love

"If one really loves another, one would rather die than to injure him." - Elder Spencer W. Kimball

"supposed to"

Most people that know me, know that I don't like the phrase "supposed to" (or "should"), and that is generally true. This is mainly because I feel a lot of people use the phrase incorrectly, stifling theirs and other's agency. But I have to be honest, there are several times when I wish I could just know whether or not I'm doing what I'm supposed to.

...this is definitely one of those times.

scriptures in the temple. . .

Today was a great day to go to the temple. As I waited to go inside the endowment session, I read a couple of scriptures that I found quite meaningful:

Matthew 6:30 - Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he not provide for you, if ye are not of little faith.

Matthew 6:33-34 - Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

words in italics come from the footnotes JST

Thursday Night's Films

Gnomeo & Juliet - If you are looking for a fun animated comedy, then this isn't a bad pick. Although it isn't up there with your typical Pixar film, I still found it to be surprisingly humorous and enjoyable to watch.

Captain America - I think it is good to know that I am not a big fan of the whole string of superhero movies that have come out recently. Of course that doesn't mean I'm not a fan of any of them, and this movie would be one of those exceptions. I really enjoyed this film. They did a brilliant job of making it intense, yet cleverly funny. I feel a lot of movies recently have tried a little too hard to be funny, and in result they end up crude or just plain obnoxious (the Transformer series for example). I was glad to see that Captain Planet didn't fall into the same pit.

 Of course you can't really compare movies from separate genres, but I'd say I enjoyed Captain America more.

Go Beyond the Expected

Cliff Stoll's book, "The Cuckoo's Egg", helped me gain a better understanding of the importance of good work ethic and being willing to go beyond the expected. Stoll begins his story explaining how he was relocated in his job, going from being an astronomer to a systems manager. He had little to no experience in computer programming, and so he was thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool and was told, "Swim!" Through the course of the book, he relates how he did that and more.

 As a student in a major that I had absolutely no experience in prior to coming to college, I often feel like I'm in the deep end of the pool being told to swim. At times the feeling of ineptitude can be overwhelming, and I am uncertain as to whether or not I'll be able to make it in the real world. These feelings early on caused me to be satisfied with merely doing the minimum, saying to myself, "at least I'm not drowning." It has taken me awhile, but more and more I'm beginning to understand that this approach to academic learning will not cut it: the minimum is not enough. It is imperative to go beyond the expected, stretch myself, work more than the next guy and become excellent at whatever I do.

Inspiration