Because the next two entries are really really long, I am going to suggest that you choose what you want to read and what you want to skip (unless you have a lot of time)

A Key to the following entries:

The first entry is comprised of:
Chapters 4 (Revenge: Sorry for any inconvenience, the management), 5 (Restitution: Returning that which was lost), and 6 (Punishment: Monday’s Suffering) as well as an epilouge containing the amazing experience everyone should have about being stuck in an elevator.
Read that post if you are looking for a laugh or a coninuation of the Prank War Saga.

The next entry features a soapbox on Secret Society: Examining America’s fear of Secrecy and Obsession with Privacy. Read this entry if that topic intriques you. And please comment on that post because it’s no fun having a one man conversation. I’m curious as to what your opinion is.

So read onward please (and tell me if you think these posts aren’t worth reading because of their length. I think the one especially is funny, but I will cut the length to fit your attention span if I have to)

Chapter 4, Revenge: Sorry for any Inconvienence, the Management.

I take complete and total credit for coming up with the idea of our revenge against S Hall 6th Floor. Other people may have carried it out, in fact I was asleep when it happened, but I take total credit for sugesting that we steal their shower curtains.

Two in the morning I get a phone call that wakes me up Sunday Morning. It is Lisa. “Where are they?,” she demands.
“Where are what?”
“Very funny; where are they?”
“Do you know what time it is? I don’t know what you’re . . . . OHHHH!”
“I just chased some girls who stole our shower curtains and then gave them to Mark and Mike, and now I want them back.”

It was great. Actually the greatest thing was that because Lisa caught them, the girls were only able to steal the curtains from one bathroom. Mark comes into the room and tells me this. Lisa had gotten some people up, and Mark signals that I should keep them on the phone while the other girls sneak back and steal the curtains from the other bathroom. So I keep talking, and the girls just walk in and walk out with the curtains in hand. It was great! They even had time to hang up signs that said,

“Curtains have been removed for deep cleaning do to mildew. Sorry for any inconvience, the management”

And when all the girls (the whole floor) got up to go to Church with us at 9 (that floor is one of the 4 in our ward), some of the girls believed the sign! It was awesome. Word quickly spread, however, and soon their RA, Kristen, was calling us at 7 AM. Boy was she mad. Really really mad- like that’s the understatement of the year mad. She is slightly protective of her girls, let me tell you.

Chapter 5, Restitution: Returning that which was lost.

Since Kristen was so mad, we gave the curtains back. The first one we hung over her door during visiting hours while they were going to Ward prayer. It was funny.

Then we hustled to ward prayer where James gave the spiritual thought. He read this really long passage of scripture about gaining humility by forgiving those who have wronged you. Then he had an object lesson. He held up the curtain rod and talked about holding to the iron rod. Then he talked about raising the bar. Then he hung up the curtain and talked about the veil of forgetfulness, and then about being showered with blessings, and being cleansed of sin. It was awesome. And the whole time I though Kristen was going to kill someone.

Chapter 6, Divine Punishment: Monday’s Suffering.

So Monday I somehow ended up really behind and swamped in school work. And then I forgot that I had to go to this greek play, and it was really terrible. I wanted to suck my eye balls out of their sockets. It was sad. And then I got really really sick and it hurt. I took 4 tylenol at once so that I could go to sleep, and then today I missed two of my classes. This is what I get for my evil genius.

epilogue:

So at 7:30 there was a fire drill. We all poured out into the parking lot and signed in. It was over by 8 and we all came back to the hall at the same time. I got on the elevator, and then 25 more people got on the elevator after me. 26 people definately beats our record of 21, but 26 people is a lot of people. We were crammed shoulder to shoulder (one of those, er, uncomfortable moments when you are touching so many people and have no control over it), and before anyone could get out, we got stuck. So well we pushed the call button (did you know that calls 9-1-1?) and talked to a nice police woman (who laughed, and then chastised us), and then we forced open one of the doors, only to find out we weren’t on a floor. So the first floor doors are above us- filling the top third of the elevator. James and Rodney try to open those doors, and eventually open them a crack. Now this crack is just large enough for Sis. Carter, the “Hall Mom,” to fit her video camera in. So she tapes the whole thing as guys inside and out try to force the doors open. Eventually the whole thing just dropped. It was awesome! Free falling with 25 other guys! Then suddenly bang- we hit rock bottom and were below the basement. lol. It was really funny. Eventually we forced the basement doors (also above us) open where Sis. Carter was waiting with the video camera. Glad she has a sense of humor- she was laughing so hard.

And that’s all for now, Unless you want to read the next post:

America’s Fear of Secrecy and Obsession with Privacy

And now, the much awaited Soapbox . . . (please comment, even if you do not feel compelled to read the whole post)

America’s Fear of Secrecy despite an Obsession with Privacy

I have oft been angered by Americans’ hypocracy with secrecy and privacy. On one hand they attack secrecy of any kind, and yet on the other they cling to personal privacy. One could argue that the hypocracy predates American culture and that it is a Western thing. It’s a sound arguement because it is true that Westerners in general fear secrecy. Popes Benedict XIV, Pius VII, Gregory XVI, Leo XII, Pius IX, and Leo XIII (along with 12 other Popes) all spoke out vehemently against secret societies. In fact joining such a society, or one like the Masons, was grounds for excommunication in the Catholic Church. (interesting then much of this hatred was because the Masons were too tolerant) European Protestants too have persecuted and outlawed secret societies, even Hitler threw Masons into concentration camps. Though there is this fear of secrecy, I would argue that it is the obsession with the ellusive right to privacy that makes American culture different from these other Western cultures.

There is no right to privacy in the Constitution, yet somehow Americans have this assumption that they have a right to do things without other people knowing. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone one on the street what they think about the Patriot Act.

I assume this unwritten “right” to privacy stems from two distinctly American ideas: freedom of speech, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure. It is from these ideas that American’s fight for things like pornography. After all, it’s a persons choice to view such material, surely he should be able to do so without his boss knowing.
In any event, I think it is safe to say that the founders of America did intend to maintain some measure of protection of privacy, though it is not present in the Bill of Rights. What they did not seem to have is this fear of secrecy that America has developed.

We know that both George Washington and Benjamin Franklin (along with many prominent early Americans and 15 US presidents) were Masons. Clearly at one point in American history (an early point) some form of secrecy, perhaps even elitism (many early American leaders and framers believed that only the educated elite should vote . . .), existed and was accepted or at least tolerated. In fact, Masonry was popular during this time in Scottland and other parts of Great Britain from which came many of the American Settlers. Joseph Smith and most of the early saints in Nauvoo Illinois were active Masons, and they were not criticised for being Masons until many years after they left Nauvoo.

So what brought about this change in attitude? Or was there a change?

I’m not sure whether or not these early Americans feared secret society like they do now, but I am sure that they did not consider Masonry a secret society. In fact, it still is not a secret society because it willingly and publicly acknowledges its esistence, something that a secret society by definition would deny. It is instead a fraternal orginization, though it is true that it keeps some information or rituals secret. It is important, though, to look at the motivation for such secrecy.

Free Masonry comes from, at the latest, the mideval mason guilds of Europe. (There is some evidence that these guilds themselves developed from older groups of architects and philosophers, perhaps even the builders of Solomon’s Temple) They were tradesman who were by profession Masons. Masonry was not the only such guild. Each trade or profession had a guild, and each guild had secrets. Why? Because if these guildsman gave away the “secrets” or tricks of the trade (skills), then other people would be able to take their business. These men were experts- they were master masons who created such wonders as the Cathedrals of Europe. The guilds enforced a code of secrecy to protect their trades. It is these traditions that were carried down and are still used by Masons today.

Another reason Masonry was not considered a Secret Society in early America was its use by the Latter-day Saints themselves. The Book of Mormon vehemently opposes and speaks against secret societies and “secret combinations.” This theme takes up a major portion of the Book, and so it is unlikely that Joseph Smith and other early Mormons would participate in an organization that they considered to be a “secret combination.” This gives us some incite into the cultural thought at the time because these early saints came from all over the United States and Great Britain and were all converts to this new Faith.

Though I’m not sure wether or not early Americans feared secrecy like we do now, I do know that there was a change in how they viewed secrecy. I think there are a few events that changed our perception of secret clubs. One of those is the KKK. The KKK was a secret club that did evil things. It was first accepted by society and then it was not. Perhaps that change in attitude may be reflected on other forms of secrecy as well. In fact, extremest may claim that Masonry was related to the KKK (these findings would be bogus). Another event that changed our level of tolerance for secrecy was the creation of satanistic cults in the mid 1900′s. Groups such as “wiccans” and “the Church of Satan” were created with in the past 75 years, despite their claims to antiquity. Many of these groups stole symbols from other nonevil groups, like the Masons (including the oft misinterpreted pentagram). Fear of these clearly evil groups permeated society rapidly. Coincidently the same time period was known as the cold war, another event that increased our fear of secrecy. We became leery of spies, and morbidly afraid of government conspiracy. Communism was treated like an invisible plauge. Things like McCarthyism and Watergate did not help our trust in the unknown- the secret.

I think with this growing fear comes a great loss to society. Again for example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though Brigham Young may have hated the Masons and forbode members of the Church from becoming Masons after the exodus west, the fact of the matter is that there is a tie between the early Church and Free Masonry. 4 Church presidents were Masons (this is, however, nothing compared to the 15 US Presidents ), and Masonic architecture abounds in the earlier LDS Temples. A contempory fear of Masonry as a secret organization rumored to worship the Devil (it doesn’t, in fact Masons are mostly very active Christians) has lead most members to either deny the tie between Masonry and the Church or minimize it. I think this has taken a great toll on our understanding of early Church symbolism.

First of all, lets rememeber where Masonry comes from. They were the master builders. They built all of the first Christian buildings- the Cathedrals, the shrines, the monesteries, the Vatican, etc, etc, etc. Their contempory symbolism has been handed down from their ancient symbolism (the compass, the square, other geometric symbols like the pentagram are all symbols of masonry the trade and craft). If these symbols are associated with the ancient Christian builders, then why the heck would we not want to use that symbolism?! Of course our Temples, which represent the finest place in the world– a holy House of God set apart and above all else, would mimic and use the trades of the master masons! So you will see the Temples adorned with pentagrams, horns, squares, even compasses). The problem is because contemporary Latter-day Saints are so afraid (as is the rest of America) of the Mason’s secrecy, they have purposefully forgotten what these sacred symbols mean. How many Mormons could tell you that the pentagram is a symbol of Jesus Christ (the Star of Bethlem, the 5 wounds of Christ, etc. etc.)

I could divulge into secrecy vs. privacy in Latter-day Saint culture more, but I think you are getting tired of reading this, assuming that you have read this. Suffice it to say that Mormons because of their Sacred Temple Ordinances do accept a level of higher privacy, more so than other Americans who fear Mormons for such unknowns. Because Mormons themselves are so against secrecy, all Temple records are available to the public, and Temple open houses allow all to see behind the Temple walls. So the resulting high level of privacy should be something Americans love, right?

American culture today goes back and forth between its fear of secrecy and its fear of losing privacy. As issues like the Patriot Act come forward, and as organizations like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gets bigger, I think Americans will find more and more that they have to choose between the two. You can’t write both into law, so we will just have to wait and see which fear wins out.

That was quite possibly the best dance I’ve been to.

Well, wish me luck. I teach Gospel Doctrines tomorrow.

Update:

My lesson was awesome! The whole morning I was so nervous, excited, and scared I couldn’t breathe. I really wanted to do good. Finally it was time for me to teach. I got there and I stood up there and looked at all these people. I asked someone to say an opening prayer, and then I just started talking. The lesson was, “Whosoever will come, him I will receive” from 3 Nephi 8-11. I asked lots of questions and got lots of participation. It turned out to be a lot of fun- I loved it. And I think everyone else did too. I got a lot of compliments at least. But I think I sensed that people were interested and involved. Anyway, just wanted to let you know how it went. Afterwards I felt this huge sense of relief and satisfaction and happiness. It was awesome, I felt light.

Did you see that?!!! Did you see that?!!! ONE POINT! ONE KICK TOO WIDE! I want to hit something, THAT GAME WAS OURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stupid Smurf Turf.

I have so much to say I don’t even know where to begin. This entry will be long. I shall brake it into chapters so that you can skip parts that will bore you. Chapter one: “The Onset of War” (this is a funny thing that happened Tuesday night) Chapter two: “The Phone of Doom” (a horror story from Weds. morning) Chapter three: “The Girls, fraternizing with the enemy” (this contains the romantic events of Weds)

Chapter One: The Onset of War

I am currently involved in open war.

I didn’t start it. Adam, my roommate, started it on Tuesday. He and James stole a huge box of candy from the Chantelle (we’re talking 200 bags of skittles and m&m’s). This box of candy was then claimed by our entire floor. We just decided it was ours (for all practical purposes, it very well could have been ours- it was extra candy from an activity Adam volunteered at).

Well . . . this caused Chantelle and the girls (S Hall 6th floor- in our ward) to get slightly angry. So they duck taped Adam to a pole. Mark and James pretended to betray Adam. They and Chantelle had all the girls come down with their cameras and water bottles. The plan was that they soak Adam and take pictures. James offered to take group shots of everyone around Adam with all of their cameras. They put all their cameras in a pile, and James and Mark went to take the pictures, but suddenly changed directions, picked up the water bottles, and soaked all the girls.

The girls scattered, Adam was released, and Mark, James, and Adam came upstairs and told everyone the story. This is when Chantelle calls. She wants to see Adam, James, and Mark in the lobby. So they go down, along with half of our floor. There is some talking, and when negotiations fail, Chantelle steals Adam’s hat and runs. She holds the hat hostage for the whole box of candy. (Please note that I have not been present at these events until now.) So Adam comes into our room and empties the box of candy. He then fills the box with water bottles. As I am hearing the story, I go down to watch (purely to watch)

Adam, Mark, James, and a handful of other guys bring the box out, but Chantelle does not hand over the hat. As a result she is chased and drenched in water. I find this extremely hilarious, and for the record, my observation is that she asked for it. Not only did she refuse to return the hat, but she was alone! Besides, she was laughing and flirting- she liked it.

To make a long story short, she stole James’ keys. Rachel and Kaitlin come out (again, asking for it) and they also get soaked by, among other things, plastic bags filled with water launched by Danny from Johno’s window.

Again, please note that I have not so much as caused a drop of water to touch anyone. I am not involved at this point. I am in deed an innocent bystander.

Adam decides to be the big man. He offers to return as much candy as he can steal from the rest of us and also turn himself in to be soaked according to the girls discretion. He steals a whole grocery bag full (26 bags of candy), runs it down to the girls, hands it over, gets drenched, and comes back. All is now right in the ward, right?

Chapter Two: The Phone of Doom

So we all go to our rooms. 1 AM, the phone rings. I answer (though the phone is on the other side of the room), and it is for Adam. Adam has gotten calls at this hour before, so I did not think too much of it. It was some girl (turned out to be Nina) telling him how hot he was. I go to sleep.

3 AM. Phone rings twice then stops.

5 AM. Phone rings. And rings. I answer (though the phone is on the other side of the room), and there is heavy breathing, then a click. I go to sleep.

6 AM. Phone rings. And Rings. Adam answers (the phone is on his side of the room after all), and it is for Adam. Adam has not gotten calls at this hour before, so I am especially mad. It was some girl who wanted to remind him to wear his jacket lest he catch cold. I go to sleep.

7 AM. Phone rings. And rings. I answer (though the phone is on the other side of the room), and it is for Adam. I told her Adam was asleep, and she said it was an emergency and to wake him up. I ask who’s calling. They say it is his visiting teacher (I was still only half awake, so I did not catch the joke) I wake Adam up and she reminds him to wear sunglasses lest he be blinded by the sun. I unplug the phone, and then go to sleep.

So then I wake up at 9:40. Somehow I was so tired I slept through my alarm, and was late, unshowered, and unfed for my 10:00 class. Neadless to say I was furious that I had been punished for Adam’s transgression, a transgression which he had already paid for. When we discovered that all the other guys got the same calls at the same time . . . that’s when the plans began to form.

And so now, now I am involved. Now this is war.

Let’s just say I have come up with a wonderful idea that the floor has decided to put into action. Oh the cleverness of me.

Chapter Three: Girls– Fraternizing with the Enemy

Now one would think that this massive war would drive wedges between the guys and the girls- that it would be impossible to flirt with the very person you are plotting against. This is not so. At least not at BYU. Actually, I think the war cause our two floors to flirt even more with each other. It was amusing.

For example, a bunch of us roasted marshmallows on the lights! It was awesome! We made smores. A bunch of us put foil over the light, laid out marshmallows and cookies, and then made smores. It was way hot. And we talked, and hung out, and by the end everything was way hot. I could write more, but I do not want to make this entry protected. Sorry.

Anyway, thus ends the first three Chapters of the war. Stay tuned to hear my awesome revenge. Mwahahahaha.

P.S. What the heck is up with homestarrunner.com. It is the stupidest thing ever, why do people like it here? Any why oh why oh why am I being forced to listen to a CD of homestar songs. Haven’t I been tortured enough today!!!

P.P.S Because I feel like, I am going to tell you what good music there is out there. Good bands to listen too: The Juliana Theory, Split Habit (especially “city girl”), Death Cab for Cutie, Senses Fail, and Bowling for Soup.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I just typed a really long post and accidentally deleted it. I mean like really long. *tear*

I shall begin again.

I hope my last post didn’t make Utahans sound like fake empty nice people. (After all, I happen to have taken a fancy to a particular Utahan) They are not insincere in their happiness, I am just not used to so many people whose lifestyles make them happy in one place.

Sure enough Friday quickly became happy again. Adam, Sally, Lisa, and I went to the Death Cab for Cutie concert at the University of Utah. That was a lot of fun. We met up with a lot of BYU kids there.

It was really strange, though, to smell cigarette smoke for the first time in weeks at the U of U. I smelled beer for the first time in a month. I am not exaggerating by much to say that for the first time in 3 weeks I saw a girl’s shoulder (er, many shoulders), a tattoo, strange piercings, overly expressive hairstyles, etc. etc.

Now I know that I saw all these things and more in my former life at Stevenson. I have seen and smelled much worse over the course of my life (if you thought I was sheltered, you are wrong). But in just those few weeks I have completely forgotten the smells, sights, sounds, and feeling of life outside the bubble. I did not expect that. You should have seen me. I was like, “woah, those are greek letters above that house. And on that t-shirt. And on that car.” and “hey that’s cool, I wonder why she painted a dragon on her back . . . Oh my gosh that’s her back!!!” It was amusing. (and no, I did not say those things out loud. I just thought them)

While it was refreshing to remember that there are people in the world who live differently than I live, I am grateful for the honor code. Though I would never raise a family in Utah, I love living in the happy bubble. I know that many of you think that it would be better for me to live outside the bubble. I have done that. I spent nearly 18 years living in the world. Now for a small amount of time I want to be here- here, where I have never been happier. I am freer to be and express my true self here. Home I was always “the Mormon.” Now there are so many Latter-day Saints that I cannot just be “the Mormon,” and so I am something more. I am myself. People are learning- I am learning- who I actually am.

I love living, learning, and being on dedicated ground- a place set apart and above the world for special purposes- for learning with the spirit. (Besides, the girls are much hotter at BYU than at U of U)

Having said that know that it’s not all Churchy and Preachy here. We don’t just go to Church and play Mormon games all the time. We do normal things. We play pranks on each other. We listen to loud music. We live real lives, secular lives. But there is within everything an ambiance of reverence that I would not trade for anything in the world.

After the concert we went to Lisa’s parent’s house and watched “What About Bob” ’til early hours the next morning. “What About Bob” is a very funny movie; I was much entertained. Speaking of such things, I intended to make a protected post to supplement this one about my date status, but then I had to rewrite this one. Perhaps if I find more time I will make such a protected post. Perhaps.

Anyway, Saturday I woke up at 11:30, and only then because I had a ton of homework to do. I proceeded to work on homework nonstop from wake up to when Julie picked me up at 6. We walked to Jerry’s with some friends where we ate dinner and then went to the game. We had really good seats. I don’t want to talk about the rest of it. It was a tragedy, however much expected.

Sunday was filled with Church meetings. I gave an uber cool spiritual thought at Ward prayer.

Today I had breakfast with my English class (er, the few that showed up), and then worked on homework and laundry all day. FHE was lame, but I got to chat with Lisa and Kaylyn. And now that I have finally finished my many assignments, sent some e-mails, talked to my brother, written the same post twice, and yelled at the people down the hall for playing really really loud obnoxious chick songs like Brittany Spears, I am going to go to bed. Perhaps.

Remeber how I complained about English being a repeat of JR. yr. AP? I take it back. I got my paper back today and it was completely butchared. My teacher loved the end, but basically in order for me to get a grade I like I have to rewrite it. Oh, and apparently my thesis was not obvious enough. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

And While I’m venting major frustrations . . .
I let someone use my locker and then today discovered I was missing one of my pieces that was not turned in yet. I called her up and she’s like, “Oh yeah, I accidently took that.” When I went to retrieve it, it was all wrinkled and creased. But I had to act all nice like I didn’t care. I am slightly peeved. Slightly being the understatement. Actually, peeved is also an understatement.

Well this entry should let you know that we at BYU are still humans. I’m starting to get worn out of the “let’s be happy” attitude here. Don’t get me wrong. It’s always fun here. Always. But I’m kinda thinking it’d be nice to have a rotten time at some point. Like for something to go wrong instead of right all the time. I now know that I would not like living in the Garden of Eden. Zion is bad (er, good) enough. I miss some of the rudeness of Chicago. Here everyone is happy and nice and all is well. Perhaps, though, I should be careful what I ask for. Hence the beginning of this entry.

Oh well. I garantee by the end of the day I’ll be happy again. I’m going to go see Death Cab for Cutie tonight with Lisa and some other friends.

Can’t I just have one lousy day? One horrible terrible day? Is it too much to ask to be grumpy and angry and mean for one whole day? It’s not fair. BYU won’t let me be sad.

Why can’t the whole world be like this?

It started last night. My roommate talked on the phone until 2:30 in the morning. Because I have an eight o’clock class Tuesdays, I tried to go to bed a lot sooner. Like 11:30. It took me an hour to fall asleep, and then I woke up everytime he laughed or talked loud or . . . Ahhhh!

And naturally the lack of sleep made me really really grumpy this morning. It didn’t help that I slept in and woke up at 7:35. I lept out out bed, got dressed, slapped on my glasses, tried not to notice that my hair was sticking up on one side, ate breakfast in the Morris Center, all in 20 minutes so that I could be in class by 8.

I stand in the doorway at 8:03 and look around. There are three people in the classroom. You see last week my professor told us he was going to be out of town this week. I thought that meant that there would be a sub- or at the least an asignment on the board to work on. I was the only one who thought this.

Lets just say I was having a bad morning. I stomped back uphill to my dorm where I colasped on my bed- my roommate still asleep. I took a twenty minute powernap and then started the morning right- with a shower and contacts. It was nice, but I was still fuming. I wanted to hit something.

At my 10 o’clock Book of Mormon class I was still in a bad mood. I got really mad at the professor and kinda had to bottle it up. Then there was a devotional that was, eh, alright. At 12 I was still upset.

But 12 is Brother Wulf Barsh’s class. He made us buy this expensive, delicate paper. It’s called Arches 88. It’s from France, and so it’s kinda tempermental. If you breath on it, the moisture in your breath makes it warp. Once you draw on it, your drawing is permanant- You cannot earase. If a bug lands on it, it is forever scarred.

We met in front of the Maeser Building, where he talked for a bit and then gave us the daunting task of drawing the Maeser Building– Perfectly. If you make a mistake, you start over on another 3 dollar piece of paper. One would think that putting an angry, grumpy boy in an intense situation with pressure and stress in which he cannot mess up, would be a bad idea. Or maybe not.

Class ended and I was nowhere near completion. I didn’t get it. I just couldn’t do it, but I was determined not to move from that spot until I got it. Several other people stayed, trying to figure it out. I sat there, staring at it till my eyes bleed. I moved rulers around, and triangles. Then all of a sudden I figured it out. It began to work, to come together. I stayed there until 3:40, but I made a darn good drawing. And it makes sense.

At some point in the pressure I must have buckled. When I finished, it was the best feeling in the world. I was learning! I was overcoming my weakness in art- spatial drawing. I felt good. I felt proud. I felt like I had overcome everything.

And now I’m in the best mood ever.

I swear it’s like a curse. You cannot be unhappy for long in the happy bubble.

http://www.freeiPods.com/

Please sign up with the link above so I can get my own free ipod.

Today was cool. I slept in past my alarm to 7:30. Got dressed in my pink tie and my blue vest. I was pure hotness.

At 8:00 I was called to be Gospel Doctrine Teacher! yAy! I am very excited.

Church was nice, and then this evening I went to the CES broadcast . . . LIVE! Isn’t that cool! Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, spoke. This was very exciting, especially since he gave my favorite speach of all time a few conferences ago. (The Grandeur of God) If you have a moment, read that talk. It is more revealing about the nature of God than any other talk I’ve heard.

Today Elder Holland spoke about the “ongoing anxieties in the world.” He talked about the Latter-days, telling us not to worry about them but to instead think about being a Saint. It was a talk about comfort in perilous times, and an assurance of happiness in the future. He told us that our dreams could come true, but only if we actually had dreams, and then prayed for them and believed in them.

It was a very sincere and touching talk. Two scriptures that he shared that touched me particularly were:
D&C 101:16-19 ” . . . be still and know that I am God . . .”

John 16:33
” . . . be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

I felt the spirit during his words. I testify that he is an Apostle of Jesus Christ called by Jesus Christ. I testify that he is a special witness of the Savior, of the divinity of His Church, and of the Grandeur and Mercy of God. I feel that testimony burn within my bosom every time I read his words or hear him speak.

(If you are interested in the notion of latter-day Apostles and Prophets, the Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a cool article out this month called In Opposition to Evil)

Edit
P.S.
I forgot to tell you guys how much fun I had Saturday night. I went to this art show with Meghan that was really cool, and then we went to the creamery for some some ice cream. yAy! for fun times.