The ever buisy leaders

The way the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has instructed its members has gradually changed and expanded though time. At first the prophet directly taught everyone. As the church grew the prophet could only visit the members from time to time, which grew less frequent as the number of people steadily increased. Technology evolved and the church could send images of the prophet and apostles all over the world through television and the internet. For some, these broadcasts are the only chance to see the leaders of the church. L Tom Perry's article "Thou Shalt Give Heed unto All His Words", and Lubeck's "The Church and Computers: Using Tools the Lord has Provided" really show how pervasive technology has become in disseminating the word of the Lord to his followers. And only through the continued wise use of technology will members be able to interact with their leaders.

Finding the Middle Ground

Revolution OS discusses the development of open source software, more particularly Linux, from the perspective of the open source community. They depict Microsoft as the big bad guy, when this wasn’t the case. Microsoft tried to protect their investments, their programs, and did so by locking down their code and copywriting it. The open sources thought all code should be shared so it can be improved. However they also lock down their code: they made a licensing agreement that could be used to charge people for what they use. This is the same that Microsoft was doing. The only difference was the availability of the source code. So rather than what Microsoft was doing being inherently evil, it went too far. They brought up the analogy in the movie of bringing snacks to school, yet use it in a distorted way. When kids go to school and take a snack the teacher would say I hope you brought enough for everyone and require the kid to share it. Now the kid isn’t giving out the recipe for the snack, nor is he taking more from the store without buying them; he is sharing the one version he had bought. This would be like bringing Windows in on a machine and letting everyone play on that machine and use Windows. Not giving out copies of Windows. So where do you draw the line.  By letting people have the source code they may take it, copy it and redistribute it without paying, but they can then find errors and improve upon the program they have to fill the needs they have.

Helping Too Late

The inability of state and federal agencies to act is highlighted in "the Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. They agreed that the guy's position was just, but they couldn't help him, either it was out of their jurisdiction or not worth their time. At least they believe this. Sometimes part of the solution would fall under one agency but they don't believe they have the power to act. The early members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced a similar issue when trying to gain redress for religious persecution. "When approached by Joseph Smith in 1839 seeking financial redress for the injustices suffered by the Saints in Missouri, President Martin Van Buren replied, "Gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." Documentary History of the Church, 4:80" (obtained from lds.org).  Yet years later the president makes a decision to free the slaves, something not backed by the constitution, though equally right and unpopular. We are so focused on not being the one to set a precedent for extending power to the government, that we will sometimes let injustices go on for years.

New Temptations?

Living in the world but not of the world is a difficult task. The world's morals shift as easily as a leaf in a stream, pulled by the current of popular belief. However, God's standards haven't changed and He expects ours to remain in place as well, especially on per-marital abstinence. While many Christians believe this to be true, CNN reports that 80% of Christian Young Single Adults have participated in per-marital sex. CNN also reports that the average marital age has increased significantly over the years. In biblical times it was in the early teens, now it's in the late twenties. Society has added adolescence between childhood and adulthood, giving time for our bodies to finish growing and developing before expecting responsibility of us. Yet this is a time of confusion and change for us, as well as a time of temptation. With the current average age of marriage, we have added 15 years before abstinence can end appropriately. 15 years of raging hormones, low responsibility and increased temptation. For many, these 15 years of constant hounding form the media and friends turns out to be too much, but a few are able to respect themselves and wait.

(current event 3)

Learning With Portals

Papers, pencils, protractors and calculators were the implements for teaching physics a few years ago. But now video games are making their way into the classroom. A popular puzzle game, Portal, is available for free as a new initiative to teach children physics in a new and entertaining manner. This game teaches problem solving as well as concepts in physics, such as the preservation of motion, but in a format that people would pay to use in their free time. Schools are adapting and utilizing new technology in teaching, yet this is almost trickery: teachers disguising learning in an entertaining format! Kids aren't going to hate school anymore; they may actually learn to like it. Learning won't be for the sake of getting a good job, but for its own merit. What could be next, people actually liking their jobs?


(current event 2)

The Last Days

The recent hurricane and evacuation of New York continues the trend of more frequent and worse natural disaster. D&C 45, more specifically verses 33 and 38, tells that this trend is precursory to the second coming. The decline of honesty, as discussed in the most recent BYU forum, is like the love of men waxing cold. Mankind doesn't respect itself and does whatever it can to make a profit. The last days are hear and the second coming is soon at hand, but what is soon. The Lord never uses soon as man does and so there could be many days left, years or even decades. But as time passes more of these signs will be fulfilled. Is the recent Football game between BYU and the U of U one of them?

(current event #1)

Technology: a double edged blade

The article by Postman, "Five things we need to Know About Technological Change", brings up an interesting perspective about technology: the good and bad it does for society. I had never really looked at technology in the terms of good and bad, yes I have know that they can be used for good and ill, but I never went looking for their impacts on society. The points Postman uses make sense, however I have always lived by the view Elder Oaks presents in "Focus and Priorities", that there always will be bad people around that try to use a new technology for evil, but if used carefully and wisely, modern innovations can be a great asset in life. Everyone must decide for themselves where the boundary between using wisely and carelessly lies, but by discovering it and staying well into the wisely side, technology will be a great blessing, rather than the cause of ignorance.