My Life Motto

"Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart."

Gordon B. Hinckley

Mormonism and the Mind, Part 2: Resolving the Paradox

“The true intellectual is one whose intellect is sufficiently developed that he recognizes not only the great potential, but also the limitations of his intellectual capacity.” These words, spoken by Rex E. Lee to law students at BYU, continually have a significant impact on my approach to learning.

In a chapter titled “Two Cheers for Excellence” in The Broken Heart, Bruce C. Hafen deals with the seeming preclusions of seeking after excellence and striving to be a devoted (and non-competitive) disciple of Jesus Christ. In it he mentions that many would rather be a leader in Hell than a door-keeper in Heaven. I want to be a good student, an excellent student really. However, it is difficult for me to view the possibilities of what I can do without becoming conceited.

I can identify two main symptoms of intellectual pride. The first is an inability to relate to those who are “normal” because of the belief that one is more intelligent and therefore better than others. This can be seen when people intentionally discuss esoteric intellectual topics around those they know will not understand their conversation. The second is closely related. It can happen even with those who are not trying to portray an elite class and consists of excessive trust in oneself. Those who exhibit this symptom seldom believe they are wrong or that they need to change. Both of these symptoms are felt to varying degrees internally and externally by those who have them.

It pains me that I experience both of these symptoms (as I perceive, mostly internally). My parents have tried to help me to be humble since I was young, but the accolades of the world often overshadow any sense I have of meekness. One daunting fear still looms in my life, the fear that I will “get rich…forget God and his people…and kick myself out of the Church.” Not because I in any way desire this, but because I have not truly overcome my pride and I am still not sure how to.

John Tanner advised some fellow scholarship recipients and me that it is better to be good than to be great. He developed the thought further by saying that it is better to be a good person than to pile up distinctions and worldly accomplishments.

So I work everyday to overcome myself. I want to be great, but I also want to be good for something. Though I’m not sure how, I know that as I desire to have my heart changed, study the life and teachings of Christ and commit myself to serving those who have nothing to give me, the change will come.

Andrea's Dating Policy

I have a dating policy

It's called What you see is what you get

None of this fakey mumbo-jumbo

Harder in the short run

Better in the long run

What Every Relief Society President Should Know

In honor of the General Relief Society Meeting tonight, I thought I would share some of the things that I learned from serving in the Relief Society last summer. I created this list to pass on to the next president who happened to by my roommate Lynne! This calling allowed me to grow in ways I never thought possible and continues to bless my life now. Many of the principles in this list apply to all aspects of list. Pictures of sisters from our Relief Society this summer are scattered throughout.

Advice (hopefully good advice) for serving as Relief Society President

August 10, 2008

Focus on Jesus Christ.

Read the Relief Society Handbook.

Follow the bishop.

Prepare for Welfare meetings by reviewing the sisters in your Relief Society and their needs.

Focus on individuals, in your personal ministry and in discussions in presidency meetings.

Sister Beck said in the last General Relief Society Broadcast to focus on relief and sociality will happen in your

Relief Society, it does not necessarily work the other way around. I found this to be good advice.

Enrichment is so important and is one of the ways that you can meet the needs of the sisters in your Relief Society. Invite the enrichment leader to presidency meetings occasionally so she can counsel with you on the needs that can be met through enrichment.

Come up with a theme or guiding principle with your presidency. This will help you to grow together and will help the sisters to remember the important principles you will try to emphasize. It will also help your Relief Society to be unified.

**At the beginning of the semester, have presidency visits. This is a good way to introduce yourself to the sisters in your Relief Society and to get to know them.

**Call the sisters before they move in and introduce yourself and offer to help them with moving in or rides from the airport if they need it.

Learn what you can about Relief Society and its purpose and history. Your Relief Society is but one branch of a much larger society with a unique and rich history. Understanding the broader mission, purpose, history and direction of Relief Society will help you to serve within it.

We sang a song in sacrament together as a Relief Society and I thought it was a good unifying activity and also let sisters that would not usually participate in something like that to try something new. We practiced the hymn during our music moment each week.

Try to prepare the agendas for Relief Society (prayers, songs, etc.) before you arrive at Relief Society. This allows you to be more calm and reverent at the beginning of the meeting.

I would have fewer announcements at the beginning of Relief Society and I would ask my counselors and secretary to arrive early to Relief Society so you can start on time. With fewer announcements there is more time for the lesson which is the most important part of Relief Society meetings (in my opinion).

Be friends and grow close as a presidency. Look out for each other. As a president, lean on your counselors and the other presidents for support. Try not to let yourself or your counselors get burnt out. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Use your home and visiting teachers.

I would have liked to work with the Elders Quorum more to meet the needs of the sisters. Make sure you let the Elders Quorum President know about any sisters that may need especially faithful home teachers.

**Encourage your counselors to try to interview every sister each month. This will help you all to be more in tune with the needs of the sisters and will remind them of their assignment to visit teach.

Visiting teaching is the foundation of Relief Society. I would have liked to have used my visiting teachers more to meet the needs of sisters.

Have agendas for all presidency meetings. I liked the pattern of going through and allowing each member of the presidency to present her business. Encourage everyone to come to the meeting prepared to report and share something at the meeting.

INTERVIEWS

• Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions in the interviews, sometimes the only way a sister will tell you about something that is troubling her and needs to be resolved is if you directly ask her.
• The new sisters especially probably will not open up to you on the first visit, but they still have needs that you can meet. Keep working to get to know them better. You will find as time progresses that they will be more open with you when they sense your genuine love for them, but it takes time to develop.
• You may want to ask the sisters to share their testimony or a favorite scripture with you. This is a good way to get to know them better and for you to get a feel for their personality and how you can help them.
• Interviews are a chance for you to assess the spiritual and temporal needs of the sisters in your Relief Society. Part of the responsibility of the president is to help meet the physical needs of the sisters in your Relief Society, through the Church welfare system if necessary. Let every sister know that you are there to help them if they need help
• **Try to interview all of the sisters in the first month. This will help you for the rest of the semester because you will be able to know each sister individually and personally. You can also assess the needs of sisters and know who you need to interview more often.

**Pray for each sister individually every day. This will help you to feel a connection with your sisters and will encourage you to get to know every sister individually so you know what to pray for. It may be difficult at first, but as the semester progresses and you get to know each sister better; you will know what to pray for. This will also help God to work through you by prompting you on how you can best meet the needs of sisters that you otherwise may not have been aware of.

**The stake encourages us to spend thirty minutes a day on our calling. This might involve just stopping by to say hi, preparing for a lesson, praying for each sister or rearranging visiting teaching. Your obedience to this counsel from the stake will greatly bless the sister in your Relief Society.

What you do in the time when you are not officially acting in your calling can really help set the tone for your Relief Society. Just stopping by to say hello for no official reason or stopping to talk with sisters will help them open up to you.

SECRETARY

• Use your secretary! Secretaries are one of the greatest assets in your presidency. Make sure that the person you call is very responsible and dependable and has a love for the sisters.
• The secretary can do more than just the monthly report. She can help you set-up interviews, prepare agendas for presidency meetings, report in presidency meetings on patterns she is noticing in visiting teaching and in Relief Society attendance, and do other things as needed.

Find joy and satisfaction in service. You are called of God and are qualified to the work. Heavenly Father loves his daughters and despite any weaknesses you may feel that you have, he can and will meet their needs through you. You will do a wonderful job and grow in ways you never thought possible. Work hard and give your all so you can look back on this as one of the most fulfilling and joyful experiences of your life. You will be great!

**Advice specifically applies to serving in a Student Ward or in the BYU 15^th Stake

Gone

On Saturday I boarded an airplane heading away from D.C. I've started on a journey that somehow I still do not know where it will take me.

N-Y-C!

Let me preface this post by warning everyone that I LOVED New York so be prepared for some enthusiasm!

We left for New York on May 22, the Friday before Memorial Day. Our bus driver was named Tony and at the beginning of our journey, he sang to us over the intercom. Only $40 and I got a ride to New York and a free concert! Of course, we had to take a picture with Tony after we arrived.

Here was my first exposure to a New York bathroom. Notice the open bottle of alcohol in the bathroom stall. Nice.

We went straight from the bus drop off to Times Square. It is quite an overwhelming experience and a bit of a tourist trap, but I loved it!



This is me eating my first hot dog from a vendor in New York.



After Times Square we made the trek up to our hostel in Upper Manhattan. It was a clean hostel, but the building it was in was old. This is all of us trying to pack into the tiny old elevator.

Here is our room. Three bunk beds in New York for about $28 a night.

This is Juliana and me on Saturday morning riding the subway.

Saturday morning we took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There was a beautiful view of Manhattan from the ferry.

I really enjoyed Ellis Island and learning about the tradition of immigration that we have in the United States.



From Ellis Island, we headed over to China Town. Michelle had told us before we got to New York that she wanted to buy a purse in China Town. So after we got off of the subway and a shady looking man asked us to follow him to his purse shop, we did it. Looking back on it, it seems like what we were doing was probably illegal, but somehow at the time I was just content to follow everyone else around.

We also had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in China Town.


Little Italy is right next to China Town.


Alicia waited in line for hours on Saturday morning while we went to the Statue of Liberty to get us discounted tickets to The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.

Here is us in the theater.


For dinner on Saturday we went to his famous pizza place in Brooklyn called Grimaldi's. It is so famous that we had to wait in line for hours to get inside.

Mmmm...

We planned it so that we would walk across the Brooklyn bridge toward Manhattan as the sun set. Beautiful!
On our way to our next destination, we made a stop at Grand Central Station.


It has a cool ceiling.

For dessert we went to this cute little cafe called Serendipity. They have the most delicious and expensive desserts there.




On our way to church on Sunday morning, we walked to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It is said to be the fourth largest Christian church in the world.





After our visit to the cathedral, we walked through Central Park. I looked up as we were walking and saw the Angel Moroni sticking up through the trees!

While waiting for church to start, we sat out on the rocks.


And took pictures on the bridge that reminded us of the movie Enchanted.

The Manhattan temple!


After church we went back to central park to eat lunch.


And took the subway down to the World Trade Center. This is Harry. He has the most amazing story and was so interesting to listen to. Here is a video of him on YouTube.


Near the World Trade Centers is Trinity church. National Treasure, anyone?

And near Trinity Church is Wall Street. Here is the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange).


We woke up early on Monday morning. I went to Columbia University while the other girls went to a famous bagel shop. We met up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I LOVED it! Inside I saw paintings by Monet, Degal, Degas, Picasso, Manet, and VanGogh.


There were even annunciation paintings. This was the size of the whole wall!


This is the perfect picture to describe the weekend. Juliana and me looking at the map.


After the museum we made a stop by FAO Schwartz and were able to play on the BIG Piano.


And as we were walking to the UN, we took a picture by the LOVE statue.


Sadly, North Korea set off some missiles so the UN was closed for the day. World Peace!



Then we headed over to the Rockefeller Center. You can see all of NYC from up there.






After the Rockefeller, we swung back by our hostel to pick up our bags and headed to the bus station. It was such a fun vacation and we were able to do so much. I highly recommend New York! Here is us by the hostel.