Hi Everyone, Welcome :) I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say:) For the record, here are the questions...
1. How do the two videos on Puritans in colonial America illustrate both the opportunities and challenges of coming to America for religious freedom?
2. Given what you now know about the religious conditions in colonial America, why do you think Jefferson would have felt compelled to write Virginia’s statuette on religious Freedom? What have been and are the legacies of Jefferson’s “Statute” on religious thinking in America?
3. Given what you now know about the existence and characteristics of established churches in America’s colonial period, how does the writing of a prayer by the state of New York (Engle v Vitale) relate to an “establishment of religion”? What have been the subsequent results of that decision and how have they affected the meaning of the phrase “establishment of religion”?
4. How does your reading of the article by Elder Oaks on “Religion in Public Life” inform your understanding of the phrase “establishment of religion”?
5. In the First Presidency statement, what does the phrase “establish a state religion mean”? How can “neutrality toward religion” be maintained while at the same time including religion in public education and in public debate?
6. After reviewing Elder Oaks’ Devotional Address, what issue, related to the “free exercise” clause does he raise? (Hint: The answer is not gay marriage or Proposition 8.) What suggestions, relating to that issue, does Elder Oaks make to members of the Church? How does Rachel Esplin’s interview positively demonstrate Elder Oaks’ suggestions?
7. How did the ratification process seek to gain the support of the people for the new government while at the same time overcome the peoples’ doubts about creating a stronger national government?
8. How do the events mentioned in the readings illustrate the challenging efforts to manage the power relationships between the national and state governments between 1790 and the Civil War?
9. How do John Brown’s comments against slavery and the comment from the supporter of slavery demonstrate how passionate Americans had become on the issue of slavery? How was Abraham Lincoln’s quote different from the other two? How do those quotes and other events leading up to the Civil War illustrate the effects of declining public virtue?
Lately because of a shoulder injury, carpal tunnel, and a recent move, all of my healthy habits have disappeared. I have not been exercising, or eating well. After resolving last evening to get back on track I found myself eating 2 chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies, 1/2 of an almond joy, and ice cream all before lunch.
Then I read this talk. “Truth–the foundation of all decisions.” Elder Ballard goes on to say...I just read the most wonderful talk from Russell M Ballard about truth for my science class. He says,"A knowledge of truth is of little value unless we apply it in making correct decisions. Consider for a moment a man, heavily overweight, approaching a bakery display. And his mind are these thoughts: the doctor told you not to eat eat any more of that. It's not good for you. It gives momentary gratification of appetite. You'll feel uncomfortable the rest of the day after it. You have decided not to have any more. But then he hears himself say, “I'll have 2 of those almond twists and a couple of those chocolate doughnuts. One more time won't hurt. I'll do it just once more, and this will be the last time.” From Elder Russell M Ballard October 2007 Gen. conference.
"The process of identifying truth sometimes necessitates enormous effort coupled with profound faith in our Father and His glorified Son. God intended that it be so to forge your character. Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to respond obediently to the direction of the Spirit as you make vital decisions. Righteous character is what you are becoming. It is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished. It allows you to be trusted. Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength. It enables you in times of trial and testing to make difficult, extremely important decisions correctly even when they seem overpowering.
I testify that neither Satan nor any other power can weaken or destroy your growing character. Only you can do that through disobedience."
Talk about being humbled! My decisions to eat poorly have certainly affected my health, but I never thought about the effects they were having on my character. I am going to make a copy of those 2 paragraphs and put them on my fridge. In the hope that I will make better decisions than I have recently regarding my health.
To paraphrase a quote from "The Hunger games"...
"May your health decisions be ever in your favor."
The Resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances. ~Robert Flatt
I couldn't agree with Robert Flatt more. At this point in my life I think my theme song should be "As we stumble along" from the Drowsy Chaperone. As a matter of fact I managed to accidentally knock down a picture of the Resurrected Christ talking with Mary during Relief Society. If I had my wits about me I would have slowly brought it up while singing, "He is Risen".
The kids and I just enjoyed an Easter tradition called "Easter in Eggs". It is a dozen plastic eggs filled with scriptural quotes and objects such as red cloth or rocks. The last egg is empty because the tomb was empty. As I took the little nail and pressed it in my palm I got a small, miniscule inkling of what our Redeemer went through.
The Romans had crucifixion down to a science, and so when they drove the nail through His palm it almost assuredly caused muscle cramps through His entire arm. I imagine at some point the pain becomes so intense that it numbs, at least I pray that it does. Because it breaks my heart to think of Him in so much pain. As I ponder on what could have possibly gotten him through all this, I conclude that it must be love. Love is the only power strong enough to overcome such intense pain. It is His courage, His amazing, incredible redeeming Love that am so very grateful for this Easter. The knowledge that He loves me no matter how much I stumble along.
He loves us all so very much, He showed us how to live with His life and how to hope with His death. Oh that we will always remember Him, always
Lately the whole family has had insomnia. The way our house is set up, anytime you use the restroom the whole family knows it. And we tend to wake each other up although we try not to.
I used to tuck the kids in at bedtime, but lately because of my going to college, they tuck me in.
Esther, who is 11 and Joseph, who is 16 come in my bedroom with mischievous smiles. They taunt me by saying, "Mommy you don't look comfy, here, let me help you". Then Esther will drag the covers up over my nose and my oxygen supply goes way down. During this time, Joseph is tickling my feet. Then Esther will decide to kiss me all over my cheek which tends to make me squeal. When I am good and frustrated, I let out a roar that sounds like a Pirate ready for a fight and they bolt out of the room saying things like, "Temper, temper Mommy".
Tonight I went to bed at 8:30pm and awoke at 10:30pm to hear media sounds coming from the living room. I texted them that it was time to go to bed, because I was too tired to walk there. Then I called Joseph and asked them if they were watching a movie. "We are listening to music and reading" he said. "What kind of music?" I asked.
"David Archuleta" replied Joseph
"How do you expect to get to sleep listening to David Archuleta!" my voice was rising.
"Its Pandora, not just David Archuleta, we are listening to all different kinds of..."
"Go To BED!" I demanded.
After 3 more rounds of making sure I was "comfy" and reminders about my temper, they finally went to sleep....Now guess who's awake?
Once there was a Bassett Hound and Kitty Cat who shared the same humans. Kitty Cat loved to tease and taunt Bassett Hound about being slow. “Bassett Hound you are soooo slow! Look how fast I am, I can catch anything that moves. I can jump higher and balance on the edge of things, while you just lay there in a lump."
Kitty cat also loved to wait until Bassett hound rounded a corner and then BAP! Hit him on the nose with his claws out.
Now Bassett Hound was a patient soul but after hearing this day after day and having a sore nose he was not so patient anymore. He came up with a plan.
“Kitty Kat, you sure are fast, but I bet I can beat you in a race.” Kitty Kat chuckled and purred ,” You’re on! Cats rule and dogs drool”.
The next afternoon they started the race. As Bassett Hound started walking slowly to the finish line. Kitty Cat watched in amusement. Then he heard his humans can opener.
“I have plenty of time", kitty cat purred. "I think I’ll have a snack”. After filling up on Tuna, Kitty Kat took a nap.
As the sun was setting Basset Hound was a yard away from the finish line.
Kitty Kat woke with a start and tried to sprint to the finish line but saw that he was too late. In order to save his dignity, Kitty Cat began grooming himself and acting as though there had never been a race. Bassett Hound heard Kitty cat and looked back. He saw that Kitty Cat was embarrassed. Bassett Hound sat down and called to Kitty Cat. “Kitty Cat, I will wait for you and we can cross the line together!”
Kitty Cat looked up, then pretended to be interested in something else, Then he started sauntering or strutting (whatever cats do) to the finish line.
Kitty cat and Bassett Hound crossed the finish line together. Since then, their humans noticed that they often curled up for naps together. And occasionally Kitty Cat would wait until Bassett Hound rounded a corner and BAP! Hit him on the nose, but this time his claws stayed in, so that all Bassett hound ever felt was a paw of fluff.
This story is dedicated to my awesome loving dogs, Baron and Duke and also to my conceited cat, King Kitty.
It seems that few people today really understand the serious peril that the Constitution is in these days. And I have to wonder, How did we get here?
How did we get from the Boston Tea Party to "I'm American, I pay my taxes!"?
How did we get from "Give me Liberty or give me death!" to "Well, it's ok for the Government to tap our phone lines, fondle our children in the airports, and control food production if it provides security."?
The only place that I can think of that provides "maximum security" is in prison. And there certainly isn't any Liberty there.
I am writing another letter to the editor of the Scroll and would love your opinion, especially if you have any trouble looking up the resources mentioned.
Dear Fellow Students,
I know you are overwhelmed with the demands of educational and cultural pressures. You have an amazing work ethic and are so inspiring to me. You are the future and most important, you are here now.
Please consider the words of Ezra Taft Benson “… I’d rather be dead than to lose my liberty. I have no fear we’ll ever lose it because of invasion from the outside. But I do have fear that it may slip away from us because of our own indifference, our own negligence, as citizens of this land. And so I plead with you this morning that you take an active interest in matters pertaining to the future of this country.”
Here are some online resources to help you “take an active interest”…
You can check out the voting records and stance of all the candidates at www.issues2000.org.
“The Ezra Taft Benson society on Facebook” has many enlightening 3 minute videos available there.
To understand more about “The Enemy Within” check out “G. Edward Griffin on the Federal Reserve System” on YouTube.
I believe that if each person on this campus would create 5 - 10 minutes a day to prayerfully study the Constitution and the above mentioned issues a mighty change would take place. We must “Awake and Arise” or we will lose our Liberty.
Sincerely,
Victoria Loveland
As I was driving, I saw someone carrying everything they owned in 12 degree weather. I watched this person's movements and decided that I would pull over. As she approached we both looked directly at each other's faces, sizing each other up. She was clean, and maybe a little older than me. She had a pleasant face.
I said "Hi, would you like a ride", she said "yes". Long story made short I offered to pay her $20 to clean my kitchen and bathroom. Her name was Diane. She transformed my house, she wouldn't let me take out the trash. She cleaned behind the washer and dryer and discovered that the dryer had become disconnected. She wouldn't take the 20 dollars.
I wanted to get the blow-up mattress out for her, she flatly refused, saying that the carpet was so much more comfortable than the cold ground. She was great to my kids and then she seemed to be struggling with depression. She decided to leave a couple days later.
I had no idea how wealthy I was until I met Diane. She stayed with us a few days. Something painful happened with her family and she doesn't talk about them. She has huge resentments towards her heritage and also mine. She is most likely mentally ill. She left when she wanted to. She taught me so much and did more for me than I did for her. As I absentmindedly use my computer, get in the trustworthy car etc. I find myself in awe at the wealth that I have been given.
Something even more precious happened for me today in Sunday School. I sat there holding the Standard Works in my hands and feeling so grateful that I could read and comprehend them. That they were a part of my life. I felt so incredibly wealthy
_I just recently read a talk that really took me back. It is about discipleship and it is powerful.
I'm going to try to link the actual talk in, but here is one of the highlights for me...
When Brother Southwick said "A second thing is to pay attention to when we are most likely to see others for less than what they are. For me, I have identified 3 times when I do it the most: 1 - is when I am in a real hurry and I am pushing against some deadline or another. Another is when I am frustrated or angry. And a third is when I am distracted or when I have something on my mind." Well, that just about does me in! I so glad I read this talk. I've been going through the motions and I can see now why I feel so empty.
As a Mother and a Student it is really easy to get caught in the 3 modes of blindess (for lack of a better term) Recently I have observed that life and especially Motherhood is like being in a batting cage gone bogus. But now I see there is a way to step out of the batting cage altogether. I feel like I should change the words of "I need thee every hour" to "I need thee every second" when I sing it.
_ I was called a tom boy when I was younger. I never understood why. My name wasn’t Tom and I wasn’t a boy. But I could never get myself to play with dolls like other girls did. “This is not a person, this is a fake person, You call this a toy?...Mom, can I have some Legos?”
I loved sports, especially softball. Ground balls didn’t scare me because I had learned to keep my eye on the ball. And like all other things, I learned the hard way. That ball would be bouncing hard and fast on the ground and it was hard to tell should my mitt be faced up or down. One time I decided to have the mitt faced up and it bounced right off and into my chin. But it only takes a couple misjudgments like that to learn.
Being at bat was fun too, it was all about keeping your eye on the ball again. And this time you got to focus all your power into moving the bat into the ball.
I never realized how much I learned about making judgements while playing ball. Is the ball to high, too arched, to far, to close all of that is has to be considered in a few seconds. I found my best hits happened when I was relaxed. I found that if I went in with a vengeance and tight muscles I would miss the ball all together, or worse, pop it up for an easy out.
I get the feeling this should translate into real life and being a Mom somehow. But it's not as simple as "keep your eye on the ball" anymore. However, I think I found a description for motherhood. How does this sound...
"Motherhood is like being in a batting cage gone Berserk!!!"
I could tell by the look on Candi's face that there would be major changes for the performances coming up. She had tried for an hour and a half to reschedule the musical which now was in direct competition with Choir, Debate and 2 other things.
When the stake had originally scheduled the musical I felt the spirit very strong. So I am a bit baffled by the cancellation.
I sent the Boss a text to let her know, the whole time I was praying that it wouldn't be too much of a blow. But maybe it was just the right amount because a fire was apparently lit inside her. With a fervor and faithfulness unique to Elizabeth Bossard she announced that she was going to do her best to get a performance scheduled. We have so many talented people who find it almost impossible to participate in the arts. In fact she said, Spirit of Ricks...Hold me Back!!!
Psalm 36:5 "Thy Mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens: and thy faithfulness reacheth the clouds."
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