A Picture is a 1000 words

Recently I have been pounded with work obligations and homework. So naturally needing a bit of variety I have been looking for ways to distract myself. I'd get boring otherwise. One day, while looking for such a distraction I noticed my camera. Then I had a brilliant idea, which became several ideas which has grow into a bit of a hobby. Let me share the fruits of this hobby with you :)

 

So what do you think? A productive waste of my time? Or should I just put my nose back into my books? Comments are welcome :)

Foundations of testimony

I completely forgot that due to a neighboring wards stake conference our meetings were pushed back by an hour so I arrived at church and found myself with an extra hour of scripture study time. So after rifling though I landed on Doctrine and Covenants section 18. Here The Lord reassures Oliver Cowdery that he had received a spiritual witness that the things he was writing (as a scrip for the translation of the Book of Mormon) were true. Then he gave him what I thought was an interesting commandment he said "And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written;" I found it very interesting that that commandment give was conditional on knowledge. IF you know that they are true. So then in the next verses the lord tells him "for in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock. Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you." The three things The Lord specified as being in the scriptures kinda jumped out to me. Oliver is being command to rely on the words which are written concerning the church the gospel and the rock. So I asked myself why does The Lord specify these three things? How will a knowledge of the foundation of the church, the gospel, and the rock (who is Christ) change Oliver's (or our) behavior to make him more favorable and prepared? Then The Lord gives him a promise that if he builds the church on the foundation of the gospel and Christ then the gates of hell would not prevail against him. Knowledge, faith and service. That's really what it comes down to. Knowing the words which are written are true. Having faith to rely on them. Then using that testimony and faith to build others we will become people who are converted. We will become like the high priest described in Alma 13 who "after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence;" or we may become as Moroni who it was said if him "yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts if the children of men."

Our Intelligent Experience Part 1

     I had a very profound experience in my early teenage years that has been a source of inquiry and pondering every since it happened. I remember one day standing in front of the mirror in the hallway bathroom in my home. I looked into my own eyes and had a very deep excitement start deep in my and it seemed to spread throughout the rest of me. It was odd because it was also accompanied by a small degree of frustration. The thoughts accompanying this feeling were, 'This is really me!' 'I cannot believe I'm actually here having this experience (meaning life as a whole)' and 'This is actually real!' This experience repeated its self several times and looking back I have dissected and analyzed what happened and used how I was feeling and thinking to understand better questions that each of us seek after. Philosophical questions really such was 'What is me?' 'How did I come into being?' 'Why do I feel like I am WITHIN my body?'. As I further my education in fields of philosophy, psychology, science, and spirituality I have found knowledge and information which has led me to the conclusion though out intelligent experience has several different levels, each level combined defining who we are at this present moment of mortality. For me there are four different levels of 'being' physical, neurological, mental, and spiritual. I will endeavor to explain how each level contributes to our intelligent experience ( I do not say cognitive or mortal because both are limited and my explanations will involve a timeline which goes beyond the reaches of cognation and mortally). I will appeal to the three disciplines of knowledge. Science, which defines laws and relationships between physical objects as know to use through experimentation and observation. Philosophy, which is the rational and logical 'conclusions' the brilliant minds of men have come to concerning questions that science has not yet found a way to answer. And theology, information given to us through revelation, more specifically I will appeal to the revelations I believe to have been given to us through the merciful God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who sent His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ as an example and an Atoner, who restored His gospel once again to this earth through His chosen prophet Joseph Smith. Is that specific enough?
     The first level of intelligent experience that we have is on a physical, perceptual level. I'm talking about our basic senses and the experiences that they afford us. Last semester I took an introduction to psychology class and one of the chapters that we studies was all about how our body perceives and understands the world around us. For instance right now I am typing this while listening to a random station I found and liked on Spotify. My macbook speakers create sounds waves which find themselves into my ears. As these waves enter my inner ear they hit tiny hairs. At the root of these hairs are little sensory cells which monitor the vibrations in the hair caused by the sounds waves. They then report these vibrations in a message to the brain telling it what they observed. Or our eyes. Brilliant little things they are! Light enters into our eyes and is focused onto the back of our retina. Little cells call cones and rod report the intensity of light including the wavelength and frequency of the light waves then report their findings to the brain.
    Which brings me then to our next level of experience. Everything that we have a conscious knowledge of experiencing is all second hand. All of our perceptions are an 'image' created by our brain as an interpretation of information provided by neurological transmissions sent from our sensory cells which were activated by physical stimuli. Crazy when you think about it. Sometimes when I think about it I am super grateful for how wonderful my body and brain are! The fact that I can have so many different parts working together at the same time to create a seemingly singular experience which is in fact dozens of different experiences simultaneously observed and fused together is a truly awesome thing to realize. This is the function of the brain. It works as a transformer and relayor of information. It transforms neurotransmissions into a cognitive experience which our mind is able to manipulate, predict, and evaluate. The brain is an amazing processing organ, receiving and sending thousands of messages constantly all at the same time. I think of it as a relay station but but instead of different employees running around carrying memos it has areas which are in charge of certain functions. The down fall is that it is mortal and is subject to corruption. We see it all the time with addiction, mental illnesses and injuries. It is more or less scientific fact that brain damage or abnormalities can lead to partial or complete cognitive and behavioral changes. However contrary to what this supports I feel that the mind and the brain are different therefore cognitive and neurological activity are different though very closely related. The brain is a two-way relayor between the mind and the body. For the most part the brain can handle the day to day mundane commands and maintenances necessary for the body function correctly, however, when a decision is to be made it it turns to the mind who then will make a decision, and tell the brain who then tells the body how to react. Now this is how I rectify the contradiction that though the health of the brain directly effects mental capabilities the brain is different and separate from the mind. As a brain and certain nerves are damaged the brain become incapable of communicating with body, resulting is paralysis. In a very similar way as the brain is damaged its ability to communicate accurately with the mind is limited. We have drugs that can temporarily do this for us. we use them almost every time we 'go under' for surgery. I am talking about our unconscious state, a state where the brain and mind are not connected and communicating. This is a total separation, but there can also be partial separations. Alcohol consumption we know limits our judgment, reasoning ability, balance and perception. This is because it is a poison that damages and disrupts our brain-mind connection and the brain-body connection. There is a story of a railway foreman, a good respectable man, who had a gruesome injury in which a metal tamping rod went through his head causing sever damage to his frontal lobe. After the injury "Gabe was no longer Gabe". Whatever was good about this foreman was lost. Rather then being temperate and moderate he began irrational and extreme. He was completely aware of his decisions but was making completely different ones then he always had in the past. I theorize this is because the 'satellite' in his brain that was used to communicate inhibitions, reverence, and respect from the mind was destroyed rendering him incapable to used that information in his decision making. In the absence of restraint from the mind, the brain reverted to its primal programing in the decision making process and the natural instincts to procreate, and fight for survival dominated the 'court room'.
     Our intelligent experience has many layers, each deeply connected to the other. As we understand them better we can learn how we can make the best decisions possible and learn how to best communicate with ourselves. Science can tell us just how the body and brain communicate with each other to create a tangible and cognitive experience. However our experience goes deeper then that and until science catches up we must rely on philosophy and theology to learn how our mind is connected to our feelings and how both our feelings and mind communicate with our spirit.

Justification

While analyzing the difference in day to day function between the brain and the spirit I have come up with an interesting observation concerning justification. For the purpose of making my point I will be referring to two different types of justification: self-justification (self-betrayal) and Godly justification. One of the key characteristics of life is having choices. Each day we are presented with a myriad of choices and each choice like a drop of water into a bucket helps create and forge our characters. More often then not each choice is relatively simple to make, it is almost even automatic, done without thinking. However, sometimes we are presented with new situations, stimuli and temptations during which times we must evaluate and decide on what would be the best choice. When a moral issue comes into question there is more often then not an internal struggle fought by our brain, who's purpose is natural survival fueled by aggression, lust and instinct and our spirit which seeks the will of God, honor, and peace. The ensuing battle is what I can justification and depending on which side wins it is either self-justification (self-betrayal) or Godly-justification. Self-justification (self-betrayal) is when we allow our brain to determine the true of our perceptions or in other words when we allow the natural man to sit in the throne of decision. It is when we tell our selves 'it's ok just this once' or 'it doesn't really matter because everyone else is doing it' or when we simply just bullheadedly go ahead ignoring the gentle pleadings of our spirit. The more often we self  justify the more comfortable we are will allowing our low, crude, carnal, and filthy natural man to sit in the throne of decision. Tainting everything he touches, the natural man as he steers the ship will created false perceptions, unfair judgements, and will dull our moral sensitivities. Each of these symptoms if you will make it more and more difficult to make the right choice when it presents its self. The good news however is that there is a way to scrub clean the throne room and throw out the impostor. Remember that allowing the natural man to rule is like welcoming an impostor beggar to sit in a kings throne. Our bodies were created and given to us for the purpose of housing our spirits. The throne of decision rightfully belongs to the part of us which is eternal and pure, the essence which is both the offspring of God, made in the very likeness of Him and has the potentiality to attain what God is and has. The Book of Mormon teaches that it is very difficult to overthrow an unrighteous king and impossible to do without much bloodshed. It is the same for us when we allow the natural man to usurp power and control. It becomes more difficult when he has been in place for a long time because the longer the natural man contaminates the throne of decision the more deeply rooted our false perceptions and clouded judgement become. However it is possible and the process is called Godly justification. this is when we are: 1.) taught and tutored by the spirit of God,  2.) our eyes are opened to see between truth and error causing our false perception to crumble and the cloud over our judgement to disperse,  and finally 3.) when we reclaim the throne of decision and are ruled by our spirit and its Godly tendencies. It can be a long and arduous process but this battle is not fought alone. Each of us are given the Light of Christ which illuminates the battlefield which when hearkened to gives us directions. Also we have the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost serves as a personal advisor throughout this process. He is like a royal consultant who (as we hearken to Him) opens our eyes and gives us power to act in accordance with Gods will. This happens as we immerse ourselves in activities that are inviting to spiritual experiences. By reading the scriptures we are taught by the spirit principles and patterns which as they are applied to our personal lives will become a war strategy and game plan to regain the throne. acts of service and participating in spiritual uplifting activities will rise our spiritual self confidence and deepen our resolve to become more spiritually minded. Finally through prayer, sincere prayer where we poor our hearts out to God and listen intently, we will gain the mind of God. He will teach us correct perceptions and righteous judgements. And just as over time the natural man was able to maneuver his way into the throne of decision and taint our being we put off the natural man and return the throne to its rightful heir. This is when we will find peace. As we allow ourselves to be spiritually minded we do not have to struggle with guilt which is the result of self-justification (self-betrayal) or deal with the confusion which results from false perceptions.  So remember as Paul taught the Romans "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God... but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (kill) the deeds of the body, ye shall live." and as Nephi echoed "O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness is transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal." We become who we are mentally and who we are mentally is defined by who we yield most often to. So let us remember and yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and put off the natural man and become a Saint through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Zombies

This idea was suppose to accompany the post I just made public about our brain but I thought it best to divide them up and give my brain a little rest. Recently the United States of America media has seem to have become obsessed with zombie and apocalyptic movies, shows, and video games. Its the new big thing wether its suspenseful romance and see in Warm Bodies or absolutely terrifying nail bitting horror in The Walking Dead. Similar movies and shows create within most viewers  a feeling of almost claustrophobic helplessness, a suffocating dread that for some strange reason we entertaining. My roommate Ethan is a avid news reader and zombie fanatic (that might be taking it a bit far... strike that and reverse it) and a few days ago he was telling me about something he read which analyzed this zombie obsession. I'm pretty sure it was from the Times magazine but I can not be sure. The gist of what he shared was that the article determined that this sudden and intense interest in zombie and apocalyptic movies is indicative of an unsatisfied society. Personally I have tried to connect the two dots but I have not been able to make the jump yet in my mind. However, I have come up with my own idea as to why we all seem to have become undead fans and are each gathering our zombie response teams and planning apocalypse escape routes. Aristotle I believe taught that the reason why we find tragedies entertaining is that we have within us sadness and viewing a tragedy allows us to become a part of it and release from within us pent up sadness. We enjoy this so that we don't have to carry that sadness with us. The point he made was that we seek entertainment which causes negative emotions so that we can feel and release those emotions without it directly interfering with our lives. Now let us apply that to our zombie obsession. How do we feel while watching these movies? Trapped, suppressed, hunted, hopeless, helpless, like almost like we are struggling for a breath of fresh air is a sea of stress. Well at least that is how I feel. Now to go on a tangent which will connect. Remember how I thought that the brain is the relay to the spirit? How it connects our spiritual world with our mental and physical world? Remember how this connection goes both ways? Sometimes we receive spiritual communications through our mental and physical experiences in a way that is familiar. As a missionary in Basildon Essex I was teaching a girl who did not make any claims to be devotedly religious. The lesson went well and towards the end I had this idea to ask this girl if she would be baptized. This was a bold move for a first lesson, especially since I was not really able to determine her level of acceptance. However I decided to ask her. Immediately I could feel a change in the atmosphere (I would have said room but we were outside) as she thought about it then said "You know what? I'm going to do it. I'm going to be baptized!) I was absolutely shocked. It actually worked. We will receive direction  from our Heavenly Father who will speak to us spirit to spirit. Just as a father will speak to a young son is simple words that he can understand these spiritual communications will come in a way that is familiar to us. In this example it was a simple idea to do something I normally would not have. For her it was the gut feeling that told her to go for it when I invited her to be baptized. I am convinced that the spirit is the center of our moral grounding. This is why I believe all human beings are inherently good. Because each of us have a spirit to serve as a moral compass. Sometimes our spirit will speak to our body to encourage and warn us regarding this moral compass. Have you ever noticed the automatic guilt that comes when you do something wrong? Even when no one is watching? This is to the spirit what pain is to the body, it warns us that what we are doing is destroying our good character and thus wounding our spirit. Controversly have you experienced the euphoria that come after you have sacrificed a little to help someone in need? Even if the act went unnoticed? That is our spirit once again using our emotions to encourage us to do something right. So what does this have to do with zombies? Its all about the emotions this form of entertainment creates. Panic,  overwhelming fear, claustrophobia, hopelessness, these are all common everyday emotions a survivor in a apocalyptic setting experiences. These are the 'feelings' that our spirit has. These are the emotions that our body and mind what to feel and release in an alternative reality created by media. So why is this? People look around you. We are living in an apocalyptic world. Spiritually and morally speaking. Everyday we are surrounded by those who are 'living dead' and decaying spiritually. Every day there are less and less of us and it seems that we are fighting a losing battle. That we are all walking dead doomed to suffer that same rotten demise as those who once lived with us. Can you not see this? Can you not feel this when every where you turn you become victim to salacious, degrading, inappropriate, and morally damaging videos, pictures, and talk? These kind of media are like radiation to our soul. Exposure, slowly and surely, will eat us away, leaving us with cancerous addictions and fascinations for cheap and low imitations and imaginations, which will ultimately prove our demise. Every movie and zombie story have a scene or moment when the characters look back on how it use to be with a great longing. In order for us to survive we need to do very much the same thing. We need to look back on the warnings and admonitions that our Father in Heaven has given us. Think about it our very own Moral Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide! He has a response and relief team. And the best part is that if we are bite or scratched we are not doomed to become brain sucking corpse. The is One Physician who can heal any wound and mend any injury sustained in this survival. All we have to do is come to him. Just as in Warm Bodies we can be transformed by learning to love again and feeling loved. There is always an abundance of love at the Saviors feet. Come to him, and show him all you injuries, bruises, and scratches and He will heal you.

Brain and Spirit

I noticed that I have a handful of drafts sitting in my archives just waiting to be finished hopefully I can do my original ideas justice as I revisit them and try to expound and share them. I'm not a genius or even an 'intellectual' but I do my fair share of thinking. Six months ago I took a history of philosophy class so I am familiar with the concepts and concerns that have occupied, plagued, and entertained the greatest of minds throughout the last three millennia or so. One of the greatest debates has been the question of the body and soul. Plato believed that our souls existed before this life and came down to inhabit our body and St. Augustine of the Catholic church believed the soul to be our life source of light and knowledge I find it fascinating that with each of these philosophers theories we find shreds and bit of what was revealed to Joseph Smith concerning our eternal natures. Eventually as scientific knowledge developed and people began to rely more on what they could test and observe philosophers began leave the debate of the soul up to religious professors and today the question has changed to finding the connection of the mind and brain. Neuroscientist have developed theories of this connection by watching which part of the brain 'lights up' during different mental activity. However most of there finding have only reviled which areas govern sensation and perception but have little to offer for cognation. ( At least that is what my limited studies have found.) I find it amazing how the brain and body work together to monitor and sense the world around us. Sensory nerves transfer physical stimuli into neurotransmissions which are sent from neuron to neuron is a lighting fast chemical and electrical rely to the brain. The brain then transforms these messages into a cognitive experience that we evaluate and understand with our mind. It is a very fascinating thing for me to study. Now most of my ideas come straight from my thinkings and have little scientific value because of my lack of research and experimentation having said that I would like to purpose the idea that the brain works in a very similar way as does our sensory nerve cell. Nerve cell convert physical stimuli into neuro/mental messages and I purpose that the brain then converts these messages into spiritual knowledge to be processed by the spirit inhabiting each of our bodies. In essence the brain is the spirits liaison to not only our body but tot he physical world around us. In my readings both of scripture and prophetic commentary and scientific research I feel that there are two basic building blocks that make up all matter. I'm talking about the stuff that makes up the sub atomic particles that we think we know about. For simplistic reasons I will simply call them dark and light matter, or depending on what point I am making physical or spiritual matter respectively. According to Joseph Smith spirit is matter but is just more refined and undetectable to human observation. Also from the Doctrine and Covenants we know that spirit is light. We know from the accounts of the creation that there exists 'matter unorganized' from which the Lord created the earth. It is interesting to note the the first thing created was not light and dark or rather the light was not introduced to the dark. First the world was organized and light waters separated from the land. Further notice that life forms such as plants, animals, and finally man were not created until first light had been introduced? Dark matter can exist independent of light matter but life cannot. Life is contained in the light spiritual matter and the fullness of life is the hybrid combination of the two. Perfected life is when life is completely sustained by the spirit, an experience that we do not yet have but are promised through the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ. So why am I sharing this? The brain works and the only organ which bridges the gap between the two matters. I find it interesting that the neurotransmissions travel through the nerve cells as an electric pulse but bridge the gap between cell using a chemical reaction controversy in the brain as it communicates with different areas of its self it only uses electronic pulses. These pluses seem to 'light up; the active part of the brain. The only chemicals used in the brain are by the adrenal system used to regulate the emotions and functions of the body. Which tell the body what to tell the brain. It may be bold of me to assert this idea but I believe that the brain uses light matter to communicate with the spiritual entity which is responsible for our cognation, reason, and moral grounds. I believe that the question of how the body connects with the body and how the brain connects to the mind can be answered with the idea that the brain is a relay or sorts  which communicates our physical experience to our spirit and forwards its commands to our body.

United We Will Always Stand

     I have a wonderful application on my phone that sends me updates whenever there is an article posted in the New York Times. This was how I found out about the Boston Marathon Massacre. I was lost for words when I read the headlines. I could not believe that there was another terrorist attack on American soil. Because I was working and the limited amount of information I didn't learn to much about the event right then. For the next twenty four hours I would catch little pieces of information here and there. Stories of the severity of injuries, heroics, and investigation. It truly has been an event of tragic proportion. Comparatively a minor event compared to bombs that go off almost constantly in other countries, where lives just as valuable as those in Boston are profoundly effected but nevertheless a tragic event. A stinging event that has one again brought the realities of the evil beliefs and philosophies of twisted men right into our very own homes. However I see from the aftermath a victory in the American people. To the perpetrator/s of yesterdays bombing who very well could be sadistically sitting back and smiling as they scroll through the pictures of panic, blood and carnage that became the finish line of the marathon, who with psychotic pleasure mark a new tick mark for every new death and a tally for each injured, I would like to draw your attention to the stories and photos that you are purposefully overlooking. The photos of people pushing through the crowds and running TOWARDS the explosions. Police officers, emergency responders, servicemen and women, and plain ole every day volunteers. Men and women who's compassion and sense of duty and loyalty in the face of danger and chaos drives them to put their lives at risk. People who even if they had known about the two other bombs that did not go off would have still done the same things. Also pay attention to the stories of the runners who ran right through the finish line and keep going until they reached the hospital to donate their blood to your victims. Look at the pictures of people holding each other and comforting one another. Look into the eyes of these people and they will tell you who America is. Yes there is worry and there is panic but stronger then that is a resolve to stand and help whenever and where ever possible. I know that these people were scared, but true courage cannot exist where fear does not. You will always find this unrelenting courage whenever you sucker punch us. Its the American way. We will not be intimidated. We will not be scared. There is just one simple thing I want you and every other enemy of America to understand. There is only one thing that can destroy the United States of America. That is our selves, the path America could travel down to destruction will be that of self destruction. When intellect overrides common sense, greed envelops giving, indulgence destroys prudence and pride eradicates faith; this and only this will cripple and destroy US. But rest assured we will always stand united against whatever threatens liberty, including terrorism which destroys the freedom of living without fear.
     To the victims, their families, and those who have been shaken by this tragedy, know that you are not alone. You are supported and prayed for by millions of Americans who have sat glued to their TV's and radios learning about your stories. We stand by you and behind you. and we have faith and know that our petitions to God are not unheard. Perhaps you have already felt His hand comforting you. Quite possibly you will feel it carrying you and helping you pick up the pieces. Turn to Him, the master physician, the only one capable and qualified to heal a broken heart, and you will find peace. May God Almighty ever keep and watch over you.

Pathetically in Love

     I came to my Psychology class today fifteen minutes early hoping to do some last minute reviewing before the lecture and as usual found my self distracted by my surroundings. I sat at the back of the classroom in the section that had its lights turned off giving it all a relaxing feel. I was one of three in the room, each of us sitting in silence doing our own thing. Just out side the door way was a couple who were apparently pathetically in love. Let me explain. I didn't have the best view but I watched as the two of them tried so desperately to say goodbye to each other but each time they seemed to fail. unfortunately from my angle I could not see what they were saying or even what they were doing. Had I been one of the passer-bys walking down the hall I would have had the great profile view that would have allowed me to see both of them. She stood with her back to me and the poor lad wasn't my bigger then his tiny girlfriend so I couldn't even see him. Every now and then he head would tilt back and an audible smack would tell me that they had just kissed. Ten, Fifteen, Twenty minutes they stood there. I tried to imagine what possible impeding tragic merited such a dramatic parting. Maybe he had to travel home for the weekend before they got to see each other. Maybe she was going on a mission and was going to be set apart before he got out of class. Maybe some one died. Or possibly (heaven forbid) they would have to be separated for the next two hours as the two of them attended a different class. Watching the two of them was a bit like observing a yo-yo trying to prevail against gravity. Try as it might each bounce gets lower and lower as the child's toy slowly is overcome by its overwhelming opposition. The magnetism between this romantic couple was the same. Try as they might each time they tried to heed the knot in their stomach pulling them to class they longing in their heart bounced them back into each others arms for one last embrace, one last kiss. A totally appropriate reaction for any couple who through love are bound to each other for eternity. A totally appropriate reaction for two people who are preparing to walk through hell to find something better of far greater value. Possible a bit of a dramatic reaction for two kids who found that they have gotten cozy in each others presence. Maybe they are just addicted to the oxytocin that floods their endocrine system whenever they touch. This would be a dramatic reaction especially if they have spent every waking moment of the day with each other and will most likely, like reunited magnets, snap back together as soon as the bell rings. I like to think however, that they are star crossed lovers. Destined to love each other but forever separated by duty. I like to think that he was actually a world class scientist who is on the verge of curing cancer, and she is bound my family honor to stay her and study. Fortune allowed them this short moment to reunite and tell each what they already know. That they are madly, desperately, in love with each other. Possible one is a vampire and is only one step ahead of the posse sent to slay him. Or maybe he is an astronaut preparing for a launch that will send him to Mars, and adventure that could very well cost him his life. The beauty of it all is that I will never know but the story can be what ever I make it. So thank you random couple for giving my imagination some ammunition for 45 minutes. Here's to you pathetically in love couples who when you are in each others presence you forget that there are other people in this world. Thank you.

What do I stand for?

      Late last night I was driving home listening to the radio and just thinking. Over the radio came Some Nights by Fun. I will admit for the most part I have no idea what that song is talking about! I can, however, understand one question that they repeat over and over again. "What do I stand for? What do I stand for?" I have no recollection of any other songs that played the rest of the ride home and I barely even remember getting home because this question seemed to be stuck on repeat in my mind. What do I stand for? In my last post Measure of a Real Man I made the point that a real man lives according to fixed principles. So the question that I really was asking myself was 'What are my fixed principles that I live by?' This post will explore the answers that I came up with.
     This time last year I was serving an LDS mission in England. To be specific I was in Basildon, Essex. Our mission president extended an invitation for us to evaluate ourselves and come up with some sincere resolutions for the year to come. I took this invitation to heart and prayerfully considered some resolutions that if I keep to them would help me become that person that I want to be. As I was pondering last night what my principle are these resolutions came strongly to my mind as the answer. Within these resolutions are the principles that govern my life.  Here they are:
     I will be reliable in whatsoever sphere I am in.  Reliability is huge to me in my life. I have had many opportunities to be a leader in one sort or another. Whether it be a sports team captain, church quorum president, or a mission leader the basic principles of leadership are the same. A leader must be reliable. He must do what is expected of him and what he says he will do or else he will fail. Like wise a leader needs the people he leads to be reliable or else through their neglect he also becomes a failure. I stand for reliably.
     I will live in an environment of the Spirit. One of the greatest blessings I enjoyed while being a missionary was a clarity of mind that I have not been able to find anywhere else. It seemed that I could just see and comprehend things so clearly and that inspiration was constantly flowing to me. I was a productive thinker and could more easily work through my problems. After serious reflection I came to the conclusion that this was because I was living in such a way that I was always worth of spiritual inspiration from God. With out God I feel that my mental powers are seriously diminished. As I reflected on it more and more I could see interesting trends in my life. The times that I was closest to the Lord were the times that I did best in my school work and excelled in other areas. I am an easily distractible person but it seems that as I dwell in an environment of the Spirit I can focus on things that matter. Now I'm not talking of a physical environment like living in a church building. I'm talking about living my life in such a way that at any given moment of the day I can receive spiritual inspiration. Yes there are a lot of things that I will have to sacrifice to live this way but honestly it is completely worth it.  At times I am jealous of people who can have all these said perks but still gallivant around in a impious manner but deep down I am thankful that I have to hold myself to this standard because I feel so much more happy living this way. I stand for spirituality.
     I will be sensitive to the weak and suffering. My dad has always complemented me on my standing up for the underdog cheering on the weak. I guess I naturally have a soft spot for those that need help. I have my parents to thank for teaching me to be the first one to stand up and serve. Not only that but that have created a mentality within me that not only to you stand up to serve someone who needs it you do it when it is inconvenient to you. I really want to better develop an keen eye for service opportunities. I want to be able to be the first one to notice the hands that hang helplessly down. Those that are often to tired to even be raised as a signal of distress. I love serving people I feel in some why it counts as me paying back a debt to my Savior. With this is being a good friend to those who simply need support or someone to talk to. It may seem like a little thing but I feel it is one of the greatest services that we can provide. Every one deserves to feel the tangible love of a friend who can empathize, listen, and support. I stand for service.
     I will choose to be happy by living in a spirit of gratitude. I went to a leadership meeting once where I received one of the most intense spiritual rebuking of my life. It seemed like from the moment that the presiding officer opened his mouth to begin the meeting until the last 'Amen' was said the Lord was just handing me all my weaknesses, shortcomings, and sins on a silver plater. Needless to say I was feeling horrible on the ride home. My companion on the other hand had a great experience, it being the first meeting of its kind for him. He was really excited to talk about it but soon my short and sarcastic comments burst his bubble. (sorry Elder Potts) Then we were driving in silence. I was reflecting and wallowing in self pity when I came to a realization. Elder Potts didn't deserve this. He had a great experience and I ruined it because of my attitude. Right then I made the decision to be happy, changed my attitude, apologized, and we talked the rest of the way home. This was a neat experience for me. I had completely changed my attitude in a moment just by making the decision. From this I discovered that our happiness is internally motivated. Our attitude is largely determined by our perception. This became the focus of all my ponderings and studies for a month! In the end I decided that I could always be happy even in the hardest and saddest times but focusing on what I have to be grateful for. Despite set backs we can always be happy. I stand for happiness!
    I will feast on the scriptures daily. Over the last couple of years I became a bit obsessed with efficiency, every time I was put in a new situation the first thing I would look for would be how to be more efficient. One day I was thinking about thinking... Deep I know. I asked myself how much percent of our thought are unproductive and idle. I realized that the percentage was much much higher then I would have liked it to be. So I set out on a mission to find a way to be more mentally proactive. The counsel in the Doctrine and Covenants keep coming to mind where the Lord tells the saints to 'Let the solemnities of the eternities rest upon your mind' or something like that. And also from Romans and 2 Nephi we know that to be spiritually minded is life eternal. Solved. Be more mentally productive by being more spiritually minded. OK but how? Read the scriptures! Holy writ is the perfect food for thought. Each verse is like a well done chunk of steak that to get the full meaning and understanding of we need to meticulously chew and chew and chew and chew then digest. I figured that if I feasted on the scriptures daily I would think more about heavenly things. Not just read but study. Search for questions, draw similarities, seek insights, and uncover mysteries. Doing this daily would soon transform my mind into a proactive shop for principles, legend for symbols, a solvent to dilemmas, and a pool of wisdom. What more could I ask for? I stand for studying scriptures daily.
     I will be the first to defend the standards of the Lord. Some body has to and I'll be damned if I don't. (quite literally) I was always the killjoy in my group of friends that said 'Maybe that isn't the greatest idea, I'm out.' and I received a lot of flak for it. But I am a better person for it. One of the most digesting things to me is when people compromise their principles and forsake their standards. All to often it is because of peer pressure or an imagined need to conform to the common trend of forsaking virtue and goodness. My hope is that by being the first to stand for what is right and true I can help someone else find the strength/motivation to do the same. I stand for standing when everyone else yields to temptation.
     I will be prepared through pre-mediation and planning. Of all the many words that can describe me impromptu is not one of them. Yes I can be spontaneous at times but of the most part I can only function at my best when I have a plan and I know what is going on. Also I don't work well under pressure so having a plan is a great way to avoid unnecessary anxiety. I love when calculated thought our decisions work out and I have noticed that the more often I plan out my day the better it goes and the more productive I am, and I am all about that! I stand for planning and preparation!

At the end of the list of my creeds are three general statements that I so dearly hope will one day sum up who I am and what I stand for.

Above all else I will be:

Pure in heart

Strong in Spirit

Loyal in all things