Tree of Life

Along with my last post, I read 1 Nephi 8 this morning (because the Elder Packer's talk made me want to go back and read it again, more closely). Some interesting new insights I found:

- The river/pit separates the wicked from the Tree of Life

- The reason it was so close to the straight and narrow path is because it was digged by the wicked for the righteous. But as long as we are on the path, we are safe. The pit will be filled by those who digged it.

- We can be on the path without holding onto the rod, but as soon as the mists of darkness come, we'll be sorry we weren't holding on.

Turns out Lehi's vision has more meaning than it seems on the surface :)

"Finding ourselves in Lehi's Dream"

 I was reading Elder Packer's CES Fireside address from several years ago, entitled, "Finding
ourselves in Lehi's Dream." It was so good! I recomend it!

Here are some of my favorite quotes pulled from that talk:

1. “You may think that Lehi’s dream or vision has no special meaning for you, but it does. You are in it; all of us are in it.”
2. “Lehi’s dream has in it everything a Latter-day Saint needs to understand the test of life.”
3. “Read the dream or vision carefully; then read it again.”

4. “Largely because of television, instead of looking over into that spacious building, we are, in effect, living inside of it. That is your fate in this generation. You are living in that great and spacious building.”
5. “All of the mocking does not come from outside of the Church. Let me say that again: all of the mocking does not come from outside of the Church. Be careful that you do not fall into the category of mocking.”

I just really liked how he talked about the Tree of Life story in a way that was directly applicable to us. I also thought it was way interesting what he said about TV and the great and spacious building--that definitely caught my attention, since I'm in this media class right now. I think the main message I got out of the talk is this: We are way too complacent. We live in a time of war. We need to get out of the great and spacious building, separate ourselves from the ways of the world, and "hold to the rod, and don't let go." Loved this talk!

Brain development

In my Cognitive Development class, we watched a video about brain development (I can’t remember its title). It was pretty fascinating to realize how the brain works. One thing that I learned is that it is possible to still function if your corpus collosum is cut (severing the connection between the left and right hemisphere so that they can’t communicate with each other). They did a few studies about a man who had his hemispheres separated because of severe seizures. Although he could still function almost like normal, he sometimes had to draw a picture in order for his left brain to be able to identify something his right brain was thinking about. Way interesting!

"The Business of Being Born"

This week I found out that I am expecting, so it’s been a crazy exciting last few days. I watched a documentary on Netflix called, “The Business of Being Born.” I thought it was very interesting – it definitely gave me insight into a perspective I had never considered or even thought of before (natural childbirth). However, I did notice that it was extremely biased (obviously it was produced and inspired by midwives and those in favor of natural birth). So I’m grateful that it exposed me to some new ideas and opened my mind. I think it’s great that we have so much access to so much information that is out there about alternate practices that go against widespread cultural trends that we would otherwise just blindly accept. However, I still would like to see a documentary that argues for the other side (hospital births), just so I could have a balanced view and make a more informed decision. 

"What are Words"

I was recently introduced to the song, “What are words” sung by Chris Medina. Wow, I love this song! It has such a powerful message, especially considering the story behind it. He and his girlfriend had agreed to get married, but then she had horrible accident that left her extremely verbally and physically disabled. But Chris took by her, showing what true love really is. It’s not about fleeting infatuation; it’s not about perfect bodies or ideal situations. It’s about sacrificing for someone you deeply care about. Watching the music video to this song was very touching. It had a really good effect on me—it inspired me to want to be more committed and to rise to a higher level of caring and service. It also made me think about how Americans glorify so many sensationalized love songs that promse undying loyalty, but when you look at the divorce rates, it's easy to see that few of those "promises" actually are fulfilled. Maybe we're just used to saying things we don't mean. How sad. 

I love how the message of music can transcend the music itself, and this song is a perfect example of that. Every song has a message, for good or for bad. Some are obvious, like this one, but others have messages that are much more subtle. Either way, when we listen to any song, we are absorbing its message, whether we think we are or not.

"I'll Make a Man Out of You"

The other day I was listening to “I’ll make a man out of you” from Mulan. So for my first media post, I thought I would do a slightly cheesy analysis of this well-known Disney song. I thought it was interesting because the song is basically making some underlying assumptions about what it takes to “be a man.” The chorus outlines some supposed requirements: 

"You must be swift as the coursing river, with all the force of the great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon.”

These are very stereotypical views on manhood.  To me, "swift as a coursing river" suggests individualism and dominance (a strong current of a river does not wait for others, but tramples them in insisting the right of way). "With all the force of the great typhoon" suggests that men must use "force" to maintain their power, and "typhoon" makes me think of anger/rage as does "raging fire." The last part of the chorus seems to suggest that men need to guard against vulnerability and self-disclosure (they must not be understood). All of these things may be fine when talking about soldiers going to war, but these characteristics do NOT work when it comes to relationships. It's not consistent with the gospel perspective in D&C 121 that tells priesthood holders that "force" not only does not contribute to one's manhood, but it actually subtracts from it. Whenever we "exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon" people, we lose our presiding power, and are left to ourselves. Gentleness, meekness, long-suffering, patience and love is the source of true power. How interesting is that? This view stands in stark contrast to the messages that popular culture and media are sending to men about what it really takes to be a man. So ya, I guess Disney's Mulan doesn't exactly hold true to this, but still, I love the song!