Serving as Bishop, Daughter with Cancer | Ft. Troy Dunn

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Serving as Bishop, Daughter with Cancer | Ft. Troy Dunn

Leading Saints Podcast
Date: May 15, 2026
Host: Leading Saints
Guest: Troy Dunn

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Episode Overview

This episode features Troy Dunn, who twice served as a bishop in Florida, discussing the realities of church leadership—particularly serving while navigating personal challenges, including his daughter's cancer diagnosis. The conversation centers on the humanness of church leaders, the burdens all members carry, and the vital role of authenticity, empathy, and support within Latter-day Saint communities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Human Side of Church Leadership (00:09 – 03:55)

• Troy shares his experience serving twice as a bishop, humorously suggesting his first call was a result of doing "a miserable job the first time" but immediately pivots to a candid reflection on leadership.

• Leadership doesn't remove personal struggles or burdens; leaders are on the same spiritual journey as those they serve.

• The pressure leaders feel to meet expectations—both personal and from others—can lead to feelings of inadequacy and heightened vulnerability to adversarial voices.

• Quote (02:40):
  "All the things that we're supposed to be teaching others as leaders, we should still be incorporating into our own lives. And I don't think I always was. And I think that I walked a path of hypocrisy at times." – Troy Dunn

• Leadership often leads to self-discovery, revealing one’s limitations, driving personal growth, and developing greater empathy for others in similar roles.

2. Church as a Hospital for Souls (04:37 – 06:11)

• Troy echoes a memorable analogy that church is “a hospital for souls”—a place for the broken to be healed, not a triumphal place for the perfected.
• Everyone in the congregation is dealing with their own struggles; recognizing this brings compassion and unity.
• Leadership’s role isn’t to become a "doctor" to others spiritually—there is only one such doctor, Christ:
  • Quote (05:29):
    "Inside this hospital, none of us are doctors. We're not here to treat everyone else. We're here as fellow patients in this hospital. And there is but one doctor in the hospital. And it's our Lord and Savior." – Troy Dunn

3. The Calling Journey and Family Dynamics (06:11 – 11:02)

• Troy describes the timeline: first called as bishop at age 29, then again at 39, separated by a ward boundary change.

• The emotional moment of being called as bishop is shared, with his wife intuitively anticipating the calling.

• With his second call, Troy’s personal life was overwhelmed: a young daughter fighting cancer, heavy work travels, and general family busyness.

  • Quote (09:17):
    "No, because when the second one came, our life was so difficult. We had a daughter with cancer who was battling hard at seven years old. I was traveling a lot for the television thing. Everything was just so busy. It just was incomprehensible that we were being called to that position." – Troy Dunn

• He didn’t feel able to avoid pitfalls or approach the second calling with greater preparedness—survival was the focus.

• The impact on and reality for his family:

  • "The hardest part about holding that leadership position is your family knows you and all of you..." – Troy Dunn (08:25)
  • This brings forth the struggle of not falling into hypocrisy, given that family sees the "real" leader.

4. The Burden of Leadership and Perspective (10:19 – 11:02)

• The episode underscores that everyone—leaders and members alike—carries significant burdens.
• Bishops see, firsthand, the depth of struggles across their congregations, creating a unique sense of empathy but also great weight.
• This reinforces the “hospital for souls” analogy: everyone is “doing a burden thing.”
  • Quote (10:21):
    "I've heard people refer to it as the bishop's burden. When you're sitting on the stand, looking out at the congregation and anybody else who's up there looking out just sees all the people they know in the ward. But a bishop sits there and looks out and. And knows what's up. Yeah. You know, and so many burdens." – Troy Dunn

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Memorable Moments

• The honest admission of struggling with feelings of hypocrisy in leadership.
• Heartfelt description of feeling "incomprehensible" at being called as a bishop while his daughter was seriously ill.
• The powerful analogy of church as a “hospital for souls,” not a spiritual “doctor’s office.”
• Troy’s vulnerability in wishing for a "redo" of intense, trying years leading while his family faced crisis.

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Key Quotes & Timestamps

• "All the things that we're supposed to be teaching others as leaders, we should still be incorporating into our own lives. And I don't think I always was."
  — Troy Dunn (02:40)

• "Church is a hospital for our souls... Inside this hospital, none of us are doctors. We're here as fellow patients."
  — Troy Dunn (05:29)

• "No, because when the second one came, our life was so difficult. We had a daughter with cancer who was battling hard at seven years old... it just was incomprehensible that we were being called to that position."
  — Troy Dunn (09:17)

• "The hardest part about holding that leadership position is your family knows you and all of you..."
  — Troy Dunn (08:25)

• "When you're sitting on the stand...a bishop sits there and looks out and. And knows what's up...and so many burdens."
  — Troy Dunn (10:21)

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Useful Segments & Timestamps

• The humanness of leadership & transparency: 00:09–03:55
• "Hospital for souls" analogy & implications: 04:37–06:11
• Personal/family burdens during church service: 06:11–10:19
• Empathy for all burdens & bishop’s unique view: 10:19–11:02

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Summary Conclusion:
Troy Dunn’s candid reflections illuminate the profound intersection of spiritual leadership and life’s personal trials. His stories highlight that leaders remain vulnerable, and that the church functions best as a place of mutual healing—with Christ at its center. The episode is a heartfelt reminder of shared humanity, empathy, and the ongoing nature of spiritual growth for leaders and members alike.

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Transcript

[A]

Yeah, for sure. That's cool.

[B]

What about your.

[A]

Your church leadership journey and experience? I know you've. You were a bishop in Tampa area, is that right?

[C]

I was. I served as bishop twice down in Fort Myers, Florida. And I would say that I only served twice because I did such a miserable job the first time that the Lord.

[A]

You really believe that? I mean.

[C]

I mean, I just.

[A]

Yeah. Here.

[C]

Here's. I mean, here's the thing. And I. I don't.

[A]

I don't want to.

[C]

Yeah. You know, as I get older, I'm so transparent anymore that I think I make people uncomfortable. I love authentic people and transparency. What's that?

[A]

That's why we have you on. We want.

[C]

Yeah, I just think that. I think that we forget that our leaders, regardless of the title, and I know that this is leading saints, so the vast majority of people probably listening and watching this are in leadership positions. And I think that at times, if you're not in a leadership position and you're on the outside watching them lead you in Relief Society, you know, elders quorum, your ward, your stake, whatever, it's easy to forget that those individuals are also on the exact same path that you are. And we tend to almost take them out of that human place, and if we don't, we tend to take ourselves out of it. I think that pressure of going, oh, my gosh, I'm the Relief Society president. There's certain things people expect of me. Oh, my gosh, I'm the bishop. I'm the elders quorum president. I'm the young men's president. I think that we're like, okay, I'm now there. And I think the adversary plays on that. And I think that in my leadership opportunities, I continue to have mortal struggles. I continue to deal with things. And one of the things that really resonated for me was when the Urim and Thummim would stop working, you know, out in the wilderness. And I think to myself, serving in leadership positions, there were periods of my life when I felt like my Urim and Thummim stopped working. And it was because I wasn't in the place I needed to be spiritually. I wasn't. You know, I wasn't taking full advantage of. Of renewing my covenants on Sunday or using the atonement or whatever. All the things that we're supposed to be teaching others as leaders, we should still be incorporating into our own lives. And I don't think I always was. And I think that I walked a path of hypocrisy at Times. And I think that. That my leadership journey in the church has been more about discovering my own limitations and expectations and trying to live through them versus trying to live without them and having unrealistic expectations of myself. I don't know if any of that makes any sense, but that's been the reality. I have so much empathy for people in leadership positions because it is an additional amount of responsibility and expectations of yourself and others have of you and the Lord has of us. But it doesn't diminish. It doesn't take away your burden, your load as a husband, as a wife, as a sibling, as an employee. None of that goes away while you do this. It's all that plus. And it can be difficult. And I think that my journey has included my own mortality, getting in the way of things, and having to rebuild and restructure structure. And so that's my truth. My truth is, you know, struggling along like everybody else and doing what I can to be the best version of myself.

[A]

Yeah. Yes. I don't think it gets stated enough, just these leadership experiences, often we step into them thinking we're here to serve others, which we are. And there's many those types of opportunities. But just in my own personal journey, just how much you learn about yourself and. And the journey, you realize that. That you're on, it's a sort of that crucible of. Of development, you know, in these roles and, you know, like yours and others, many. Sometimes people get a chance to serve again in some of these more intense leadership roles. But it kind of breaks my heart that more and more people don't have these opportunities. Just the nature of how things are structured because they are so transforming. For sure.

[C]

Yeah. I heard somebody say one time, and maybe you could tell me because you're smart, but somebody once in a talk referred to church, and I'm paraphrasing, and maybe you can correct me, but somebody referred to church on Sundays as a hospital for souls. Right? This is where we come broken to be treated and rebuilt. And I agree with that. I think that, in fact, I. Yeah, I. I kind of wish we all knew each other's burdens in detail, our sins in detail. Because you could look around and realize, you're okay. You're as broken as everybody else here. Everybody else here is as broken as you are. We're all working hard to be our best selves, and some are up and running right now, but just back here, they tripped and fell. You just didn't see it. And while they're up and running, you're tripping and falling. But that's okay because they still remember when they saw you run. We're all just doing this thing. And I think when you come to accept that church is a hospital for our souls, the thing that I think some have to be reminded of, and I probably have this mindset at some point, was that inside this hospital, none of us are doctors. We're not here to treat everyone else. We're here as fellow patients in this hospital. And there is but one doctor in the hospital. And it's our Lord and Savior, and. And it's his. His protocol that we're trying to follow as we try to all take care of one another as fellow patients.

[A]

Yeah. That's awesome. So was there a gap in between your two times serving as. As a bishop or what? What's the story behind that?

[C]

Yeah. I was 29 the first time I was called. I was 39 the second time. I think there was a word split, boundary changes. So I think that's about right.

[A]

Nice. I was 28 when I got called, so I know that feeling of wishing

[C]

I could have another goodness. I mean, I still remember the day that we got called by the executive secretary to come and meet with the stake president.

[A]

And was this in Florida or where were you at?

[C]

Yes, in Florida. And my wife and I didn't even talk about it. We just got in the car, and I said to Jen, I said, I don't know why I'm feeling so nervous right now, but I hope he is not. And she said. She said, don't say it. So I didn't. And then we got there and sat down in his office, and he looked at us and he said, sister Dunn, you know we're here, don't you? And she got a little emotional, and she said, I do. So, you know, the Lord prepares.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Her first, I think.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But anyway, it was. You know, it's. I. I don't know. I. I don't know that. I certainly have lived long enough to know. It doesn't really matter what the calling is. I mean, who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies. And he will give you. The Lord is so generous and gracious that he will give you not just the opportunity, not just the resources to do it, but he will also give you the space to fail. Right. Our agency follows us all the way into our callings, and we can choose to do these leadership positions, you know, at a level that we feel like we're maxing out our potential and we're doing all we can and we can fall short. And the Lord will let that happen.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, because sometimes that. That journey is about us as much as it is the people we're serving. So I think, I look back and I think to myself, I mean, certainly people who know me, especially my family, you know, that's, I think, always been the hardest part about holding that leadership position is your family knows you and all of you, they're like, how does dad. How is he the bishop? How is this, you know, whatever. Whatever the calling is for somebody, and that's part of that leadership thing, is trying not to fall too far into hypocrisy. And I think that I struggled with that. I think there were times I was unbalanced.

[A]

Yeah. Do you remember anything for that? When the call came the second time? Like, just walking into that experience, like you were definitely going to do it a certain way or avoid this pitfall or did you feel any of that kind of preparedness or.

[C]

No, because when the second one came, our life was so difficult. We had a daughter with cancer who was battling hard at seven years old. I was traveling a lot for the television thing. Everything was just so busy. It just was incomprehensible that we were being called to that position. So I don't remember thinking anything other than how are we going to get through this and survive it? And.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, wow. Like I said, it was. Yeah. I don't want to say. I don't want to over talk it. I just. I look back, I do wish I could go back to that chapter of my life with what I have and know today and get a redo. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

That's tricky. Tricky part of life, those years, you know, with the young family. Especially when you're dealing with something like that, you know, illness and. Wow, that's a lot.

[C]

Yeah. But everybody's going through a lot, you know.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, everybody is. You know, they. I've heard people refer to it as the bishop's burden. When you're sitting on the stand, looking out at the congregation and anybody else who's up there looking out just sees all the people they know in the ward. But a bishop sits there and looks out and. And knows what's up. Yeah. You know, and so many burdens. So when your bishop's doing a burden thing while the members are doing a burden thing, that's a lot of burden. Yeah. Then you eventually figure out, I think that is why we're all here. It really is a hospital for souls, and we really are just trying to help each other get through it. And you know, yeah, it's fascinating. You're, you're triggering me back to a time that was, was really hard.

[A]

So you're going to have to call your therapist after this. I have that serious have that result on people. Sounds like we need a vacation, Troy. Right. So, yeah.

[B]

Hey, if you enjoyed this clip, we want to invite you on a Sea Saints cruise where we're going to Alaska in September of 2026. Troy will be there, I will be there. Some fantastic other talent speakers and performers will be there. This is the, the optimal Latter Day Saint vacation experience to not only vacation, relax, renew, but also learn and hear from and learn from great presenters and some fantastic Latter Day Saint entertainment as well. So go to csaints.com for all the details and we'd love to have you join us this September in Alaska.