Week #7:

This week I had the opportunity to go and visit my girlfriend's family in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are currently serving as Mission President and wife of the Redlands, California mission. Yesterday, I had the chance to listen to both of her parents talk about the current struggles the Redlands, California mission has been facing; and what they are wanting to do to resolve the missions' concerns. One of the main concerns both President Dixon and Sister Dixon mentioned was the lack of love their missionaries had for the people of Redlands. Their point is that people will feel less like they are being preached to, and more like a close friend sharing loving counsel, as missionaries take the time to develop a true love for the people they are teaching in each of their areas.

A personal application I was able to make from that conversation, is that in my personal relationships with day-to-day relationships, I can help people feel that my intentions are pure as I help people feel as if I am consistently acting out of love. I believe that the best way to develop any relationship is off of a basis of love. As a father/mother shares counsel with their children, or a teacher has counsel for his/her students, the best way to promote a positive attitude in the individual receiving counsel, is for th adult to develop a relationship built off of love.

I feel like the Redlands mission will be bursting at the seams if they are able to develop this characteristic for members, investigators, and everyday members of the Redlands community. I also believe that any individual can build and promote strong relationships in day-to-day life as they build relationships with a foundation of love.

Week #6 "Do ye believe that I am able to do this?"

I have pondered this verse of scripture over this past week. As I reflect on my own relationship with Jesus Christ, this question "do ye believe that I am able to do this?" has shown me that I really don't let my faith, or belief in Jesus Christ cast out my fear of doubts. That is, although I feel confident in saying I have a stable and dependable testimony in my Savior, there are times that I am in the midst of a trial and I fail to confirm my belief in the Savior when he asks me , "do ye believe that I am able to do this?"

I believe that one of the greatest restraints on my testimony has been this principle of not showing my belief in what I say I believe. Moving forward, I have written this verse of scripture above my desk to remind me to allow the Savior to see that I do believe that He is able to do this. As I allow myself to show my faith, I believe I'll see the Savior's intervention in my life; and, as a result I will have an increased condition of Jesus Christ

Week #5

As I reflect on General Conference and the message from each of the brethren, I can't help much ponder on the importance of sincerity. I feel as though the topic of sincerity is at the root of each brethren's message. Elder Ballard's message had the strongest initial impact on me, as he discussed the concerns that come as individuals consider pursuing life without the Gospel.

In recent weeks I have had a lot of my closest friends open up to me about no longer being very active in the Gospel, and that their testimonies are dwindling. I have always been the go-to friend in the group when people are having gospel doubts or struggles. I was not raised in the church, and the majority of my closest friends and family are still nonmembers of the church.  Because of this, my active, LDS friends feel as though I am a safe haven for advice. What is unfortunate, however, is that I often times feel that I downplay the severity of their actions/decisions. I find myself usually trying to console these friends and help them see that where their at spiritually isn't so far off the mark, that getting back on track isn't out of the question. When these spiritually, struggling friends discuss their gospel concerns with me, I find myself giving them immediate response and answers. Although I feel that I usually give them correct answers to their concerns, I recently have realized that I could disprove every question they may have, but if they don't want to accept the truth than I am just spinning my wheels.

Elder Ballard's message opened my eyes on where I have errored in handling these situations, rather than having a back-and-forth conversation about the pros-cons of the church, talking to these friends about how the gospel makes them feel, discussing what fruits they have seen from the gospel, and discussing where they intend to go as they leave the church, are the best routes for these conversations. People with questions typically respond much better to answers that they find on their own, rather than the answers they are force-fed by their peers, church leaders, and family.

Week #4

As I continue through this semester, I have found both my understanding and appreciation for pursuing an education has increased almost daily. Although i would never say I'm the personality type to say I enjoy spending my free time studying, it is interesting to see how an effective study changes my day. There is a natural high that comes from successfully accomplishing goals. I believe this to be true, and I have seen this hold true in many areas of my life. This semester I have seen that I now enjoy studying, because I enjoy seeing the results that follow from taking the time required to succeed in various courses at Brigham Young University. Also, I have seen the positive effect studying has had on the rest of my life. As I make school a priority, many of the concerns I have regarding time management seem to subside.

Although I am pursuing an education to prepare myself for my future career path, I have seen that my education has the ability to positively mold me into a better version of myself; if I allow my education to do so. My MCOMM class has taught me much more than just grammar and sentence structure thus far, and I can't imagine what I will learn going forward!

Week #3

This week I wanted to focus on loyalty and what this word encompasses. Saturday evening I went to the BYU Football game against UCLA. BYU's game against the Bruins resulted in an unfortunate 4th quarter heartbreaking loss, and led to many questions in play calling and playing time for various positions. As the game came down to its last seconds I was let down by the reactions of the students in the student section and BYU fans surrounding me. These fans began to chant against one or two of the BYU players and requested that these players find the bench, and get their second string replacements in immediately.

Although I attend BYU, I am actually a Utah Football fan (my family are avid fans). I attend BYU football games because I'm a student at BYU, I enjoy the game of football, and because I have a girlfriend that is a big time fan. In just three weeks time I have seen the enthusiasm for this year's football team diminish week-to-week. The student section had signs that read "Taysom the great has returned" and just as fast as the Taysom signs went up, they came back down and were replaced by fans requesting Tanner as his replacement.

As this has been a topic of discussion for the last couple of days, I have taken time to read into press conference interviews and opinions from professional analysts on the matter, and have seen that there isn't a clear cut answer to the quarterback discrepancy at BYU. I think its important to be loyal as fans, and as students, but i think being loyal as fellow teammates to these players is the most important loyalty. This is what I want to focus on. Tanner Mangum, the backup quarterback that is being cheered on by fans to be the saving grace for BYU football, recently shared a post that showed both Tanner and Taysom celebrating in the middle of one of the last three games. I don't know Tanner personally, I have heard both good and bad things about Tanner (it comes with being a college athlete), and this simple act speaks more than any opinion that I have read/listened to thus far.

Remaining loyal to the ones we love and surround ourselves with is vital for long-lasting relationships. Not just long-lasting, but I would go even further to say successful relationships.

Week #2
This week I had the chance to focus on the topic of "being sober". My Book of Mormon class asked us to research and provide a report on not abstaining from drugs and alcohol, rather, leading a sober and pure life. As I researched this topic I read many scripture passages and real world stories of leaders and individuals who live "sober" lifestyle. After reading and pondering the topic of soberness, I have found a whole new meaning for this word and I have gained respect for those people that make a conscious effort to live a sober life.

To live a sober life means that one is willing to be conscientious of making decisions with a longterm, rational outlook. To be sober in life is to consider the consequences of their actions, or, to live by the idea of "measure twice, and cut once". I feel like this is a great lesson to learn. I know that I could do a much better job of focusing on making rational decisions. Often times it is easy to make decisions with short-term vision. I know that when I make these irrational and short-term decisions I often find myself in a predicament that is less than ideal.

I read a quote that I love that says "although making the sensible and sober decision isn't always the right way of thinking, 9 out of 10 times it will lead you in the right direction" (jared Naymen). I want to apply this idea, and put my money on the safe side. That is, thinking before I speak, weighing out the consequences for my actions, and living a life with contentment due to sensible and longterm decision making.

Week #1:
As I begin another first week of school, I have had the opportunity to reflect back on my past and present school year experiences. After 18 years of "first days of school" it is amazing to see how much has changed in life. Today, I feel like above obtaining an education and financial freedom, this year I have decided to focus on obtaining a respected character and integrity to continue to build upon in years to come. As an elementary-high school student, the only important goals I ever made revolved around athletic endeavors each year. Athletics are long gone, and although I now only play recreationally, I see many life lessons I learned in my past athletic experiences. Above all other characteristics respected in coaching and teammates, integrity and honesty always seemed to be the most important. Today, as I choose friend groups, and as I continue to date to establish what characteristics I'm looking for in my future wife, honesty and integrity seems to be at the core of what I value most in individuals.

As I was sitting in Professor Dixon's first class hour, I reflected on how I could use my blog to talk about my goals and pursuits for the next academic year. In coming blog posts I will introduce other goals for the academic year, but first and foremost I want to talk about my goal to become someone known for my honest and sober character. In order to obtain this, I feel that humility will be what I need most.

I chose this as my main goal for this academic year, not because I feel that I have an issue of lacking this quality. Rather, because I don't feel that I have ever taken the time to accentuate this quality. So, here's to new beginnings.  Although I've never been much of a blogger, it is my hope that I can turn this blog assignment into a positive resource for out-of-class decisions as well.