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Author

Ron
Howard.

Storyteller Bishop Father

"He didn't set out to write a book. He set out to be obedient."

In His Own Words

Why I Wrote This

"

I am not a writer. I am a storyteller. There is a difference. A writer crafts sentences. A storyteller just tells you what happened and hopes you feel it the same way he did.

I felt prompted to write this book for a long time before I actually did anything about it. The prompting came again and again — in quiet moments, in the middle of sales calls, in the car, in the shower. I kept telling myself I wasn't qualified. That someone else could say it better.

Then one day I realized that obedience isn't about qualifications. It's about willingness. So I sat down and I wrote what I knew.

Ron Howard, Author's Note

His Story

From Sales Floors to Sacred Conversations

01 — The People Person

Built for People

Ron has always been drawn to people — not titles or transactions, but the person on the other side of the table. He learned early that everyone is carrying something. The best conversations he ever had weren't about business. They were about what someone was actually afraid of.

02 — The Calling

Called as Bishop

When Ron was called as a Bishop, he entered one of the most intimate roles in The Church of Jesus Christ of followers of Christ. Week after week, people came through his door carrying things they had never said out loud. Heavy things. Old things. Things they believed disqualified them from being loved. He sat with them. He listened. And he watched the Atonement do what only it can do.

03 — The Prompting

The Book That Wouldn't Stop

The idea for The Rubber Band Ball came to him quietly — and then wouldn't let go. He saw the metaphor clearly: how each unresolved thing becomes a band, how we keep adding to the ball and calling it identity. He knew he had to write it not because he had mastered the healing process, but because he had needed it himself.

04 — The Father

A Father First

More than anything Ron has written or taught, his greatest work is his family. The lessons in this book are not theories — they are truths lived inside his own home, taught to his children, and now passed to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Father First

His Greatest Work Is His Family.

More than anything Ron has ever written or taught, his greatest work is his family. The principles shared in this book are not theories or ideas borrowed from others — they are lessons lived, practiced, and taught within the walls of his own home.

These are the same truths he taught his children as they grew, guiding them through both challenges and triumphs. Today, those same lessons continue as he speaks to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, reminding them of what matters most.

"That families are forever."

And that learning to love, forgive, and stay connected to one another is the most important lesson we are given on this earth.

"I am not here to tell you how to be better. I am here to tell you that you are not the ball. The bands are not you. And the Atonement was designed for exactly the weight you are carrying right now."

— Ronald Howard, The Rubber Band Ball
Listen

The Author's Note

A 60-second preview from the opening of the book.

Author's Note — A Reading

Ronald Howard · 0:00 / 1:00

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About Ronald Howard

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ronald Howard a therapist or licensed counselor? +

No. Ronald Howard is not a licensed therapist or counselor. He is a Christian author who writes from lived experience and faith in Jesus Christ. The Rubber Band Ball is not a clinical resource — it is a faith-based book about identity, shame, and the power of the gospel to set people free.

What is Ron's personal background with shame and guilt? +

Ron spent years carrying a rubber band ball of his own — accumulated shame, guilt, and false identity that he had built up over decades of performance-based faith. The book came out of the process he went through to finally put it down. It is not written from a place of having it all figured out, but from the other side of the experience. Read what readers have experienced after going through it themselves.

Is Ron available for speaking engagements? +

Yes. Ron speaks at firesides, ward and stake events, leadership training, youth conferences, and other LDS gatherings. He addresses shame, guilt, performance-based faith, and how the Atonement creates lasting identity change — not just behavioral change. Reach him through the contact page.

Why did Ron make the digital book free? +

Ron believes this message should reach everyone who needs it — not just those who can afford to buy a book. The digital and audio editions are completely free, no email required. He wrote the book to serve, not to sell. The print edition is available for those who prefer a physical copy.

Has Ron served in LDS Church leadership? +

Yes. Ron has served in multiple leadership capacities in the Church of Jesus Christ of followers of Christ, including bishopric service. That experience gave him firsthand understanding of how leaders accumulate burdens — and how the same shame and guilt that members carry can quietly build inside the people called to help them.

Will Ron write more books? +

Ron is focused on making sure this message reaches the people who need it before beginning a new project. If you want to stay connected, share your experience with the book on the testimonials page — hearing how it has impacted people directly shapes what he writes next.

The Rubber Band Ball

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