So, I know I kinda ragged on the Book of Mormon in my last post with the mention of Alma 41:10. To make up for it I'm going to write about poetry in the Book of Mormon for this post.
In last nights study of the Book of Mormon, I was reading about the depressing end of the Nephite civilization and how their morals have degraded to the point of open rebellion against God. In describing their wickedness Mormon claims he has never seen anything this bad "since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man" (Mormon 2:18).
I love the phrase "sufficient to behold." Some synonyms for sufficient are adequate or enough implying that his ability to view and understand human nature had to grow to a point where they were sufficient. When exactly this time came for him I do not know, but isn't it interesting to think about what that change means and when it happens for each of us.
For some reason it reminds me of J.D. Salinger's character Holden Caulfield in Catcher In The Rye. Holden was an adolescent--probably around Mormon's age--who was very aware of impending adulthood. He resisted this change tremendously viewing adults as "phonies."
From this perspective, being "sufficient to behold the ways of man" could mean leaving behind our childish naivete of the world. What exactly Mormon meant by this phrase though is not clear to me.
Monday, March 29, 2010
12. Chasing The Wind
Sometimes the scriptures are just poetic. Makes sense, since the King James version of the Bible was written during Shakespeare's era, but I just never really think of them as poetry. But it turns out that for every "Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel" there's an, "I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
I came across a gem in my recent study--and it was in the Old Testament of all places! The book of Ecclesiastes has great insights into the materiality of this life compared to the substantiality of the next. It's in this book we get great lines like: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver" (vs. 10).
As I was reading here the other day I was really impressed with how poetic vs. 17 is: "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" before this line the writer has been speaking of the pointlessness of spending our days in seeking riches. This line is so beautiful in how it conjures that concept succinctly and with such a powerful image. In the end, seeking the illusion of happiness in material things is as pointless as running to catch the wind--as if you could hold it in your hands.
Of course the writers could have just said, "wickedness never was happiness", but the power of the lesson comes from the conjuring the image and applying it to mean something more tangible. Like all good poetry, you have to work for the meaning and in the work is were we learn the most powerful lessons.
I came across a gem in my recent study--and it was in the Old Testament of all places! The book of Ecclesiastes has great insights into the materiality of this life compared to the substantiality of the next. It's in this book we get great lines like: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver" (vs. 10).
As I was reading here the other day I was really impressed with how poetic vs. 17 is: "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" before this line the writer has been speaking of the pointlessness of spending our days in seeking riches. This line is so beautiful in how it conjures that concept succinctly and with such a powerful image. In the end, seeking the illusion of happiness in material things is as pointless as running to catch the wind--as if you could hold it in your hands.
Of course the writers could have just said, "wickedness never was happiness", but the power of the lesson comes from the conjuring the image and applying it to mean something more tangible. Like all good poetry, you have to work for the meaning and in the work is were we learn the most powerful lessons.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
11. My Roots and Influences
I have this cool paper in my American Heritage class that I'm starting to write. I'm not excited that it has to be at least nine pages, but I'm way into what I'm learning about myself as I'm writing it.
The paper is the result of an interview of my Mom and Grandma. Questions involved are about their view on a changing America over their years. It's been so neat to hear there perspectives. As I have I've learned two things. First, that I am really a product of my heritage--I see my ideals in my mother and grandmother. Second, that I'm also a product of my environment--the rest of my ideals are filled in by my surroundings.
A good example of the influence of my heritage is my view of work. My grandma was a child of the depression, so right out of high school she got a job as a grocer and worked right through marriage, army life with grandpa and five kids. My mother too see's the nobility of working for what you have and completely disagrees with the current view of government as the one to go to for a hand-me-out.
A good example of my environment is technology. My grandma could not hate technology more and is very stubborn to not get involved with ipods, computers and the like. I think my mom realizes that technology is necessary to get by, but is reluctant to fully embrace it. I'm a big fan of growing up in a time where information is easily accessible and tasks are more easily and efficiently completed. I tend to embrace technology with little reluctance or uneasiness unlike my heritage.
I'm clearly a product of the two; my heritage and my surroundings. It's been cool seeing some of my roots and influences as I've been writing this paper.
The paper is the result of an interview of my Mom and Grandma. Questions involved are about their view on a changing America over their years. It's been so neat to hear there perspectives. As I have I've learned two things. First, that I am really a product of my heritage--I see my ideals in my mother and grandmother. Second, that I'm also a product of my environment--the rest of my ideals are filled in by my surroundings.
A good example of the influence of my heritage is my view of work. My grandma was a child of the depression, so right out of high school she got a job as a grocer and worked right through marriage, army life with grandpa and five kids. My mother too see's the nobility of working for what you have and completely disagrees with the current view of government as the one to go to for a hand-me-out.
A good example of my environment is technology. My grandma could not hate technology more and is very stubborn to not get involved with ipods, computers and the like. I think my mom realizes that technology is necessary to get by, but is reluctant to fully embrace it. I'm a big fan of growing up in a time where information is easily accessible and tasks are more easily and efficiently completed. I tend to embrace technology with little reluctance or uneasiness unlike my heritage.
I'm clearly a product of the two; my heritage and my surroundings. It's been cool seeing some of my roots and influences as I've been writing this paper.
10. The Inevitable Pendulum Effect and The Restoration
So, I've been thinking a lot about this new Health Bill that was passed earlier this week. I'm going to leave my opinions as to the correctness of the bill, but I do want to comment on the interesting thing the Bill represents to me and what it teaches me about both human nature and The Restoration of the Gospel. To do so, let me give you a brief history of economic thought in America:
You can really boil down government interaction with economy into two very simple categories: heavy government involvement or light involvement. This involvement comes in many many ways; some of the most basic being taxation, printing more money, lowering interest rates and creating programs in hopes of creating jobs and economic stimulus, just to name a few. As we went into the 20th century, we had a small deficit and a view of small government as the way to go. Then came the Great Depression. Our reaction? We changed our ideals and went with big government involvement which resulted in a stimulated economy and a greatly enlarged deficit. This of course led to unexplainable recessions, high taxes and a stifled economy in the 70's. Where did we go from here? We opted for Regonomics with it's small government which resulted in a more efficient and booming economy.
Now, here we are at the beginning of the century in an unexplainable recession and where are we going from here? With the new Health Bill we are clearly going toward big government which will inevitably result in a larger deficit (everything has it's cost).
To me this pendulum swing is so true to life and human nature. We rarely pick the middle row, but always go from one extreme to the next. We tend to over-correct as we see injustice or inefficiency. Think of the reformation--too much pomp and work in the catholic church so instead we get the bare-bones Lutheran church with a "no works allowed" policy and a focus on faith.
To me one of the evidences that The LDS Church really is the restored church is that it is a perfect blend of the two--in no way a pendulum reaction to current religion. It is devoid of human nature's desire to over-correct. God knows how to correct and not over-correct.
You can really boil down government interaction with economy into two very simple categories: heavy government involvement or light involvement. This involvement comes in many many ways; some of the most basic being taxation, printing more money, lowering interest rates and creating programs in hopes of creating jobs and economic stimulus, just to name a few. As we went into the 20th century, we had a small deficit and a view of small government as the way to go. Then came the Great Depression. Our reaction? We changed our ideals and went with big government involvement which resulted in a stimulated economy and a greatly enlarged deficit. This of course led to unexplainable recessions, high taxes and a stifled economy in the 70's. Where did we go from here? We opted for Regonomics with it's small government which resulted in a more efficient and booming economy.
Now, here we are at the beginning of the century in an unexplainable recession and where are we going from here? With the new Health Bill we are clearly going toward big government which will inevitably result in a larger deficit (everything has it's cost).
To me this pendulum swing is so true to life and human nature. We rarely pick the middle row, but always go from one extreme to the next. We tend to over-correct as we see injustice or inefficiency. Think of the reformation--too much pomp and work in the catholic church so instead we get the bare-bones Lutheran church with a "no works allowed" policy and a focus on faith.
To me one of the evidences that The LDS Church really is the restored church is that it is a perfect blend of the two--in no way a pendulum reaction to current religion. It is devoid of human nature's desire to over-correct. God knows how to correct and not over-correct.
9. Why Shakespeare Rocks
So, I'm coming to find that life really isn't black and white. I mean, I believe in truth and that God is the author of truth, but I think how we apply truth and view it is subjective--and I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. I mean I don't loose sleep over the fact that my mom is a democrat and my dad is a republican.
I imagine Shakespeare new this, cause he really used this subjectivity well in his work. Case in point: Desdemona and Emilia from the tragedy Othello. It is clear from their interaction that they see the world in very different ways. Desdemona is the idealist; she believes in being true to your husband and in the virtue of mankind. Emilia is more of the realist; being faithful to your man is good until you get a better offer because in the end the world is yours to manipulate for your gain. Both characters stand at opposite ends of the "what is truth" spectrum.
What I love is how Shakespeare handles these two characters with their separate philosophies. Both characters are very involved in the play and so not one ideal overshadows the other. Both are fleshed out characters with equal time with the audience and both die noble martyrs deaths. Shakespeare presents these two world views without clearly portraying one as superior to the other. He presents them neatly on two silver platters from which I can taste one or both or neither--kinda a "pick your truth" scenario. He leaves his art open for my interpretation.
I imagine Shakespeare new this, cause he really used this subjectivity well in his work. Case in point: Desdemona and Emilia from the tragedy Othello. It is clear from their interaction that they see the world in very different ways. Desdemona is the idealist; she believes in being true to your husband and in the virtue of mankind. Emilia is more of the realist; being faithful to your man is good until you get a better offer because in the end the world is yours to manipulate for your gain. Both characters stand at opposite ends of the "what is truth" spectrum.
What I love is how Shakespeare handles these two characters with their separate philosophies. Both characters are very involved in the play and so not one ideal overshadows the other. Both are fleshed out characters with equal time with the audience and both die noble martyrs deaths. Shakespeare presents these two world views without clearly portraying one as superior to the other. He presents them neatly on two silver platters from which I can taste one or both or neither--kinda a "pick your truth" scenario. He leaves his art open for my interpretation.
Friday, March 26, 2010
8. Making Sense of the Real World
I'm starting to slowly discover why I love economics so much. Part of this realization came when I got my American Heritage test back, disappointing to see a "B" written on the top. I studied well, but what it came down to was subjectivity; I didn't provide the answers that my teacher wanted and was punished by getting a lower grade.
Such subjectivity is a frustrating part of academics, yet isn't as much a part of the real world. What I mean is that those who make it in a career do it because they understand their field in relation to how it works in the world, not according to how their freshman American Heritage Teacher understands it.
With economics, learning is much like it is in the real world. You learn tools and concepts which you can apply to real-life problems. You can think it out. You aren't stuck guessing: "Well how does sister so-and-so want me answer this?" I feel like economic principles are empowering because they make sense of the world I live in--not the world of my teachers mind. But, then again, maybe I am just bitter about my grade.
Such subjectivity is a frustrating part of academics, yet isn't as much a part of the real world. What I mean is that those who make it in a career do it because they understand their field in relation to how it works in the world, not according to how their freshman American Heritage Teacher understands it.
With economics, learning is much like it is in the real world. You learn tools and concepts which you can apply to real-life problems. You can think it out. You aren't stuck guessing: "Well how does sister so-and-so want me answer this?" I feel like economic principles are empowering because they make sense of the world I live in--not the world of my teachers mind. But, then again, maybe I am just bitter about my grade.
Monday, March 22, 2010
7. From The Shadow Of The Temple
I enjoyed the lecture in my English 251 class this last Wednesday and the insight it gave me on my current situation. The discussion turned to the idea of "point of reference": the idea that our criticism of literature (or really anything) comes from the point of view of our experiences--especially the ones we are experiencing currently. This made me think about what my current "point of reference" would be, and i was humored to find how blatantly it has influenced my work in this class.
As I've been reading Othello, I haven't been able to get past feeling sorry for Othello and how his overhasty marriage truly was his demise in the end. I really think that he and Desdemona ought to have spent more time dating before they tied the knot. This would have allowed them to develop a sufficient amount of trust which would have helped Othello combat Iago's lies within his head. Instead he believed Iago's accusation of Desdemona's infidelity without any real evidence.
I also spent a good amount of class time discussing how Bob Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" speaks powerfully of the difference between lust and committed love. Also, a few days ago I posted a little ditty on this blog about how the economic principles I've learned in ECON 110 have taught me how about successful marriage. It's obvious that my "point of reference" stems from my recent decision to marry my girlfriend Stacy. I'm looking at life from under the shadow of the temple.
As I've been reading Othello, I haven't been able to get past feeling sorry for Othello and how his overhasty marriage truly was his demise in the end. I really think that he and Desdemona ought to have spent more time dating before they tied the knot. This would have allowed them to develop a sufficient amount of trust which would have helped Othello combat Iago's lies within his head. Instead he believed Iago's accusation of Desdemona's infidelity without any real evidence.
I also spent a good amount of class time discussing how Bob Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" speaks powerfully of the difference between lust and committed love. Also, a few days ago I posted a little ditty on this blog about how the economic principles I've learned in ECON 110 have taught me how about successful marriage. It's obvious that my "point of reference" stems from my recent decision to marry my girlfriend Stacy. I'm looking at life from under the shadow of the temple.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
6. I'm Scared of California
So I'm finding a big part of growing up is realizing just how much of a hypocrite you really are. I'm thinking it comes from our desire to hear ourselves speak--we love to say "treat everyone with kindness", but when the 15-year-old cashier is texting when she should be ringing you up, all of a sudden our words don't stand up. Maybe this discrepancy comes from laziness, but it seems to be getting worse as I get older.
I really noticed this problem this week as I've been considering the choice I have of either continuing at BYU or transferring to Cal Poly. I have probably told many people "you can't be scared of change", but it seems I've had a hard time living my advice with this choice. I've been mulling over my options for weeks now looking at college ratings, major requirements, job placement statistics and everything else I could think of in making this decision even going out to California to visit the college.
Though this looking at options has been good, I've only been ignoring the real fear: I'm scared of leaving the safe cocoon of Provo for the big world of California. Here at BYU I feel safe from the "real world" and so have built myself a little fortress that I don't wanna give up. This is regardless of the fact that if I were to encounter someone in the same circumstances as me I'd preach a sermon on "not fearing that which is new."
Now, I'm not saying that I am basing my decision on going to Cal Poly just based on the fact that it will offer me something new. I'm just saying that it's been refreshing to realize that I shouldn't let "the fear of the unknown" keep me from seeing exactly where the Lord wants to take me.
I really noticed this problem this week as I've been considering the choice I have of either continuing at BYU or transferring to Cal Poly. I have probably told many people "you can't be scared of change", but it seems I've had a hard time living my advice with this choice. I've been mulling over my options for weeks now looking at college ratings, major requirements, job placement statistics and everything else I could think of in making this decision even going out to California to visit the college.
Though this looking at options has been good, I've only been ignoring the real fear: I'm scared of leaving the safe cocoon of Provo for the big world of California. Here at BYU I feel safe from the "real world" and so have built myself a little fortress that I don't wanna give up. This is regardless of the fact that if I were to encounter someone in the same circumstances as me I'd preach a sermon on "not fearing that which is new."
Now, I'm not saying that I am basing my decision on going to Cal Poly just based on the fact that it will offer me something new. I'm just saying that it's been refreshing to realize that I shouldn't let "the fear of the unknown" keep me from seeing exactly where the Lord wants to take me.
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