Life Introspection

Why are we so demanding of ourselves? Why do we succumb to others’ seemingly impossible demands? Have you ever felt like you’ll never get everything done? Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try it is never good enough? Have you ever said to yourself, “I can’t do that!”? Have you ever asked yourself how to become the best person you can? Do you ever have the feeling that no matter what you do, you’ll fall short?

For quite some time, questions like these had the potential to ruin my day. There must be an acceptable, healthy answer. Clearly, we need to perform the best way possible to us. However, undue amounts of stress and anxiety can cause all sorts of psychological, emotional, and health problems. How do we reconcile these needs?

Drawing purely on reason and experience, it is my intent to offer an overview of things that have worked for me. Growing up, perfectionism was a frequent part of my life, imposed by someone other than myself. The insatiable compulsion to perform at any level short of perfect still haunts me. This time, it is self-inflicted.

To get past this problem, there is one fact of reality which we must absolutely, unconditionally accept. Perfectionism is truly a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ironically, it is practically an oxymoron. Perfectionism virtually guarantees failure. Over time, we become conditioned to expect failure. This may be part of the anticipatory anxiety we feel when under heavy pressure to execute something with uncompromising perfection. If you take nothing else away from this article, take this: Perfectionism virtually guarantees failure, or at very least, disappointment.

Once that truly sinks into our perception of how the Universe works, it is possible to graduate to the next concept: Not everything we do will turn out exactly as we want or as someone else wants. In reality, most things will not turn out exactly as we would want them to. The hard part is that this must be ok with us. Do not misunderstand. Setting a high bar pushes us to excel. Setting it at the highest possible mark from the outset will virtually always end badly. It may not turn out perfectly, and that’s ok.

When those two concepts become part of the way we think, we can readjust our expectations. How do we know how high to aim?

Again, drawing on intuition and experience, a healthy approach is to start with an inventory. Ask yourself, “What resources do I have at my disposal to perform this task?” Obvious answers might include one or more or the following:

• My computer
• Google (for research, etc.)
• Paper and pen for taking notes
• The proper tools to get the job done
• The knowledge of how to do the project

Yes, those are fine answers. But we want to do our best, right? Let’s think outside the box a little. What about resources like these?

• The closest library
• Someone who has successfully done what you are trying to do
• Your own intuition and reasoning mind
• Taking personal ownership and responsibility for the project
• Anything you have ever done successfully that resembles any step of the project

You see that I mention your own intuition and reasoning mind. Use your head to come up with inventive, creative, and out-of-the-box solutions. Brainstorm solutions, and go crazy with it. Don’t discount any idea. When you’re done, make sure that a possibility will absolutely in no way work before you discard it.

Another enabling force is to take personal interest in the completion of the project. If you don’t know something about part of it, ask whoever does. If you don’t have a needed tool or needed materials, find someone who does. Step up, make it yours, and if appropriate, emotionally invest yourself to a degree in doing your best.

Other people often become a valuable resource for gaining knowledge quickly. Just don’t abuse that resource.

Do detailed research on the parts of the project that you do not fully grasp. Google and the library come into play here. Own the knowledge and understanding of your project.

Take things that you have done that are similar to parts of this project. Evaluate whether they can be adapted to become part of the solution.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Having sunscreen, nice cross-training shoes, some sunglasses, and a pair of shorts will make it much more enjoyable. But in the absence of any of those things, it is still possible. In the end, it comes down to this: Do the best you can now with what you have now.

Since becoming aware of the information contained in a post I wrote a while back regarding The Astonishing Power of Music, a personal goal is to seek out music that has the qualities that Mr. Michael Ballam describes in his series of lectures. Bach, Beethoven, Brams, Mozart, etc. The great composers of the Baroque and Classical periods. There’s one that has stuck out to me, which I cannot help but share.

It would be my pleasure to introduce Fantasie Impromptu Opus 66 by Frederic Chopin.

Of the Chopin that I have played, I am intrigued by his contrasts. Some extremely fast, some slow… some fortissimo, some pianissimo. But the music has a slightly uplifting and ennobling energy to it for me. It evokes some emotion, but it’s more an emotion of peace and tranquility. I just really like it, and wanted to share it with anyone who may benefit from it.

It’s not copyrighted. You can download it from here if you wish: Frederic Chopin – Fantasie Impromptu Opus 66 (your best bet will be the “right-click and ’save target as’” approach)

With the increasing pace of society, our minds must facilitate an ever-growing amount of data. This makes sense, as the more we aim to accomplish, the more bits of data we must remember about each thing. In other words, living as we do requires that our conscious minds be filled to the brim, active and working through choices and problems at every moment. Because of the fast pace, another demand we face is the ability to switch tasks at a moment’s notice. This is further aggravated by the use of television and other electronic devices which monopolize our senses.

It seems that our society is causing a kind of social attention deficit disorder. It never allows for peace and quiet. It is a solitary famine which does not cause you to push and grow.

When will I be able to watch the episode of 24 I have on my DVR? How can I ever get all this laundry done? When can I get that email answered? My facebook profile is out of date. My kids feel ignored, I should take them on a walk. The web server is down, I need to get it back up ASAP. I need to get some new shoes. I have to text this person back. I have to win Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I need to win Need for Speed. As soon as I get home from work, I’m going to get that World of Warcraft character up another level.

These types of things keep our minds constantly running at a red-lined pace. An interesting side effect of this is that people get bored to tears if they don’t have that steady stream of instant gratification.

Is it possible to enjoy peace of mind living in our society? Can we ease up a bit and not lose any quality of life? Let’s assume we can, and explore some ways we might accomplish this.

The first approach I would like to suggest is by transferring everything that occupies your mind onto paper. Write down any tasks that you need to accomplish. Any problems that are causing you anxiety. Any accomplishments you want to achieve. Write down everything. Keep this list as a running, changing list. Prioritize each thing. Begin working on the two or three things that are of the highest priority. Doing this relieves your mind of feeling like it has to remember and keep track of everything. Once you write it all down, your brain realizes that nothing will be lost, and that it need not try and keep track of it all. There is another benefit of doing this. Those mental resources that were used to remember and keep track of everything are now freed up to focus on whatever you are doing right at the present moment. Thus, your productivity and performance increase.

This is a great way to help your mind relax and relieve some of the anxiety you may be feeling. This is in preparation to the next step.

Once you have become adept at this technique, there is another which will bring general overall peace of mind. The effect of this technique augments with time. Done properly, it can be healing to your mind, and even to your body. This natural and powerful tool can be used to assist you in becoming a better person. Its primary focus revolves around reflection and introspection.

It has been said that meditation is the language of the soul. You don’t have to wear long robes and live in a monastery to learn effective meditation.

For example, let us try a small experiment. Sit alone in a dimly lit room. You may also wish to lie on a couch. Actively envision in your mind what “nothing” looks and feels like. Once you feel you have achieved this, begin to reflect on uplifting, edifying questions. Meditate and ponder about the things that are of the highest importance in your life. This may include things like ways you might improve your relationship with your spouse, or that of a really close friend, how you can be a better employee or employer, how you can influence the lives of others for the better, or how you can be a better person in general. Infinite are the things about which you may wish to ponder, meditate, or explore.

When thoughts come to your mind, write them down if they meet your moral and ethical criteria.

Make it a goal to do these two things whenever you start to get overwhelmed with the things happening in your life. These two techniques have been useful to me when I have difficulty sleeping, for example.

Prioritize the important things, but leave time to play. Then, think about ways you can improve your life, and contribute to the well-being of those around you.

“Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.” The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
“You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?”
“Yes sir,” the student says.
“So you believe in God?”
“Absolutely.”
“Is God good?”
“Sure! God’s good.”
“Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?”
“Yes.”
“Are you good or evil?”
“The Bible says I’m evil.”
The professor grins knowingly. “Aha! The Bible!” He considers for a moment.
“Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?”
“Yes sir, I would.”
“So you’re good…!”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“But why not say that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn’t.”
The student does not answer, so the professor continues. “He doesn’t, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?”
The student remains silent.
“No, you can’t, can you?” the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
“Let’s start again, young fella Is God good?”
“Er…yes,” the student says.
“Is Satan good?”
The student doesn’t hesitate on this one. “No.”
“Then where does Satan come from?”
The student : “From…God…”
“That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, correct?”
“Yes.”
“So who created evil?” The professor continued, “If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.”
Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues: “Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?”
The student: “Yes.”
“So who created them?”
The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. “Who created them?” There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.
“Tell me,” he continues onto another student. “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?”
The student’s voice is confident: “Yes, professor, I do.”
The old man stops pacing.. “Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?”
“No sir. I’ve never seen Him”
“Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?”
“No, sir, I have not.”
“Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?”
“No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.”
“Yet you still believe in him?”
“Yes.”
“According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?”
“Nothing,” the student replies. “I only have my faith.”
“Yes, faith,” the professor repeats. “And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.”
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own. “Professor, is there such thing as heat?”
“Yes,” the professor replies. “There’s heat.”
“And is there such a thing as cold?”
“Yes, son, there’s cold too.”
“No sir, there isn’t.”
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.. The student begins to explain.
“You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called ‘cold’. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.”
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
“What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?”
“Yes,” the professor replies without hesitation. “What is night if it isn’t darkness?”
“You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?”
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. ” So what point are you making, young man?”
“Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.”
The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. “Flawed? Can you explain how?”
“You are working on the premise of duality,” the student explains. “You argue that there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.”
“Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?”
“If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do”
“Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?”
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
“Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?”
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.
“To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.”
The student looks around the room. “Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain?” The class breaks out into laughter.
“Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s brain, felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelled the professor’s brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?”
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. “I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.”
“Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,” the student continues. “Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?”
Now uncertain, the professor responds, “Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.”
To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”
The professor sat down.

How is it that music is a universal language? A communication takes place that does not require words. What is this communication? How does it work? I can’t say that I know, but most all of us know what I’m talking about. When you are in a certain mood, you reach for music specific to that mood. Why this impulse?

What about the 3000 white beluga whales that were trapped in the Senyavin Strait? The Russian icebreaker Moskva came to their rescue. The ship played all types of music, but the beluga whales only followed the ship to safety when it played classical music.

Here’s an excerpt from a news article about this event:

“IN one of the more unusual rescue operations in the history of Arctic navigation, a Soviet icebreaker rammed a 15-mile path through thick ice last month to free thousands of trapped white beluga whales.

“The saga of the whales, known in Russia as belukhas or polar dolphins, made for some of the winter’s more suspenseful reading as the icebreaker Moskva raced against time and plunging temperatures to reach the whales before they suffocated or starved in shrinking pools of open water. Like other seafaring mammals, Belugas must rise to the surface to breathe.” [source]

Why did the whales respond as they did?

David Merrill, a high school student in Suffolk, VA performed an experiment on how music affects mice. He took 72 mice and divided them into three groups. One group listened to no music, one group listened to Anthrax for 10 hours a day, and the last group listened to Mozart for 10 hours a day. All the mice were put in a maze. In the beginning, it took all mice an average of 10 minutes to finish the maze. Over time, the control group (no music) mice improved to about five minutes. The Mozart mice improved drastically to just under two minutes. The Anthrax mice took an average of a half an hour to complete the maze. They also became extremely aggressive toward one another.

Here are the conclusions from the experiment:

“David concluded from the experiment, that ‘music does indeed have an effect on the learning abilities of white male mice. Classical music has a very positive effect on their learning abilities, whereas, the hard rock music has an even greater negative effect on their learning abilities.’

“‘Aside from the facts which I have been able to show you today, I can say, from my own view and my own opinion, from observing the mice, that it seemed not only to affect their ability to learn, but their ability to cope, one with another.’ This was reflected even after the experiment was over, David reported.

“‘After the second year of doing this project–as I said, I kept them separate this year, to try to eliminate the fighting–I would take all the mice to a local pet store, just to get rid of them, and give them away. And, when I did this with the Classical and the Control mice, one group at a time, I would put them into two aquariums, and take them away. That’s 24 mice in 20 gallons. I thought that wasn’t that bad, and it wasn’t, for the Classical and the Control. They were fine with one another.

“‘However, when I put the Hard Rock mice in there, within an hour, they had just begun fighting so severely, that I had to separate all the mice. And, I gave them about a week just to ‘chill out,’ I guess you could say, and sort of calm down, because I guess the music had made them so uptight, and had been putting such bad messages into them, that they couldn’t handle one another. So I gave them about a week, just to calm down and settle down. I actually played a little Classical music to them, to see if it would reverse the effects.’

“Even a week later, he reported, the Hard Rock group was still fighting, but he managed to get them to the store alive.

“‘It’s been an interesting project,’ David concluded, ‘and I’ve enjoyed doing it, and I’ve enjoyed the results I found, as well as the research I’ve done. It’s too bad that it’s not a subject that is widely publicized, as widely as it should be, because I found multiple areas of research, which are extremely significant, whether it’s how great the effects of Classical music are on pre-schoolers learning their ABCs, or whether it’s just the bad morals in the hard rock music.

“‘Something very interesting is that these mice could not understand the lyrics, but the music alone was bad enough, much less the lyrics, which the people are subjected to, but the mice weren’t. And, that’s something that I think is pretty significant as well.’” [source]

How does all of this work? Why does it happen? In what ways can music affect us?

Luckily, there is someone who can expound these mysteries and a great many other factors and aspects of music. Dr. Michael Ballam. He gave a couple of Education Week talks on this topic. These talks are free to download:

The Power of Music to Lift and Teach – Michael Ballam, August 17, 1998 during BYU Education Week.

The Healing Power of Music – Michael Ballam, August 16, 1999 during BYU Education Week.

Dr. Ballam also has a CD set on this topic, called “Music and the Mind.” He also did a follow-up called “More Music and the Mind.” If you find the above presentations interesting, I would very highly recommend that you purchase these two sets. They go into great detail on how music affects our minds.

Additionally, for those interested in reading more on the subject, take a look at a book called “The Mozart Effect” by Don Campbell.

In a previous post, I referenced the speech given by Elder M. Russell Ballard at Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s graduation ceremony on 15 December 2007, entitled “Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” available here:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/using-new-media-to-support-the-work-of-the-church

This is the transcript of the speech.

As it turns out, there is also an audio file available of it:

MP3 Audio File Available Here

Also, here is another page of BYU Broadcasting podcasts to which you can subscribe:

http://www.byub.org/podcast/

I hope this may be of benefit to someone.

Introduction

This past Sunday, I attended Ward Conference. In this conference, the Stake Presidency opened up the last 2 hours for a “no-holds-barred” question and answer session, where we could ask absolutely any questions we wanted to ask. One brother asked a question about how to live with all the many “things” that there are to take up our time. I stood up and addressed a technological perspective on how we can benefit from the great resources available on the Internet. This evening, I sent the following email to my bishopric and the brother herein referenced. I present it here in hopes that it may be of benefit to someone. With that, here is the email I sent:

Brethren,
I was grateful for the opportunity to be present in and participate in the Spirit present at the Ward Conference this past Sunday. One of the brethren present asked a question, the exact phrasing of which eludes me at the moment. I do remember that there was a reference to technology in his question. I thought it may be of benefit to stand and share some thoughts with regards to how we can use technology for our benefit. If you have the ability to, and find it to be of benefit to share this with the Stake Presidency, please do. I was unable to locate their email addresses.

I am attending the Stake Institute class every Thursday evening. This past week, I was speaking with the instructor about some of the free technology available that allows us greater access to inspired, uplifting, edifying, instructional, and thought-provoking messages from various authorities and members of the church, and also other experts in their fields.
This brother was curious as to how these amazing resources could be free, and was unfamiliar with the technology of which I spoke. He requested that I explain it a little more, point him to some software that performed the required tasks, and then provide him with the resources available for the software to use.

Because of my comment on Sunday regarding how technology can help and uplift, I thought it might be relevant to forward to you the thoughts that I shared with the Institute instructor.

Much of my efforts at discovering (or even creating, in some cases) a myriad of resources such as this are inspired by the speech given by Elder M. Russell Ballard at Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s graduation ceremony on 15 December 2007, entitled “Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” available here:

“Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” – transcript

“Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” – mp3 download

With this preface, let me share with you an example of the “New Media” to which Elder Ballard refers:

Explanation of Podcasting

Brother [last name witheld],

It was a pleasure speaking with you this past Thursday evening after your uplifting and edifying class. Thank you for bringing the Spirit with you into your presentations. I wanted to share a few things with you in regards to pocasts or podcasting. The first place I would have you reference is wikipedia.org. They give a general description, with links to other concepts with which you may not be famliar, allowing you to explore the topics and ideas as you find necessary and helpful. Here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

Another place that gives a broad overview of podcasting is here:

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/briefings/briefing-83/html/

If you wish to research the concept further, type “podcast introduction” into Google, and you should find hundreds of useful resources that may clarify the concept a little more.

Podcasting Software

With regards to the software that you can use to retrieve the podcasts, I would recommend Miro, a free application which I have tested myself on Windows Vista. I found it feature-rich and easy to use. Here is a link to the home page for Miro:

http://www.getmiro.com/

It should have a green download button in the middle of the page. Go ahead and download that and install it. When it’s done installing, run the program. The best way to learn how to use the software is by exploration. Click through menus and see where the different options are located. The longer you use it, the more familiar you will become with its various features and configuration options. The key is to just jump in head first.

The functionality you are looking for is the ability to add a feed. The feeds that I will provide below are all “audio” type feeds, and point to (as best as I can tell) church-sponsored speeches, presentations, talks, or devotionals. Every so often, refresh your feeds, and you will see when new talks or presentations are available for download.

LDS Feeds

Here is the list of feeds that I have found:

http://www.byub.org/bookofmormon.rss
http://feeds.lds.org/cesfiresides
http://speeches.byu.edu/rss/podcast1.xml
http://www.byub.org/oldtestament.rss
http://www.byub.org/DoctrineAndCovenants.rss
http://new.ensignpodcast.org/feed.asp?id=2008_11
http://www.byuradio.org/gt.rss
http://www.byub.org/isaiah.rss
http://feeds.feedburner.com/mormonism
http://www.josephsmithpodcast.org/feed.asp
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ldsvoices
http://speeches.byu.edu/rss/podcast2.xml
http://feeds.lds.org/NewsroomPodcast
http://www.byub.org/newTestamentSeason1.rss
http://www.byub.org/pearlofgreatprice.rss
http://www.byub.org/NewTestamentSeason2.rss
http://feeds.lds.org/Ensign

You may notice that there are a couple of feeds that reference the Ensign. You can get the entire Ensign available in audio format for absolutely free.

As a matter of fact, everything that I am presenting to you in this email is at no cost to yourself. I am simply excited about the Gospel and not many people are aware of this method of immersing themselves in it. I share this with you in hopes that it may be of benefit to you in your personal endeavors to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

The Inspiration

On a very related vein, I have recently listened to a talk by Todd Parker, given at Education Week on August 16, 1999, entitled “True Doctrine, Understood, Changes Attitudes and Behaviors,” and found it incredibly insightful and edifying. Here is a link to it:

http://byubnew.byu.edu/talks/Talk.aspx?id=1618

It is interesting to note that there is no transcript of this talk, due to its being a part of Education Week, and the material is copyright Bro. Parker. So the only way you’ll be able to get this presentation is through the audio recording.

Ironically, in his talk, he references a talk that was written by President Ezra Taft Benson for a Priesthood Meeting. Because everyone before him spoke too long, he was unable to give the talk. However, he did have it printed for all to read in the May 1986 Ensign. Thus, there is no recording of this talk, but it is available in print only. It is called “The Power of the Word”, available from this link:

The Power of the Word

For the longest time, I have been in search of a way to change myself, mainly my psychological, mental, and emotional faults. Finally, I feel like I have an adequate answer, as given by these two talks. It is especially helpful that one came from a living oracle of the Lord in our time.

Forgive my verbosity. I get excited about feasting upon and understanding the Gospel. Before I take any more of your time, I will make an end. Have a marvelous day, and I look forward to hearing your inspired thoughts and lesson next Thursday.

– Scott Morris

Additional Resources

With all the negative out there on the Internet, there are a lot of wonderful, uplifting resources.

If you would like access to more audio files, take a look at these sites:

BYU Speeches

BYU Broadcasting

lds.org Audio Library

BYU-Hawaii Devotionals and Speeches

lds.org Broadcast Archives

Enjoy, and be uplifted.