DC: Day 2

We woke up early in the morning to get our grocery shopping done. The weather was perfect and Safeway was only a ten minute walk south down 25^th, a street lined with beautiful restored row houses and tulip gardens.

After lunch, we took a walk around George Washington University’s (GWU) campus. It reminds me of the University of Minnesota where the city blends together with the university. I will have to go back and look at their law school because shortly after we got there, we had to meet some of the men in the program at the Metro station to go to Costco.

After being slightly embarrassed because I didn’t swipe my Metro card right and had to have the station attendant help me, I finally had my first Metro ride. It was very crowded but also really convenient and took us right to Costco. After our shopping spree, we packed up all the food in the suitcases we brought (thanks, Ryan!) and got back on the Metro. We received some interesting looks by walking around the streets of downtown DC with suitcases of food, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Most of the other interns arrived later in the afternoon and evening. They were all hungry and went out to eat, but some of us had food and just ate in the Center. After dinner we went on a walk to the White House. Right after we arrived, it started to rain so we weren't able to spend much time there. It's not too bad of a walk and we'll probably visit again next week. The thunderstorm was beautiful and I realized how much I missed those powerful Midwest thunderstorms.

Back at the Center we watched the Jazz game. I stayed until half-time, but it was sad to see the Jazz losing and it was getting late so I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Rebecca and Sisi asked me to come over to look at something in their room and we ended up sitting around talking. We heard load shouts and sirens outside so we hurried to get dressed and ran downstairs. When we got there, Matt and Ryan told us that there had been a big protest outside but it had already passed. Next time we'll have to do a better job of planning ahead for protests to watch :)

This us is in the morning at the Watergate Complex where Safeway is. (L-R) Me, Juliana, Rebecca, Sisi.

Our first time on the Metro!

Packing the suitcases full of groceries. (L-R) Ryan, Matt.

(L-R) Juliana, Ryan, Matt, Jon

Waiting for the Metro with our food. (L-R) Jon, Cameron, Matt, Ryan, Juliana, Me, Rebecca, Sisi.

At the White House! You can tell it was raining. The other day we were walking around Georgetown and saw some Obama PJs. Maybe I'll buy them and take a picture in front of the White House in them ;)

Ms. Andrea Goes to Washington

WARNING: Travelogue ahead

The day started early. 5:00 a.m. to be exact. Two hours after I had gone to bed. Katlyn called (she had been up all night cleaning) and came over to help me with my last little bit of work. Nicole also woke up and helped me finish cleaning my room before I left. I have the best friends ever. The apartment was still a mess when I left and I felt terrible, but I had to catch my flight.

Ryan came over a little after six and we headed up to the airport. He was full of great D.C. advice and I think he might just be my favorite person to ride places with. Especially when the seated heats are on.

Don’t ask me what I was thinking (I’m usually very good at saying no), but this morning the Sky Cap attendant asked me if I wanted their help and I said… yes? Shucks. There goes $10 that Ryan had to loan me. Then, somewhere between security and boarding the flight I managed to lose my driver’s license. I still haven’t found it. Lesson learned: I don’t function well on two hours.

While my flight to Denver was pre-boarding, I saw Cameron from Washington Seminar sitting near the terminal so I went over to talk with him. He was taking a direct flight (lucky) to Dulles (lucky). We planned to get a group together to see the city later that night.

I have never flown Southwest and I found they have their pluses and minuses. Pluses: inexpensive, two free checked bags, and yummy treats! Minuses: being herded like cattle onto the airplane and not being able to choose my seat beforehand. Lesson learned: beggars can’t be choosers.

On the flight to Denver, I sat next to a very nice and quite man. He was older, but such a gentleman. And he gave me his NY Times when he was finished with it. Instant friendship. I thought I would cry or feel some strong emotion when I left Utah, but I was way too tired and stayed in a half-sleeping, half-thinking state for the whole 45 minutes.

While being herded onto the flight to Baltimore, I met a nice couple from California going on an East Coast vacation to New York, Philadelphia, and D.C. All Utahans, listen up. When they asked me where I was from, I immediately said, “Utah.” Oops. Sorry, Minnesota. What’s happening to me? They also asked me about my internship and told me that we need more people like me to save the world. Awww. Not everyone gets an internship with built-in warm fuzzies.

The first thing I noticed when I looked out the window over Maryland was trees! I missed them. After I collected my bags, I played solitaire on my laptop while I waited for Sisi and Rebecca’s flight to land. Lesson learned: you win some you lose some (or most, if you’re me).

Rebecca and Sisi are roommates. I know Rebecca from our Freshman year and we met Sisi in the prep class. Rebecca’s parents met working as spies in DC (true story) and Sisi grew up in Hong Kong but now her family lives in Shanghai. Our shuttle driver was born in Hong Kong so Sisi was able to speak with him in Cantonese. After a long drive through DC traffic, we finally arrived at the Barlow Center at about seven.

Only about seven interns arrived on Friday so we went out to dinner as a group at the little restaurant next door. After dinner, we took a walk through Georgetown. What a busy place! I have never seen so many people out doing things so late at night. You can look at the video I will embed below for a better idea of what it is like. The buildings in Georgetown are so quaint and there are cobblestone sidewalks. We’ll definitely be back!

This is (L-R) Rebecca, Sisi, and me relaxing in the shuttle.

At the restaurant next door. This picture is so funny because it was taken with my camera and I am the only one completely cut-off. Haha. (L-R) Matt, Sisi, Rebecca, Matt, Juliana, Cameron, Ryan, and me.

A typical Barlow Center room. Alicia, my roommate, doesn't arrive until Sunday.

Here are the closets and the bathroom entrance.

This is our group walking down the streets of Georgetown.

Truths About Preparation

I was looking through my things while packing today and came across a handout that I prepared for my Relief Society last summer. Let me know what you think.

The Atonement is central to preparation. We can only fully prepare with the grace and Atonement of Jesus Christ (“Whatever path you follow, please establish for yourself a must-be-accomplished goal to acquire a better understanding of the Atonement while you are a student at Brigham Young University. This may seem to be a significantly added burden that you cannot realize because of the press of all else you are required to do while enrolled here. However, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ—and I do not use those words lightly—I testify that your understanding of the Atonement and the insight it provides for your life will greatly enhance your productive use of all of the knowledge, experience, and skills you acquire at this university.” Richard G. Scott, “To Establish a Secure Foundation for Life,” BYU Devotional, 16 Mar 2008.)

The greatest blessings of this life will not and cannot be realized unless we prepare for them (eternal life, eternal marriage, personal mission, etc.)

Preparedness is a Godly attribute (1 Nephi 3:7; 22:20; Ether 12:11)

Preparedness is a commandment (1 D&C 1:12)

Preparedness is essential to the purpose of our life on earth (Alma 12:24)

For preparedness to be effective, it must be constant (Referring to spiritual preparedness: “However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly.” Henry B, Eyring, “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady,” Ensign, Nov 2005.)

Trials are essential to our preparation and preparation is essential to facing trials (President Harold B. Lee realized that the Lord had used trials to prepare him for his calling as prophet; “I wish to state here and now that wishing will not replace thorough preparation to meet the trials of life.” Thomas S. Monson, “Treasure of Eternal Value,” Ensign, Apr 2008.)

Faith gives us the desire to prepare, and as we prepare, we strengthen our faith (“Preparation begins with faith, which enables us to weather vicissitudes as they come.” Keith B. McMullin, “Be Prepared…Be Ye Strong from Henceforth,” Ensign, Nov 2005; “Strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bible Dictionary)

To fulfill our life mission, we must prepare (Esther 4:14)

There is a proper sequence to preparation (For example, the Aaronic priesthood is the preparatory priesthood, or we take upon us the covenant of baptism before we make temple covenants)

Preparedness, just like perfect love, casts out fear (D&C 38:30)

Preparation will involve sacrifice, commitment and diligence (“As we devote ourselves to the Lord’s work, we must be involved in the hard work we call preparation.” Dallin H. Oaks, “Teaching and Learning by the Spirit,” Ensign, Mar 1997.)

Preparation is often personal and individual (“The earth was created for you, that you might come to dwell here and prepare yourself…” N. Eldon Tanner, “Administration of the Restored Church,” Liahona, Sep 1978, emphasis added.)

Preparation takes time

Book Review: Go Forward with Faith

Go Forward with Faith is the biography of Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1995 to 2008, written by Sheri L. Dew. I listened to the book on CD twice and recently bought the book and am reading it. It's long (560 pages), but worth it. A friend brought the book up the other day and I thought I'd share my review with those who haven't read it to encourage you to read it!

Favorite Parts:

• When being interviewed for the book, President Hinckley was very open about mistakes he had made and the lessons he learned from them. There are many stories of his parents helping him learn from mistakes to become a great man.
• Gordon and Marjorie's story is amazing. I love hearing how much respect they had for each other. I especially have learned a lot with how patient they were with each other.
• I gain hope from seeing how far President Hinckley has come. It is interesting to see how his relationship with his work and other experiences mold his character and personality. He is a man that I deeply respect and admire.
• I love hearing about President Hinckley's family. One story in the book tells of one of their children coming home saying their friend had been grounded. When the child explained what a grounding was, Marjorie responded something like, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"
• A section of the book talks about President Hinckley's college experience at the University of Utah. It discusses how he faced questions in the Church that he was able to work through by studying and by talking with his father. I remember hearing this when I was young and remembering it. It has given me great strength as I have progressed as a member of the Church.

Who this book is for: This book is for anyone who is looking for successful life principles to implement. It is inspiring to learn how a simple boy was prepared and guided to serve in ways he never could have planned. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will probably especially appreciate learning about a man that was its president for almost 13 years.

Excerpts:

"Finally the day of their wedding approached. But Gordon in particular was anxious about the economic realities of marriage. One the eve of their wedding he called Marjorie and asked her to meet him at Keeley's Cafe on Main Street. As they sat at the lunch counter he explained their problem: He had totaled up his assets, and they were less than $150. More alarming, he earned only $185 a month.

"Marjorie, whose basic philosophy was that things always worked out somehow, was not concerned. A hundred and fifty dollars sounded like a fortune to her, and she replied with characteristic optimism that she had hoped for a husband and now she found out she was getting $150 too. 'This will work out wonderfully,' she told him. 'If you've got $150, we're set' (p. 115-6)."

Go Forward With Faith is an excellent biography. One of President Hinckley’s favorite scriptures is D&C 112:10: “Be thou humble; and the Lord they God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” If you read this book, you will see this exemplified in his life and gain an increased admiration for Gordon Hinckley. Has anyone else read it? Thoughts?

Mormonism and the Mind, Part 1

A few weeks ago, on March 19, I had the opportunity to go up to Salt Lake City with my friends (old and new) Andrew, Thamina, and Michael and meet with some Princeton Students. These students were in town for their spring break on a Civic Engagement trip to learn more about Mormonism. During their time in Utah, they had visited Temple Square, LDS Humanitarian Aid, and met with Rocky Anderson, the Polygamy editor for the Salt Lake Tribune (who knew the Trib had a polygamy editor?!) and several LDS families in the area. At the end of the trip, they realized they hadn't talked with any Latter-day Saints their age and asked Andrew's dad (who they had dinner with a few night before) if Andrew could come up and talk with them about BYU and being a young Mormon.

A few weeks before, my former professor, Donlu Thayer (aka Sister Thayer), had sent us a link to this video (see the bottom of this blog post) of an LDS Harvard student answering questions about her faith. She answered so well - with respect, knowledge, and testimony. After wathcing the video I strongly desired to have a similar experience and missed the opportunities I had to share my beliefs while in high school. I got a call from Andrew Thursday morning and even though I had dinner plans, I felt like this was something I needed to go to.

It is amazing to look back at how Heavenly Father prepared me for this opportunity. The semester before, in my honors writing class, Sister Thayer spent hours telling us about the importance of learning to take our religion and its principles and make them meaningful and relevant to those not of our faith. We spent months writing, reading, and discussing issues of the time, particularly issues that could be considered controversial. I gained confidence in my positions and refined my ability to explain my beliefs in a respectful manner. We even had several "The World According to Thayer" lectures (her words, not mine) about dealing with hard issues as a member of the Church and maintaining strong testimonies.

This semester, I am in a Doctrine and Covenants class. We have learned so much about the temple, exaltation, truth, and the priesthood. Our tests in that class have been essay tests that have helped me to synthesize all the material and internalize and sort through the truths it contains. My Doctrine and Covenants class has also helped to strenthen my testimony.

I have found that when my testimony is strong, I am less defensive when sharing my religion with others. I don't feel like I have anything to defend, only to share, and I have the spirit with me (which is the opposite of contention). The questions of others no longer shake my beliefs and cause anxiety, they become natural human reactions to foreign beliefs. Others aren't bringing up concerning issues I haven't dealt with or heard of, but questions I have spent time thinking about and pondering with the Spirit.

These testimony building and intellectually enlarging experiences at BYU prepared me for this encounter and I have a feeling are preparing me for other experiences in the future. I love BYU! I believe in BYU! What a blessing it is to study here.

The students from Princeton were great. I have never met a group of such bright, curious, and respectful young adults, from such diverse backgrounds. Stay tuned for what we talked about!


Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

Prayer, Enemies, and Brotherhood

This post can also be found on the blog A Perfect Brightness of Hope as a response to one of my favorite professor's blogs:

Last November, after watching the terrorist attacks in India and verbal attacks against the LDS Church with Proposition 8, I started to wonder about Matthew 5:44, where Christ tells his disciples: “…Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” He goes on to say: “For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? (Matt 5:46)”

As I watched things unfold on the news, I constantly wondered: How do I love and pray for those who seem to disregard my humanity and things I hold sacred? Whether HBO producers or terrorists, to me, an enemy is not based on any specific act but is anyone who makes me feel threatened. Christ’s concept was clear, but my implementation was not.

I decided I would pray that these people would find peace and joy in their lives… that they would be truly happy and form lasting relationships where they could realize their divine worth and potential. People whose lives are focused on destruction are probably not consistently feeling godlike peace, joy, or happiness.

As I did this, I learned something that later I heard President Monson put into words:

“One man said, ‘I looked at my brother through the microscope of criticism, and I said, ‘How coarse my brother is.’ I looked at my brother through the telescope of scorn, and I said, ‘How small my brother is.’ Then I looked into the mirror of truth, and I said, ‘How like me my brother is.’’(Thomas S. Monson, Great Expectations, CES Fireside, 11 Jan. 2009)”

It might be said that President Monson was referring to other members of the Church or those with small flaws who are basically good, but surely not terrorists or anti-Mormons. If that is the case, then I wouldn’t say I’m qualified to draw a line for who falls under his words.

Prophets throughout history have taught about the natural man and warned of its effects if uncontrolled (Mosiah 3:19; Mosiah 16:3, 5; Alma 41:11; Romans 8:6; D&C 121:39). A Methodist pastor felt similarly when he wrote the lyrics, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love” in the hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. My testimony of Jesus Christ and membership bless me as they help me to continually refine my nature and to seal my heart to God.

Acts of violence and words of hatred still deplore me; however, I find myself growing as I come to terms with my own humanity and seek to follow the teachings of the Savior.

I’m curious to see how others deal with these issues. How do you apply Christ’s teachings in Matthew 5 to those who you’ve never met, but seem to hate you or groups to which you belong? What makes you different from your enemies?

It's all in the Trends, my friends

This is old news for most of you, but early last month I was hired at an intern with Child Trends in Washington, D.C. from April until August. Yay! Child Trends is the foremost research organization for children and families in the nation. They're nonprofit and nonpartisan (right up my alley) and they are the major source of data for Congress on children and families. Even better, my supervisor is one of the most well-respected researchers in the family sciences. Yay again!

So that means instead of bumming around Provo for the summer (which I have loved for the past two years - see picture on the left), I will be living in downtown D.C., working on research 32 hours a week, and traveling up and down the east coast on weekends (visiting fancy schmancy law schools and such). According to my supervisor and former interns, I will be involved all along the research process from literature reviews to survey creation to data collection and analysis. At times, I'll sit in on briefings at the Capitol and report back to the Child Trends staff on the development of legislation that affects children and families. I probably will even be able to complete my Honors Thesis.

This internship has worked together so perfectly, in a way I never could have planned. It reminds me of what President Ezra Taft Benson said:

"...Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose [her] life to God will find [she] has eternal life (Jesus Christ - Gifts and Expectations, Ensign, May 1975)."

As I have striven to follow his counsel, I have found amazing opportunities, unplanned and perfectly suited for my gifts and strengths, come my way. I'm not exactly sure what the future holds for me (I don't even know where I'll be in September), but I have the assurance that if I live correctly, it will be better than I ever could have planned.

The gospel gives me great perspective in my field of study. Not only do I, as a Latter-day Saint, have The Family: A Proclamation to the World to guide my interactions with my family and my study of families, I also have the scriptures and modern-day revelation. The Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that families can be forever (D&C 132:19-24). We know that our relationships with those we love will be similar, except we will enjoy even greater glory than we do now (D&C 130:2). The Lord also tells us that parents are to teach their children the gospel (D&C 68:25-28) and bring them up "in light and truth (D&C 93:40)." We are also given a pattern and accompanying blessings for how to interact with our family and others (D&C 121:41-16).

I recognize that most of the families I research and interact with will not share all of the same views on the family with me. But, I am blessed to know of the divine and eternal potential that all families have.