5: Analysis of "Faith in America"

The real truth behind this blog... I actually started this blog because it is part of my Writing class.  So naturally some of my posts will be about my writing assignments and here's the first of them.

I wrote my Rhetorical Analysis on an address given by Mitt Romney during his presidential campaign in 2007 titled, "Faith in America."  I thought this address would be interesting because I know that there are people who dislike the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon and there are people out there who don't understand what Mormons are like.  I wanted to see how he reacted to the views of other people.  I read through his address a couple times and it really helped me figure out what he used to help the people listening understand where he's coming from.  He used a number of strategies to convince the Americans that being a Mormon does not make him a bad American.  On top of that, he made it clear that he appreciates any and all of the different faiths out there in the nation.  What I thought helped him the most was when he specifically stated the roles that religion has in the government.  I think that really helped highlight his address.

I thought my paper turned out alright.  I did the best I could and thought my analysis were pretty thorough.  However, I do wish I had a couple more people read it over because what makes sense to me does not always make sense to other people.  But besides that, I spent a big chunk of time working on this paper and really liked learning about the insight that Mitt Romney has about faith in America.

4: The Kho Family

The family is the center of the gospel.  So what constitutes a strong family?  A research article published in the New York Times shows that telling stories in the family not only makes for good dinner conversations but helps the children deal with challenges and overcoming stress.  This is because knowing your family's story helps you realize that you are part of something bigger, you actually feel like you belong somewhere.  The article also mentions that some activities done in the past should also be continued as traditions for the family.  As I thought about my life, I have come to the conclusion that I have either not faced any challenges and stress or I have just been able to deal with them. because of my family.  If the latter is the case, then according to this article, there must be some stories or traditions done in my family that have helped me.

This is my family.  I could talk forever about everything my family is to me but I'll just mention a few.  A tradition we have in our family is celebrating Chinese New Year.  I absolutely love this time!  We always eat dinner together but Chinese New Year is especially important.  When my brother and sisters and I were little, my mom and dad would always make cook the food, but now that we are older, we help out in the kitchen!  As a side note, the food is so yummy!  In addition to dinner, we receive red envelopes after we wish our parents a good year.  I treasure the efforts my parents make to help us children experience our culture while living halfway around the world!

Every summer, my siblings and I would sit around the dinner table and my mom would teach us: math, science, writing, etc.  We always put work before play so we weren't allowed to play until everything was done.  Though it was rough at first, sitting indoors instead of running around outside, I have learned so much from those summers: from each individual subject to controlling my inward desires.  The things I learned every summer were always more difficult than the material I learned at school the upcoming year so I learned how to study effectively on my own.  I also learned how to work fast and accurately so that I could get outdoors faster.  Regardless of my speed though, my mom was always so patient and stayed with us the whole time.

Every year in December, around Christmas time, my family would make a trip to temple square to see the lights and to take family pictures.  I remember some years it was really warm and other years, it was so cold my toes felt like they were going to fall off!  However, we now have pictures from every year that show us that we've always been together and that is something that I treasure so much.

My family is amazing and is so important to me.  In the end, though stories are great, I think the things I do with my family and the time we spend with each other really do strengthen our relationships and brings us closer together.  As a last thought, here is what The Family: A Proclamation to the World says about families:

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."    

3: Inauguration of a new president

This is my freshman year at BYU and what a great blessing it is to be here.  This week, I had the privilege to attend the inauguration of our new president, President Worthen.  I have never attended the inauguration of a BYU president before and I think that was the case for most students at BYU.  Needless to say, the Marriott Center was packed!

In attendance that day was The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in addition to a couple members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  It was not the first time I have been in the same room as the Prophet as I have had the opportunity to attend General Conference at the Conference center before.  But no matter how many times I've experienced that, the feeling as the Prophet and Apostles walked in the room is just indescribable.  Here is President Thomas S. Monson, called of God to be the Prophet on earth today and I was sitting in the same room as him!  As they walked in, the whole room was on their feet, standing reverently, and to me that shows the respect and gratitude we have, not only for him, but for who he represents. The spirit completely filled the room and I could feel that this is God's work and I am so privileged to be a part of it.

Throughout the program, I felt more and more blessed as I realized who is part of the board that runs Brigham Young University.  This really is God's work and he is highly involved in everyone and everything here.  What a great blessing that is for me to know that.  I also noticed the humility President Worthen showed as he was inaugurated.  He could very well be proud of himself for being president of such a prestigious university but he he didn't express that.  It must be a huge responsibility to not only be the president of this university but one that represents the church and I got the feeling that he was very humbled to be called to this position.

What a great example! This is a perfect reminder to me of how important it is that I be humble at all times, be willing to learn and acknowledge that I am not perfect, and to know that God's hands are in my everyday life.  

2: "To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood"

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at Education Week at BYU on August 19, 2014.  If you have not heard his message, I encourage you to check it out on lds.org.

Near the end of his message, after Elder Bednar presents the basic guidelines to using social media to share gospel messages, he "exhorts [us] to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth... and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood."

But what really stood out to me was his next sentence: "I pray we will not simply participate in a flash flood that rises swiftly and then recedes just as rapidly."  Many times, we are counseled by our prophets and apostles to do something and hopefully we always take that counsel to heart and try to become better.  The same is with this message.  Elder Bednar counseled us to fill social media with "messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy."  But this cannot be a one time thing.  It is not enough that we post something once and say we are done.  We have to be consistent and though we may feel that our individual posts may not be having a lot of impact, the collective posts of everyone combined can produce the flood of truth and righteousness the earth is so desperately waiting for.

So as an echo to Elder Bednar's challenge, let's "Sweep the earth as with a flood!"  

1: Ponder, Act, Love

Here's my first post on my first blog! I never thought I would be blogging but here I am.  After much thought, I decided on the title Ponder, Act, Love because I feel like these are the steps I should take whenever new experiences happen or whenever I learn something new!

Ponder: thinking and analyzing about what it means to me and how it will affect myself and those around me.
Act: what can I do now with the new thought, knowledge, experiences I have gained?
Love: this is simple.  Love life, love the people around you.

"Pure Christlike love flowing from true righteousness can change the world."
-Elder Holland

So, this blog will be a place where I will post thoughts or feelings about life, what I learn, and anything else that comes to my mind!