Still having hope in Humanity

The internet can be a terrible place. MOST of the time it really kills my "hope in humanity." Especially the comments section on Youtube. Never go there, you will not return unscarred. ANYWHO, it can really suck a lot and bring you down. BUT TODAY, I come bearing websites and videos that rekindle that little hope that was previously squashed by that unflattering selfie on Facebook. So without further ado, I PRESENT UNTO YOU:

The awesomeness of a religious homeless guy:

A message for everyone born today:

Rapping for a good purpose:

Being quietly, unselfishly good: 

Paying attention to the small things: 

Singing that makes your heart soar :) :

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What this guy is doing for lions:

A father and son together (start at about 3:40 to skip all the boring stuff):

A beautiful animation! : 

Annnnnnd not a video but a webpage about awesome things people do for animals: http://pansypanda.com/people-amazing-animals/

Gosh I hope I don't kill your computer with videos. Enjoy!

Respect and Tolerance

People on the internet can be really touchy. Like, reeaaaaally touchy. I’m sure it has something to do with the anonymity the internet provides or something else scientific, blah blah blah. So you, like me, have probably learned to gloss over “trollers” and all others solemnly up to no good. So this isn't a rant about that.

So a little while back, I found this YouTube video blog channel about this family. They just document random times with their family, and it’s really hilarious. They did this video at Easter time, and in the video the blogger tells his viewers why he follows Christ and lives his religion. He mentions not all believe this way, but he wanted to say why he did. Then they just continued on with their Easter egg hunt.

“Hey, that was nice,” I thought, “It’s nice to hear things like that.” Unfortunately, I scrolled through the comments afterward. Quite a few people voiced their displeasure of this simple declaration he made (which didn’t even take up a third of the video), and many even objected that he was “forcing his religion” on them. Some of them even got quite nasty.

Now I’m not stupid, I've read all the memes that talk about losing faith in humanity while reading through the comments, but all the same the experience left me unsettled. Since then I've noticed more instances of things like this, regarding any religious material as “pushy” or “intolerant.”

Let me pause for a moment to say I’m no scholar, psychologist or scientist. I haven’t really read through any studies on this or been educated on the matter. In fact, I know of a few videos or other things that do the exact same thing to those who aren’t Christians. (I recall watching a video bashing atheism. That really left a bad taste in my mouth). What I’m doing here is just writing on a gut feeling. Cause it's bothering me. At the same time, I don’t want to go overboard emotionally, I just want to put out what I think.

The thing is, I’m starting to feel tolerance is becoming a very one way street. Time after time again I come across declarations that demand tolerance of their beliefs, but then don’t give me the time of day for mine. Why is it that the world wants me to comply with their standards but don’t want to respect mine? There is such a loud voice for their cause, but my voice is shushed because I’m intolerant.

Please note:  I’m not a perfect person. I’m not a saint. I make mistakes, I often judge people too quickly. But I want to do the right thing. I want to be able to show other people respect for what they believe in (heck, I’m even taking a world religion class to learn more than what I know now). I want other people to have opinions. I know our opinions often differ, but that’s ok, you’re still awesome.  But I also want the same respect for me. This isn't because I’m Mormon either; I speak as a Christian in general.

I think (don’t quote me or anything) that the USA has an amendment that says something to the effect that we have the right of freedom of speech and religion. That goes for religious AND non-religious.

So let me wrap this up with this: Don’t stop posting your opinion. You have a right to it. And I think it’s healthy sometimes to dispute a point. But please please please PLEASE be respectful. If you vehemently disagree with someone, wait for about a week and write your own post about it, instead as a direct retaliation. And expect disagreement to your opinion. That’s ok. It’s normal. Let’s start making tolerance a two way street again.

And I promise my next post is going to be more cheerful. :)

John 13:34

For a Dear Friend

I wanted my blog to be something that was upbeat and fun, but it’s not happening right now. I just got off work and received a call from my family. A good friend since high school, who helped me get through school really, has been missing for a few days. (To respect her family’s privacy, I will refer to her as Akiko) My family told me that she committed suicide very recently. At first, it didn’t seem real. Actually, I’m still wrapping my mind around it. She was so upbeat and happy, she always made me laugh. She loved Sherlock and she was a lot of fun to talk Doctor who with. She even helped me get my first date, which was a date to prom. Akiko was the best. I knew she struggled a lot, but I never ever ever thought it would come to this.

This is sort of weird, because I’m in my 20s, but to be honest I have never had anyone I know well die. 

 And you know I always thought it would be some of my older relatives that would be the first to go (Sorry grandma and grandpa). Once it started sinking in, unbelievably one of my first reactions was frustration! It wasn’t fair! She had a whole life in front of her! She had lots of friends! She meant a lot to a lot of people! Why would she leave us now?  Everyone I know who knew Akiko loved her. As it started sinking in more, that’s when the sadness began. I’m going to miss a lot about her. Like, when we were in the car driving to and from a mutual friend’s house and blowing up the “cannibal factory” with our photon torpedoes I happened to have in my car. See, you can’t find quality friends like that very often.

On my mission I would discuss with people about their departed loved ones. They would question why they were gone, why God would allow that to happen. They would wonder, what will happen to them? They’d wonder.  I even came across a few who believed that their loved ones were condemned to hell. I’ll admit, I’d often let my companion take that, who often could relate to them better. I had no personal experience.

Now I do. My first reaction was to drown my sadness in Facebook. But with a gentle prod from the Spirit, I decided to do the thing I told people to do for the past 2 years in situations like this; I cracked open my scriptures.

My scriptures are really marked up. In orange I have marked the scriptures that relate to the plan of salvation. This plan is God’s plan. Before the earth was created we lived with God. He knew us and we knew him, and he loved us and we loved him. We were his spirit children. He presented a plan to come to earth and gain a body and experience. We accepted that plan, even though we knew it would be hard. 

Thankfully, God’s first born child volunteered to be our Savior, so we could overcome our mistakes and return to God after we die. When we die our spirits go to the Spirit World, were we learned more and waited for the resurrection, when we would be reunited with our bodies in their perfect form. It was then that we would return to live with our Father in happiness forever.

That’s what I told people. I knew and believed this.

But now it’s different, because this isn’t John’s mother who died years ago, this is Akiko. She was there. She’s not abstract. She’s real, and now she’s gone. I needed some answers.

I have a few already. I’m well assured that I will see Akiko again. That is a fact that resides deep in my heart. It is going to be fun when I see her again. But I needed to know what would happen to her. Taking a life is a big deal, including your own. I wondered what led her to do such an act. What could she have been feeling? She was alone, and she must have felt terrible. More terrible than I have ever felt. I don’t think it’s fair that she had to feel that alone. What would God think of her? Is he disappointed? Or sad?

I flipped through the orange tabs that were scattered throughout my Holy Bible and Book of Mormon. They told me she would be the same spirit that she was here on earth, that she would have a perfect body free from the ailments that she had while she was here. All of these words brought comfort, but I didn’t really get my answers until I came across this scripture.

Alma 7:11-13

1 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccorhis people according to their infirmities.

 13 Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

It clicked then. I’ve read this scripture a thousand times and knew it was powerful, but the Spirit brought it into a new light. Akiko did not die alone. She did not suffer alone. She was not alone with her feelings. She sat shoulder to shoulder with the best Man this world has ever known, and they felt it together. Jesus Christ felt every bit of whatever Akiko was feeling. He felt what it feels like to wish to die.

To be honest, I sort of feared what it would be like for judgment day for her (call me a religious freak :P). But now I understand that too. I’ve heard that one of the best people a woman who recently had a miscarriage can talk to is another woman who also had a miscarriage. That’s because she can perfectly emphasize what the no-longer-to-be mother is going through. Jesus Christ is the only person ever who can perfectly judge us, because he knows what it’s like to be us.

Like all of us, Akiko is going to stand before Jesus. I see it in my mind’s eye. And you know what? I see them sitting down together and crying together. Both of them have felt her great sorrow. Jesus has his arm around her. He’s consoling her. He’s encouraging her. He loves her so much. He knows all her imperfections and her faults, and despite it all loves her more than we can possibly know. And she’s going to feel that. And if she chooses it, she will feel that burden lifted off her. She will be everything she was meant to be.

I don’t know everything. There’s a lot I don’t know. I don’t know why she left now. And right now I’m emotional as heck. But I do know it will be alright. I know that Christ not only knows how she felt, but how we feel  too. It’s going to be a long journey for all of us, but I feel that quite assurance that it will be alright.

Akiko, we’re going to miss you a lot. But don’t worry, we’ll see you soon. Take care, alright?

First Post- The Bane of My Existence

Ok, here it goes. First Blog, first Post.

For starters, let me tell you the bane of my existence.

WORK.

As, in effort.

This may be the carnal man inside me, but if it were up to me I’d stay inside all day watching endless cartoons on Netflix while browsing through Deviantart look for cool artwork. With pop tarts and root beer. And Pandora playing music in the background.

Quite simply, I enjoy being lazy. Add Minecraft, Facebook, books I've meant to read, infinite YouTube videos, and I’d would never have to go anywhere, provided I had food.

The worst part of all of this is that it’s easy. It’s a really really easy trap to get into.  I have caught myself many times watching just hilarious cat videos when I should have been working on Job applications. It has not escaped me that most of the ‘easy things’ are available right here off my laptop. It takes just seconds to switch from working on a paper for class to checking my Facebook page, and then my Tumblr, and would you look at that I got a new email! I soon discover I just spent an hour looking up random memes instead of finishing that essay due tomorrow. Time to kick out the caffeine, I’m staying up late tonight!

Such was life before my mission. I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints about 2 years ago. I never worked so hard in my life. I devoted all of my time to spreading the Gospel to the people of Ohio. And when I was out there away from Facebook, Deviantart, all of it, I made a very crucial discovery. I LOVED working hard.

I said earlier I enjoy being lazy. Let me rephrase that, I enjoy being lazy in the moment. After the moment is gone, the enjoyment leaves too. Sometimes I would feel guilty about all the time I just wasted. Other times I felt dread, dismaying over the fact that I gotta get up and start working again.

But on my mission, it was different. I got satisfaction out of a job well done.  I felt drive for working for a good cause, the best cause in fact. I enjoyed working with others and helping them achieve all they could be. There would be days I’d come back after a long day completely exhausted, and feel on top of the world. In short, I found a lasting happiness. And boy was it way better than the short snippets of enjoyment when I found a funny gif.

At  the end of my 2 year mission, my mission president (who supervises his missionaries and teaches them how to be more effective) gave me some really really important advice. He read us a scripture from modern scriptures called Doctrine and Covenants .  In the 88^th section he read:

124 Cease to be ^aidle; cease to be ^bunclean; cease to ^cfind fault one with another; cease to ^dsleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be ^einvigorated.

He explained that being idle meant being unclean, like what happens to furniture when they’re not used, they get dusty and moldy.

Now I don’t want you to misinterpret, being lazy isn’t completely bad. It says a lot in the scriptures that you shouldn’t run faster than you have strength. Taking a break sometimes is not a bad thing. But since then I’ve tried to be less idle. I’m not perfect at it, since coming back home I’ve slid back into some bad habits. But at least now it’s something I work at. And hey, with God’s help I can do it.

That is part of the reason I’m making this blog. I wanted to have an outlet that would be productive. I also still want to be able to share what I believe, if you want to hear it. I just want to make sure I don’t get moldy.

So here I am. In this blog I’ll be sharing some of my thoughts on things going on in my life and in the world. I’ll be sharing some of my art work as well, cause I’m working toward an art major and quite frankly it’s kinda important to me.  

Welp, here we go. Allons-y!