Draft Report. J. Doing it Better

This project has been effective in many ways, however we see a few ways that it could be improved in the future.

First we would have liked to become more familiar with everybody's essays. This could be done by allowing more class time to share our work with others. This would have improved the sharing process because we would better know who we could share with and what we have to offer the people in our lives.

It would have been helpful to have a more cohesive end goal in mind when we started the process. If we went into the process with the idea of sharing meaningfully with other people it would have changed how we would have started our essays.

The addition of The Book of Mormon content into our essays felt limiting to the writing process. If we were able to include The Book of Mormon in ways other than connecting our essay to a story we feel we could make a stronger and deeper connection. That aspect of the essay wouldn't read as forced if we could have more freedom to make it meaningful for us.

The five second video would have been more effective if it was separated from the group and placed with our essay instead of strung together with the rest of the class. Another aspect of the videos that could be improved is individualizing the backgrounds. That would improve the personalization of these videos. The videos could be more dynamic if pictures, or other content were added in, so it wasn't only a talking head. This could create more interest in actually reading the essay underneath the video.

With the goal of sharing our essays in a meaningful way in mind, it would have been beneficial to develop a sharing plan from the start. If this was created in the beginning of the process we could have focused more on developing our essays and sharing plans to work together.

Sharing our class blog at the beginning of the semester could be helpful in developing consistent readers. If we shared our blog posts throughout the semester on social media people might become more interested in what we are doing and the stories we are developing. This could lead to more people reading our final product.

We experimented with humor in reading and writing in that genre. We felt we could have developed a better sense of writing in other genres through having specific prompts to work with throughout the semester. Having specific prompts would have provided a better venue for experimentation with our essays and would have allowed students to figure out what genre they work best in.

This project has so much potential to do good in the lives of the student's writing and in the lives of those who they share their writing with. We think it has done a lot of good in our lives and hope that the adaptions we have suggested will yield even greater results.

People DO Listen

I began my sharing by first contacting members of my family and asking them to read through it and tell me what they thought. The reaction I got from my family members was awesome! My mom of course went on and on about how it touched her but I guess that it to be expected. What really surprised me were the responses from my brothers. My oldest brother, who is semi-active" called me right after reading it just to chat. He told me he felt the spirit while reading it and really enjoyed it. He even remarked that he really liked the comparison to the BOM I made. I had another brother read it and after he told me that he felt the spirit quite strongly and it helped him make a difficult decision of what he should study in school. He said that he has been thinking about doing something in the medical field but didn't think he could handle medical school. He said that he loved the experience I showed and felt like he should go into the nursing field. 

After the response I gained from my family I felt better about myself so decided to share it with the people on my plan but also with others that I wasn't planning on sharing with. One individual is named Alex. He and I danced ballet with each other for years and are great friends. He is a non-member so I thought it would be great to get his perspective. He and I talked after he read it and he said that he felt a strong feeling while reading it that made him get emotional. I didn't bring up anything about the spirit but plan on meeting up with him over Christmas break and talking about it then in a more personal setting.

I also shared the concept of our class essays in Sunday school. I wan't planning on anything coming out of it, I just brought it up in a comment I made. Following the lesson I had two guys in my ward walk up to me and ask me about the essays. We talked about them and then they asked me for the link because they had some friends who could benefit from stories that have religious undertones but aren't super explicit. I gave them the link to my essay and told them to read the other essays too. They seemed really excited about the concept and mentioned that they were interested in doing something similar to help share the gospel.

I was shocked about the response I got from my essay and look forward to continuing using writing as a tool for missionary work.

A Temporal Death

Helping those who can't help themselves

Action Plan for Connecting

1.      My wife: I will probably read this out loud with my wife Kennedy. She is very supportive of me and always encourages me to do my best. She attended the funeral of the woman I wrote about and would really enjoy to get a more detailed description of my experience.

    My brother: Jonathan, my older brother, lives in Oregon and doesn't really participate in family events. He works long hours and spends the remainder of his time with his wife and kids. I am not sure how interested he would be in reading a personal essay but he would watch the video clip. I will email him the link to my video and personal essay. Who knows, maybe he will be interested enough to watch the clip and read the essay.

3.       Tyler. My friend Tyler used to be active in the church but after coming home early from his mission he has drifted away. He doesn't use Facebook so I will go to his home and share it with him. He wife is also very inactive and has strong issues with the church. I will also invite her to read my essay and see what she thinks. Maybe it will entice her to read the Book of Mormon.

4.       Jake. He is a non-member friend whom I lived with for 5 months while working out of state. We talked about the church a couple of time and he showed some real interest. I would like to mail him a copy of my essay along with a Book of Mormon. I have wanted to share the scriptures with him for a while; this would be a great opportunity.

5.       Mongolian FB friends. I have a lot of Facebook friends living in Mongolia including members and non-members. I think it would be awesome to translate my essay into Mongolian and share it to my wall a couple times. I could ask them to share it on their walls and have them include a link to LDS.org. This would allow me to get in touch with old friends and hopefully make new ones.

6.       Melinda. Melinda was my dance teacher in High School. She was very active in the church but after she got married had a falling out and gave up. She recently lost her father to old age and I think would enjoy reading this. I don’t know that I would lead her to read the Book of Mormon but it might help her feel the spirit and remind her of her past. She is on twitter, I will connect with her there and then go visit her and drop it off at her dance studio.  

Fiction and Uncomfortable Topics

Growing up in an LDS community, and having mostly LDS friends I have come to find that Mormons find talking about a large array of topics taboo. In most of my friend’s, and in many church members homes, talking about sexual relations, pornography, sexually transmitted diseases, masturbation ect. just doesn’t happen. I remember in High School the first time I traveled by myself, far away from home, was to attend a conference back east. This was a medical conference and one of the topics discussed centered on sexual relations and STDs. I was shocked at the amount of knew information I learned and disgusted that Utah schools didn't spend more time talking about things that are so dangerous, but also very prevalent. It was surprising to me at that time that the "LDS culture" we live in was so prominent that even the public school system followed suit. 

The candor and honesty Douglas Thayer presented in his novel Will Wonders Never Cease was a perfect way to present information to young adults in the church. He presented topics such as sex, homosexual relations, pornography, drug and alcohol use, and others in a way that would help sheltered youngsters understand that “taboo topics” are alright to talk about. When kid's don't learn those things in a structured, honest setting at home or in a class room, they tend to learn them in the halls at school where they are perverted and misguided. 

Representing the LDS experience by fictional novels can be difficult given the topic and the angle presented by the author. However, the way Douglas Thayer used sarcasm to depict the sheltered lives LDS youth often live was perfect. He talked about real issues in a way that helped the reader understand that not all important discussions need to be brushed under the rug and that often confronting uncomfortable topics can be very healthy. 

My personal essay

I'm not sure what I think about this project. I feel like I was self promoting by talking about my own experiences but don't know that I could give due justice to interpreting someone else's narrative. I decided for now to introduce my own essay but don't know if it was the best route. Let me know what you think.

A Temporal Death

Her home was nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac surrounded by tall green leafed cottonwood trees that made the neighborhood cool with the shade it cast in the hot July sun. As I entered her living room I was welcomed by the familiar sounds of a small “yap, yap” as her pocket sized pooch alerted excitedly of an intruder. I bent down and outstretched my hand which was met with a cold wet nose and small puffs of air as the canine sniffed my fingers, wagging its tail in approval. Her fur was well groomed and soft to the touch as I ran my fingers aggressively along her sides, scratching back and forth as I went.

Her home was well decorated with a touch of classy grace that made it obvious the owner was an elderly person. White furniture with beautiful trim and elegant pillows sat in esthetically pleasing arrangements. Prints of Monet, Kandinsky and Van Gogh hung from the walls adorned with striking trim that brought the paintings to life. I greatly enjoyed the view I had every time I entered her home but as much as I wanted to, I never took the time to sit and enjoy the beauty it provided.

As I entered the room at the far end of the home and saw the mountain of cloud like blankets and pillows pitched snuggly around the sleeping woman on the bed and I noticed a calm like feeling I had never before experienced. Betty was a sickly arthritic woman whose skeleton like body was quickly passing through the final stages of life. As I neared her bed side and looked at her emaciated face and realized that calm I felt was the spirit in great abundance preparing to carry her soul to her eternal home.

Although I was not instructed to do so, I knew that Betty loved taking warm bubble baths. The heat allowed for a temporary relief from the pain of her swollen joints and shriveling body. Although Betty could not speak I knew she enjoyed her baths because of the joyful look in her eyes as the warm water washed over her saggy skin. She never spoke the words “thank you” but she didn’t need to because the cheery look on her face as she soaked in the tub said it all.

That morning I contemplated not giving her a bath, knowing that moving her too much might cause more distress to her weakened state and quicken the process of death, but then I felt her calm spirit whisper to me, reminding me of the joy she felt as she soaked in the tub. I quickly undressed her and as was customary, picked her up in my arms and carried her from the bed to the bath.

As I placed her in the warm water, I saw a glimmer of light come over her face as she gained a slight reprieve of pain. She looked up at me as I washed her body; she stretched her long aged fingers, reaching for my hand. As she held it she looked up at me and in an almost inaudible voice whispered “thank you”.

Betty was a perfectionist and loved getting dressed up. Her daughters told me on numerous occasions that she would never leave the house unless every hair on her head was perfect.  I knew that this would be the last time she would get dressed in this mortal life so I took care in changing her into an outfit I knew she would enjoy wearing in public and even assisted as he daughters put rollers in her hair and applied a little makeup. She was incoherent through most of the process, being exhausted spending the little energy she had being moved around.

That day, the entire time I was with her I felt a closeness to the spirit that was overpowering. As I picked her up and laid her in her  bed I knew that this day would be the end of her mortal sojourn. I looked at her one last time and saw the form of a woman who had devoted her life to the service of others. Her body was left old and decrepit, but her soul was strong as it gained closeness with her eternal companion that had been missing for forty years.

This experience was the first time I gave service to someone in their dying days. I became very close to Betty and grieved for a moment of her passing but was comforted with the knowledge that I would see her again. I knew that there is a merciful plan prepared by the great creator who provided an infinite atonement in by which the death we experience on this earth merely a temporal death of which all will be delivered to live again.

A Bald Mans Worst Nightmare

I am bald. My hair line started receding at the ripe old age of 17 and continued falling out until there was nothing left at the age of 22. Since I have grown accustomed to no longer having hair I have also grown accustomed to the absence of little strands of hair in my personal space, especially my food. This became a problem when my sister in-law moved in with us for the summer. 

Kimber is a hair dresser and as you would expect is always sporting the latest updo, melt, wave or braid. Now don’t get me wrong, she has very beautiful hair. It is the kind that glistens in the sun and looks as if it should be spotlighted in an Herbal Essences commercial but because of her profession she doesn't seem to recognize the beauty of being bald.

 

I was excited for her to move in. We grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since the 5^th grade, but that excitement ended the first night she decided to cut a “girlfriends” hair in our kitchen, right above the air vent. It seems that as she was chatting away with her friends doing “a little trim” the air conditioner turned on and blew strands of hair all over the kitchen.

Now I am a pretty easy going guy but when my wife makes me a tatter tot casserole for dinner and the first bite I take is accompanied by a long, black hair whose genetic code has no relation to any of the residence in my home, I go a little crazy. Once I pulled the long, greasy strand out of the once tasty meal in my mouth, I looked at my sister in-law and said “whose is this?” and she replied “oh… you know… just a friend’s!” and then went back to her meal as if there was no problem. I then replied “since I am such a nice guy I am going to let this slide, but please clean up all the hair when you are done cutting it” to which she rolled her eyes and said “yea, yea!”

The next day I had all but forgotten about the previous evening’s event and decided to make a sandwich for lunch. I took a huge bite and started to chew until I felt something foreign rolling around my mouth with the lettuce and turkey. I stuck my fingers in and pulled out another long, black piece of hair to which I rolled my eyes and thought “this is going to be a long, long summer.”

The Greatness of King Mosiah

Example #1 Character

In Mosiah 25 we see a fathering of diverse people from different lineages. They all abide in the same city (Zarahemla) and agree that all of them will be known as Nephites. These people listen as the account of a man and his followers is told.

Example #2 Dialogue

Mosiah 26:12 explains that  many individuals who have committed crimes have been brought to the king to be tried. The king speaks with a religious leader and explains that it is not his place (the kings) to judge, but it is the religious leaders obligation to do so.

Example #3 Plot

Mosiah 27: 1-2 tells of many members of a church who are being persecuted by non-members. The persecutions became so intense that they had to receive help from the king and other leaders. In order to assist the persecuted church members, the king proclaimed that non-members should no longer persecute members and that they should have peace.

I commented on Alyssa's post about connecting with your heritage. She told of practicing cultural dances from Hawaii. Her dancing with others allowed them to connect as friends through practicing dances and sewing Hawaiian skirts. Although in Mosiah there is no account of dancing with one another, the residents of Zarahemla were encouraged to have unity among one another. I imagine they performed dances and sang with eachother. 

Helping Those Who Can't Care For Themselves

1.       Physical Experience

·         Television sounded loudly with CNN as to help the listener feel she was not alone. No other sound was heard through the house

·         White furniture meticulously placed

·         No dish was out of place, no clutter throughout the home. Everything was cleaned and organized

·         Large bed, fluffy blanket and pillows, and one old withered woman tucked inside

·         Old lady clothes

·         Death

·         Helping those who can’t help themselves

2.       Scenes

·         I would visit Betty three times a week to give her a shower

·         Her wrinkled, aged body was warped and misshapen from arthritis

·         Her face would light up every time she saw me. She couldn’t say much, but her eyes expressed her gratitude.

·         Immense joy as I would pick her up and put her arthritic body in a warm bubble bath

·         I would try my hardest to put her hair in curlers and help her look like she did when she was younger. Although I was inexperienced and it often didn’t look very good, she loved being dressed up

·         Giving Betty her last bath, doing her hair, and dressing her nicely knowing that as I placed her back in bed knowing that in a short few hours she would die.

·         Her dead body lying in the same position I placed her earlier that morning. Family members mourning her death but rejoicing in her life

3.       Speech

·         One word answers

·         “thanks for nothing”

·         Communication through her eyes

4.       Emotions in the moment

·         Joy

·         Sadness

·         Thankfulness

·         Friendship

5.       People of consequence

·         The old woman I cared for as a CAN, her name is Betty. She was the sweetest woman I have ever met. 

·         Betty’s three children. They were so grateful for the help I offered. Caring for someone who is passing is a difficult task. 

·         The little yippity dog. The perfect guard dog, she yipped at everything and reminded me of an over sized rat

Elder Scott Uses a Change in Tone While Teaching of Faith

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints hold a general conference two times a year in which members are given the opportunity to hear from religious leaders. One of these leaders is Elder Richard G. Scott. I have always found great hidden messages in talks given by Elder Scott I decided to analyze his talk entitled Make the Exercise of Your Faith Your First Priority. This conference I was shocked to see Elder Scott deviate from his normal soft, understanding voice he uses while speaking publicly and put a little more aggression into his tone.

I compared this conference talk to the talk he gave last conference in April entitled I Have Given You an Example because although the loving quality of his message was the same, his tone of delivery was completely opposite. 

This conference report Elder Scott had a little bit more fire while he was speaking. As I listened to him, I felt like he was also saying "we have been over this multiple times so lets try to get it this go around". In all honesty I quite enjoyed the change of pace in his delivery and found much more drawn in to his message because he seemed to be speaking with much more vigor. He was straight forward with his message, giving 4 easy steps that we need to follow in order to make our mortal life easier to endure by helping us have a greater abundance of the spirit. This format made the talk very educational and easy to follow. This report had no stories of his personal life and made no mention of his wife Janeane which is worthy note because his wife died about 20 years ago and the last couple of conferences he has mentioned her and how much he loves and misses her.   

April 2014 conference he talked of examples in his life that helped him become who he is today. This message was very heart felt and endearing. His tone was soft and gentle as he reminisced of the sweet memories he had from his child hood. The tone in this talk was similar to past conferences where he seems to urge the audience gently along the correct path, giving quiet and subtle hints to help us along. He shared stories that helped us connect with him on a more personal level and allowed us to gain a little insight to his life. 

This change in tone and style that Elder Scott showed during this session was interesting to me because it is so different than what we are used to hearing but I really enjoyed it. Elder Scott is one of my favorite speakers and I enjoy every moment I am able to learn from him.

From Kings to Judges

Spoken word in Mosiah chapters 25-29

Mosiah 26:11-12 Mosiah and Alma converse

Mosiah 26:15-32 Lord talks to Alma

Mosiah 27:13-16 Angel speaks to Alma the younger

Mosiah 27:24-31 Alma the younger speaks about God

Mosiah 28:7 Lord speaks to Mosiah

Mosiah 29:5-32 Mosiah speaks to his people

Passage Analyzed Mosiah 28:5-32

In this passage King Mosiah speaks with his people and tells them that he is to step down as king and that those whom should follow him have declined the title. He then goes on to persuade them to stop having a king and to develop a new government.

In this passage Mosiah mostly uses pathos and logos to help persuade his people to make such a radical change. He begin his speech using pathos, striving to catch the audiences emotions by explaining that his son denied the throne and if they forced it upon him, it would destroy him. As he said this I’m sure his people felt that he was right and that it would be immoral to force something like that on someone who didn’t want it.  

Mosiah then continues his persuasion with logos, trying to reason with his people. He explains that if all kings were righteous that having kings would be a great thing. But he continues by explain that all men are not just, and that it is not expedient that they should have a king to rule over them. He then goes onto explain that wicked kings cause destruction and great iniquity. This message speaks to the common sense of his listeners. They have a great king explaining that if they continue having kings then they could lose their freedom and their faith. 

Through the use of pathos and logos King Mosiah is able to convince his people to give up ruler ship over a king, something that they had always known, and elect judges. This would have been an immensely difficult task but by using great rhetorical techniques he was able to speak to the heart of his people and help them make a radical change to their government. 

The Speakers Credibility

One of the most important rhetorical devices an orator can use to captivate their audience is ethos. Simply put ethos is a means of setting ethical appeal, or developing your character before you begin your speech. Developing your ethos is a time where you convince your audience that you are worth listening to. Elder Holland is one of my favorite speakers to listen to and the reason why is because he develops his credibility with his sincerity and kindness before he begins his message.

In the talk Souls, Symbols, and Sacrament Elder Holland begins his talk by saying “This responsibility to speak to you never gets any easier”. Right off the bat he starts developing ethos by explaining that, not only is it his responsibility to speak to the audience but it is also a very difficult thing. This helps the audience have trust in him because it reminds us that he is in a position of leadership but also because he has experience in talking of matters that are difficult to hear. His comment also helps us feel compassion for him because it is his obligation to speak of difficult things. By setting this stage the audience is captivated and ready to listen.

The next step Elder Holland takes in developing his ethos is by helping the audience feels like they are loved and cared for by him. He says “Your hopes and dreams become ever more important to me the longer I am at BYU. Indeed, your growth and happiness and development in the life you are living…. Are most compelling motivation in my daily professional life”. It is obvious by his rhetoric that he loves his audience and spends much time in thought and prayer over their current circumstance.  The audience knows that it is their growth and happiness that motivate him.

He continues developing his credibility through the rest of his talk by talking of his love for them, and his desire that they follow his counsel in following the law of chastity and remaining sexually pure. I think that this is why Elder Holland is such an amazing speaker, he is a man we can trust, a man that has developed credibility (ethos) by the long hours of praying an thinking about those that he addresses. When he speaks, we listen because through all of his years of being an Apostle we have come to trust in him and leader.  

The Residents of Zarahemla

1.       Form Analyzed

I will analyze the characters that are portrayed in a small section of the Book of Mormon, specifically the groups of people, where they descended from, and how numerous they are.

2.       Passage Analyzed

I focused on the first four verses of chapter 25. This comes from my section that is Mosiah chapters 25 through 29

3.       Anotated Text

4.       Breakdown

Alma and his people were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites. They traveled 12 days in the wilderness where they met King Mosiah and the people of Zarahemla. At Zarahemla King Mosiah instructs all of the people to be gathered. At this time the orator explains the characters that are assembled and how their numbers compare to that of the Lamanites.

5.       Interpretation

The inhabitants of Zarahemla consisted of two groups of people; the people of Zarahemla, and the children of Nephi.  Alma and his followers were presumably grouped with the children of Nephi who are described as the descendants of Nephi. They had fewer inhabitants residing in Zarahemla than the people of Zarahemla. The people are Zarahemla are described as the descendants of Mulek, the son of Zedekiah who came out of Jerusalem. Collectively, the people of Zarahemla and the children of Nephi were half as numerous as the Lamanites.

6.       Connections

It is surprising to me that “The city of the Nephites” contained more Mulekites than Nephites. Of course these two groups are counted as one people later in the story, but it is still interesting that Mosiah and Alma, both being Nephites were set as rulers over a people whose majority was of a different race. Why did the people of Zarahemla allow Nephites to rule them, even though they had a majority? Why were there so many more Lamanites than there were Nephites (including the Mulekites)?  

Learning From Friends

As a young men’s leader working with the priests I have come to understand how essential it is to be a captivating speaker. Sixteen to eighteen year old boys do not listen unless they have a reason to, this is why speaking with confidence and power is so important.

I have learned a great deal about being a captivating speaker from a great friend whom I serve with. When speaking to the young men, be it in priests quorum, on camping trips or even just while do service, he constantly lures them in by the way he says things. He is a fire fighter by trade so I wouldn't set his vocabulary against someone like Elder Maxwell’s, but yet the things he says are profound, in a very simple way.  Yes, his dialogue is important but what differentiates him from others, is the conviction and power with which he speaks.

He wants those boys to succeed and when he speaks you can feel it. When he bears his testimony, or gives a lesson he puts everything that he has into what he says, in hopes that it will be the thing they needed to hear to keep their testimonies strong, or even bring remind them of truths that they once knew. I have seen him bear testimony on many occasions but yet every time I learn something new. It could be his profound use of diction

or his ability to relate with others easily but when it comes down to it, when he speaks others listen and are edified from doing so.

Learning Through Writing

I have found that artists and writers do what they do because they love it. The best artists are those who work because it brings them joy not riches. I have noticed that in performing a work of art or creating a piece of literature that I have grown far more than the audience ever could. Often, critics judge art on certain criteria and determine if it is reputable or not, but in my mind the most amazing thing about art is that if it touched the creator’s heart and helped them grow then it is priceless.

Orison F. Whitney, in his talk Home Literature, said “You must feel what you write, if you wish it to be felt by others”. I believe that this is where Nephi Anderson flourished while writing Added Upon. From a critic’s point of view, the book had its short comings; however, it did accomplish what Orison Whitney instructed. It is evident that Nephi felt the spirit while writing this book and it is easy to assume that through the process, he felt and learned more about himself and his eternal progression than his readers ever could.

 I felt the spirit while reading this book. It opened up my mind to the bigger picture of the plan of salvation and helped me perceive and understand things that I didn't before. However, it is safe to assume that Nephi gained more from writing it than I did from reading it. I can’t help but think of what Nephi learned from the spirit while writing this book. He felt so strongly about the plan of salvation that, through reading, I too was able to share those feelings and learn. That is what makes this book a success! Both the author and the reader were edified through the spirit. 

My Pride and Joy

The greatest accomplishment thus far in my life comes from a 27 inch, 23 pound bundle of joy that calls me "daddy". Her name is Addalynne and she is my inspiration. Her energy for life is unmatched and her curiosity has no bounds. Her blue eyes are captivating and her voice is heartwarming. 

Being able to teach my daughter the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the atonement is a duty that has no rival. The satisfaction that comes from it is empowering. Watching her kneel down and whisper, with her sweet innocence, a child's prayer is truly a blessing in my life. 

Reading the scriptures with Addalynne is quite possibly the most faith promoting literary experience I have ever had. Every night before prayers and bedtime we read from a little illustrated version of the Book of Mormon. This book rewrites the great stories of the Book of Mormon so a child could read and enjoy it.

I find it interesting that my faith can grow so much from such a simple version of the scriptures. Reading with my daughter and teaching her of our ancient prophets has brought a greater understanding of the scriptures than I received even on my mission. I think it is this way because I am no longer reading the scriptures for my own personal gain. Reading with my daughter has given me the opportunity to be a teacher to a master student, who, at this young age, is impressionable and eager to learn all that she can. I’m just glad that I have the blessing of aiding her along this journey.