Table of Contents

Blog                                                                              Page Number

Evaluative Conclusion                                                           1

Boy Scouts of America: 121 Merit Badges                            2

World Travel                                                                        3

Why we need more Charity                                                   4

Camping among the Bears                                                     5

New Orleans Mardi Gras                                                      6

The Divine Potential                                                              7

The Influence of the True Church                                          8

John Lasseter and Steven Spielberg are at BYU                    9

Thanksgiving with the Family                                                10

The Motivation of a Successful Workout                               11

The Power of a Super Hero                                                  12

Believing “Pass” the Fear                                                       13

Two Years of Opportunities and Memories                            14

Enduring to the End: Teaching Brooke                                   15

The Changes to expect as a Return Missionary                       16

Climbing to New Heights: A Personal Narrative about Overcoming  17

Research Topic Blog                                                                18

Boyd K. Packer: Wisdom of an Old Crow                               19

The Longest Yard of my Life                                                   20

Response to Elder Eyring’s “A Child of God”                         21

Evaluative Conclusion

Page 1

I have finally completed my 20 entries for my blog. I’ve never kept a blog or for that matter a very stable journal. Yet, this has been kind of a rewarding experience because I get to write about anything and people get to view my thoughts and stories. I’m glad I can officially say I’ve blogged about something.

The hardest part of doing these blogs was meeting the deadlines, which was mainly due to procrastination. However, it was also difficult to come up with something to write about. I’d always feel the need to blog about something, but it never effectively came together. I was surprised to find myself writing about certain topics that I hadn’t considered, such as the Mardi Gras blog and the boy scout blog.

The best part of blogging was just writing what I wanted to have heard by others. It was also fun reflecting back on several experiences, which made me laugh most the time. It was also fun to comment on other blogs from other students because I could agree or disagree with what they had to say.

Overall, it helped me appreciate the process of writing that I’ve neglected over the years. Keeping a blog allows the writer an opportunity to put their thoughts and feelings down. With a blog it invokes an unlimited opportunity to be heard.

Boy Scouts of America: 121 Merit Badges

Page 2

                                                                

There are a 121 merit badges in the Boy Scout of America program. How do I know that? Cause I managed to get every single one of them. Getting all the merit badges is a feat that by any stretch is physically and mentally demanding.

It started when I moved to Texas, as I joined with a new scout troop. My scout master was eager to work on merit badges and disperse all the knowledge he had about camping. His enthusiasm ignited a similar excitement that led me to pursue the educational opportunities each badge presented. It wasn’t long before I took advantage of every scout camp and clinic that offered the badges. Pretty soon I was at seventy-five merit badges and I hinted to my dad that I was finished. He then simply advised me, “Your already at seventy-five, why not get all of them?” It was an easy statement, but once again it reiterated what I had accomplished and what I could accomplish.

I finished the last merit badge, water skiing 3 months before my eighteenth birthday (the cut off line). Overall, I’ve white water rafted the freezing Colorado rivers, sailed a boat on the calm Kansas lakes, biked over fifty miles in one sitting, hiked over a couple hundred miles, rock climbed, slept in a man-made shelter, shot bows and guns, dug at a professional archeology site, wielded, etc. Another great thing is the professional intake from the people I met, such as a drafter, a Houston police officer, an orthodontist, a photographer, a lawyer, etc.

My younger brother also managed to get them all, but he went on to earn 127 because they added more after my departure from the program. My older brother was able to climb to 56 badges (which was fine with him), but it was mainly due to the fact that he struggled to get the necessary help. Regardless, you only need 21 for your eagle and 56 far surpasses that. It wouldn’t of been possible to get this far and to get my eagle without the help of loving parents, a wonderful scout leader, and an older brother who led by example. It was truly an adventure and one that I hope to work towards again with my kids if they so choose. 

World Travel

Page 3

I echo the words of the famous Johnny Cash lyrics “I’ve been everywhere, man.” Travel has ironically always been something that intrigued my dad since it was limited to him in his youth. He set out to see as much as the United States as he could and in response we always got hauled as a family. I’ve managed to set foot in forty-nine of the fifty states. The only state that has seemed to evade my footprints is far out of reach for me, Alaska. This is frustrating because it seems that it is most likely going to detract me from my flawless record of fifty for some time since I have no intentions of going there anytime soon.  

I’ve lived in six states throughout my life. I’ve visited countless cities that include places like Honolulu, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Washington D.C, and much, much more. Most the places are a vague memory, since I had very little interest in Gettysburg or Plymouth Rock at such a young age. Still it is neat to think that I’ve been there, but I definitely feel obligated to replicate my steps and explore these places again some point in my life.  

I’ve managed to travel to Mexico multiple times since I live so close to the border. Other foreign places I’ve been include the Bahamas, Canada, and as far as France and the Netherlands. I love travel because when you’re in front of something you’ve seen so many countless times in pictures, textbooks, and movies, it is fascinating! I plan to continue on this tradition my dad has started in this family and go see the rest of the world. My goal presently is visit every livable continent and the various places of interest within each. A lifelong pursuit I hope to take with my family.  

Why we need more Charity

Page 4

Charity is a widely discussed topic within the scriptures as well as heavily reviewed within the church. It is a pursuit that all people should strive to incorporate more entirely into their lives. We are taught that “if you have not faith, hope and charity, you can do nothing” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:19). Yet “above all things have fervent Charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

 Charity can be anything from simply opening a door for someone to organizing a food drive. It places others in front of you which tears down pride. One of my favorite parables is of the loving kindness exhibited with perfection by the Good Samaritan as he happened upon a wounded, mugged, stranger.  “A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he [stranger] was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him” (Luke 10:33-34).

Charity is one of my favorite gospel principles because it is not about you, but about others. Charity is truly the purest love we can display in our hearts. May we follow the counsel of our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson when as counsels “Charity never faileth.” May this long-enduring Relief Society motto, this timeless truth, guide you in everything you do. May it permeate your very souls and find expression in all your thoughts and actions” (General Conference report October 2010). May we always remember to have this pure love of Christ in our hearts and souls. 

Camping among the Bears

Page 5

It had been ten restless days of brutal hiking with overweight backpacks to slow us down. I didn’t want to think about the distance we overcame, but Brother James (our leader) was boasting loudly over dinner, “We’ve gone over a hundred miles.” Quite an accomplishment, especially since the majority of it was up. Still, I just wanted to finish my food and finally reward myself to a comfortable, nights rest rather than dwell on all the pain I had accumulated over the course of our hike.

We filed in a single line as we marched unified back to camp. Suddenly the guy in front of me stopped instantly and I slammed into the back of him. I was going to give him a mouthful since I was far from a mood of playing games, but he chirped softly “There’s a bear in the bush in front of us”. I could tell by his frightened tone that he wasn’t trying to throw a trick over my head. Oddly enough I felt nervous, as well as the other people huddled about us. We had heard horrific rumors of nasty bear attacks from random campers and were severely warned to watch out for them. Yet we failed to see a bear anywhere until this last evening.

“What should we do”? One of the younger guys uttered as he pointed towards the bush.

I thought quickly back to what we were told in case we encountered one these monstrous creatures and said the first thing that came to mind, “Quick throw rocks at it!”

The bushes rustled violently as torpedoes of rocks flew randomly into the abyss of leaves. Suddenly I heard a “thud” sound from a rock and a pathetic whimper.

“We got him” I cheered! With that there was a sigh of relief that was felt by our group. We went back to our tents and I finally got a peaceful, worry free, nights rest. In the morning, to our disgust all our food had been torn open and eaten. Brother James was laughing at the sight “Who got who?”

New Orleans Mardi Gras

Page 6

A lot of people tend to be intimated by New Orleans annual festive celebration, Mardi Gras. Crowds without limits, over the top costumes, and outrageous parades that destroy the streets with littered goodies thrown by masked individuals on the floats, can be quite startling for someone’s first experience. However, it is an event like none other and one I would carefully recommend in good spirit to all to attend.

New Orleans is known for their food and “king cake” is a special treat that comes with the festive activities of this time of year. It is a giant cinnamon roll with purple, green, and yellow (Mardi Gras colors) sugar spread across the top. It is a simple, but an incredible, indescribable treat. However, be careful not to accidentally swallow the plastic baby hidden inside the cake. Tradition says whoever gets the baby has to buy the next king cake. 

The parades are intense to say the least. Huge elaborate floats with vivid colors and designs come one after another down the roads tossing all manners of goodies into the air. Thousands of people line the streets and throw their hands up yelling for the attention of those willfully tossing out the beads, toys, and candy. Sometimes one has to be cautious because you never know if a full bag of beads will slap you across the face.

These parades can sometimes go all day long, but nothing compares to Mardi Gras Day (the last day of the festival). Instead of standard floats, huge semi-trucks pull massive trailers filled with eager throwers who would want nothing more than to spoil the crowd with their surplus of goodies. It is trucks after trucks which come non-stop for almost four hours throwing everything imaginable into the frantic, wild crowd. It almost gets repetitive, but it is so wild and different from anything you’ll ever do that it never gets old.

Mardi Gras is wild, unpredictable, and something that everyone should try at least once. There are things I would strongly recommend avoiding, but the majority of the events are family friendly. It is like nothing else, just come prepared to throw your hands up and scream eagerly. 

The Divine Potential

Page 7

    Every single person who has taken on mortality by being born in this world has the incredible, indescribable, blessing of being a child of a loving God. There is no one more who loves and cares for each of us more than he does. He wants and expects the best we can be because he knows more clearly than we do, the potential each of us possesses. Each one of his children has a divine potential that far exceeds anything we can imagine, but we must be able to handle what has already been  given to each of us in order to receive more blessings.
    God is the ultimate authoritative person exemplifying with perfectness the worth of ethos. He is flawless  and more importantly he cares with passionate love for every single child of his on this Earth. Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 is a familiar scripture that describes this love "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God." Someone who loves us so much wants us to progress and become better. As we live worthy of what we have been given he will continue to bless us unceasingly.

    I personally believe that every person has a divine potential that they can reach here in mortality and in the life to come. Everyone sets goals and works towards something in order to obtain it. With the Lords help we can not only reach a given potential or goal, but far surpass what we expected of ourselves. We will be blessed beyond our comprehensions. It is truly"with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1: 37).

The Influence of the True Church

Page 8

     As a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, one thing that I found particularly interesting while teaching people was how they knew what they were doing was wrong, but they still were doing it. As soon as we would teach them a principle with an invitation to stop (smoking, swearing, etc.) or too start (reading scriptures, church, etc.), the most common response was "I know I need too". In almost all cases people knew right from wrong, so us teaching them was nothing they hadn't realized before, we were just bringing it to light. Many of these people come from diverse backgrounds of all religions and ethnic groups. Many of them were taught these good morals from parents, teachers, and religion leaders, but why are they continuing to ignore righteous pursuits? Reflecting on comparison from my youth, why did I not go out and do drugs with my friends who were good strong members of another faith? There are perhaps many lurking variables to answer this question, but without question the truthfulness of the church played a critical decision in my conviction to avoid drugs. Why is it that the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ has such an impact to actually makes people want to live the principles of a righteous life and change for the best?

      I think the simplest way to answer this question is the fact that when an individual realizes the truthfulness of the church, it really does change them. As someone begins to build their testimony they come to realize that this is not just another church that they should give a tithe too and spend the rest of their week in vain. Elder Boyd K. Packer has said that "The study of doctrine and the teaching of doctrine will change behavior more than the study of behavior will change behavior". When one comes to know that this is the true church they want to change!

      Perhaps the biggest reason we follow the commandments is because our Heavenly Father wants us too. Most people can agree that one of the hardest things to hear from a parent is "I'm disappointed in you". How much more do we feel disappointed in ourselves when we disappoint our God through disobedience?

We all know right from wrong and no matter how difficult it may be to get back on the right side we can do it with the Lords help. He has showed mercy in allowing us to repent as quoted, “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven” (D&C 1:32).  What a blessing it is to have such a loving God who doesn’t want us to err, but gives us the opportunity to correct our mistakes and grow. 

John Lasseter and Steven Spielberg are at BYU

Page 9

Before I ever even learned to loop it or swoop it, or simply put to tie my shoes, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. The library offered countless books of cartoon images to practice from which I set out to draw from every single one of. My mom would be frustrated because she’d be expecting me to learn the alphabet (which was neatly pasted on my wall), but my attention would be absorbed by my tireless efforts to mimic the drawings from these books. I drew so much that I confidently proclaimed to my second grade teacher that I would go work as an animator for Disney someday.

A few years later, after seeing hundreds of movies, I borrowed my dad’s brick shaped camcorder and discovered a whole new passion. It didn’t matter what pointless images were being filmed, just as long as the camera was always on. Slowly as I grew more experienced I began to arrange short stories to create some meaning to what was being filmed. The longest film I’ve produced thus far is an hour long and the shorter ones range to only a few minutes.

Throughout high school I took advanced drawing courses which consumed most my time, but the portion left over was dedicated to creating movies. Now that I’m at BYU, more than ever am I driven to find my place among the greatest directors and animators who have ever lived. I told my second grade teacher what I wanted to be and now I’m closer than ever. It starts with my journey through the Harris Fine Arts Center, but someday it will end with my success as a Disney animator and my road as a live action film director with his own production studio. 

Thanksgiving with the Family

Page 10

This was the first Thanksgiving that my entire immediate family was together. This was mainly due to the past previous years that I was on my mission and the collected obligations of my other siblings who were unable to come home from school. It was pleasant to say the least, but it didn’t take long for us all to start contending across the table at one another (a family tradition it seems). I’d be frustratingly correcting my two brother’s disrespectful behavior to wait for a prayer of thanks, as well as the rest of the family to sit down before eating. This resulted in blank stares in my direction followed by mockery. It seems no matter how much I remind them, it is too no effect. My sister barely touched any of the temptations that lined the table due to her persistent rebuking of my brother to get a more attractive vehicle than the caved in can that he was so infatuated with. My dad kept silent, not wanting to risk any attention in his direction, but I did catch him softly say, “It’s good to have all the kids here.”

After dinner we tend to traditionally go see a movie. However, my mom was so exhausted from preparing the food and the brief war that took place that she opted out. My sister had vanished somewhere in the house, probably talking to her boyfriend, to which all of us knew to avoid her at all cost. Needless to say, it was just my dad and us three brothers.

When we got to the movie theatre, all three of us brothers walked in to get concessions leaving my dad to select a movie. He came in shortly behind us. I curiously asked, “what are we seeing, Immortals, Jack and Jill, Tower Heist?” However, I was horror stricken as my dad began to make his way into “The Muppets.” I got more of a blank stare from both my brothers than I did at dinner and I could instantly tell they were upset. Throughout the movie my younger brother ate his popcorn distastefully, while my older brother took a nap, and I just kept thinking at least it’s not twilight. Regardless, it was another memorable Thanksgiving with the family. 

The Motivation of a Successful Workout

          Page 11

     The weight room can be an agonizing place where occasionally you can hear the painful scream of someone lifting far more than their body weight. It can also be repetitive, lifting up and down, up and down. For such an uncomfortable place, why does it always seemed packed wall to wall with people? What could possibly motivate people to purposely put a lot of pressure on their bodies? Over the years since I've been lifting I have found my reasons that drive me day after day to get a good workout. The motivation of going to the gym (torture chamber) starts with a purpose,the influence of others, and the results you'll see .
          Everyone's goal in life has a purpose behind it that makes people strive after it. To get in  a consistent pattern at the gym you need to have a purpose! Most individuals probably go time after time to meet a desired physical appearance. Some may go due to recommendations from a physician. Other may just want to push themselves to say they can run a mile in 5 minutes or lift 200 pounds. Whatever the purpose, it needs to be there for one to be actively working-out.
          Lastly, is the influence of others. It is important to tell people what you intend to accomplish because that only makes you commit harder to not let them down or yourself. People may be influenced to workout to attract the opposite sex. Even while in the gym, seeing someone who is benching twice what you can may influence you to work harder.
        Once your fully committed to your purpose, you'll begin to see results in time. Once you see a stronger physical stature or a faster mile time, it only further motivates you. The results is what makes the purpose worth fighting for.
       Working out in the gym can be rough, but with the right purpose and influence from others, anyone can see results. It takes commitment and dedication. How bad are you willing to dig to see the results? Working out is hard, but it is worth every minute you put into it.

The Power of A Super Hero

page 12

     After two hours of explosions mixed with impossible odds, I came out of the theater wondering what made the super hero great in the movie. Was it the cool costume? Maybe it was possibly the epic villain they managed to defeat? Regardless, heroes have existed throughout history. Real figures in time such as Alexander the Great to fictitious heroes like Hercules. Even today firefighters, police officers, teachers, or parents can be considered a hero in someones eyes. How do they obtain glory to the point of persuasion and what value of influence can a hero have?
     I believe all heroes start out with a glories action that sets them apart. In the film I watched, the hero storm a Nazi prison camp liberating hundreds of soldiers. However, this action can be as simple as the enduring love a parent can give a child. It can go as far as the soldiers that fight in Iraq to the men and women who shuttle off to space. This glorious acts make such a profound impact to the intended audience that a very powerful ethos is developed for this hero shortly after.
     What value of influence do these people have over others? Whenever I hear on the news about some young kid or church that organized a fundraiser that helped 500 homeless people enjoy a Christmas meal, it not only brightens my day, but it helps me realize that I can do better to serve. The impact of heroes draws on the logos of all. Who doesn't want a better, peaceful, world without war and hate? When I see news reports like that I always find myself thinking logically, "If they can do their part, why can't I"?
     Heroes are all around us, they are shaping our world through their acts of bravery and kindness which sets an example for the rest of us. They are set apart by their actions and have true influence over others. A hero doesn't need to swing from buildings to stop a bank robbery, or dress in an elaborate costume to conflict evil, but someone who works to help and change someones life for the better is a true hero.