A wee bit late.....

Amidst the decline of church attendance by youth many question the youth themselves and the programs that surround them. While the activities and curriculum are important for youth we have neglected to evaluate the very people who influence and often shape them and their character they develop in the church. Youth are often seen as whining, selfish and rude, with this perception filling society it often feels the minds of the youth. This causes the girl or boy to fill this way and they are treated this way by leaders  in the church. In contrast when a leader takes the time to love and care for these teenagers they begin to feel that they are worth something. In the church if supportive and dedicated leaders were present to support and care for the youth, the teenagers would  feel attracted to church and the respect they receive there.

Mini Assignment

What I think I'm movin towards for my topic is something along the lines of  how leaders affect the attendance of youth in the church. Especially the importance of taking the time to lead the kids in the best way possible for them, taking into account home life, social standing, certain barriers and so much more. Where I'm finding a lot of help from is Christian/Religion magazines that are trying to increase attendance too, so their arguments come in handy while I form mine so I can see how other factors affect attendance like prayer, friends, family and so on. I'm going to approach it from the perspective of the youth and all that is going on at that age and then from a psychological perspective, and human development perspective.

Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Proposal

I have decided to write an analysis on the article, “Ashcroft and Friends Versus Washington and the Framers: Fighting Words for a Secular America” I chose this article because of it’s specific angle on the issue of church’s relation to state. The author, Robin Morgan, discusses the founding of America, she takes on the argument that too often we assume the founding fathers were religious and built this nation on those beliefs.  Through her skillful writing that appeals to ethos, she utilizes direct quotes from the founding fathers proving their complete detachment of church and state. 

She doesn’t’ simply summarize what their quotes say concerning their character, but connects it directly back to the nation and the government that was produced by these men and their personal beliefs which we learn were quite secular. Her final statement reads, “That’s only a sampling, quotes that blast cobwebs off the tamed images we have of the Founders. Their own statements…can reconnect us to our proud, secular roots, and should inspire us to honor and defend them.” Her call to action is powerful following her rebuke of the ideas and arguments of so many in America today.

Faith in America

By adopting an authoritative voice, Mitt Romney increases the audiences’ confidence in his message. As an example, in the beginning he quotes John Adams and throughout the speech he quotes other historic figures and references them in relation to his topic of faith in America. Presenting himself as a presidential candidate and therefore a political figure, he shows his knowledge for the country’s history and his appreciation for the founding fathers of our country.

In his message he tells the audience his appreciation for other faiths by sharing their various practices that he would like in his own church. He mentions Catholics, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Jews and Muslims. By mentioning other religions and showing respect for their practices he is able to make a connection with not only members of those faiths, but any reader in America with the belief of religious freedom. Even though I am not any of those religions, he gains my respect that not only does he know their practices, but he admires them.

Finally, we get to the part of his argument that appeals to the logical side of one’s mind or the more logic thinking audience. One of the counter arguments he brings up is the effort by some to eliminate God or any reference to religion from the nation and its practices. He references the belief that it does not encourage people to think on their own, especially Atheists and Agnostics.  To refute the argument he again references the rounding of the country, the fact that it was made not on one religious platform, but the belief that there is a higher power looking out for our country and its proceedings.  

Addiction to Mommy Blogs

1. She brought in her own personal addiction by sharing the irony of it by saying how she was a depressed, overworked Ph.D. student along with her friends. By bringing in her own situation you relate to her feelings. You also get a better view as to how she interacts with the mommy blogs in contrast to her life. 

2. Throughout the writing she is constantly labeling the blogs and the bloggers live's with word like adorable, lovely, old fashioned, comforting, easy going, happy and many others. The use of the descriptive words helps you to imagine what the blogs are like. Like I said earlier, it sets up a contrast with the feelings in the world today which are harsh, sad, judgmental and definitely not comforting.

3. She brings in the counter argument saying that they're dishonest in the way they portray married life, raising kids, and just being a mom. She taps into the pressures of being a mom in Utah and how many feel the pressure to be perfect in all they do. She turns the counter argument to her favor however because she uses it to highlight the bloggers in such a way that you see them as human and choosing to see the positive side in life. This helps the reader to further relate to her argument as to why the blogs are a great thing.

A Paper About A Paper

This opinion editorial was a very fun paper to write! It was nice to have freedom to choose what we wanted to write, how we wanted to write it, and how we wanted it to be taken or what tone we wanted it to take on. What really helped me in the writing process for this paper was the free write and the rough draft posting on google drive to receive comments from peers. The free write was very helpful because it got ideas generating inside my head without the pressure of writing a paper. Although I didn’t write about anything that was in my free write, it led to my mind finding the topic I wanted my paper to be on. Putting the rough drafts in google docs so we could get comments from our group was super helpful. Especially when we had the class where all we did was talk about each other’s paper. It helped to have the discussion between writer and readers be direct and interactive. 

I would say one thing that would have been really nice would have been to have us post the paper to the google docs again before we turned in the final. That way our group could read it again and see if the changes they had suggested had worked and see how the paper worked after the critiques were taken into account. I know personally I loved the suggestions my group gave, I just wasn’t sure if I had edited the paper to the point that they had wanted it to be at. So it would have been nice to receive that extra layer of critique and assurance of the paper’s quality.

I don’t know as if I had any expectations, but I liked that it was very free and open to my ideas as a writer. I was allowed to explore my own thoughts and beliefs and then express it in the way I wanted it to be presented. 

Style Academy.

I'm not going to lie, but that was kind of interesting. It was cool in the beginning how you could watch him construct new sentences and also hear  his thinking process as he was 

doing that. 

Kind of like he said, there is no right way to construct a sentence, I mean besides the obvious grammatical rules that are universal. Constructing a sentence is like choosing an outfit. We all have different styles and even if two people are given the exact same closet, they will always come up with different outfits. The analogy is the same when it comes to universal laws that usually should not be broken. For example with outfits, rules concerning the pairing of colors, black and brown, navy and blue, similar colors like dark and light purple. However, these rules can be broken if they're pulled off in the right time, place and setting. 

It's the same with sentences, everyone's mind works in a different way which leads them to view, write, and construct many different things. You can also pull of stylistic additions if you have it in the right context that will support it. 

GASCAP Articles!! YAY!

1

Argument by Generalization

Why did Angie and Brad bother to get married?

Written by: Peggy Drexler

She used their appeal as a celebrity couple to define the group of Americans who aren't getting married, or, for example, the homosexuals who are fighting for the right. Through the use of facts, statistics and tax information, she informed her audience as to why marriage was an option that people should consider and do when the opportunity presents itself.

2

Argument by Analogy

Stop the insanity of reclining seats

Written by: Maria  Cardona

She was talking about the recent instances of flights being diverted because of arguments that broke out over someone reclining their seat on a flight. So she proposed the idea of simply getting rid of reclining seats. Two airlines were brought up that have done this as evidence, that it can be done and work out just fine for the airline's bottom line.

3

Argument by Signs

Why is ISIS so brutal?

  Written by: Frida Ghitis

This article is under this description because of the claims supported with reasons that were actions of the group. Then, she went on to define their brutality through examples of what they had done in the past. She also went on to compare them to brutal, genocide groups in history.

4

Argument by Cause 

How slavery haunts today's America

Written by: Edward E. Baptist

He discussed the effects of slavery in today's culture. This was actually my favorite article because of one of his perspectives. He mentioned that because of the selling of slaves, many families have been separated. For example, a man had married and raised kids, but when he was sold into New Orleans he had started a new family, now neither family knows each other. He listed more effects, but that was the most poignant because of its originality.

5

Argument by Authority

Will the 'God Particle' destroy the world?

Written by: Meg Urry

Meg Urry, the author, is the Israel Munson professor of physics and astronomy at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. Basically, she is really smart and she know exactly what she is talking about! She is definitely an authority on the scientific matter she is discussing.

6

Argument by Principle

Beheading Video Poses Challenge for Social Media

Written by: David Weinberger

I know, I know, another article in reference to ISIS. This one though discussed more the impact of the beheading videos on social media, and the problem that social medias face in term of free speech for their members on their internet site. We all believe in the constitutional right of free speech for all in this great nation, but what that also boils down to, is sometimes we will see and hear things that we don't want to. At that point, when can it be taken down, can it ever be?

Thesis Proposal

In my free write I was more focused on the dress code and human nature, but with my opinion editorial I will be going in a different direction. Recently I was diagnosed with general and social anxiety. After months of counseling and medication I finally feel that the world is spinning normally, (as normal as it can get), and I feel like I can handle the day to day! Before my diagnosis though, I held the belief that medication was not the best solution for mental issues. I was convinced to truly solve the issue you had to face it with your own mind so you could defeat yourself without the assistance of outside forces. 

However, after my personal experience with the weaknesses and insufficiency you feel when the very thing that is running your mind is ruining you from the inside out. After I was prescribed the medication I instantly saw the difference. My ability to live as an “average person” was drastically easier.

Now, I haven’t done actual research on this debate and the sides there are to it, but reasons I personally believe in the necessity for the healing of mental problems are personally developed which make them that much stronger to me. First, just like your heart may not be able to pump blood very well, you can take a pill to help that issue. The mind is the same way! It is the organ that is responsible for your thoughts, motor skills and many more things! It is full of chemical reactions and therefore is a  scientific area! Also, Heavenly Father has blessed us with modern day medicine, so why would we not use his wonderful gift?

My opinion on other's opinions

So, I'm a little late doing this, but better late than never right?  

The first thing about this editorial that I loved was how personal she wrote and presented 

herself as. Especially in the introduction and then continuing throughout

her writing she kept adding in why reasons why her argument was valid and why she was

"qualified" to present her argument.

My problem with it though was her lack of a thesis and cohesion of the paper. The reasons were not

bad, I just did not feel, especially at the end, that all of her points had come together to

present one firm stance on how she felt about the issue.

A Kiss-Less Campus

My favorite part of her article was when she brought up the examples of doing acceptable actions, 

just at the wrong time. I feel that it illustrated well to the audience her background belief

that PDA is fine, just not in certain places or at certain times.

Unfortunately the article felt very "kidishly" (is that even a word?) written. I feel like her thesis would have been better represented if she had talked about both sides, not just her extreme

examples she had seen in her three weeks at BYU. It seemed almost like she just wrote down a bunch of things she had heard or seen and then asked that people stop doing that, without giving a solution to the problem. 

Wrestling's Dirty Secret

Wow! That was an eye opening article! Without his writings on the deaths in the collegiate wrestling level I never would have known about them and their true meaning. I think for that reason mostly it was a great opinion editorial. He gave the facts, and while they were slightly biased, he presented them to the audience so that we would have the chance to make our own opinion of how to solve the issue.

I think the one thing that I dislike about it would have been the way he presented some of the information he shared. For example, when he was talking about the NCAA meeting after the occurrence of the deaths he shared it in such a way that sounded like they had done nothing. Like I said earlier, I think that a little less tone from the author and bias views would help the reader.

Free Write

So, when Kaleigh announced the assignment and the fact that we were writing to the Daily Universe, I thought of the current complaint by woman at BYU was that they were condoning their sexual feelings, attractions, etc. Also apart of their argument was that he honor code, specifically the part about the dress standards took away their sexual attraction, their femininity and took away the ability to express that to the people they interact with on a daily basis.

When I heard this argument I was stunned at the fight people were putting up about something that they willingy signed! You weren't backed into a corner to sign it, and it wasn't at the bottom of the university's application in fine print. It is published to all who consider applying and attending the university that that is the standard that is expected to be upheld as a student, faculty, or any person in affiliation with the university. 

Somehow from thinking about that my mind jumped to another event that had occurred. At a friend's apartment last week on Sunday, some of us had gathered to play some games. As were we playing, someone mentioned french fries. One girl instantly voiced her idea of waiting till 12:01 to go to Wendy's to get fries and frosties. While it did sound extremely appealing, I instantly shot the idea down because of the commandment in my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we are to keep the Sabbath day holy. Now, through the eyes of science and time, this girl was not wrong to go out at 12:01 to go buy something; she would still be keeping the commandment. 

This is where the phrase, "letter of the law v. spirit of the law" comes into play. It was the idea that she was still awake and therefore her body and her mind still considered it Sunday. Also we need to ask ourselves, "What was the purpose of the Lord in making this law?"  was it really that you, go to church, go to your meetings and then suddenly you're done? No, it was for the purpose to pay respect to The Lord for all he has done for us. The lesson of the creation is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ took six days to create the earth and everything around us. On the seventh day however, they stopped to rest. Now, if two Gods can stop creating worlds and universes for one day, I think whatever we need to do so bad can wait for a day. 

Thinking about that makes me think of another fault that we, as humans, have. We only want something when it is convenient for us. Some examples are, you only want a relationship with a guy or girl when you want it. Ya know, the whole I didn't like him when he liked me and now that I like him he doesn't like me. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we all have experienced that in some way. Another example is, lets say your sister has gone over on her monthly cell phone data plan, which have led to a higher monthly bill and her grounding. You're happy because she has finally got in trouble for hogging all the data, but, now that she's grounded and not using data you go and use all of it and a little bit more. So suddenly you're in the exact same spot, however instead of cheering your parents on as they think of more and more punishments for you; you're in your sister's shoes and you are begging them to "give you another chance"

Like I said I have no idea where this is going, but I guess that's the purpose of a free write, right?

Introduction to Moi

Hola! Jk...I don't actually speak spanish, or french. Hi there, my name is Lucy Black.

I never have been into the idea of doing a whole blog thing, but

considering it is a school assignment, I guess I'll start liking it.  

So, I am an 18 year old freshman at Brigham Young University, currently taking a bunch of

general credit classes because I have no idea what I want to do for a major! But, going off of what my

high school counselor promised, when I go on an LDS mission I'll hopefully

be zapped by lightning to the brain and suddenly know exactly what I want to do!

Seeing as that probably won't happen, I'm going forward with my plans!

As I said, I'm planing' on serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I 

love my church and all that it teaches me and the opportunity I'll have to share that

with others! 

I grew up in the church, born in Boise, Idaho, as the youngest of six kids, by six years.  I am most definitely the baby! I also am blessed to be the aunt of six wonderful nieces and nephews! 

This is Carson, Ella and Madison

Here are the other three- (L to R)
Curtis, Juniper, my wonderful sister-in-law Katie, and Maggie

 I had my child years in Philomath, OR (best state EVER) and continue to 

grow up in Provo, UT.  I've been dancing since I was four doing ballroom, ballet, modern, and 

basically whatever other dances I've learned in classes!

I like reading, designing stuff, hiking, traveling, being with family, being outside, tandem

bike riding (as of last night), cooking, watching movies....basically,

anything fun!!

(L to R)
Clancy and his wife, Katie; my brother Russell's wife Sara, my sister Cortney
and her husband Josh, my loving mommy, ME!!, my favorite
Ginger-Whitney, and my papi is taking the picture!

 My plan for the future, according to if the world complies as well, is to; 

go on a mission in April of 2015, be an EFY counselor the summer of 2017,

and study abroad my senior year of college. Like I said, that's the dream, but who

knows what will actually happen! But, I know that whatever Heavenly

Father has in store for me, it's better than any plan I ever could have made!