Teach A Friend & Learning Report

I taught my mom what I learned in Lesson 8 during the two hours we spent in a traffic jam and I began by saying that life can be prepared for, but planning should not overrule being prepared, as plans do not always turn out as planned. Preparation helps people make the best of what life gives them even if things don't end up going according to plan.

To my comments about needing to always be prepared because life doesn't always turn out as planned, Mom said that life is not guaranteed and had she really thought about it, she could have been better prepared for Dad's sudden illness and death.

I then talked about how D&C 88:124 says that we should not waste our time and whatever God gave us, or else we could and will lose them. Wasting our time results in us losing our time and whatever gifts God may have given us, as He will take away what we do not use.

After doing some exercises as a class to this Blessercize video that the lead students for the week found on YouTube, it was then said that exercise ties into self-reliance because exercise helps one to be healthy and one cannot be self-reliant if they are not healthy.

It was then asked of us what event has positively shaped our life in terms of self-reliance and I said that my mission, a year long service in the local Welfare Services Field Office and Bishop's Storehouse, positively shaped my life. In my mission, I learned that I could be self-reliant by gaining confidence from helping other people and feeding off their joy. I also helped others to be self-reliant through training I provided to new missionaries and also helping others who had utilized the storehouse to volunteer there so they could properly express their gratitude for it.

Mom said the event that shaped her life is knowing that we were prepared for everything that happened to our family when the 1995 flood hit High River, as we ended up having to evacuate at 5:30 in the morning and go to a friend's house that was on higher ground. Mom had a 72 hour kit prepared and we were able to take it with us when we had to leave in a hurry, Many years later when the family lived in Raymond and there was a fire on the Ridge, Mom said she helped organize and settle people at the Church and also had supplies for both people and pets prepared just in case leaving had to be done in a hurry.

I then summarized the previous concepts that had been learned in Pathways, as the lead students had summarized them during class for everyone's benefit. The previous concepts were the Learning Model/Honor Code, Disciple Leadership, Lifelong Learning, Academic Planning/Career Exploration, Decision Making, Time Management, and Information Literacy/Academic Planning.

When it came to discussing the previous concepts, Mom said that each of the lessons has strengthened her in a lot of ways and really made her think. She also said that the lessons have caused her to think how everything in her life has affected her and how it has made her a better person.

My focus then turned to D&C 29:35 and how it says that God's commandments are eternal and are given for both the body and spirit. In response to the words in D&C 29:35, Mom said that we as LDS people have the sure knowledge of not only the commandments, but also of their significance in the eternal spectrum. She said that it's something we need to consider as we have not only been taught many useful things, but that all things have a purpose. She added that God put things on the earth for the good of man.

During class, only four principles of self-reliance were touched upon: education, health, home storage, and work and I came up with how they connected to self-reliance. Education teaches you skills for work from the beginning of your life and continues to teach you useful things whether it comes from inside or outside of the classroom. Health is important as you need to be healthy in order to be self-reliant. Home Storage is needed because it helps us to take care of ourselves when circumstances don't allow us to rely on others or stores. Employment teaches people how to work whether it be through paid work, through volunteer opportunities, or even through school. People on disability or welfare that cannot work can still volunteer to show gratitude and productivity.

Mom's thoughts on Home Storage were that we might not have a lot of good stuff in our storage a lot of the time, but we have life-sustaining stuff. She once had a bishop from a storehouse tell her that food from the storehouse isn't there to sustain lifestyle, but to sustain life.

In class, we then got into groups, picked random objects from a bag, and then discussed how it related to self-reliance. The group I was in picked an umbrella and I then likened it to the four self-reliance principles that we had discussed in class. In terms of education, the umbrella teaches us how to protect ourselves from rain. In terms of health, the umbrella teaches us how to deal with a rainy day physically, mentally, and spiritually and the lesson there is to turn to whatever good thing may give us comfort in hard times. When it comes to Home Storage, an umbrella is a reminder that rainy days do come and that we are capable and commanded to prepare for them. It also teaches us that employment helps us to have a way to prepare for the rainy days when they do come.

I then read Mom three quotes that I got in class about how self-reliance intertwines with service and interdependency and that even though man can be self-reliant, nobody is good at everything. We need to be in a position where we are spiritually prepared to help others when the need arises. In terms of interdependency, we need to be willing to take time to give of ourselves and also be humble enough to accept help when we struggle, as God often offers help to us by way of others desiring to be of service. We need one another to serve as a strength to others and we need others to serve as strengths to our weaknesses and shortcomings. All of us need God to help us with that which we cannot handle on our own and with the help of each other and we especially need Christ when it comes to being able to let go of our sins and our ability to move beyond them.

Mom said that in terms of service, the greatest act of service comes to each of us each week when the sacrament is served, as through the sacrament, we serve one another and we are allowing the Savior to serve us when we partake. She mentioned that on her computer screen, she has a picture of people passing the sacrament and that the Savior turns out to be one of those passing the sacrament. Mom added that we need to keep in mind on a daily basis ways that we can do service unto others.

Learning Report
Looking back at the previous lessons, I have to admit that the most difficult thing for me was admitting to myself that I still had so much to learn about things I had been taught since I was old enough to understand things for myself. I have learned much through gospel education and through the example of my mother and other faithful individuals in my life, but as it says in the lesson about lifelong learning, there is always something new you can learn about a subject you may have knowledge about. A long time ago, I heard someone say that if you are done learning, you are dead and I suppose if you stopped learning because it was too much work, your brain and spirit would eventually waste away from lack of use. I've always loved learning new things and I am very aware that if I do not keep learning, I will eventually forget what I know and slip into ignorance. Even though I have a disability, it is very possible for me to learn whatever I want to learn, it just takes a little extra effort and application for me to get the hang of it. I am grateful that Pathways has helped me to learn new ways to learn and appreciate the freedom and opportunities I have to keep learning. I am also grateful that because of the Atonement and Plan of Salvation, I can learn much not only in this life, but also in the next.

The most important thing I want to remember from this lesson is the talk by Marion G. Romney titled 'The Nature of Self-Reliance' and it talked about how man is free to choose their way and that includes choosing to be self-reliant, as we are all invited to find our own way in mortality and how can we do that if we don't know how to care for ourselves and meet the needs that will come during our journey through mortality? We need to learn how to and actively take care of ourselves so that we can be in a position to care for others through the stewardships we will be given in the Church and also in our own families of creation. In relation to that, I also liked what D&C 29:34-35 said about how we MUST be responsible for ourselves and cannot rely on another's testimony to get us through trying times, as there may be times when we will have very little but the spiritual reserves we have been taught to build. If we have none, then we will feel the consequences.

The haves should teach the have-nots how to become haves by first showing them charity so that they can know what it feels like to be loved and then help them to know what it means to share that love through service, as they then can know that their contributions can benefit yet another in need and that they are worth something to God, so much so that Christ freed them from their burdens. the Lord's laws, including self-reliance, are permanent and therefore, the responsibility we have to learn and actively take care of ourselves is also permanent, as it is an eternal teaching and will continue with us after death.

Discussion Board Responses
In terms of asking for help and also in terms of giving help, we need to be humble enough to not only give of our excess, but to receive from the excess of others when our resources have run dry even after all of our best effort has been put forward. By being willing to receive help, we are showing that we are willing to allow the Lord's love to benefit us and allow Him to bless others who take the time to care. By being willing to give, we are showing gratitude for what we receive. By being willing to learn these principles, we are admitting to ourselves and to God that we can face the reality that we may very well need to use the principles of self-reliance to help ourselves one day or that we will need to act in humility and allow others and God to help us when we end up facing a time of great need.

In today's world, nobody is immune from having a time where they are in need of either personal/spiritual support or in need of physical support. All of us will go through times where we lack substance to survive or where we lack the hope to survive, but knowing that the Atonement is there and is for us to use for both sins and sorrows should give us enough comfort and courage to use it and know that we are loved unconditionally by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ no matter who we are or where we are at in our lives. We think we can rely on ourselves and that nobody else can understand what we go through, so we are afraid of asking others for help because they will not understand and judge us for being so imperfect. Christ, however, went through everything and anything that mortal man has and will gone through, so He understands and He and God are willing to listen and help by way of others when we are in need; all we have to do is ask with sincerity and be humble enough to accept loving help however it may come. We are instruments in God's hands for others as others are instruments in His hands for us.

Through the years that my brother and I were growing up, I had watched my mother and father always keep a food storage and emergency supplies handy in whatever house they happened to live in. I personally thought that having a food storage was cool, as it often had food we liked to eat in it, but I didn't know why. As I got older, however, I was taught the reason for the food storage was to have something set aside in the case of a rainy day. When I went on to the Provident Living website and also during the times I have visited the Visitor's Centers and Welfare Square in Salt Lake City, I am very amazed at the amount of effort and preparation that the Church has put into making sure that people know how to rely on themselves and also into providing access to resources that can be used if there are ever times where people cannot rely on themselves for whatever reason.

There will be times where we all need help, even if it is just needing to know how to be self-reliant, and the website has very detailed information about how to go about making yourself more self-reliant. Although we can never be fully self-reliant, as we are not good at everything and need both the Lord and others to help us when it comes to our weak areas, we can do our best to do what we can in being self-reliant. If we do what we can with what we have, we will be able to worry less about ourselves and focus more on helping others when times become difficult.

Lesson 8 Gathering

I began by saying that life can be prepared for, but planning should not overrule being prepared, as plans do not always turn out as planned. Preparation helps people make the best of what life gives them even if things don't end up going according to plan.

To my comments about needing to always be prepared because life doesn't always turn out as planned, Mom said that life is not guaranteed and had she really thought about it, she could have been better prepared for Dad's sudden illness and death.

I then talked about how D&C 88:124 says that we should not waste our time and whatever God gave us, or else we could and will lose them. Wasting our time results in us losing our time and whatever gifts God may have given us, as He will take away what we do not use.

After doing some exercises as a class to this Blessercize video that the lead students for the week found on YouTube, it was then said that exercise ties into self-reliance because exercise helps one to be healthy and one cannot be self-reliant if they are not healthy.

It was then asked of us what event has positively shaped our life in terms of self-reliance and I said that my mission, a year long service in the local Welfare Services Field Office and Bishop's Storehouse, positively shaped my life. In my mission, I learned that I could be self-reliant by gaining confidence from helping other people and feeding off their joy. I also helped others to be self-reliant through training I provided to new missionaries and also helping others who had utilized the storehouse to volunteer there so they could properly express their gratitude for it.

Mom said the event that shaped her life is knowing that we were prepared for everything that happened to our family when the 1995 flood hit High River, as we ended up having to evacuate at 5:30 in the morning and go to a friend's house that was on higher ground. Mom had a 72 hour kit prepared and we were able to take it with us when we had to leave in a hurry, Many years later when the family lived in Raymond and there was a fire on the Ridge, Mom said she helped organize and settle people at the Church and also had supplies for both people and pets prepared just in case leaving had to be done in a hurry.

I then summarized the previous concepts that had been learned in Pathways, as the lead students had summarized them during class for everyone's benefit. The previous concepts were the Learning Model/Honor Code, Disciple Leadership, Lifelong Learning, Academic Planning/Career Exploration, Decision Making, Time Management, and Information Literacy/Academic Planning.

When it came to discussing the previous concepts, Mom said that each of the lessons has strengthened her in a lot of ways and really made her think. She also said that the lessons have caused her to think how everything in her life has affected her and how it has made her a better person.

My focus then turned to D&C 29:35 and how it says that God's commandments are eternal and are given for both the body and spirit. In response to the words in D&C 29:35, Mom said that we as LDS people have the sure knowledge of not only the commandments, but also of their significance in the eternal spectrum. She said that it's something we need to consider as we have not only been taught many useful things, but that all things have a purpose. She added that God put things on the earth for the good of man.

During class, only four principles of self-reliance were touched upon: education, health, home storage, and work and I came up with how they connected to self-reliance. Education teaches you skills for work from the beginning of your life and continues to teach you useful things whether it comes from inside or outside of the classroom. Health is important as you need to be healthy in order to be self-reliant. Home Storage is needed because it helps us to take care of ourselves when circumstances don't allow us to rely on others or stores. Employment teaches people how to work whether it be through paid work, through volunteer opportunities, or even through school. People on disability or welfare that cannot work can still volunteer to show gratitude and productivity.

Mom's thoughts on Home Storage were that we might not have a lot of good stuff in our storage a lot of the time, but we have life-sustaining stuff. She once had a bishop from a storehouse tell her that food from the storehouse isn't there to sustain lifestyle, but to sustain life.

In class, we then got into groups, picked random objects from a bag, and then discussed how it related to self-reliance. The group I was in picked an umbrella and I then likened it to the four self-reliance principles that we had discussed in class. In terms of education, the umbrella teaches us how to protect ourselves from rain. In terms of health, the umbrella teaches us how to deal with a rainy day physically, mentally, and spiritually and the lesson there is to turn to whatever good thing may give us comfort in hard times. When it comes to Home Storage, an umbrella is a reminder that rainy days do come and that we are capable and commanded to prepare for them. It also teaches us that employment helps us to have a way to prepare for the rainy days when they do come.

I then read Mom three quotes that I got in class about how self-reliance intertwines with service and interdependency and that even though man can be self-reliant, nobody is good at everything. We need to be in a position where we are spiritually prepared to help others when the need arises. In terms of interdependency, we need to be willing to take time to give of ourselves and also be humble enough to accept help when we struggle, as God often offers help to us by way of others desiring to be of service. We need one another to serve as a strength to others and we need others to serve as strengths to our weaknesses and shortcomings. All of us need God to help us with that which we cannot handle on our own and with the help of each other and we especially need Christ when it comes to being able to let go of our sins and our ability to move beyond them.

Lesson 8 Preparation

Lesson 8 is concerning self-reliance and it is not just about how to be temporally self-reliant, it is also about how to be spiritually self-reliant and not rely on the testimony of others to keep you strong.

According to the pamphlet 'Providing In the Lord's Way', there are at least six elements, if not more, of self-reliance and they are education, health, spiritual strength, employment, finances, and home storage. I am sure there are many more, but we need to focus on these six so that not only can we be self-reliant, we can also help others to also become that way.

• Education helps us get temporal skills that we need to endure the temporal way of life.
• Health enables us to do all the things that we need to do in order to live well.
• Spiritual strength enables us to find value in both a constant temporal and spiritual education.
• Employment enables us to make money that is needed in order to meet temporal needs.
• Finances helps us to know how to budget our resources to make them last as long as they are needed.
• Home storage helps us to sustain ourselves when finances and/or employment are unavailable.

I then read a talk by Marion G. Romney titled 'The Nature of Self-Reliance' and it talked about how man is free to choose their way and that includes choosing to be self-reliant, as we are all invited to find our own way in mortality and how can we do that if we don't know how to care for ourselves and meet the needs that will come during our journey through mortality? We need to learn how to and actively take care of ourselves so that we can be in a position to care for others through the stewardships we will be given in the Church and also in our own families of creation.

There was mention of seagulls relying on that which would not require any work and giving nothing in return, thereby teaching their children that gratitude was unrequired of them. Even if we cannot work for whatever reason and must be on assistance, we still should do things for others and/or the community, such as volunteer work, to show our gratitude for what we have been given.

According to D&C 29:34-35, we MUST be responsible for ourselves and cannot rely on another's testimony to get us through trying times, as there may be times when we will have very little but the spiritual reserves we have been taught to build. If we have none, then we will feel the consequences.

The haves should teach the have-nots how to become haves by first showing them charity so that they can know what it feels like to be loved and then help them to know what it means to share that love through service, as they then can know that their contributions can benefit yet another in need and that they are worth something to God, so much so that Christ freed them from their burdens.

Following that, I turned my attention to a talk called 'Living the Principles of Self-Reliance' that was written by Larry Hiller and Kathryn Olson and was about how the Lord's laws, including self-reliance, are permanent and therefore, the responsibility we have to learn and actively take care of ourselves is also permanent, as it is an eternal teaching and will continue with us after death.

I find it interesting that these self-reliance principles are to begin at home and then go outward as we learn to take care of ourselves, as once we know how to help ourselves, we need to help others.

Even if we know and practice principles of self-reliance, we still need to be humble enough to not only give of our excess, but to receive from the excess of others when our resources have run dry even after all of our best effort has been put forward. By being willing to receive help, we are showing that we are willing to allow the Lord's love to benefit us and allow Him to bless others who take the time to care. By being willing to give, we are showing gratitude for what we receive.

I then visited providentliving.org and and looked at the principles that were listed: employment, finances, food storage, emergency preparedness, gardening, physical health, and education, in depth.

I then directed my attention to the quiz and got a couple wrong the first time, but took it again and still got one wrong, but it was confusing, as the answer in the notes is what I put and it was still wrong. I still got 93% and I'm proud of my score.

Discussion Board

The self-reliance topic that stood out to me in my extensive study of all the topics was physical health because without physical health, you can't have an accurate awareness of the other aspects of your health nor can you properly maintain them. If your physical health is impaired, you are so focused on trying to handle it that you impair your mental and emotional health by stressing over your physical needs and then not only are you physically sick, you are also emotionally down and mentally exhausted to the point where might not be able to function. When you are emotionally down and mentally exhausted, you often can't feel the presence of the Spirit because you've shut it out of the opportunity to try and prompt you to turn to the Atonement for healing. The Spirit respects the agency of people and if a person has shut the Spirit out, the Spirit won't force themselves on someone who doesn't want it.

The Spirit not only gives us promptings from God, but it also has the ability to calm us down enough that we can utilize the Atonement for healing, as the Atonement is for both sins and sorrows. The Atonement may not help us to become physically healthy, but it can help us calm our emotions and help to rest our minds enough that we can focus on utilizing resources that the Lord has provided so that we can restore ourselves to physical health through effort, patience, and time. When we are physically healthy and well-maintained, we are better able to keep our emotions in check, keep using our mental faculties at a steady level, and we also able to feel the Spirit's promptings that can help us to not only improve ourselves, but be able to go and be of help to others in their quests to become better individuals.

Teach A Friend & Learning Report

After I gave the quote by President Eyring, Mom said that what President Eyring had to say was true in life and in everything else. She said that things will not stay with you forever and that you need to keep using the information in order for it to stick with you. There are few people, she said, who learn something once and it sticks to them; she said that is why people renew their vows and why people should read their patriarchal blessings often.

In reference to different types of sources, Mom said that the most important sources out there are scriptures and other gospel materials. In terms of knowing who we are so we can know our strengths, Mom said that she is learning not only about her strengths and weaknesses, she is also learning about how to build upon her strengths through the career counseling opportunities available through her school.

When it came to discussing President Uchtdorf's quote concerning not blindly accepting all that we hear, Mom said that the world thinks we blindly follow and that just isn't so. She said those concerns of blind following are why we have access to so many resources both inside and outside of the gospel, as it is important for us to constantly stay informed. She added that one can read and study all they want, but the best teacher is experience and that she knows the gospel is true not by learning and studying, but by living it for many years. She also added that the natural man often seeks to be people pleasers and that the way we personally discern between truth and error should include a lot of thoughtful prayer and listening to feelings.

When it came to learning about information literacy, Mom agreed with the fact that what we consider to be true and what really is true can often be two different things. She also agreed that we should see reliable sources of information using both gospel tools and proper evaluation guidelines like the ones mentioned in the lesson so that we are not deceived.

At the concluding part of the lesson when I said that it is not enough to sit and watch, but that we actually have to go and do and also strive to have the Spirit in our lives so we can do good things, Mom agreed with that. She said that she knows that not because she told that through the gospel, but she knows about the importance of not only going and doing, but working to do so with the help of God's Spirit through bad experiences from earlier parts of her life.

Learning Report
The three most important things on my list were spending more time with my family however it could be managed, dedicating more time to exercise, and get to bed earlier at night so I could get up and see my mother off to school each day. I am doing well in terms of spending time with family whenever I can, as I am always helping my mother with household things, trips to the grocery store and laundromat, and also meeting her after school so we can take the bus home together each day and have a chance to talk about how her day went. It's nice spending time with Mom doing those things and also going to ward activities together so that we can get to know our ward family.

In terms of exercise, I walk almost every day either around the apartment or around downtown after taking the bus from my area and it's helped me to keep in shape quite well. I haven't been swimming yet, but I hope to go soon, as I have loved the water most of my life.

When it comes to sleep, however, I am still working on going to bed early enough to able to see my mom off to school. I find that when I don't get enough sleep, I am very irritable and unsociable in the mornings, so even if I cannot get up to see my mom off, I should still go to bed early enough so that I can wake up refreshed and ready to do things the next day. 

I have been most impacted by the concept of disciple leadership and knowing that because of the Atonement, I can walk beyond my imperfections and learn how to be a good leader. Matthew 6:33 states that a commitment to God will bring forth more blessings once we show that our commitment is firm. I know that if I show a commitment to wanting to be better and actually put forth a consistent effort in trying to be better each and every day, the Lord will help me to become a better person and also show me how I can lead by being a good example to everyone within and outside my circle of influence.

The most important thing I want to remember from this lesson is the fact that in President Uchtdorf's CES devotional about truth, he said that we are the future of the Church. While that is such an awesome thing to comprehend, as we will all grow up to do something awesome with our lives if we make good choices, it is also slightly intimidating. There are times in everyone's life when it is hard enough being a good child of God sometimes, as we often struggle to remember our divine identity, and we forget that the Atonement is not just for sins, but also for sorrows. President Uchtdorf's talk reminds me that the Atonement can not remove the burden we feel from messing up, it can also remind us of the divine worth we have to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Post Lesson 7 Work

The Application Activity was to choose a topic from previous lessons, find an article on desnews.com that is about the topic, summarize it, and then answer questions concerning the article.

I chose the topic of lifelong learning because the right and responsibility that one has to keep learning is a wonderful freedom that should not be ignored or taken for granted. Not everyone has even the right to learn as much as they may want simply because of their gender, cultural beliefs, or religious dictations. Those who do enjoy ample freedoms, like the freedom to learn as they will should cherish the right they have to do so and take the responsibility of doing so seriously. The beauty of lifelong learning is that it does not have to be done solely through secular learning, it can be done through whatever method one chooses and feels comfortable pursuing. To deny yourself the opportunity of lifelong learning when the right is there is to deny yourself an opportunity at godliness, as God will take care of those who want to pursue lifelong learning and cannot, but those who can pursue it should lest they deny themselves blessings. If we have the right to learn, we have the responsibility to exercise that sacred right.

The article I chose from desnews.com is called 'Spiritual Nourishment: Quest For Lifelong Learning that was written by Betty Knorr. Knorr begins by explaining how her persistence in lifelong learning has led to great temporal and spiritual blessings for both herself and her family. Knorr then goes on explain why lifelong learning is important by emphasizing that if we refuse to stop learning, we stagnate ourselves and when we stagnate our own progression long enough, we end up regressing spiritually.

 Knorr referenced Alma 32: 37-42 and said that nourish is emphasized in the verse, meaning that it is a very important word and said that we need to apply it to ourselves, as we have all been planted on this Earth by the Lord and though He gives us what we need to stay spiritually healthy and strong, it is up to us to actually apply the nourishment so that we do not end up on the path to spiritual starvation and death, which would happen if we chose to ignore our spiritual needs. Knorr provides several helpful ways to nourish ourselves that include prayer, scriptures, and accessing resources that can provide insight into things about the gospel that we might not necessarily understand. Knorr then briefly touches on a personal experience that led her to begin her own personal journey of lifelong learning, emphasizing that it was the kindness of a neighbor child to her family that was the instigator of this quest. Throughout the remainder of the article, Knorr explains the many blessings that have come to both herself and her family from not only consistent spiritual nourishment, but also the experiences that have come as a result of the care she has put into maintaining consistency with the process. Knorr also explained that she developed a deeper love for herself, her family, and for others outside of her family circle because of the spiritual fortification that  comes from serving others according to what the Lord asks her to do by way of Church and personal callings. Knorr concludes her article by emphasizing the importance of consistent study of gospel resources and how it helps us to endure each day as it comes.Here is the link to the article: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/459938/SPIRITUAL-NOURISHMENT-QUEST-FOR-LIFELONG-LEARNING.html?pg=all

I agree with the concepts presented in this article because this is showing one who is first seeking knowledge and then choosing to experiment upon the knowledge to see if there is truth to be found. The author clearly explains that by investing time in resources that provide spiritual fortification such as the scriptures and other spiritually wholesome sources, her spirituality and love for others increased. I am further impressed and agreeable with the fact that after the author came to the knowledge and appreciation of the truths found through her experiment of faith, she took what she learned and used it to benefit the lives of her family and others in her circle of influence. I largely agree with the concept of taking what you learn from spiritual studies and using it to benefit others whether it be your family or others who you may have an influence upon. For your good example may fortify others in such a way that they will want to not only start a quest of lifelong learning, but also teach others how to go about it.

 The author of 'Spiritual Nourishment: Quest For Lifelong Learning' is Betty Knorr and, according to her article, she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1977. After a long search through Google and also through the Deseret News database, I came across an obituary for a Betty Lou Knorr that listed her death date as being June 6, 2015. After seeing that her husband, Bill, was mentioned in the article along with the fact that she joined the Church in 1977, I compared the findings in the article to the obituary and it could possibly be her, but it may not be.

 In terms of experience, I believe that while the author may not have degrees about the subject matter, she has experimented upon what she has learned and shared the benefits of doing so with others. It says in the scriptures to experiment upon the words of the Lord to see whether or not they are true and through consistent efforts and a sense of open-mindedness, the author has experimented upon the word and found her result to be positive because she was willing to go into the experiment with a teachable heart.

 The article was published on desnews.com on May 13, 1995.

I don't think that the article would be reliable enough to use in a college-level paper, but it would be eligible for use in articles that are not being used for academic purposes, such as magazine articles. A college-level research paper generally requires the use of information that has been written by people who have experience on a specific subject and/or have utilized information that comes from a credible source. The article does discuss how acts of kindness can lead to personal journeys of conversion and also discusses how testing counsel found in scriptures can lead to possible personal blessings, but that would not necessarily be understood or accepted by those of a more scholarly nature who can find very little, if any use for religious information.

 

Most college-level research papers require information from peer-reviewed articles that have empirical evidence in them and can be legitimately used as empirical evidence to defend any points that may be made in a college-level paper. In the eyes of some academics, such as in the Church educational institutions and those who are friendly with the Church, the scriptures and other gospel resources would be considered empirical evidence because God and Jesus Christ are considered reliable sources as all information contained within gospel resources come from them through faithful and worthy members of the Church.

 

In the eyes of more secular educators, scientific associations, and other religions who do not support the Church or the teachings within, the gospel is not seen as empirical evidence simply because in their eyes, the gospel was written by fallible men who had quite the imagination. It is rather unfortunate that some fail to see the beauty of the gospel and the lovely truths within simply because all of those things were produced by a source that was assisted by a God that not everyone believes in.

 

However, it has been a long time since the standards of God and men were in conjunction with one another and as those standards continue to divert from one another, more and more people will allow themselves to be deceived by fellow mortals and by Satan into thinking that gospel truths are unreliable. As people fall prey to those deceptions, they will discount the gospel of Jesus Christ as reliable truth and put more trust in empirical evidence and that which their fellow men tells them to be true rather than what their heart may tell them.

Knorr referenced Alma 32: 37-42 and said that nourish is emphasized in the verse, meaning that it is a very important word and said that we need to apply it to ourselves, as we have all been planted on this Earth by the Lord and though He gives us what we need to stay spiritually healthy and strong, it is up to us to actually apply the nourishment so that we do not end up on the path to spiritual starvation and death, which would happen if we chose to ignore our spiritual needs. Knorr provides several helpful ways to nourish ourselves that include prayer, scriptures, and accessing resources that can provide insight into things about the gospel that we might not necessarily understand. Knorr then briefly touches on a personal experience that led her to begin her own personal journey of lifelong learning, emphasizing that it was the kindness of a neighbor child to her family that was the instigator of this quest.

Throughout the remainder of the article, Knorr explains the many blessings that have come to both herself and her family from not only consistent spiritual nourishment, but also the experiences that have come as a result of the care she has put into maintaining consistency with the process. Knorr also explained that she developed a deeper love for herself, her family, and for others outside of her family circle because of the spiritual fortification that  comes from serving others according to what the Lord asks her to do by way of Church and personal callings. Knorr concludes her article by emphasizing the importance of consistent study of gospel resources and how it helps us to endure each day as it comes.

I agree with the concepts presented in this article because this is showing one who is first seeking knowledge and then choosing to experiment upon the knowledge to see if there is truth to be found. The author clearly explains that by investing time in resources that provide spiritual fortification such as the scriptures and other spiritually wholesome sources, her spirituality and love for others increased. I am further impressed and agreeable with the fact that after the author came to the knowledge and appreciation of the truths found through her experiment of faith, she took what she learned and used it to benefit the lives of her family and others in her circle of influence. I largely agree with the concept of taking what you learn from spiritual studies and using it to benefit others whether it be your family or others who you may have an influence upon. For your good example may fortify others in such a way that they will want to not only start a quest of lifelong learning, but also teach others how to go about it.

 The author of 'Spiritual Nourishment: Quest For Lifelong Learning' is Betty Knorr and, according to her article, she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1977.

In terms of experience, I believe that while the author may not have degrees about the subject, she has experimented upon what she has learned and shared the benefits of doing so with others. It says in the scriptures to experiment upon the words of the Lord to see whether or not they are true and through consistent efforts and a sense of open-mindedness, the author has experimented upon the word and found her result to be positive because she was willing to go into the experiment with a teachable heart.


 Discussion Board replies:

In terms of finding information on the internet, you can find articles based on a person's experience with information that has already been published and verified as a reliable source, but you have to make sure that the person's experience is not biased either way; if the person has summarized their experience without using any bias and has legitimate sources to back their words up, that information can be considered credible. If a person records an experience in a biased manner, however, and either fabricates or omits facts to make their review seem credible, I would avoid that kind of an article, as it only presents opinions and NOT facts.

Opinions based on experiences shouldn't be considered credible unless there are legitimate sources to back the opinions up. If people can find legitimate sources that would verify the reality of any personal experiences they might have, they might be worth listening to, but in terms of believing it to be true, that part is up to you and you alone.

When it came to the First Vision, Joseph Smith had a personal experience and had the source of the scriptures, specifically James 1:5, to back him up because He asked of God and received an answer. Because he had experimented on what a legitimate source challenged him to do, we now have the fullness of the gospel available for us in this dispensation. He heard opinions of others throughout the process, but the opinions of men without reliable sources to back them up can only take one so far in a search for truth. God provided scriptures to man and a search for truth can be done by experimenting on what the scriptures invite us to do.

 In order to be able to retain what you learn, one must first be willing to accept what has been taught and find a way that it can apply to daily life. If one accepts what has been taught as truth, the best way to remember the truth is to look at your own life and see how experimenting on what you have learned could possibly improve upon the life you currently have. Generally, people live as well as they can and do good where they see that it is needed, but one can always improve upon their way of life or the way that they conduct themselves simply by learning and exploring the truths that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer. God and Jesus Christ have provided opportunity and resources that we may become better if we are willing to not only learn how to do so, but actually go forth and do so. By applying our knowledge to our agency, we learn to act in faith and by acting in faith, we remember why we are doing so and how simple, sweet truths can make us better individuals.

Lesson 7 Pathway Gathering - Was A Lead Student

I was one of two lead students this evening.

I taught Lesson 7 this week and I began with the following quote from President Eyring that came from the talk 'Learning How to Learn', "What you have learned to date won’t be sufficient for the future. Your hope and mine is that you have learned how to learn. That gift will turn out to be priceless ... you only really learn a principle by using it over and over again.” and I said that President Eyring's words referred to the concept of lifelong learning that was taught for Lesson 3. I then said that a big part of learning is how to gather useful information and also explained that there are many sources of information, but all sources have a different degree of reliability and usefulness in our quest for knowledge.

From there, I explained that information helps us know who we are and what we can do using  the example that the Savior knew who He was and because of that clarity, He was able to have a focused and purposeful life. I said that by recognizing our strengths and identities, we could build upon them and make better choices that will help us to become better people. After reading a quote from President Uchtdorf about how we don't have to blindly accept everything we hear, I then said that we need to make sure any information we seek needs to be from a credible source and that the Spirit can help us to discern credible from not credible knowledge.

After saying that information literacy means how to locate, evaluate, and determine the reliability of academic sources, I then briefly touched upon President Uchtdorf's talk on truth and said that all can know the truth that is the gospel of Jesus Christ and to use to help us deal with information that may contradict with what we know to be true. I also touched upon the methods that one can use to search and possibly find information that they may need.

I then briefly touched upon on the things that one would look at when evaluating information to see whether or not it is reliable. I also talked about the types of sources that should be used in a search for information and what types of sources should be avoided. 

Once we have a solid basis of knowledge on something that is gathered from a credible source, we need to share what we know so we may retain it and possibly learn other things that we may not have known before. The process of sharing is called teaching. There are those who seek the knowledge, but have difficulties gathering and/or successfully retaining the information. Teaching another how to not only the knowledge can be accessed, but also how to successfully retain it is called tutoring. Being able to teach/tutor is a gift from God.

In explaining gifts from God, I touched upon Doctrine and Covenants 46:10-12, which reads, "And again, verily I say unto you, I would that ye should always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that are given unto the church. For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby."

After briefly touching upon tutoring and how to access academic resources and supports, I concluded my teaching by stating that it is not enough to watch others, we need to learn and do productive things with our lives in order to learn. I said that the Savior invites us to follow Him and how can we do that if we are just sitting there watching and doing absolutely nothing? The Savior died so that we could allow ourselves to leave our sins behind and be better than an unlearned, fallen people. I added that the Spirit of God helps us to be an instrument in God's hands not only to help ourselves, but to also help others, but we need to be living a life that makes us worthy to have the Spirit so it CAN help us do well.

Lesson 7 Preparation

Not everyone has faith, but the Lord doesn't hold that against anyone. He instead invites people to see out the information that may help them to develop their faith, as it says in D&C 118:88, "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”  See, our learning may help us gain the faith we lack.

I then turned my attention to a CES Devotional called "What Is Truth?" that was written by President Uchtdorf and it starts off by saying that we are the future of the Church, which is both awesome and slightly intimidating, as it is hard enough being a good child of God sometimes and we'd fail at that if it weren't for the Atonement. You see, we learn about the truth of the Atonement when we mess up in life and need to utilize it in order to get back on the straight and narrow path, as it helps remove the burden we feel from messing up and when that burden is off our shoulders by our choice, we feel a sense of liberty.

Truth can mean different things to different people depending on the information that they access, but all people can access information that they may know the truth for themselves.

We need to be careful, however, not to seek truth from shaky sources, as if a source is not solid, the information is fallible and will not be useful to us. If we use our capabilities and spend both effort and time seeking the right sources so we can have the knowledge of solid truths in our possession, we shall be rewarded by being able to find what we seek..

Truth is and can be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is solid and eternal; it is a truth that never ends and is available to everyone who seeks it, both here and in the hereafter.

The Spirit of the Lord can help us discern what is truth and what is error if we are willing to make ourselves worthy to possess the Spirit and be willing to listen to it.

I then turned my attention to a reading called 'Effective Search Strategies," and it talked about how to search for information in ways that would be effective.

• Form a complete thought in the form of either a question or a statement. This question should completely describe what information is being searched for.

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• Pick two or three main concepts from the information you are using and use Boolean search terms such as AND and/or OR to connect them for internet search purposes.

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• Truncation, which include all possible endings of a word in your search.  An example would be the word “library.” If you wanted to have the database search for “library” and “libraries” without typing in both words, you could use truncation to accomplish that goal. To use truncation, enter the root or base of a word into the search box and enter and asterisk directly following the root. So for this example we would type L-I-B-R-A-R-* (librar*) and the search would return results that included library, libraries, librarian, and librarians.

 A reading on scholarly resources was next on the list and the scholarly resources available. The first resource available is looking at the authors and their backgrounds to understand how they are qualified to write on the topic that they have chosen to discuss in their publication. Secondly, we should and can look at the target audience, as different pieces of information have different target audiences, as not everyone learns at the same level or speed. We should also look to see if any sources are cited in the information we look at to see whether or not there is any information to back our research up, as legitimate sources increase the credibility of information. 

When seeking information, what types of sources should be avoided and why?

• Reviews.
• Article summaries.

What sources SHOULD be used when seeking information?

• Peer-reviewed articles.
• Journal articles.

I then explored the Academic Support Centers information that BYU-Idaho has available.  

My attention then went to the Study Skills section.

After taking some time to explore the different sections pertaining to Study Skills, I took the quiz and scored 100% on the first try. 

I then made a post on the Discussion Board:

This experience of a diligent search for truth does not pertain to anything academic, but is more of a personal experience. My father, before he became very ill from cancer and passed away, was an alcoholic for many years and abusive behavior would accompany his drinking. For many years, I was unsure as to whether or not he truly loved me or if he was too trapped by alcohol to express that or show it. Though I came to know that my Heavenly Father loved me and would protect me, I yearned for the love of my earthly father and expressed the desire for that very thing often.

I had served a mission for 12 months and also served in the temple after that, so my father was able to see how important spiritual things were through my diligent example and was even considering getting a patriarchal blessing at one point. I continually prayed to the Lord that I might know if my father loved me and that I might be able to know it while he was still alive and endured as pleasantly as I could while waiting for an answer. Having the belief that investing time and love into my father would produce an answer to my question, I would continually include him in activities such as family prayer, family home evening, and I would also spend time doing chores for and with him to try and learn of him during times that he was his real self. I do not regret the time I was able to have with the real him.

As I learned to love my father how he was and accept that perhaps I would not get an answer to my search for the truth concerning my father's love in this life, life suddenly happened and time suddenly became very precious. My father had been sober for nine weeks as a result of going to rehab before he was diagnosed with cancer and during that time, I was able to see him for who he really was and that he loved me very much, as we were able to communicate that to each other through by spending time together. I had forgiven him of his actions previously, as I knew he was not his real self when he acted badly and I needed to forgive so that I could move on.

When my dad was diagnosed with cancer and it became clear that nothing could be done except to make the most of whatever time he had left, I had the knowledge that my father loved me and I knew that the best way I could repay that love was to be there for him as he approached death. Using the truth that my father loved me to get through the more painful parts of the whole experience, I was able to do much for him and my family. It was fortunate for me that I was able to know the truth of my father's love so that I was able to enjoy what little time we had before his journey ended.

Having just passed the one-year mark since my father's death, I can say with a surety that I know that not only does my Heavenly Father love me enough to have sent His Son to die for my sins and weaknesses so I could move past them, I also know that my earthly father loves me and can now progress like he couldn't do while in mortality. The love my father and I have for each other is a truth that cannot be taken away even though my father's life was cut short and I am grateful for the experiences I have had that can help me to know my father's love for me to be true.