In light of recent events, I have been deeply impressed by certain individuals that are not afraid to say what they think. I admire these people because for so long I have struggled to find the voice to say what I truly think about certain things. I do believe there is wisdom in not voicing thoughts or feelings of hatred or anger, especially when you may regret it eventually. I have always wondered if I had the mettle to stand up what I believe for in difficult situations, like what happened at Columbine or in other recent shootings. Anyways, thanks to my Relief Society President I've read a couple of things recently that have really made me think about or society and what we've done. What's more, I've been forced to think about how I want to change what I do in the future based off of this.
This is something that my RS prez posted on her facebook: The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too... But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'
In light of recent events... Terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... No one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
Soooo, it all makes sense to me. I think he expressed it very well too, so I won't bother repeating what he said. Since I had a really good class in high school, I've always thought about the call to action. And here, I find the call to action more than just passing this on, because you can do that and lots of people will think, "oh wow, that's a good thought", but it may not really do anything. I think the call to action here to actually change the way you react. For me, I should not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Just because I have friends that believe otherwise doesn't mean I should act like I don't have certain beliefs when I'm in front of them. I also felt this deep desire to raise children that would honor their God amidst all the pressures and temptations of men. I also want to raise them to above all else, value their integrity with their lives. And I think all this is easier said than done, how am I, one that is not known for standing out because of my beliefs, ever going to teacher children to be courageous and honor-driven? The answer is I can't unless I become that kind of person. It's a challenge, but I think it's one I'm ready and willing to take on.
I guess this is kind of being fueled by just having watched Gandhi (by the way, if you haven't seen it, I suggest doing so sometime in your life. But it's a three hour movie so you need to devote some time). I was impressed that even though Gandhi was born a Hindu, he understood the teachings of the Christians and the Muslims enough to know that we are all children of God and deserve to be treated as such. I've never really met anybody that asserts that whenever they see somebody being picked on or harassed. Hopefully I can learn to be the person that does and the person that's not afraid to get hurt or killed for a great cause.
Alright, I think I probably have more to say about this, but it's late and I'm tired and I still have some things to do. And I think I lost my temple recommend somewhere =(
Sincerely,
Amy Camille Cappuccio
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Joining the Congregation
I know several people that have blogs and now I'm joining the masses and starting my own. There are a few benefits I see to having a blog and are the main reasons I decided to go through with this. They are mainly: (1)I can express my views and beliefs plainly and without restriction, (2)I can vent on days when I think my life truly sucks, and (3)through it all have a documentation of my thoughts and concerns over the years to realize how blessed I have truly been. You probably don't really care about why I'm starting a blog, but really what I plan on writing in it. Since this weekend was the 178th General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have some pretty good subject matter.
Luckily for me, I had no prior commitments (i don't work and i live in provo) and so was able to watch all 4 sessions of Conference. I remember as a child feeling regret when I missed the Saturday sessions of conference, but I figured that all the important stuff was said on Sunday and so my decision to miss Saturday was not administering damnation to my soul. And indeed, missing general conference does not constitute grounds for ex-communication at all. But now that I am more cognizant of the words spoken in GC I realize that one of the most fundamental reasons for having GC is that in the first session we gather together to sustain our Prophet and his Counselors and Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators for the Church. When we raise our hands to sustain them we are covenanting to follow their guidance and counsel, as we believe it comes from the Lord. It gives an added importance to the rest of the meetings as we are next given the opportunity to hear the voice of the Lord through his sustained prophets and given the chance to act upon our covenant.
So everybody should just know that I love our Prophet, Presdent Thomas S. Monson. He is a heck of a priesthood holder. He spoke today on change and couldn't have addressed it better. I found tears coming to my eyes as I reflected on the many things in my childhood that I wished had not changed. And even now as I enjoy my time at BYU, I wish things wouldn't have changed as fast. I miss my brother and am sad that when he gets back, things will never be the same. I miss my sister and the relationship we shared when we shared a room. More than anything, I suppose, I miss the pretense of a united family, even if it was only a pretense. It made happiness for us a whole lot easier. Pres Monson's message comforted me in the sense, that as members of this Church, we have the absolute and never-changing truths from a constant God. The fact that I can find relief from the burdens of a changing world through Christ is reason enough to rejoice. And as Pres. Monson's talk progressed I found new gratitude for the experiences I had and new determination to make today the day to change me, not tomorrow.
I wish to speak on change as it applies to the world. I am not in AZ right now but have heard through friends about the upcoming election that will give citizens the opportunity to vote for or against Prop 102 which is on the definition families. I have never felt particularly strong about supporting legislation to "defend the family" because I felt that all in all, it wouldn't have all that big of an impact on society. Nevertheless, I always figured I would vote for any proposition that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. It just wasn't something I was really adamant about. Then I found a statement from the Church regarding the several upcoming elections and the Church's standpoint on this issue. It is rather long, but very well written, so if you would like to read it the link is here: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage .
It's soooo true that marriage is ordained of God, I know that with all my heart. More importantly, I realized through this statement that these propositions will have a lasting effect on our society. Recently I have been pondering on the role of the family in society. I was reading out of my textbook for PL SC 170 when I came to a passage that read:
"When a family member tries to influence another member of the family, a variety of influence-seeking tactics may take place; so it happens between states. The family member can beg and plead, cry, threaten some kind of act, reason, or bargain. Just as a family member may try to coerce another member, so a state may seek to influence behavior in an attempt to get a desired to result"
Disregarding what it is talking abou(which is this case is power), I want to point out how it is talking about that. It is using a simile to relate the interactions of countries to the interactions of families. I don't believe this is a coincidence. The relationships of the family are what we base the relationships we have in the world on, including a nation's relations with other nations. Marriage between a man and woman is the only means by which the divinely designed institution of the family should be built and can be built to ensure the promised blessings of the eternities in our Heavenly Father's presence. And families built upon this principle, if whole, can bring about the greatest change in society than any legislative bill or human activist can achieve.
The statement also talks about how gay rights and religious liberties clash which I found to be an interesting and afore-neglected idea to me. I really suggest reading it if you have the time.
Okay, so I think that is all for this first and inaugurating post. I'm sorry to have made it so long and I hope I haven't scared you away from future posts with the size of this one. I also don't intend this to be a wholly relgious blog, but since my religion is rather important to me, you should expect it to pop up quite often. I hope things in your life are going well and I am really grateful you took the time to read my blog. If you have any questions or comments, please post them!
Luckily for me, I had no prior commitments (i don't work and i live in provo) and so was able to watch all 4 sessions of Conference. I remember as a child feeling regret when I missed the Saturday sessions of conference, but I figured that all the important stuff was said on Sunday and so my decision to miss Saturday was not administering damnation to my soul. And indeed, missing general conference does not constitute grounds for ex-communication at all. But now that I am more cognizant of the words spoken in GC I realize that one of the most fundamental reasons for having GC is that in the first session we gather together to sustain our Prophet and his Counselors and Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators for the Church. When we raise our hands to sustain them we are covenanting to follow their guidance and counsel, as we believe it comes from the Lord. It gives an added importance to the rest of the meetings as we are next given the opportunity to hear the voice of the Lord through his sustained prophets and given the chance to act upon our covenant.
So everybody should just know that I love our Prophet, Presdent Thomas S. Monson. He is a heck of a priesthood holder. He spoke today on change and couldn't have addressed it better. I found tears coming to my eyes as I reflected on the many things in my childhood that I wished had not changed. And even now as I enjoy my time at BYU, I wish things wouldn't have changed as fast. I miss my brother and am sad that when he gets back, things will never be the same. I miss my sister and the relationship we shared when we shared a room. More than anything, I suppose, I miss the pretense of a united family, even if it was only a pretense. It made happiness for us a whole lot easier. Pres Monson's message comforted me in the sense, that as members of this Church, we have the absolute and never-changing truths from a constant God. The fact that I can find relief from the burdens of a changing world through Christ is reason enough to rejoice. And as Pres. Monson's talk progressed I found new gratitude for the experiences I had and new determination to make today the day to change me, not tomorrow.
I wish to speak on change as it applies to the world. I am not in AZ right now but have heard through friends about the upcoming election that will give citizens the opportunity to vote for or against Prop 102 which is on the definition families. I have never felt particularly strong about supporting legislation to "defend the family" because I felt that all in all, it wouldn't have all that big of an impact on society. Nevertheless, I always figured I would vote for any proposition that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. It just wasn't something I was really adamant about. Then I found a statement from the Church regarding the several upcoming elections and the Church's standpoint on this issue. It is rather long, but very well written, so if you would like to read it the link is here: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage .
It's soooo true that marriage is ordained of God, I know that with all my heart. More importantly, I realized through this statement that these propositions will have a lasting effect on our society. Recently I have been pondering on the role of the family in society. I was reading out of my textbook for PL SC 170 when I came to a passage that read:
"When a family member tries to influence another member of the family, a variety of influence-seeking tactics may take place; so it happens between states. The family member can beg and plead, cry, threaten some kind of act, reason, or bargain. Just as a family member may try to coerce another member, so a state may seek to influence behavior in an attempt to get a desired to result"
Disregarding what it is talking abou(which is this case is power), I want to point out how it is talking about that. It is using a simile to relate the interactions of countries to the interactions of families. I don't believe this is a coincidence. The relationships of the family are what we base the relationships we have in the world on, including a nation's relations with other nations. Marriage between a man and woman is the only means by which the divinely designed institution of the family should be built and can be built to ensure the promised blessings of the eternities in our Heavenly Father's presence. And families built upon this principle, if whole, can bring about the greatest change in society than any legislative bill or human activist can achieve.
The statement also talks about how gay rights and religious liberties clash which I found to be an interesting and afore-neglected idea to me. I really suggest reading it if you have the time.
Okay, so I think that is all for this first and inaugurating post. I'm sorry to have made it so long and I hope I haven't scared you away from future posts with the size of this one. I also don't intend this to be a wholly relgious blog, but since my religion is rather important to me, you should expect it to pop up quite often. I hope things in your life are going well and I am really grateful you took the time to read my blog. If you have any questions or comments, please post them!
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