Sure, this is a minor thing, but it can really make a difference. It can mean the difference between the lessons you teach going smoothly and the lessons being disrupted. I don’t mind the girls being late for church much because it doesn’t directly affect my schedule and plans (though half an hour late each week does baffle me), but when a teacher is late every week and seems oblivious, well… then I must complain about it within the bloggernacle.
Author Archives: guest
The Rhetoric of/about Media Bias
As a graduate student in English and Rhetoric, I earn my stipend in part by teaching a few writing classes. At some point we are allowed to propose ideas about a possible class, and by some strange stroke of luck, my proposal was accepted. So this year, I have been teaching a class called the “Rhetoric of Media Bias” – though I felt “Rhetoric about Media Bias” would have been a more accurate title.
I think this issue has some LDS resonance, what with the L.A. Times giving front page coverage to the “debunking” of the Book of Mormon and the trumpeting of Mitt Romney’s mormonness in the media (whereas Harry Reid’s goes nearly unmentioned – an exhaustive Lexis Nexis search reveals that in the news media Romney’s religious affiliation often takes center stage, whereas Reid’s membership occasionally gets mentioned in an offhand manner).
A memory or two of Girls’ Camp
My ward has a new Girls’ Camp director, and she sat in Young Womens today so she can get to know the girls before camp (which I think is sometime in June). Our first camp meeting will be this Wednesday. Thus, I’ve been thinking about my experiences at Girls’ Camp, especially my first year.
I almost didn’t go. My birthday is in July, and the stake we lived in had Girls’ Camp in August, so I would turn 12 just a few weeks before camp and be eligible to go. The ward started preparing for camp several months early, so they contacted me to get me involved so I could go with them. Thanks, but no thanks, I told them. I wanted nothing to do with camp. They were kind of confused by this – most girls look forward to it. But I was adamant that I didn’t want to go.
Bad Motivations, Good Results.
So, this post may be somewhat confessional (in a harmless way), but in thinking back on my life, there are a few things that have had positive impacts on my life that started out with dubious motivations on my part.
I take comfort in knowing I’m not totally alone in this. Here are a couple of examples:
Those Little Blessings……..
I’m not sure how this will work, but it’s an idea I’ve had popping around in my skull for a while, and so I figured I’d toss it out and see what happens (plus, all that bouncing was causing my brain to hurt).
This thread is about all those little blessings we get that we either barely notice, or (because they are so small or seemingly trivial) would feel a little odd about mentioning in a testimony.
An example might help: I’m thankful I can whistle. But there’s more to it than that – I believe I received a specific blessing from God that allows me to whistle. Let me explain: