Joy is Our Birthright—Astrid Tuminez at Restore

Faith Matters

Faith Matters Foundation

Christianity, Ethics, Latter-day Saint, The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, Mormon, Mormonism, Morality, Lds, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

Today, we’re so excited to share a powerful session from last year’s Restore gathering, given by Astrid Tuminez, president of Utah Valley University. Astrid’s story is truly extraordinary. She was born in a small village in the Philippines and raised in the slums of Iloilo City. Her journey has taken her from Catholic convent schools to Harvard and Wall Street to leading a major public university—and throughout, she’s wrestled with what it means to belong and to find joy. Drawing from the B...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, everybody. I'm Mallory Everton, and I'm going to be speaking at Restore in September in Orham, Utah, about humor and spirituality. I think sometimes being a spiritual person and definitely being a religious person can feel like quite a serious endeavor. And I'm just going to make the case for playfulness, baby. I think it'll be fun because being a spiritual person can be very funny and stupid.
0:27.5	So let's talk about it and let's party.
0:30.3	Join me at Faith Matters.
0:31.4	Go to Faith Matters.org if you need more information.
0:35.1	Hey, everybody.
0:35.7	This is Aubrey Chavez from Faith Matters.
0:38.0	Today we're excited to share a powerful session from last year's Restore Gathering,
0:42.0	given by Astrid Taminas, president of Utah Valley University.
0:45.7	Astrid's story is so extraordinary.
0:47.6	She was born in a small village in the Philippines and raised in the slums of Iloilo
0:51.4	Ilo I city.
0:52.6	Her journey has taken her from a Catholic convent school
0:55.2	to Harvard and Wall Street to leading a major public university. And throughout, she's wrestled
1:00.6	with what it means to belong and to have joy. Drawing from the Book of Mormon, Buddhist meditation,
1:06.0	and the lives of the people who have shaped her, Astrid invites us into the practices that help
1:10.7	her live with joy,
1:11.8	even in the midst of complexity and change. We also want to acknowledge that this session was
1:16.8	recorded just a few months before Astrid's beloved husband of 37 years, Jeff Tolk, passed away
1:22.1	unexpectedly. Jeff was someone that we admired deeply. He had a brilliant mind and a tender heart,
1:27.7	and we're holding Astrid and her family in our hearts during this season of unimaginable grief.
1:32.6	Listening to her message now, with the weight of that loss,
1:35.8	we have even more reverence and gratitude for the wisdom and light
	...

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