{20} What is Joy if It Goes Unrecorded

This will be the last post of my Writing 150 class assignment. However, I am pleased that I don't plan on it being my last post in forever. For this post, I would like to reflect on all my previous posts and the experience that I have gained from it. It actually ties in quite nicely to my presentation for my final.

Looking back on the thoughts and memories and perspectives I have shared over the course of the semester, I am struck by why we do it. Why do we record events, write down our thoughts and ideas? I know it is because we want to preserve it. If we didn't write it down as it happened, it would be forgotten. The details would be lost, and with them some of the joy of the original moments.For example, while writing my narrative I realized that specific details were hard to remember. What kind of trees were around us. What were we wearing, what tone of voice did they use, smaller details that would be easy to recall had I written them in my journal that night. One of my favorite quotes is " the dullest pencil is better than the sharpest mind". We will age, and memories fade. Our minds are very susceptible to suggestion, and it becomes hard to know if the memory is real or tainted by suggestion.

This is why we record our lives. Are we not commanded to record and journal? When we use good and effective writing skills, we can transform our basic recollection writing, events and vague memories, into descriptive and entertaining stories that can take a reader back to the event, even if it was tens or hundreds of years ago. I encourage all my readers to make journaling, a priority in your life. The longer you wait, the less you will be able to remember. I am grateful for this project and the perspective it has given me on the subject.

{19} The Happiest Place on Earth

This year, my biggest plans for my birthday were working. I was disappointed in that reality but I guess that's what its like to be an adult. However, luck ran my way when I got someone to cover for me on my long 430- 11 pm shift. So I didn't have to work, but my boyfriend did and that meant no big plans for my big day. So I called home to see if maybe I could head home for the weekend and spend some time with the family. Both my parents would be in town, so we decided I would come for a quick visit. A few days later, I got a call from my dad, which went a little like this: Hey Morgan, so i know that you're coming down next week for your birthday, but I forgot that we wont be here. Its the kids spring break and we're going to Disneyland, but if you want you can come with us. It'll be your birthday present. OH yeah, bring Travis too!" So after very little coaxing, I convinced my boyfriend to get work of and come to California with me. We had so much fun, and rode every ride we wanted to. My step-mom is awesome and got the whole group matching shirts, so we looked like your typical tourist family, and i loved every second of it.

{18} Geocaching Adventures

I have discovered a brand new hobby that I hope to explore more. Geocaching is a sort of activity where people hide a stash somewhere. I personally like those that are hid out in the wilderness, and you have to hike to them. They record the geographic location of their stash, and put those coordinates on a website where you can pick and choose the ones you want to explore. My boyfriend Travis and I have adopted this hobby, and we love it. When you find a stash, you put some interesting kniknack in the stash and take one someone else had put in there.

We have found so many places that we would not have discovered otherwise. Its a great way to bond, and to satisfy our adventurous spirits. Once, my mom even came with us! It keeps us healthy, happy, and active in our environment.

{17} Utah Mormons

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Growing up in Las Vegas, the church was strong, but not widely known. I often had to describe my beliefs, and I rarely encountered opposition. I was firm in my beliefs as well as comfortable in my position.

Moving to Utah was a bucket of water to the face. I had believed that moving to the Mormon capital of the world, I would be overwhelmed with the faith here. I was very wrong. While the church is very strong here, so is the opposition. I have never been faced with so much Anti-Mormon messages. While it is often easy to ignore the mumbling and murmurings. It is sad to see so many people who have once had faith and fallen away. It is also difficult to see those who have fallen away so bitter and putting in so much effort to bring others down with them. While I will admit that I have seen many imperfect members here, it is not any indication of  the truthfulness of the gospel of Christ. I do not plan on raising my children in this environment, and I have seen the true beauty of the church in other places, not so marked by judgement and bitterness. 

{16} Plasmapher- whatis??

I am here to bring to light your own personal "get rich quick" scheme.... DONATING PLASMA. kay guys in 4 hours i have made $100 dollars. I have always thought that I would never stoop so low, that I wouldnt need money that bad, but who am I kidding? easy money is easy money. The process was kinda scary to me, so I will outline it a bit. You go in, and they set up the machine. Lots of tubes and stuff, but they know what theyre doing. Then they stick you with a needle. I wont lie, I HATE needles. sidenote, this is the biggest needle used in the medical industry. imagine the size of a fork prong. huge. Thats because it needs to draw blood as well as return it to you. So they stick you, and they draw a bunch of blood. it goes into this centrifuge, and it gets spun around at a couple hundred rotations per minute. the plasma gets separated from the red cells, and goes into a separate container. the red blood is then returned to you, and over and over again until they have a certain amount of plasma. easy enough, and the whole process should take about an hour.

A few tips.
DRINK WATER: plasma is mostly water. so the more hydrated you are, the easier it is to remove it from your blood.
EAT A BIG MEAL: you have to eat something filling. the first time i went, I underestimated how much i needed to eat, and I tossed my lunch. No fun, but every subsequent time I have been fine.

LAST TIP!: if you take my advice and go to donate, GIVE MY NAME AS A REFERRAL!!  Morgan Smith! I get good perks if you do

. Go to Biomat USA on 501 N and 900 E! you can make something like 220$ a   month! and heres the best part. YOU SAVE LIVES. Your blood plasma goes to live saving medicine, and you can help change and improve lives. I am so grateful that I was referred:)

{15} Things as They Really Are Flooding the Earth

At the beginning of the semester, we read two talks by Elder David A. Bednar. Both the talks were applicable to our course, as out emphasis is New Media, and Bednar's talks were focused on the use of media in our lives as well as in a gospel sense. The earlier talk, "Things as They Really Are", he warns of the dangers of living virtual lives. He warns of the effects on our souls, and how our internet choices can change us. I especially love this quote from the talk.

"The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.”

The talk is significantly contrasted from his subsequent talk, labled " To Sweep the Earth As With a Flood". In this address, he begins by noting how lucky we are to have so many media tools at our disposal. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Lds Tools, and many more. We have so many ways to spread the gospel, and we have been warned previously by Elder Bednar the dangers of poor media choices. I appreciate the order that he presented his ideas in. Instead of encouraging the use of social media to futher the gospel, and letting us all run wild with the internet, he first gives us the apostolic warning before encouraging us to be member missionaries. I have seen the power of spreading the gospel by means of new media, and I am thankful for the gentle push given to us by the apostles.

{14} Look Sister Steadman, No Hands!

Here's my post about my research paper that has long since been turned in. This post has lived much of its life in my draft section, so it is so happy to be out in the open!

We were assigned a research paper recently, and along with that assignment, I am introduced to the biggest school project I've yet to face. 10 pages on a single topic, seems extremely overwhelming to me, nothing like anything I've ever done. But I would love to explain a little about it.

The assigment is to take a research topic from a story in our family history, something that interests us. I have chosen vaccinations because my Great Grandma got polio as a child because there was no vaccine.

At this moment, I am feeling very anxious about tackling this paper, but excited to learn more about my history and the very controversial topic. Soon enough, I will have to decide whether or not to vaccinate my kids, and I would like to be as informed as possible.

I went to the Writing and Research Lab in the Library, and here's a bit how the conversation went.
Tutor: Tell my why you're writing this.
Me; Because it's the biggest grade in the class?
T: No, why did you pick this topic??
M; Well I never knew my Great Grandma, but I have chapters and chapters about her life where i can get to know her now. Having polio changed the course of her entire life, her abilities, and how people treated her. I think I can get to know her by learning and understanding her life.

Well it seems to me that as I do more and more research, it can easily be tackled by breaking it into little bits. All the research I am doing points to vaccines being helpful and beneficial, and alot of the misconceptions are spread by not learning the facts for yourself.

I hope I do well on this paper, as I am putting lots of work into it, and I'd never admit it but I really am enjoying this project.

{13} Every Day, Every Day, Every Day.

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to go and attend LDS General Conference for the first time. The Spirit in the room was incredible, and it was powerful to be in the same room as the Prophet of the Church. 

I felt that this year's Conference had a few main themes, including family, temples, and rekindling faith. I had a talk that especially stood out to me, and I would like to share some thoughts on it. In today's session, Sunday afternoon, Elder Kevin W. Pearson gave a talk titled "Stay by the Tree". He talked about enduring to the end, and how to do that. It was explained that in order to endure to the end, it is not just a passive hanging in there. We must continually renew our faith in Christ and repeatedly come unto Him. My favorite line in Elder Pearson's talk is this;

Casual obedience and lukewarm commitment                              weaken faith.

In my life I have recently been struggling spiritually. I went to conference in hopes of finding an answer, and in this talk I found it. My lackluster effort is what has been blocking me from the spirit and my potential. He tells all who are struggling to do the one thing he knows will get them back on track. To read and study the Book of Mormon every single day. 
Something else that he said that was significant to me in this time is that heeding those who do not believe in Christ will not help you find Him. Living in Provo where the Anti movement is so strong, it is a good reminder to hold tight to the things you do know. 

This realization strengthened my appreciation for living prophets and revelation, and helped me to feel like my prayers and problems were heard, and important. I love this gospel and I testify of its truth. 

{12} Reflections on lions and Tigers And.. Something else

Writing this narrative was my favorite assignment so far in the class. I do not have much experience writing, so this was a new adventure. I chose to write about an event that I thought I remembered clearly. But while I was trying to create a compelling story, I realized that it was much harder than I thought to remember more obscure details that are needed to engage the reader. It was also a much more difficult transition from my oral recanting of the story turning into the written word, but I am glad for the opportunity to grow with this progress.

{11} Lions and Tigers and... Something else

We were asked to write a narrative about a personal story, here is the one i wrote about an event that happened 4 years ago

“CRACK!” My body reacted to the sound before I could even tell it to. I whipped my head around to see where the noise was coming from, but of course I couldn’t see anything. I was 35 feet above the ground, strapped into a rickety metal chair with some old rope. The tree that was the support for our makeshift tree-stand was directly between me and the sudden, out of place sound. Unfortunately, I didn’t need to see the source to know exact what the noise was. The sound of bark being ripped off the trunk of a tree by something much, much heavier than it could support. The only things that heavy out in the forest were deer, and bears. And unless Bambi learned to climb trees in the last few years, I knew exactly what was wandering around a hundred yards away from me.

This was bad news. I had no gun on me, since Dad had forgotten the keys to his trigger lock, leaving his handgun perfectly safe and inaccessible in the console of his prized red hunting truck. Frustrating, not surprising, but not really of much importance. Until this moment that its. I had no way to protect myself other than my bow, which did wonders against a nice buck, but not so much against an angry bear.

The sun was disappearing quickly, but I knew better than to get down and start moving about. Id either scare away any prey in the area, or I would go from hunter to hunted in no time flat. So I stayed put and watched the shadows grow. As the darkness rolled in, so did my imagination. My brain turned every movement, every shadow into something sinister. An overactive imagination is great as a child, fun even. As an adult, it was downright terrifying.

I was a prisoner to my mind as it turned from dusk to pitch black. I knew my uncle would come for me soon, so I stayed in my stand, and didn’t make a noise. After what seemed like hours, I heard him stomping through the brush to where I was. For a 6’5’’ giant, it was no surprise I could hear him from a mile away. I soon saw the beam of his flashlight shining up at me. I quickly unstrung my bow and collected all my gear, and scurried down the tree.

“Any luck, Aaron?” I hopefully asked, though I could tell he hadn’t gotten a shot off by his lack of excitement. We had started to carefully hike the 2 mile trek back to the truck.

“No, you?” he returned, but he already knew the answer.

“Me either, but I did hear something, like bark being ripped off a tree. About a hundred yards away, but boy was it loud.” It was nearly pitch black, but he stopped in his tracks and fear jumped into his eyes for a second before he could suppress it.  The last thing he wanted to do was panic a fourteen year old girl in the middle of the woods.

“Oh, probably just a porcupine, no need to get worked up over nothing,” he said nonchalantly, but his eyes scanned the area where I had heard the noise from.  However, his body didn’t believe his words, as I could see him picking up the pace, trying to get as far away from there as possible. I didn’t hesitate to follow. Seeing him panic just increased mine. If Aaron, the calmest and most unruffled guys I knew, was worried, then I needed to be worried too. As we walked, I had to take three steps to match his one giant stride. My head was on a swivel, taking in my whole surroundings. I shined my weak flashlight in every shadow I could reach. I needed to see everything I could, for fear of being caught by surprise by the forests most dangerous creature.

It was no secret that they were out there. Just last year we had returned to camp after a long day to see it completely trashed. Our cooler overturned and food strewn everywhere. Not to be outdone, my masculine dad and uncle wanted to catch the perpetrator in the act. They set up cameras all around our camp the next day, and sure enough, the next evening he was there. A giant grizzly that filled the whole picture, rummaging through our supplies. Yeah, they were out there.

Suddenly, Aaron stopped in his tracks. My heart skipped a beat as I looked around for the source of his alarm. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. No grizzly on the hunt, but through the dim circle of lamination coming from my flashlight, I thought the area looked familiar.

“This is the spot of our visceral dump yesterday,” he said, a note of panic creeping into his constant calm. I took a moment to process. Yesterday Aaron had made the first kill of the season, the first in a long dry spell in our family as it so happens. When you kill an animal for its meat, you only take what you can eat and leave all the other organs for some scavenger to find. A perfectly harmless and routine part of big game hunting, unless you happen to be anywhere in the area that stinks of fresh meat when you know there’s a bigger hunter around.

If we were in a hurry before, that was nothing compared to our hustle now. The panic was rising in my chest, and I could feel the darkness playing tricks on my mind. Every noise, every twig snap was magnified and morphed into something much darker.

We trudged through the undergrowth as quickly as possible, flashlights reflecting off of every tree and log, until in one sweep of the light, they weren’t. Something else was reflecting, much, much brighter. Eyes.

I would swear that I jumped three feet in the air. The eyes started to rush towards us and we reached for the only weapons we had, our bows. Not that those would do much against a hungry bear that hardly flinches at some bullets. More than a few colorful words came flying out of Aarons mouth as he moved in front of me. Noble, but not much against an attack. As the eyes came toward us, more started to appear behind them. Two, three, four pairs of eyes. The light started to illuminate the bodies of the creatures approaching us.

Sheep.

My heart slowed from dangerously high to mildly high. After a minute of disbelief, I started to laugh. Aaron quickly joined in, bend down low to the ground and picked up some pebbles to toss at the cause of our near heart attacks.

We started to walk the short remaining distance to the truck, and the night seemed a little less menacing.

{10} Siblings are Eternal Best Friends

Today I am visiting my family in Las Vegas! I have spent all day with my younger brother, Mason, playing video games, doing puzzles, and just having a grand old time. I am especially close to my siblings, but Mason and I are extra extra close. We have gone through 2 divorces together, and we really can understand each others hardships and trials. since we are relatively close in age, it is easy to have fun together. we both love playing video games and rock climbing, and doing lots of fun things together. I am grateful I understand the Plan of Salvation, because I know I can have a forever best friend that will love me unconditionally.

{9} Attributes of an Effective Missionary

I am currently taking a class about Missionary Preparation. In that class, we had to write a paper to our Stake President outlining six attributes we want to develop to become a more effective missionary. My six attributes were:

• Charity- we need to love everyone, regardless of their acceptance of our doctrine
• Patience- trusting in the Lord's timing 
• In tune with the Holy Ghost- to be able to teach effectively and in harmony with God's will
• Hardworking- a mission will be hard but we must give everything we have
• Testimony of the Savior-our entire doctrine is centered around Christ
• Humility- Let the Lord work through you, and do as he desires. 

I chose these because I believed they would most help someone in a missionary situation, and they are all attributes that I can work on and better in myself

{8} The Most Important Job in The World

Lately, I have been smacked in the face with how overworked and under appreciated mothers are in our lives. Being away from home, it can be difficult, especially if you've never been away from home before. There's nobody to help you when you're sick when you're a grown up!!

Especially in this time in the Church where women are trying to show their independence, I believe the role of a mother is being downplayed. To raise and rear children is the most important and divine jobs on this earth, and it is not a shameful thing if that is the only 'job' you have. 

My mom is someone I am especially grateful for. She's had trials in her life as long as I can remember, and she handles them with grace. If I turn out to be half the mom she is, my kids will be lucky. 

So ladies and gentlemen, remember to thank the woman that raised you! You owe her!!!

{7} A House May Be a Home

I currently live at the Lodges at Glenwood. While I love the ward I'm in, the apartments themselves leave much to be desired! So, my roommates and I started looking for somewhere else to live. While at the BYU housing fair, we came across a place called Moon Apartments. We later went to look at the property, and saw that they had a house on property that was available to rent! It was so cute and perfectly fit our needs! We signed that very day! My roommate Kenzie and I both signed on to private rooms, which we decided we needed after two semesters of living in shared rooms! We can move in in April, and we couldn't be more excited!!!

{6} Social media: The Book of Mormon Challenge

This month I was challenged by a friend to something called 'the Book of Mormon Challenge" where we were supposed to share on our social media accounts our testimony of the Book of Mormon, and  a picture of us holding it. the idea was to flood the media with as many Latter Day Saints doing this as possible, to gain interest to those who may have seen it. Here is my post:

This is the Book of Mormon! It's been around all my life, but I discover it every time I open it. No matter how much I read, each day I find something new to strengthen and inspire me! It's helped me in my darkest times and my lightest ones! I love this book and this gospel. Watch this video to learn more! https://m.youtube.com/watch?sns=em&v=fGhI4p4G1P4.‪#‎discoverthebook‬



I really think this was a great way to use new methods of media in a positive way, as told in elder Bendar's talk " To Sweep the World as with a Flood" (analysis to come).

{5} Family Search is AWESOME

This month Ive really gotten into family history. Partly for the research project I have to do for my writing class, and partly because my ward is stressing getting family names done! and Im shocked to find that it is really exciting! theres not really anything like the feeling of finding an ancestor who's work hasnt been done. I found two names with my grandpa's help, and one on my own, this week alone! its kind of addicting, and it makes me appreciate how far media has come. in the past, people have had to go through physical paper records, and I for one am grateful thats not the only way i can do family work!!! i know that ordinances for our ancestors are one of the most important things we can be doing!! And its a lucky side effect that it is fun!!

{4} Three Great Months

I just wanted to post a shoutout to my boyfriend, Travis. This week was our three month mark, and like the total stud he is, he made me dinner and it was amazing. Something called chicken bundles, which I had never heard of. I was skeptical, but in the end I was happily surprised to find that they were delicious!
        Just a quick bit about Travis, he is 21, from Kaysville Utah, and he is amazing! He is so sweet and always goes out of his way to make me happy! For Valentines day, (since ill be out of town on the 14th) he got me some jewelry from a rock shop in orem. now thats exactly my style, especially since Im an Environmental Science major, and it was so sweet of him to know exactly what I would like! He is such a sweetie!!

{3} The Artful Potters

A little while ago me, my roommate Kenzie, and my boyfriend Travis really wanted to go on a fun adventure. Since Travis and I have starving student cards, we got a free studio fees at Color Me Mine. Thats a place where you get to pick out your own pottery and paint it however you want! we all took our pieces very seriously and worked hard. I painted a mug to drink hot chocolate from, and im very pleased with how it turned out! Im so glad I got a starving student card, since it lets me do so many fun things!! heres how my mug turned out...

{2} Snow Day!

I am LOVING the college life! On Martin Luther King Day, me, my roommate, and my boyfriend went up to Sundance to snowboard! I've been boarding for years, but it was my roommates first time, so we spent a majority of the day teaching her how. It was so warm and there wasn't a ton of snow, but we sure had fun and I got to work on a bunch of skills. Plus, we found tickets for 25$ off! What a deal! It was a great chance to get closer to my roommate:)

{1} Intro

Hey everyone, thanks for coming to take a look! This is purely an assignment for my writing class, but maybe it will be fun if I have a good attitude about it. A quick bit about me. My name is Morgan Smith, I'm a freshman at BYU, pursuing a degree in Environmental Science. I like to do anything outdoors, especially if it has to do with rocks, trees, or dirt. I'm currently planning on a mission, and would be putting my papers in late next month should I choose to go. I am starting to feel like that is what I am supposed to be doing, and if that's where I am supposed to be, who am I to disagree! I'm loving it up here in Provo, and I can tell that I'm making lifelong friends. Thanks for listening! I will be posting periodically, mostly because my grade depends on it.