I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers where he brings up the idea of practicing something for 10,000 hours, and now I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities of practicing something for 10,000 hours. This theory, from what I understand, suggest that if one deliberately practices something for 10,000 hours, they will reach a…
Grace or Works?
There’s this idea that we can only qualify for blessings if we work hard enough first, that righteous actions preceded blessings. “And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated (D&C 130:21).” “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved…
Anxiety or Divine Inspiration?
the 3rd revision: My daughter’s first backpacking trip was when she was four years old. She and her dad hiked in one mile. She carried a couple of stuffed animals in her backpack, while her dad carried the rest of the gear. It was love at first sight for her. Every summer since then the…
Anxiety or Intuition?
My daughter’s first backpacking trip was when she was four years old. She and her dad hiked in one mile. She carried couple of stuffed animals in her backpack, while her dad carried the rest of the gear. It was love at first sight for her. Every summer since then the two of them have…
Band-aids on a Battlefield
Once a month on Monday night I glance at the pain of free prisoners as I walk among them. My presence initially makes them nervous and they hide in the shadows or turn down another street, little do they know that I’m nervous too. An unfamiliar face is hard to trust when exploitation is familiar….
Moral Relativism?
I’ve been working on this paper all week. It’s not finished yet, but I’m posting it now anyway. edited: the PDF link is the finial revision of this article. What Is Your Answer Farmer Ben has only ducks and cows. He can’t remember how many of each he has, but he doesn’t need to remember…
Anxiety or Intuition? Premonitions or Fears?
My daughter’s first backpacking trip was when she was four years old. She and her dad hiked in one mile. She carried couple of stuffed animals in her backpack, while her dad carried the rest of the gear. It was love at first sight for her. Every summer since then the two of them have…
When is Offering Unsolicited Advice an Act of Goodness?
Is unsolicited advice morally permissible or is it always an act of indulgence by the advice-giver? I wrote an article. Someone I knew came across it online and read it, and then called to give me some advice on my article. When is unsolicited advice appropriate and when is it inappropriate? I work at an…
Pharisitical Obedience Defined
Pharisitical Obedience is obedience that is so focused on following the rules precisely that they learn the mechanics of the rule but never get to know the heart of the rule. It’s using obedience to feel valued, superior, powerful, good, and important rather than to create goodness. Their obedience is driven by a need for…
Pharisitical Obedience
Policies, procedures, and handbooks. The three things that we relinquish our power of reasoning and thinking to. “It’s the policy” and “It’s in the handbook.” Statements that end the discussion declaring that there is no room for debate. No exception to the rule, this is how it is, this is how we do it, we…
I cried when she landed. It was her finial vault attempt at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Sprinting toward the vault she flew into a round-off moving into a backhand spring landing on the vault with her hands upside down and then preceded to do a back flip off of the vault while twisting…
