The One with Thoughts from a Pearl...#yolo...

Round 5...

Scripture: Joseph Smith – Matthew 1:40 (Compare to the Bible (King James Version) Matthew 24:36)

 As I read through Joseph Smith’s translation of the Gospel of Matthew I happened across a verse that I know has played a part of many a talk on the Second Coming. But more on that later. My first thought focused on what might possibly have changed between the KJV Matthew 24:36 and JS – Matthew 1:40. So I looked it up.

Study Abroad Peru 2013: May 4: Day 8 (Manchu Picchu)

Look it is an almost smile at 4:30am!
And yes, I was reppin' BYU Women's Basketball
and California ALL DAY LONG!

So I keep on saying that I hate early mornings, and that every single morning started early, but really I think that we can all agree that waking up at 4:30am to be at the bus at 5:00 am is EARLY! But of all the days we woke up early, this one was ENTIRELY worth every second.

In a word Manchu Picchu is AMAZING. Literally one of my favorite places on Earth. The only other word practically synonymous with Manchu Picchu is hiking. We hiked everywhere, but that was totally ok, because as I said earlier (or impled earlier) I literally loved every single second.

Study Abroad Peru 2013: May 3, Day 7 (Cusco to Aguas Calientes)

Oh ya know, just me chillin' in Peru!
Thanks for the pic Rydge!

The day started early (ok, everyday started early) but we all had to be packed for our trip to Manchu Picchu today. Fortunately, all we had to do was put together a two day bag, and then throw everything else into our suite-cases which were staying in Cusco. Right after breakfast we all had packed ourselves into a bus for the couple hour drive down to the valley and the train station.
The bus ride was beautiful and full of good times chatting and playing cards. For the most part we were above the tree line and had a great view of the peaks all around us. We stopped at several points to take some pictures, of the whole group and of some of the guys entertaining us with their gymnastics.

The One about FOOD...

This is the third installment in the two page anthropology paper series...

Topic: Sustainable Farming

As the world advances in all aspects of life a greater number of scientists, politicians, businessmen, and

Photo Credit: Robert Taylor via Flickr

others have become increasingly cognizant of the possibility that current methods that support our way of life may ultimately lead to our demise. This awareness has brought up three important questions: 1) Do we want to maintain the current standards of living? 2) Do we need to change our methodology to maintain those standards? 3) Are we willing to change if need be? Currently, in mainstream America those answers appear to be: 1) YES! 2) Yes. 3) Maybe. Looking specifically at agriculture, market demand answers the first question, science has helped prove the second, but the last is solely up to us.

The One with Thoughts from a Pearl...honestly lazy...

Round 4...

Scripture: Abraham 3:17

We all have many habits and tendencies that we need to shed to become more like God. For most people these include tendencies such as less bullying, gossiping,ingratitude and others that seem to just come as part of our natural bodies. However, in the midst of listing all the things that we need to fix about ourselves, we frequently, or at least I frequently, become overwhelmed by the sheer number of attributes on the list and then accomplish little or nothing in growing more like God.

The One with the Interviews about Brutality (Part 2 of 2) ...

The exciting conclusion to yesterday's paper!

The examples provided by the interviewees showed that in each instance the actor decide to put their immediate happiness above that of another or others. Bethany Hayes reported one story of a child she knew that fit the definition of brutality. The child was known to frequently claim to have killed a variety of small defenseless animals, often suffocating or cudgeling the animals to death. The students reported frequently to teachers and other supervisors that the behavior “made him happy”. [3] Peterson related a similar story of a child who beat on a little girl so violently that the little girl required medical attention. [1] Further during the whole experience as the girl cried and pleaded for escape the boy laughed and saw no reason to halt his actions. [1] Vandes Price also told a short story of boys from his elementary school shoving another child into the ground repeatedly when that child attempted to play basketball with them. [4] This sort of self-centered motivation, looking out for one’s own happiness and safety before that of other’s also appears in a variety of articles.

The One with the Interviews about Altruism (Part 1 of 2) ...

Previously I've shared a few of my shorter anthropology papers, this is not one of those. I seriously pondered whether or not to split this into two posts or not, and ultimately chose to do it just for sheer length. There's only so many times that you can scroll down a page before thinking "really Erin you're still talking about this???" So here's the first bit and tomorrow the exciting conclusion!

Many aspects of the world have an opposite, up has down, in has out, and so on. Even some human emotions, attitudes and characteristics have opposites. Most commonly people recognize happy versus sad. These emotions form the bases for many human attitudes, including those of altruism and brutality. More directly the question of one’s own happiness (the desired emotion) put below  that of another corresponds to and results in altruistic behavior; or brutal behavior, our happiness put above another. Therefore, humans have both of these attitudes, altruism and brutality, because we seek after happiness but occasionally come to believe that the happiness and well-being of another are more important than our own happiness and safety in a particular moment.