Physics--It Will Never Leave Me

Yesterday I learned an important physics lesson. I never liked physics and most of the time I was lost in the class, but some things have stuck with me. And they will not leave me alone. Here's what I learned for myself yesterday:

increased surface area = increased friction
increased friction = decreased velocity
decreased velocity = increased force necessary to maintain normal velocity
increased force = increased exhaustion
increased exhaustion = a tired Laura

Moral of the story: bikes with wide tires have an increased surface area. You do the math.

However, although I was huffing and puffing, while my friends were strolling along in their road bikes, the leaves and the canyon was absolutely beautiful. I was surrounded by views like this:



I do love Utah in the fall.

Freedom

Today I watched a Chilean see the light of day again. After three months of living in the shaft of a mine, holding on to the hope of possible freedom, he made it out. He got to hug his brother again. He got to breathe clean air and see the sun shine overhead. I almost started crying just watching for a few seconds. I can't even imagine how those miners must feel to be freed from what must have been the most harrowing experience of their lives--at least I hope it was the worst thing that they have had to go through. So here's to the miners and for the strength they had to hold on, and to the Chilean people for not giving up on them and giving them their lives back.

Falling

Today I learned what it means to fall. I also learned what it means to get back on your feet. I went snowboarding for the first time. I love trying new things and feeling how just plain bad I can be at things. It’s refreshing. I had heard that the first time snowboarding is rough and you spend most of your time on either your knees or your butt. I had no idea before what that actually meant. Today, I get it--and it hurts. Bad. I can't find a comfortable spot to sit in, and I'm on my fluffy, comfy couch.

However, when I was on the mountain I felt alive. It was exhilarating to be terrified of going to fast or falling too hard. I felt inexplicable pride when I would actually get what my friend was trying to explain to me. I learned how to cut my edges and I was feeling so good about everything. I was getting better at slowing down before I fell so it didn't hurt so horribly. Then something happened, I think I cut my back edge, my board flying up in the air, and I came down hard. I couldn't keep out a yell of pain as I made contact with the ground. I sat there for at least a few minutes, trying to keep my butt elevated, but it was too painful, so I had to roll over and lay there for a few minutes.

Then my determination kicked in and I got back on my feet. Then I fell again. And again. And again. And then I even got stuck in two big divots. I had to crawl out of them. That hurt. However I made it down the mountain, with minimal damage (other than a bit of my pride).

Thinking about this experience has made me think of what it really means to fall. How often is snowboarding a metaphor for life. We start out, we go to fast, we freak out, and then we fall. At first it's brutal, but we get better and the falling isn't quite as rough and we stay on our feet for longer periods of time. We get down the mountain. Then we go back up and do it all over again. But this time we have experience on our side.

I wonder how often we take the advice of the best Teacher. God is always right beside us, telling us how to improve. When we don't listen. We fall. And we fall. And we fall. When we do listen, we learn how to slow down, keep our balance, and stay in control. We learn from our mistakes, improving every time we get back on our feet, rather than becoming frustrated and exasperated.

Life is all about falling and getting back up on your feet. And learning all the way how to be better.

Invictus

I had never heard this poem before I saw the movie Invictus last night, but it really spoke to me, so I thought that I would put it here. The movie was great. Oh how I love rugby! Sports can really bring people together and change the world.

Invictus
By: William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

May we all remember these words when things get hard and we want to give up.

Who Am I to Judge?

So for the past couple of days in my Doctrine and Covenants class we have been talking about section 76. This section talks about the three kingdoms of glory and all that God wants to give us after this life.

When you think about this revelation and all that it meant back in Joseph Smith's day, it is a very significant revelation. He lived in the days of Protestant Christianity. The accepted and known beliefs about the afterlife consisted solely in heaven and in hell. The concept that all could receive glory must have been absolutely revolutionary then--it still is today.

Human nature is such that at times we want to condemn others. Perhaps we see their hypocrisy or their thievery or murderings or covetousness and think, "well, they'll get their reward." Maybe we aren't quite that extreme, but I'm sure we've all thought something bad about another person. And I'm sure that others have thought the same thing about us. We aren't perfect. Being quick to judge is not completely foreign to us. So when Joseph received that revelation, it must have been difficult to imagine a plan where all could receive mercy and glory from God.

We also talked about the order that Joseph saw the different kingdoms. The Lord shows him the greatest glory in the celestial kingdom, and then he showed him those who denied the Holy Ghost. And then He showed Joseph the celestial kingdom again. I can imagine that that was a bit of a shock for Joseph. But I'm sure that the Lord did that with good reason. I bet that the celestial kingdom looked even more glorious. There must be opposition in all things.

I have often reflected on how we must experience opposition. I thought about that on my mission quite frequently--especially when I was going through a hard time. My range of emotion was truly expanded. I felt lower lows than I had ever experienced before that time, but I also experienced the highest highs that I've ever known. I know that that was because my capacity to feel was expanded. Even this semester I have felt that range expand even further. I have had to take the time to put others first. I have taken on more than I was capable of accomplishing, feeling at times that I was going to break. Somehow, however, the Lord has helped me get through all of the homework and all of the work that I have. I truly believe that all of this has helped me and has expanded my range of feeling and has been for my benefit. I have learned once again the importance of relying on the Lord.

This is what the Lord was doing for the saints at this time. He wanted them to learn even better how to rely on them. How could they have ever crossed the plains if they didn't have both the greater strength from their trials and also the knowledge of what the Lord wanted to give them if they proved themselves faithful.

This entry will be the last of my reflections on the Doctrine and Covenants. I hope that you have learned something from my seeming ramblings and have gained a greater appreciation for the scriptures. From now on I'll just tell about my life as it happens.

A Real Update

So I realize that I haven't actually updated my blog in a while. At least not in any real way. So I thought that I would do that now.

Basically here's what's happened since I got home in the beginning of August:

• I was home for three days, then came up to Provo to find a place to live (which I did and it was a bit of a miracle).
• Went to DisneyWorld for a week (who wouldn't need a little R&R after serving a mission?) We had a great time and took some great pictures. You never are too old to put on Mickey ears and ride on spinning tea cups.
  
• Then I came back to Provo and started the job hunt. I searched high and low for a few weeks, which was super stressful, but I was blessed enough to get a job with BYU Independent Study. I am an editor/Instructional Design assistant for IS. What does this mean? you might be wondering. Well, Independent Study does all of the online classes for BYU and we also offer a lot of high school courses. We do EVERYTHING for the class, aside from writing it, which we leave to the instructor. I edit the lessons for the classes and do basically anything else that needs to be done to produce the class, except for the art and film and things like that. I love working there and I have a great team to work with. I think lovingly of The Office when I'm at work, although it's not quite as funny as The Office.
  
• I started school and decided to take 17.5 credits. (Oh, and I decided to double major as well. English Language and Portuguese. And I'm still doing my editing minor. Yes, I know, I am a glutton for punishment.) But school's going great so far. I LOVE what I'm studying and finally I am actually studying something I like and am good at. I even enjoy the homework that I'm given. That's how you know you're in the right field.
  
• One of my classes is a student literary journal called Inscape. I LOVE being on Inscape and learning all about producing a journal. We do everything from getting submissions, to accepting them, to editing, to creating a layout, to putting the edition on the website, to publicizing. It's a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot. (If you want to check Inscape out, please go here: http://inscape.byu.edu)
• Then after I got all settled with my new job, I was offered another job to work at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) to teach Portuguese to missionaries going to Brazil who haven't gotten their visas. After a lot of thought and prayer I decided to accept the job (but only temporarily) to teach these missionaries. Then I will be going back to Independent Study. At the MTC I teach the missionaries Portuguese but I also get to help them become great missionaries so they can help others have a better life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been very challenging so far having so much responsibility and so much to do (I didn't have the luxury of training before I started teaching, so I'm just figuring this all out.) I'm still trying to re-balance my whole life again so that I actually feel like a student, but I love the moments when I feel like I'm actually helping the missionaries and making a difference in their lives.
  

This whole semester has been SUPER busy for me with so many credits and working 20 hours a week. But I'm happy and life is good. There's so much more to say, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Expect more updates soon!

This past week we talked about section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants and the correlation that it has with the Creation. What hit me most while we were talking about this was how this revelation was given to Joseph in answer to the question of what day we should worship. This revelation was given on a Sunday and the Lord said that "this is a day appointed" (meaning Sunday). So many people worry about when to worship, when the Lord is willing to answer. He did so for Joseph Smith. I love how the Lord describes what we should do on the Sabbath. We are supposed to rejoice, rest, and purify ourselves. So many times we focus on what we shouldn't do, but the Lord says so clearly all the wonderful things that we should do on this appointed day.

This section also talks about our responsibility to care for the earth. The Lord said not to use the earth to excess. In those days people couldn't even imagine a world where resources would run out. They were one the verge of gold rushes and the continent seemed endless. But what prudent counsel this is for us today. It applies very much to how we care for the earth and all that the Lord has given to us. When we are faithful in keeping the Sabbath holy and in caring for our stewardships, we are blessed.

To see Doctrine and Covenants 59 click here http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/59