One Mann's Viewpoint

      Imagine a word where each action could be quantified in numerical form. Where numbers could be used to better understand every relationship and why certain things in life happen more often than others. The beauty of statistics is that this is the case. Once data is accurately collected, it can be utilized to learn about why events happen or occur.  Data Collected: Gun Use     The data that was collected for this example was gun use, as well as certain identifiers such as race and marital status. Using R Studio, these numerical representations were utilized to discover how which populations used guns most often, as well as which used guns least often. Although the labels may be difficult to read, look at the graphs below and try to discover which demographics answered yes to using guns most often.  Note: from left to right the labels read Mexican American, Other Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic Asian, Other Races: Mul...

"Rent to Buy" Marriages Renting in America is common when it comes to objects, like a suit for a wedding, a truck when you move houses, or even a movie to entertain your family for a night, but have you ever thought of marriage as something you would want to rent before you bought?  Today we see many people convinced that the best way to prepare for marriage is to take their future spouse for a "test drive" before they purchase. The phenomenon I am referring to is called cohabitation. It involves two unmarried individuals who are in a relationship living together prior to being married. These cohabiting relationships often operate by certain rules, like living together and having sexual intercourse, but not combining finances or becoming fully dependent on one another. The goal in these relationships is to enjoy the benefits of living together without having to be committed fully to the other person. Although this model of "trying before you buy" ...

Christ will Provide This week I had the pleasure of learning again, in depth, the miracle of feeding the five hundred. This story shows up a few times in the New Testament, but I ran into it again while reading in Mark chapter 6. For those who are unfamiliar with this miracle, I will give a short and quick breakdown.  The Savior and his apostles are in the wilderness and people come to be taught by him. Many came and learned with him. As the day went on the apostles asked of Jesus what they should do for these people. They needed to eat, but there were so many people. The apostles suggested sending the people back to the city to get food for themselves. Jesus Christ had a different idea, inviting his apostles to go out among the people and collect all the food they had. They collected only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. After Jesus blessed this food and separated the people into groups, he was able to feed them all. It was a miracle that this small sacrifice of food was m...

The Origin of True Authority This week in my studies I came across a scripture that got my mind thinking. The scripture was in the Book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 21 & 22, and it reads... " And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."  To set the stage, Mark is telling about some of the things that Christ did in his ministry, and he tells this right after saying how Christ called his apostles one by one. These scriptures stood out to me because they outline the distinct difference that people were able to see between the scribes and the Lord, Jesus Christ. In two ways he was different, in his "astonishing" knowledge of the doctrine and in his authority.  Christ's knowledge of the doctrine came from study and prayer. He was the Son of God, but he grew up learning, as th...

Being Judged Today What it means to have your "Calling and Election" made sure Recently while reading in the new testament in 2 Peter, I stumbled across a scripture that led me to think and study more deeply. The verse that caught my attention was 2 Peter 1:10-11 which reads... "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This scripture explains how if you are able to "make your calling and election sure" then you will never fall away and it seems like you'll be admitted into the same kingdom as Christ, our savior. Now these seemed like pretty important promises to me, things that I would most certainly want to obtain. The next step was to figure out what "making your calling and election sure" even meant.  ...

Being Equally Yoked There is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It is what it means to be "equally yoked" to the people around you. Especially your spouse. This week in my study of the New Testament I stumbled across a scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says... "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" This verse is a pretty intense verse with some pretty different interpretations. Paul is the author of this book and he is writing to the saints who are living in Corinth. Is he telling them, and us, to not be friends with those who aren't faithful members? Surely he isn't telling us to drop every one of our non-member friends and live in a shelters lds community where we will never be around those who are "equally yoked" in the gospel with us.  There is a talk, given by President Spencer W. Kimbal...

The Reality of Christ and Satan As many of you know, I am a Christian. I fully believe in the reality of Christ, in his ministry as recorded in the New Testament, and of the miracles that he performed. I gained this revelation in the same way many of the apostles did that we read about in the scriptures. When Christ called his apostles he told them to follow him and gave them authority to enact certain miracles. In Matthew chapter 10 he told them to...  "... go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.". With this charge, the apostles did just that. We can read account after account of them healing the sick, raising the dead, and giving freely of the word of God to his children. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that this is the same church that Christ established, brought back to the earth by Christ himself, a ...

The Family: A Proclamation of Action The Family: A Proclamation to the World outlines the purposes of family and the divine roles of a fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives. It lays out clearly how to organize the family and how to make the family experience the most enjoyable. The last and final paragraph of the proclamation serves as a call to arms, inviting everyone to support the words in the proclamation because they are the words of God. It reads... WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society. How can the everyday "joe" like you and me promote these measures to strengthen the family. One of the most important things we can do is begin living the council that we gain from the proclamation. By living it, the people around you will begin to see the difference and ask themselves what you are doing differently. We can also all promote...

The Family: A Proclamation on Accountability The 8th paragraph of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" holds within it a warning. The Lord knew that when families operated appropriately the results could be beautiful, but he equally understands the destruction that can come to people's lives when their family situation is less than ideal. Knowing this, the majority of the proclamation is about how families should act at the ideal level. This paragraph is a warning when life is not ideal. The 8th paragraph reads...  WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. Accountability to God means that we will be judged for our actions in the family.  Violating covenant...

Sexual Purity: The Website Throughout this semester of school at BYU-Idaho I have taken a religion course based around the importance of eternal families. While in the class, I was assigned a group as well as a subject to which we created a website. Our topic was sexual purity! Our finished webiste's link is... https://reallovewaits4u.weebly.com/ Initially I was excited about the prospect of studying sexual purity, but worried that in the stage of life I am in there isn't much I could apply to my own self. I had only recently been married and a large aspect of sexual purity is abstaining from sex before marriage. I came to learn that purity comes in more forms that this. Being sexually pure is not something that ends after marriage, but rather continues for the rest of our lives. It is a marker of how we think about others, especially our spouse. It has to do with what we allow into our minds, choosing consciously to allow holy things into our minds. This happens as we c...

The Family: A Proclamation on Family Responsibility Each paragraph of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" focuses on an important aspect of God's plan with which the family is always at the center. The seventh paragraph is no different. This paragraph outlines how a happy family life can be established, as well as the important roles that a father and mother take on. It reads... THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to presi...

The Family: A Proclamation on Marriage and Parenthood  The Family: A Proclamation to the World shares some of the most important doctrines to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The sixth paragraph dives deeper into the importance of marriage in its effects on children. It also shares the importance of raising children and the responsibility placed on parents in this regard. It reads... HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. One of the first principles outlined in this paragr...

Utilizing Media to Teach Media can be a very useful tool for telling a story or creating a dialog that is deeper than only words. Often when music, video, and photos are used it can help the reader to visualize and therefore feel the words. Anyone who has seen the harry potter movies likely cannot now read the books without seeing those actors faces in their minds in place of the characters they read. This is because our minds create the story in we read with images and feelings.  For the past several weeks, I have been working with a group of students at my college to develop a website. The website, called  https://reallovewaits4u.weebly.com/ , is all about looking at the different perspective in the world on the topic of procreation and sexual purity. The goal of the website is to help readers learn more about the subject, and with their knowledge be able to make better choices for their themselves, their children, and their future. One thing the website is lac...

The Family: A Proclamation on Procreation The Family: A Proclamation to the World uses its words carefully and for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it is considered revelation. In the same way apostles of old met together after the saviors ascended into heaven to discuss the church, apostles today do the same. After prayer and deliberation, to make sure it was truly the Lords will, they released this proclamation. Not just as a standard to show the beliefs of their church, but to show the true will of God. That is why each word was chosen carefully to be as clear and simple to understand as possible. The 4th and 5th paragraphs on the proclamation discuss how God views procreation and marriage. A topic that I am sure he does not want misunderstood. It reads... THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish th...

The Family: A Proclamation on Happiness Part 3 The third paragraph of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" focuses its contents on the journey that we all are going through. From the beginning of our existence to our hopeful end back in heaven. It reads... In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally. I love this paragraph because it begins by outlining who we are before we even come to earth. Have you ever wondered why your identical twins have such...

The Importance of Evaluating Your Life This week I wanted to take a minute and evaluate how my life is going. I thought it would be a good opportunity for everyone who is reading this Blog to do the same.  Hmm... things about my life right now. I am currently happily married, living in a great apartment, adding money to our bank account each month after expenses, and getting fairly good grades. In terms of marriage, financial, and my job, I would say that I am doing pretty good. There are still some definite areas of my life that I still struggle with. I struggle with balancing schoolwork with the rest of my responsibilities, I struggle with staying spiritual and making time to pray and study my scriptures, and I struggle with staying in good contact with my family, mostly my parents and siblings.  The great thing about evaluating your life is that it gives you the opportunity to think deeply on where you can improve and then make a plan to address those issues. F...

The Family: A Proclamation on Gender! "The Family: A Proclamation To The World" addresses several important facets of human kind. It addresses the importance of the family, the different roles that a father and mother should play, and many other important opinions that relate to the family. The best part of the proclamation is that the information within it is not just mere opinion, it is fact. It is revelation from an all-knowing, all-loving God given to his children to help them get through the world today without as much confusion. In the second paragraph of the proclamation it addresses gender. It reads...  "ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." One the first things that this paragraph addresses is that all...

The Sacred Powers of Procreation (Sexual Purity Before and After Marriage) The topic I wish to discuss this is week this the importance of sexual purity, and how sacred the powers of procreation really are. My first impressions when I began to think on this topic were all the trials that people go through when they do not view sex in a respectful or sacred way. From having a baby out of wedlock to infidelity in marriage, there can be some serious issues that can occur when we do not value the importance of appropriate chastity. I was glad that this is subject I know something about, having been married and been able to see how our views before and after marriage is equally important.  Really to me, sexual purity is all about what we do, how we think, and eventually who we are. It is more than avoiding sex until we are married, it is learning to understand and control the natural urges given to bring people together. Learning how important and sacred that sex can be under...

The Family: A Proclamation To You "The Family: A Proclamation To The World" is a list of beliefs for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It addresses everything from where we came from before this life to the responsibilities of each Father and Mother. It even shares our beliefs on how God intended a marriage and family to look. Today the proclamation may be considered controversial, as it leaves no gray area as to how the Lord would have us live. In our day however, the definition of marriage, and family roles is shifting on such a sandy surface that it is sure to collapse eventually. The interesting thing about the proclamation to the world, is that is was given in 1995, years before much of these modern day conflicts became truly controversial. The Family: A Proclamation To The World is revelation from God that I full heartedly believe. I know that if the words in this document were followed, then much heartbreak could have been avoided.  W...

Why Start Blogging? Starting a blog is never the easiest thing to do, in fact its easier for each of us to just keep our opinions to ourselves. The only issue with this is that there would be very little learning. Imagine if the great inventions of the world were never shared. The Wright brothers would have never shown the world we could fly airplanes, Graham Alexander Bell would have never taught us that we could talk over the phone, and Marcellus Gilmore Edson would have never introduced the world to peanut butter. Each of these inventions have literally shaped our world, but life would have been very different if these opinions, ideas, and thoughts were never shared. Blogging is a tool that we can all use to share.  As members of the Lord's Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, blogging allows us an opportunity to share our beliefs with the world. We are all missionaries and it is important to stand up for what we believe, but to do so in a positive wa...