Reversion to Analog – Part 2: Advantages of Analog

(This post was written on August 6th, 2011, and posted on August 7th, 2011)

As I write (yes, write. Not type (see last post)) this blog post, I consider the advantages of reverting to an analog form of writing, and the advantages of other analog methods. And I’d better think of them fast, because that’s the subject of this post.

In our day and age, essays in college are either submitted online, or in a very specifically-formatted typed piece/sheaf of paper. At BYU-I, with the laptop initiative (the requirement of every student to have a laptop), a tendency of taking class notes on a laptop exists, and seems to be developing. The use of paper may be dying out. Dunno. And reading books, even! THE EPITOME OF PAPER USE! It’s being paperless-ized as we adopt use of inventions like the Kindle and the Nook. Now: There is every possibility that I’m delusional. And I have nothing against technology. But I do believe that there will be a time in the future (and there comes a time every day) that one or more pieces of technology in our vicinity will fail to perform their functions. And it will be useful, at that time, in my opinion, for us to know how to do in an analog format what we depend on doing digitally. Recently, in one of my classes, a few students were unable to read an analog clock. Now, granted, that’s a piece of technology that would fail with a digital clock, but it was still sad to see that these people didn’t know how to read it. And I hope that wasn’t a by-product of the current American education system, and if it was, I hope we don’t stop learning how to write anytime soon. Being forced to write my thought in a journal, as it were, because of a lack of computer access has been nice. It’s shown me a few things, and I’ve been able to see some advantages to making a reversion.

1. Gratitude for Technology. When you have to write everything by hand, you realize how much faster it is to type things. And I think one gains a greater gratitude for the technology that allows us to type. It really saves us a lot of time. And to be able to transmit in digital format! I mean, if this were a message to someone specific, after finishing it, I would have to stick it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, mail it, and then wait at least 3 or 4 days for a response. But on a computer, I can copy and paste the text into a message box, and push a button, and immediately it arrives at the virtual front door of the receiver. The technology we use that allows us to communicate and record words and ideas is such a blessing.

2. A desire to learn shorthand. With the gratitude for efficiency (and with its loss) there comes (at least, to me) a desire to regain that efficiency. But I don’t want to buy another computer at this point in my life for the same reason. I decided to sell the other one. And so I would like a different method, and learning shorthand seems like a good idea, especially in the context of digital independence. I’ve wanted to learn shorthand since a year or so ago; since my hand couldn’t keep up with what went in my ears. I want to learn a way to write faster, and get back some of that efficiency that went with my laptop. But that’s only an advantage if I use that extra time purposefully, right? Which brings me to my next point:

3. I really don’t need Facebook. I know. Shocking, right? But it’s true! I can get along just fine with a phone as far as social communication goes. And in some ways, I’d like to wean myself off of that, too. See, I feel like Facebook, texting, and even email are crippling me socially. Back in the day, when you wanted to talk to someone, you had to actually talk to them, whether that meant to be within range of hearing, or to have a conversation face-to-face with them, it involved speaking. Using your voice. To mail a letter to your next-door neighbor just wasn’t efficient enough for communication. But the modern message, which takes the form of an email, a text, or a Facebook message is efficient enough for communication because it’s virtually instantaneous! And it’s PREFERABLE! You know that awkward situation when you have to tell someone something but don’t really want to tell them? Years ago, you had to at least get a friend to deliver the message for you, or mail them a letter, maybe. But it would usually result, eventually, in a direct conversation. Now, if you fell so inclined, you can text someone to break up with them, because you just don’t want to be in that situation. But to do so deprives you of social skills and valuable (though painful) experiences. And as you deprive yourself of much of today’s communication technology, I believe you gain growth and you learn to really communicate. And if we’re going to talk about efficiency, what’s more efficient if you’re trying to have a conversation with someone than having a conversation? You can fit a minute’s worth of texts into something closer to 10 or 15 seconds. We have mouths. I think it would be a good idea to use them more. And if you’d like, go ahead and try it! Try taking a break from Facebook, or texting, or from email (if that’s at all feasible) and see if it changes your life in a positive way. I’m not necessarily saying we should abandon these things, just that we should be independent of them; we should be able to get along without them, if we can.

4. I have the opportunity to be social, and I LOVE IT! I spent today without checking my Facebook or my email, interacting with family and friends. Having adventures, getting some work done, eating great food, and talking. And it was so great. I don’t know that anything could’ve made today better. It was amazing. I spent a day doing something I tend to avoid, that is, being social, and I found that I really enjoyed it.

5. My writing hand has been gaining strength! …yeah, okay. Maybe I’m reaching, but it really feels good to know I can still use my hand to write, and I don’t need a computer to record something.

It’s kind of fun to me to go back to just writing: an old electricity-free standby. (Except for the car light over my head). I guess I’m not totally independent. But I can dream, right? :)

Reversion to Analog – Part 1: Macbook Air Review

(This post and many that follow it are/will be typed from a written form.)

I am writing (yes, Writing) this blog post on a tablet; no, not an iPad; not a Samsung Galaxy Tab; I’m talking about a composition book. Like the kind you buy in a 3-pack at Wal-Mart or Staples. The kind your piano teacher writes your progress in. That’s right, folks! I’m without my computer. The Macbook Air I purchased for my 2nd semester of college now belongs to me cousin and her husband. Sentences that might take a matter of 10 or 15 seconds to write (like this one) now take twice that time. But I don’t want to complain; rather, I want to give a review on the Air and look at the positives of this situation.

First: The Macbook Air. I was almost totally satisfied. In fact, were it not for my negative experience with Safari and a few freezing problems, I would have been absolutely satisfied, and these are the reasons why:

1. When designing the 3rd generation Macbook Air (the one I owned), Apple took a lesson from their design of the iPad, namely, flash storage. Instead of having a hard drive with a lot of moving parts, like most desktops and laptops, Apple used a Solid State Drive, reducing the risk of malfunction and effectively increasing speed. That means that when I bought my laptop, the time between me pushing the power button and arriving at a screen ready for me to use was about 5 seconds. It was FAST. Therefore I had no need to leave the computer on between uses to save time booting up. The flash storage was already saving time. So I could preserve small amounts of battery life that way.

2. The Air is SO LIGHT. And for a guy like me, who packs all his textbooks in his bag every day, just in case he can get some time in between classes to work on his homework, leaving a few pounds out of a backpack is REALLY nice. The model of the Macbook Air I owned (11-inch screen) weighted 2.3 pounds. And it functioned just fine (except for a few blips). You would think such a computer wouldn’t hold up to a lot of functions and programs, but I think it held its own; it packed a fair punch. So, despite its small weight and size (both advantages in my opinion) the Macbook Air has the capacity to perform the functions the average college student needs. I didn’t do much experimenting with iMovie or GarageBand, but I would assume that they work fine.

3. Functionability. You needn’t worry that you will have a hard time typing on a Macbook Air. The keyboard is the same size as any standard Mac keyboard (without a number pad, of course). The glass trackpad was big enough for me to perform the new Lion gestures, and to navigate in general, and you’ll be surprised how acceptable the screen size is if you use it for a little while. If you find there isn’t enough room on your screen, you can always zoom out to make windows smaller, OR, with the Lion substitute for Exposé (Mission Control) and Screen-To-Screen scrolling, you can give every app its own window and navigate through them quickly. Mac OS X Lion is a standard on every new Mac, including the Macbook Air, and it adds so much functionability.

Now the negative: My Macbook Air, while running under Safari, lost its ability to handle YouTube. Firefox works well, but there was something about YouTube that put Safari on he fritz, and caused my computer to freeze, even with the extra 2 gigabytes of Ram the computer came upgraded with (A total of 4 gigabytes). The plus side is that the Macbook Air has a Dual-Core processor, and Safari freezing would only consume the entire processing power of one core, leaving me ample time to save or close whatever I needed to. And the new Airs come default with at least a 1.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, which I presume would’ve solved my problem, or at least improved upon it. So, software aside and hardware alone, the Macbook Air I owned was fantastic. I was satisfied, and I would recommend it to any English Major, as I am. An 11-inch screen is absolutely adequate, processing power kept me afloat, and the design is so smooth. I give my model 4 ½ stars, and feel confident in recommending the latest model, though I haven’t used it yet. Good luck buying your Mac!

Update: I use Firefox now. There's something about Safari I don't like. :P Which reminds me...

:)

Don’t Go It Alone

I recently learned an interesting lesson and it strengthened my testimony of a VERY important gospel principle.

My family and I just visited Nauvoo, Illinois to be with friends and watch the Nauvoo Pageant. When you attend, if you linger for a little while before or after the Pageant, you will more than likely be approached by a member of the cast who wants to speak to you about sharing the gospel message with others. They will ask you if there is anyone you thought of during the pageant that could use the gospel, and if there is (or you are not a member of the church) they will ask you to fill out a referral card for that person (or for yourself). The card will then go to the missionaries, who will send the person a copy of the pageant CD and (I think) the DVD of the restoration, delivered by a pair of missionaries. A member of the cast came up to me before the Pageant, and we talked for a little while, and then he challenged me to fill out 15 referral cards by the end of the pageant, and bore his testimony. I agreed, with some doubt, and took the 15 cards. Living in Rexburg means you will be surrounded by members of the church, and so it was hard for me to think of anyone. But as I sat and thought, I got 15 names, which I wrote on the 15 cards. I even had an extra, making 16. And I wrote down as much information as I could, copied down the names for myself so I could get the contact information later, and gave the cards to that cast member. The next day, I was trying to contact people so I could get their information, and I received a response from one of them that left me sort of jarred. The person said that they didn’t wish to offend me, but that they were not interested in the church, and that they found information about missionary work and the gospel sincerely offensive. They ended their message by wishing me well.

This was devastating to me. Afterwards, I felt like it was hard for me to feel the spirit, and I felt like my testimony was shattered. “How could anyone take offense to the gospel? Is it really true?” It was hard. And for several hours afterward, I simmered in depression and anger and confusion. Eventually, I decided to open my mouth and let off some steam. After talking to the people in my vicinity, I felt much better, and that is the principle I would like to talk about. When things were hard, I wanted to go it alone, and I wanted to bounce back by myself; I wanted to be independent of anyone else. But I was having no success in that arena. And when I finally decided to accept help, I felt SO much better for it. There’s a passage in Doctrine and Covenants 76:

40 And this is the ^agospel, the glad ^btidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

41 That he ^acame into the world, even Jesus, to be ^bcrucified for the world, and to ^cbear the sins of the ^dworld, and to ^esanctify the world, and to ^fcleanse it from all unrighteousness;

42 That through him all might be ^asaved whom the Father had put into his ^bpower and made by him;

There is a hard truth that we must face, and that is that we cannot do mortality by ourselves. From infancy, we needed help to learn and to grow, and even at our present age, nothing we do is done independently. We rely so much on other people, and the many things they do for us. This computer I’m typing on, this chair that I’m sitting in, and this house in which I live were not created by me. Neither was the food I eat every day grown or harvested by my efforts. I do nothing independently. And what I want to teach in this post is that we cannot make it back to the presence of God independently. And that’s just the way it is. Through our own imperfection, we have rendered ourselves incapable of being with God. But there is hope, and that hope comes in the Atonement of Christ, and that is the root of the message we share: that Christ, the son of God, came into the world. He preached and he prophesied, he taught, and he healed. He established his gospel. And then, in his final days, he entered the Garden of Gethsemane, and suffered for everything you, I, or anyone else has experienced on this Earth. Sickness, broken bones, heartbreak, and remorse for sin; he felt it all. And then he was taken before the people, and condemned to death. He was beaten, scourged, mocked, and then crucified. And then, after 3 days in the tomb, he was resurrected, paving the way for us to follow! And we are saved from physical and spiritual death because of his willingness to obey the command of Heavenly Father, and because of the love he has for us. But to be saved from spiritual death and to receive Eternal Life, there are steps we need to take. And those steps can be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which we preach. That is our message: that Christ is there to help us make it back to our Heavenly Father. And I want to testify that we cannot do that by ourselves; we need his help.

There is a video made by the church that will perhaps convey this message better than I can. It can be found here. Thanks for reading. If you would like more information on the church, please don’t hesitate to visit lds.org or mormon.org.

Saying Goodbye: A Scottish Proverb

I had an okay day today. We were up until 2:00 this morning getting back from helping the Work Crew strike the stage. We probably only worked until 1:30, though, if that. And so we were kind of tired this morning. We attended sacrament meeting in town, and it was really good. The speakers consisted of a whole family. The daughter talked about personal progress, the son about Duty to God, the mother about Stripling Warriors and trying to raise some, and the Father talked about tithing. And it was a really good meeting. After that, we had an amazing brunch back at our apartment, courtesy of Mindy Davis, Shanti Rose, and Fr. Thomas Szydlik. We had a fantastic white sauce and chicken pasta with broccoli and sautéed peppers, a summer salad (recipe courtesy of Zion’s Mercantile in town), and a roast with potatoes and carrots. AND THEN, courtesy of Father Szydlik (yes, courtesy of a Catholic Father), we had ‘Mormon Tiramisu,’ which was fantastic. The recipe involves ladyfinger cookies and something lemony...
Anyway, after that, I tried to do some missionary work on my computer (email some people who I filled out referral cards for so I could get their information) and I ended up getting rejected, twice, though politely both times, and felt shattered. I had a very hard time recovering, and felt like I had lost the spirit for several hours, just because of one of the rejections. I’m not exactly sure of the reasons it was so hard for me to stay afloat, as it were. We decided to watch the sunset on the Mississippi River at the end of Parley Street (which was beautiful), and then we drove to the pageant stage and talked about what we had learned from our time in Nauvoo. 3 core cast members, one family cast member, my family and I, and the Father were all there, and we had a good experience talking about what we had learned and feeling the spirit (though I was still devastated and devoid of the spirit, at least, that’s how I felt), and then we decided to go to the other side of the river and look at the temple from there in the evening. We got some great views, and on the way back, I finally opened my mouth and let off some steam and expressed my feelings. After doing so, I felt much better. I feel that I was helped extremely by he people who were in that car, and I only hope I have helped them, somehow. There’s a show put on by the Core Cast, which is basically the plan of salvation smattered with Broadway musical pieces (it’s absolutely amazing). One of the lines from this performance is an old Scottish proverb, which is basically the focus of my post this evening, and which I hope I have been on the giving end of:

“Thee lift me, and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.”

I hope I have helped others in their lives and their goals. I know they have lifted me. We will ascend together.

Nauvoo Pageant Part 3

I haven’t been blogging for a few days, but I had a few thoughts I wanted to talk about, and some lines in the Pageant that emphasize some important principles I’ve been thinking about.

During the pageant, Parley P. Pratt, referring to the construction of the Nauvoo Temple, says: “To give what was needed, we gave all we had....And to give more than we had, we gave of ourselves.” That’s a principle that we felt as members of the cast and crew, and a principle that I’m sure others feel and have felt. The pageant cast and crew gives it their all. They spend anywhere from 1-6 weeks (sometimes more) here in Nauvoo and focus, if at all possible, on nothing but the Pageant. A dedicated member of the cast, as I see it, will spend little to no time checking social networking tools while they are here, and spend no time watching movies and playing computer games. They will dedicate their time in service of the Lord, and when they cannot serve, they will prepare to serve and make sure that they are ready to work when the opportunity arises. It’s taken me 4 years to learn that, and it is a principle I have yet to perfect. Pageant cast and crew give all they have to the work while they are here. They give their focus and their time and their effort to the pageant. But even that can be only enough to put on a show, and the pageant is something more than that.

The second part of Parley’s line was on the back of the Work Crew’s shirts last year: “To give more than we had, we gave of ourselves.” This is a principle that is so important for each individual to recognize, simply because of its implications: If you have been called to the Pageant, you are there for a reason. Many people apply, but only so many get in; about 750 total in the family cast. The pageant staff spends much time pondering and praying to know which families should come. And they follow those promptings. That means to me, that those families are needed at the pageant. Not that a group of 5 people is needed, not even that a husband, a wife, 2 sons and a daughter are needed, or any other family configuration. But that those PEOPLE are needed. Take, for instance, a hypothetical family called the Fishers. James, Catherine, Morgan, and Chris; Father, Mother, Sister and Brother, respectively. There is a reason, not that a family of four was in the Pageant, but a reason that James Fisher was in the Pageant. A reason that Catherine Fisher was in the Pageant. A reason that Morgan Fisher was in the Pageant. A reason that Chris Fisher was in the Pageant. They each had something to bring, because they were who they were. This, to me, is the essence of Parley’s line. “To give more than [what we possess], we [give of who we are].”

There’s one other aspect of giving in the Pageant I want to point out: As my family and I have been here, participating in the Nauvoo Pageant has felt quite different. We do not go to morning rehearsals, we do not need to stay up until midnight to do our duty as cast members every evening, and we basically have all the time we want. Some might consider this to be a good thing, and it does indeed seem so at first glance, but there is an experience that has been lost with the loss of our cast membership: When a family is accepted to the cast, before they leave, they are set apart by their bishop as ‘special representatives of the church...” this is something like the setting apart of a missionary before he leaves for the MTC and his mission. And my family and I believe that a great mantle falls on those who are set apart; that is, with the responsibility that they have been asked to shoulder, the capacity to fulfill it comes. We are not cast members this year, and so we have not had to experience the hardships of the cast, but neither have we felt that feeling of being lifted and sustained as we have in the past. I think the absence of that feeling has made us realize that we had it before. See, though we worked so hard in those weeks that we were cast members, and worked beyond our normal capacity, somehow we made it through. We would wake up in the morning, and so long as we used our time as we knew we should (that is, so long as we did not waste it) we would feel rested enough to move through the day. If we really needed something, it was provided. If we needed a nap, there was time for it, and we were still able to keep up with our responsibilities. Not only were we physically sustained and magnified, but I believe that we were also magnified spiritually, and that our ability to share what we had to offer as individuals was increased. I think that it became easier for me to share my thoughts and feelings and be myself with fellow cast and crew and to follow the spirit. I want to share a quote from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith that I found while reading today:

“Brethren, you are on the pathway to eternal fame, and immortal glory; and inasmuch as you feel interested for the covenant people of the Lord, the God of their fathers shall bless you. Do not be discouraged on account of the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful...He who scattered Israel has promised to gather them; therefore inasmuch as you are to be instrumental in this great work, He will endow you with power, wisdom, might and intelligence, and every qualification necessary; while your minds will expand wider and wider, until you can circumscribe the earth and the heavens, reach forth into eternity, and contemplate the mighty acts of Jehovah in all their variety and glory.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 163, italics and underline added)

I think that we have been blessed as we have been members of the Pageant, and believe that with our calling came the capacity to fulfill it. I also believe that the principles in Parley’s lines can be applied not only in building a temple, not only in participating in the pageant, but in living from day to day and being the best people we can be; I believe that the Lord requires us to ‘”[give] all we [have],” and I think that when that is not enough, we can “[give] of ourselves.” And I believe that when we fall short even then, Christ will sustain us, and help us to reach our perceived potential and surpass it, that we might do that which he has asked us to do, and grow in the process. I encourage each of you to come and see the Pageant next year, or, if you can, to apply to be in it. It is a great experience, and one that you will remember for years to come.

I don’t know exactly when the Pageant will be playing next year, but I assume that it will be something like July 3-28, or July 10-August 4. I’m banking on the former. The Frontier Country Fair starts at 7:00 PM just west of the Pageant stage, and the show starts at 8:30 PM. I urge you to go the fair. It is such an important part of the pageant, and especially fun for kids. It’s a medley of all sorts of pioneer activities you and your children (if you have them) can participate in. From Stickpull to finding your geneology in Nauvoo; from log-sawing to parlor games; from balancing on stilts to dancing your heart out. You can find out more at http://www.nauvoopageant.org/. It’s all free, too. Please come if you can. :)

Nauvoo Pageant Part 2

Today, I learned about one of my most recent shortcomings. We were talking to one of the cast members today, asking her what she had learned this year in Nauvoo. She talked about (at least, as I understood it) how she felt like, since she had been a part of the pageant before, this year there was nothing left to learn. She wasn’t receiving much attention from the directors and such, because the newer cast members (the ones who hadn’t been before) needed it. And I realized that that has been my problem recently.

I just barely finished reading the Book of Mormon all the way through again, and while I know that I have much to learn as far as the history goes (where events in the Book of Mormon can be found IN the Book of Mormon, where they are on a timeline, who the major/minor characters are, what they did, where they can be found, etc.), I feel like I have many of the principles down pat. When I stumble across a certain verse in the scriptures, I have a thought and take out my pencil to write it down in the margins, only to find that I put the thought there already during a previous reading. And I just start to wonder what I have to gain from going through the Book of Mormon again. I reason that I can start researching the other books in the Scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) but then I remember that we have been asked to read the Book of Mormon every day, and that there are many people far older than me that read it consistently. At that point I cannot be so presumptuous as to say that I know everything there is to know about the principles in the Book of Mormon. I just feel like I’ve touched upon everything at face value, but now I must go deeper; I just don’t know if I have the tools to go deeper, or whether to venture deeper would be better for me, or worse. As I read the scriptures, I come up with ideas about what they are trying to teach me, but sometimes I feel like what I come up with has little bearing that I know of in the scriptures themselves, and I don’t want to write it, for fear that I, or someone else who reads my copy of the scriptures who knows little about the church or the gospel, will fall upon a phrase I have written and interpret it as something doctrinal. That, I think, is my biggest roadblock: coming up with ideas as to the doctrine being taught in a scripture, and presuming that they are correct. I suppose the best solution to that is simply to research the idea further in the scriptures; see if there is anything anywhere else in them that supports my claim. It’s just a little worrisome to me; like I’m going into deeper waters that could drown me if I’m not careful. But there’s a solution to my problem out there somewhere, I am confident. I just need to find it.

I’ve had a similar problem recently when it comes to watching the pageant. I have participated in the pageant with my family a total of 4 times: We were in the Green Cast in ’06, the Yellow Cast in ’07, the Green Cast in ’09, and my brother and I were on the Work Crew in ’10 while my mother and sister were in the Red Cast. We have been in the pageant so much that there was a point at which I think I could sit down and quote much of the pageant to someone, word for word. That time has passed, but I still feel as though I have extensive knowledge of the pageant and the doctrines it presents. So I feel as though I have nothing more to learn from it. As I thought about that tonight, I wondered if this was simply a stage in my life in which I had to learn a few things, and I had learned them now, so it was time to move on to something bigger which I did not know. A ‘Greater Pageant’ as it were; something new for me to experience and learn the gospel through. But again, the same arguments arise. There are cast members who are still involved with the Pageant who have been for many years already. It seems they have something more to learn, or at least something more to do. It’s just difficult when I have heard every line in the pageant over and over again. It feels so much when I listen to it like I know enough about it. But I feel like there’s got to be something more that I haven’t reached yet; that I don’t know enough about. Just like in the scriptures. I have read them many times, especially the first part of First Nephi, to the point where reading the words, “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents,” seems more like a chore than a blessing. But there must be something more there. There always is. It’s just waiting to be found, and I need to put in the effort to find it.

Again, if you haven’t seen the pageant yet, I recommend it with all my heart. There is something amazing about it. If you will come with an open mind, and an open heart, I do not think you will be disappointed. You will learn something, and you will feel something. I hope you can come; if not this year, the next year, or the next. It’s a great experience.

P. S. Forgive me if this post or the one before it has some grammatical errors, typos, or other mistakes. I've been a little tired, and I don't have to time to look over them just yet.

Nauvoo Pageant Part 1

As one watches the pageant, sometimes certain words said or principles displayed ring true to them. One significant aspect of my testimony came to me when I was in Nauvoo as part of the crew. But I want to talk about something I was thinking about tonight, as a member of the audience.

Often there are protests at the pageant. People come with big signs, like: “Jesus warned against false prophets,” and, “There is only one true God.” These principles, specifically, are sometimes things that I agree with. It is indeed true that Jesus warned against false prophets, and that there is only one true and living God. But these protestors are not here at the pageant to teach what I believe, but what they believe, and what they think we believe wrongly. I don’t understand them. But I wanted this evening to walk up to one of them, point at their sign and say, “That’s true. Jesus did warn against false prophets. I’m glad you know that,” or something to that effect. But I’ve heard stories of people approaching the protestors, and it usually doesn’t end well. So I decided to steer clear. But I was trying to think of ways to help them to understand that what we are doing is right. But, to be honest, I really don’t know if there is any way to crack tough nuts like that. ESPECIALLY in that setting, when they are already hostile, and that is their goal: to be hostile and aggressive. I don’t know how to communicate with them, and I really don’t want to. A person recently said in a Facebook post, “There's a story behind every person. There's a reason why they're the way they are. They aren't just like that because they want to [be]. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it's impossible to fix them.” I agree with that to a point. But I want to focus on the last part: “It’s impossible to fix them.” Yes. Yes, I agree with that completely. And I’ll tell you why: You just can’t ‘fix’ people. It’s not possible for you to ‘fix’ someone. Because unlike a broken machine or a broken toy or any number of broken objects, when it comes to the gospel, a person can only be ‘fixed’ or changed, when they WANT to be. You can’t make someone have a testimony.

There’s a conversation in the pageant between two people, Parley P. Pratt and a sort of investigator of the church who plays a central role in the pageant, named Robert Laird. Robert speaks with Parley about how he’s interested in the church, but he doesn’t want to get pushed into anything. Parley responds that he should read the Book of Mormon, and Robert declines, saying that he has a bible. Parley goes on to explain that the Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ, and Robert Laird says he’ll consider it. Then the conversation goes something like this. Italicized words are the ones I think are relevant to this topic. (Robert refers to himself in the third person, trying to be ambiguous):

Robert: But you might as well know right now, yeah? This man, he does have a mind of his own.

Parley: Good. As do I. And you might tell him, if he will read the Book of Mormon, and ask God if it’s true, God will give him a witness all for himself.

Robert: I’ll tell him.

Parley: I hope you will.

This conversation represents two things which are very important pertaining to belief in the church. First, a person must have his/her own testimony. They must have received a witness all for themselves. You cannot really piggyback on someone else’s testimony and expect it to be effective. When you have felt for yourself the truth of the Book of Mormon; when you have attended church and felt something good there; when you have prayed to Heavenly Father and that same good feeling indicated to you that this church which you are investigating or have been born into is true, then you can know for yourself, and have the ability to not doubt the truth, for you have received a witness for yourself.

Second, that it has to be your decision, and that it is our decision to be members of the church. We members of the Church of Jesus Christ are not mindless drones. Yes, it is true: sometimes we go through the motions simply because we have been brought up that way, and sometimes we simply believe because others believe and we trust their testimony. But the majority of the time, especially in those members who are older, we have asked Heavenly Father about the truth of the Book of Mormon, or the Church, or asked Him whether Joseph Smith was a prophet, and we have received an answer. And THAT is why we believe. Because we have “had a feelin’,” as the pageant line goes. We have received a witness as to the truth of this church. And that is why we are a part of it.

I hope you can come out to see the pageant sometime in your life; hopefully soon the last show is this Saturday, it’s in Nauvoo, Illinois, and it runs every day until then at 8:45 in the evening, with a preshow beginning at 7 or 7:30. If you can’t come this year, maybe you can next year. It will change you.

We’re on our way... TO NAU-VOO!

Imagine that you’re in the middle of a desert.

You have not eaten or drunk from several days. Your stomach has shrunken and your tongue is swollen. You are burned and battered. Your hand was scorched recently when you placed it on a bit of hot metal protruding from the sand. You do not know where you are, you are completely disoriented, and your fighting spirit has surrendered to one of apathy. Still, you continue forward, albeit slowly. Crawling.

You suddenly find yourself in shade.

Your body begins to cool, and you are more satisfied and more encouraged. You are receiving respite from your long journey. You look around, and see trees; beautiful, tall trees, protecting you from the heat. You can stand now. You can walk instead of crawl. Your spirit is soothed and awakened. As you progress, you find yourself at an oasis.

Water.

You have reached water. The sustainer of human life. That thing which you have not had at its clearest in several days. You dip your hands into the water, and feel its coolness, its wetness, its purity, on your dirty, dry, hot hands. It soothes the wound on your one hand. You bring it to your lips, and you drink. It cools your innards, and it permeates throughout your entire body. You want to jump right into it, but you are, at the same time, satisfied with drinking. You know that drinking it, taking it in, and letting it flow through you will be best. You will benefit the most that way. When you have drunken your fill, you are pushed to move on by... something. Something urges you to move forward. Like a schedule. You will be late if you do not go on.

So you move on. You move through the shady forest. You see a table. Somehow, you know you are to sit there. You sit at the head of the table. After an initial period of pause, food begins to appear on the table; in great varieties and massive quantities. You find yourself reaching for anything and everything you can, putting it on your plate, but you cannot take a dish before another, or two more, appear where it was. You find it hard to focus on any one dish; you are trying to get them all. The feast goes on for an hour and your shrunken stomach cannot fit all the food you want it to inside. You cease consumption, even though you know how much you want to continue. A small respite follows, and you move to another place on the table. You find your place, and sit again. Your stomach seems to have grown a little, and emptied. Food appears again, and you consume. You notice that there are others around you eating, and you watch as they produce dishes themselves, seemingly from nowhere, for the benefit of other partakers at the table. You see an opportunity before you, medleys of ingredients, and you try to concoct something which is true to form, and which belongs on the table. As you pass it down, people take the dish, but you do not see if it is eaten. You continue to try and try to produce dishes which will be helpful to the starving on the table, using your knowledge to produce something which others will benefit from, but, seemingly, to no avail. You feel that you must leave. You must go on, out of the forest, and you will never know if the dishes will be eaten, or were eaten, or if they filled the bellies of the other eaters at the table. You exit the forest.

And you move on.

You have a journey to take. There will be more forests along the way.

Did you have fun? This was something like my experience going to a ward (group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for those of you unfamiliar with our lingo) in St. Louis.

Perhaps an explanation is warranted.

My family and I are on the way to Nauvoo, Illinois, where we will (hopefully) participate in a pageant put on by members of our church. And by, ‘Pageant,’ we mean, ‘Play.’ We are not members of the cast this year, as we have been in other years, but we hope to be some assistance to those in the cast. We left Rexburg yesterday to take a flight from Idaho Falls, ID to Salt Lake City, UT, and then to Cincinnati, OH, and on to St. Louis, Missouri. We flew into St. Louis last night, checked into a hotel, and went to a great place called La Pizza for dinner and collected a few things we needed at Target, returning then to the hotel to watch Sahara playing on TBS, and hit the hay. The next morning, today, we attended church at a ward in St. Louis, and, metaphorically, everything above happened to me. I was rejuvenated. I do not know every reason that I was parched, burned, and exhausted (at least, I don’t know the reasons for my spiritual state, in that sense), but I know that to attend church helped immensely. So how did we navigate our way to a church in the middle of St. Louis? Well, to give even more credit to the church, the website mormon.org has a feature which allows anyone to find out where the closest church is, AND when each ward that attends that church has services. So we were able to find a church that met our scheduling needs and attend it. As I was looking for the church on that website, I kept having these mildly nightmarish ideas about the ward we were about to go to. I’m not sure why, but I just thought that it would be a negative experience.

I was wrong.

We went to the ward, made it just in time for the sacrament, and stayed for all three meetings. Though we were tempted to stay only for sacrament meeting and get back on the road, we felt like we could make it in time to Nauvoo even if we stayed for all three, and so we did. And I’m very glad that we did. The Gospel Principles class I attended was about the last day of Christ’s mortal life. The teacher put two columns on the chalkboard: “What happened to him [Jesus]?” and “What he did.” The distinctions were profound. The premise, as I understood it, was that Christ went through the worst trials that anyone could ever go through, so that he could understand us when we went through our own. And the second column just showed us that the Lord was the greatest example of endurance through those trials. Despite being scourged, mocked, and even deserted by his closest friends, despite being spat on and despite being without the companionship of his Father, even if only for a moment, Christ healed, and forgave, and accomplished his mission. It was a good lesson.

The last meeting I attended, Elder’s Quorum, the lesson was on desires. I think the greatest point was that desire, though righteous, can separate us from God if left out of control. The teacher related the concept that sometimes we use God and his will as a tool for reaching those things that we desire. You members of the church can understand: Sometimes we only keep the commandments and meet the requirements so we can enter the temple and be married to a spouse; so we can have our family be proud of us. Sometimes we keep the commandments so we can be worthy of a mission, so that we can earn the approval of our fellow members. What that Elder taught in the quorum meeting was the need for those positions to be reversed. We should be using our desires to come closer to the Lord. That’s what I got out of it, anyway.

I just want to testify of this principle: However initially uncomfortable I was being at a church meeting outside of my ward, as I stayed and searched for comfort, the spirit came. The same spirit I feel at my own church. The church is true everywhere. That is the principle I want to relay. The church is still true wherever you go, and you can find solace in a church meeting, whether it is in Rexburg, St. Louis, England, or Africa. The same spirit will still reside and preside. Don’t be afraid to go to church when in an unfamiliar setting.

Good luck out there!

Usefulness

I had planned on blogging on something else, but then I took a nap and woke up with no recollection of what it was. So I'm just going to talk about what's been happening to me this last week.
The BYU-I track system is such that I am still attending school. I go to two semesters per year, one in Winter and one in Spring. The track system is made of three regular portions and one smaller portion. Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer semesters. A student is assigned to two of the semesters, and that assignment is called a 'track.' You either go to school Fall and Winter semesters, Fall and Spring semesters, or Winter and Spring semesters. Every student has the opportunity of attending Summer semester, which is smaller, and in which it is highly unlikely that anyone would be able to manage as many credits as they would in a regular semester, since it's smaller and less classes are offered. A student can also choose to be on the fast track, if they can get accepted, and just attend every semester, consequently finishing with college within 3 years instead of in four, depending on the number of credits they take. IN ANY CASE, that explains why I'm still in school now. But I'm almost finished.
As I come to the close of my semester, I feel as though I've been able to leave behind a large burden. I haven't had as much to do, and I've been able to just relax a little (though, ironically, I happened to forget about much of my schoolwork and relaxed anyway. subsequently, I'll need to get up early tomorrow to finish some of it. I've learned in college that if you're not busy doing something, then you're probably doing something wrong. If you think you're finished with your schoolwork, then you've probably forgotten something). But in the end, though relaxing has been nice, and people around me have stressed the importance of getting 'recharged,' it's made me feel a little useless. When I attend school, there are often things which I think about, projects, endeavors, and the like, that I say I would do or accomplish IF ONLY I HAD MORE TIME. I've come to realize that when I do have time, those endeavors are not a thing on which I focus. I watch MacGyver, Phineas and Ferb, and other miscellaneous movies and TV shows through Netflix, and when I'm not doing that, I eat, and when I don't do those things, I sleep (it seems that sleep should be my first priority, considering the sleep debt I acquired this past semester, but it isn't. Silly me. I always focus on other, less important things).
I've been considering this over the past few days, and, in light of recent events and occurrences which will be elaborated on in the next paragraph, , I've come to what might be called a conclusion about modern, middle-class life. Let me know what you think.
I've been in a World Development class this semester and we've been learning about the living conditions of developing countries. And it's sort of awful what they have to go through. People have come up with some great, innovative ideas to improve conditions, but the people in those countries have nothing near the comforts that we have. Over the past weekend I found out that a person I know was the victim of a traumatizing crime, and it made me very angry. I wanted to mortally wound the person who had committed the crime. After a while, I simmered down and felt like the best thing to do would be to try to reason a solution to the problem; some sort of system of crime prevention. And that's what we're trying to do in developing world countries, is to try to find the root of the problem of certain conditions within their society, and find solutions to them. I feel like the comforts and conveniences we have in our lives are superfluous and not mandatory to our survival. So I wonder if we shouldn't do our best to turn those comforts into something valuable for people who have circumstances which we do not have the misfortune of living with; people who are the victims of crimes, people who do not have drinking water, people who not have suitable living conditions, or people who do not have enough to eat. If you clicked on the link above, you saw methods people have come up with to help people help themselves. And I would say that is the best way to do things, but in any case, I don't know if I feel comfortable with living with the abundance that I have while in the knowledge that other people don't even have basic hygiene, basic shelter, or basic nutrition. But at the same time, I have no idea what to do to help. Sometimes I feel that if the solution to a problem has not yet been found, then there's no way it will be in the near future. But that's a depressing thought, and obviously not true. People come up with new solutions every day.
So here's to finding solutions to the world's problems. Good luck to all of you. Make the world a better place. If you have an idea, voice it. Get some feedback. Who knows? Maybe you've come upon something brilliant. Thanks for reading.

What do you get when you run behind a car?

Alright, this is just an update, and I'm kind of cheating. I had a bucketload of homework this week, I have more to do tomorrow, I got up at 4 on Saturday morning, I have a big sleep debt anyway, and therefore, I am the answer to the joke in the title. This is a cop-out: I'm too tired to blog right now and I need to get to bed. But technically, I am blogging, right? So, I'm technically not breaking the promise of a post every 7 days. Anyway, I'll get one to you soon, but finals are coming up and I don't think I can really write right now.

Scripture Study

I am currently at my grandmother's house in Provo. I've been trying to think of something to post all day, grabbing at little pieces of conversation, or thoughts that I have or ideas. But they mostly turned out to be negative or critical. In the last half-hour or so, a post idea sort of slapped me in the face, and I think you'll like it.

My grandmother has visited Jerusalem and Israel many times with her husband, my grandfather, and they were the directors of the BYU Jerusalem Center at one point. As such, she is friends with very many people from that land. We are visiting for the 4th of July, and she has 2 visitors from Jerusalem, one man who is named Yossi (I don't know if I spelled it right, but either way, it's pronounced Yo-see), and his wife, whose name I'm not sure I could pronounce, much less spell, phonetically or otherwise. They are both Jewish. Therefore, Yossi had a Bar Mitzvah when he was thirteen, and had to memorize a portion of the Torah (The first five books of Moses), and a portion of the teachings of one of the prophets. He chose Micah, and he has just, for the past half-hour, been teaching us about Micah and Isaiah.

Now, you members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I know you have studied your scriptures at least once or twice, and if you have continued to live the teachings of the church, you have continued to study. You have probably spent some time studying with others, learning their insights of the scriptures or teachings of the prophets. Currently on the table where my family is talking, there is a Hebrew copy of the Bible, 2 or 3 electronic copies of the scriptures as distributed by the church, and my copy of the scriptures. Does this seem strange to you? I can understand why. Churches seem to be habitually not accepting of other churches, and not just in the way they may act, but in the doctrines they may teach. Our church seems to be fairly accepting of other churches, at least, at its root; with our leaders. They do not adopt the doctrine of other churches, but they will conference with them. And I think that that is right. HOWEVER...

I personally do not read the Old Testament. Ever. Unless some manual directs me to a scripture there, and sometimes I will read Genesis; read the story of Adam and Eve. Other than that, it is something I do not read. It's a terrible attitude, but I think that my excuse is that "I have 3 other books to read (the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants)." Yossi has just shown us a piece of Micah: Chapter 6, verses 6-8. Our copy of the scriptures (which I still believe, and do not doubt, to be the most correct) reads:

6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

He said, as an aside, after verse 7, something to the effect of, "That is Abraham and Isaac." that blew me away. "The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul." It was cool to read that. And then he taught us that the crucial sentence in this set of scriptures is in verse 8: "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" He taught us that the Lord does not WANT out burnt offerings, or our calves. He doesn't WANT our thousands of rams, our ten thousands of rivers of oil. He doesn't really need our sacrifices for Himself! He has everything! What we have already belongs to him (and I would submit that, he does want to know that we CAN give those things up, but he does not need the things themselves). BUT, that what he wants of us is to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with [our] God. It was an interesting thing to learn.

He also clarified something in Isaiah for us. He said that the phrase in Isaiah 9:12, "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still," means that, though He is very angry, He still has the capacity to save Israel. And the context of the verse that he gave was interesting. But I didn't catch all of it, so I probably shouldn't say what I thought I heard, because I might be misquoting.

In any case, what I most want to share in this post is not these verses, and is not these insights, though I consider them valuable. It is this principle, which I believe to be true: My brother has said that there are people who are not members of the church, and who do not have, therefore, the fulness of the spirit, but who have, "maxed out on the light of Christ." I would submit that the stalwart members of Judaism know the Bible. They have studied it. We, as members of the church, know that every church has a portion of truth, at least, but that we have the fulness of the gospel. But honestly, I think that, even though we have the fulness of the gospel, and a great amount of scripture, I think it's safe to say that almost none of the members of the church understand all of it. This man who has taught us this evening understands the Bible to an extent I do not know that I have witnessed. And I am confident that there are others out there like him.

I do not know exactly what is right. And I do not know that we ought to associate, or that the Brethren would like us to associate, at least doctrinally, with other beliefs. But I think, perhaps, there are those out there who know more about many of our beliefs than we do. Because some of our beliefs are their beliefs, and they have studied and understand them. I admire this man for how he has studied, and what he knows about the words of the prophets of old. He knows the Bible. I admire his example. And I felt the spirit tonight, listening to Yossi.

Take that how you will. I felt that my time was well spent.

Against Determinism

I would like to start this post by saying it's definitely possible that some of you see me as self-righteous, prideful, or as a bit of a jerk from the posts you have read. If these are your feelings, I am sorry. However. The scriptures and such are probably just going to keep coming, simply because it's what I believe in. I keep thinking about a scripture in Matthew; Chapter 5 verses 14-16:

14 Ye are the ^alight of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a ^acandle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your ^alight so shine before men, that they may see your good ^bworks, and ^cglorify your Father which is in heaven.

I feel as though I have something to contribute in the following post, which, fortunately, to those of you who do not enjoy the scriptures, does not necessitate them, and they will not be included. The following is a logical argument. But I do not feel that I should keep what I have reasoned to myself:
We have learned, fairly recently, about the standpoint of Determinism (or, Hard Determinism) in my Philosophy class. Determinism, as I understand it, is the viewpoint that everything you do, think, and even everything you are is determined. From serial killers to priests, we are all determined in what we do and who we are. If a man were to be accused of a crime, a hard-and-fast hard determinist would not blame him for what he had done, because the determinist would reason that what he had done was inevitable. It had been determined. It wasn't his fault. I'd like to point out a few things I think are logically wrong with determinism as a philosophy. If any of you out there are determinists, please hear me out, and if you find anything fallacious in my thinking, please go ahead and leave your argument in the comment box.
Now, this is going to be an argument which, for the time being, works under the assumption that we are determined.

We are determined

If we are determined, as I see it, then we are determined either by something, or we are determined by nothing. Don't worry, if I am simplifying, further on in the argument, I will explain.

We are determined

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By Something  ------------------      By Nothing 

Let's look at being determined by Something first: When I say being determined by Something, I mean that we are determined by a higher being. One being, or one group of beings with the same purpose. Now, if we are determined by a being, if that being is taking its time to determine what we do, then it has some interest in us, correct? So is it fair to say that it is either benevolent (it wants the best for us) or it is not benevolent (it hates us and wants us to fail)? Let us assume these two options for the time being.

We are determined

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By Something  ------------------      By Nothing

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Benevolent ----------------- Malicious                                                    

Now, here we reach the argument for the side of being determined by something. If we are determined by something which wants the best for us, would it not want us to know the truth? Wouldn't it want us to at least be sure in our own belief? If so, why then is determinism only one philosophy among many? If this being (or group of beings) controls what we think and how we act, it could have then introduced solely the philosophy of determinism. Why did it introduce anything else? It seems to me that it would not introduce anything but determinism if it wanted the best for us; if it wanted us to understand.

Now, what about a malicious higher being? If we are determined, and that being did not want us to progress or grow, or did not want the best for us, why then did it introduce determinism to our minds in the first place? It could've left that concept completely out of the picture, and not taken the risk that we would understand. This, to me, seems to blot out those two arguments.

Admittedly, there is a third option, which I had not yet considered before I began to blog: that the being simply sees us as its toys, and, since it can make us think what it wants to, does not need to worry about an uprising, and so does not need to worry that we have determinism in the mix. In the end, we would be nothing to this being, and, I assume, if it did not want us to, we would not be elevated to its plane of thought, and therefore would have no choice but to continue being determined by us. That seems, though, to fall under the column of malicious. So, I suppose, a malicious higher being is the only option. under being determined, "By Something." Lets leave that option open.

We are determined

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By Something  ------------------      By Nothing

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Benevolent ----------------- Malicious                                                    

Alright, now lets back up and look at being determined, "By Nothing." What I mean by this is that we are simply determined by the chemicals in our own body, and this is a result of the Big Bang Theory, and nothing else; in this situation, there is no God; no higher being that is guiding our thoughts and actions. Then I ask you this: throughout history, we have (under this theory) evolved into something greater not only physically, but mentally. We have built great things, made great steps in philosophy, and made other progressions as a human race. Here is my question: Why have we progressed if determined by nothing, or rather, by the chemicals in our brains? What non-being has a concept of progress? Why are we where we are now? This botches that section up for me too.

We are determined

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By Something  ------------------      By Nothing

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Benevolent ----------------- Malicious                                                    

Again, if I've left anything out or made any fallacies, point them out. I won't be offended. I would love for you to critique this if you feel so inclined. Please do. It still has quite a lot of refinement before it can be seriously considered, I think. Thanks for reading.

Please credit me with this argument, unless you can find someone who came up with it first.

A Vicious Cycle

Preface: Yesterday I was walking a pair of dogs, taking them around a loop. I came to a street which I suspected was a cul-de-sac (that what it looked like, anyway) and began going down it. Let's preface the next event by saying that I don't know much about dogs. I don't often walk dogs, I have cats, and so I really don't know very much about them. But that's not to say I don't like them. I'm totally cool with dogs. But what I'm trying to say here is that I really have no concept of what one might call, "Dog Etiquette." So there is indeed a distinct possibility that the following event was justified, and was absolutely my fault.
I, thinking that this street was a cul-de-sac, thought I might just cut through someone's lawn so I could get back to where I needed to be. It turns out it was not a cul-de-sac, but simply a street which turned abruptly right, which turn I was unaware of. I stopped on a lawn immediately right of the lawn of a man washing his car. It was then that one of the dogs I was walking decided to poop. I had a bag and everything, so I cleaned up the mess, but I was there for quite some time (relatively. a couple minutes), trying to get the dogs to move. As I started into this guy's back lawn, he stopped me saying something akin to, "Excuse me. This is my property. This is not your property. Please walk around. This is not your property. Please walk around." I was just about to ask if it was okay if I just walked through, but something told me that wouldn't be a good idea. So I simply said, "Okay," to which he responded with a repeated, "walk around," and to which I responded with a, "Yes sir."
Let's preface this moment a bit. I live in a neighborhood where the kids are completely fine with coming over into our lawn and playing in it. Granted, that frosts me just a little bit (which it really shouldn't, because) and granted, I do not own the lawn. So I have both no idea what it is like to own my own lawn, and already have a spot of contempt for people who play on a lawn which I simply live near and do not own. So I can understand why this guy didn't want me on his lawn. However, I have a father who, one Halloween night, saw kids traipsing on our lawn, immediately after something had been done for it (maybe it had been fertilized or something). He was not happy about this, and proceeded to yell at them to get off the lawn, which they did. I'm not sure that he was more concerned for their safety or for the preservation of the lawn. In any case, I think lawns are to be played on. If you have a perfectly good lawn, it's a waste of space to manicure it meticulously and allow no one to be or play on it. But that's not what I want to talk about.
On the way down the street after the encounter, I thought up a fair amount of biting retorts I could've shot back at the guy, because I was a little bit peeved. Not because I had though about all this in the few seconds it took me to leave, mind you, but just because I felt like he was treating me like an idiot. But I've contemplated it over the following 14 hours or so, and come to the conclusion that it could very well have been my fault, he could've been doing his best to be kind, and I just interpreted it the wrong way.
Now. That was the preface. Let me introduce you to what I foresee as the problem I have found in today's society, thinking about this experience.
The problem: How many of us, when we are angry, blow off steam with other anger? We catch road rage, we act like a jerk to someone we have no negative relationship with, or we just punch stuff. Like a wall. All of this behavior is, at its root, destructive. To respond in such a way is just going to make someone else angry. The person on the road you cut off or honked vehemently at is going to be angry at you. The person you were a jerk to is going to feel hurt and offended, and when someone asks about it, they may lash out. Whoever owns the wall you put a hole through will not be happy with you. You see the problem? What is this person going to do when you respond angrily and they or their possessions are in the way? They will likely respond angrily to your response, doing something similar to what you did, and affecting more people. When these responses come in the form of a one-on-one argument, I think the effect just compounds. You are angry already when someone retorts angrily to something you said, and you become more angry and respond in kind. Violence can ensue. This is what could have happened with the man whose lawn I was about to cross, if I had been simultaneously more quick-witted and more stupid. We could have gotten into a serious argument.
In any case, the fact is, when you are NOT having an argument (which is not a good thing anyway), and you pass your anger on to other people, they can pass their anger on to others, and they to others, and on and on.
UNLESS there is someone to stop the cycle. This is where you and I come in. I would suggest that when these things happen to you, and you are the subject of an angry outburst or commentary, that you calm down, breathe, and somehow let the anger flow away from you without distributing it to the closest host. If you are reading this and are not religious, please forgive me for the following comment; it seems to help me. If you are having real trouble, pray. Ask Heavenly Father if he can help you siphon the anger  off somehow. If you can break the chain in any way, you can stop a lot of people from getting angry. You can stop the lives of many around you from deteriorating for a day, or a week, or a month. I believe that to make this attempt in our own lives is worthwhile. And its a way you can potentially effect (or rather, NOT effect) many, many people. Thanks for reading.
*Clarification* My mother informed me that: BTW: the Halloween incident happened as we had just seeded our lawn and dad had put some tape around so the kids wouldn't walk up the newly seeded lawn. If that helps.
It does indeed help me to understand the situation more.

17 Miracles

Yesterday I went and saw T. C. Christensen’s film, “17 Miracles,” in Salt Lake City. It was an amazing film. It’s a representation of the Willie and Martin handcart companies from the perspective of one of its sub-captains, Levi Savage. The film begins with some of Savage’s life before the handcart trek. I think (don’t quote me on this) one of the reasons we have so much information about the company and their journey is that Savage kept detailed journals.

The film focuses on the trek itself, and the miracles that occurred before, during, and after the trek. All of the stories are truly astounding. You should watch the film to see how they’re portrayed (I think they did an amazing job with it). My favorite parts were nearest the conclusion of the film. Roughly paraphrased, Savage says, “There were many times that I would turn back to see who was pushing my cart, and see no one there. It was then that I most realized that angels were assisting us.” It’s something like that. Anyway, that was my favorite scene. You’ll see why when you watch the film.

If I have to be critical, I’ll say that I felt as though the acting might’ve been better (mainly on the part of the children, but I can’t blame them for that), but in the end, the reason I am most impressed with the film is the stories. It’s amazing, all of the miracles that the members of the Willie Martin handcart company were blessed with. You’ll have to go to the film to see all of them. I would definitely recommend it. The acting was definitely talented, and the portrayal was excellent, in my opinion. (For those of you who are living in Idaho (or rather, not in Utah) I don’t think it’s playing anywhere besides Utah at this time. But the link above will lead you to the website, where, under ‘theaters,’ you can find the theaters it is and will be playing in. I hope you enjoy it. I don't want to say much more, because I don't want to give it away. You can see a trailer also at the link provided.