10. Conclusion

I started this blog as an assignment and because of that I was required to pick a theme for my blog when I began. However, as time went on I didn't exactly stay true to the theme I picked. I had intended to focus this blog on my family and how much they impact my life and after the first few posts, I kind of strayed from that. I think it is partly because this an assignment and I didn't have the complete freedom I would like to post about whatever I wanted, and partly because I do not have the opportunity to interact with my family as much as I used to, now that I am at college. I notice that I have posted a lot of quotes. I like them because they are inspiring and they uplift me. Thinking about it now I realize that I need those quotes in my life so much because now that I am on my own I don't have my family here to encourage me and now I must rely on the quotes. My family has not been replace; I still need them very much, but I am on the road to becoming self-reliant and that, I can see now, is a very good thing.

Words of Wisdom From the Wise #12

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not whither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

-J.R.R. Tolkien 

9. New Media

In our time, even if we don't want it to, media has become almost essential. It's everywhere, people are using it to run businesses, contact old friends, and learn things they never would have had the opportunity to learn before. Of course there are also bad things about media today, and we need to be extra cautious of those.

Elder David A. Bednar gave two separate talks that spoke about new Mmedia and while the are opposing, they are both equally important. His first talk, "Things as They Really Are," warned about the dangers of new media and pleaded with people to not get sucked in. There have been times when it has literally ruined lives. On the other hand, media has done great things as well! We can spread the gospel to even more places all over the world, individuals who don't take well to speaking to people in person about religion have the opportunity to learn about it online, and we have made great breakthroughs in knowledge, science and medicine as a result of the advances we've made.

Media is a tool and just like any tool, in the wrong hands it can do horrible things, but in the right hands it can work miracles. In trying to make the world a better place, we need to take this tool and use it for good purposes. Better lives and spread happiness. We must control this tool instead of letting it control us. Media today is a wonderful thing, and we need to treat it as such while at the same time using it with great care and caution.

8. General Conference

On April 4th and 5th of 2015 millions of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including myself, gathered to listen to the prophet and general authorities speak. I even had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Saturday afternoon session with my family. Sometimes, I have trouble keeping my eyes open when I listen to speakers in person, but that afternoon at 2:00PM I couldn't peel my eyes away from the speakers.

Probably one of my very favorite talks was given by Elder Wilford W. Andersen and it was called "The Music of the Gospel." Elder Andersen gave a very good talk in that he conveyed his message really well through imagery and metaphoric language.

He spoke about a tribal witchdoctor telling a medical doctor that he could teach him how to dance but he had to hear the music all on his own. Elder Andersen then went on to describe many scenes that we probably encounter in our day-to-day lives. Like seeing someone dancing in their car at a red light. He compared this to someone in the church going through the motions without ever feeling the powerfulness and truthfulness of the gospel in their hearts. Those who only see our actions and can't feel the feelings or "hear the music" will think we are strange, but after they do hear it, they will want to join in on the dance as well. Being a great lover of music, I really related to this talk. I enjoyed the comparisons and really appreciated the principle he was teaching with these metaphors. It has made me determined to listen carful for "the music" and try to get as many people as I can to hear it too.

Words of Wisdom From the Wise #11

"I know that God has a plan for me that usually is totally different than the plan that I have for myself. It's not always easier, but it's always better."

Words of Wisdom From the Wise #10

"The grass is not greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water it." - Unkown