This morning I started reading ahead to next Sunday's Old Testament lesson. In Deuteronomy (chapters 6, 8, 11 and 32) Moses tells the Israelites that they need to remember the Lord and all His blessings. The Lord delivered them out of Egypt (40 years earlier) and provided them with manna every day during those years...that was 12,514 times (not including the Sabbath) and fed them those 14,600 days (including the Sabbath)!
By the time of these chapters, all the older members of the tribes of Israel have died (except Joshua and Caleb) and all of their iniquities and longing to return to Egypt have been removed from their hearts as a people.
Now, when Moses tells them to remember the Lord their God, he impresses upon them how serious it is for their own safety and well-being as well as their posterity. For them personally, Moses tells them that if they leave the ways of the Lord they will be destroyed. He also tells them that if they let their sons and daughters marry with the other nations around them (seven of them, all larger than Israel) that their righteous ways will be turned from the Lord to worldly ways. Not good.
Moses really, really wants the Israelites to remember the Lord so he has them put scriptures (rolled up and put in little chests) on their foreheads, on their left hands and on their door posts. Man, talk about a continual reminder!
What a great reminder to keep the things of the Lord continually before our eyes. The lesson has a great set of related questions:
Why do you think Moses told the people to place passages of scripture between their eyes, on their hands, on the posts of their houses, and on their gates? How would such constant reminders affect our actions? What can we do in our homes to remind us of the Lord, his words, and our covenants with him? Do the pictures on our walls, the books we read, and the movies and television shows we watch remind us of the Lord, or do they suggest a longing for the world? (Lesson 17)
There is another part of the lesson that I really like. Moses taught the Israelites that if they ever got in a battle with any of the (larger) nations around them that the Israelites would prevail and not to worry about being a smaller force because the Lord was with them. In victory, they were to burn everything they came across, which included all the buildings, idols and everything else they encountered. If they took any spoils of war and kept them, they would be destroyed. Don't do it, House of Israel (that includes us in the latter days)!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Old Testament is Awesome
This year in Sunday School we're learning about the Old Testament. Every four years I get very excited for these lessons again. I keep up with reading the lesson material during the week so I can get more out of Sunday's lesson and I feel like I get a lot out of Sunday School this way. I love it.
Then the lessons start to get longer (as far as the reading material goes for that week's lesson). That's when it starts to get tough to keep up on the reading and then I end up not doing well for the rest of the year. If I can make a good habit then I can keep up my momentum. And that's what I've been doing this year.
A few weeks ago, when we were in the thick of talking about Joseph (the "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" Joseph) and his brothers getting ready to sell him as a slave, there were comments made in class about stuff that I didn't read in all the lesson material. It was some really cool stuff that I wished I had read and I didn't remember it from previous years of Sunday School or lessons from seminary/institute. What's up with that?
That's when I decided to read the chapters between the lessons (or the chapters that got skipped in the lesson) and I found all sorts of awesome stuff going on. Yes! That was super cool. I loved finding all that stuff...and more!
So for the last few weeks I have been reading all the chapters of the lesson plus the chapters that get skipped (in the lesson and between lessons). I've totally loved it.
This week's lesson is about Moses and Aaron and all the pestilences against Pharaoh and the Egyptions. It took a lot of time to read, more than what I normally read for my personal scripture study, but it's been worth reading all of it and getting tons more out of the history and connecting people to their stories, there wheres, whens and whys. Nice!
I just read this morning about Pharaoh driving the Israelites out of the land (600,000 men plus their children), quickly regretting his decision (after all the plagues the Lord just sent upon him!) and chased after the Israelites with 600 chariots to enslave them again. (It's pretty obvious from these chapters he didn't want to lose his slave labor.)
The Israelites turned to Moses and said they preferred to be slaves than to die in the wilderness. Whatever! I was thinking, "Please, guys, listen to the prophet. He knows the way!"
The Lord put a cloud between the Israelites and the Egyptians for the night and Moses parted the Red Sea with "a strong east wind all that night" (and I wondered about the crickets that could have still been floating in it from that past pestilence...they were driven into the Red Sea by a strong West Wind). They made it through on dry ground and during the next morning's watch they saw the Egyptians chasing after them. The Lord told Moses to stretch forth his hand and let the water come over the Egyptian army. And so it was. And then the Israelites were glad they listened to the prophet.
Oh, and the reason the Israelites went that way was because the Lord didn't want them to go toward the Philistines, see war and want to head back into slavery. That was a nice little gem to pick up too.
Wow! Good stuff in the lesson this week. I loved it. The Old Testament is totally awesome!
Then the lessons start to get longer (as far as the reading material goes for that week's lesson). That's when it starts to get tough to keep up on the reading and then I end up not doing well for the rest of the year. If I can make a good habit then I can keep up my momentum. And that's what I've been doing this year.
A few weeks ago, when we were in the thick of talking about Joseph (the "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" Joseph) and his brothers getting ready to sell him as a slave, there were comments made in class about stuff that I didn't read in all the lesson material. It was some really cool stuff that I wished I had read and I didn't remember it from previous years of Sunday School or lessons from seminary/institute. What's up with that?
That's when I decided to read the chapters between the lessons (or the chapters that got skipped in the lesson) and I found all sorts of awesome stuff going on. Yes! That was super cool. I loved finding all that stuff...and more!
So for the last few weeks I have been reading all the chapters of the lesson plus the chapters that get skipped (in the lesson and between lessons). I've totally loved it.
This week's lesson is about Moses and Aaron and all the pestilences against Pharaoh and the Egyptions. It took a lot of time to read, more than what I normally read for my personal scripture study, but it's been worth reading all of it and getting tons more out of the history and connecting people to their stories, there wheres, whens and whys. Nice!
I just read this morning about Pharaoh driving the Israelites out of the land (600,000 men plus their children), quickly regretting his decision (after all the plagues the Lord just sent upon him!) and chased after the Israelites with 600 chariots to enslave them again. (It's pretty obvious from these chapters he didn't want to lose his slave labor.)
The Israelites turned to Moses and said they preferred to be slaves than to die in the wilderness. Whatever! I was thinking, "Please, guys, listen to the prophet. He knows the way!"
The Lord put a cloud between the Israelites and the Egyptians for the night and Moses parted the Red Sea with "a strong east wind all that night" (and I wondered about the crickets that could have still been floating in it from that past pestilence...they were driven into the Red Sea by a strong West Wind). They made it through on dry ground and during the next morning's watch they saw the Egyptians chasing after them. The Lord told Moses to stretch forth his hand and let the water come over the Egyptian army. And so it was. And then the Israelites were glad they listened to the prophet.
Oh, and the reason the Israelites went that way was because the Lord didn't want them to go toward the Philistines, see war and want to head back into slavery. That was a nice little gem to pick up too.
Wow! Good stuff in the lesson this week. I loved it. The Old Testament is totally awesome!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
I'd Love to Start Writing Again
I miss writing blogging about gospel living. I've written 4 blog posts in the last year and a half, which were attempts at starting to write again. A lot has happened in that time.
Around September 2012 I was getting very close to wrapping up my PhD research and preparing for graduation. I don't remember making any decision like, "Wow, I don't have any time to blog." But I definitely had my mind on other things like moving and finding a job.
I looked for a job for a very long time, starting in June of 2011. That's when I thought I was going to graduate the next spring (of 2012). Looking for a job in "industry" (that's what the academic world calls it) is pretty tough as a graduate student approaching the end of his/her work because you have to keep focus on actually finishing, writing and defending, but you also have to somehow figure out what kind of job you want and how to convince a hiring manager/company that your skills can actually help them make money.
Try doing all that while being surrounded by students who have never done what you are trying to do and, therefore, have no advice to move you along and faculty members who never wanted to go into industry and wonder why in the world you don't want to stay (in academia; everyone knows you don't want to be a student forever! For that matter, they all know you wanted to graduate a long time ago).
So I did my best to find a job. The hardest part was turning academia's version of a resume, which is called a curriculum vitae (or CV for short), into a form that give employers an easier time of understanding your skills. Oh, and CVs have no page limit! It includes everything from your career, not just what will help you get your next job. Contrast that with employers that want to see the "you on a single page (and make it good or you're going in the trash)" type of resume and you'll get the first glimpse of why it's so hard to transition. That, plus skills learned in grad school and in research/development have to be presented in the right way or you won't get a second look. And I saw a lot of that!
Anyway, after finally defending my dissertation in March 2013 and walking (graduating) in May of that year and still not finding a job by the end of that summer, we decided to move away from that college town where there were no real job prospects and headed west. We landed in Utah for what we thought would be a short time while I worked at getting a job in California, but I ended up getting a job here. And we're elated!
So I'd love to start writing again. I think it's time to make it a higher priority. See ya'll!
Around September 2012 I was getting very close to wrapping up my PhD research and preparing for graduation. I don't remember making any decision like, "Wow, I don't have any time to blog." But I definitely had my mind on other things like moving and finding a job.
I looked for a job for a very long time, starting in June of 2011. That's when I thought I was going to graduate the next spring (of 2012). Looking for a job in "industry" (that's what the academic world calls it) is pretty tough as a graduate student approaching the end of his/her work because you have to keep focus on actually finishing, writing and defending, but you also have to somehow figure out what kind of job you want and how to convince a hiring manager/company that your skills can actually help them make money.
Try doing all that while being surrounded by students who have never done what you are trying to do and, therefore, have no advice to move you along and faculty members who never wanted to go into industry and wonder why in the world you don't want to stay (in academia; everyone knows you don't want to be a student forever! For that matter, they all know you wanted to graduate a long time ago).
So I did my best to find a job. The hardest part was turning academia's version of a resume, which is called a curriculum vitae (or CV for short), into a form that give employers an easier time of understanding your skills. Oh, and CVs have no page limit! It includes everything from your career, not just what will help you get your next job. Contrast that with employers that want to see the "you on a single page (and make it good or you're going in the trash)" type of resume and you'll get the first glimpse of why it's so hard to transition. That, plus skills learned in grad school and in research/development have to be presented in the right way or you won't get a second look. And I saw a lot of that!
Anyway, after finally defending my dissertation in March 2013 and walking (graduating) in May of that year and still not finding a job by the end of that summer, we decided to move away from that college town where there were no real job prospects and headed west. We landed in Utah for what we thought would be a short time while I worked at getting a job in California, but I ended up getting a job here. And we're elated!
So I'd love to start writing again. I think it's time to make it a higher priority. See ya'll!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Moral Force of Women
Sometimes I watch General Conference talks for my scripture study. And when I do, sometimes I read the talk along with the speaker.
Today I watched and read along with Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk The Moral Force of Women from October 2013 General Conference. In it, he praises women for their contributions in many aspects of our society, including the workplace. He teaches truths such as how women have divine gifts such as "faith, courage, empathy and refinement in relationships in cultures."
He gave examples of women who provide excellent service and are great examples of what women can do for society and especially for their families and others they are close to. One of the women he spoke of is his grandma, Adena Warnick Swenson. She taught him about priesthood service and encouraged him to memorize the sacramental prayers. He mentioned that she never learned how to drive, knew how to help boys become priesthood men.
One of his emphases was on the dual standard of morality where men were exempt from being moral citizens while women were taught to be chaste and virtuous. Instead of overcoming this low standard by having men live up to the ideal of morality, women have adopted the double standard themselves. The result has been a growing number of fatherless families and growing poverty.
Here's one of my favorite parts.
Elder Christofferson tells that there are some who belittle "the mommy track" as a career, but we should praise and appreciate any worthy endeavor or career because we all benefit from the good that comes from these lofty achievements.
And I really like this part.
Today I watched and read along with Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk The Moral Force of Women from October 2013 General Conference. In it, he praises women for their contributions in many aspects of our society, including the workplace. He teaches truths such as how women have divine gifts such as "faith, courage, empathy and refinement in relationships in cultures."
He gave examples of women who provide excellent service and are great examples of what women can do for society and especially for their families and others they are close to. One of the women he spoke of is his grandma, Adena Warnick Swenson. She taught him about priesthood service and encouraged him to memorize the sacramental prayers. He mentioned that she never learned how to drive, knew how to help boys become priesthood men.
One of his emphases was on the dual standard of morality where men were exempt from being moral citizens while women were taught to be chaste and virtuous. Instead of overcoming this low standard by having men live up to the ideal of morality, women have adopted the double standard themselves. The result has been a growing number of fatherless families and growing poverty.
Here's one of my favorite parts.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell once asked: “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?"
Elder Christofferson tells that there are some who belittle "the mommy track" as a career, but we should praise and appreciate any worthy endeavor or career because we all benefit from the good that comes from these lofty achievements.
And I really like this part.
Former Young Women general president Margaret D. Nadauld taught: “The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.” In blurring feminine and masculine differences, we lose the distinct, complementary gifts of women and men that together produce a greater whole.
In a world that seeks to give every person every opportunity to pursue every whim and desire, may we stand for what is right and be a beacon that leads others to their Savior, and ours. Let us encourage each other in every endeavor that builds and lifts one another and our society as a whole.
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