Report Draft: I. Other Benefits

1. How has doing this project been personally beneficial?
For my group, the project did not necessarily strengthen our testimonies, but it helped us to see the gospel in a good light. It strengthened bonds of friendship and family because it forced us to share things that we would not usually share with each other. It was also rewarding to see how other people reacted to what we wrote. Usually when we write something it goes to a professor and we do not hear much response about it, but sharing it with the class and the world makes us proud of it.
"I really felt that writing down this experience with some time separating myself from it allowed me to not only understand my role in the experience but also how it has shaped me since". Quoted by Ryan Parker.
2. How has doing this project enabled you to do something that was overdue in a relationship, or in dealing with a problem?
The project gave us an excuse to share personal things. It was almost like an outlet to feelings that we wanted to share, but did not know how to share. Sharing these details about our lives brought people to tears through laughter and sorrow. It also showed the people that we cared about them and wanted them to know these things about us.
3. Did doing this project help you think of other things you might do for yourself or for other people that are not directly related to our goals of sharing essays and videos?
"YES! Although this experience didn’t go as viral as I thought, I realized that I feel more competent and wanting to write more personal experiences that benefit myself and others. I feel more confident to post on my own blog, or seek out for opportunities to share it on other blogs. I feel that it has been the most useful and beneficiary thing I have contributed to my own history, and so even if it isn’t something that goes viral, I have a greater ability, and responsibility to record these experiences down" quoted by Emily.
4. Other benefits, expected or otherwise?
The project benefited our relationships because it makes us want to keep in touch with people. It helped us identify who we were comfortable sharing with and if we were not comfortable sharing it with certain people then what we could do so that we would be comfortable sharing our essay with them. It was also an outlet to pay tribute to influential people, friends, and relationships in our lives.

Listen to Every Word

Making the list of people I wanted to share my personal essay with was extremely easy. Actually asking the people to read my essay was extraordinary hard for me. I just could not find the right way to ask someone to read it in a personal way. I didn't want to make the people feel like it was my assignment to get them to read my paper, but I really wanted them to read it and for them to enjoy it. I finally picked up the courage and asked the people on my list to read my paper and they seemed to really enjoy it.

My older sister, Meleah, and I were sitting on the couch discussing lesson plans and what we both needed to do to make our clubs better after school. We started to talk about some of the children's stories and the funny things they had said to us that week and we started to laugh until tears were coming down our faces. I then asked her if she remembered Herber, the kindergartener. She told me she had just saw him earlier that day running down the hall and that she had to really get on him about running down the hall. Of course when she told him to walk, he roared at her and continued on his way. I then asked her if she would mind reading my paper. While reading my paper, I watched a tear go down her face. She knew his life was difficult, but she didn't know how difficult it was. She then got up the idea that we should go get him a little toy for Christmas. We decided to get him a spiderman beenie because that was his favorite superhero and we knew he needed some warmer clothes. We plan to give him his gift on Friday and we are both so excited.

I hope that my essay has the same effect on other people as it did for my sister. I want people to know that children are struggling and need our help. It really does take a village to raise a child and we need to be there to support one another.

Not the Biological Mother

Read on to see how a kindergarten boy can take the world on one day at a time!

Reuniting with Others

Most of my friends and relatives do not know too much about my work life because once I come home from work, I want to do anything but talk about work! I have had a wonderful time thinking of all of their reactions while they read my paper. Here is my list of people that I will be sending my personal essay to:
1. My sister Meleah. She also works at the same elementary school as me and knows the children that I work with. She will help me pick the correct word choice so that I can communicate to the reader the correct way.

2. My friend Olivia. We haven't talked since the last day of high school and I think this essay would help us to reconnect. She was also an amazing writer in high school and could help me work on organizing my essay better.

3. My friend Cai. Cai is an English major at BYU and is an amazing writer! She always proof reads my papers for me and usually gives me some helpful insight about word choice, grammar, and what to do with awkward areas.

4. The kindergarten teacher I work with, Mrs. Smith. She knows Herber better than I do because she spends much more time with him than I do. She would be able to make sure that I have portrayed Herber correctly and help me set the scene a little better.

5. My Instagram followers. A lot of my friends have been posting pictures about their testimony and my non-member friends have loved them! I think that talking about Mormonism not as directly as my friends do will help them to see that we are not crazy religious people like my friends think that most of us are.

6. My former teacher Ms. Murphy. She taught English to me for two years in high school and we have remained close. She usually helps me with my grammar in papers, but I would like some insight from her about how she views me bringing Mormonism into my paper because she isn't mormon. I think having a non-member friend go over my essay will ensure that the gospel portion of my essay makes sense.

7. My friend Charles. We have been dating back and forth and has come visited me at the elementary school before. He knows the children, but doesn't know them very well. He hears me talk about them often and knows how much I love each of them. Having Charles read my essay will help me to ensure that I am being real in my essay. He knows my feelings towards the kids so he should be able to tell if I am showing that love through my paper.

8. A lady in my family ward, Sister Huish. Sister Huish donates money to the elementary school so that we can buy shoes, socks, and underwear for the children. She only hears stories about the children when they have received their shoes and doesn't here about the children much beside then. Hearing this story will help her to understand why she sends money to children that she doesn't even know.

Opening Closed Doors

As a child, I hated non-fiction. I thought it was boring and that there was nothing I could relate to when I read non-fiction. Now, as an adult, I am the same exact way! Its one of the many reasons of why I hate text books so much. I can relate to fiction books though, which is why I love them so much. In the book, "Will Wonders Never Cease", Douglas Thayer tells a fiction story about a boy who feels like he isn't perfect like his brother or the rest of his family. The boy, Kyle, feels as if he doesn't have a testimony and doesn't understand the reason why his mother values faith so much. Kyle is trapped in an avalanche and often thinks about his family and the mistake he has made during his lifetime.

Most Mormons are afraid to talk about their past because it might upset someone and others would be able to judge them because of their imperfections. In young women's, we always read these talks about friends that were so kind to one another, temple marriages, blessing that occur when abstaining from alcohol, living a chaste life, having a strong testimony throughout life, etc. Personally, I know those stories are good and they make us all feel warm and fuzzy inside, but that isn't how life is. People do have trials and I think that we need to share our trials more as a church. Sharing trials and thoughts through a fiction novel is the best way to share because no body has the opportunity to judge you and others will still be able to relate to the book and the characters!

Some of the trials that Kyle has endured are: his brother dies from a sickness, he gets drunk, has an extremely protective mother, isn't sure if he believes in the church, etc. I believe that every Mormon child needs to read fiction like this so that they know that it isn't the end of the world when they make a mistake or something bad happens in their family. Being honest with one another about the trials will help others strengthen their testimonies and let people know that they aren't the only ones.

Not the Biological Mother Trailer

My thoughts on this assignment change every day. I sometimes kind of hate this assignment and my essay, but other days I love it! My essay makes me grateful for the life I had and the parents who raise me so it is a very humbling experience for me.

I hope that my essay will reach others ears to allow them to see that not every life in American is perfect. Some people struggle to put food on the table and also struggle with addictions. I want people to know that we are blessed to be in this nation, but we need to help the poor who are also in this nation. A lot of the time (at least I think so) we look to help other countries and do not realize the things that are happening inside of our own. So go donate a can of food to the food drive bins (I know you have all seen those around campus and can spare a dollar) and brighten someones day just by offering a smile and a hug!

Sharing is hard at times

Revisions:
I will discuss the stripling warriors in greater detail. I think I will talk about how young the boys were and how they're mothers felt about them leaving. I think I will also give some details about who Helaman is and why he is the way he is. I am also debating writing about why they are going to war. I'm not sure if that is too preachy so help me decide please!

I would like to change the wording in some areas because it is somewhat awkward to read out loud. I also use some of the same wording in multiple areas so if you guys have any recommendations I would greatly appreciate it. My roommate did not have many ideas for word changes.

Interaction:
My roommate and I haven't been getting a long because she thinks what I do for work is stupid and a waste of time, which I obviously don't believe that. It was extremely hard to share with her my personal feelings, but I think it brought us closer together. This essay allowed her to see more into my life and why I love what I do. I believe she now understands why I wake up at 6 in the morning every day and cry over the children I work with sometimes. She even began to understand why I talk about children all the time to her.

Not the Biological Mother

The classroom has pink puff balls that hang from the ceiling at all different heights. All of the borders on the bulletin boards are polk-a-dot and they encase the children's work. The classroom smells like glue and markers in just the right way and it brings me back to my childhood when I wore bows in my hair and always wore a dress. The light shines through the window and it warms my goose bump filled skin. It look so peaceful outside, but it is complete mayhem inside! Children are playing with puzzles (really fighting over which piece is theirs), the bathroom door opens and closes quicker than a roller coaster at Disneyland, children are yelling for me to help them with spelling, other children need to be comforted because they just said goodbye to their parents, and some children are running tornadoes. It is the perfect Kindergarten classroom. Just the right amount of fun and strictness.

Little Herber comes up to me in his usual blue and white striped shirt, jeans, and white Converse. He immediately puts his head into my stomach and starts balling. I feel his warm tears soak into my thin shirt as I reach for him. I start to tickle him and realize how I love the way his face lights up as he laughs even with the tear streaks are going down his face. He laughs and laughs until he is hunched over. Once I relieve him from the tickle monster he says, "Miss Mary, I love you more than I love my Mom."

"Oh Herber, that is not true. You love your Mom!"

"But Miss Mary, my tummy is growling and it hurts. Mommy didn't have enough food to give to me so she ate it all."

"Well good thing I always have goldfish crackers for you!" He eats his goldfish in the corner away from the other kids. Little Herber is my absolute favorite child. He is sweet, thoughtful, funny, a hard worker, kind to others...the list goes on and on. His family life is extremely difficult. The Dad didn't stay around long enough to ever see his wonderful smile. The mom is too high to even notice she has a child. He knows nothing different. Everyday he comes in and cries to me for a little bit about being hungry and then he goes on being his cheerful little self. I wish his parents knew him the way I know him. He tells me sweet stories when I have had a bad day and I end up laughing until I am hunched over. He sits with me when it is lunch time and recess. When he really needs to concentrate on his work he bites his top lip and always tells everyone to be quite as he tells his brain that it needs to work. His parents know nothing of his little quirks and it saddens me immensely.

Herber often reminds me of the 2,000 stripling warriors. He goes forward in faith, not knowing what will come to him at the end of the day. He just knows that he will be saved if he tries his hardest and puts all of his trust in God. In Alma 56, we discuss the relationship between Helaman and his men. Helaman is described as a father figure to the warriors. At times, I feel as if I am the mother figure in little Herber's life. I feed him when he is hungry, I quiet his fear, I wipe away the tears from his face, I hold his hand when he is nervous, I help him with his schoolwork, I watch after him, and I love him unconditionally. 

"I'm done with my snack Miss Mary. I love you more than all the stars in the sky!"

"I love you more than all of the people in this world! Now go sit with the other children and I'll come get you when it is your turn to practice sounds." What saves this little boy everyday, I don't know. I do have my assumption that it is his exquisite personality. His personality reminds me of the pink, puff balls that hang in the classroom. They are cheerful. They make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. There is so many levels to them and you can never find the core. Herber, my little pink puff ball.

Not the Biological Mother

The classroom has pink puff balls that hang from the ceiling at all different heights. All of the borders of the bulletin boards are polk-a-dot and the classroom smells like glue and markers in just the right way. The light shines through the window and it warms my goose bump filled skin. It look so peaceful outside, but it is complete mayhem inside! It is the perfect Kindergarten classroom. Just the right amount of fun and strictness.

Little Herber comes up to me in his usual blue and white striped shirt, jeans, and white Converse. He immediately puts his head into my stomach and starts balling. I feel his warm tears soak into my thin shirt as I reach for him. I start to tickle him and realize how I  love the way his face lights up as he laughs even with the tear streaks going down his face. He laughs and laughs until he is hunched over. Once I relieve him from the tickle monster he says, "Miss Mary, I love you more than I love my Mom."

"Oh Herber, that is not true. You love your Mom!"

"But Miss Mary, my tummy is growling and it hurts. Mommy didn't have enough food to give to me so she ate it all."

"Well good thing I always have goldfish crackers for you!" He eats his goldfish in the corner away from the other kids. Little Herber is my absolute favorite child. He is sweet, thoughtful, funny, a hard worker, kind to others...the list goes on and on. His family life is so difficult. The Dad didn't stay around long enough to ever see his wonderful smile. The mom is too high to even notice she has a child. He knows nothing different. Everyday he comes in and cries to me for a little bit about being hungry and then he goes on being his cheerful little self. He tells me sweet stories when I have had a bad day and I end up laughing until I am hunched over. He sits with me when it is lunch time and recess. When he really needs to concentrate on his work he bites his top lip and always tells everyone to be quite as he tells his brain that it needs to work. His parents know nothing of his little quirks.

"I'm done with my snack Miss Mary. I love you more than all the stars in the sky!"

"I love you more than all of the people in this world! Now go sit with the other children and I'll come get you when it is your turn to practice sounds." What saves this little boy everyday, I don't know. All I do know is that his personality is like the little pink puff balls that hang in the classroom. They are cheerful. They make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. There is so many levels to them and you can never find the core. Herber, my little pink puff ball.

Gum...Gum...Gum

"I do not want to see any more gum in any of your mouths! Do you all hear me or am I talking to the wind?!" yelled Sister Peo. She was about 50, but looked like she was 1000 years old in my little 10 year old eyes. She always smelled of moth balls and at times I wondered if she was actually a moth and she came to church just to suck all of our blood and energy out of us. In fewer words, she was the type of person that everything had a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. Her way was right and everyone else's way was wrong. Her poor husband.

I looked to my cousin who was on my right, David. David was the funniest kid I ever met. He was kinda chunky, always wore his shirts too tight, the shirt tail always stuck out in the back, and he never ever stopped laughing. "Hey Dave, I brought some extra gum with me today. Do you want a piece?" I said with a sly, little smile and a bit of chuckle in my voice.

"Aw thanks Cuz, I'll actually take two!" He put the pieces of gum in his mouth and started chewing intensely. I put three pieces in my mouth and could hardly chomp down on the gum.

"Are you ready?" I questioned. We had been planning this for weeks and the time was finally here. The day that Sister Peo got what she deserved that little, life ruining moth!

"Oh yeah, I am as ready as I'll ever be!" We both took the gum out of ours mouths. The gum was bright pink and was oozing with our spit. It was trying to escape my hand but I put a firm grip on that piece of gum!

"On the count of three. One, two, THREE!" I exclaimed. The gum soared through the air like a kite on a windy day at the beach. It was going to make it to her hair! "Perfect!" I thought. Splat! Right in the middle of her hair. I gave David a crooked grin.

The next week in primary was not a good week. We knew we were going to get in trouble but we weren't sure how much trouble we would get into.
Sister Peo had her hair cut in a weird long bob and was glaring at David and me as we walked into the room. "Oh no. We're going to get it." Sister Peo swiftly came to our area, put her fingers in her mouth, and pulled out two chunks of gum. I looked up just in time to see the horror. The gum was definitely in my hair and David's hair. That was the day I learned to respect my elders.

Find the Bright Side

1. I was standing in my bedroom with my acceptance email from BYU in one hand and my full ride scholarship to the school of my choice. I had no idea what to do. My dream job and the life I wanted was at my fingertips, but I knew it wasn't where I was supposed to be. I knew without a doubt that I needed to go to BYU. I knew that I needed to grow spiritually and learn at the Lord's university. Even with this sure knowledge, it was such a temptation to reply YES! to my dream school. At that moment, I got on my knees and prayed to Heavenly Father to give me the strength to turn away what I always wanted in my life. I wanted to be an interior designer and I was accepted to any FIDM school of my choice, but it wasn't BYU. Upon kneeling down onto my knees in the privacy of my bedroom, I started to cry and shake because of the stress that was falling upon my soul. I then felt comforted that everything would be alright. To go to BYU and I would grow in ways that I would never even imagine.

My first weeks at BYU were TOUGH! I hated the dryness in the air. I hated not being able to breathe through my nose. I hated that my skin was always cracked instead of silky smooth. I hated that everyone was Mormon. Once again, I had to kneel on my knees and pray to like BYU and to not compare it to California in every way. After quite a few semesters at BYU, I love everything about BYU. I am so happy that Heavenly Father helped me to see the light in this situation.

2. A scripture that I love is 1st Samuel 16:7. I teach little children how to read every morning fro 8 to 12 (this is the reason why I walk in late most days). Most of these children come from horrible homes where they are abused sexually, emotionally, and/or physically daily. Before I started working there, I was a volunteer. I have never felt closer to the spirit as I did when I was volunteering at little Geneva Elementary School in Orem. The children would give me hugs everyday and I remember weeping as I thought of the lives they had at home and how I wished I could just teach them that they are children of God. That I loved them more than they could ever imagine and if their parents were not able to be there for them, I would be there for them. Through service, I became closer to my Lord and because I was closer to my Lord I was able to serve those children in every way they needed.

3. One Sunday I was extremely homesick. I went to Sacrament meeting and decided that I wanted to just leave and explore to get my mind off of my family and the stresses of life. While I was walking out of the Sacrament Hall I decide that I would take my car to the mountains to see the leaves change and get away from the stresses of life for a while. I cried the whole way up to the top of that mountain and when I finally stopped the car I just felt so far away from the stresses of school and life that I finally felt at peace with my life. I realized that I was put on this earth for a reason and that I would learn how to be away from my family. I would make it through this time of hardness and learn to be happy. I finally saw the bright side of being at school in Utah and being away from my family. I was learning so much about myself it was unbelievable.

When life gets hard, I always drive to that same part of the mountains (unless its snowing). I look around at the beautiful creations that God put on this Earth and realize that we are all put this Earth for a reason. When life gets hard, God is right beside us showing us the bright side to everything.

The Allegory of the Olive Tree

Character:

In Jacob 5, the servants have a goal to bring forth good fruit to the Lord of the vineyard. They try many different ways to save the trees, but nothing works so they end up burning the vineyard at the end of the chapter.

Plot:

The opening of Jacob 5 the Lord of the vineyard sees that his Olive tree is beginning to decay. He then tells his servants that they are to prune it, dig about it, and nourish it until it becomes strong once again. The tree then begins to grow in young branches, but the top of the tree continues to perish. The Lord then pleads with the servant asking him to pluck out the bad branches and throw them in the fire. The servant does as the Lord asks him and it does not work. We see this repeatedly throughout the chapter.

Dialogue:

Throughout Jacob 5, the dialogue between the servant and the Lord is simple. The Lord asks the servant to do something. The servant then goes and does what he was asked and comes back to the Lord to tell him the progress of each tree and the vineyard as a whole to the Lord. Once the servant has told the Lord the progress of tree the Lord tells the servant what he should do next to ensure that the vineyard continues to grow.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Throw them at People Cause Life is Hard

Physical Experience

• The smell of toast burning.
• Sound of the microwave on and it turning the pancakes around and around on the squeaky glass wheel.
• The taste of sleep still in my mouth.
• The feeling of yearning to go crawl back in my warm bed and forget about today and tomorrow and the next day after that.
• Wet, warm tears rolling down my face.
• My own voice resegnating throughout the house as I call for my little brother to get out of bed and get ready for this dreadful day.
• The wind and rain battling each other outside.
• The sound of my little brother telling me he is not getting out of bed and to leave him there for the rest of the day.
• Hearing his door creak open.
• His warm embrace that makes me happier than words could explain.

Scenes

• The yellow paint on the walls is the same color as our gorgeous canary, Iko, and it also sings to you as you work in the kitchen.
• The top of the counters are a granite that contrast gorgeously with the white cabinets that are so shiny that if you stand still enough, you can see your own reflection which makes me want to sing the song from Mulan somedays.
• There are 16 stairs that wind up to the second floor. I count them every time I go up and down the stairs. The carpet is black with a design on it that is gold . The designs almost look like a triangle when you are far away, but open flow encounter you realize that they are a bunch of little flowers put together intricately by the designer. 

Speech

• The rush in my tone is not normal. I'm usually very calm and take things as they come with faith. I yell to my little brother to get up. I never yell. This is so odd for me. I have only yelled maybe one other time in my life and that was at my elementary school who made fun of me.
• My brothers tone is solemn. He is sad and it is understandable why he is so sad. My tone should be more compassionate, but we are going to be late and I was given strict instructions that we are not allowed to be late anymore from both of our school principals and I am not going back in that office again.
• My tone becomes more compassionate when I realize how hard of a day this is for my brother. I soothe him with my words and take him back to his bedroom so he can sleep in for the day. Who cares what the principal thinks anymore.

Emotion in the Moment

• The tears on my cheek keep flowing. I've always been bad at portraying my emotions but this time it is a piece of cake. The hard part is that there is not a single word to explain all of the emotions that I am feeling at this time. I'm sad, lonely, desperate for interaction with my parents, intimidated, scared, hopeless, and just need to feel the love of my family and my Heavenly Father.
• Although I am not sure what my brother is feeling I know that his feelings are probably very close to my feelings.

People of Consequence

• My little brother, Peter, who was just 12 at the time. It is his first year at the local middle school and he loves his friend group, his teachers, the curriculum, and our ward at the time. He is full of energy all the time. There is not a day that goes by where he is not telling me everything about every little detail that happened in his life and I love that he is pays close attention to detail.
• I am 16. I am a sophomore at the local high school and hate school like usual teenagers do. If I have a scratchy throat in the morning I complain until my mom doesn't make me go to school. Seminary is early in the morning and I am NOT a morning person so I am unhappy about 95% of the time. Everyday after school I come home and take a nap and then work on homework until two or three in the morning. I wake up everyday at five in the morning and it is an endless repeat.

Find Joy: President Uchtdorf

The talk I analyzed was given in the General Women's Broadcast, it is called "Living the Gospel Joyfully". I compared this talk to President Uchtdorf's talk that was given in the October 2012 meeting. It is called "Of Regrets and Resolutions". Both of these talks are extraordinary and very similar.

In the talk "Living the Gospel Joyful", President Uchtdorf (who grew up in Czechoslovakia and moved to Germany when he was a child) discusses steps that need to be taken in order to be filled with joy. He discusses that we need to keep the commandments of God, not put ourselves down, attend our Sunday meetings, do our visiting teaching, pray, read the scriptures, and repent! It is interesting because in the other talk I listened to, he gave almost the same exact list. President Uchtdorf, must believe that this list is very important for our salvations in order for it to be given twice and two years apart.

The tone in both of these talks is motivational. President Uchtdorf obviously believes that we all need to be motivated to be better individuals. He tries to boost everyones self esteem by saying that they are children of God and he will never not love you. Even for the sins you have committed yesterday and the sins you may commit tomorrow. There is always a chance to change. This change can bring eternal joy to us all. That joy is found in the gospel of our amazing church.

Cling to the Lord

Section Jacob 5 to Omni

Jacob 5:

 1 Behold, my brethren, do ye not remember to have read the words of the prophet Zenos, which he spake unto the house of Israel, saying:

 2 Hearken, O ye house of Israel, and hear the words of me, a prophet of the Lord.

 3 For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay.

 4 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard went forth, and he saw that his olive tree began to decay; and he said: I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender branches, and it perish not.

Analyzing Jacob 5:1-4

In this part of scriptures, Zenos is talking to the people of the House of Israel. This is a sermon that was used to teach the people of the House of Israel about how to nurture their spirituality and how to ensure that they will have eternal life. Zenos knows he is talking to people that are righteous and the people that are not righteous. Since he knows his audience well, he can tell the people that are not righteous that they need to nurture their spirit and cling to the Lord once more. I believe since he knows his audience well, this part of the scriptures can really touch your soul if you allow it to. It may reprimand you, but it will help you to remind yourself to do good in all that you do and seek the Lord all the time.

In the next chapter of Jacob, he asks questions about if you will be strong and nourish your spirit or if you will turn away from Christ and the scriptures. This chapter also really helps to explain everything that happens in chapter 5 so it is a good read if any of you don't understand chapter 5 at all!

Dare to be Bold?

In Elder Holland's talk "Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacrament", he is extremely bold, but remains respectful. He does this by breaking down why it is important to remain sexually pure. Many reasons are given to why we need to remain sexually pure. Some of them include: the significance, sanctity, the doctrine of the church, sacrament, damage of the soul when you do commit that sin, etc.

This talk is a fantastic talk for most college students to read. The reason why this talk is so fantastic is because he knows his audience well. He knows that most people who are listening to his talk are BYU college students. Elder Holland also knows that he is talking to people from the ages of approximately 18 to 26. This makes his talk much more personal for people that are in college and in that age range. I was able to connect to this talk more than I was able to connect to other speeches that we read because I knew that it was for my age group.

Elder Holland opens up his talk by saying that he needs Heavenly Father's guidance throughout this talk because it is a very sacred topic. I can just imagine sitting in the Marriot Center and listening to this opening. I bet the room went completely quiet at the intensity of Elder Holland's talk. He then begins his talk very bold and does not 'beat around the bush' at all. He dives straight into the material and speaks simply to ensure that EVERYONE will understand what he is saying.

To me, this is the best way to give talks at church and speeches in school. I personally hate it when people get up at the pulpit and try to impress everyone with their vocabulary and knowledge of the scriptures. I love when general authorities are bold and get straight to the point. One of my favorite talks is the talk "Be Chaste" by Elder Bednar because he is so bold and speaks plainly. So do you dare to be bold as the General Authorities are?

Sherem: The Anti-Christ

1. Form Analyzed:
I am looking into the speakers in Jacob 7.

2. Passage Analyzed:
My assigned section was Jacob 5 through the Book of Omni. I decided to look in depth at Jacob 7:6-15. In this section, Jacob and Sherem are discussing Sherem's belief in Christ.

3. Annotated Text:

4. Breakdown / Listing of things found:
In the part that I annotated, Jacob and Sherem go back and forth multiple times. Jacob asks Sherem if he believes that the scriptures are true, he replies saying yes. This is when Jacob says that if he believes in the scriptures then he must believe in Jesus Christ because that is what the scriptures testify. After that Sherem asks for a sign that there is a God. This is where I found out that Jacob said that HE would not tell God to give Sherem a sign. He said that if God wished to show him a sign, he would.

5. Interpretation:
To me, this seems like a play because of the way it is written.

6. Connections / Questions:
In The Book of Mormon, we learn about many different Anti-Christs. As we go through The Book of Mormon the Anti-Christs become more and more unrighteous, but they always end with them asking for God to give them a sign. God gives them a sign by having something occur to them (i.e. striking them dumb, having his power come over the, falling to the earth and being nourished, etc.) and then they confess that they always did believe. Does everyone think of the scriptures as a play that occurs in your head or is that just me?

Shining Example

When I was younger, there was a lady in my ward named Teresa. Every fast and testimony meeting, Teresa would stand up and tell us about some little spiritual thing that had happened in her life during that month. I would always sit at the edge of my seat, listening to every word intently. Her voice was like honey, her words settled inside of my heart in the perfect way.

Now that I am older and I still hear her speak sometimes when I am home, I finally understand why I loved  her testimonies so much. Teresa had the power to speak with such confidence that you could not help but believe her. She also spoke with amazing passion about ever little thing in her life.

I work at an elementary school now and am required to teach in a classroom for thirty minutes everyday. I try my hardest to make my voice sound like honey and try to speak with passion like she did when I was a child. Sometimes the children listen at the edge of their seats and somedays I just am not able to be passionate over synonyms.

Maybe one day I will be able to master the talent of public speaking just as Teresa has, but I thank her so much for being an amazing example to me. She taught me how to speak from a podium and I doubt she even knows what she taught me, but I am eternally grateful for Teresa and her confidence in her small testimonies. She will always be a shining example to me.

Humble Your Heart

My absolute favorite theme in "Added Upon" is to humble your heart and become worthy to live with God once again. In the novel, we are able to see that many of the characters needed to become humble. Heavenly Father gave them many trials which help them to humble their hearts.

I believe being humble is extraordinarily difficult for people in this world. Everybody wants to drive the fancy drives, wear the expensive clothes, be the best of the best, show everyone that they are successful and know that they are successful. I grew up in Southern California where this is extremely prevalent Many people do not take the time to notice that there life is this way because God blessed them to have these amazing lives. Seeing this so often, I try to make it a priority in my life to remember that all of my talents and gifts were given to me from God and without out him I would not be where I am today.

In Orson Whitney's talk, he discusses how people need to be humble and need to seek to live with God once more. I believe that Nephi Anderson did a fantastic job of displaying the need to have humble heart. The best display of needing to have a humble heart is when Rupert was prideful about what he had done for the city he lived in. Next thing we know, Rupert lost his house, farm, and fiancé without any notice. This is when Rupert becomes humble and changes who he is. He also joins the church at this time.

Having a humble heart is one of the most necessary thing in this life. Being prideful you nowhere in this life. We are all so blessed so just remember that Heavenly Father has given you everything!

Write in those Journals!

My first Sunday in Beehives I remember vividly. My teacher was Sister Manning and she had brought all of her journals to church with her. We were all given a turn to look at her journals and after we had all had our turn, Sister Manning read little experts from each of her journals that told us about her life during that age. At the end of the lesson she announced, "You all now know more about my life than most of my children do. These journal helps me remember stories that happened in my childhood and it helps you to know more about me." She then passed out a blank journal for each of us to take home with us.When I arrived home from church I wrote my first journal entry about the wonderful lesson and how I loved Beehives already.

Years have passed since that first journal entry, but I still write in a journal every night before bed. In my journals there are stories of great sadness, joy, triumph, nervousness, discourage and hope. The stories have taught me so much and hopefully they will teach my children and grandchildren just as much. I hope that they read these stories and learn from my mistakes. Hopefully they will also see that I made mistakes and I made it through it so they will also! I hope each of you take some time out of your day to write in a journal for your future family. I guarantee they will greatly enjoy hearing your stories and will learn from them just as you have.