Someone’s powerpoint presentation just reminded me of this great quote:
Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow.
Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.
Walk beside me and be my friend.
– Albert Camus
BTW, did I ever mention how much I hate winbloze and dell keyboards? I love my Mac keyboards!
Why can’t I keep up with this thing??? It seems to just keep getting harder. I think my problem is that I’ve lost track of doing it at the same time everyday. I used to write everynight before going to sleep, but then I started talking on the phone everynight before going to bed and would end up going to sleep while still on the phone practically so that kind of killed writing before bed. I think I tried writing before making phone calls, but that just delayed making the calls and that was too much… I have no patience! Then I started writing in the mornings after breakfast and before getting in the shower, but I always felt rushed and since I’ve been in Idaho I’ve just been bad at writing at all! I still have an entry to write from the couple of days before I came out here! And I don’t even go to bed on the phone anymore so that isn’t what’s stopping me from writing… I don’t know what is… but I need to figure it out and keep this writing up!
So let’s think back to Thursday. Came home from school to do laundry. Went back to take my Rel test which I got a 76% on. That is one question worse than I got last time, but I’m not too worried about it. I think our next two tests are going to be take home tests and seeing as how I have two guys within about 20 feet of my room who are in the class we should be able to work out our answers. I don’t think I got any homework done Thursday which was bad, but I guess I was ready for the break. I did get pictures from the ward party and the ward fhe online though and started telling people about them, so I did get something productive done while doing laundry!
Sam and I did our home teaching with the girls (four of the girls in the ward party picture – Allison, Christine, Sarah, not sure and Hilayre). (I’ve been getting requests to identify the people in the pictures so I guess I’ll give it a try…) Sam did most of the lesson, which was a good thing seeing as how I’ve never done this before!
I wasn’t sure what was going on for the evening… I was hoping to go see Harry Potter as it is about to go out of theaters, but I couldn’t find anyone that wanted to go. I didn’t know if we were doing movie night or not because of the extended weekend, but Shelly called me back and told me that we were… I was so happy to finally have found something to do! I grabbed a pizza, after waiting in the long line at Little Caesars, and went over to their place. We watched “The Man who Knew too Little” which was pretty funny. I have been really impressed with all the movies I’ve seen lately actually. I can’t think of a bad one that I’ve seen since I’ve been here. I think that Spiderman 2 has been the most disappointing movie I’ve seen for a while. Anyways, I came home from there around 10 and watched 24 and got ready for bed. As I was falling asleep watching the second episode of the night, Bouse called me and we did a group conference with Lauren, Ryan, Pyro and Batch. That was an interesting phone call, but it was nice to hear that everyone was still alive, even though Batch was falling asleep on us!
Friday morning I woke up to watch the rest of the disc of 24 (2 1/2 episodes) before finally thinking about facing the day. I actually did read what I needed to for my psych class for Monday which I thought was a good start, but that was about as far as I got. I took the discs to the post office to mail them as I had missed the mail here and then went and got gas for $1.93/gallon (for 87!) and then went to the grocery store to get some necessities like milk. I don’t remember what else I did. Oh yeah, I was on the phone or talking on IM with a bunch of different people yesterday while I was waiting for something to do. I still wanted to go see Harry, but didn’t even try very hard to get anyone to go, other than Amanda who just came from Ammon (where we would have to go to see it). I had just about fallen asleep on the couch, listening to music, when she called me back anyways. I ended up just watching Chasing Liberty and going to bed, although somehow I didn’t get to bed until about 12:45.
I talked to Heather (the one who is seen falling off the log into the water) briefly to check to see if she was ok with the pictures online. I ended up emailing her the link, but she didn’t respond until 3 something in the morning to the email… What is it with these girls and staying up so late? I emailed her back this morning to tell her about the other pictures I have of her that I didn’t post, just in case she wanted any of them too, but I haven’t heard back from her. I did get some homework done today, my reading for religion and I’ve started reading Econ and am currently taking a break from it. I can’t think of what else has gone on today as of yet. We’re supposed to do dinner tonight at the Texas Roadhouse, but I’m still waiting for someone to call me and tell me when! I’m starting to starve over here! They probably just forgot about me again. I looked at the place online a bit ago and it looks a lot like outback so I’ve got a good feeling. I’m ready to go! It is also right next to the movie theater so maybe I’ll go see Harry after we eat dinner… if we ever get to dinner that is…
I can’t think of much else to say. The weather has been nice the past couple days. I think it has only gotten to about 80 and with the fan that hasn’t felt that bad. I of course would love for it to go back to what it was when I first got here… 40s at night and 70s during the day if it got that hot! I know… I know… give it time… When I’m back here in January I’ll be complaining about the average temperature being 10 below! Who know… Maybe I’ll love it!
It looks like I’m going to Kansas Aug. 22-24, right after I get back from Idaho. Of course, this will cause problems if I am going to school at Fullerton, but I’m just going to keep praying that I don’t have to go back to CSUF and it will all work out for me to come here year-round starting in January. I can’t believe that we’re still waiting for transcripts, but after being here and experiencing this place first hand, I can’t imagine going anywhere else. I can’t describe it, but it is just so nice to be here. We truly have a unique place here that is just wonderful. I wish you all could understand what Rexburg has to offer and I wish that you all would come and experience it for yourself.
So I guess this means that I’ll be looking for a full-time job when I’m in San Diego for the fall… Any ideas? The more money the better cause I’m going to need it to keep me going throughout the rest of the year while I’m in Rexburg. I’ll have to work up here obviously, but I don’t think I can really make enough up here to live on without building up a good savings before coming out. I would really like to do something with IT as that is the focus of my studies, but I think I would probably settle for anything that would let me build up savings.
Well, I think I’m off to make another phone call to see what is going on cause I’m getting really hungry and this place is over 45 minutes away…
After reading Jacob 2 I can’t help but think of all the people who chase daily after the wrong things in life. I know that I myself am guilty of this too. Jacob 2:13 states, “And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they.” In the world that we live in today we all make a big deal about our earthly riches. I think that many people do believe that he who dies with the most toys wins. I know that I have gotten caught up in this race myself – always wanting to have the newest and best when in fact there was nothing wrong with what I already had. I have had a real big learning experience in coming here to Rexburg to see that I don’t need all the newest gadgets or a big paycheck to live a happy life. The lifestyle here is a huge change from what I was used to in San Diego. I now manage to live for a week off of what I used to spend at one meal and I don’t miss it all that much. Having earthly treasures does not provide us with happiness, it just provides us with less cash in our pockets that we could have used for better causes. Matthew instructs us to “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (6:19-21).
Versus 27 and 28 also stand out to me from chapter 2: “Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.” Along with people searching daily for earthly treasures, we have people on this earth that search daily to satisfy other desires of their bodies which we are clearly taught are to be only between man and his wife. There is no plurality on wife and last time I checked, you had to be married in order to call someone your wife. I must admit that women don’t help the situations much, for they seem to have no self-esteem and don’t know how to exercise modesty in their daily habits. I love David O. McKay’s quote offered by Garner, “A beautiful, modest, gracious woman is creation’s masterpiece.” Garner also directs us to Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” The next 20 versus go on in depth about this virtuous woman describing her actions and feelings. I hate to say it, but I think if women would respect themselves better, learn to be modest and follow the other words of Christ that many of the worlds problems would be solved.
“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” -– Mother Theresa
“To love means not to impose your own powers on your fellow man but offer him your help. And if he refuses it, to be proud that he can do it on his own strength.” -– Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.” -– Kahlil Gibran
“Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to point us to that realm which is the real and endless home of the heart.” -– Henry Ward Beecher
Yesterday was another good day, although things once again didn’t go quite as planned. Book of Mormon class was again good and the others ok. I came home for lunch and went to the library to get some homework done.
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Last night we had the ward party at Rigby Lake, which wasn’t anything too special. I guess if I knew these people better these things would be more fun, but oh well. I took some pictures so I’ll have to work on posting those, along with the ones from a couple weeks ago. I did get to talk with one girl for a while who is a photography major who Sam introduced me to so that she could drool over my camera. I invited her to teach me how to use it sometime so that I could figure out what Promack has done to it!
I left the party early to come home and find something to do, but ended up not finding anything and went to the gym! I finally made it! I did 2.15 miles on an elliptical trainer and then called it a night. They really don’t have too many machines other than the elliptical trainers so I was kind of disappointed in that respect. They only have one rowing machine and two stair machines, but I’m sure that I’ll get used to it. They also have some bikes, but I can’t really bring myself to use a bike inside! (Maybe once it starts snowing!)
Not too much else to report and I’m late for getting into the shower so I better get going. I’ve got a three day weekend starting after class today with nothing to do all weekend other than Becky’s thing… Someone help me! 
32:9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.
As demonstrated in class today, I think we all have a hard time remembering to stop and give thanks throughout the day to our Lord and Savior. I know that I try, I always think that I am trying pretty hard, but yet I know that I have so much room for improvement as I’m sure do many others. I can testify that prayer is good, that prayer does help. Our prayers may not always be answered in the exact way that we would anticipate them, but I know from experience that we are better off when we remember to include the Father in all of our activities. Prayer is one of the reasons that I love it here. It is so awesome to be able to start class with a prayer and a hymn. Where else would they let you get away with that? Certainly not anywhere else that I’ve found. I am dreading having to return to a place where we don’t openly talk about the Church or openly pray before an activity. I thank the Lord regularly for the opportunity to be here and to learn. I pray each day that I can become more like Jesus and continue to learn from his example.
Yesterday was pretty awesome. From devotional to the message in Rel 121, it just seemed like a day full of inspiration. If you didn’t catch the devotional – you should listen to it online… (The link probably isn’t up yet, but I’ll search for it later.) Maybe everything that I had hoped for didn’t quite work out as planned, but I think it all worked out fairly well.
My meeting with the missionaries went well – I think that we all had a good time. Amanda couldn’t be here because of enrichment. After the meeting I went back to the library to finish up the reading in the chapter for Econ. It was hotter inside the library than it was outside, so I decided that I was going to leave – and I did. I ran into Sam on the way out and told him that I checked with the home teaching girls and that we needed another time. When he got done at the library we went over there, about 10 p.m. and we hung out there for a while before coming back here. We also stopped to get some birthday cake at 301, but I can’t remember how to spell the birthday girl’s name… It was something like Tenna, but I know I’m wrong… I’m so bad with names! I do remember that she just turned 20 though. I fell old around here…
I was going to watch 24 again last night, but I ended up calling Amanda to see if she had figured out her plans for the break yet and to find out what was going on with Carlos & his friend this weekend. I guess Becky was able to get them into Sean’s place, which is good cause this weekend is already confusing enough around here with peopling coming and going. Amanda and I ended up talking for an hour and a half or so… kind of reminded me of old times…
. . .
Well, enough of my random ranting… time for the shower… I hope that good days continue…
Lots has happened since Thursday and I don’t have much time before I have to leave for class so let’s see what I can think of.
Friday. Took the psych test and got an 85%, much better than last time. Hopefully I can keep improving. I ended up going to the 1964 Tribute concert with Amanda, Becky and Jenae after going to eat at Fong’s. We also met Shelly & Ben there. That was fun and after the concert we went back to their place for a while and then went to the park to hang out and then play some games.
Saturday. I spent almost all of the day in the library doing homework, so much even that I turned down a chance to hang out with the girls. I couldn’t get a hold of them when I finally got done in the library so I ended up hanging out at home watching 24, which so far is looking good. I could have gone to the dunes with the guys, but I was still hoping that the girls would have called back and heard boring reports of the last time they were out there.
Sunday. Church – on-time this time around. Church was fairly good and then hung out at the house for a while doing homework, relaxing, etc. Sam & I went and did home teaching with Ryan & Steven and setup an appointment with the girls for Thursday evening. We did ward prayer and then sweet swap. Everyone seemed to like the brownies and ice cream, but I had a lot left over so I went over to Tara & Shelly’s. Ben was also there so he helped eat the ice cream and a little piece of the brownie. There was still more so I went over to 303 and made Amanda, Becky and Jenae eat the rest. I was there until past midnight just hanging out which was good, but kind of killed my sleep!
Monday. School, minus psych class which was nice. I took my second phil exam and got a 65%, I think. Better than last time, and we’ll have to wait to see where the curve lands that grade. I know it still isn’t as good as it should be, but I am improving. After the test I did more homework and then we had FHE over at Birch 314. I got to meet the rest of the girls which was good. Val did the lesson (which he made up on the way over there) and then we made mud pie. They seem like a great group of girls and I think we all had a good time just getting to know each other last night. I think that we are going to a dam in Rigby next week, but who knows. We were there until about 9:15 and then we left and a bunch of us went to Wal*mart. Nothing too interesting there, but I got some food & a white board and bulletin board for the apartment. I called Becky while I was at Walmart and she got 2 out of the 3 prices correct, which I must admit was pretty impressive. After Walmart I put the boards up and then got ready for bed. I was going to watch another episode of 24, but I ended up talking to Larilyn – because I said Holly Hannah last night! – until I went to bed a little after midnight.
Today has actually been pretty good. My Book of Mormon class this morning was really good and I got through the other ones without too much of a pain. I went to Subway for lunch, without Tara because she got out of class early and already ate lunch, and then went over to 314 to go with the girls to devotional. I got to talk with one of the girls, Christina, I think(?) for a bit before we left. I ended up just going with Hanna, as the others were at work, in class or just too busy or something… Devotional today was really good. It was nice getting to talk with the girls for a while, hopefully I can get to know them better as time goes on.
. . .
Well, I guess it is time to get back to doing homework for a bit before my meeting with the missionaries tonight and then who knows after that…
We read in Chapter 28 about many false churches. As going through a number of churches myself, I must agree with this statement. When I was reading about Joseph Smith, I felt just like him – not knowing which church to turn to. I’ve been in the Episcopal Church along with the Presbyterian Church, and I remember especially in the Presbyterian Church that it just seemed like something was off. After some research and prayer and I now happy to state that I am a member of the one true church and I no longer have to wonder. I find it amazing that there are over 20,000 churches in existence today and yet all but one is not true.
And then there are those that follow what is said in verse 7, “Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: “Eat, drink, and be merry…” I think we all need to reexamine our lives and devote them more fully to God. No matter how good we are, there is always room for improvement. It is wrong to think that you can sin and then repent later. It is best to strive to not sin at all. The temptations though can be so hard to ignore, but we must be strong and have faith. I personally know that I have had temptations, and I have felt that I can get away with doing something and then asking for forgiveness. Fortunately for me though, I was able to keep my willpower up and not give in. I try everyday to be stronger against the temptations so that hopefully, eventually I won’t even have to think about them and can just do what I know is right without question. We are given commandments of what we are to do and not do. If only all of life was that simple where we had directions given to us as to how to do something. We need to follow the commandments to the fullest. I am very thankful for having the commandments as I feel that they give me strength and protection.
Being here at BYU-Idaho sure helps in many ways. How wonderful of a place this is. I am so lucky to be here and get to experience this. I am so glad that Amanda brought up the idea and I am so thankful to Larilyn for pushing me to meet with the missionaries and for helping me through this big transition. I know that my life still isn’t great, or perfect, or for the most part even anywhere close, but I am trying and I know that I am working on going down the right course.
26:30 … wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. and except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
My favorite verse of all time, seems to have always been 1 Corinthian 13:4-10. Love is patient, love is kind… (or in the KJV, Charity suffereth long and is kind…) We are told in the chapter summary for 1 Cor 13 that Charity is a pure love, and that it excels and exceeds almost all else. I may not be a very open person, and it tends to take me a while to actually open up to people and start to love them, but I think it is so important for people to love and just let yourself be loved in return. We obviously have to look for God for the perfect example of love, as in everything. How could love ever be more perfect than His love for us? To send His son… To love us even when we have gone against Him… I really do believe that love can conquer all and that without love we are nothing. I think that everything we learn through the scriptures can almost be summed up with one word: Charity. Everything we do on a daily basis should be out of love. We should hope that someday we can love as Jesus did.
When I was investigating the church, I actually came across the KJV translation of 1 Cor 13 and was initially confused by the word charity instead of love. This began a discussion among friends which I feel brought us all to a better understanding of love and charity. I was able to see and grasp the idea of charity quicker than some of the others, but through some research, even the skeptics learned that the word charity even 100 years ago had a different meaning than it does now, and back then it was more commonly used to mean love.
We are taught to love thy neighbor as thyself. We are taught to show the enemy love. How great would the world be if all we had was love?
Moroni 7:47-48: But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.
“The best digital music player just got better,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “The fourth generation iPod features Apple’s amazing Click Wheel for superb one-handed control, 12-hour battery life and the new Shuffle Songs command in the main menu — all in an even smaller design that puts up to 10,000 songs in your pocket.” [Jul 19]
22:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.
I can think of no other time that this is more true than now for me personally. While I have been in churches at times before I have never felt what I feel here. I have not really been comfortable talking about God or standing up for religious beliefs until now and I got a little bit of the challenges from friends before becoming a member and coming to Idaho for the summer, but I think that this has made me a much stronger person and I know that I still have quite a bit of learning still to go. This whole summer has been on faith in God alone. That’s the only reason that I’m here in Rexburg, Idaho at the DTC.
“Because I took a moment to speak
And you took a second to smile
A tiny part of me will leave with you
And a little bit of you will stay.”
-– Jevan
“The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” -– William Wordsworth
“If a man be gracious to strangers, it shows that he is a citizen of the world, and his heart is no island, cut off from other islands, but a continent that joins them.” -– Francis Bacon
“The value of compassion cannot be overemphasized. Anyone can criticize. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be born by an individual than to know no one cares or understands.” -– Arthur H. Stainback
This seems to be a pretty short one track minded survey… I wonder if someone chopped the rest off or something… (Lauren???)
Your name:: Scott, if you didn’t know that already, should you be reading this?
Your age:: 22 last time I checked.
Your Crush:: To borrow a phrase (and modify it slightly) from Lauren: a girl.
If so, whats his/her name:: Who do you think it is? Wait… Don’t answer that… That only leads to bad roads because you’re all wrong! Her last name is not Peterman! And for those of you that have other ideas, she isn’t one of Amanda’s roommates either! (Want a hint… her last name has the same number of letters as Peterman, but only has two letters in common!) (I love toying with people’s minds!)
Whats his/her age:: I’m not completely sure.
Do they know you like them:: Probably not.
Do you get happy when you talk to them:: of course, would you have a crush on someone who doesn’t make you happy?
Do they know you:: In what way? She knows I exist if that’s what you mean. Does she know my life history? No… Does anyone?
Are you in love with them:: I think it is safe to say not at this point.
What do they like the most about you:: how would I know?
What do you like the most about them:: personality, work ethic, priorities, physically: hair, eyes
If you haven’t told them you like them, why not:: DTR… Because there is no reason to… As with everyone, I want to get to know her as a friend before anything else… hello? have we not figured this out by now?
Are you really gonna sit around and wait for them to tell you they like you: No. I plan on getting to know her a little better before wasting any time thinking about anything like that…