Aaron's Response to "Wealth and Poverty"

“Wealth And Poverty,” an essay written by BYU professor Richard E. Johnson, explores the social economic status of America. Although many people consider the rise of a “drugs, sex, and rock & roll” lifestyle to forecast the Second Coming, Johnson proposes that materialism, consumerism, social inequality, and world vanity are even greater predictors than traditional sin.

“Sinners are clearly self-indulgent, satisfying their whims and appetites for comfort or pleasure through sexual, chemical, or violent means. And innocent others clearly suffer because of their self-indulgence,” states Johnson.

It’s not difficult to see how this description applies to both “traditional sinners (thieves, addicts and prostitutes)” and an American people focused on supplying every one of their material desires – whether it be a larger house, top-of-the-line clothing, or frivolous vacations.

The United States typifies the saying, “The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.” The references for Johnson’s essay provide numerous examples and statistics about how the spread is widening between the rich and poor. Citing the Census Bureau, “the richest one-fifth of Americans households received almost twelve times the income of the same number of the poorest household in 1990.” That ratio increased by 12.5% since 1980, and most likely hasn’t improved during since.

Quoting another report by Coleman and Cressey, “the average real income (adjusted for inflation) of the bottom fifth of workers declined 10 percent from 1980 to 1990, while the real income of the top one percent jumped 122 percent during the same period.” I didn’t fully understand what Johnson was trying to emphasize when I read this statistic the first time. Billions, if not trillions of dollars, were transferred from 20% of the poorest population into the possession of a mere half-percent of the American people who already have their financial needs met.
Keep in mind that these statistics are discussing the average income of the American people. It’s scary to think that the gap is even wider, when you consider that the poor people in American are living off that income on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, while the rich continue to stockpile that extra income into savings and other assets. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.

So what does the author suggest we do to solve this problem? Johnson recognizes that it would be wrong to push any political agenda. In facts, he suggests that by truly practicing Christianity, there would be no need for government intervention: “All would be taken care of through private acts of sincere charity.” Knowing that it would be possible to expect this, Johnson proposes a balance of both public and private efforts.

Johnson’s essay delivers an alarming description of the reality around us. Johnson notices that he doesn’t have an answer that would satisfy everybody. Political partisanship and philosophies about economics will stand as an obstacle to finding a public solution we can all agree on. This reinforces the necessity for each individual to demonstrate charity. The answer may be to give, serve, and love others, and to “wash the feet of the poor,” even as Christ himself.

Jarrett's Resposne to "Lifeboat Ethics"

If the world is like a spaceship then there are limited resources. We should all share and try not to trash the place. Garrett Hardin, author of this article, argues against these people who naively hold this belief. He says that instead of the world being a spaceship, it is actually more like a lifeboat. The rich are inside the boat and the poor are trying to get in it. He continues his analogy. If a lifeboat already holds 50 people, but there are 100 people in the water, what should we do?

We could let them all in, but then the boat would break and everyone would drown instead. “Complete justice, complete catastrophe.” Could we just choose a few more people to get in the boat? How should we choose each person? Could we just drive the boat away before people get on it? What could we do “adrift in a moral sea”?

I recently saw the film 2012 and it reminds me too much of this article. In the movie, the world is coming to an end. Governments across the world know that the end is near. However, they chose not to tell the public in fear of causing panic. Ships are built to withstand the earth’s destruction but there are only limited spaces for people. Only a select few can purchase tickets at a steep price. There are those who sneak on the boat. Ultimately a decision is made to let people onto the ship.

These are the kind of situations this article addresses. The idea of lifeboat ethics is applied to the “tragedy of the commons”, immigration policy, overpopulation and world hunger and poverty.

To keep this blog short, I will address only a few of these. The World Food Bank is an organization that gives food to poor countries. Garrett Hardin argues that this is not necessarily a good thing. If you look into the past, there have been similar organizations that have tried to do this same thing. These organizations have profited immensely while pretending to be “humanitarian”. It seems like these sorts of organizations are selfish, not selfless. This is not the only dilemma. If organizations like these keep providing food to poor countries they will never learn. Let me explain. Overpopulation will become a bigger problem. Because people are not educated, they have more kids. These countries will not learn to feed their own people, but instead become reliant on organizations that are trying to help them. In the long run, it only hurts them.

This is the idea of lifeboat ethics. It may not alleviate immediate pain and suffering but its ultimate goal is the same. They seem to be cruel and harsh but it makes sense.

Isaac's response to "A Crime of Compassion"

I greatly enjoyed this essay because of the controversy it addresses. Over time, the question of euthanasia has been heatedly debated without any conclusions made. On this subject, I myself am not concretely decisive because of the variance in individual situations. I do, however, have my own thoughts.

In “A Crime of Compassion,” Barbara Huttmann gives her point of view that it should be acceptable for medical providers to give in to temptation by the patient to allow death. Unfortunately, however, there is a problem. Many people who are ill have a way for survival, though they may be in pain during treatment.
On this subject, I believe the decision could be ethical whether it allowed or denied euthanasia, depending on the situation.

Pretend you are a nurse and you have a patient much like Mac who is chronically ill and is wasting away into nothingness on a hospital bed. Say there is no chance for survival, and his prolonged life is merely causing emotional stress on all who loved Mac. Mac pleas for death, a way to escape the pain, and find his way back to dwell with his maker. Moreover, his family cries because of his pain, and wants him to die so that he will no longer suffer. It seems that everyone wants Mac to go but your overseeing ‘doctor boss’. Mac looks into your eyes as his entire body is going through necrosis, and his flesh is rotting. Every slight movement shifts pressure to a new sore on his body, making Mac reminisce about the ‘good old days’ when he could move as he desired. Now he can’t even move without unbearable pain. His entire body convulses as he coughs, and he has a tear in his eye. “Please, just let me die,” he asks, but you don’t know what to do. You are torn inside; you love Mac and don’t want to disappoint. You feel that, though others claim you are trying to play God by being the one to let him die, you could also be attacked for playing God because you are the one to sustain the life inside this dying body. You want his happiness, but hate to think he’ll die at your hands.

What do you do?! Is it right to let Mac go? I would be torn in this case, unable to make a decision on the spot. I know I would at least question the thought of letting Mac go, but it would definitely be a matter of prayer and fasting to me.
On the other hand, again you are a nurse. You have a patient, Jill, who is clinically insane. Three times in the last year she has unsuccessfully committed suicide, and is in the hospital because of a self-inflicted deep cut on her wrist. Again, Jill looks into your eyes, tormented by mental and physical pain. She too simply wants a way out of this pain, and a way to her maker. She asks you to let her just die, but what do you do?

In this situation, I personally would give no thought to the option of death. I would only believe it to be an assisted suicide because Jill had a way of straightening out her life.

In conclusion, I believe that this subject is very situation based, and that, depending on the situation, it could be ethical to allow or refuse death. I would not be so bold as to try to play God without first praying about it, and I hope I never come to that decision.

Ariel's Response to "I stand here Ironing"

Everyone, at some point in time, looks back on their life and wonders what they could have done differently. “If I had studied more could I have gotten that elusive A?” “Was it worth it to stay up until 3 am to finish all my homework?” We all have regrets some are more serious than others.

In “I Stand Here Ironing” the narrator reflects on the way she raised her daughter Emily, her firstborn child. When I first read this story I found it rather depressing. The narrator is full of self-doubt and uneasiness. Throughout the story she feels guilt and tries to justify her actions.

The back and forth motion of her ironing reflects her thoughts. The narrator is going back over her life, trying to smooth out the “wrinkles”, or come to terms with what she had to do as a young mother.

I think it is important to accept past decisions and move on. We all make mistakes and need to learn from them. Isn’t that why we’re here on Earth in the first place? If we had no regrets, there would be nothing for us to learn and we could all go back and live in heaven. Wouldn’t that be nice? Sadly, we aren’t perfect and need to live our lives the best we can.

I really liked the last line of “I Stand Here Ironing.” “Only help her to know - help make it so there is cause for her to know - that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” The narrator wants her daughter to continue to grow as an individual but be uninfluenced by others and society. The narrator wants Emily to understand how important she is.

I was thinking about this and drew the parallel of how we need to live in the World but not of it. We all have different personalities but we share the same values. We have developed who we are and, hopefully, we are happy with the result. We should remember what we stand for and move past our mistakes.

Virginia's Response to "The War Prayer"

“For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of-except he pause and think…. God’s servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two-one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this-keep it in mind. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor’s crop which may not need rain and can be injured.”

In Mark Twain’s writings of, “The War Prayer” he tells the story of a town praying for the victory and safety for the men of their village that have been sent off to fight in the war. The whole settlement is in the church praying for these things when a strange man comes into the church, takes over the pulpit, and explains to the good God-fearing townspeople what exactly they are praying for- the spoken prayer and the unspoken prayer.

“O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with hurricanes of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it-for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen”

How often do we fall prey to this? When we pray to help ease someone’s burden tomorrow- are we not also praying for that person to have some sort of burden that is so heavy for them that they would need our help? As we pray for ope, are we not also praying for a hopeless situation to test our hope in order to strengthen it? A song by Collin Ray, “What I need” goes hand in hand with the words of Mark Twain. “'Cause I prayed for strength and I got pain that made me strong. I prayed for courage and got fear to overcome. When I prayed for faith my empty heart brought me to my knees. I don’t always get what I want, I get what I need.”

Zach's response to "What Christians Believe"

In the opening paragraphs C.S. Lewis poses a question that I have often pondered and that sets the tone for the rest of the passage. He writes, “If God created the world then why has it gone wrong?” The more I think about my life and about the challenges that I have faced the more I have realized what the answer for me may be.

It was a cold February night; my Mom would be leaving the next day for a buying show. For that reason we decided to celebrate Valentines early by going out for Spaghetti. It was a night much like any other. We were seated quickly; we walked past the old fashioned trolley and were seated near the bar. We placed our orders with quick confidence. We had been there hundreds of times and didn’t even need menus except to pass the time. I had a major English assignment due the next day, we began to discuss it.

“I have to write three letters like the letter between Caesar and Brutus, like in Shakespeare’s play.”

Our salads arrived and we began to eat. Then out of nowhere we began to hear loud pops, like balloons. We all listened intently; although it was not uncommon to have parties at the restaurant these sounds had a different character to them. One, two, three, “Call 9-1-1 he’s go a gun.”

A frenzy of movement, we all dove under the table and sat there like a twisted mess, each grabbing their own phones and placing the desperate calls for help. Another round of pops ensued, followed by a flurry of pops, then silence. Where was the gunman? Was he on the move? Was he coming for me and my family? Thousands of questions raced through my mind. What seemed like hours passed. We sat there, an uncomfortable mess of bodies.

Finally S.W.A.T arrived. Our liberators were finally here. We marched single file hands above our heads, escorted by men with guns. We finally reached safety across the street; it was now ok to breathe. My mom began to cry, as she held my little brother. It was over, it was finally over.

I share this story because I think that it helps illustrate C.S. Lewis’s point. A shooting and killing of innocent people are about as bad as the world can be. But I learned something very valuable from the ordeal. Weeks later, I was driving with my mother and brother, when my little brother of six said something profound.

“Mom,” he began, “You know when we were hiding under the table at Trolley Square? I was praying that Heavenly Father would protect us.”

Wow I thought. I didn’t think to pray, but my little brother who is half my age did. I learned something very important about the power of prayer and about God’s knowledge of each and every one of us. He knows us very personally and is always watching over us.

To answer C.S. Lewis’s question I would say, the world hasn’t gone wrong, rather we face challenges and obstacles, to grow and come closer to God.

Ami's response to "Nice Ain't So Nice"

I am quietly sitting in a cubicle on the fifth floor of the library. While I am trying to study for my Book of Mormon exam, three guys congregate around the cubicle behind me and begin whispering louder and louder. I can’t believe that I forgot my headphones today! As the whispering increases, I ponder how I can politely ask the guys to be quiet, or preferably leave the building. Soon, I hear a YouTube video playing and stifled giggling coming from the cubicle behind me. Now I’m really annoyed. Trying to imagine what Jesus would do, I finish my studying and leave. As soon as I come home, I begin complaining to my roommates and anyone else who would listen about the ‘jerks’ that sat behind me in the library. What have I done? I have allowed myself to be ‘nice.’ In other words, I have allowed my self to be victimized by ‘niceness.’

The thirteenth Article of Faith states, “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men…If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” As members of Christ’s church, we often interpret this as simply being nice. We forget that nowhere in the scriptures or in any doctrine issued by the Church does it say we believe in being nice. Why? Because nice is the superficial blanket of conformity that obscures reality and distorts good. Elouise Bell states, “I believe it is niceness which can corrupt all the other virtues. Niceness edits the truth, dilutes loyalty, makes a caricature of patriotism. It hobbles justice, shortcircuits honor, and counterfeits Mercy, Compassion and Love” (171). We profess that we try to follow the example of Christ, but is Christ ever described as just being nice?

Are we sincere or simply ‘nice’? The greatest quality I look for in a friend is their sincerity. But do I allow myself to be sincere? I still have the insecurity that if I show my true sincere self, that I will be mocked and ridiculed for it. Bell mirrored my feelings in this statement, “Niceness threatens by saying there is no True Self, or that the True Self is synonymous with the Natural Man (and thus an enemy to God), or that the False Self is what we ought to seek” (173). Niceness only leads to the level of introversion that every teenager experiences and must eventually shed. If we continue to delay developing our authentic self by prolonging niceness, we are denying ourselves of true happiness. Sometimes I worry that we are so concerned with being ‘nice’ that we forget about being good? But does our society and even our ‘Mormon’ culture encourage ‘niceness’ over integrity? Do we have the courage to exemplify the cornerstone of our religion—Christ—and live earnestly? Indeed, this our daily battle that we must strive to win.

“Nice, in short, aint so nice. (174)”

Jessica's Response to "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night"

If I knew what I know now about the phrase “it was a dark and stormy night”, I would have never chosen this reading to write a response to! The phrase is known to represent a style of writing that Wikipedia says is “characterized by a self-serious attempt at dramatic flair, the imitation of formulaic styles, an extravagantly florid style, redundancies, confusing syntax, and sentences…that are exceedingly lengthy.” Sound fun to read and analyze? Didn’t think so. The first time I read it, I couldn’t get through the whole thing. I glazed over the words, skimming the document and just getting frustrated at the repetitive sentences. I’ve never read anything like this and so I initially thought it was a story, within a story, within a story, within a story etc. You get the picture. I decided to revisit the paper. I’m still not exactly sure what the message is here. So I will just tell you what I got out of it and am interested in what everyone else thinks of this reading.

The theme seems to be something of defining what the beginning, middle, and end are and their purposes. It starts out saying that Brigham Young and Brigham Old sat around a campfire and this is the story old told: Brigham Young and Brigham Old sat around the campfire and this is story he told: Brigham Young and Pierre Menard….etc. Then it goes on to talk about an old lady and a typewriter and smashed tomato. And the rain through the window writes a story about a man telling a story about an aunt telling a story about the beginning. Then the story starts talking about a hoop snake that must travel by taking its tail in its mouth and rolling along. This is bad though because sometimes some hoop snakes are venomous so when they bite their own tail in order to progress, they die of snakebite. Maybe this is saying that we are all just stuck in the middle, poisoned by our own desire to make progress. She then relates a story that is all ‘middle’. Then the aspect of leaving your mark on the world and leaving your story is discussed. The most interesting line I think was “we will all come to the end together, and even to the beginning, living as we do, in the middle.” Life is all one continuous round and the only way will survive is by making the end and the beginning meet. As you can tell, I’m really not sure what to think of this reading.

Ashley's Response to "Toward Becoming an Authentic Reader"

Chewed and Digested: “ Towards Becoming an Authentic Reader”

Literature is food for my soul – I am never so happy as when I am curled up with a good book (Shakespeare, Keats, Fitzgerald, one of the Brontes, etc.) for hours. There was no doubt or question in my mind that I was destined to become an English major coming into the university. When one starts to read literary criticism for fun, that’s when one starts to get an idea of where one’s life is headed.
But let me say that my rather voracious appetite for reading never really kicked in until my freshman year of high school. Let me restate that: my appetite for intelligent reading didn’t kick in until high school. I read…things…but not the kind of things that required many brain cells. But, I had stumbled across Les Miserables by Victor Hugo in the eighth grade, and discovered a love for literary classics. So, in freshman year, I decided to become ambitious, and picked up Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Of course upon reading it, the heavens opened and all became clear as I understood every line Shakespeare penned, never needing to aid of footnotes for clarification since I was speaking in the Elizabethan dialect fluently already. Alas, such was not the case. I understood almost none of what occurred in Macbeth, let alone what the characters were saying or the general meaning of the work. But I was intrigued – there was something to this Shakespeare character that was inscrutable but fascinating; I wanted to understand.

And so, I picked up some others of his: Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and finally Hamlet. It was when I read Hamlet that I finally came to understand some piece of Shakespeare, and I loved what I came to see. I saw that there was a depth, a level of contemplation as well as fast-paced action that was absolutely gripping. It’s now my favorite play of his.

The rest is history. The next few years of high school I couldn’t get enough, I was constantly at the library, my teachers’ classrooms, the book store, my friends’ bookcases, assessing what there was that I felt must come to know, and I ran through as many things as I could get my hands on.

What Richard Cracroft (with his wonderful witty-phrases-with-dashes) says is so true – there are few things so important as reading, and I have come to know this. In my own life, becoming an “authentic reader” of literature parallels my becoming an “authentic reader” of the scriptures. Becoming better at reading the one vastly improved my capacity to understand the other. Reading literature I consider to be among the most important things I do. And my goal has always been this: to reconcile the things of man with the things of God, and use learning (through reading) as a means to draw closer to the Divine. There are books that are not worth reading. There are also books that are, but will contain some material that one wouldn’t find necessarily appropriate in the Celestial realm of heaven. That’s when the reader’s job becomes tricky – one must sift through the book’s contents to pull out the gems without carrying around the muck. It’s ridiculous to think that one can and should read only books appropriate to carry into the temple – literature is meant to be a thing of imperfection, for it is the ultimate representation of man himself. Let’s face it: man is imperfect, and always will be. It’s simply a fact of life. The best we can do is to “aim Celestially” as Cracroft puts it, for “we’ll get much further than if we had aimed low and comfortably.” Translation: try your best. That’s all that really matters, isn’t it?

Sarah's response to "When Nice Ain't So Nice"

When I first read the title of this article, I had no idea what it would contain. As I read the first line, however, Elouise Bell made it very clear what this article is all about. It is all about people being fake and the problems it causes.

Her main point in the article was that sometimes people don’t want to be rude, so they will twist the truth somewhat. When the truth is twisted, nothing good can ever come from it. Lies don’t promote trusting relationships, and this is where all of the world’s problems come in. She also emphasizes how many people try to hide their feelings because they don’t want to seem bad or angry, and then they will go about secretly hurting that person.

Elouise mentions how some of the very worst people in the world tricked and manipulated people in to doing things they wanted. They all seemed like the nicest person in town or in the neighborhood, when in reality they were living a secret life that was evil and sadistic.

As I read this article, it really made me contemplate my life and the relationships that I build with others. I began wondering if I always try my hardest to be honest in everything I do; even if it is brutally honest. I realized that sometimes I may twist the truth without even really thinking about it.

A good example of this is when someone asks you if their outfit matches or is cute. The “nice” response would be to say, “Yes, you look great” even if the outfit really doesn’t look that awesome. Just because they are a great person doesn’t mean they always look great. Then they could go all day at school walking around like a freak causing many bad thoughts about them to be thought that day. This may seem harmless, but who cares? What is wrong with being completely honest?

In that same situation, you could be completely honest, and still be kind about it. You could say something along the lines of, “Generally plaid and stripes don’t look the best together. Maybe you could try your green shirt you wore last week.” That wasn’t so painful was it? They may claim to have their feelings hurt, but they will learn that they really are grateful for your advice. Not only that, but they will learn from the situation and probably never make the same problem again. They could walk around on campus all day, and people may in fact turn their heads wondering who the hottie is.

I loved this article. Elouise Bell has so many great points about how being “nice” can in the end be worse than saying something rude from the beginning. I believe however, that nothing has to be said in a rude way. I feel like there are many opportunities where when something blunt must be said, there is always a way to say it directly, honestly, and kindly. It may not be as nice as a little white lie would be, but those never did any good for anyone.

Erin's Response to "Story of An Hour"

The first time I read this short story, I laughed out loud. Literally. And also took a minute to actually work out what actually happened. Chopin packs in such a punch in the last line and when Mrs. Mallard is surprised about her new found freedom, the reader is too.

The use of description further deepens the surprise that the reader experiences. Josephine and Richards make sure they break the news “gently,” with “veiled hints,” suggesting that because Mrs. Mallard is so fragile and dependent upon her husband that the news of his death might cause heart trouble. The fact that Richards checks twice to make sure Mr. Mallard is really dead leaves no room for doubt that Mr. Mallard might be alive. Mrs. Mallard experiences, as any other wife would, a “storm of grief” and weeps with “wild abandonment.” She even sobs by herself in her room, her eyes filled with a “dull stare.” The reader would not suspect that she was anything other than appropriately upset about her husband’s death. And even Mrs. Mallard does not expect that anything is amiss, until she fearfully begins to “recognize this thing” and strives to beat it back. Up until this point, it seems as if Mrs. Mallard might be beating back the depression, the sadness that might accompany her reaction to discovering that she is a widow. But then she realizes it and embraces the happiness and excitement that accompanies it, her eyes “keen and bright,” her pulse beating fast, and her body warmed by the “coursing blood.”

Details about the spring outside suggest the upcoming happiness and joy that Mrs. Mallard might be able to experience, but because of combination of the alternative details, the social convention, and the lack of detail of her relationship with her husband, the reader does not suspect that she, instead of sad at the loss of her husband, is actually relieved. Chopin allows the reader to discover along with Mrs. Mallard for the first time what she actually feels in response to his death.

I was really surprised at the ending, as I mentioned. But I think it’s important to realize the setting that Kate Chopin was writing from. Very much the feminist, she wanted her audience to realize that females did not have to be married to be “fulfilled” or happy and even more importantly, women were not always happy in their marriage and often wanted to be independent. She refers to the protagonist of her short story as “Mrs. Mallard” in the beginning. Only after her revelation concerning her new found freedom does the audience learn her first name, “Louise.” In today’s time and social context, I feel that readers can understand this desire, to be free of any restraints that might tie women down, or at least seem to. Women today are delaying marriage and, even more often, delaying having children. Women insist that going to college and getting a successful occupation is more important than being married and having a family. I believe that it does not have to be one or the other, but that it is possible to do both. It is possible to be both the college graduate and have a family, possible to both have a family and be a successful working mother. But I personally feel that having a family is more important. Eventually one does have to prioritize and for me, being a mother is more important than making a six-digit income.

I really like Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour. I like the way that she completely surprises me and makes me kind of sit back for a minute, working out what actually happened. I like the intense descriptions that perfectly set the scene. I like the message that it is alright for females to be independent, to stand on their own, and it also emphasizes many of the feelings that women have, I think, concerning marriage. But I don’t like how Chopin completely dismisses the contribution of love in a marriage and portrays the selfishness of Louise. Selfishness cannot exist in marriage and for marriage to be successful, love must be there. I feel that Chopin questions all of us, whether or not we are free, free to pursue any of our desires, or are we enslaved by a social norm or institution of today’s world.

Rachel's response to "Consecration and Learning"

Since I started school this year, I have had several questions. In particular, how do I find time to develop all my talents? I know I should seek God's guidance in major decisions, but what if I already know what I want to do? What is wrong with postponing my scripture study if I have homework to finish? How do I know when I should thank God for a good event and when it was just chance? Jardine's essay answered these questions.

Ever since my junior year of high school I have had to make difficult decisions concerning how to allot my time between various talents. Since I came to BYU, the problem has taken on the additional dimension of deciding on a major. I can list more than five subjects I would be happy to major in. Obviously, I can't major in all of them, but it is hard to let go of any. And besides the choice of a major, I have to make less important decisions daily about what area of my life to improve. I can practice music, or I can make a new kind of dinner, or I can volunteer at the MTC, or I can go to a dance, or I can study beyond the textbook for my favorite classes. Despite my best efforts, I can't fit everything in my schedule. Jardine offered some advice on this dilemma that surprised me: “You will have to decide which of your talents should be nurtured” (61). It is true – I do not have time to do every good thing. I need to make choices about what is important and recognize that the rest isn't going to happen.

Some of my first real experience with praying about important decisions came when I was preparing to come to BYU. I needed to decide whether or not to do honors. I liked the idea because of the Great Works experiences and enriched core classes, but I was not happy about the English requirement. I don't like writing. When I prayed about it, I could not get away from the fact that the honors program seemed like a really good idea. Fortunately I was able to humble myself, and so here I am. But I still struggle with the idea of asking God's advice in matters of education. I tend to like my own ideas too well. Jardine says that consecration means being dedicated to what you need to do, even if you don't like it. He says we must consecrate ourselves “to God's purposes and not our preferences” (68). He promises that making sacrifices for God will increase our love for Him. These comments answered my question about following the Spirit in making major decisions by reminding me that I need to be humble and have faith.

Jardine also offers a caution about consecrating our efforts to the wrong purposes. Just as serving God will increase our love for him, sacrificing too much for learning can cause us to love learning for its own sake, instead of for the ends it produces. Jardine suggests that our priorities reveal who or what we are really serving. For me, this answers the question about postponing scripture study. I need to plan my time carefully enough that can read my scriptures in the morning, because not doing so shows that my priorities are with school. One experience showed me the consequences of the latter. I stayed up late one night studying, but I didn't finish chemistry. So the next morning I studied chemistry instead of the Book of Mormon. It was a poor substitute. The whole day I felt unhappy, and nothing was good. I realized that I was starting to put schoolwork before gospel living, and so I made a commitment to always get my chemistry reading done before bed. I have kept that commitment thus far.

Sometime last year, I had a phase when I worked hard to be more grateful, especially to Heavenly Father. I wondered, though, just what I ought to thank Heavenly Father for, since He probably is not responsible for every good thing that happens to me. For instance, I am quite grateful whenever I find an easy parking spot in a parking garage, but that is most likely coincidence. I have also wondered, if I study really hard for a test and then I do well on it, should I thank God? Jardine replies that we should “[acknowledge] God's 'hand in all things,' including our intellectual and academic successes” (68). This idea makes sense to me now because God gave me my brain and my reasoning power, even if he didn't give me the specific answer to every problem on the test. When small things go right and make me happy, I can still thank God for them, if only because he created me to enjoy them.

I liked Jardine's essay the first time I read it, but I really enjoyed it when I studied it again later and found the answers to so many of my questions. I learned that I truly don't have time to do everything, that I need to focus more on God's plan than my personal ideas, that I need to watch my priorities so I don't put schoolwork ahead of the gospel, and that I should give thanks to God for everything. Jardine's words challenge me to be a little better.

Victoria's Response to "On Receiving"

The article "On Receiving" by George S. Tate discusses what the verb "to receive" means. Tate asserts that "receiving" or "to receive" is often a very ambiguous verb that has a very large spectrum of activity or passivity. One can be very active in their receiving or very passive. For example, Tate describes how Laman and Lemuel in the Book of Mormon are very passive in the way they receive answers. They ask God superficial questions, therefore they in turn receive shallow answers that did not fully explain the doctrine of the gospel and many of its profound truths. On the other hand, Nephi is extremely active in the way that he receives information from God. Nephi asks God to show unto him what God showed his father Lehi. Instead of Nephi asking all the questions, the angels and visions that visit him ask him the questions and he receives a testimony and a knowledge of profound principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ through answering these questions for himself. Thus, we can be active in receiving a testimony and a full understanding of God's wonders.

Tate goes on further to say that there is a distinct difference between the verbs "to receive" and "to be given." An example of this is a book that you were given for your birthday as a gift from your aunt. You were quite indifferent to the book because it did not look interesting to you. Thus, you let its pages waste away in a crammed drawer in your bedroom until finally you sell it for a couple of dollars at a garage sale. You "were given" the book, but you did not "receive" it. To "receive" something typically requires more work/activity on the part of the receiver. For example, if you are given a pair of tap shoes and then you began tap lessons and then tap dancing becomes a huge passion in your life, then you have truly received that gift.

The most active we have to be in receiving a gift is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost as Tate illustrates in his writing. When a priesthood holder blesses someone after baptism they always say, "receive the Holy Ghost," rather than "I bless you with the Holy Ghost." Tate explains that this is because God works through the priesthood holder to indirectly bestow this beautiful gift upon his child. Priesthood holders do not have the power to give someone this gift, only God does. Thus, since the gift of the Holy Ghost is an actual gift of God it must be "received" in its entirety. This can take a whole lifetime however. We need a welcoming heart and a desire for an increasing testimony in order to receive all the blessings of the gift of the Holy Ghost, little by little.

Our quest to fully "receive" the Holy Ghost and the spiritual promptings it ensues coincides with our quest for a BYU education. If we truly try to gain a full education of God's many wonders, we will attain confirmations through the spirit and thus better "receive" the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Jonathan's Response to An Excerpt from "Night"

Davíd and I walk on each side of Mom, down the covered concrete path through the recreational area of the compound, heading toward the Olympic size swimming pool. Even the evening weather is scorching on this August day. It is Saudi Arabia, after all.

“Have fun, and, please, get along,” Mom solemnly hints. “This will probably be the last time we go swimming here, or even walk through here.” She looks around—towards the gymnasium door, then across to the movie rental and game room, and finally rounding her view ahead of us towards the barbershop—taking in the sights.

Davíd and I join her. Soon, we reach the commissary and then round the corner past the restaurant adjacent to the swimming area. What a beautiful place, I think. This is our home with such wonderful memories and so many places yet to explore. How can we leave it?

A brawny man walks our direction.

“I know! Because we leave on Davíd’s birthday,” I finally respond, loudly, to Mom’s previous statement.

Mom’s eyes grow wild, as she looks at me and frantically whispers, “Shhh! Jonathan, be quiet!” She straightens, smiling and nodding at the man.

He returns the greeting.

“But, Mom,” I continue, “No one knows when Davíd’s birthday is.”

Davíd laughs at this recognition. “Yeah, no one really knows that,” he says.

Mom sighs, “Yeah, I guess so. But, please, Jonathan—and Davíd—don’t let anyone know. It must be secret.”

I look across Mom towards Davíd, beaming from the ecstasy of my perceivably clever statement. I know it will be a sad day, but it will also coincide with the day that will recommit the three years seniority my brother has over me, since I turned eight in June.

We spend the next few days finishing our packing and deciding what we are to take, since there is a weight limit of five hundred pounds. I want to take the piano but am informed that it would take up the entire limit.

One night, as Davíd and I are tucked into our beds, we ask why we are being evacuated. Mom explains that a terrorist group has been threatening to bomb the American school buses in Riyadh, so the families of all active duty military members are being evacuated. It is not really affecting us in Khamis Mushayt, but our government wants to be safe.

On August 14, Mom wakes Davíd and me. I look at the clock: 10:08 p.m.

She softly commands, “Come on. It’s time to go.”

She remains mindful of our drowsy bodies and gently hustles us to the entryway of our villa. We assume our positions next to our carry-on bags.

Dad stares out the front window in the nearby living room. “They’re here!” he announces. He opens the front door and carries our luggage to a tiny bus outside our villa.

Mom leads Davíd and me to the bus with our bags. Other passengers watch us in silence as we board. Children sit with their parents, but I do not recognize any of them from school, because they are younger than me. As we settle in our seats, we watch Dad close the door to our villa one last time. This is the last I will see of our happy refuge, I remind myself. I lean my tired body against my mother for comfort. She suggests I try to sleep, but I refuse.

The bus picks up one last family before leaving the compound—before leaving our home. The bus drives the windy road to Khamis Mushayt. I love this road. I loved bounding across the backseat of our Suburban with Davíd when we drove this road times before. This is the last drive, and we are bound for a military base.

The bus is completely hushed. No one speaks. I questioningly whisper this observation to Mom.

“We must be quiet from now until we are in the air,” she whispers back. “We must be kept secret.”

“Why?” I wonder.

“Because we don’t want to hurt the Saudis’ feelings,” she answers. “They will feel bad that we are leaving. They will feel like we don’t trust them in their own country.” She pauses a moment. “We also don’t want anyone to hurt us. Someone may try to stop us from going or try to harm us with a bomb or some way. If you see anything suspicious, let me know. Since you don’t want to sleep, be watchful.”

This frightens me. Would someone really try to kill us? I decide to be watchful and observe everything that happens around us. When we arrive at the air base, two C-130’s await our arrival. Mom informs me that we only need one plane, but the extra is used as a precautionary in case the one we fly is somehow damaged. The extra one will also be used as a decoy, as the two planes will fly in opposite directions but will both land in Jeddah. The bus stops, and the door opens, welcoming our departure and boarding of the large C-130.

Never will I forget this moment—never this stress or adrenaline—never these sights or fears—never this loss of security and innocence. Never.