Join us January 26 6pm MT, 7pm CT for the start of an ongoing conversation about our Black Pioneer ancestors, and how their lives and struggles mirror and can be an example for the struggle Black Latter Day Saints face today. This year of study of the Doctrine and Covenants is a great year to begin this discussion, especially with the current cultural and political climate. Let us help you see the church through a BIPOC lens, and all that means, as well as establish practices and thoughts that will help with Mental Health, Mental Wellness and help members hold onto their testimonies. This first discussion will be led by our own Larry Lewis, a Church African Heritage Specialist in Plano Texas, and Ramesus Stewart-Johnson, former Genesis President for the Texas area, now located in Santaquin Utah. They will be discussing with Tekulve Jackson a therapist from Sandy Utah the need for this discussion, mental health in the church and how we can “ponder it out in your mind and your heart” to come to a place of health for oneself. 

Jay Tekulvē Flower de Jackson-Vann was baptized into the Milledgeville Ward of the Macon Georgia Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on January 30, 1990. After graduating from Georgia Military College Prep School with Distinction, he deferred admission to Brigham Young University to serve a full-time mission in the Michigan Lansing Mission, being among the first African American missionaries to serve in that mission. While attending BYU, he served as President of the Black Student Union, the Pre-Certified Family Life Educators Association, and the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences Student Council. As a student at BYU, he became active in the Genesis Group and joined the Genesis Choir. He graduated from BYU with a BS in Marriage, Family, and Human Development with an emphasis in Family Life Education. He went on to earn an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from Valdosta State University. He is a current Doctoral Candidate at Arizona State University where he is pursuing a Doctor of Behavioral Health in Integrated Behavioral Healthcare. He has served in various callings in the Church including Executive Secretary, Elders Quorum Counselor, Secretary, and Instructor, Ward Mission Leader, Young Men’s Counselor, and Sunday School Instructor. Tekulvē has also served as a Temple Ordinance Worker in the Oquirrh Mountain and Payson Utah Temples. He served as Young Men’s President and Music Director of the Genesis Group. He is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and practices in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, and Florida. He currently resides in Spanish Fork, Utah with his spouse, Kyler, and their child.

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