the end

I finished. That is right. I am done. I lived through my first semester of College. My mom says that I should start referring to it as a University, but my best friend Kiersta thinks that I should call it an insane asylum. Either way I lived. I have learned a lot: love for reading, Declaration of Independence, Spanish, and how to write a paper with a topic sentence in it. Those are the surface things that I learned. The real things I learned seem much deeper and complicated, but above all I learned how little I know. I have heard people say that the more you know the more you realize how little you know. Well I have got a lot to learn, because my first semester of College/University/Insane asylum taught me that there is a lot for me to learn. Oddly the more I come to accept that I know relatively nothing the more content I am with myself. What is the point in knowing everything? I feel more driven to learn about everything? I don’t want to learn about things like they are items. For example the Declaration of Independence (a hot topic in my history class) is not something that I want to pick up and examine as I would an apple off a tree. Instead the more I realize how little I know and understand the more I want to experience the few things that I do know. As I explored the Declaration of Independence more I realized how complicated it is, and how much I want to be apart of it. Yes, I don’t know much (who really does) but I want to know more, I want to experience more, and that curiosity is something that I never want to lose.

what I learned in English

Joy Prior
Professor Harris
December 14, 2009
Response #11

Main Entry: ed·it
Pronunciation: \ˈe-dət\
Function: increase student’s heart rate
Etymology: Brigham Young University Honors English 150
Date: 2009

1 a: to watch one’s sentence be stretched out like saltwater taffy to better able everyone to fit around it, while each pulls out their magnifying glass and says their professional opinion b: to carry one’s laptop to each apartment door in one’s complex and ask whomever answers the door to read one’s paper. 2 a: to cut one’s first, second, and third drafts into paper snowflakes while attempting to convince oneself the fourth and fifth drafts will not become Christmas decorations b: to collapse over the Harold B. Lee Library printer as a hot copy of one’s “final draft” pops out with a spelling error in the title c: to paste the word one thinks is correct into the Google search engine to ensure it is the desired word. 3 a: to lie on the linoleum floor wondering if the approximate 150 tiles on one’s kitchen ceiling could support one’s thesis b: to rock back and forth on the linoleum floor wondering if the approximate 50,400 holes in one’s kitchen ceiling would be better support for one’s thesis. 4 a: WORTH IT.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Joy Marie Prior
Professor Harris
17 November 2009
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
When I hear civil rights, I imagine Martin Luther King, Jr. frozen in a black and white photo standing at a pulpit shouting “I have a dream,” into a big microphone. On the issue of segregation I cannot think of someone more quoted than Martin Luther King, Jr. In April 1963 King wrote, from Birmingham Jail on scraps of newspaper, a letter in response to the article “Call for Unity,” written by eight white Alabama clergymen. They wanted the people to stop protesting and allow the civil courts to handle to situation. He wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” during a period of high racial tension. His use of “you” throughout the paper and detailed descriptions paint an inspiring vision of the black community’s struggle against discrimination for the reader that touched me personal as my understanding of King developed.
Historical Context
In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was at the cutting edge of racial tension. “Bull” Connor (head of police in Birmingham) encouraged officers to use high pressured hoses, dogs, beatings, and any effective form of violence that impaired King’s supporters. Against King’s wishes, his campaign invited teenage children to walk in their parades. Despite their age, they were shown no mercy by the police, and many of them were imprisoned. Eventually, Doctor King himself was charged for protesting without a permit and placed in solitary confinement where he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Critical Analysis
Martin Luther King, Jr. invites the reader to experience racial discrimination before he builds himself up as an advocate for freedom. The first portion of King’s letter summarizes what inspired him, and has a basic introduction for his thesis. The conclusion section (and meat of the paper) defines Martin Luther King, Jr. and his cause as just. Bridging the two sections is a paragraph detailing the hardships of discrimination without taking a pleading tone. King paints an intimate image for the reader when he says, “you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park.” King uses “I feel” or “we feel” throughout the body of this paragraph sparingly, and “you” or “your” 25 times. As in the sentence above King does not tell the reader “my tongue is twisted,” but “your tongue is twisted.” He clearly wants the audience to experience discrimination and not simply recognize it. This paragraph is important to have prior to the remainder of the text because once the reader understands the physical, personal, and emotional pains that come from discrimination, he or she is more willing to sympathize with Martin Luther King, Jr. rather than justifying racist actions as logical, or even godly.
After describing his perspective of discrimination, King expresses the feeling that the reader should have a clear understanding of what it feels like to be victimized. The closing line reads, “I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” Notice how he does not end the last sentence with a question; it appears that Martin Luther is not asking the reader if they understand what it feels like to be discriminated against, but telling them. After he believes his readers understand his perspective he proceeds to build his argument.
Personal Reflection
What impacted me the most was the way in which Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed me. Although the letter is officially addressed to the clergymen it is clear through his text he is calling to a larger audience. The simple fact that he published it in the newspaper supports this claim. Truthfully, before reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I did not understand much about Martin Luther King, Jr.: I knew there is a holiday for him and whenever anyone mentions his name there is some sort of reverence in the room, but I had never fully comprehended or appreciated who Martin Luther King, Jr. was.
Besides being in awe of King’s brilliance after reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I am left wondering what it would feel like to go through the things that he experienced. I find myself continually wondering what it would be like to be a member of the black community, white sympathizers, or a member of the eight clergymen. As of yet I have not been able to imagine what it would be like to be Martin Luther King, Jr. My mind played with the image of me sitting in the jail cell with a pen in one hand and an unfolded newspaper in the other. That is as far as I get, though; I cannot imagine myself writing the letter. My own cry against racism would seem like a bicycle horn squeaking one constant weak beep compared to the sonic boom of King’s message. I love knowing that Martin Luther King, Jr. is addressing me specifically in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” because, as I understand what he experienced a little better, my cry against discrimination strengthens.
Work Cited
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Reading for Intensive Writers. Ed. Susan Jorgensen.

pre civil war

The second Great Awaking was a time when men’s faith was lead, directed, and altered the American Heritage. It was a battle of words that ultimately lead to the Civil War by diverse interpretations of the Bible, authorities condemnation, and false fallacies.
There are many interpretations and seemingly contradictions in the Bible concerning slavery. In
Lev. 25: 44-46 the passage describes what type of slaves you can have, and that your family will have them forever. In Exodus 21:2-6 the Bible says that a slave can only be a slave for six years and his wife and children are under the rule of the master unless the male slave declares that he loves his master. Another passage in Exodus 21:7-11 describes when the master can have sex with his slaves. On the other side God helped the Hebrews escape the slavery of the Egyptians and their bondage. Many say that slavery in our modern day is based on race, and in biblical times it was based on social debts. There for God is against the racial slavery and discrimination. From text in the Bible there seem to be contradictions and both the North and the South used these text for both supporting and abolishing slavery.
Naturally men and women will respect authority. Many pastures and preachers had their own unique interpretation of the Bible and how it described and decaled with the issue of slavery. Because the pastures and preachers were an authority figure in the cities that they preached at they had an influence on what the people believed. An quote from the www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org website illustrates the authority preachers had in this quote, “At the camp-meeting, Dr. Peter Akers, like Peter Cartwright, a great Bible preacher of his day, then in the fulness of his powers, preached a sermon on 'The Dominion of Jesus Christ.' The object of the sermon was to show that the dominion of Christ could not come in America until American slavery was wiped out, and that the institution of slavery would at last be destroyed by civil war. For three hours the preacher enrolled his argument and even gave graphic pictures of the war that was to come. 'I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet,' said he, 'but a student of the prophets. As I read prophecy, American slavery will come to an end in some near decade, I think in the sixties."
There were many false fallacies used to develop the civil war by using the bible and preaching methods. The one that I noticed while reading was that preachers would state you are either for slavery or against it. This left the people with the idea that only one choice was correct when in reality there are many dynamic and complex issues with slavery. For example is it supporting slavery to buy sugar made by slaves? Does slavery included child labor? Although someone might be getting paid is it possible for them to still be enslaved? The Missouri Compromise is an example of how the mindset was built that either you were for slavery or against it, but there was no specific definition of what constituted as slavery.

music

In the lecture I learned so many basic elements of music. Like most people I have always enjoyed listening to music, and I am not completely tone deaf or ignorant about music. In comparison to how much there is to know about music I would have just read the cover. During the lecture I began to appreciate music in a light I had never appreciated before. For starts it helped that someone was guiding me through the analysis, because I am not educated enough on the matter to extensively explore the dynamics and elements of a song. Secondly I appreciated the composers braver to use their knowledge to make music.
I had never realized that musicians could write music simply because they like to combine the notes. Music has always seemed like “an expression of the soul” and not a work. It helped to have the professor explaining to me the various dynamics of a song, playing the music so I felt I could identify the dynamics, and comparing the different composers and which dynamics they preferred. Learning how the pieces were composed helped me to understand why the composer did what they did.
I thought that all of the composers we discussed in the lecture were courageous. When their symphonies came out they really were putting themselves out for ridicule. It is difficult for me to imagine, but the closet thing I can come up with is when you have to read a poem you wrote in front of the class. The audience is smaller, much, much smaller, but the courage it takes to share your own work always takes a little courage. I was very impressed with all of the composures courage to try new ideas, accept ridicule, and express themselves in their work.

free desire freedom

Freedom Craves Freedom

Prepared for Dr. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

Honors 240 Section 1

Winter 2009

Joy Marie Prior

A pile of human carcasses supported the pole that held the tattered red, white, and blue flag. As the pale morning sun crept across the pools of blood, a prisoner of war, Francis Scott Key, saw the United States flag through the settling cannon smoke and penned “The Star Spangled Banner.” I cannot remember the teacher who told me that story, but I can still see the soldier’s glazed eyes staring out of the mound of contorted limbs, just as I imagined them from my desk years ago. A part of me wanted to step back in time to that battlefield, where I could walk up to each solider, push back their matted hair, look into their eyes, and ask, “Are you free?” During this internal debate I came to the conclusion that free men and women desire freedom for others. The establishment of freedom in the United States of America demonstrates the divine calling free men and women have to expand liberty.
“The desire for liberty” did not start in the American Colonies in 1776; freedom is an “age-old” belief (P. 85). Pages of my history book are littered with martyrs for freedom from all generations and cultures. What defined the American revolution was the “belief in the ability in the people for self-government” (P. 67). The idea that the governed have the right to determine government’s laws created a harbor for freedom. Before America declared its independence, there had never been a government that had given so much freedom to its citizens. Putting their livelihoods at stake, the founding fathers honored the belief that “America had been chosen by Providence for this grand experiment in testing the human capacity for self-government” (P. 186).
God inspired the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence to progress freedom to all nations, and not for the nation’s selfish gain. “[He] declared that the United States Constitution was divinely inspired for the specific purpose of eliminating bondage and the violation of the rights and protection which belong to ‘all flesh’” (P. 115). God ordained the Constitution as a step in the progression of freedom. His purpose of elevating the colonies to a nation was not to raise the country above others, but instead He intended America to be “the cradle of the Church” (P. 134). A matured baby can not live in a cradle forever, and God never expected to confine the knowledge and truth found in the Gospel within the boundaries of the United States. The blessings that rushed forward after the establishment of the American government were intended for “our world” (P. 188).
Understanding that God inspired the founding of the United States for the “specific purpose” of bringing freedom to all nations is vital to understanding that free men and women desire freedom for others (P. 115) . The Constitution is a “glorious standard” (P. 4) of rights and God intended that “those rights must be protected…and he designed that all men should protect one another” (P. 48). If America does not keep God’s purposes it will no longer be kept “free from bondage, and from captivity” (Ether 2:12). Those who stop freedom’s progression contradict freedom’s purpose of establishing “full civil equality for all of God‘s children. Anything less than this defeats our high ideal of the brotherhood of man” (P. 130). By not following God’s intentions our nation will be lead into bondage-- the opposite state of freedom.
The gem of freedom’s intent is to “warm every object beneath its rays” with liberty (P. 7). Before the foundation of the world, the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence were designed to be an example of how to spread freedom to the common people of the nation (P. 102). God intended for the freedoms nurtured in America to spread across the whole earth, and not striving to expand freedom is going against God’s will.
I don’t know the names of the soldiers smeared in blood holding up the American flag, but I believe that they were free. As I imagine them in my mind--fathers, brothers, and husbands--I realize they did not sacrifice their lives for their own freedom, but for those that they loved. The solders buried in the mud on that battlefield understood freedom is only created when it is shared, and because of their example I know those men with the glazed eyes and blood-chapped lips were free.

MOA Visit 2nd time

Art work has it's own language. I think that most people would agree with that. When my History class went to visit the MOA this past week I was somewhat unimpressed. I was impressed with the art work, but the class period was odd to me. We listened to someone explain and try to help us dig out the messages of God in the paintings. The only problem was that the art was speaking to me in an entirly different voice than it was speaking to the women giving the presentation. This caused me more to wonder why we were 'disagreeing' with the painting and simply not reading it.
There are many socological reasons I am sure that we did not see the same thing in the paints: social influances, ages, gender, personal experiances, and so on. In one idea I think that why we really saw different things in the painting is because we are humans with Godly insights.
For starts the nature of God is to see all things, and to know all things. I think that it is possible for a painting to represent more than just one thing, or idea. Why the women lecturing our class saw what she saw was because she took a logical aproach to anaylze the items in the painting. Someone elese would see something different in the painting because they aproached the painting differently. God sees every painting I am sure, and he probably aproaches each painting with a specificly and from all angles. When I imagine God anaylzing my life I believe that he sees all of the factors that affect me, and he understands how to aproach me (as the painting) in every possible perspective.
I think that this is important to understand, because towards the end of the visit I was so sick of being told what 'every one' saw in the painting that I forgot why I was looking at the paintings. With all of the different perspectives being poured onto the painting at once the art work took on this hog pog atitued. I wanted to sit down with one person and take a journy through the painting, and talk about their point of view and what they saw. Instead I felt like we through things at the painting and told it what it should become. Next time I visit the MOA I will strive to find myself on a journey through the art work.

MOA visit

Divine Resurrection
I remember when I still young enough to wear Strawberry Shortcake shirts looking over my shoulder as a half nude painting of Christ disappeared behind the labyrinth of statues and canvases. Years later when I returned to Brigham Young University as a student, I found myself fixated on the same painting. I scribbled the title Jesus and Mary: The Moment After and the artist, Trevor Southey, in my daily planner, and wondered why the painting had smoldered in my memory for so many years. Unlike the exposed depictions of Christ on the cross, Trevor Southey’s contemporary approach expresses the divinity of the Savior’s body through lighting, color, and physical strength. As I trace and retrace all three figures in the painting in my mind my appreciation of Jesus’ resurrected body grows.
The painting of Jesus and Mary: The Moment After has a unique history. It is an oil on canvas painting done in 1975. The artist, Trevor Southey, was born in South Africa of European descent in 1940. The South African cultural greatly affected his technique and personal views of painting. He worked as a professor at Brigham Young University, and after being excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints he moved to the San Francisco area. Although he had an unconventional association with the church it is undeniable that Southey’s infamous nude paintings influenced the contemporary Mormon-related art era. He depicted Christ and people in an unconventional way. During the 1970s the Utah public considered nude art pornographic, and Southey was encouraged to “drape” much of his work before publishing it. It is believed that Jesus and Mary: The Moment After was one of these works.
In Jesus and Mary: The Moment After lighting is possibly my favorite aspect of art work, because the shades and shadows develop the focus that the artist wants. Because an artist cannot use actual lighting on an oil and canvas painting the artist uses lighter shades to identify were the light is coming from. The Savior is the source of light in painting. There is a faint hallow of gold surrounding his head, but the illuminating effect surrounds his entire figure. Unlike most paintings where the light comes from the sun, a light bulb, or an unseen force, Southey makes a point to establish that the light in painting is coming from Jesus, and he literally depicts Christ as “the light of the world,” (John 8:12). A traditional artist paints a halo only around the divinities head, representing celestial thoughts. There is a faint halo around Christ’s head in the painting, but the light illuminates from his entire body, establishing Jesus’ entire body as a divine light source, and not simply his intellect, thoughts, or ideas.
Christ’s royal heritage is depicted in Jesus and Mary: The Moment After by a distinct half-inch blue line along Christ’s side. The color blue symbolizes the common English phrase “Blue blooded” which originated from the Spanish expression “sangre azul” that describes noble birth. While conquering, the Iberian Peninsula Spanish nobility would show the blue veins under their thin and pale skin in their hands to distinguish themselves from the Moorish people they had conquered. The blue out lines Jesus’ entire body depicting Christ’s entire body as royal, and not simply his hands.
Southey painted Jesus’ with a bare torso to focus on Christ’s divine and resurrected body. Naturally your eye follows Christ’s bare torso by tracing a discolored line across his left shoulder and down his side. He is uncovered, but does not seem exposed. The soft lines in Christ’s turned face invite you to examine his outstretched arms and toned frame. Not only does he look beautiful, but strong. The veins in his arms are enormous, and his hands seem disproportionately large. Southey paints Christ with defined muscles and broad shoulders to establish God’s strength not only in his hands, but in his entire physic.
When I saw the depiction of Christ in Jesus and Mary: The Moment After my head dropped to one side and I felt questions blossom in my mind. Why no wool red scratchy robe? Why a pale silk framing his bare torso? It took specific details such as the halo, the blue outline, and the veins in his extended hands to understand the message of Christ’s divine body dipected in the art work.
I almost missed the form wrapped in shire cloth on the right side of the Christ in the painting, because I was focusing the painted Savior. I don’t know who the huddled form is. My initial response was the figure must be the Savior prior to his resurrection. As I began to ponder “the moment after” I realized that the Savior was not bound the moment after his resurrection, but Mary was because she needed the atonement to free her from her sin. I was fairly determined the covered figure was Mary until I reflected on the binding power of sin. Could the figure be me? In my mind the figure is all three of us. The person under the cloth changes every time I look, causing me to appreciate the painting differently each time. When the wrapped figure is Jesus I am overwhelmed by his strength to break the power of death. If I see Mary’s figure covered by the cloth I feel the personal love intertwined in the atonement. I don’t like imagining that I am the figure wrapped in the painting, because I feel blind to the divinity of the resurrection when I do.
There I am, after one of the most important moments in all eternity, wrapped in my own sins; blinded by my pride and ignorance; and unable to see the light beaming from my God.
It makes me wish the covered person was someone else; some other unfortunate soul. Someone who made too much money, never gave to the poor, and got too fat to feel the spirit any more. How could you miss something like that? Recognizing Christ as a good man who lived an exceptional life is not enough. When I look at “Jesus and Mary: The Moment After” I am reminded that Christ lives. He died for me, and now his body illuminates light, divinity, and strength.

Work Cited

Blue Blood. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 September 2009 at 13:32. Web. 14 October 2009.

Lacey, Robert. Aristocrats. Little, Brown and Company, 1983, p. 67.

Puri, Janak. Community Centre. Compare Infobase Limited. New Delhi, 2000. Web. 14 October 2009.

Southey, Trevor. Jesus and Mary: The Moment After. 1975. Oil on canvas. Brigham Young University Museum of Art.

re-write

I did not know that writing could feel like drilling a screwdriver through my skull until I came to Brigham Young University, and now I have the pleasure of screwdrivers drilling into my brain everyday. The lecture of finding humility, charity, clarity, and stick-to-ity in writing was what I needed to here. This week I turned in the first draft of my Freshman research paper. When I got it back I had a difficulty finding my paper through all of the red markings. While I listened to her speak about the power of writing I came to the conclusion that it is not simply ok for me to need to re-write my paper, but essential to learning how to write well.
Re-writing my paper will take time and energy. Like the quote used in the lecture hard work is the only answer. I researched and researched and put all of my facts into folders that I never will read again on my computer. All of the research that I did was hard work, but there is a difference between working to obtain information and sharing information. Writing is sharing all of the information that I learned, and it feels harder to me than retaining. Hard work researching is important, but I also need to work hard at writing all of the information I researched out.
It is going to take me a long to learn how to write well, probably longer than simply just four years at Brigham Young University. Re-writing my paper might take some hard work, but that is part of growing. The growth that comes from writing is not simply so that I can get a better grade, but so that I can help God spread truth. God wants the best, and so I must be continually striving to reach for the best. Sometimes re-drafts and even re-re-drafts are needed to make the best paper I can possibly write.

language

While listening to the lecture on the deaf community I was reminded of the section in The Amistad when the lawyer broke a promise and tried to convince the translator to tell the prisoners that he “should” have done something else. Frustrated the translator screamed “there is no word for should, either you do something or you don’t do it,” that line struck me. I realized that what a society values comes out in that societies language. While Jean Blackburn talked about the deaf community I realized one of the underlining theme of their language is sharing.
The story that Jean shared about the man talking to her at church. He told her that his wife started drinking slim fast. She lost twenty pounds, and now she is wearing a beautiful dress. Then he told Jean that she should drink slim fast. On face value this sounds like an insult, but as Jean explained he was complementing his wife, and saying how slim fast made him happy. If it made him happy why would it not make Jean happy too. In direct translation that idea got lost. It is important to not only understand the translation, but the values behind a language.
The direct translation of the word Proud is pretty harsh, but when a parent says “I am proud of you,” it is a deep complement. I wonder if the love in saying “I am proud of you,“ gets lost a translation? While all of these thoughts were turning in my head I realized that people want to convey a message, and the deaf use sign language. Simply knowing this hand signal and that hand signal is not understanding the ‘language’ a translator has to understand the message too. I was very impressed with Jean Blackburn, and her ability to understand sign language.

Me in history

Durring American Heratige our class watched “The Amistad”. It was edited-- I am at Brigham Young University. Although I spent most of the time in class transfixed to the screen gripping the top of my desk refraining from bursting out in all sorts of emotions I did glance over at my professor. He was wearing his ‘sunglasses’. On the first day of class he came in wearing ‘sunglasses’ and began the lecture by explaining that we all are biased. We see the world through ‘sunglasses’ our own personal set of biased opinions beliefs and views. According to my professor understanding history is not memorizing dates and names, but having the ability to take off your personal ‘sunglasses’ or cultural influences and viewing the story and events through someone else’s eyes. When I saw him leaning up against the wall wearing his ‘sunglasses’ I turned back to the movie with a new outlook. I did not want to just watch the show, but to become apart of the story. Pathetically, but truthfully for the first time in my life I realized that slavery was and is a horrific thing done to MY brothers and sisters.
Prior to this I have felt this awkward social ideal that slavery was a black and white issue. My piece in understanding slavery is to recognize that my white ancestors were in the wrong. I expected nothing more from my self, but to establish my white ancestors were wrong to put black people into bondage. When ever I thought of slaver there were two main thought streams; How could people do that to someone else? And how did they endure that?
As I looked into the eyes of the slaves in the movie (fortunately the were all good actors and actresses) the realization that understanding slavery is realizing that those millions of men, women, and children bound in chains were my heavenly brothers and sisters. I do not have to have black skin to be their sister. I might not be their literal descendent, but that does not mean that I can not feel a fire passion against slavery and what it stood for.
When I understand slavery better I am not saying I need to down size my opinion of my white ancestors. My impression of slavery has became more personal than ever before. For some reason I held this social stigma that because I am not black I can not understand the hardship of slaves. NO ONE can truly understand the hardships of slavery, but I can imagine. My heart and mind should not be restricted by the color of my skin. I was so glad to watch that movie and make this realization.

out line

Joy Prior
Professor Harris
2 November 2009
Response #9

Thesis: Dairy is a economical and practical way to obtain essential vitamins and minerals in a balanced diet. Recent dietary guidelines that entirely substitute milk with plant based products for protein, vitamin, and calcium are illogical. In the past decade research shows a balanced diet is esential to eliminating cancer, diabeties, and lactose intolerance., eliminating milk is not the solution.

Out line

The China Study: What brought all of these concerns to my mind
Growing up on a Dairy Farm: personal experience with dairy

Economical
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
“By June 1940, federal funds were allocated to provide milk for children in 15 Chicago elementary schools. The price to children was 1 cent per half-pint, with subsidies from private donations available for those who could not pay. The half-pint container of milk became a lunchtime staple for millions of North American children in 1943, when the milk program was made part of the federal school lunch program.”

“Milk and other dairy products contribute > 70% of the calcium intake in the United States.”

“A policy that promotes calcium supplements as a dietary alternative for children brings other problems, as well. For many families, it would represent an additional expense they could not afford

Practical
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.

“Bioavailability refers to the amount of calcium available for use by the body and that is dependent, in part, on both the calcium load and substances in food that bind calcium. The calcium in milk is ~ 30% bioavailable.( n40) Of the 300 mg of calcium in a glass of milk, 90 mg would expected to be absorbed. By comparison, accounting for calcium load size, to absorb that amount of calcium from broccoli, a vegetable in which calcium is highly bioavailable, it would be necessary to consume two and one fourth cups”

“A cup of spinach, for example, provides > 240 mg of calcium, but to absorb an amount of calcium equal to that in milk, it would be necessary to consume over 8 cups.”

Dairy Protein

“Get Big: The Science of Muscle; Milk Beats Soy.” Mens Fitness. 33.6 (2002): 28. Print

Vitamins
Department of Community and Family Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chineses University of Hong Kong. “Milk Supplementation of the Diet of Postmenopausal Chinese Women on a Low Calcium Intake Retards Bone Loss.” Bone and Mineral Research. 16.9 (2001): 1704-1709. Print.
“From our study results, it is not possible to conclude whether the calcium content of milk or the combined effect of its components caused the beneficial effect of milk supplementation. The supplementation admittedly resulted in significantly higher than usual intakes of vitamin D, protein, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, and a range of other micronutrients. Theoretically, it is possible that a protein and carbohydrate food source will stimulate secretion of insulin-like factor, insulin, and amylin and thus contribute to increases in BMD
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
“Milk is an inexpensive source of high-quality protein and provides 31% of the riboflavin in the American diet. Fluid milk is also routinely fortified with vitamins A and vitamin D. In fact, milk is the only significant food source of Vitamin D, a nutrient critical to the utilization of calcium that is particularly important in winter months.”
Campbell, Colin T., Thomas M. Campbell. “The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted.” BenBella Books. (2005)
“Casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process. What type of protein did not promote cancer, even at high levels of intake? The safe proteins were from plants, including wheat and soy. (5)

Calcium from Dairy for infants
Steichen, J., R. Tsang. “Bone Mineralization and Growth in Term Infants Fed soy-based or cow milk-based formula.” Pediatrics. 110.5 (2009): 687-692. Print.
“Group 1 infants had significantly lower BMC and BMC/BW at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age (P<0.05 to P<0.0001) compared with group 2 infants, but their values were similar to those in previously studied infants receiving human milk with vitamin D supplementation.”

Alternative Calcium Sources
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
“Dietary Guidelines 2000, the language reads Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group (Milk Group), and a footnote explains that ". . . one cup of soy-based beverage with added calcium is an option for those who prefer a nondairy source of calcium”

China diet lacking sufficient Calcium
Department of Community and Family Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chineses University of Hong Kong. “Milk Supplementation of the Diet of Postmenopausal Chinese Women on a Low Calcium Intake Retards Bone Loss.” Bone and Mineral Research. 16.9 (2001): 1704-1709. Print.
“OSTEOPOROSIS IS a major public health problem in Asia. Projections suggest that more than one-half of all hip fractures will occur in this region by the year 2050.(1) In Hong Kong, the incidence of hip fracture has increased 3-fold over the last 30 years.(2) The hip fracture rates in Hong Kong are similar to those in Britain.(2) However, the Asian diet is low in calcium content, and we have previously shown that a low calcium intake may be associated with the risk of both hip(3) and vertebral fracture.

Lack of Calcium in children’s diet
Black, Ruth E., Sheila M Williams, Ianthe E Jones and Ailsa Goulding. "Children who avoid drinking cow milk have low dietary calcium intakes and poor bone health1,2,3." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 675-680 76.6 (2002). Print.
“milk avoiders were shorter had smaller skeletons and a lower total-body bone mineral content
In growing children, long-term avoidance of cow milk is associated with small stature and poor bone health. This is a major concern that warrants further study.”
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
“Calcium intake is already insufficient in the United States, where osteoporosis is a major and rapidly growing public health problem.

“a child would need to drink 3 cups of juice to obtain the amount in 3 cups of milk. According to the most recently available data, only 1 in 5 elementary school age children consumes any citrus juice and on average, the amount consumed is under 2 ounces.( n46) There are no data as to how much of the juice consumed by children is calcium-fortified.

Cancer
Jacobsen, Bjarne K., Synnove F. Knutsen, Gary E Fraser. “Does High Soy Milk Intake Reduce Prostate Cancer Incidence? The Adventist Health Study.” Cancer Causes and Control. 9.6 (1998): 1573-7225. Web.
“Our study suggests that men with high consumption of soy milk are at reduced risk of prostate cancer. Possible associations between soy bean products, isoflavones and prostate cancer risk should be further investigated.”

Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
“Dietary Guidelines 2000, the language reads Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group (Milk Group), and a footnote explains that ". . . one cup of soy-based beverage with added calcium is an option for those who prefer a nondairy source of calcium”

Type 1 diabeties
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087.
Print.
“In 2000, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International issued a position paper concluding that there is no compelling scientific evidence to support the claim that drinking cow's milk increases the risk of type 1 diabetes in children or adults”

Study in Finland “Although the broad age range of the subjects in this study is wide and the data do not permit an examination of the relationship between time of milk exposure and age at onset of the disease, these data support the hypothesis that there may be a subset of at-risk children for whom cow's milk consumption promotes the development of type 1 diabetes.”

Campbell, Colin T., Thomas M. Campbell. “The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted.” BenBella Books. (2005)
“Cows milk may cause one of the most devastating disease (diabetes 1) that can befall a child. For obvious reasons, this is one of the most contentious issues in nutrition today. (187)

Lactose intolerance
Marchiondo, Kathleen. "Lactose Intolerance: A Nursing Perspective." MEDSURG Nursing 18.1 (2009): 9-32. Print.

“Although not a serious threat to health, lactose intolerance causes discomfort, anxiety, and embarrassment for a large number of people worldwide”
“In fact, the majority of people with lactose malabsorption can consume small-to-moderate quantities of dairy products
without developing symptoms of intolerance
“Lactose intolerance, unlike milk allergy, does not involve the immune system, is treated easily and is not life-threatening
“Up to 62% who believe they are lactose intolerant actually digest lactose normally, but may have sensitivity to other types of food.”
Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
“Dietary Guidelines are insensitive to the health needs of minorities, 75% of whom worldwide experience some degree of lactose intolerance,
“Lactose intolerance is the inability to completely digest lactose, the sugar in milk. In the small intestine, the enzyme lactase splits lactose into 2 simple sugars, glucose and galactose. If insufficient lactase is produced and lactose is not digested, it travels to the large intestine where it is fermented by bacteria into organic acids and gas. This gas, along with the osmotic effect of unabsorbed lactose and water, is responsible for the symptoms of lactose intolerance, which can include abdominal fullness, cramps, and diarrhea”
“25% of American adults experience some degree of lactose intolerance.
“Of note is that in double-blind studies, the relationship between the existence of lactase deficiency and symptoms reported is inconsistent.
“Simply anticipating the possibility of discomfort may cause individuals to experience abdominal pain and cramping after eating dairy foods.
“African tribesmen, such as the Masai > 20 years ago. Among these people, the prevalence of lactose intolerance has been estimated to reach over 60%, but they routinely consume considerable quantities of milk without symptoms

Balanced Diet
Larson, Roberta. “The American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.” American Dietetic Association (2002) Print.
“Panama’s food guide advises sufficient root vegetables. Zimbabwe’s four-food-group square includes insects as one protein-rich food.”

Campbell, Colin T., Thomas M. Campbell. “The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted.” BenBella Books. (2005)
“Even relatively small intakes of animal-based food were associated with adverse effects. People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease.” (5)
Bibliography

Golberg, Jeanne P., Sara C. Folta, Aviva Must. "Milk: Can a "Good" Food Be So Bad?" Pediatrics 110.4 (2002): 286-087. Print.
This was my best source. There was so much information in this article that helped me to get my act together. During the entire article they addressed the concerns that I had about milk, and wither or not it was healthy. This became the spring board of my research. I got most of my quotes from this article, and understood my topic fully after reading it.

Black, Ruth E., Sheila M Williams, Ianthe E Jones and Ailsa Goulding. "Children who avoid drinking cow milk have low dietary calcium intakes and poor bone health1,2,3." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 675-680 76.6 (2002). Print.
I learned a little about children and their lactose intake. This helped me to understand how important it is that children get calcium. My ideas also began to evolve into the reality that it is not if the food is good or bad, but if the vitamins and minerals in the food supply the right needs. After reading this article I realized that milk is a convenient way to get in all of the vitamins and minerals we need in one day.

Marchiondo, Kathleen. "Lactose Intolerance: A Nursing Perspective." MEDSURG Nursing 18.1 (2009): 9-32. Print.
Lactose intolerance is different than being allergic to milk. It should be treated differently too, and avoiding milk is actually the “wrong” way to cure the problem. Most people who are lactose intolerance do not have the symptoms of being lactose intolerance. They still drink milk, and seem fine. It was refreshing to get a nurses point of view, and how to explain healthy life choices. Most of the article talked about reintroducing milk into someone’s diet. I found it helpful, but not substantial data.

Larson, Roberta. “The American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.” American Dietetic Association (2002) Print.
This article made me realize that other countries have food pyramids, and that no country has the best. There are so many attacks against the food guide pyramid that I was really questioning it, but now I think that it is basically like any diet guidelines. They are all healthy suggestions, and should be treated as such.

“Get Big: The Science of Muscle; Milk Beats Soy.” Mens Fitness. 33.6 (2002): 28. Print.
This was basically just a passage about how milk helped to build muscle in a group of men working out. There were no real numbers in the paper, and that made it difficult for me to really want to use the information. I did find it helpful though. It opened my research to the idea that milk is good for not just bones but muscles too.

Schrezemmeir, Jurgen, Alexandra Jagla. “Milk and Diabetes.” American College of Nutrition. 9002.19 (2000): 176S-190S. Print.
In this article I read about the realationship between milk and diabetes. It was helpful for my paper because there was observed no true conection. What I realized was that all studies need to be repeated and redone before they can be proven, or become factual. While I browsed I found more studies not supporting diabetes and milk being the cause, but I this article seemed to be the most comprehensive.

Department of Community and Family Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chineses University of Hong Kong. “Milk Supplementation of the Diet of Postmenopausal Chinese Women on a Low Calcium Intake Retards Bone Loss.” Bone and Mineral Research. 16.9 (2001): 1704-1709. Print.
This was a great article because it talked about the problems in the china diet. That there were many things missing in the china diet, and this was causing health problems. I want to use a lot of the quotes from here to support that idea that American scientist are not as biased as they might be portrayed. Chinese scientist think that there is something in milk that will help their society to live better, and healthier. I want to use a lot of this information to give ethos to milk.

Campbell, Colin T., Thomas M. Campbell. “The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted.” BenBella Books. (2005)
“Campbell urges readers to eliminate meat and dairy from their diets to achieve better health and longevity. His study will add a new dimension to the public debate about the role of plant-based foods in the human diet
I used this book to understand what I was up against. It was helpful to get a base of what I should say, and what the other side was thinking. The valid concerns in this book opened up my mind, and I started making the connections between why this is such an issue. There are valid concerns on both sides of the argument. Milk has a lot of things in it that we don’t understand. What I found a little frustrating was that the book addressed protein more than milk, and I did not need information on protein.

Steichen, J., R. Tsang. “Bone Mineralization and Growth in Term Infants Fed soy-based or cow milk-based formula.” Pediatrics. 110.5 (2009): 687-692. Print.
This study was a good one for my paper because it compared soy milk to cow milk. There were a few quotes that I could use about how soy milk is not the same as cow milk and that infants who were given soy milk actually had lower bone mass than the babies who drank a cow based milk. This was helpful information because soy milk is the substitute for cow milk in the vegan diet, and it seems that even soy milk has it’s down falls.

Jacobsen, Bjarne K., Synnove F. Knutsen, Gary E Fraser. “Does High Soy Milk Intake Reduce Prostate Cancer Incidence? The Adventist Health Study.” Cancer Causes and Control. 9.6 (1998): 1573-7225. Web.
I found this article helpful because it supported soy milk in the adult diet. I realized that my paper is not to state that soy milk is bad. I want to show that milk is good. This helped me to support the idea that a well balanced diet with plant based products and milk is the best idea. Eliminating one is were the problem comes in. I thought that this information would be good to close with to illustrate that I am not attacking the idea of plant based products, but supporting a diet with milk.

fire side

Elder Uckdorf came and talked to us... Here are my notes

The ugly duckline story
unushually large, and ugly
but it can swin, and so it simply assumes that the poor thing is disfigured
desides that it would be better for his family if he ran away
did run away, almost died, sees swans and is afraid the swans might kill him because he is so ugly
He follows them, and then sees the reflection of a beautiful swan, he is the most beautifl
HE HAS DISCOVERED WHO HE IS TRULY IS
confusion comes from not understanding who we are
to many go through life not knowing their potential beyond imagination
discovering who we are is apart of life
were? who? why? understand with heart and soul, not mind only
questions that reach into spritual things require spirtitual help
Church members know them because: power of the Holy Ghost (God gives freely to his children)
this allows you to see your own reflection in the water
"more beautiful and glories than you can imagine"
this knowledge: change present, future, contance
Questions affecting young saints around the world
I am unhappy and depressed. Some times the world looks like it would be a better place without me...
get help for yourself, and if you know someone who needs help be a true friend
"To be or not to be. That is the question," Shakespear was wrong
there are other options beyond that contridiction
i would have Hamlet turn to the audiance and say "knowing that i am child of God. What need I do and be to live up to that poential?That is the quetstion."
remember were you came from, and were you are going next time you get sad; these things are conected to serving God, and fellow man
YOU don't need to wait for permission to fill your heart with happiness
dance, study, work, serve, ex. all together. GET TO KNOW PEOPLE
I am so lonely. Will I ever find my soul mate?
"I have a number of things I want to say on this subject, but lets start... lets start"
the one person who is perfect for you
women who discovers a geni bottle; askes for world peace, geni says anything but that
askes instead for someone who is... the geni considers that for a moment and then desideds to do something about world peace
I think that I feel in love with my wife the first moment I saw her; but if she married someone else
she was not the one chance of happiness, and I was not hers
No one is perfect; the only perfect people you might know are those you don't know very well
do not lower your standards; if someone is willing to acept me imperfect as I am then I should put up with theirs
must creat perfection together; falling in love is a wonderful feeling
that magic spark needs continuned sparking; the couple makes it happen; it takes work
Once you committe to being married your spose becomes your soul mate, and you must keep it that way. The search for a soul mate is over when you have made that choice.
Years after Uckdorf first met his wife she said, "you have matured scence the last time I saw you," with this news I moved quickly
GET TO KNOW MANY OF THEM, is the secret
JUST ASK don't simply HANG OUT, nothing wrong, but you need to get to know individuals
there are those of you in the church who will never marry, there is no way to identify with this great dispear
prayers are heard, I don't know why some are answered one way and not others, the path is drawn continue
"I say Joyfully endure to the end,"
Do not wait for someone to make yourlife complete, and seek fullfillment in serving and improving yourself
Can I remain faithful?
Inter tropical transversion; billowing colums of clouds, could not look at them without being impressed with the lightening and darkness
AVOID THEM, no matter how beautiful those storms look they can kill you
Temptation would not be temptation if it did not look inticing, and fun
DO NOT FLIRT WITH PORNOGRAPHY
Doubts in questions and principles?
Is it allright to have questions about the church
Inquiry leads to truth: Joseph Smith
You will rearly find revelation with out a question procedding it
God can give us answers to questions we ask, and the answers to questions we should have asked
Some might feel embarased
it is a precurser of growth; ask with real intent; Holy Ghost will answer
DOUBT NOT, when you get an answer bulild upon it and let it become solid
"my thoughts are not your thoughts... but my thoughts are higher than you thoughts,"
Asking questions; excersise your faith everday, apply those principles you have in question
There are going to be voices telling you that you are an ugly duckline.
You are not ordinary beings, but glorious and eternal
REMBER WHO YOU ARE, WERE YOU CAME FROM, AND WERE YOU ARE GOING
God speaks to you through prophets, the Chruch is directed by Jesus
Today I may speak to you with imperfection, and in a German acent
What you feel in your heat is from a member of the God Head
What you must do and be to see your true refelction

Darwin and God

Putting God into Darwin was such an eye opening lecture for me. I have been turning the idea of evolution over in my mind for the past few months that I have been at BYU. Earlier this month I even asked my Book of Mormon professor if there was any doctrinal or quotes from church officials about evolution. He gave me a pamphlet that had several quotations emphasizing that God tells us why we were created, and that we were created, but he dose not explicitly say how or when. The basic idea was that these two things (how and when humans were created) did not relate to the plan of salvation. I agreed to the point that there are other doctrinal subjects more prevalent, and I should possibly spend more time studying them out. Yet, the theory of evolution remained on the edge of the thought, and today I feel like there were lots of answers.
First I appreciated the distinction between faith and science. I must clarify this point as not the superstition of science and faith, but the distinction. The last section of his slideshow he explained that we (mankind) has the rights to interpret scientific evidence how we want. In order to fully understand truth and in essence God instead of ignoring scientific evidence I need to interpret ate it.
I was so glad that he brought evidence to the table. The genetics slides that were explained on my thinking level, pictures of bones, era bones were from, fused human genetics, and the proper definition of Devine Intervention. There is no way to deny the facts, and I would not want to. Please understand that I was not anti-evolution prior to this lecture. I was completely lost.
There seemed to be no actual evidence for Devine Intervention. To top it off they lied. I understand that the lecturer’s perspective is that Devine Intervention is wrong, and so he want to portray them as wrong, but the various books changed the names and ignored evidence was embarrassing.
What struck me the most was the clarification of what a genetic mistake is. When the lecturer broke down a species would become extinct under the theory of evolution if it did not mutate, or evolve I realized that is a Godly principle. If something or more clearly someone does not evolve themselves to become better, enrich their life, and get ride of unneeded attributes they fall behind and become “extinct”. Evolution would fit into God’s plan. I still want to think it all out, because lets face it I got an entire life to think about it. I only listened to one very educated source today, and there are so many more places to learn about evolution and creation. Catch up with me in a few thousand years when I am a little more divine and I will let you know what I have figured out about the two theories.

Adam Smith

Adam Smith wrote Wealth of Nations, and in turned the global economics into a new direction. Prior to the development of the Market system nations practiced Mercantilism. The idea that a nations wealth depended on how much the king had. The more in the royal bank the wealthier the nation was. Consequently wealthily nations had set policies, planned economic durability, and regulated trade to ensure that their exports did not exceed the nations imports. When Adam Smith introduced the Market system in his theory book Wealth of Nations it was like questioning that people need food to live.
Mercantilism had Kings sitting in gold palaces and eating off of gold plates with engraved silverware, and the common people living in dung huts. Yes, the nation had wealth, but the lifestyle of the people was poor. Adam believed that common people had the right to wealth, and that could come from the lifestyle they lived. His concept of per capita income, were the per capita welfare of the people was measured a nations wealth was a shock to the expanding world.
“The invisible” hand controls the market system, and people are driven by what they want when they make a purchase. In a market system both people feel that they win in the trade. If I want to buy a laptop because I need to type my homework I buy one from Mackintosh. Although I am giving up my money or “wealth” I am happy because my way of living has improved and I feel that the trade of $2,000 was worth the easy of writing my college papers in my apartment. It was based on the ideal that people have the freedom to chose what they want. Although Adam recognized both parties will win in a fair trade he understood that some would “win” more than others by terms of wealth. My laptop for example, I am out $2,000 and Mackintosh earned $2,000. Some would consider him the winner in this trade, but my laptop improved my way of living and so I maintain my wealth.
It is important to note that debt was not in Adam Smith’s vision of Market system. Debt is a bondage, and decreases freedom. Now there are some debts aka student loans, mortgages, ex. That have a specific investment, and improve ones way of living. These are what are needed to improve our way of life. Not all debt is an investment and will decrease our wealth and eventually decay our freedom. Making the distinction between “good” debt and “bad” debt is a personal choice and should be taken with delicate concern. I am not a financial assistant, just a college student.
Adam Smith opened the door for the market system I am accustom to: exchanges made on mutual interest, both parties are happy, consumer seventy, voluntary exchange, market determining what will sale, and the base of what sales being the consumer’s interest. His idea was introduced and flourished in the new world. A place were freedom was delicately blossoming. Although the United States had established freedoms in the constitution and Declaration of Independence there was no mention of economic freedom in either document. I can not even think of America without a free market economy. All because Adam Smith wrote down his thoughts and published them.

Crandall Printing Museum

I had never noticed the red bricked building before. Even with the address scribbled on my history notes and a MapQuest print off I almost drove past it. What an odd assignment? Not that I had any problems with American Heritage being canceled for the entire week so we could visit the museum, but all the same. What was in those red brick walls that would “enrich my learning experience” so much that class should be canceled? After visiting the Crandall Printing Museum on Center street in Provo I knew what my professor found in those small well kept rooms; inspiration.
It started with ancient texts on: animal hide, stone, clay, waved sheep guts, cave walls, and about anything that could preserve information, and inspiration. I imagined myself scribbling on cow hide with animal blood on a stick, and I resolved to never curse slow internet access again. More important I realized if someone had enough dedication to write with dried reeds on soft clay rocks they felt that what they were saying was very important.
The presentation then explained monasteries roll in preserving scriptures. This will all sound ignorant and biased, but prior to this visit I imagined monks as these overweight men with bald heads sitting at a desk scribbling out ancient scriptures that they did not agree with and praying only when other people were around to watch. Don’t worry I would always speckle my scenario with a few monks to slow in the head to do anything besides copy text. I am pretty sure this is inaccurate. For starts monks were not dumb; they fluent in Latin. Next they loved the bible. Really! Not only did they write out the text, but they decorated the Bible with detailed depictions of Christ, saints, and nature. How could you stand sitting at a desk all day drawing pictures in something you did not love.
From there the presentation goes on to the Gutenberg Press. Genies, innovative, imaginative, creative, can I think of enough adjectives to describe Gutenberg? Nope the English language probably does not have enough good words to describe him. Up until now all I heard about Gutenberg was “he invented the first printing press” Well that phrase has a lot more in it than I thought, because he thought of it all in a time when hardly anyone read, wrote, and if they thought you were out of the norm they burned you for being a witch.
Visiting the Crandall Printing Museum helped me realize how much people want to read. Truly read, and write. It made me grateful for their dedication, but also humbled. I was humbled when I realized how much I take for granite. This I just wrote for example… thirty minutes tops, for History credit, I never even had to use ink, and you are reading it. Remarkable! All because someone over four thousand years ago thought that it would be a good idea if they wrote things down, and taught their children to write things down, and formed a language so they could write things down, and now I have it.

freedom

In American Heritage professor H has been discussing the idea that the more choices you have the more freedom you have. Freedom, something that we Americans take pride in having, but why do we have it. What makes us so different? Why did the Founding Fathers feel this was so important? In class we have continually returned to this example:
Imagine that you walk into a grocery store and there is only one brand of spaghetti sauce on the shelf, better yet, there is only one can of spaghetti sauce left in all of the store you do not have the freedom to chose what type of spaghetti sauce you want.
Now if you really hate I mean hate, like you would rather vomit than have to eat that brand of spaghetti sauce, and you need spaghetti sauce that night for a dinner party what would you logically do? I don’t know about you but I would go to another store and buy the spaghetti sauce that I want. Can you not see the irony though? Simply having the option of going to another store is freedom.
Ok, now imagine that you walk into the other store looking for spaghetti sauce that you like. There on the shelves are hundreds of spaghetti sauces; big tomato chunks, baby diced tomato, garlic or onion chunks. Besides being a little overwhelmed by the hundreds of spaghetti sauces that you did not even know existed you now have lots of options, and in turn you have more freedom.
Not only do you get to chose what brand of you want, but how many should you get? Should you mix brands? Should you get enough only for tonight or some cans for storage? These are all of the questions that you need to answer. You might pass there in the aisle and gather date; how much money you have, how many guests you are having, how much those guest might eat, is any one you invited allergic to something in the sauce. Although these method of collecting data is centered around asking more questions there are concrete answers to these questions that help you decided what you want.
Now that you have settled on what type of spaghetti sauce you want, and how much you are going to get you have to buy it. You can not just stand there all night and all day repeating in your mind what type of sauce you want, but you actually have to purchase it and go through the action.
Simple, but I am not limiting this logical approach to spaghetti sauce things. Making choices on what type of religion you want to associate with, what classes you want to take next semester, deciding a major, getting a house, getting married, going on a mission, taking that job opportunity, the list of life determining questions seems endless, and really depends on were we are in life.
I know that sometimes I feel like I am stuck in one store with the spaghetti sauce that makes me want to vomit, and there are no other choices. The hardest decisions seem to be when you have one spaghetti sauce that you love in your left hand and one that you love just as much in your right hand, but you can only chose one of them.
In Robert Frost’s poem The Road not taken a line I typically over look is “That has made all of the difference,” While turning this line over in my mind, and listening to my professor talk about the Declaration of Independence I realized “that has made all of the difference,” It is important to momentarily take away the line “I took the road less traveled by,” from Robert Frost’s poem. If you repeat the poem in your mind unaware of what path the author acutely took the principle that no matter which path you continue on will make all the difference emerges. Sighing the Declaration of Independence risked the lives, fortunes, and honor of all those men and their families. Looking back it is easy to see the difference that little piece of paper made, but in the vital moment they were risking every thing.
In my life there are choices when I am risking everything. Imagine how dull and unproductive life would be without these choices… there would be no freedom. What I have learned in my American Heritage class is not to be afraid of these choices, but to make them. Once I have settled on something I need to put Singh my name, and commit to it. If I am continually striving for good things, and my motives are pure there is no logical way that I can make the wrong choice as long as I am focused to that ideal. There are choices, freedom, and action; they all interconnect and committee is involved in all of them, “that (will) make all the difference.”

Promised Land

The Book of Mormon describes the founding of America, and the land of Zion. Many anti-Mormon groups use this as evidence to support that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. They claim that he was influenced by the social environment of that day to write about his great country “America” in The Book of Mormon. There is no way around it Joseph Smith was in an era were patriotism valued. The man (Joseph Smith) even ran for president. He obviously had some national pride, but that is not the issue we are addressing.
What needs to be looked at is specifically is how The Book of Mormon addresses the American revolution. There are very few verse on the manner, but the one verse that I would like to focus on is in 1 Nephi 13 verses 14.
“And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise;”
The land of promise; Don’t simply assume Joseph Smith felt America was superior to all other lands. The Old and New Testament calls Jerusalem a “the promised land’. Jews following the Koran also believe that Jerusalem is holy. Buddhists have Theravada the school of elders, a land of promised knowledge. Mecca is a holy place for the Islamic faith. In India there is Vaishno Devi a holy cave shrine to Mata. Even in Ireland the have the Blarney stone; if you kiss the stone you are promised to have the gift of speech. All of this points to the idea that there are many areas throughout the world that are promised. In all periods of history religions across the world have promised lands. It is a rather vague term.
Fortunately Ether clarifies what Nephi meant when he referred to America as the promised land in ether chapter 2 verse 9 it reads, “And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” Summed up America’s promise is that the people are good they will have prosperity, but if not they shall be swept off the face of the earth by the full wrath of God.
According to the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson the American promise is “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” This promise has a little different of a connotation; God created people equal, and we try to allow that in America by promising Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It is true both promises mention God, but one talks about democracy and God giving equality while the other describes God destroying and blessing his people. When Jefferson wrote his promise he was addressing the King of England, and attempting to prove that all citizens deserved privileges. Compared to Nephi and Ether who were compiling a book of records for their future generations. The audience does not simply give them different voice but revels what they valued.
Nephi and Ether did not value the same ideals as Jefferson, because they were from a different generation than Jefferson. What they wanted people to understand was that if you do not listen to God he will destroy you. Jefferson focused seems to be making an ethos argument, proving his credibility as a citizen to have life, liberty, and the permute of happiness. Can we agree that they are two different promises? To different people? From different people? With different perspectives?
Yes, The Book of Mormon refers to America as the promised land, but not in the modern connotation of the phrase. Joseph Smith was translating and ancient text, and therefore the values and ideals were from an ancient author. Read all you want from the internet from who knows who about the Book of Mormon, and you wont understand it. I would recommend picking up the book and just reading it for yourself. Get to the direct source of all the disputes against and for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and just read the few hundred pages instead of browsing the internet Googling questions and researching credible authors.

God lets Flowers Grow

In my heart I feel that if God planted a seed he would let the seed grow, not make the seed grow. Technically he has the power to force the seedling into a flower, but I do not believe he does. He would not be breaking any technical laws because the seed does not have agency-- like humans. I preferred the perspective that God provided sunshine, rain, and soil for the seed to grow. He gave it all that it has, and then encouraged the seedling to stretch out and grow. I’m not claiming he abandoned it, because the sun shines every day, and rain still falls. In my understanding he let it grow.
I feel that God acts the same with the life. Nature takes it course and I fall prey to disease, trails, and hardships. That does take away from his divine power over all the elements, but I truly believe that he allows flowers to grow on their own and nature to progress in the laws that he has established.
Although I am still trying to pull out all of the strings twining around my thoughts and testimony this idea came from a few summers ago. Mosquito bitten, sunburned, and unshowered after floating sixty two miles down the Green River my group did a bike ride were down slope of the last two miles tried to compensate for the constant uphill of the other twenty eight miles of the trail. Initially flashing down mountainside felt supernaturally weightless, but as the red rock bolder drew closer and my attempts to turn the handle bars felt stiff and robotic all I could think of was I’m to young to die, but here it goes.
My front tire hit the bolder. Inspired by either fear or faith I released my bike-- sending the jagged bars and poles into a patch of red sand far from my tumbling body. As I staggered up a sting of isolation pricked my courage before I saw my friend Rob in front of me turn around and peddle back towards me.
The space of time between the crash and the being seated on the back seat of Blowe’s truck with a double chocolate chip Granny-B cookie is blurred with concerned dirt covered faces helping me gain my balance. Blowe unfolded his first-aid kit and rubbed an alcohol pad on my bleeding shoulder. Resisting the urge to scream at him I gripped the edge of the truck, and endured the feeling of knives jabbing into my shoulder. After bandaging up my scrapes, and feeling my swelling knee to determine if it was broken I got back on my bike to finish the trail.
Rob let me borrow his mountain bike gloves to decrease the shock sent through the handle bars up my tender wrists. Adrenaline kept me from crying until I pondered how my body rolled three times in the only sand pits in the merciless red rock bed. That I had kept my helmet on. How Rob had seen me out of the corner of his eye. I new that God had watched out for he.
Just like he let the flower grow on it’s own. God let me hit a rock and roll down a mountainside all on my own (I am sure he could have thought of something less painful than rolling down a mountain side to teach me of his love, but apparently it was all I could think of) It is evident by how I missed all the hard rock patches while in my path that He never abandoned me. When the fullness of God’s love hit me that day the bike trail became lost in blurred tears and pathetic attempt to wipe my eyes which only left mud streaks across my face. When ever life gets hard I think back on that sweltering summer day. The feelings of love embraces me and I remember life might through me into a mountainside, but God never abandons me.
“Men art that thy might have joy,” he never said “Men art that thy might have a fluffy and easy life with no hardship and no challenges so that they can become a useless mushroom,” The God that I know wants me to grow. Like a flower I will reach towards the sunlight, and be bathed in drops of rain. Come what may I will hold onto my faith, and testimony that God loves me.

past, present, future

Martin Diamond put a lot of though into the article title ‘Revolution of Sober Expectations’. Each word seems to have been delicately chosen. He captures the Founding Fathers awareness of the past present and future.
Starting with the word Revolution. Prior to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution the Founding Father explored and studied. Jefferson clearly drew much of his inspiration for the Declaration from John Lock. Ancient philosophy was not the only ideals they pondered, but they sensed their own development. For example the majority of the Declaration of Independence lists offensive committed by the Crown. In letters written to Jefferson Madison reflects on the revolutions necessity of a Constitution to complement the Declaration. Pondering the history of humanity and the colonies interact with England lead the Founding Fathers to revolution.
Sober in Diamond’s context means thoughtful. In all of their debates about the Founding Fathers maintained a consciousness of their predicament. According to Diamond “It was in this sober spirit that the American Revolution cheerfully and cannily worked its way out of the eighteenth century into the era of modern democracy” This sober spirit that he makes reference to is making democracy decent. Although they believed that King James was unjust they understood masses could be just as biased and corrupt as an individual. This lead them to be complacent about their decision to establish a democracy. Although modern views persist democracy to them it was a new concept. Because each man maintained his dignity and recognize his own imperfections they established a Constitution that maintained checks and balances.
Finally Expectations is what the Founding Father wanted. In his article Diamond states, “at precisely that moment of crisis when other revolutions turn turbulent, begin to devour their own, and dash all the initial hopes, at precisely that moment ripe for disaster the American Revolution achieved its glory by a unique moment of stillness sobriety.” They never lost the reality of their goal. Unlike the vain utopian expectations of the French, or communist revolution the Founding Fathers maintained a realistic view point of men. Consequently their views of human nature helped them to maintain their goals. By keeping a view on the future they established a well thought out Declaration and Constitution.
It was the combination of the past, present and future that created the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. By creating that balance the Founding Fathers developed lasting documents. Martin Diamond tries to make this point not only in his article, but even in the title ‘Revolution of Sober Expectations’.

my favorite scrpiture

2 Nephi 22:25 “men art that they might have joy,” I have always loved this scripture. Originally for the sole reason that it has my name in it. Over the years though my understanding of this scripture has grown.
Starting with the first word, Men. Simple enough, God is not just talking about the male population. He is referring to everyone. There is an approximate seven billion people on earth right now. The world, yes, the spinning orb that we are all sitting on is approximately 1,578,044,160 inches around. If everyone in the world were one inch wide, about the length of you thumb, and we were all to stand shoulder to shoulder we would make an air tight chain around the entire earth not just once or twice but four times and a half times. Those are just the people living now. When God says men he is talking about a population the size of the sands on the sea. Yet he knows all of us personally. The signs that God knows us personally are overwhelming: fingerprints, DNA, and just look at the person sitting next to you. You are unique to God. Although he addressed every single person who ever existed remember he knows you well enough to make it a personal message just for you.
The word Might is the past tense of the word May. The inferred origin of the word may is from the ancient Roman Goddess of spring who is called Maia. Not to be confused with the Greek Gods Maia who was the eldest and most beautiful of Atlas’s seven daughter. The Roman Goddess Mia’s name relates to the Oscan word mais and the Latin word majus both of which mean “more”. Because Mia was so powerful she is often referred to as “Maia the Majestic”. Essentially this title is a doubling of her name. Both maia, and majestic are rooted to the Latin word magnus “great or powerful” Some historians even wonder if Maia was the original name of the ancient goddess Bona Dea (the Good Goddess), whose name is so sacred it was forbidden to speak out loud. All of this relates to the fact that the word might does not simply refer to something that could happen if you wish hard enough. No, the word might’s origins signify that when God says “men are that they might have joy” he is referring to something as constant and enriching as spring. Joy is a promise from God.
According to Webster the word “have” means: to hold or maintain as a possession; to hold in one‘s service; to hold a part of a whole. All of Webster’s definitions for “have” coin the phrase “to hold”. In traditional wedding vows the bride and groom promise their spouse “to have and to hold” one another. When God says that we are to have joy he is not simply talking about giving us a big gift with a bow on top. No, the word “have” is a verb, meaning there has to be a concrete action connected to it. Imagine how different someone’s life would be if they were as committed to having and holding joy as they were to their spouse. That person would have joy “from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; and till death do us part.” I now declare you Husband/Wife to joy. The phrase “till death do us part” is the most vital. Taking our knowledge of the scriptures we know that there are two types of death: physical, and spiritual. With out joy in our lives we become spiritually dead, and we are truly separated from God’s light and truth.
My personal favorite is the word joy, oh let’s capitalize it, because it really is my name. starting over… My personal favorite is the word Joy. Yes, I am vain, but that is not why I asked you to change joy to Joy. I want you to insert your own name in the verse.
“men are that thy might have (your name)”
In order for you to understand this verse as I see it you have to apply everything that I have been talking about, and change the wording around a little. Now it reads “everyone who ever lived-- who God knows personally, has the promise from God to become committed to (your name).”
I thought you said you changed joy to Joy because you were not vain. Now this scripture seems selfish. Could be what you are thinking, but have you forgotten who you are? You are a literal child of the God. You have divine potential in the Lord’s great plan of happiness, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. You will one day become a creator of worlds with out number.
When I read this scripture I hear God telling me that I need to discover my true identity. I am a continually progressing; consequently the discovery of who I am is an eternal endeavor. That is why I have trails, hardships, and opposition. It’s all to help me discover me. Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said, “I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise,” The Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Savior of Man Kind, could be teaching the most valuable lesson-- life, and I will not understand a pinch of it if I do not humble my heart and listen. God giving me the opportunity to progress is what joy means to me. The creation, fall of Adam and Eve, Atonement all revolve around this idea. “Men art that they might have joy,” in it’s everlasting and continually progressing form.

Nephi's ship

Let’s talk about ships. That is right ships. Nephi’s ship to be exact. There is not much on it in 1 Nephi 18: 2 he says “Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.” He then goes on a little to talk about how he prayed often to be inspired to know how to build the ship. The next few verses mention how even Laman and Lamuel thought that when it was finished it looked good. That is about all we get about the ship.
Yah want to know what intrigues me the most is how much an educated scholar can get out of just those few lines of the scriptures. I am not even going to try and impose by saying I am that scholar. The information that I am going to relay to you is mostly me mimicking the scholars from the movie in my Book of Mormon class. They noted that in Nephi’s’ time ships were built with the timbers laying parallel, and it was not until Columbus’s time that the ships started to be built looking like a ribcage. It was this difference in construction that made it possible for New World exploration because the ships could cross wider stretches of ocean. There was an in-depth analysis in the movie about the subject, and I watched in aw. What is that… one, two, three lines from The Book of Mormon and hours of research latter we have a better understanding of Nephi and the will of God.
It was undeniable that the facts of the ship were interesting to listen to, but more importantly it made me realize almost every line of The Book of Mormon has that potential. Because I understood what the ship was like I knew that Nephi was obedient. Nephi would have had to know a little bit about ship building in order to understand that God did not want him to build a normal ship. Imagine if God told you that you had to go and build an airplane… don’t worry I don’t know were to start either. Nephi did know were to start though, and God used his previous knowledge to progresses the eternal plan of salvation.
My professor wanted me to talk about how I felt about the movie. Specifically the aspects that “prove” The Book of Mormon historically. It led back to the idea that a boy with a minimal education logistically had no clue that in Nephi’s time the modern ships could not cross the Pacific ocean. I am eighteen and currently receiving one of the best secondary educations in the world, and I just found out that 600 BC ships were built differently than Columbus’s ships. The Professor wanted me to answer if information like this built my testimony? I say yes.
For all we know God taught Nephi how to build a flying saucer that looked enough like a ship that to Nephi it was the only proper word to describe “God‘s ship.” The important aspect that I took away though was that I should study the scriptures; a single line could hold a key building principle to my testimony. All knowledge is truth and applying secular knowledge to the scriptures is not like pouring oil into water. It is more like adding light on light, because they are both truth. The point that the scholars were trying to make was not to shove The Book of Mormon in someone’s face and scream “eat it.” No I think that they were really trying to understand the verses better. That is what I should do more in my personal scripture study, research.
Facts like how Nephi built his ship can not be the core center of a strong testimony. A testimony is going to have to with stand the temptations of the Devil, and he can knock something as weak as that over really quickly. I am merely saying that it adds to a testimony. We pray for truth. We fast for truth. We ponder truth. We listen to Book of Mormon videos in Seminary for truth. We ponder it out in our own minds so we can have a better understanding of truth. The base is the same we are seeking truth. All of the facts the graphs, the charts they had in the movie pointed to one idea for me-- seeking truth, and that is what builds my testimony.

Thank you John Adams

In my mind the Founding Fathers all were a laminating wall painted one shade, with the same texture, and even strokes. They were the blob in history that helped to start our country, and even though I recognized that they were different people I did not bother to establish those differences. This week as we studied John Adams in American Heritage I realized that if all of the Founding Fathers were one mold the Declaration of Independence would never have been completed, and the “what ifs” would resolve in an endless argument altering the course of our history as we know it.
When Professor H put in a movie during class I sat in the dark wondering if I was really in collage or not. Most movies I have watched in class depict raspy voiced old men wearing white wigs centered on top of their powdered faces, and some mellow dramatic voice in the background narrating the obvious events on the screen. None of them have impacted me as much as the movie John Adams that we watched last week. Suddenly the Founding Fathers became plural.
John Adams particularly stood out. It was strange to see him working as a farmer in the opening scene, and I tried to imagine senators today turning manure over with their bare hands. I had a hard time imagining myself turning manure over bare handed. There is more to it than just saying that John Adams was working with what he had. Modern equipment makes it so that farmers can bail hay, feed, milk, and scrap corals for daily thousands of animals. It is difficult for me to comprehend doing everything by had, but John Adams owned and managed a respected farm. Obviously John Adams knew how to work, but it is important to note that he worked well. He also expanded his education, and was involved in politics. From the life that he lived I have a feeling he worked just as hard in these studies as he did in his milk barn.
Abigail Adams was probably my favorite character in the movie, and it was all the more reason to respect John Adams. It seemed that the majority of the information I read about John Adams came from letters that he had written to his wife. History recognizes their relationships as an example of a healthy husband and wife relationship. John Adams and Abigail Adams were able to discuss family, politics, and social issues in their letters. In the movie when Abigail asks Washington to deliver her letters to her husband he comments on how not only would John Adams benefit from her advise, but the rest of them would also. John Adams must have talked about his wife enough for Washington to recognize that her opinion was valuable to her husband. To me this portrayed that not only her Husband respected her, but other established members of society did also. When learning about historical figures I like to learn about their wives, because I find it revealing. John Adams established remarkable things in public, but what makes me really awed is that he was able to establish a relationship with his wife.
When John Adams went to congress in 1775 after the Lexington and Concord shootings he wanted the members there to realize that they were not simply dealing with a political issue, but they were dealing with people’s lives. Another time he showed this concern was when George Washington’s troops needed food, clothing, cannons, and ammunition. John Adams pleaded to send the requested equipment there, because he knew that people were suffering. While drafting the Declaration of Independence John Adams mentioned the inhumane act of slavers, and during his speech to persuade the delegates to vote for independence he recognized that lives would be taken on both sides. He valued life, and what caused me to ponder is that he believed that freedom was worth the price. John Adams was not simply willing to let others give up their lives for freedom, but he was willing to give up his. It took years before our country felt prepared to go to war, and it would take several more before this great country would be established. Throughout all of that John Adams remained dedicated to his dream of freedom, and spent hours laboring to ensure that I, a Brigham Young University collage student, had that freedom. Thank you John Adams.

Learning by faith lecture

I wanted to see if I really learn something new every day. My goal this weekend was to write in my journal one thing that I learned from that day. Friday came and went; Saturday went just as quickly, and then before I knew it I was sitting at my laptop Sunday night wondering what I had learned. The weekend felt like it had rushed by so quickly there was no possible way I could have learned something. So I started writing down what I had done step by step.
According to Bloom’s Taxonomy I was stuck in the “knowledge” level of thinking. As my list grew I recalled details. Most of them were about myself. How I felt? Why I reacted the way that I did? It did not take long for these questions to evolve into: What I could have done differently? What I handled well? Before I knew it I was learning hundreds of things. My weekend that had seemed so meaningless began to unfold ideas and that is when I started learning.
It was then that I realized I had learned at least one thing a day. I finally made the connection that seeking learning by study and with faith requires reflection. That is why the prophets encourage me to keep a journal. If I want to learn from my experiences I need to take the time to ponder and have a personal reflection. Inviting the spirit to be actively involved in my reflection will also benefit.
When Joseph Smith recorded the first vision he mentions that he read in King James and then pondered the things in his heart. He held a personal reflection. Just as the lecture on Thursday focused on learning, or the ability to obtain light and truth, with faith Joseph Smith learned by pond ringing and studying the verse in his heart.
The idea of studying things out in my heart rang true as I realized that life gives me a new lesson everyday. If I really want to learn from the events of that day though I need to reflect upon them. I learned a lot this weekend not because I did a lot, but because I studied them out in my heart.

A class on marriage (I am at BYU)

"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" lecture. What impressed me the most in the lecture “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” is that Mary Wollstonecraft wanted women to get married. The lecture was opened up perfect for me. When I think of the word feminist I typically imagine outraged women marching down hitting anyone who stands in their way with their equal rights posters. Opening the class with the proper definition of feminist opened my mind to another aspect of feminist; the reasonable aspect.
After reviewing the quotes about women becoming educated, and their husbands supporting their wives I could not help but to relate it all back to tennis. After years of playing tennis you learn to accept the fact that you play as well as your opponent. If your opponent can not return your serve then you get sloppy in your serve, because why waste the energy. On the other hand when your opponent returns your serve every single time you change what you are doing. Instead of serving outside you try to hit the top corner as hard as you can. It is simply impossible to play your absolute hardest if the person on the other side of the net can not hit the ball back to you. Now take the side of the weaker player; frustrated, overwhelmed, and unpracticed.
I am not trying to turn marriage to an aggressive game. Rather it is a comparison in my mind that both parties have to be able to play at the same level. In a marriage you both have to work your hardest so that you can help each other to improve. My point is not to say that stupid people should marry stupid people, and smart people should only marry smart people. It is the principle that by practicing tennis before you go to a tennis match you will be better prepare you for the game. The parallel is that by learning to work with other people and practicing healthy relationship skills before marriage will help both husband and wife to preformed to the best of their abilities.

The Brick Layer

Its the type of story that looks like a patchwork quilt in my mind; Each square is another’s perspective, and all of them are stitched together by strands of conversations I have picked up. No one ever sat me down and told me what happened. It is the story of my Dad’s marriage. I guess the proper term would be marriages, but I am not sure if I want to call it that either. Simply because that is not the focus of the story; it is about how my family came to be. Being the youngest in my family I often feel like the story was written without me. The characters were set, and the plot outlined long before I became a member of it. As if the story were a building, and all of the bricks were laid prior to me being there. The story I am about to tell you is one of my favorites because it testifies to me that I am not merely an on looker but a bricklayer in my family history.
My Dad was married to three different women before he married my mom. Glenna was his first wife. She died of breast cancer. Together Dad and Glenna had six children: Sarah, Carl, Swen, Jenny, Andrew, and Bryce. Right after Glenna’s death my Dad married another women. Whom I have never meet and know absolutely nothing about. Shortly after their divorce my dad married Emily. They had Lee together, and then they got a divorce. After the divorce settled down a little my dad met my mom, and together they had Caleb, and me. My parents are still together, and living in Spanish Fork Utah.
When my Dad was single there were not many rules in the house. One rule that was actually followed was the rule that when you got home from school you had to check in with Dad. It was in the days before cell phones so you actually had to say hollow to Dad’s face before you ran off to play. My Dad is a farmer. There are three places you can find Dad: in his tractor shoveling manure, in his tractor picking up hay, or in his tractor just to be in his tractor. Farm tractors tires are a least five feet tall, and the buckets are designed to carry literally tons. To be on the safe side whenever you were approaching Dad and his tractor you could do one of two things. Toss a rock and hope he sees it, or my personal favorite swing on top of a gate screaming “DAD” looking at the clouds passing by until you hear the tractor engine shot off.
One day while Dad was shoveling manure, before he meet mom, and after he divorced Emily. He was thinking about if he wanted to get married again. His children needed a mother, but was this worth it. The fights, tears, and emotions were getting to be to much.
It was about the time of day that the kids get home from school, and Dad was kind of waiting for them to check in before they went to go and play. Above the blurs, and rumbling of the engine he heard some one call out “Dad!” He looked around, but no one was there. So he kept on scrapping manure, thinking to himself that perhaps it was a buzz in the radio. Then he heard it again. It was so clear he could tell it was a little girl’s voice. This time he turned off the tractor and looked through the window wondering who could have said that.
As he looked around something caught his eye in the clouds. It was an angle’s face with golden blond hair. Before he got a good look at her she had ducked behind the puffs of white and streams of sunlight calling “Dad” out one last time. Something told my Dad as he settled back down in his dusty tractor seat one day that little angle would be his little girl. He was going to find someone wonderful to marry. Together they were going to bring that little angle into this world, and love her with all they had.
This story has changed my out look on life because my Dad is convinced that I am the angle he saw. Even when Mom would point out that he had two beautiful children with blond hair, a little boy, and a little girl, Dad would smile and say something to the effect that he heard a little girl’s voice. It gives me strength to know I am not simply a good bookend to a well written novel entitled “The Prior Family” Like I was apart of this family before I was born. In a more divine settings it makes me aware of the fact that all of us are bricklayers in building an eternal family. None of us are merely on lookers; even when we are not born yet, or have passed on to the other side. We are all held responsible in creating an eternal family. More importantly I guess I want to say that I am accountable for in developing an eternal family, and my contributions are just as vital as anyone else’s.