The Divine Potential

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    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

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     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

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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

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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

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     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

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     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.

Believing "Pass" the Fear

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I stared up at the towering giant who was assigned to guard any pass that would be thrown in my direction. My legs quaked at such a demanding responsibly of out running him for my catch. I barely heard the words “hike” being shouted because I was too concentrated on the fear that they would come at any moment. All chaos resumed with the play as everyone on the field scattered for a pass. The ball regretfully was thrown towards my position. It hovered in the air briefly and descended perfectly into the arms of the other team with ease. Once again with little effort or sweat on their part they ran it in for another touchdown.

At this point our small, inadequate team was depressed. Even though our numbers doubled them, we still hadn’t scored a touchdown. This was mainly because the teenagers that oppressed us were far more matured in the sport and every single one of them doubled the height of our tallest player. We all huddled up pathetically together to listen to my older brother who assumed the position captain since he was the only one that really understood the sport. He must have been frustrated because the best plan he had for our next play was “everyone get open for a pass.” This had primarily been our strategy the entire game which was obviously not working. Even though he said “everyone”, it normally excluded me due to the numerous turnovers on my behalf and my small, inadequate, stature compared to the other kids.

Before we separated from the huddle I chirped up quickly, “Throw it to me, I’ll score”. Everyone looked surprised and my brother rolled his eyes.

“You’re not going to catch it,” my brother faithlessly doubted.

“Throw it to me,” I reiterated boldly against his response.  

He shook his head hesitantly and carelessly agreed to my demands by saying “whatever”.

We all found a place on the line. I met the same towering guard who expected to make another easy take from me. This time I cleared my thoughts of fear and doubt. The game resumed with the words “hike”. I cut sharp for a short pass and the ball was thrown effortlessly into the air for a sloppy catch by me. My guard was only a few feet away when he noticed he failed to relieve me of my catch.

My feet pounded against the grass and my heart beat so fast it almost exploded out of my chest. I had the entire field to run which gave my pursuer time to catch me. I could hear him breathing down my neck, practically running on my heels. Ignoring it I just focused on the end zone. Faster, faster, faster, I ran.

Then I stopped when I heard the guard groan in disbelief because he knew he failed to stop me. I had done it; I had ran the entire field into the end zone, scoring the only point for our team. My older brother and my teammates came running down the field cheering. My brother laughed by complimenting me “I knew you could do it”.

           I smiled in response, “I knew I could”.