Reflection and Conclusion

After finishing my 20th post and looking back at the last semester in Writing 150.  I have really enjoyed this class, and I have learned a lot from it.  I am glad our class only had around 20 students in it, because I feel there are a lot more discussions and group work in smaller classes.  As far as blogging, I wasn't excited to hear we would need to be keeping one.  Because I wasn't excited, I slacked off on blogging for quite a while at the beginning of the semester.  However, since I started posting a little more often, I have realized that blogging can almost be like keeping a journal. (Kind of...)  Although I was not excited to start, I have realized that blogging can be fun, and serve a good purpose.  I am going to try to continue my blog in the future.

My First Paper at BYU (I've come a long way)

No two identical people have ever been born at the exact same time in the exact same place.  We are all different.  From the family we were born into, to the place we were born, no two people have perfectly identical backgrounds.  We are born with different traits and we develop different abilities.  We all have different opportunities.  Thus, a completely uniform human society cannot exist and prosper.  There will always be diversity. All people live different lives also, so how could a society become, and stay, equal?  Government should not intervene to attempt to equalize a society because people are inherently unequal. 

            The very core of inequality in human society is at a time that none of us can control: our birth.  This is the very beginning of human diversity.  We all are born with different genes.  This is the main framework from which all inequality exists.  Government does not need to intervene because we all grow up in different societies with different people.  Any attempt by government to make everyone the same means a loss of rights and liberties to someone.  Across the United States of America, everyone deserves fair and equal treatment by the government.  The government should not favor some people over others because of where they are from, or who their parents are.

            Another reason that society is inherently unequal, and reason for which government does not need to overly involve itself, is opportunities and development.  Opportunities and development are, in essence, simply an extension of the previously mentioned reason.  As we grow up, we all face different choices, make different decisions and have different trials.  Here is a short quote from Moroni, written in his abridgement of the Jaredite record:  “… I give unto men weakness that they may be humble…” (Ether 12:27).  

El Salvador del Mundo

            El sábado 13 de noviembre mi papá y yo fuimos al centro para ver una obra de teatro.  La obra se llama El Salvador del Mundo, y monstra la vida de Jesucristo y su nacimiento y resurrección.  Esta obra se encontraba en el centro de conferencias.  Todo el elenco son hispano, y mucho del multitud fueron hispano también.  Mi papá y yo sentía diferente.  Pensé la obra fue un poco aburrido porque no entendido mucho de los conversaciones.  La obra había mucho música, y me gustó la música, pero no entendido la música también.  Una diferencia grande es los nombres del personas son diferentes en ingles y español.  Por ejemplo, en ingles, Jesucristo es Jesus Christ, y su papá se llama José no se llama Joseph.  Su mamá se llama Mariá, pero en ingles se llama Mary.  Las historias de las obras ingles y español son los mismos.  En la obra, Jesucristo nació en un establo.  Él vivió en Jerusalén, y es asesinado cuando tenía treinta y tres años.  Jesús fue resucitado después de tres días en una tumba donde los soldados lo pusieron.

Finals Week

With finals week right around the corner, I think it's fair to say we all have our fair share of studying to do.  This is especially true for me, because I have a much harder time paying attention in some classes than others.  I feel like my hardest final is going to be my world history class.  Not only do I have to get up early for that class, making it hard to stay awake, but the final is at 7:30 a.m., which isn't exactly the time I want to be focusing on taking a test.  As far as my other classes go, I feel more confident, but I still need to put in a lot of time in order to do well.

Looking Back at Freshman Year

As I look back at freshman year, I realize I have learned quite a bit.  One thing I have learned is how to study better.  In high school and earlier, there wasn't too much need to put in a lot of hours studying.  However, I learned quickly at BYU that more time should be put towards studying, and good notes should be taken for ease of studying.  Another thing I learned is how to manage my time a lot better.  With so much that I need to get done, it's important to set a schedule to prioritize and finish everything you need to do.  Those are just a couple lessons I learned my freshman year.

Why is History Important?

            What is history?  This is an age-old question that has many different interpretations.  Is it purely the study of the past?  Is it only what’s important?  Why do we study history in schools?  What does it matter?  Throughout this paper I will discuss what history means to me.  I will describe how I interpret the word history, and why it is important to us.

            So, let’s begin by first defining history.  Many people might tell you that they believe history is the study of the past.  Some might say it is the records from past civilizations.  One observation I would like to make is we can’t be certain what happened long ago because we weren’t there.  Much of what we study is biased by how we may feel, how the text was written, or some other kind of bias we might have.  It is important to realize that all of us have different views of history.  We all have different ideas about what has happened in the past.  Take the creation myths mentioned in class for example.  All of the civilizations since the beginning of time have had different stories and ideas about how the Earth and mankind were created.  From good Gods and Evil gods to multiple gods to giants and demons!  There are all kind of myths that explain the creation.  The Iroquois, for example, believe that the earth was built on the back of a turtle.  While that may sound ridiculous to us, it is their story- their perspective on the past, and therefore is their history.  If they saw our day, they would probably think our creation myths are crazy too!  This brings me to my definition for history, although perhaps more than one are correct, my definition is this:  History is an appreciation of the past.  It is our perspective of the past.

            This brings us to the next question:  Why is history important? Why is it studies in schools?  What does it matter?  One reason I think the past is studied is so we can gain an appreciation for it.  We can look back at our ancestors and founding fathers and be grateful for their contributions, hard work and dedication to making the world what it is now.  This can be looked at from both a gospel and secular standpoint.  Both the Book of Mormon and our records of secular history provide stories of people who have served to make this world what it is now.  By studying the past, we can show gratitude to the people that lived then.  We can be thankful for what they did for us.

            Another reason why history is important is those that aren’t educated are doomed to repeat it.  I know you hear this phrase all the time, but it’s true!  We learn from our mistakes.  If something didn’t work in the past, chances are it isn’t something we should be doing now.  This idea can be thought about at a worldwide, national or even personal level.  It’s important to realize what works and what doesn’t.  The past can play a very important role in teaching us a lesson or two.

            In conclusion, history can have a lot of different definitions.  In my opinion, the word “history” covers our perception of the past.  It covers our appreciation for our ancestors and the others that have gone before us.  It covers our perspective of what we think happened years ago.  Since we can’t say what for sure the people were feeling, or what they did, it is our biased view ideas and understanding of what we read and see.

Infinite and Eternal Sacrifice

            Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to Earth and lived a perfect life.  He served others and taught his message to all he met.  He lived a perfect life for us.  At the end of his mortal ministry, he gave up himself as a sacrifice for all mankind.  He did all of this so we would have the chance to return and live with him again.  The atonement was the only way that we could ever be cleansed from our sins and have a chance to return again.  His infinite and eternal sacrifice allowed all of us to be saved.

            So, what is meant by an infinite and eternal sacrifice?  Let’s start by dissecting the word “infinite”.  One of Webster’s Dictionary’s definitions of infinite is “subject to no limitation or external determination”.  I feel like this does a great job in defining Christ’s sacrifice.  It was infinite.  His atonement covered every person across the whole Earth, and not only that, it covered everyone throughout the whole universe!  The charity Christ showed by bleeding from every pore and suffering all manner of diseases and infirmities truly shows how much he cares for each of us individually.  He knows each of our pains; he has been where we are at.  He can help us if we are willing to repent.  So, Christ’s atonement was infinite in two ways, it covered the entire universe and covered all manner of disease, pain and infirmities.

            Christ’s infinite sacrifice not only covered all those that live on the Earth.  It covered everyone that would ever live, and had ever lived too!  This is what is meant by the “eternal” part of the sacrifice.  Going back to Webster’s Dictionary, we find that “eternal” is defined as “having infinite duration : EVERLASTING”.  Christ gave up his life for everyone that has ever lived.  From Adam and Eve to our present day, everyone can benefit from the atonement if they are willing to repent and become cleansed from their sins.  Everyone has a chance to return to live with Christ, our older brother.  Nobody that receives a body is doomed to a lesser kingdom.

            I am grateful for Christ’s infinite and eternal sacrifice.  We all should be grateful that He would give up his life so we all have the opportunity to return to him.  None of us are perfect, but through the atonement we can be forgiven for our sins.  He suffered blood from every pore for each of us individually.  We should use the atonement to our benefit and repent so we can return to our Older Brother and Heavenly Father.

            Although Son of God, Christ came to Earth as a mortal being.  His condescension was necessary for the Plan of Salvation to work.  In order for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father, there needed to be a savior to satisfy the demands of justice.  The only way that justice could be met, and mercy given, was if we had a mediator- someone who could pay the price of our sins, so we could be cleansed and perfect again.  Christ, although Son of God, descended below all of us.  His Earthly life was full of service and teachings.  He went about performing miracles simply out of pure charity and love.  He knew his purpose and his part of the plan.  Even with what seemed like everyone against him, he continued preaching his doctrine.  Through trial after trial, he stood for what he knew was right.  He never wavered, he knew his mission. 

            There are many things we can learn from Christ’s life.  He came to Earth and gave service to all.  He loved both his friends and enemies alike.  His charity covered all people.  His role was a vital piece of the Great Plan of Happiness, and he knew it.  He knew his purpose.  We need to humble ourselves and repent of our sins so we can return to him again. 

            I have a testimony that Christ came to Earth and lived a perfect life.  His life was a perfect example of how we should strive to live our lives.  If we all could show charity like Christ did, think of how amazing the world would be!  He gave service to everyone simply out of love.  There’s a lesson we can all learn from.  We need to be kind to everyone, regardless of any bad thoughts we may have about them.  I have a testimony of Christ’s infinite and eternal sacrifice.  He died for everyone across the whole universe that has ever lived.  He bled from every pore and suffered everything that we have ever felt before.  He did it so that we can use the atonement to return to live with him again.  I know that Christ knows each of us individually.  He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our shortcomings.  He knows how we feel, because he has felt it too.  He may not always be there right when you wish he was- but he is never late.  I know that.  I have been incredibly blessed by the atonement in my life.  I have a lot of room to improve my  life to more fully emulate Christ’s, but I am trying to get better every day.  We all have trials and tribulations, but if we turn to Christ in prayer I know we can be comforted.  I am thankful for the atonement so I can have the chance to see my family again past the grave.  I am thankful that families can be together forever.  I am thankful for the Plan of Salvation and the blessings it provides to everyone.  I am thankful for Christ’s example, that he would come to Earth and suffer for each of us individually.  The atonement is the biggest blessing that we can ever receive.  It is because of Christ’s charity towards all of us that we have such great a gift.  I know that Christ lived and died for us.  I am thankful for my Savior.  I am grateful for his infinite and eternal sacrifice.

            

The Powers of Heaven- David A. Bednar

My favorite talk from the April 2012 General Conference was David A. Bednar's address during the priesthood session entitled "The Powers of Heaven".  I'm sorry for those of you that missed it.  I would highly encourage both men and women to go back and read it over, or listen to it.  His address, although priesthood holders are his target audience, has principles and stories that can relate to women too. 
Around the middle of his talk he explains a life experience he had from the time he was a young boy, all the way through his teenage years.  He discusses how his father wasn't a member.  David pleaded with his father multiple times to join the church, but his father always responded by saying he wouldn't join until he knew it was right for him.  Although he wasn't a member, he still helped with scouting and came to church on a regular basis; to the point that many of the members thought he was a member too!  One day David asked his dad the same question, and he got a much different response.  David's dad asked him a question in response, it was:

     “Here is my question. Each week in priesthood meeting I listen to the bishop and the other   priesthood leaders remind, beg, and plead with the men to do their home teaching and to perform their priesthood duties. If your church truly has the restored priesthood of God, why are so many of the men in your church no different about doing their religious duty than the men in my church?”
     While David didn't have a response for his father at that time, his father later joined the church.  David had the opportunity to give both the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods to his dad.   He goes on to urge members of the church to become "examples of righteousness".  He tells us that if we are on the Lord's errand, he will strengthen us.
     Through this story and the rest of his talk, David does a great job in creating pathos in his audience.  When people here his story, often times they relate to at least part of it.  While many of us may not have grown up in a house in which the father wasn't a member, we all can probably think of times that we haven't been perfect "examples of righteousness", or shirked doing our callings or duties.
     Because of his incredible use of pathos through his talks, Elder Bednar is one of my favorite speakers.  I look forward to what he has to say every conference.  I strongly encourage a re-read, or a first read of "The Powers of Heaven".

Key Events and Teachings of 3rd Nephi 11

Key Events:

·         There were a great multitude gathered together around the temple that were marveling and wondering about what had taken place.  (Verse 1)

·         There came a soft, piercing voice out of heaven.  They heard the voice but they didn’t understand it.  (Verses 3 and 4)

·         The third time they heard the voice.  They had to open their ears to hear it.  (Verse 5)

·         Christ descended from heaven wearing a white robe.  (Verse 8)

·         Christ explains to the people who he is.  He is the Light of the World, he took upon him the sins of the world for these people.  (Verse 11)

·         The great multitude fell to the earth before Christ.  (Verse 12)

·         Christ allows the people to feel hisi palms and his sides, to prove that it truly is him.  (Verse 14)

·         The people went forth one by one, each had the chance to see if it truly was Christ.  (Verse 15)

·         The people realize it is Christ, and all worshipped Him.  (Verse 17)

·         Christ calls Nephi to come to him.  (Verse 18)

Key Teachings:

·         Christ gives Nephi and others the power to Baptize.  (Verse 21)

·         Christ tells the people the exact ordinance of baptism, and how it should be done.  (Verses 24-26)

·         Christ points out specifically that Baptism must be done by immersion.  (Verse 26)

·         Christ explains that Him, the Father and the Holy Ghost are one in purpose.  (Verse 27)

·         Christ explains that the spirit of contention is of the devil.  He stirs up the hearts of man to anger and contention.  (Verse 29)

·         Christ explains His doctrine, that whosoever should believe in Him and be baptized shall be saved and inherit the Kingdom of God. (Verse 33)

·         Those who don’t believe in Christ, and aren’t baptized shall be damned.  (Verse 34)

·         The Savior says if we build our foundation on His rock, the gates of Hell won’t prevail against it.  (Verse 39)

·         Those who build on a sandy foundation will be washed away by wind and floods. (Verse 40)

·         We must repent, be baptized and become as a little child to inherit the kingdom of God (Verse 38)

History 201- Pre-Modern Civilizations

Comparing and Contrasting Byzantium with Medieval Western Europe

            When we think about “medieval” times, most of the time we think about Europe.  We think about knights and castles, princesses and dragons.  Although this is the common thought process most people have, most of it is far from the truth.  “Medieval” times weren’t as fantasy-like as they are made out to be.  Also, not all of Europe was the same.  Although Byzantium (Eastern Europe) and Western Europe shared some common elements, for the most part they were vastly different.

            The Byzantine Empire began with the founding of Constantinople by Constantine.   The Empire can be thought of more or less as the post-Roman Empire, however, its language was Greek, along with its culture.  The Byzantine Empire was a Christian state.  World History to 1648, a textbook by Jay Pascal Anglin and William J. Hamblin, explains that the Byzantine Empire was the “political heir to Rome, cultural heir to Greece, and the spiritual heir to Christianity.

            After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the other large piece left was Western Europe.  While Byzantium was Orthodox Christian with a Greek culture, Western Europe was Roman Catholic with a Latin Roman culture.  Unlike the long-lasting Byzantine Empire, Western Europe had economic and population troubles.  This happened because of Germanic raids from the north.  Western Europe crumbled into several Germanic kingdoms. 

While Byzantium lasted much longer than Western Europe, it is important to realize that it too had a collapse.  The emperor Justinian fought his way to the throne despite revolts and unrest from the citizens of Constantinople.  Justinian decided to attempt to regain control of the West.  After conquering North Africa, Italy and Southern Spain, the Byzantine Empire’s conquest reached a halt.  After claiming these territories, raids from the Slavs and Persians resulted in loss of much of the land Byzantium had conquered.  The wars, along with Bubonic Plague left the empire in a state of bankruptcy and decline.  Civil war broke out throughout the empire, and it was reduced to the city of Constantinople and a few other surrounding areas.  However, the following emperor, Heraclius, was able to restore the empire to the boundaries it once had. 

            As you can see, the two sides of Europe had very different histories around the middle Ages.  Byzantium had far surpassed Western Europe in trade and economics, as well as structure and unity. The Byzantine Empire’s unmatched success in economics came because of its position in modern-day Turkey. (Location of Istanbul) Constantinople’s prime positioning made it a trade center for the Silk Road, and a connection between Europe and the rest of the pre-modern world.  Western Europe, unable to trade across the world, had more problems economically.  Western Europe was more independent of other countries, and traded very little outside of Europe.  Both of these sides also had very different Government structures.  The Byzantine Empire was just that- and empire.   This contrasts the political structure of Western Europe, which didn’t really have one.  Western Europe became very divided and spread.  While these two sides had vastly different governments, as well as economic and military success, they did have one thing (sort of) in common:  Religion.  Both Eastern and Western Europe were dominated by Christianity, but different kinds.  Western Europe was Roman Catholic while Byzantium was Eastern Orthodox.  While Western Europe was dominated by Roman culture, Byzantium’s culture was Greek.

            As you can see, the Byzantine Empire was vastly different than Western Europe.  One of the only common links between the two was the religion of Christianity.  The two sides developed very differently culturally, politically, economically and historically.  While Byzantium was a powerful empire, Western Europe was divided into small kingdoms.  The Byzantine Empire’s location made it a prime for trading with the rest of the pre-modern world, while Western Europe was mostly economically independent and less successful.  Eastern Europe was Greek culturally, while Western Europe was Roman because of its predecessor, the Roman Empire.  Despite Byzantium and Medieval Western Europe’s numerous differences, they do share a few common elements.

PWS150 Final Paper

The Truth Behind Soil Erosion

What is one of the most overlooked problems in the world we live in today?   One might say that soil erosion is often overlooked.  The problem of soil erosion has been around for many years now, but is just now starting to be recognized as one of the most important environmental problems that our Earth faces today.

So, what exactly is soil erosion?  Why is it a problem?   Soil erosion can easily be described as the wearing away of the land.  Soil erosion is caused by natural forces such as the flowing of water, rainfall, wind, etc.  So, what can we do to stop this?  You see, soil erosion isn’t limited to natural forces.  Humans accelerate soil erosion by tillage and other activities.  Some other activities may include deforestation, overgrazing and removing crop residue.  These activities degrade the soil and become a threat to it.  Overall, soil erosion is any activity that moves geological matter from one area to another.

Although it may sound harmless, soil erosion, if left unchecked, can become a huge issue on Earth.  As the world’s population increases by tens of millions of people each year, the Earth loses almost 37,000 square miles of available cropland each year due to soil erosion.  With 99.7% of all human food coming from croplands, we can’t afford to be losing such a vast amount of usable land at such a rapid rate.

Action needs to be taken to reduce soil erosion, and it needs to be taken now.  The US is losing soil 10 times faster that the natural replenish rate.  The economic impact of soil erosion in the United States costs the nation about $37.6 billion each year in productivity losses.  The damage caused by soil erosion worldwide is estimated to be $400 billion per year.  With such drastic numbers, we need to act before it is too late.

There’s even more problems.  About 60% of the soil that is washed away ends up in rivers, streams and lakes.  The soil makes these waters more prone to flooding and contamination due to the soil’s fertilizers and pesticides.  Also, soil erosion reduces the soil’s ability to store water and support plant growth.  This reduces the soil’s ability to support biodiversity.  Soil erosion promotes critical losses of water, nutrients, soil organic matter and soil biota, harming forests, rangelands and natural ecosystems.  One final fact is erosion increases the amount of dust carried by the wind.  Not only does this dust pollute the air, it also carries disease organisms that can cause problems for humans, such as anthrax and tuberculosis.

While there aren’t people that are “pro” soil erosion, the issue at hand is whether we need to act to protect our soil.  The two sides to this argument are:

A.        We need to act now, before it’s too late and we can’t grow enough food to support ourselves.

B.        We don’t need to really worry about this, it will work itself out.  We can’t really stop soil erosion without causing food shortage problems, or spending millions, if not billions of dollars.

I think that we need to take solution A.  I feel that soil erosion is going to become an even bigger issue than it is now.  While we may never have to face consequences of soil erosion during our lifetime, maybe our children or our children’s children will.  While it is true that we can’t be sure what will happen in regards to soil erosion in the future, we still need to be safe and take action now.  We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation we can’t fix.

Personal Narrative Final Draft

Wait, where is that?

I was downstairs in my room, probably doing homework or playing a game with my older brother Jake when I heard the same, familiar call I had heard thousands of times before.  My little brother Jordan yelled down the stairs

“Jake, Jason, it’s time for dinner!” we heard from upstairs.

After finishing the problem, I rushed up the stairs with my brother, just like we would any other day.  Everything was shaping up to be another good night filled with very little homework and a lot of fun.  Or so I thought.

We were sitting around the dinner table.  It was quiet... too quiet.  Normally by now my mom or dad would have asked us how school was going, how our basketball or soccer game went, something like that.  Not today though, today we just sat in silence.   We knew something was up, so it came as no surprise to us when my dad wiped off his mouth, then proceeded to give us the news.

 He asked us, “How would you guys feel if we moved?”

 My older brother Jake, younger brother Justin and I knew exactly what this meant.  He didn’t need to word it as a question, the only one of us that took his question literally as a question as my littlest brother, Jordan, being only a first grader at the time.

“Why?” My brothers and I asked nearly simultaneously.

My dad responded, “I got a promotion at work, to be the head of an office in North Dakota.”

Jordan promptly asked, “Dad, how far away is North Dakota from America?”

That gave us all a good laugh, and made the situation a little lighter.  There were several other questions answered that evening, most of which made us less and less excited and more and more scared.  My dad explained to us that we would be leaving during the summer, at the end of this school year.  We would divide the 18 hour drive into 3 days. He went on to say he wasn’t sure how long we’d live there, or if we would be moving back to Utah at all.  There were definitely a lot of things that we didn’t want to hear.

“But what about all my friends here?” Jordan asked.

“You’ll have plenty of time to make new friends when we get there.  You’ll have part of the summer to make friends, and it will be a fresh school year so you won’t have troubles fitting in.” My dad responded.

By this point Jordan was pretty much in tears.  My older brother Jake and I really felt bad for him.  While this would be the first time that any of us had moved, it seemed especially hard for him, being only seven years old at the time. 

After our short interrogation with my parents about the details of the move, the rest of dinner went by relatively quietly.  Nobody really had anything to say.  Nothing we could say seemed to really matter at that point.  My brothers and I were too focused (or maybe frightened is a better word) on the news that our parents had told us.

The final couple months of the school year were weird for me.  You’d think that most people would try to spend as much time as possible with their friends because it was their final chances.  To me, however, it was different.  I didn’t play with friends as much because it almost seemed to me like it didn’t matter.  I knew that at the end of this year, I wasn’t going to be here anyway, so why make relocating harder than it needed to be?

The next thing we knew, the school year was over.  This marked the time that we would start packing up all of our belongings.  What seemed like a very short time later, the whole house had been transformed into endless stacks of boxes.  We spent our last night in Utah eating McDonalds in sleeping bags at our empty house in Sandy.  The next morning we would get up early to start the journey.

We divided our traveling into three days, as previously planned.  It was the most time I have ever had to sit in a car in my entire life.  When we arrived in North Dakota my parents informed us that our home wasn’t done being built yet, and we’d have to spend a few days longer in a hotel.  We did, however get to go look at our house.  That was a really fun experience for me as an eleven year old.  Looking through every room at the house was surprisingly exciting.  We decided which room we would all get, and waited impatiently for the time we could move our stuff in.

            Finally the day arrived; the day when we could finally start moving into our new home.  After spending what seemed like countless days in a hotel, we couldn’t wait to move into our house.  After driving the short distance to our house, we saw the moving truck there too.  It was the same one that was at our house in Sandy.  We started to unload all of our stuff.  The piles of boxes, once again, seemed endless.  However, after we finished unloading the truck, my brothers and I were still excited to begin organizing and setting up our new rooms.  That step didn’t take long.  Before we knew it, each of our rooms was set up to our liking.  I was really excited to be in a new house, with a new environment.  Jake and I had rooms right next to each other in the basement.  We were the two that had bedrooms in the basement, and we felt like we owned it. Jake and I grew up together and have always been best buds.  Although we missed our friends, we were happy in our new place.  It was exciting to have a change-up.

Volleyball

I miss playing high school volleyball. (cue laughter)  My high school's season just started, and I have some old buddies on the team.  Because I only live about 45 minutes away from my high school, I have decided to go down and help the team at their weekend practices.  It is really fun to play again, even though without playing in like a year or so, I am just terrible now.  It's pretty embarrassing.  Having a captain from the year before come help practice, and just doing terrible.  I'm hoping as their season progresses both the team will play better and better, as well as I hopefully can get better again also.  I miss playing in the games with the team though... :(

NCAA Basketball, and The End

After Baylor's victory over Notre Dame in the WNCAA tournament.  College basketball officially comes to a close for the season.  I have mixed feelings about this part of the year.  I am glad to be done with the semester of school, but the finale of college basketball marks the dry season of sports.  (At least for me)  By this I mean, there isn't any college basketball or football for a while.  So for the next few months I have to follow the NBA for my sports fill.  While I don't actually follow women's basketball at all, I have to brag a little and say my brackets for both tournaments did pretty well this year.  I had both Kansas and Kentucky in the finals for my NCAA bracket, with Kentucky winning, as well as Baylor in the WNCAA finals, with them winning.  It feels good to have predicted (guessed) especially well this year.

Personal Narrative

Jason Martell

Sister Steadman

Writing 150

March 29, 2012

Wait, where is that?

I was downstairs in my room, probably doing homework or playing a game with my older brother Jake when I heard the same, familiar call I had heard thousands of times before.  My little brother Jordan yelled down the stairs “Jake, Jason, it’s time for dinner!”  After finishing the problem, I rushed up the stairs with my brother, just like we would any other day.  Everything was shaping up to be another good night filled with very little homework and a lot of fun.  Or so I thought.

We were sitting around the dinner table.  It was quiet... too quiet.  Normally by now my mom or dad would have asked us how school was going, how our basketball or soccer game went, something like that.  Not today though, today we just sat in silence.   We knew something was up, so it came as no surprise to us when my dad wiped off his mouth, then proceeded to give us the news.  He asked us, “How would you guys feel if we moved?”  My older brother Jake, younger brother Justin and I knew exactly what this meant.  He didn’t need to word it as a question, the only one of us that took his question literally as a question as my littlest brother, Jordan, being only a first grader at the time.

“Why?” My brothers and I asked nearly simultaneously.

My dad responded, “I got a promotion at work, to be the head of an office in North Dakota.”

Jordan promptly asked, “Dad, how far away is North Dakota from America?”

That gave us all a good laugh, and made the situation a little lighter.  There were several other questions answered that evening, most of which made us less and less excited and more and more scared.  My dad explained to us that we would be leaving during the summer, at the end of this school year.  We would divide the 18 hour drive into 3 days. He went on to say he wasn’t sure how long we’d live there, or if we would be moving back to Utah at all.  There were definitely a lot of things that we didn’t want to hear.

“But what about all my friends here?” Jordan asked.

“You’ll have plenty of time to make new friends when we get there.  You’ll have part of the summer to make friends, and it will be a fresh school year so you won’t have troubles fitting in.” My dad responded.

By this point Jordan was pretty much in tears.  My older brother Jake and I really felt bad for him.  While this would be the first time that any of us had moved, it seemed especially hard for him, being only seven years old at the time. 

After our short interrogation with my parents about the details of the move, the rest of dinner went by relatively quietly.  Nobody really had anything to say.  Nothing we could say seemed to really matter at that point.  My brothers and I were too focused (or maybe frightened is a better word) on the news that our parents had told us.

The final couple months of the school year were weird for me.  You’d think that most people would try to spend as much time as possible with their friends because it was their final chances.  To me, however, it was different.  I didn’t play with friends as much because it almost seemed to me like it didn’t matter.  I knew that at the end of this year, I wasn’t going to be here anyway, so why make relocating harder than it needed to be?

The next thing we knew, the school year was over.  This marked the time that we would start packing up all of our belongings.  What seemed like a very short time later, the whole house had been transformed into endless stacks of boxes.  We spent our last night in Utah eating McDonalds in sleeping bags at our empty house in Sandy.  The next morning we would get up early to start the journey.

We divided our traveling into three days, as previously planned.  It was the most time I have ever had to sit in a car in my entire life.  When we arrived in North Dakota my parents informed us that our home wasn’t done being built yet, and we’d have to spend a few days longer in a hotel.  We did, however get to go look at our house.  That was a really fun experience for me as an eleven year old.  Looking through every room at the house was surprisingly exciting.  We decided which room we would all get, and waited impatiently for the time we could move our stuff in.

            Finally the day arrived; the day when we could finally start moving into our new home.  After spending what seemed like countless days in a hotel, we couldn’t wait to move into our house.  After driving the short distance to our house, we saw the moving truck there too.  It was the same one that was at our house in Sandy.  We started to unload all of our stuff.  The piles of boxes, once again, seemed endless.  However, after we finished unloading the truck, my brothers and I were still excited to begin organizing and setting up our new rooms.  That step didn’t take long.  Then, after that, reality set in again.  We were in a completely new area.  We didn’t know anyone.  My brothers and I couldn’t decide what we wanted to do now.

Common Arguments against Social Networks

Despite the countless positive features and conveniences that social media offers us, there still remain those people who say that we would be better without them.  There are also many people that are on the fence as to whether social networks are more good than bad, or vice-versa.  In this section, we’ll look at some of the arguments against social networks, and discuss how these problems can be minimized or avoided completely.

In his article “Introduction to are Social Networking Sites Harmful”, Ed. Stefan Kiesbye points out some of the dangers of social networks when he stated the following:

Media critics and others have voiced unease about various aspects of social networking sites. Some fear that sexual predators will befriend unsuspecting teenagers via Facebook or MySpace. Others point to the possibility of identity theft and believe that social networking sites might erode real-life friendships or cause obesity. The news media has often increased these fears, highlighting disturbing, mostly isolated, episodes involving MySpace and Facebook.

            I must agree that social networks can be very dangerous if used carelessly, but the hazards pointed out by Kiesbye are quite easy to avoid.  We’ll start with the idea of sexual predators and identity theft.  Kiesbye points out that social networks are perfect grounds for sexual predators and identity theft.  While there continue to be cases of both predation and theft, both are actually quite easy to avoid.  All social media sites nowadays have multiple levels of security that users can use to keep their profiles, information and posts safe.  We’ll look at Facebook for example.  Users of Facebook can adjust their security settings so their information, status updates, pictures, profiles, friends and videos are only visible by friends, friends and friends of friends, specific people or only yourself.  There are so many security measures that you can adjust your settings so only you can view certain parts of your profile…  So, while I admit these hazards can very dangerous, with a little bit of safety and careful thinking you can avoid both of them.  Make sure your security settings are set to your liking, and avoid connections with people you don’t know. Most important, avoid posting private information altogether.

            Another common argument against social networks by people that are on the fence as to whether to use social media or not are the time people commit to it.  As Dan Bobkoff points out in his article “Online Social Networking has Altered the Rules of Social Interaction”, many users of these social networks are replacing their real life face-to-face communication with people with technology, and more and more people are committing more and more time online.  With this argument, I can’t provide any facts or statistics to help me prove my point.  I’ll leave it at this; users of these social networks need to be careful that they don’t commit too much time online.  Use some common sense when you decide to check Facebook, Twitter or some other site.  You don’t need to be on for more than 30 minutes; You don’t need to be on for more than 10 if you check it at least twice a day.  Some simple time management can make certain you don’t let social media take over all your communication and time.

The Positive Side of Social Networks

Do you want an effective way to catch up with old friends?  How about a convenient way to find out what your friends, family and other loved ones are up to?  Maybe you want to stay up-to-date on your favorite hobby, sport, book, TV show or movie.  How about following your favorite bands, artists, actors, athletes and celebrities?  Even if you’re bored you can hop on and play some games with friends!  The upsides of social networks seem limitless.

            One of the most important ways that social networks are used is to stay close to friends, family and relatives in an effective way.  In the past, one might need to send e-mails, make phone calls or send letters to communicate with people far away.  However, these 3 methods of communication can be inconvenient and inefficient at times.  E-mails work well, but sometimes setting those up can become a lengthy process. Making phone calls can be very unreliable because you have to hope that the person on the other side has time to talk, and sending letters is just too slow, and an even more lengthy process than e-mail.  Social networks can avoid all these issues by allowing users to quickly send messages to other users nearly instantly, while completely privately.  If the recipient isn’t online at that particular moment, they can check it when they are online, if they are online, they will be notified immediately.  It is a quick and effective way to communicate.  Social networks have become such an effective way to communicate, that they are becoming one of the leading forms of communication.  Laurie DiMauro reports in her statistics entitled Communication Choices made by Teens with Access to Multiple Technologies compared with all Teens that teens with access to multiple technologies use social networking sites to send private messages as means to communicate only less often than cell phones, (both calls and texts) and instant messages. (This is often done on social networking sites as well!)  In another set of statistics called Percentage of Online Adults who use Twitter or another Status Update Service, by Demographic Group, DiMauro reports that 19% of all adults use Twitter or other status updating services.

            Another way in which millions of people enjoy social networks is by following celebrities that they love.  Nowadays one can be nearly certain that their favorite celebrities have Twitter or Facebook accounts that fans can subscribe to or follow to stay up-to-date on their activities.  In the article Online Social Networks, the author points out that “during the 2008 presidential campaign many candidates, including Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and John McCain, had support pages on Facebook and MySpace.”  From athletes to actors, celebrities to politicians, the possibilities are endless.  Social network users all across the planet are staying updated on their favorite famous people.  Do you want to know what your favorite actor is doing?  How about what your favorite athlete is thinking?  With technology today, you can find out in just a few clicks.

            Another form of convenience that social networks provide is instant feedback.  By posting updates in the form of discussions, debates and inquiries, one can be assured that there will be numerous people that have a comment to make.  Instant feedback might is one of the most important features that social networks have to offer.  With ease, one can find out what a wide range of people think about a certain issue or idea.  Some social networking sites, such as Facebook, take this one step further.  By posting a link to an article that is interesting, discusses something you’re interested in, or is just funny, the social networking site will provide a title, as well as a quick introduction about the article!  This lets the viewers know exactly what the article will be about, and might spark some interest. 

While social networking sites have many features that are useful in providing convenience, let’s not forget that they also provide numerous forms of entertainment.  As mentioned earlier, you might find a funny picture or article online that you’d like to share with all your friends and family.  Nearly all social networking sites allow users to post pictures, as well as post links to funny things they might find.  You can be assured that social networks will provide some form of entertainment to all different kinds of users.  Facebook takes this to the next level by allowing users to actually play games with friends.  By using certain “apps” on Facebook, you can play all different kinds of games with your friends!  There are hundreds of games and quizzes you can take just for fun!  Then afterwards you can see how well you stack up against your friends and family, or what the outcomes of the quizzes they take are.  Imagine what social networking sites in the future will have!

Research Paper

Jason Martell

Sister Steadman

Writing 150

15 March 2012

Thesis:

            Despite there being several concerns when unsafely using social networks, the convenience, simplicity and fun of social networks outweigh the risks if used in a secure way.  The history of social networks show the future of them is only getting bigger and better!

The History and Future of Social Networks

            Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at the University of Harvard.  The initial goal of, and idea behind creating it was to connect the students on campus.  By fast-forwarding seven years into the future, to the spring of 2011, we can see that Facebook now boasts some amazing numbers.  Ed. Dedria Bryfonski states the following in her article “Introduction to The Global Impact of Social Media: Current Controversies”:

“By the spring of 2011, it had six hundred million users. If its users made up a nation, it would be the third largest in the world.”

The third largest nation in the world!  Bryfonski also adds that, even though Facebook was founded as a US college site, more than 70% of users now are outside of the US.   However, in order to take a glimpse into the future of social networks, first we need to look at the past, and see how far these social networks have come.

The very first form of social networking is still a way we all connect with one-another today. You guessed it, it’s e-mail.  With the launch of the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1991, millions of people were able to connect using chat rooms and games over the web.  Bryfonski states that by the year 2000, the WWW had 23.2 million subscribers.

In 2002, the first website dedicated as a social network was launched.  This website is called Friendster.    According to Bryfonski, Friendster racked up a remarkable 3 million members in just 3 short months!  While an amazing idea for a website, Friendster wasn’t executed very well, and has since lost its rapid growth. Bryfonski reports that by June 2010, Friendster had 90 million members.   Friendster is important, however, because it created the path for many other social networking sites to be created and enter the spotlight.

In 2003 the next major social network took its position in the spotlight.  This competitor of Friendster was much more innovative and attracted artists, musicians, actors and all people everywhere.  According to Bryfonski, the site’s “ability to connect with others and to create a distinctive web page,” made it especially popular.  As you may have guessed, we all know this social network as MySpace.  However, as creative and ground-breaking MySpace was, it too had several concerns that have led to its downfall.  MySpace is renowned for its safety concerns, and has since declined in number of users.  Bryfonski reports that as of March 2011, MySpace had 260 million users.

This brings us to February 2004, when a certain sophomore in college decided to launch his own social networking website.  Today we know this sophomore as Mark Zuckerberg, and we all have heard of his famous creation:  Facebook.  Zuckerberg soon thereafter opened up Facebook to multiple other universities, followed by high schools soon after that.  By 2006 Facebook was available to everyone that had an e-mail address.  While discussing the creation of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg had this to say about connecting Harvard students:

“Six thousand people to share some information about themselves and stay connected with their friends and family. And what we basically just found since then is that that application is something that almost everyone wants to use.

Everyone has an identity that they want to express and friends and family that they wanna stay connected with.”

While other social networks have reached peak in number of users, and then started their decline, Facebook continues to hold strong, and, according to Bryfonski, had reached 600 million users by the spring of 2011.  Facebook’s user-friendliness, ease of connecting, simplicity and fun keep it thriving online even today.

Although it is arguable that Facebook is the king of social networking today, it would be foolish not to say there aren’t competitors.  In 2006, a more information-sharing based social network was started.  This social network is known for allowing users to send short messages (or tweets) instantaneously, helping people follow their loved ones, friends, and favorite celebrities.  If that didn’t give it away, the name of this social network is Twitter.  Bryfonski reports that by spring 2011, Twitter had racked up more than 200 million users, and that number continues to grow rapidly.

From Friendster to Facebook, social networks have come a long way.  From the 3 million people in 3 months that Friendster boasted, to over 600 million users on Facebook today, it is staggering how fast these websites are able to grow.  This leads me to thinking, what will social networks in the future do to stand out?  How will people be able to even more easily stay in close contact with their friends, family and relatives, while still being able to follow their favorite actors, musicians, artists, athletes and celebrities?  Social networks have come so far that the future of them seems limitless.

A Child of God by Elder Eyring

In this talk, Henry B. Eyring discusses the universal sin of pride, as well as lists out five characteristics of learners.    He explains that pride is a sin that is never beneficial.  He explains how pride halts learning.  He then explains how "The best antidote I know for pride also can produce in us the characteristics that lead to excellence in learning"  Henry B. Eyring lays down five "remembers" that will aid us in becoming humble learners.  1) Remember the Savior 2) Remember our dependence on his sacrifice 3) Remember his unfailing love for us 4) Remember that we will only come again to our Heavenly Father to live forever in families by obeying his commandments, and 5) Remember his example.  By remembering our savior, we become humble and teachable.  Later Elder Eyring points out 5 characteristics of great learners.  I find it interesting that he says "great learners help other people."  I had never really thought about that before.  While he explains that not all of the best scholars have been generous to others, they could have been even better learners if they would have.  I really enjoyed this talk, as it showed a parallel between pride and learning that I had never thought of before.

Response to Elder Ballard's Talk

In Elder Ballard's talk "Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet", Elder Ballard discusses modern technology and its impact on missionary work.  He explains how, since the invention of the printing press, the technology available to spread the gospel across the world has skyrocketed.  The internet, although having many negative aspects, can be a great resource in sharing what we believe.  Through social networking (such as facebook) and video-sharing sites (YouTube), we can spread the gospel at a rate faster than ever.  Elder Ballard also warns against misuses of the internet.  As we share the gospel, we need to be careful to avoid arguments and contention.  These will only draw people away from the church.  If we use technology wisely, it can be a key tool for missionary work.