted to the LDS Church in 1973 and later earned his J.D. from Brigham Young University before practicing law for more than four decades in state and federal courts.
During his 40 years as an LDS member, Snuffer served in multiple lay leadership roles and taught at church institutes and conferences. His books—most notably The Second Comforter and Passing the Heavenly Gift—emphasize personal revelation, a return to early Restoration teachings, and the possibility of encountering Christ directly.
In 2013, Snuffer was excommunicated after publishing work church leaders deemed doctrinally incompatible. His subsequent lectures and writings helped inspire decentralized fellowships focused on covenant renewal, scripture study, and non‑hierarchical worship. He continues to publish, teach, and shape the theology of those seeking a more original, revelation-centered form of Restoration Christianity.
Topic: Seeking After Wisdom
Maren Townsend
Maren Townsend is a seventh-generation Mormon, with family roots reaching back to Kirtland, Ohio. She met her husband at the University of Missouri–Rolla, where she earned a degree in architectural engineering. Today, they live in Boise, Idaho, with their three sons. Among friends and family, Maren is lovingly known as the “Crazy Knitting Lady.”
For many years, Maren has pursued a deep interest in Mary Magdalene, reading extensively about her life and legacy. Her study has inspired her to ask meaningful questions about the Divine Feminine: What does She teach us about ourselves, our spiritual identity, and the way we should conduct our lives?
Topic: Emma Smith – Elect Lady
Bonnie Wayne
Bonnie grew up both in Nauvoo and Nauvoo area for most of her childhood. Growing up, her family was very involved with Joseph and Hyrum's Martyrdom as well as the pageants in Nauvoo. She participated in both the City of Joseph Pageant and later the Nauvoo Pageant for many years as a teen to newly married.
She served an LDS mission in Antofagasta, Chile and Graduated BYU with a BA in Music. She got married to her high school sweetheart and mission penpal and they have 6 children. For the past 18 years she has been a diastasis recti and pelvic floor specializing CPT and pelvic floor specializing Dolphin MPS Therapist. She is also a TCM and Ayurveda buff and enjoys learning many from different people and customs.
Bonnie spent most of her married years in Yorkville, IL, a Chicago suburb, and is currently living in Fairview, UT.
Program Leaders
Listed Aphabetically
Young Single Adult Facilitator
Brian Bowler
Bio Coming Soon
Play in a Day Co-Director (Teen Activity)
Diane Cummings
Bio Coming Soon
Play in a Day Co-Director (Teen Activity)
Anna Gilmore
Bio Coming Soon
Community Dance Leader & Audio
Gintaras Genys
Born in Australia to Lithuanian parents, Gin grew up speaking Lithuanian as his first language and did not learn English until he began school. Raised Catholic, he came to the United States to attend Ricks College, where he was introduced to and eventually joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He later served a mission and continued his education at Brigham Young University, where he met his wife, Nancy. They were assigned to teach a beginning folk dance class together for the University.
Dance became an important part of his college years. He performed with the Valhalla Folk Dancers at Ricks College, touring throughout the United States and internationally, and later danced with the BYU International Folk Dance Ensemble, participating in several tours. Though his dancing days are mostly behind him, his love for the music, traditions, and cultures of people around the world has remained.
He earned a degree in business and later worked at the Australian National University before building a career in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Throughout the years, he has also worked quietly behind the scenes alongside Nancy in their performing arts studio, school, productions, and other endeavors.
He and Nancy are the parents of seven children (two deceased). A gentle and steady presence in both his family and community, Gin brings to the conference a lifelong appreciation for faith, family, music, dance, culture, and the ways the arts can bring people together.
Those who attend the community dance should have a fun time with Gin teaching dance!
Audio
Reed Larsen
Bio Coming Soon
Audio & Security
Muir Parsons-Keir
Bio Coming Soon
Guide and Standard Panel Facilitator
McKay Platt
Bio Coming Soon
Conference Helpers
Southern Utah Fellowship
Information coming soon
Conference Helpers
TBA
Bio Coming Soon