Announcing New Speakers and Performers at Restore!
Join us for three days of speakers, art, poetry and music centered around restoring faith, belonging, and wholeness.
We are delighted to announce these newly confirmed speakers for this year’s Restore. Restore is our annual Faith Matters gathering—a three-day event of inspiring speakers and incredible music, artwork, and community, all centered around restoring faith, belonging, and wholeness.
This year, we’ll be gathering on September 25-27 at UVU in Orem, Utah. Programming will begin at 6:30pm on Thursday and run from 9am to 4pm Friday and Saturday.
This event sold out last year, so don’t delay!
“I've gone to Restore since 2022. Every year I have come away feeling a sense of community, belonging, and closeness to the divine. No matter where I am in my faith journey, I am confident I can find peace and joy at Restore. This year was no exception! I found peace, joy, belonging, and community. I had ideas challenged in meaningful ways while also expanding my faith. I also found improved relationships with my parents as I shared the experience with them.” —John A.
Joseph Grenny is a co-founder of Unitus Labs, a non-profit that has helped over 50 million of the world’s poorest to achieve self-reliance. In 2015, Joseph and his wife, Celia, co-founded The Other Side Academy (TOSA) with the goal of helping change the lives of those with long histories of crime, addiction and homelessness. In 2021 Joseph and Celia helped launch The Other Side Village, a beautiful, self-reliant and life-changing community for 500 chronically unsheltered men and women.
Dr. Ben Schilaty is a clinical social worker and professor of social work at Utah Valley University, specializing in therapy for LGBTQ clients and their families. He is the author of the award-winning book “A Walk In My Shoes: Questions I am Often Asked as a Gay Latter-day Saint” and co-hosts the podcast “Questions from the Closet.” A multilingual professional speaking Spanish and Portuguese, Dr. Schilaty has lived and worked in Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, and Portugal.
Mason Kamana Allred is an associate professor of communication, media, and culture at Brigham Young University–Hawaii. He earned his MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in German history and culture with an emphasis on film and media studies. Prior to joining the faculty of BYU Hawaii, he was a Historian and Editor with the Joseph Smith Papers project. He is the author of “Weimar Cinema, Embodiment, and Historicity”, “Seeing Things: Technologies of Vision and the Making of Mormonism”, and most recently, “Seeing: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants” for the Maxwell Institute.
Steven Kapp Perry is an award-winning songwriter, playwright, and podcast host from Provo, UT. As the host of the “In Good Faith” podcast, produced by BYU Broadcasting, he speaks with believers of all faith traditions about how they see God working in their lives and in the world.
Darlene Young is a poet whose books have won the Association for Mormon Letters Award for poetry. She is the recipient of the Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters and teaches writing at Brigham Young University. She has served as poetry editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and Segullah. Her work has been noted in Best American Essays and nominated for Pushcart Prizes. She lives in South Jordan, Utah.
Alisha Anderson is an artist and a writer. With graduate degrees in both science and art, she combines both disciplines and mediums within her work. Her research-based artwork has been shown internationally, and flows from the confluence of identity and earth.
Emilie de Azevedo Brown is an accomplished singer and performer, appearing on stages across the state, often alongside her talented sons. A nationally recognized voice actor, Emilie is heard on television and radio throughout the country. She brings to life multiple animated characters in the musical preschool series TreeSchoolers (streaming and on YouTube), and she is the producer of the award-winning children’s television and video series Signing Time. Emilie will also be producing our new Restore Community Choir, bringing voices together in faith and praise.
“Restore is the perfect name for the conference—it restored my faith in the church, namely the people in the church and our collective desire for more light and knowledge than we currently have.” —Jenny Z.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED SPEAKERS
STAY TUNED FOR MORE & TELL YOUR FRIENDS
We couldn’t be more excited to have these speakers joining us at Restore this year. We’ll be announcing additional musical performances, breakout sessions and more through our newsletter, so be sure you’re subscribed and invite your friends to stay in the loop!
Is attendance via media free?