Murphy Rambles On...

SWITCH AGAIN!

2011-01-12T10:15:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I've switched blogs YET AGAIN!! Please change your readers and links to follow my blog on this page now:

http://www.murphyrandle.com/

I hope this will be the last time I pull a switch on you.
Thanks!
Murphy

Walk Cycle, Second installment in the Jimba saga

2010-11-20T00:30:00.001-08:00

Here's a walk cycle. Yay!

Box Jumping Animation Test

2010-11-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! I have to do a character animation for the final in my character animation class... duh.
And here's my character. This was a simple animation test. I wanted to get some personality into him, and be able to achieve convincing motion. This was really also a test of his rig to make sure it works.
Final to come later...

Btw, his name is Jimba. :) (In homage to the restaurant where my Dad used to play gigs).

Should have posted this at Haloween...

2010-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

In honor of Mom's awesome Haloween post I thought I'd dig up this old picture of my awesome cowboy costume when I was five.
I think I actually remember running around in this thing. It made me feel really cool.
At the moment this photo was taken I believe I was impatiently strutting around the front porch and waiting for the hour of pumpkin carving to come.

I carefully carved the pumpkin that night, so as not to soil my excellent costume.

Blast from the past: Pajama Gladiator Interview

2010-11-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I just found this old interview that Glenn and I recorded when we were finishing Pajama Gladiator (BYU Short Animated Film).

It's about 43 minutes long, but listen to what you like, I put it up for public enjoyment.

http://www.murphyrandle.com/PJG_interview.mp3

Demo Reel:

2010-10-11T16:01:00.001-07:00

Here's my new demo reel!
What do you think?

New Logo

2008-04-11T22:48:00.001-07:00

Logo, originally uploaded by murphyspublic.

So, I decided that my old logo didn't fit my image, and I decided to abandon Intelligent Design.
So now I'm just Murphy R.
Do you like my new image?
And the new logo?
Stay or go? Yes or NO?

April 8, 2008 The End

2008-04-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Wow... It's the end

The last reading for my REL A 121 & 122 classes. Wow.

College is really going fast.

Moroni 8-10

Welcome to the end of the Book of Mormon. I think this is interesting because the end of the book is fairly bitter-sweet. Moroni (what a wonderful man) sends us off with a hope in Christ, and a "we'll meet again" feeling. The funny thing is, even though Moroni lived hundreds of years ago, and of course I've never met him, I do get the "we'll meet again" feeling. When I read his words I feel like he cares about me and is speaking to me personally. And in the end, when he seems to wax almost poetic, he states that we will meet "before the pleasing bar of the great Jehova." I hope I do get to meet him there and I am SO excited for it.

In our society, many of us seem to like cliches. We enjoy going to see films again and again in which the prince defeats the dragon and he and the princess ride away happily into the sunset. Some of us don't like the usual and enjoy broken monotony, such as when the prince triumphantly gets squashed by the dragon, who then eats the princess whole.

The end of the book of mormon almost seems like this to me, but I realize that it's not just some dramatic plot element thrown in by an attention-seeking author. Rather the book ends in tragedy because the Nephites ended in tragedy. Their sins are what ended the line of righteous record-holder, and what ended the book. Sad, but interesting.

Also, in chapter 8, I think the subject of infant baptism is interesting, and I was a little confused for a while until I read the verse that explains that those who don't have the law, don't suffer consequences (8:22).

In any case, it's close to bedtime, but if you get a chance, go read the last three chapters of the dear Book of Mormon.

I think, since this is the last post, it might be appropriate here for me to bear testimony of the gospel and of the Book.

I believe, or, based upon the terms set forth by Alma, know that the Book of Mormon speaks truth. It presents and explains the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is also true and good. By the works I have seen from the effort of the church, I have seen that it is good, and through personal prayer and the holy ghost, I have a personal knowledge of it's truth.

I am about to embark upon a two year journey to argentina to serve the people who reside there. I trust that with the Lord's help I will be able to speak to the hearts of a few people, and give them an opportunity to feel the spirit, that they may learn of faith, of hope, and of charity–the dear love of our saviour Jesus Christ.

I know that Jesus Christ suffered in the garden for my sins, died upon the cross, and now lives again, holy and pure. I am grateful to him for this marvelous sacrifice, and I hope that by obeying his commandments, and by serving my fellow passengers through this life, I may bring him some amount of joy.

I love the lord, and I thank him for my life.

And I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

April 6, 2008 Faith, Hope and Charity

2008-04-06T19:42:00.001-07:00

Moroni 1-7.
Very inspiring chapter. Very simple parts, and some complicated parts.
I think this is one of those chapters that you could spend a very long
time studying and reading and cross-referencing.
Faith, Hope, and Charity. (And lowliness and meekness of heart)
These things are so desirable, yet so hard to master, but the thing I
find really wonderful about the gospel is that it's somewhat of a
package deal. If we are striving to live the gospel, to really obey,
we won't find ourselves saying "well, I have hope down, now I'll move
on to perfecting charity." Rather, as we truly work to develop one,
the others will grow and come with. As we work on exercising faith,
hope in Christ will build in us, and as we hope in Christ, we will
strive to be like him and begin to have charity. What a wonderful thing.
One of the things that really struck me in reading tonight was the
idea of taking upon us the name of Christ. If you read through the
first chapters of Moroni, the blessings and ordinances performed are
done in the name of Christ. Also, when we come to the father, we are
to do it in the name of Christ. How wonderful, how important. Christ
is our mediator. While, because of our uncleanliness, we could not
stand in council with the father on our own, we are permitted,
justified, and encouraged to do so in the name of Christ. Not to make
light of sacred things, but I see it somewhat working like the
expression "I'm with the band." That phrase, although it sounds silly
right now, in purpose is to allow one to enter someplace they could
not have elsewise. Christ gave his name to us, that we may by our own
will enter into the kingdom of God again.
If Christ has done such a magnificent thing for us, Given us his
name, which is the greatest of all that have come before us, should we
not respect it and do our best to build up his name to the highest
stature we can? What if you or I were able to share a name with some
of the great people of our time: Einstein, Jefferson, King, Hinckley,
Monson, would we not desire to live up to the reputation set before
us? In the same way, I hope to hold the name of Christ, which he has
given unto me, high above my head. I hope to carry it proud and keep
it as a directive and ensign to those around me. I hope and pray that
I do not tire and let slip the name of Christ, that I do not drag it
through the mud of sin and anger. I love Christ and I hope to always
stay worthy of his wonderful name.

March 25, 2008 Mormon 6-9

2008-03-25T21:10:00.001-07:00

Poor Moroni, how sad to be the only one of your people left.

the

only

one

But, if I had to be in Moroni's situation, I'd feel VERY happy to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to comfort me. I'd really miss my dad though.

From this scripture, the really important concept I'd like to explain is brought up by these verses:

Mormon 9:3,14:

3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.

This is what I think is so awesome.

Never does the lord condemn us to reside forever in a place that we don't like or deserve. If you're not deserving of outer darkness you won't go there. Or better yet, in my mind, if you don't want to go to outer darkness, you wont go there. In order to make it to outer darkness, one must be openly defiant towards the lord. One must be conscious of the fact that they want the opposite of the great plan of happiness and they do what it takes to get there.

Most of the time though, we aren't dealing with the risk of outer darkness. Generally we are met with the conditional consequence of eternal damnation, which might not actually turn out to be all the fire, sweat and torture as insinuated by popular culture. Rather, I think, damnation refers to the stopping of progress. In order to be eternally progressing, it is necessary that a being be a god. In order to be a god we must, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, become perfect beings. If one is damned, such has not reached a state of glory which allows forward progression. Rather one is set to dwell in another level of glory which fits them.

This has all been really wordy.

What I'm saying is, if you LOVE the joy that comes from obeying the commandments enough to do it, you'll probably end up in the celestial kingdom.

If you love the things of the world enough that you don't exactly follow all of the commands of the lord, but spend your time doing what you love, you'll be damned (stopped) and sent to a place where you can be happy.

Like, if how comfortable or happy would I be spending all eternity at a gigantic science fair where everyone knows WAY more than I do and loves what they're talking about.

I'd say let's just try and do our best to desire what the lord wants for us, and work towards that.

Now that we're all confused. Bye!

Horton Hears a Who

2008-03-21T00:30:00.001-07:00

Just dropping a quick line.
I went to see "Horton Hears a Who" tonight, and I absolutely loved it.
I give it a 5 star, 10 out of 10 rating.
If you are remotely interested in it, go see it because it was
FANTASTIC!

Miff

March 16, 2008 Fourth Nephi

2008-03-16T22:32:00.001-07:00

**Caution** this entry is pretty long winded, so please don't feel obligated to spend your time reading the whole thing. I know you love me!**

Fourth nephi is the perfect example of the first half of the pride cycle.

It's really sad because this brilliantly righteous people gets sucked in by the temptations of pride, and that's it for them! What a wonderful story in the beginning with such a sad, sad ending.

Vs. 5:

And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus.

This is a wonderful wonderful verse. It makes me wish that we were righteous enough today to have these miracles going on with us. But I realize, like when we finally get that thing we've been so longing and working for, when our brand shiny new car arrives and we drive it around, after a while it begins to look old and boring. We begin to think this car that we own is of little value because there are other, different shiny cars about on the road that we don't have. And we begin to long for the new. Such is the case, I believe, with the gospel, or any aspect of life.

When miracles are being performed daily in front of our eyes, we cease to be amazed by them. I would think it's somewhat like this: nowadays, doctors can splint someone's leg, give them some medicine, and a broken bone will heal within a number of months, this isn't astounding and shocking to me. I don't feel overwhelmed by the miracle of healing, whereas someone two hundred years ago with a broken leg would probably have to lose it just to stay alive. Miracles become commonplace and we for get what miracles they are.

This is dangerous, because then our minds begin to wander. Not that I'm saying we as people are weak, I think the human tendency is towards hierarchy and prone to temptation of the devil. Thus when we are not taught correctly, and when we do not carefully learn to school our thoughts, we are susceptible to the enticing of the adversary.

Then came the pride.

Pride, such a little thing, simply measuring one's self, or worth, against another.

Such a dangerous thing.

Caused a great nation to destroy itself from the inside and fall.

Such an easy thing.

So easy, it has been the downfall of many a man, and many a great nation.

March 11, 2008 Reading 18

2008-03-11T22:24:00.001-07:00

3rd Nephi 27-30

A lot of important things here, but I'm just going to write a small bit because it's late and there still BIO studying to do.

I just wanted to mention something that seems to hit me personally when I read it. The beginning of 28, Christ is standing among his apostles and asking what they want of him (How would that be?). Nine of them say that they want to die when their time is up and come quickly back to him. He calls them blessed for this. Then he asks the other three and they don't want to say what they want because their scared to. But Christ already knows what they want. They want to be able to serve missions until Christ comes again. Man I thought two years was a long time, try over two thousand. Christ praises them for this and promises many blessings.

To me, the latter certainly seems like a more righteous self-sacrificing calling, and when I read about it, I feel kinda scummy and selfish for personally wanting what the nine asked for. But I realized as I read through Vs. 10, that Christ doesn't in any way compare the three with the nine. He doesn't say "well there wish was good, but yours is better!" He still called the others blessed for what they did and wanted. That, I think, is one of the chief reasons I feel so comfortable and loved and joyful in this gospel. The Lord judges us personally on our own terms and contexts. And something that may be right for others may not even be appropriate for us, and he will always know that.

What a relief!

March 9, 2008 Reading 17

2008-03-09T20:14:00.001-07:00

3rd Nephi 19-26

The more I read 3rd Nephi, and the more I read the words of Christ the more amazed I am at the beauty of the gospel. Boy has my testimony grown.

I'm going to narrow this post down to three quick points. But I encourage you to read these chapters on your own, because their beautiful. Actually, just sit down and read all of Third Nephi :).

22:1-2 The lord says to enlarge the place of our tents, spare not, lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes. I'm not quite sure how I got this, but for some reason when I was reading this I wrote down that we need to try to start serving. I do think it's quite true though, that as we stretch our cords a little, as we try to serve a little, the Lord will strengthen us to the challenge, and we will soon find that we have the capacity to expand again and to serve even more.

22:7-8, Elsewhere: In high school choir we sang a beautiful piece called "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee" written by Rob Gardener. The song was derived from the words in these versus and others through the next chapters. It's a very gorgeous song, and personally I come to love the text of the scriptures even more when I sing it with beautiful music. I just wanted to share, because now these words have a special connection in my heart. You can hear a clip of the song here: (Not sung by my choir) http://www.spiremusic.org/jstp/clips/15.mp3 You can also find it on iTunes if you wish.

Lastly, 26:19 And the Nephites had all things in common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another. This could be interpreted any number of ways, but right now I choose to see it as a reference to the law of consecration. In the past I've had a little bit of a hard time imagining, giving away everything I own and have earned, but I realize that as the true law of consecration is lived in an appropriate situation, the lord will help to increase all resource so that all are living with enough, living with what they need. I don't think this means that we will all have to be uniform and poor in order to ensure fair treatment, I think this means that as people learn to care more about each other than about themselves, quantity will increase, and people will be able to live in peace and prosperity.

March 2, 2008 Reading 15

2008-03-02T19:53:00.001-08:00

Oh MAN there was so much good stuff in this reading. I marked most of the versus in these two chapters:

3rd Nephi 13-14.

This is basically the Sermon On the Mount, which can be found in Matthew 6&7.

There are a couple of important points that i'd like to bring up out of the whole awesome conglomerate of teachings which Christ teaches here.

1. Christ teaches us not to use vain repetitions. This is important, but I've kinda struggled with this my whole life. Of course there are a couple of different ways this can be taken. I often repeat things in my prayers because I constantly desire, and am grateful for the same things over and over again. But I don't think that's exactly what he was talking about. I think he was more talking about when my mind starts to slip during my prayer, and some time later I realize that I've been repeating the same memorized lines over and over again. That, and a reason which leads me right into my next point.

13:7 Christ says the heathen uses vain repetitions because they think it will make them heard. This makes me thing of the people he talks of next. Those who pray, fast, and give to the poor because they want to be noticed by the public. I don't think it's bad to be appreciated, but when you do it for glory, as Christ says "they have their reward."

The last thing, which has impressed heavily upon my mind for some reason during my lifetime, is found in 14 Vs. 6. "Ye shall know them by their fruits."

This is one of the most important things to me. This is one of the reasons I am so willing to follow the general authorities of the church, because I see their fruits. I see the good that is going on in the world because of their decision making, and I see their righteous choices in their own lives, and it makes me believe their words that much more.

This is realization is important to me also as I am soon to be an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (of course I am a representative now, in every day life.)

The way I behave as a missionary, and the things people see me doing will, I believe, have a large effect on the way they receive the message I have to offer. I hope to always stay humble, and to teach by the spirit so that I can emulate and represent Christ to the most extent.

February 24, 2008 3rd Nephi 10-11

2008-02-24T21:49:00.001-08:00

I want to start with the last verse (41) of Chapter 11. Christ is present, and is preaching to the people directly (how cool is that?) The last verse says:

41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth.

Sounds like missionary work to me! This has been on my mind a whole lot lately as I'm just about to submit my mission papers and will hopefully be heading out soon. I feel like it's such an honor to be called on a mission, even though the Lord calls all of his children to be missionaries. I feel special in that I have an extremely important job to do and I'm very excited to do it. The thing about missionary work is, no matter how many elders there are, each one is extremely important and all of their jobs are very valuable. A young girl was just baptized in my ward after talking to the missionaries. And as insignificant as that may seem, I'm really hoping it will have a big effect on her life and the lives of those around her.

Next lets look at verse three:

3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

This is an important idea to remember as a missionary in that when you talk, you want to talk, or communicate, with firmness, power, and authority, but not overbearance. These people were moved and affected, but they weren't intimidated and overpowered.

The last verse to look at is 10:5

5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.

A sister in my ward today gave a very good talk on reaching out to others and about checking ourselves. In the talk she quoted a part of the first article in this months ensign. "The Lord respects his children's desire not to be nourished." And that is very true. The lord will not force help upon us if we refuse it. He constantly wants to bless us, and he constantly provides us with opportunities, but he in now way takes away our freedom to choose salvation.

February 19, 2008 3rd Nephi 6-9

2008-02-19T21:37:00.001-08:00

I always hate it when I get to the parts of the Book of Mormon where the Nephites fall into sin. It makes me sad!

Well I guess it's part of the pride cycle, but like I was taught in Brother Swift's class, the pride cycle isn't a requirement, it's a pattern.

We needn't follow the steps of the pride cycle in our own lives (although we do on whatever level) rather it's a pattern that seems to happen again and again and again because of human nature. There are many different versions of the cycle, but here's the one we learned in class:

Blessings & Prosperity > Pride & Sin >

Deliverance > < Chastening

Repentance

This is kinda early to say this (cause this reading is coming up later) but it's occurred to me as I read in third Nephi that it always feels like someone really special is coming.

I get all mentally excited like I can't believe Christ is actually coming and that I actually get to read his words, but that's what the whole book of mormon is about!

It just struck me funny. Especially when I realized that I could go and read that part of the book every day if I wanted to, but I don't so it feels special and exciting when it comes.

February 18, 2008 3rd Nephi 1-5

2008-02-18T22:28:00.001-08:00

K, well you might laugh at this post.

I've been reading the war chapters for Brother Swift's BOM class, and they amaze me. Rather than just battle plans and lists of happenings, I see people and their struggles with faith and stories of bravery and faith. Maybe seeing these things comes with age.

But here starts the silly part:

I've never been in war myself (thank goodness, and I mean that,) so i've been left to my imagination when it comes to the battles of the people of the Nephites.

I got my wisdom teeth out a little while ago, and that left me with a lot of time to lie on the couch and.... watch TV. Enough time, in fact, to watch the entire extended edition trilogy of Lord of The Rings with my family. (That's a LOT of hours in front of the TV.)

I must admit in shame that I have never read the books by Tolkien, which is quite sad, I plan to some day. The books are quite violent as they deal with large scale war as part of the driving point for character and story development. The movies do a fair job of representing these wars.

Although the movies are fictional and packed with awe-inspiring visual effects, I do see a bit of the emotion that goes into war in these characters. They fight, but they love peace. They do what they do to protect their homes, families, freedom, and rights. One of the most vivid images portrayed in the film is twelve-year-old boys being armed alongside seventy-year-old men in desperate defense of their lives and families. This is a reality that time does not wipe away, people must fight for their freedom.

As I watched the films I was amazed. I have seen them before, and I always somewhat enjoyed them, but now I began to love them, because as I saw these people fighting, I saw in their faces the images of Nephites that I have learned to love. The stories brought vividly to mind stories that I had just read in The Book of Mormon and gave me an even deeper connection with those in the text.

That was not really the point of tonight's reading. The reading was about Christ's birth and the people's struggle against sin, both externally and internally. But there was a war, and it brought me to remembrance of my mentioned experience.

In chapter five, Mormon is introducing himself as editor of The Book of Mormon and in so doing he thanks the lord for giving him the knowledge of his fathers.

I do so now. I thank the lord for leaving us the record of this great people. Of the great and terrible legends of the Nephites and their brothers the Lamanites. I love these people, and I have gained a love for the precious words contained within the pages of the book.

But of course, I can't say any of this without the grace of my dear saviour Jesus Christ. And I do so in his name.

Einstein's Theory of Relativity

2008-02-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

K guys, I put together a slideshow on the theory of relativity. Please let me know what you think. I tried to make it really simple.

(Disclaimer. Examples and ideas are not my own but are the intellectual property of really smart people who bothered to put their ideas into books and universities like BYU where I learned this stuff anyway.... *whew* yay physical science with Kowallis.)

February 10, 2008 Heleman 10-16

2008-02-10T22:23:00.001-08:00

Well, there's a lot in these scriptures. Usually I'm able to come up with one or two cogent points out of the scriptures I'm assigned that I can write on, but that's less clear today.

In chapter 10, I just want to remark on how cool I think it is that Nephi gets the power of sealing. Man, how would it be to have the Lord say to you "You do what you think is best, and It'll be done." Oh man! No pressure. Goodness me I'd be so nervous. But the thing I love is that it doesn't give Nephi a big head. When it comes time to use that power, he pleads with the lord that the lord will give make a drought happen, and when the time comes to lift it, he doesn't command the drought lifted, he talks with the lord, communicating his reasons and plans, and he asks very humble if the lord will now raise the drought.

But I think there was an especially important thing I learned tonight. Just after reading I was checking my email, and I got a notification from facebook, or rather from the "compare people" application. I went and looked at my rating, and it told me where I stand in relation to my friends, that I was voted "cuter" or something than others by so many people.

The list was nice to look at at first, but as I kept reading down it, I just started to feel worldly. That might be a silly thing to say, but I felt like I was suddenly focusing on what made me better than others (y'know, rameumptom style) and not on what the Lord had for me to do.

I think this is actually quite a big deal, because this is kinda what was happening to the Nephites. In these scriptures, the Nephites were dwindling because they were worried about what they had, and what they were in relation to those around them, and it consumed them. I just think it's funny that I would read about that, and then be faced up with a raw example of it right away.

Thank you Lord.

February 9, 2008 Wisdom Teeth

2008-02-09T16:11:00.001-08:00

I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday in preparation for the mission.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

I am actually doing quite well.

In the first picture I was still on drugs, that was just after the operation.

Yay!

In the last picture, I DON'T have anything in my mouth. That's just my sad swollen face.

Waaaaaa

New website!

2008-02-07T19:19:00.001-08:00

So I made this new website today.

Please, all of you! Tell me what you think and how it works for you!

Thanks!

http://murphyrandle.com

2008-02-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Hey folks!

The latest from Pixar:

February 3, 2008 Alma 52-63

2008-02-03T21:41:00.001-08:00

Wow that was a lot to read. And because of that I won't be writing much tonight.

Let me just say that I absolutely LOVE these scriptures. The men in these records are my heroes and role models. Their words hold SO much for me emotionally.

Speaking of their words, I want to point out a verse.

Alma 60:36

"Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country. And thus I close mine apistle."

Amen- those are some of the greatest words I have ever read. I really want to meet this man.

Alma 57:21:

"Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them."

I have always loved the Stripling Warriors. In fact I cried one day when trying to explain to mom what my definition of the word "hero" meant and I thought of them.

These boys are all I think a missionary should be, and I am ready and anxious to become one.

January 27, 2008 Life After Death

2008-01-27T20:07:00.001-08:00

What a night.

Tonight I read Alma 38-42 which basically explains life after death in simple terms, and explains the purpose of life and the atonement. I do think that it's interesting that I would be reading this tonight, for I found out in the middle of my reading that President Gordon B. Hinckley, the president of my church, and a wonderful, exemplary man whom I loved has passed away.

I have a mixed feeling inside. I feel dampened at the loss, but I feel a constant sharp joy. This joy is for many reasons I think. I'm very very happy for him that he may now return to his wife and to his lord and rest. My joy also comes at seeing a good man's life pass in righteousness. But I think the biggest reason is that the lord is speaking to my heart of the truth of the gospel for which President Hinckley lived and died.

In a moment I will write a small bit about the scriptures which I read tonight, but right now, in memory of President Hinckley, I just want to make mention of a subject that he felt very strongly about.

To any who are reading this that have fallen prey to the evils of pornography, please stop. I have seen the effects it has on others, and I know how it absolutely tears everything good to shreds. Please, think of those who love you, and think of yourself. There is no easy way to stop, the only cure is abstention.

On a lighter note, the plan of salvation is fabulous! As most of us know the basics already, I won't cover that here. If you want a more detailed report, read Alma 38-42:http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/38

Rather, I will mention some verses that I found interesting. 42:2-3

After Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, they became as Gods (knowing good and evil) but they had transgressed against God. They were banished from the garden, and an angel was placed at the entry with a flaming sword. I always thought the angel was there as a punishment, to make sure they paid their dues, but it's not about that. The angel was placed there (By the way, this is all my opinion and interpretation of scripture, not doctrine) as a guard for them against themselves. He was there to keep them from partaking of the tree of life and living forever which would have made void the word of god and destroyed the great plan of happiness.

Thus, life, may not be about life. Does that make sense? I've always kind of thought of life as being the point, but when Adam fell, the lord made their be a space between death and resurrection for repentance. So, the greater picture may be really of death and resurrection, and the whole purpose of life is repentance.

I thank the lord for that chance.

January 16, 2008 Scatterbrained

2008-01-15T23:20:00.001-08:00

I really love how simple and easy to understand the gospel is. Sometimes it's the simplicity that makes it so hard to follow though. Have you ever realized how much we as humans invent for ourselves? It's like when life could be simple, many of us have to make little structure and little rules for ourselves in order to deal with life. Some of us go as far as to lose the definition between self-imposed rules and doctrine or eternal truth. I'm not saying that this always happens, but there certainly are circumstances when someone will pass judgement on another based solely upon the fact that they don't like it, or aren't used to it that way.

Wow I went really off track. The situation I'm writing about tonight is to be found in the 34th chapter of Alma. Alma has just finished talking to the poor of the Zoramites about humility and faith, and he sits. Then Amulek stands up. I love these guys, they're fantastic. Amulek talks to them gently and many times refers to the words of Alma (his appointed brother in the gospel).

Amulek speaks of Christ and the atonement. He makes a perfectly clear point of the fact that the atonement is the base of all law and it is the fulfillment of the law of moses. Then he continues, in really quite beautiful speech, and begins to tell of the greatness of God and how we are to be praying to him. We are expected to pray over every little thing in our lives. I don't think this is meant as a compulsive, obligatory thing, just that we should feel ready to come to the lord for support in every matter of our lively hood.

But not only that. We are to come to the lord in more than just the matters of need. We are to pour out our souls to him in our closets and private places. And when we're not doing that, we are to let the spirit swell our souls in prayer constantly. This is an important idea to me and I have tried to live it. I hope to be constantly in communication with the Lord. Even when I'm not consciously praying to him, I want to be sensitive to the spirit and ready to follow promptings right away. It works, but like I said, it stops working so well once it becomes compulsive.

Sorry, this entry is going WAAAAAAY of where I planned to end up.

It's getting late and I have an eight-o-clock class tomorrow, so I'll wrap up with these last two extremely important ideas:

- If we don't feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and impart of ourselves, the prayer and supplication to which we submit ourselves profits us nothing. We must try to serve in remembrance of our saviour Jesus Christ.

- Now is the time to prepare to meet God. There isn't a later. That train is coming and boy we'd all better pick up our luggage.

January 14, 2008 Faith

2008-01-13T23:26:00.001-08:00

Well, there are a couple of important things to write about tonight. I read Alma 32&33 for my assignment, and at first I was going to write about the topic that is most obvious and prominent in the chapter-worshipping without a chapel. But then another subject jumped out at me as I was reading that I found quite intriguing so I will write about that as well.

As a person starts out in the gospel, the most available and understandable aspects of any religion are it's rites and practices. These can be, what I think of as an open door to the gospel. To try to jump into the level of thinking and commitment that the gospel really requires would be overwhelming, so to start, there are physical exercises that are done: going to church, reading scriptures, attending mutual, going home teaching, etc.. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to belittle these things at all because they are extremely important, but I don't think they are there just to be done. As a person participates in these activities, if they have their mind and heart actively engaged, they will begin to learn what truly comprises the religion. It's not what a member can and can't do, or what they do as a practice necessarily, its the reasons behind that matter. We home teach to help the needy, and to gain love and learn of sacrifice and service in our own hearts. We pray so that we may grow closer to God. We read scriptures so that the spirit may have reasons and places to poke our hearts. We don't always need a chapel, we need to come together to worship our great God in respect and peace.

The second subject is that of faith. I had heard from somebody somewhere that in one of President Hinckley's talks, he stated that he no longer had faith, but rather he knew. This bothered me a bit, because I had a hard time believing that the prophet didn't need faith. I don't think it's that black and white. Alma 32 clears this up for me quite well.

We plant the seed of faith in our souls in faith that it will grow. How do we know that we have faith? We planted it! That's the first step. That action speaks of our faith. Then we wait and provide the seed with necessary food, and it begins to grow, and the fruit is good. We no longer have faith that the seed will grow, we have a perfect knowledge of the prosperity of the seed. BUT, this doesn't mean we know everything now. Suddenly we're in a position where we must have faith that if we keep feeding the plant, it will keep bringing forth good fruit. Thus the stages continue forever. Now I again look at the prophet's words. I believe him. I believe that he doesn't need faith that the gospel is true, but I think there are many situations in which the prophet must exercise extreme faith. He knows the gospel is true, but faith is something is an ever-present factor of our lives.

I just occasionally must step back and remember the definition of faith: Believing in things which are not seen which are true.

Thanks for the clear explanation Alma! And thanks for being such an excellent example President Hinckley!

January 8, 2008 Reading 1 - Alma 30-31

2008-01-08T21:29:00.001-08:00

Well, here it is another semester, and I'm starting another set of readings for Book of Mormon from Brother Swift. Today I read Alma 30-31. Alma 30 is the story of Corihor, which is very sad to me, but at the same time, very necessary.

Corihor, although led away and deceived by the devil, never had his agency taken away and he was free to do as he willed. Sadly he willed to do not what the lord would have him do. I really think this is a sad story because of the way it ends, but there are sure some awesome moments in it. I love the way Alma talks to Corihor. He presents things simply and clearly, and gives Corihor multiple chances to change his mind. Only after he was very sure that Corihor didn't want to repent did he give Corihor the sign he "wanted."

I notice that Corihor, after being struck dumb, felt the way I often do after making a mistake. He confessed his sin, which was very important, but then he wanted the consequences to be removed right away. This doesn't happen in real life. The example my mother has often used in educating me is as follows: you step on someone's toe. It hurts them! They are now jumping up and down on one foot and making sudo-swears all over the place. You apologize. There! Often it seems we expect apologizing to be the heal-all wonder drug, but when the person is still jumping up and down because their toe still hurts, we don't like it and sometimes even up offended. I'm not sure if you followed me there because I'm not writing very clearly. The point is, for every action there is a reaction. Choices have consequences. The toe is gonna hurt for an hour or so no matter how severely it receives apology.

Corihor made a choice to deny and test the lord, and he received the fruits of his labor. He had to eat these fruits for the rest of his life. Now, I don't know whether in his silence he repented and was saved in the end. That might be very true! What Alma did with the Lord's help might very well have saved Corihor's poor soul. I hope so, then it'd be a happy ending!

January 6, 2008 Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T11:23:00.001-08:00

Happy new year everybody!

Lots has been going on in the past couple of weeks. I got the flu (blech) and I'm almost over it just in time for school to start back up again tomorrow. But that's OK. I'm quite excited for this semester. It'll be much easier than the last. Corinne headed off to BYU Idaho. I think this is the first time I've really realized that a friend is leaving. This was certainly the toughest for me yet. I mean, Kyle and Jeff are my close buds, but they're guys. Corinne is my best friend who's a girl, and now I don't get to hang with her but once a month or so. Oh well, it'll be OK.

On to the real subject of this post~

Today I was reading the FANTASTIC christmas present which Mom put together for us kids-a book of historical family stories written by the hand of my predecessors. Suddenly I start to realize a bit more the value of the Book of Mormon. I love this book, as I read the words of my grandfather and grandmother, they become more real to me all of the time. I mean, they always have been, but now I see them as children, as college students as I am now. They fell in love, dealt with problems, loved and lived just as I now must.

While reading Grandad's personal account, he speaks of his college education. He says that he was somewhat of a sketch artist and would have liked to pursue that and other interests in higher education, but his mother informed him that he should "first be an engineer and then shine shoes" so he studied and became a civil engineer. I though that he might have been somewhat sour about this experience, but later I read in his words: "It's hard not to obey when you love your councilor."

I love this line, I wanted to underline it and mark it and save it and remember it always because that's exactly how I feel! My mother gives me the freedom and respect of an adult, but she also gives her opinion and advice as one adult to another. Often my friends find this hard to discern from being treated and commanded as a child, and they advise me to do what I want because I'm an adult and can make my own decisions.

Thank you grandad because these were the words I was looking for. How can I explain to them that I am free to do what I choose, but it's hard for me not to listen when one of my BEST friends gives me sincere advice in confidence?

A Free CD

2007-12-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

Well, before the new year comes, I thought you guys might like some free music. I apologize, the audio quality is terrible. Thomas came over for a couple of hours today and we jammed-him on a sax, and I'm on the piano. We recorded into quicktime on the macbook with a USB mic that was meant for speech. But hey! Maybe you'll like it anyway.
Here's a preview mp3, and below is a link to download the whole album in mp3 form. Rock on!

Amazing Grace

Whole Album mp3 ~ 20 MB

Walking to School

2007-12-16T13:42:00.001-08:00

So, as most of you know, BYU has inadequate parking for the billions of students that attend the school. Either that, or each student really has five cars and insists on bringing all of them every day and parking them in all of the closest lots early in the morning.

So I park a million miles away from school, and it takes approximately eight days every morning to get to class.

That said, I've walked past some cool and fun things in the last week, and I want to share them with you!

These are all pictures of DT getting smashed. This has been happening for a long time, but it just kinda struck me how cool it was.

Here it is the next morning, this time they were actually in the process of smashing. Whoo! that big ball is heavy!

K, continuing to walk, we pass the bean museum and walk down the stairs by the bell tower and then to the crosswalk under the great big white walkway. We press the button and stand there in awkward silence with five other students who also wish they were already in a building somewhere.

The light turns, and we make our way across the street and set a course along the walkway that leads behind the MOA and HFAC, through the WILK, and finally to the basement of the crabtree.

But on the way, a little gem appears:

This little woodpecker! I don't know if you can see him, but he was kind of dabbing at the bark, not really pecking, and I guess he was looking for something cause he stayed there for a long time, and then flew to the next tree and did the same thing!

I even got close enough to take these pictures.

Funny how something so simple can bring tranquility to a possibly stressful morning.

December 9, 2007 Reading, Almost the last one

2007-12-09T23:09:00.001-08:00

I'm getting lazy.

Finals are coming up week after next, and I'm a bit worried about preparing properly. I don't want bad grades in my classes, but I've been spending so much time doing work for the animation major that it's tough to keep up (or care).

And I lost the piece of paper that holds my reading log for BOM for the semester. Bummer.

All personal shortcomings aside, I read Alma 23-29 tonight.

I realize that I have been writing a lot of thoughts on these, and personally I really have a hard time reading long blog posts, so I'll keep it short and to the point tonight, besides, I want to go read my family's blogs.

The main point I have to say about these scriptures in general is: WOW. WHAT MISSIONARIES! Reading those experiences and also the personal testimonies and speakings of Alma and his brethren just made me REALLY exited to go on my mission. It also made me think of Cammon, and how he must've felt on his mission, and many of my good friends who are out serving now. I love the lord.

One interesting thing I noticed while reading the last chapter. Alma is speaking, He is, I think, what I like to call "venting." it's the scripture we all know so well that starts "Oh that I were an angel." Then Alma goes on to speak of other things. One of the things he says is that when he sees someone (like the Anti-Neph-Lehi's) being brought to the Lord, he is brought to a remembrance of the Lord's mercy in bringing his fathers out of bondage.

I realized that throughout the first half of the book of mormon, the people are advised to remember this. Then I realized that when we take the sacrament, we covenant to always remember Christ, and how he has brought us out of bondage.

I had never realized that.

Sorry, It wasn't short.

2007-12-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Say hello to my cucumber!

This is a cucumber I painted near the beginning of fall semester for my RenderMan class.

I painted it in photoshop using a tablet and pen, and I think it turned out pretty good! I must say though, I kinda cheated. I took reference photos of my real cucumber, then put one into photoshop and painted over it. So it wasn't just eye-impression stuff.

But I'm still proud!

November 25, 2007 Reading, Something after 18

2007-11-25T23:16:00.001-08:00

Today I read Mosiah 26-29. It contained the story of Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah. You know that's a very cool story.

Mom and I were talking about, earlier in the chapters, I don't exactly remember where, between chapter 26 and the story of Alma, Christ is telling Alma the older that in the afterlife, when the day of judgement comes, when the unrighteous (those who refuse to believe or follow the gospel) come before him, he will not know them and they will be sent to eternal torment. Before I go on, I'd like to apologize for that last sentence, I'm pretty sure it's of illegal proportion. Anyway, Mother and I were discussing how it would feel to be told by Christ that he "never knew you" and to know that you were eternally dammed due to your own free will. I thought that it must feel pretty awful, but then we were also thinking that maybe, if we keep our dispositions from this life, some people just wouldn't care. I thought about that, and I think it could be true in some cases, but that turned out not to be the case for Alma the younger.

In the book it says that he was the vilest of sinners before he was turned around. And after he is given back mobility and speech, Alma himself bears testimony of the bitterness of Hell. He marvels at the fact that his soul was snatched from the tangles of perdition, and that he was given another chance at making his life worthwhile. Imagine how Alma would have felt at judgement had his father and others not prayed for him. Imagine him finding out the truth of the gospel, like he did in life, and then realizing that there is not going back and that he's blown it.

I think Alma felt somewhat of that in sympathy for others because the scriptures say that he, and the sons of Mosiah, would quake at the thought of even one soul being lost. I think I feel some of that sympathy sometimes, and then I want to go out and be a missionary, which I will, but it's frustrating when my friend from down the street is headed in a direction that could lead to very bad places later, and it seems that all I can do is keep being a friend. His life is his decision after all.

Nevertheless, I thank the Lord for doing that for Alma and his brethren. They are my heroes and examples.

Cell phone Pics

2007-11-13T22:16:00.001-08:00

These are just some pictures from my cell phone I wanted to share.

Look at my beautiful school! this is from that sidewalk between the JSB and the Testing Center. Look at the Mountain!

Halo-WeeeeeeeN ! I think this is my favorite pumpkins pic. Char's is the one that's scaring the bejeebers out of mine.

A'ight, these two I took this morning. There were these Asian people in what looked like traditional dress with a really cool dragon. The dragon is chasing a ball, and the guy holding the ball was yelling something, like directions. Anyway, really cool. Just wanted to share.

November 11, 2007 Reading 18

2007-11-11T21:54:00.001-08:00

Mosiah 4-6.
Mosiah 5: 4-5
4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things which
our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great
knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.
5 And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to
do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things
that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may
not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken
by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.
(emphasis added)

~ Last week was fast & testimony meeting. I got up, bore my
testimony of missionary work and examples, and sat down. After church
we were making our way out of the building in our usual jolly manner
- looking forward to a day of rest and food ;). We were talking to
people in the foyer, and enjoying ourselves while slowly making our
way to the heavy glass doors of the church. This is pretty much my
favorite part of Sunday, but that's beside the point. As we were
leaving, I held the door for one of the elderly couples in the ward.
As they passed, the husband of the couple turned to pat me on the
back and said "That 'I believe' should be 'I know'." I smiled and
nodded, and they left. Then I really started to think about what they
had said, and what I had said because I hadn't even been conscious of
saying "I believe." I thought back and remembered the words I had
used to express my feelings about the church. If I remember
correctly, I said "I believe this gospel is true to the point that I
would give my life for it." In saying so I meant that I would either
give of my life to the gospel (missionary work for example) or be
willing to give it up for the gospel. These words to me express
experience, or knowledge.
I think that there is much store in the church set upon knowing the
truth of the gospel, and that often people use that very same
phraseology to express their belief. I personally don't often feel
comfortable saying that I know the gospel is true, and I share the
sentiment with my mother that the word "know" is over used at times.
To me, I have expressed the greatest knowledge I can of the gospel.
In clearer words, I might say that, based upon my experiences, and
according to the faith that I have, I believe, or know that this
gospel is true to the greatest extent of my knowledge. Then, I feel
that that knowledge is affirmed by action, as is stated in verse
five. I know this gospel is true to the point that I will do all that
I can to serve and give.
I don't think testimonies are about the words so much as they are
about the truth, action and attitude behind them.
In writing this entry, I risk sounding prideful, and I really hope I
don't come across that way. I just want anyone reading this to know
of my knowledge of the gospel, and maybe to be able to look at the
testimonies of others in a new light, no matter what words they use.
Love you all
Murphy

November 4, 2007 Reading 17

2007-11-05T07:06:00.001-08:00

Just a bit of politics today. I was reading Mosiah 1-3, which is
just packed with sweet stuff. I'm only writing about a small part of
it here so please, if you want to hear King Benjamin's amazing love
and testimony, read it yourself.
I was reading about king Benjamin, and in the vicinity of verses
twelve and thirteen he speaks of what kind of leader he is. Although
he is speaking of himself, king Benjamin is very humble. He was a
righteous, caring man. And his kingship was more like the service of
a bishop. He became king because the people and the Lord wanted him
to be. But when he was king, he labored with his own hands so as not
to impose tax upon the people. He was truly a servant in one of the
purest senses. To be at the top of society, but be a servant to the
lowest of the low is pretty amazing.
Anyway, as I was marveling at the wonderfulness of this leader, I
recalled words that I had heard from Dan Carlen in his podcast Common
Sense. This is a political podcast that's fairly middle of the road.
Mr. Carlen seems to do a fairly good job of presenting both sides of
an issue and not go extreme to any one side. In this particular
instance of which I speak Mr. Carlen was frustrated with the problems
he saw in our nation. After thinking on it, he surmised that the only
solution to most of our problems is a proper leader–A good leader.
Then, though, he became discouraged because in his eyes there wasn't
the good leader to be found.
In a way, I agree with Mr. Carlen. And as I was reading this
scripture, I though "king Benjamin would make the perfect president."
But, after thinking that for a couple of seconds, I realized that we
as a nation aren't ready for a leader of king Benjamin's caliber. I
think to succeed we need a good, righteous leader, but also a humble
nation that is willing to do the things the leader requires.
Then I realized that we do have a modern-day king Benjamin. All of
the qualities described of king Benjamin happen to be held also by
our dear prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. President Hinckley serves us
and loves us with all of his might, mind, and strength. And I pray
that God blesses him for it. I love our Prophets and apostles and I
thank the lord for there presence, example, and guidance. Although,
as they would be sure to tell, the presence we feel is that of the
spirit.
goodnight.

Shading hard!

2007-11-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some shading work for Kites.
If you saw the grandpa before, I spend this evening developing his
sub surface shader more.
I (with the text help of shaun) re-wrote the sub-surface shader
essentially from the ground up.
And here's the sweet monkey.
Tuh duh.

Viscus Inc.

2007-10-28T21:55:00.001-07:00

K, sorry there have been so many images lately, but they're so fun!
The images below are a collection of shirts that Kristin Gulledge,
Cody Threlfall, and yours truly designed together.
The PHS ones were for PHS choir tour, and all of the rest were for a
Volcom shirt design contest. We didn't win anything :(
While we were designing these shirts however, we decided that we are
really cool, and that we should start a shirt design company. So we
did. It's called Viscus Inc. (it took us FOREVER to find the right
name. :) )
Thanks you guys! you rock!
(Right now, Cody is on a mission in Argentina. Good work Cody! See ya
in two and a half years!)

Some skethchchess

2007-10-28T21:41:00.001-07:00

These are some sketches from a while ago, I thought I'd show 'em off again. Sorry if you've seen them before. Sometime soon I'll post current ones.

Indiana Jane, from the sketch club, I think this was scarlet posing.

Stephen, Kissing himself in the mirror, also from the sketch club.

Hmm, Jeremy I think? Done with sharpie and a finer pen. Sketch Club.

This is from an assignment during Kelly's intro class. We were doing hands.

A face I really liked after I drew it. Not all that realistic, but I liked it.

More to come!

We don't need to climb a moutain...

2007-10-28T21:38:00.001-07:00

Jacob 5, 6, and 7

Jacob 5 is the really huge chapter that tells the story of the olive tree, which was actually a prophecy from Zenos. Anyway, I think this was the first time I'd read this story all the way straight through. I usually get lost in the middle because it's really wordy, but this time I read it out loud to Dad (who was falling asleep, but paying attention) and Mom. I was able to keep a bit better track this time. On a non-spiritual note, I think the science of trees is amazing! The fact that there is that much work and art in growing trees, cool. But seriously, I think this prophecy is a really interesting mix of seeing what could be us, or what could be the Nephites, or people we don't know, and prophecies of the last days. Also I think it provides an interesting view of the father (whoever the master of the vineyard represents).

I wanted to focus on one verse though, which I think is one of my most favorite verses in whole Book: Jacob 6:12 - "O be wise, what can I say more?" This verse kind of sums up all of the commandments for me. We have been given general guidelines, and when it all comes down to it, the Lord isn't going to tell you each individual thing (can I carry a fork on sunday?). I think that people all too often want to be told every little thing to do or not to do. When we start living the commandments, and I mean really living them, not just thinking "oh, I can't drink liquor because my church doesn't let me" but thinking "I don't want to drink that liquor, my friend and teacher told me it wouldn't be wise" we start to see more on a plane with the Lord. Rather than focusing on ourselves all of the time, we begin to love and care for people we don't know very well. We begin to shepherd ourselves in the ways we behave because we can better see the end we want to reach. Rather than following the steps to make it to heaven, we see what kind of person we must be to get there, and we are more likely to do what is necessary to make ourselves that person (which just so happens to involve keeping the commandments!).

Anyway, long ramble, little insight.

Let's go be wise.

Not exactly a flash, but that's OK

2007-10-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

Just sittin' here. It's Sunday, Church is over, and I'm about to take a nap.

In my junior year of high school we did a project where we took a photo from each year of our life, wrote a little about it, and found world events that went on that year. That assignment took me a LONG time to complete, but I'm really glad I collected the photos 'cause they're some of the coolest!

So here are the photos, not in chronological order (sorry). I'll make some comments on them.

Haloween! I think I was four years old,which is really odd 'cause I look MUCH older than that in this picture. Bein' a cowboy.
Thanks for the sweet stash paint Mom!

Swimming in Grandma's pool with Cammon, one of my heroes.

Gin and I eatin' ice cream and evidently I'm being very selfless with my treats (Just like I always was).
That sweater you see me wearing... is awesome. Every year on christmas eve we'd each get new sweatshirts from the parents. Then mom had this really cool squeeze on glitter paint stuff that we'd decorate our shirts with. Then we'd let the shirts dry overnight and we'd get to wear them the next day!

Brushing my teeth! Here I am, standing at the same counter I still brush my teeth at.
The stool is a bit smaller now though.

Halloween again, all four of us hoodlums.

Me as a baby! Don't you just wish your baby was this cute :)

Grandpa teaching me how to golf. I've never really been a big golfer, but grandpa got cammon into it.
I loved that aviator jacket.

This is in Paris. Mom took this really cool picture in front of the fountain where children were pushing toy boats around with sticks.
Really kind of a post-card moment.

Stu and I at a family reunion.

What's in the box?
A silly boy, and an irate puppy!

This is another sweet photo. Mom took this at home one day while I was shirking my math. She's an awesome photographer.
BTW, I still wear that shirt today, and it's still one of the most comfortable shirts I've ever worn. And one of the toughest! I even wore it to the beach and swam in it when I was about nine.

For a while we had a tradition that we'd all get Old Navy flag shirts every fourth of july. Here's the fam! (Dad, are you taking the picture?

Kris and I went on one of the sweetest rides EVER! We went camping up the canyon, and went riding, and got all cut up, and had a skunk steal our sausage and maul our cheese! Wow!

Christmas morning tradition, sitting on the stairs waiting to be called down. This is still one of my favorite parts of christmas.

We'd only had the horses for a short time when this photo was taken. This is at the Butterfield's pasture, and that's Zion thinking about eating me.

At the Hogle Zoo, I think this was for my B-Day. That was a sweet day, pretty hot though.

So there you have it, the first sixteen years of my life, in less than a nutshell.

A concept for a sweet image

2007-10-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is a concept for a possible assignment in one of my classes.
The Robot's name is "Merril" and he's bored, and a little bummed.
Wouldn't you be if you were sitting in that alleyway?

2007-10-25T00:39:00.000-07:00

The tree of life at DeezdiWorld. Taken by yours truly.

Grace you say? Do I hear works?

2007-10-21T22:05:00.001-07:00

Not a whole lot to write tonight, but there was some pretty powerful
stuff said in the scriptures. (Tonight I read 2nd Nephi 31-End)
31:13, Nephi is saying that after you follow the example of Christ
you can receive the Holy Ghost. In class last time we discussed the
Grace/Works battle that goes on with other religions and this brought
that to mind. A lot of times people who are outside of the LDS
religion will get down on the church because the think we believe we
are saved by works, when both the bible and the Book of Mormon state
that we are saved by grace alone.
My amazing Honors Book of Mormon teacher gave us this concept to
illustrate: If you want to be a religion professor at BYU, it is
required that you have a PHD. You don't have one, so you go out to
school and work for a lot of years. You earn a PHD and then you come
back to apply for a job at BYU. They still don't hire you. "But I
have a PHD!" you protest. "You said I needed one to be able to work!"
That's still true, you do need a PHD to be able to work, but you
aren't going to get hired just because you have the PHD.
Can you see how this applies to the Works/Grace situation? We need
good works in order to qualify for the benefits of grace, but it's
not good works that get us into the kingdom. Grace and grace alone is
what saves our soles, but we need works in order to have access to
that grace.
Very cool I though. Thanks so much Brother Swift!

First post!

2007-10-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

K, so I just started this new Blog. To start things off I wanted to share one of my scripture journal entries. Sorry if it's not very entertaining. :) I really write them for myself, but I thought you might find it interesting.

Begin Journal entry:

Alright, I’m writing fast again. This time I’m sitting in class before it starts :).

I just wanted to relate a story to 2nd Nephi 25:24. It says that even though the law is old, keep obeying it until the Lord does away with it. This is important to me because it stresses obedience.
Once I was at karate, and through conversation, the question was brought up by blake why we don’t drink. Well actually he was saying stuff more like: “Y’know, Benjamin Franklin said that the proof there is a God is that he gave us beer.” So I went on to tell him about why I obey the word of wisdom. I told him that the word of wisdom is given to us with the weakest of our brethren in mind. The rules are set for all of us. So, even if some of us could handle a little wine before dinner without getting drunk, there are some who can’t so the law forbids it all. It’s my job to obey the law.
Then Sensei asked why I obey the law. Evidently this was one of his big pet peeves–when people blindly obey without a reason. I told him that I obey because I believe the words the book of mormon gives me, and I respect the general authorities. Because I respect the general authorities and what they do, I have made a choice to follow them and do as they tell me. Afterwards Sensei told me that he was impressed, and that he had never heard anybody say it that way before.
Just wanted to share my missionary experience. And I felt this applied to the scripture in the obedience aspect.