Christmas 2009

More from Milton

Here is a quote I think really like from Milton Friedman:

"The essence of human freedom as of a free private market, is freedom of people to make their own decisions so long as they do not prevent anybody else from doing the same thing. That makes clear, I think, why free private markets are so closely related to human freedom. It is the only mechanism that permits a complex interrelated society to be organized from the bottom up rather than the top down. However, it also makes clear why free societies are so rare. Free societies restrain power. They make it very hard for bad people to do harm, but they also make it very hard for good people to do good. Implicitly or explicitly, most opponents of freedom believe that they know what is good for other people better than other people know for themselves, and they want the power to make people do what is really good for them."

One of these days I am going to say something profound like that. Until then, I am afraid you will just get quotes.

Milton Friedman

This morning in my History of Economic Thought class we began learning about Milton Friedman. For any of you who actually know who that is, you might be asking, "In a history class?" He died in 2006, and my professor had begun teaching about him while he was still alive, but he has made tremendous contributions to the world of economic thought.

He taught at the University of Chicago, a very conservative school of thought, and was a great arguer. Somebody once said that everyone loves to argue with Milton, as long as he is not there. Anyway, we watched this clip of him arguing for capitalism and free markets, and I loved it. So I am sharing it with all of you. I doubt many of you get involved with these types of discussions, but just in case anyone begins complaining about greed in capitalism, you now an authoritative source to pull from.

Thanksgiving in Rexburg

I just wanted to post some pictures from my Thanksgiving so you can get a feel of how great it was. Enjoy!


My roommate Jordan made us huckleberry pancakes for breakfast, what a guy. I believe that he handpicked these himself in Oregon.



These are a few friends that I spent the day with. We worked on a puzzle (if you can call it work... it was mostly just dabbling) while we watch Lord of the Rings.


The meal was great! We had all kinds of good things to eat. If you look close you can tell that the sparkling cider got a little out of hand...


And this is the view from the apartment that we had dinner at. It was a very beautiful day in Rexburg.


So now that Thanksgiving is over we have begun preparations for Christmas in our apartment. I decided to wrap all of our bedroom doors in wrapping paper. This is Tom Jenkins poking his head through. Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

If you haven't watched this video on Youtube yet, you gotta see it.


My favorite person is the college age looking guy in the red shirt with shaggy hair. I think he is funny, and I love how they keep going back to him. I also like the big guy that says he is thankful for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I hope you all have a great thanksgiving!

I love you guys

This blog is for my family. I was just looking through pictures and found these, I think you all have them, some of them were posted by Michelle recently. I love you guys, thank you for the good memories growing up and all the good examples that you have set. I know I was a punk kid sometimes (some of you are thinking "was"?), thanks for loving me anyway.

Our lesson in Priesthood today was on eternal families. Remember when our whole family was in the temple together? That was a great feeling. Enjoy the pictures.


I chose this picture because if you look in the top right corner you can see why all of the children in our family learned good work ethics. SOMEONE had to vacuum while dad was reading the newspaper... Just kidding. Our parents really did teach the importance of work though, and I am grateful for that.



This is still my favorite Halloween costume of all time, Jack. Way to go dad.


My favorite part of this picture is the one of Chris waving goodbye. I believe this is when he was leaving for his mission. I am grateful that Chris chose to serve a mission, it had a major impact on decisions I made when I was approaching that time in my life. Thanks Chris.


This last one is just such a good picture of Mom and Dad. One of the greatest things they did for us was love each other and love us. Thank you!

Obedience

I wanted to share a thought I had about obedience. It begins with that well known verse by Nephi, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded," (1 Nephi 3:7) Nephi is committed to be obedient and voices his desire to be obedient. Even when it gets tough and his brothers want to turn back, he replies, "As the Lord liveth, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."

So now we get the picture, Nephi is serious about this obedience thing. But so far, it is all talk. He has not actually obtained the plates yet. Now the Lord tells us he will prove us and try us in all things, and we see that in the next chapter. In chapter 4 verse 10 Nephi is constrained, or commanded, by the Spirit to kill Laban. This is obviously NOT what Nephi had in mind when he covenanted with the Lord to be obedient and not return without the plates. The Lord is testing him. The covenant came first, now the test. Will he obey?

He does, but listen to his words, "I shrunk and would that I might not". This was a real test to see if he would obey. Now go to D&C 19:16-18, another example of Someone that had covenanted to be obedient in all things. The Savior had a similar experience to Nephi. He had covenanted and promised to be obedient to the end, and the Father wanted to let Him show that. When the Savior realized what it was going to require, He, like Nephi, comments that He "would that [He] might not . . . and shrink".

But, of course, he obeyed. And the first thing he tells the people in ancient America about Himself is that he "suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." He wanted them to know he was obedient.

I learned that Obedience is not about me. It is not about what I want.

Now, think about this and watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz1mK5mLxu0

Adjusting to Change

Today I gave a talk on adjusting to change. It has been a great week studying that topic and preparing and I have learned a lot. I love this subject because it applies to everyone, everywhere. Since it applies to everyone I thought, why not share it with everyone? So here is the readers digest version of what I learned:

The Problem? Change can be hard.
Why? For me I believe it is one of three things-
1. It means being separated from something or someone I love.
2. It means doing something I have never done before. This can require stretching, pain, and humility.
3. I am afraid, doubtful, uncertain, or downright scared of the unknown.

There is no such thing as "Never Never Land". We cannot avoid change.

Why must there be change? This was the Plan of Salvation from the beginning, a plan that would change us to become more like our Father. Listen to this by President Eyring, "The purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to change you so that you're not trying to resist change. You're trying to have change take you where the Lord wants you to go."

2 Nephi 2:22-25- if things had not changed, there would have been no change. Everything would have stayed the same, forever. But, change did come, and the reason? That men might have joy.

The purpose for change is growth, and the purpose for growth is joy.

So what do we do about it? What is the solution?
1. Keep your eye and heart fixed on that which is unchangeable.
2. Turn change into an opportunity for growth and happiness.

The first one, keeping our eye and heart fixed on the unchangeable, includes three things- The Word of God, Prayer (and coming to know our unchanging Father in Heaven), and our covenants. These have been very constant in my life, and I know they will always be there. Again from President Eyring, “We can follow a steady upward course in a world of change without fear, welcoming the opportunities. The way is a simple one, clearly marked. It is to keep our eyes and hearts fixed on that which is unchangeable."

The second one, turning changes into opportunities for growth and happiness, includes seven points.
1. Recognize what you can control- your attitude. Victor Frankl said,""...We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way..." You can always choose your attitude.

2. Have the faith to try. If you are in a new situation, you might just need to do something new. President Hinckley said, “The faith to try leads to direction by the spirit, and the fruits that flow therefrom are marvelous to behold and experience.” Have the faith to try.

3. Keep moving forward. For this part, see the talk given in the last general conference titled, "Get On with Our Lives."

4. Be of good cheer. John 16:33

5. Have courage. Joshua was facing some major changes when he was commanded to take Israel accross the Jordan to the land of Canaan. The Lord told him to be of a good courage. See Deuteronomy 31:6.

6. Forget yourself. Elder Bednar said, “Character is revealed, for example, in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress. Thus, character is demonstrated by looking and reaching outward when the natural and instinctive response is to be self-absorbed and turn inward.” Forget yourself and go to work. This will really bring happiness in times of change.

7. Accept help. We can't do it alone, and we shouldn't try. For this principle see Elder Hollands talk last Conference titled "None Were with Him."

Remember, the purpose of change is growth, and the purpose of growth is joy.

We have the power in us to turn changes into opportunities for growth and happiness. This was the Plan of Happiness from the beginning.

Summer in Rexburg

A couple of weeks ago I went to Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful, as well as President Obama! It's true, we were at Old Faithful at the exact same time as Mr. President. He was on the other side of the geyser so we didn't see him all that well, but it was him for sure. It was exciting to be in the same place as him. There was a lot of security of course, and you could pick out the secret service men with their ear pieces. There were also men on top of the buildings (I assume they were snipers) and many other soldiers and security people. He flew in on a helicopter, there were 5 big ones. Anyway, here are some pictures, and a video of a rope swing I went to on Saturday with a few friends.

Debt

Throughout college I have volunteered a lot with a program that is very similar to the Church welfare program in many of ways. It is called the Heber J. Grant Program. It offers a scholarship to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, a class to teach them life skills, and other opportunities to serve in leadership roles, develop skills, and grow as individuals. The point of the program, the scholarship, and giving in general is to help people help themselves and become self reliant. I believe that in many cases this program has broken a chain of generations that have perpetuated bad lifestyles.

I am working on the curriculum for the class right now and wanted to share a video on debt. The things this class teaches, by the way, are not just for "disadvantaged" people. I do not consider myslef "disadvanatged" but have learned principles that have changed the way I live. If anyone is interested in learning more about it, let me know!

Enjoy the video-

California

Last week was spent in California with family. I went to Peter-O's wedding, went kayaking down the Yuba River, and went to the beach. I made a video of our trip to the beach, enjoy!

Christmas in July

Picture this: Christmas tree's, stockings hung by the fire with care, lights, caroling, wreaths, Mannheim Steamroller playing in the background, hot chocolate, pajamas, presents, ham, potatoes, green beans, corn, and hot apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to top it off.

All on the 19th of July.

Last Sunday our apartment had a end of the semester celebration and two of my roommates decided that we should make it a Christmas theme. We had a blast. I am going to miss some of my roommates a lot (the others are staying ;) Michael and Peter are getting married and Taylor will be back in CA for the fall.

The celebration was thought out really well, every detail was covered. Except maybe what it was going to be like eating a hot meal with the oven on wearing flannel pajamas in the summer with no AC. Oh well. It was worth it.

Enjoy the pictures.

Attack of the UFO's!

This weekend my roommates and I all went to a cabin in Island Park. Dan's family owns two cabins up there, so his family stayed in one and we took the other one across the road. His family was great to us, mostly his mother, who cooked dinner, breakfast, and lunch for everyone. Not a small feat with eight grown (and growing) men. The cabin we stayed in was right next to a lake and we spent some time swimming and canoing.

One highlight I failed to get a picture of was a game called "Attack of the UFO's" Dan had told us about this game all semester, and it was well worth the wait. If you want to know more about it then give me a call.

Here are some pictures from our adventures-

How Did You Die?

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it.
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?

You are beaten to earth? Well,well, what's that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there- that's disgrace.
The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts;
It's how did you fight and why?

And though you be done to death, what then?
If you battled the best you could;
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
But only, how did you die?

- Edmund Vance Cooke

I love this poem.

Utah

This weekend I went to Utah for a friends wedding reception and to visit Chris's family and Kim. I had a blast, here are some pictures from the trip.


This is me, Kayla and Ian. I don't know why but Ian was so excited about the rock. Someone must have showed it to him before because when he picked it up he pointed inside and said "quartz".





On Sunday we had a dinner and Chris cooked some bratwursts on the grill. They were delicious. Then we had root beer floats for desert after visiting their new home. It is a really nice home and a great looking neighborhood.







These last two are from a hike I went on with Kim, Jesse, and Amanda on Saturday. We went up to the Timpanogos caves, but didn't go inside. The hike was worth it though and I plan on going back because the map they had of the caves looked like a really fun hike. The rangers take you through the caves on a tour that takes about an hour, but if you want to go I recommend buying tickets in advance.

Creeds, Careers, and Cars

Creeds
I have had some discretionary time lately and have begun reading two books: One is by President Eyring, To Draw Closer to God and the other is by Todd G. Buchholz, New Ideas From Dead Economists.


Dr. Buchholz is a professor at Harvard and is very good at explaining economic principles very simply. He goes through some of the greatest economists in history, starting with the father of economics, Adam Smith. Here is a quote from Adam Smith I liked:

there is scarce perhaps a single instant in which any man is so perfectly and completely satisfied with his situation, so as to be without any wish of alteration or improvement of any kind...[there is] a certain propensity in human nature... to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another... it is common to all men.

Reading the Book of Mormon its obvious that when the people are righteous these attributes are exhibited. They begin to be industrious, to buy and to sell and to build and to trade. These are things that bring economic growth, or prosperity, which the Lord promises over and over to us when we keep his commandments.

Another quote I thought I should share is one from President Eyring's book. It really caught my attention. After telling about a Sunday School class held in Central America, in a home that was more like a shack than anything, sitting on boxes, he wondered "Why did I hear so clearly in my heart and mind that day the voice of God speaking to me through that little boy and little girl...in that Sunday School class?" Here is his answer:

Everyone, as he or she spoke...bore testimony. They did not speak of the Savior; they said that they knew he had made it possible for their sins to be washed away. They did not speak about Joseph Smith; they said they knew by the power of the Holy Ghost that he was a Prophet.

Whoa! So what is he saying? To me, he is saying that it is one thing to talk about what the scriptures say about Jesus Christ, and a completely different thing to talk about what I know about Jesus Christ. In other words it doesn't do me nearly as much good to discuss what others (the men in the scriptures) know about Christ as it does for me to discuss what I know about Christ.

He then finishes with this simple statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith "Whenever salvation has been administered, it has been by testimony." How do we save our families, our friends, our flocks? By the word of our testimony.


Careers
Now a little on my current life plans. A few weeks ago I was able to teach release time seminary to a class of 9th graders. It was a great week, and the man that does the hiring for seminary teachers came and observed me the last day. It was a great lesson but I was not hired as a student teacher, so now I am beginning to look for other directions I would like to go. I will probably come back and try again some day, but for now it's obvious that is not where I should be.
One funny story about the class: I had the students draw a picture of a machine that would take anything and turn it into anything else. My example was a machine I could use on hot summer days after mowing the lawn, I would put grass clippings in it and it would spit out a strawberry lemonade. (I promise there was a principle behind this) So one kid, Parker, draws a machine that you put old ladies in and it spits out money! His defense: "nobody likes old ladies." I couldn't help it, I laughed. He is a really good kid and will be a excellent missionary some day. I really gained a stronger love for the youth of the church.

I am doing an internship for the Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center this summer and having a great experience. I manage two consulting projects, one is for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies and the other is for Southern Idaho Tourism, a non profit. We are mostly doing market research and creating business models. I have a team of business students for each project to help with the research. I am also going to get a little experience doing a different type of research, mostly gather data, organizing, and manipulating it for an economist in Washington state. These will be good experiences and help me discover what direction I should take after I graduate next April.

Cars
I bought a car last time I went home, a 2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue. Here are some visuals:

Mormon Messages

I just saw this link for the first time and I wanted to share it with everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/MormonMessages

I also put it on the top right hand side of my blog. I think it is so cool to see the Brethren using the technology and media we have to spread the gospel. Who would have thought? Anyway, enjoy the video clips, they are great!

What are you doing?

I realized a powerful principle in my life this morning. There is an old story about a man that comes across a man laying bricks. He asks the man what he is doing and he replies without looking up, "I am laying bricks". The man continues and sees a second man similarly working and asks him what he is doing, the man replies with a smile, "I am building a wall". Eventually the man comes across one last man and asks what he is doing. with a light in his eyes the man enthusiastically says, "I am building a temple for my God".

I go to school every day and have felt lately that I am just laying bricks. My vision and excitement for what I do each day has been almost non existent. To take this a bit further I was reading Nehemiah chapter 6 this morning, here is the setting as far as I understand it: Nehemiah is a governor over Judah and they have just returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah wants to re-build the walls around Jerusalem and undertakes to do it. There are some of his enemies that entice him to come down and meet them in the plain of Ono and "they thought to do [him] mischief". He wisely replies "why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?"

I believe that the things I do each day are laying a foundation of a great work. Satan is incessant in his attempts to get me to cease the work that I should be doing. One way he does it is by trying to get me to believe that all I am doing is "laying bricks". Later Nehemiah's enemies resort to scare tactics and try to put doubt into his mind, telling him they cannot accomplish building the walls up again. He prays "O God, strengthen my hands." and when it was all done, in exactly 52 days, his enemies "perceived that this work was wrought of [their] God."

Life can be monotonous but the trick is to find joy in the journey. Remember that you are laying a foundation for eternity each day. You are building the Kingdom of God. Don't let Satan distract, doubt, discourage, or derail you from the work that you are doing each day. God will strengthen your hands, and others will see that the work you do is being wrought by God.

Easy to Understand Economics

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

The late Dr. Adrian Roger

Meet my roommates

Here are some pictures of my roommates, minus Danny Bean. He is engaged and we don't see him much. There is Jakob Avery, Taylor Grimes, Peter Hall, and David Jenkins. On this occasion David and Jakob had just been to the grocery store and decided we needed refreshments for our apartment scripture and prayer. I think they are just trying to make me fat. The next picture up was a hike I went on a while ago, up R-mountain. It is a little hike but gives a good view of the valley and is pretty fun. The next one up was just a picture I took of the Rexburg Temple. I just really liked it.

Economic Insights

Here is another Economic Insight for my loyal readers. President Benson gave this parable in a piece called "The Case for free Markets". It illustrates some important principles in economics:

"Two fathers lived side by side as neighbors. Each had two sons. Each had a good job, a roomy house, and material means to provide the best of life's luxuries. The essential difference between the two fathers was one of philosophy.

Mr. A's objective with his sons was to instill principles that would bring about self-respect, personal responsibility, and independence. His method merits our scrutiny.

When his boys were young, he taught them how to work at simple tasks by his side. When they became more mature, he developed a work-incentive program. The pay scale was commensurate with the quality of the work performed. An "average job," for example, paid fifty cents; "above average," sixty cents; "exceptional," seventy-five cents. A "one-dollar job" was the impossible task, a goal that he soon observed the boys were striving after. He impressed on them that the only limitations to their earnings were their own personal initiative and desire. He emphasized the necessity of postponing wants so they could save for the future. The lessons were well learned over a period of time.

There was an undergirding moral element to Mr. A's philosophy, a principle more "caught" than taught. A simple example will suffice. One day the boys, now young men, were working in his plant. Mr. A observed some sloppy work being done on one of the products. He asked to see the product, and removed the label. One of the boys resisted. "Why are you doing that, Dad?" he asked. Mr. A replied, "I'll not have my name attached to a shoddy product. When my name goes on, my customers must know I've given them my best workmanship. Would you want to own this product?" It was an answer that provided a lesson that would last a lifetime. How could the Golden Rule be emphasized more effectively in business!

Mr. B also had a philosophy, albeit one that was reactionary to the early struggles of youth. "I'll not have my kids go through what I did." His philosophy was designed to remove the struggle from life. His method also merits our consideration.

Regularly his sons were provided with generous allowances. Little work was expected in their formative years. In later years the boys were encouraged to work, but now they were too comfortable in their security. After all, they had all their material wants satisfied. At this juncture Mr. B made a profound discovery: wants always exceed needs and are never satisfied unless disciplined. To counteract the lack of self-discipline, Mr. B embarked on a routine of imposed restraints. To his chagrin, he found his sons embittered toward him, ungrateful, and frequently disobedient to rules imposed on them."

Here is what I get out of it:

1. People respond to incentives. I believe that when the Lord says "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise", he is giving us incentive to do our best. We receive wages from him who we list to obey. Mr. A provided incentive for his sons to do their best by giving them a pay scale and saying "I promise to give you what you earn". Critics of free markets say that it is driven by greed and produces greed. Well we do see that around us. This is why we there must be a moral foundation to capitalism of love and concern for others. Even in the gospel we are taught that doing good without being good inside profits us nothing. (maybe the profit that is equal to total revenue minus total cost, but not the eternal profit :)

2. Work is an eternal principle. Without work we become lazy, feel entitled, lose self respect, and are disobedient.

There are a lot of other principles in there and a lot of application. If you see anything else that strikes you I would love to hear it.