Since I started reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer about 3 weeks ago it has been a source of contention in my home. My wife Michelle warned me repeatedly that I wouldn’t like this book. But I figured “how can a few million teenage girls be wrong?” But when I started commenting on the book and watched Michelle get madder and madder, I realized that she had not been trying to protect me from the drivel but trying to keep me from ruining it for her. So, Michelle my dear, you probably shouldn’t read the rest of this.
At the end of Twilight they have a preview of its sequel New Moon. I think that instead they should have a note that says, “Here is the number for the battered woman’s shelter. If you enjoyed this book and you don’t need this number right now, you will.” The wimpy, whiney main character and narrator, Bella, exhibits all the characteristics of an abuse victim in this story. Why does she have to risk her life to hang out with Edward? Why can’t she just find another boyfriend who isn’t a vampire.
The stupidest thing Bella says in this book is, “About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him–and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” After I read this I pulled my 5 year old daughter Whitney aside and told her, “sweety, there is no one in the world who deserves you ‘unconditional and irrevocable love’, not even me. Particularly if that person ‘thirsts your blood’ in any way. Just don’t date guys that might hurt you.” Of course, she just stared at me blankly and then went back to playing with her Barbies.
Then there’s Edward. Michelle told me more than once how Edward is every girl’s dream of a perfect boyfriend. “He’s handsome, protective, intelligent, sophisticated and he is obsessed with Bella.” I asked her, “So, would I have had better luck with chicks growing up if I had followed them around like a stalker and snuck into their rooms at night to watch them sleep?” “No,” she said defensively, “but you’re not a sexy vampire.” Note for my boy Dane, to be read 15 years from now: If you act like the guy girls say they want they are likely to get a restraining order against you. Also, girls don’t think it’s cute or appealing when you stand outside of their house at night with a boom-box playing Peter Gabriel songs like John Cusack in Say Anything. Boy, do you learn that the hard way.
In conclusion, me no like this book. I’ll probably read the sequels just to piss off Michelle. Maybe they get better. But I'm keeping this book in our safe, away from my daughter, until she's at least 21 and has hopefully learned that this is not how true love really happens.
===========================================================
Books I Can Remember that I’ve Read (In no particular order)
I'm only counting text books if I read the entire thing.
I'm counting books that I read more than half of but stopped because I couldn't stomach it (Lolita) or hated (Moby Dick). I'm not counting books that are mostly pictures (The Cat in the Hat) although they are still some of my favorite books. I'm counting books twice if I read them in English and in Spanish. Also, I have not counted all the Bathroom Readers I've read, mostly because I'm ashamed of how much time I spend on the pot. I've read almost all of them however.
***** - I really liked
**** - I liked
*** - OK
** - I didn’t like
* - It sucked.
1. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald****
2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce**
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen****
4. Walden - Henry David Thoreau**
5. Claudius the God - Robert Graves*****
6. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez***
7. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess****
8. As I Lay Dying -William Faulkner***
9. Animal Farm - George Orwell****
10. The Book of Mormon - Written by the Hand of Mormon. Translated by Joseph Smith Jr.*****
11. The Holy Bible - King James Version*****
12. The Doctrine and Covenants - Joseph Smith, others****
13. The Pearl of Great Price - Moses, Abraham, Joseph Smith****
14. Travels with Charley (In Search of America) - John Steinbeck****
15. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket***
16. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket***
17. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket***
18. Les Liaisons Dagereuses - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos****
19. Tom Sawyer Abroad - Samuel Clemens***
20. The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey****
21. The Hero With a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell***
22. The Faith of a Scientist - Henry Eyring****
23. The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell****
24. What are People For - Wendell Berry***
25. The Miracle of Forgiveness - Spencer W. Kimball****
26. The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino***
27. 1984 - George Orwell****
28. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Samuel Clemens*****
29. On the Road - Jack Keroac****
30. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens****
31. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller****
32. Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra****
33. Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe***
34. Deliverance - James Dickey****
35. The Best of Edward Abbey***
36. Rosaura a las Diez - Marco Denevi****
37. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow****
38. Tom Sawyer Detective - Samuel Clemens***
39. The Iliad -Homer****
40. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein*****
41. Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky***
42. The Double - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky***
43. The Trial -Franz Kafka***
44. Moby Dick - Herman Melville**
45. Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison***
46. Principles of Surgery Companion Handbook - Schartz, Shires, Spencer*
47. Standing for Something - Gordon B. Hinckley***
48. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis*****
49. The Sound and the Fury -William Faulkner**
50. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck****
51. Slaughter House-Five - Kurt Vonnegut****
52. Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald****
53. Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry**
54. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -Samuel Clemens*****
55. Darkness at Noon - Arthur Koestler*****
56. The Call of the Wild - Jack London****
57. Kim - Rudyard Kipling***
58. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens****
59. Howards End - E.M. Forster****
60. Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence***
61. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad***
62. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -Robert M. Pirsig****
63. The Stranger - Albus Camus****
64. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf***
65. The Lonely Men - Louis L’Amour***
66. Sacred Clowns - Tony Hillerman***
67. The Covenant - James A. Michener****
68. Prentice Alvin - Orson Scott Card****
69. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy -Douglas Adams****
70. The Quick and the Dead - Louis L’Amour***
71. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*****
72. The Gift of the Jews - Thomas Cahill****
73. The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis****
74. Iberia - James A Michener**
75. Ender’s Game -Orson Scott Card*****
76. People of Darkness - Tony Hillerman****
77. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis****
78. The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis****
79. Memory of Earth - Orson Scott Card***
80. The Odyssey - Homer****
81. The Source - James A. Michener*****
82. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger****
83. The Story of England - Christopher Hibbert****
84. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway****
85. The Changed Man - Orson Scott Card****
86. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl****
87. El Milagro del Perdon -Spencer W. Kimball****
88. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley****
89. A Marvelous Work and a Wonder - LeGrand Richards****
90. A Treasury of Classical Mythology - A.R. Hope Moncrieff****
91. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien****
92. Pure Drivel - Steve Martin***
93. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens****
94. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens****
95. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling*****
96. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling*****
97. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -J.K. Rowling*****
98. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -J.K. Rowling*****
99. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling*****
100. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling*****
101. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling*****
102. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis*****
103. The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis*****
104. Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis****
105. Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis*****
106. The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis*****
107. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis****
108. That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis****
109. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway***
110. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov**
111. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley****
112. I Claudius - Robert Graves*****
113. Anthem - Ann Rand***
114. Lord of the Flies - William Golding****
115. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner***
116. The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad***
117. Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein****
118. A Room With a View - E.M. Forster****
119. Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad***
120. Citizen of the Galaxy - Robert Heinlein****
121. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesley****
122. Tunnel in the Sky - Robert Heinlein****
123. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum****
124. Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card****
125. Xenocide - Orson Scott Card****
126. Songmaster - Orson Scott Card**
127. Saints - Orson Scott Card****
128. Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card****
129. Cruel Shoes - Steve Martin***
130. The Great Brain - John Dennis Fitzgerald****
131. Me and My Little Brain - John Dennis Fitzgerald****
132. Jesus the Christ - James Talmage*****
133. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas****
134. Dracula - Bram Stoker****
135. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown***
136. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown****
137. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire****
138. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator - Roald Dahl**
139. How the Irish Saved Civilization - Thomas Cahill***
140. Fundamentals of Family Medicine - Robert B. Taylor***
141. Medical Physiology - Rodney A Rhoades and George A Tanner**
142. D'aulaires Book of Greek Myths - Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aurlaire****
143. El Libro De Mormon - Un Relato Escrito por la Mano de Mormon. Traducido de las Planchas por Jose Smith, Hijo*****
144. Generation X - Douglas Coupland***
145. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe****
146. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice****
147. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde****
148. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen****
149. History of the English-Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchhill****
150. A Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking - Barbara Bates**
151. Complete History of the World - Richard Overy****
152. The American Religion - Harold Bloom***
153. The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck****
154. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote****
155. A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo****
156. Religion in the New World - Richard E. Wentz***
157. The Moon Is Down - John Steinbeck****
158. The Pearl - John Steinbeck****
159. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck****
160. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré****
161. The Education of Little Tree - Forrest Carter*****
162. The Chosen - Chaim Potok****
163. The Work and the Glory, Pilar of Fire - Gerald N. Lund*****
164. The Work and the Glory, Like a Fire if Burning - Gerald N. Lund*****
165. The Work and the Glory, Truth will Prevail - Gerald N. Lund*****
166. The Work and the Glory, Thy Gold Refine - Gerald N. Lund*****
167. The Work and the Glory, A Season of Joy - Gerald N. Lund*****
168. Stepen King On Writing, A memoir of the Craft - Stephen King***
169. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris****
170. Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, The Evidence for Ancient Origins - Edited by Noel B. Reynolds. **** (March '08)
171. The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko****
172. Naked Ape : A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal - Desmond Morris****
173. Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes****
174. Mormons and Masons, Setting the Record Straight - Gilbert W. Scharffs* (March '08)
175. San Manuel Bueno, mártir - Miguel de Unamuno****
176. Critiquing the Critics of Joseph Smith - Hartt Wixom**** (March '08)
177. Mormon Country - Wallace Stegner****
178. The House of God - Samuel Shem**
179. The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler****(March '08)
180. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel**** (April '08)
181. Religions of the World - A Latter-day Saint View - Spencer J. Palmer, Rober R. Keller, Dong Sull Choi, James A. Toronto****
182. Julius Caesar - William Shakespear****
183. Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare****
184. Hamlet - William Shakespeare****
185. Macbeth - William Shakespeare****
186. One Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions - Stephen W. Gibson*** (May '08)
187. Jay's Journal - Beatrice Sparks**
188. Blueprints in Obstetrics and Gynecology - Tamara L. Callahan, Aaron B Caughey and Linda J Heffner***
189. Clinical Microbiology Made Rediculously Simple - Mark Galdwin and Bill Trattler****
190. Prescription for the Boards USMLE Step 2 - Radhika Breaden, Charyl Denenberg, Kate Feibusch, Stephen Gomperts***
191. The Instant Exam Review for the USMLE Step 3 - Joel s. Goldberg**
192. Appleton & Lang's Review of Pediatrics - Martin I. Lorin**
193. Pathology - Arthur S. Schneider and Philip A Szanto**
194. Internal Medicine - Edward D. Frohlich**
195. The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien****
196. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien****
198. The Mountain Meadows Massacre - Juanita Brooks****
198. A Thief of Time - Tony Hillerman****
199. Naked Pictures of Famous People - Jon Stewart**
200. La Casa de Bernarda Alba - Federico García Lorca***
201. Why Things Are and Why Things Aren't - Joel Achenbach****
202. Why Things Are - Joel Achenbach****
203. Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? And Other Imponderables - David Feldman****
204. First Aid for the Family Medicine Boards - Tao Le, Christine Dehlendorf, Michael Mendoza, and Cynthria Ohata*** (May '08)
205. Why Don't Cat's Like to Swim - David Feldman****
206. The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer**** (June '08)
207. Encounters with the Archdruid - John McPhee***
208. Desert Solitaire - Edward Abby***
209. Family Medicine Board Review - Robert L. Bratton, MD*** (July '08)
210. View of the Hebrews - Ethan Smith** (August '08)
211. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle****
212. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens****
213. The Book of Mormon and DNA Resarch - Edited by Daniel C. Petersen**** (Sept '08)
214. The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis**** (Sept '08)
215. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson**** (Sept '08)
216. The Great Angel - A Study of Israel's Second God - Margaret Barker**** (Sept '08)
217. The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne**** (Sept,08)
218. The Scarlett Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne**** (Oct, '08)
219. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer** (Oct, '08)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mesa High Class of '88 20 year reunion
We had a great time at my 20 year high school reunion this weekend. It was well organized and well attended. It was great to see the people I see all the time and the people I haven’t seen in 20 years. I thought everyone looked great. I was voted “Least Changed Male,” which I assume means I am most immature of my classmates or that I should really lose my 1980s-Ronald Reagan-pompadour haircut. (Maybe one of those combed forward cuts like the kids on High School Musical.)
K.C. and Ben LeSueur - I've known him since we were 4.
Rex Williams and Aaron Evens.
Chris Kepler, Amy Weiss and the Lovelands.
Tao Nguyen and Michael Lee
Doreen and Rex
Christian Woolf
Doug Noble
Aaron Evens, Christian, Nate Skinner, Rex Williams, K.C. and Scott Urry in the back ground.
Aaron and Lori Higuera
Michelle Woolf and Mindy Evens
The Moores
The McKinleys and the Woolfs
Katina and Jay McKinley.
Kim Fletcher and Craig Loveland.
The DeLaMater-Smiths
Kim Krummenacher Huber
Tammy Earlywine and Talan Nelson
Denise Stumer Huffman, Marian Thurmond Kortsen, Mike Lee
The LeSueurs and the Skinners
Carl Crawford and Alice Nielson Dewitt
Chris Kepler Appleton and Kristi Hubler.
K.C. and Chris
Lots of very attractive people
Chrissy, Scott and K.C.
Wende Worthen Foster and K.C.
The Trophy Wives Club
K.C., Georgian (Geordy) Frey Samuelson and Scott Morris
K.C. and Dan Pierce
The House of Young Non Reptilians.
K.C. and Ben LeSueur - I've known him since we were 4.
Rex Williams and Aaron Evens.
Chris Kepler, Amy Weiss and the Lovelands.
Tao Nguyen and Michael Lee
Doreen and Rex
Christian Woolf
Doug Noble
Aaron Evens, Christian, Nate Skinner, Rex Williams, K.C. and Scott Urry in the back ground.
Aaron and Lori Higuera
Michelle Woolf and Mindy Evens
The Moores
The McKinleys and the Woolfs
Katina and Jay McKinley.
Kim Fletcher and Craig Loveland.
The DeLaMater-Smiths
Kim Krummenacher Huber
Tammy Earlywine and Talan Nelson
Denise Stumer Huffman, Marian Thurmond Kortsen, Mike Lee
The LeSueurs and the Skinners
Carl Crawford and Alice Nielson Dewitt
Chris Kepler Appleton and Kristi Hubler.
K.C. and Chris
Lots of very attractive people
Chrissy, Scott and K.C.
Wende Worthen Foster and K.C.
The Trophy Wives Club
K.C., Georgian (Geordy) Frey Samuelson and Scott Morris
K.C. and Dan Pierce
The House of Young Non Reptilians.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Scarlet Letter
In C.S. Lewis’s book The Screwtape Letters, the demon Uncle Screwtape says of Puritanism, “the value we have given to that word [Puritanism] is one of the really solid triumphs of the last hundred years. By it we rescue annually thousands of humans from temperance, chastity, and sobriety of life.” Could Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter have been the beginning of this devaluing of all things Puritan? Let me say at the onset that I love this book. It’s beautiful prose and characters clearly earn it a place in the cannon of American Literature. But reading it as an adult, I wonder if Hawthorne’s characterization of the Puritans in early New England is completely fair. In my life I have listened to hundreds of anti-Mormons describe my religion and culture in ways that are completely unrecognizable to me from my own experience. Some of the worst misrepresentations of Mormonism come from people who “grew up Mormon,” or whose ancestors were leaders in the church. Hawthorne, the great-great grandson of the judge at the Salem Witch Trials, may well have been to Puritanism what Fawn Brodie was to Mormonism - both describe the worst aspects of the religions they rejected and present it as the norm. When I first read The Scarlet Letter as a teenager I took it for granted that the description of the hypocritical, judgmental and unforgiving Puritans was accurate. Having spent the last decade reading “experts on Mormonism”, who have never met me, describe me as bigoted, ignorant, self-righteous, and sexist, I’m ready to entertain the possibility that my pilgrim forefathers were not as bad as Hawthorne describes them. This book may have been the first American villainization of the pious, but it's still felt today. (Now I can celebrate Thanksgiving next month without feeling guilty.)
===========================================================
Books I Can Remember that I’ve Read (In no particular order)
I'm only counting text books if I read the entire thing.
I'm counting books that I read more than half of but stopped because I couldn't stomach it (Lolita) or hated (Moby Dick). I'm not counting books that are mostly pictures (The Cat in the Hat) although they are still some of my favorite books. I'm counting books twice if I read them in English and in Spanish. Also, I have not counted all the Bathroom Readers I've read, mostly because I'm ashamed of how much time I spend on the pot. I've read almost all of them however.
***** - I really liked
**** - I liked
*** - OK
** - I didn’t like
* - It sucked.
1. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald****
2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce**
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen****
4. Walden - Henry David Thoreau**
5. Claudius the God - Robert Graves*****
6. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez***
7. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess****
8. As I Lay Dying -William Faulkner***
9. Animal Farm - George Orwell****
10. The Book of Mormon - Written by the Hand of Mormon. Translated by Joseph Smith Jr.*****
11. The Holy Bible - King James Version*****
12. The Doctrine and Covenants - Joseph Smith, others****
13. The Pearl of Great Price - Moses, Abraham, Joseph Smith****
14. Travels with Charley (In Search of America) - John Steinbeck****
15. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket***
16. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket***
17. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket***
18. Les Liaisons Dagereuses - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos****
19. Tom Sawyer Abroad - Samuel Clemens***
20. The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey****
21. The Hero With a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell***
22. The Faith of a Scientist - Henry Eyring****
23. The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell****
24. What are People For - Wendell Berry***
25. The Miracle of Forgiveness - Spencer W. Kimball****
26. The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino***
27. 1984 - George Orwell****
28. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Samuel Clemens*****
29. On the Road - Jack Keroac****
30. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens****
31. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller****
32. Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra****
33. Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe***
34. Deliverance - James Dickey****
35. The Best of Edward Abbey***
36. Rosaura a las Diez - Marco Denevi****
37. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow****
38. Tom Sawyer Detective - Samuel Clemens***
39. The Iliad -Homer****
40. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein*****
41. Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky***
42. The Double - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky***
43. The Trial -Franz Kafka***
44. Moby Dick - Herman Melville**
45. Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison***
46. Principles of Surgery Companion Handbook - Schartz, Shires, Spencer*
47. Standing for Something - Gordon B. Hinckley***
48. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis*****
49. The Sound and the Fury -William Faulkner**
50. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck****
51. Slaughter House-Five - Kurt Vonnegut****
52. Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald****
53. Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry**
54. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -Samuel Clemens*****
55. Darkness at Noon - Arthur Koestler*****
56. The Call of the Wild - Jack London****
57. Kim - Rudyard Kipling***
58. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens****
59. Howards End - E.M. Forster****
60. Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence***
61. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad***
62. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -Robert M. Pirsig****
63. The Stranger - Albus Camus****
64. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf***
65. The Lonely Men - Louis L’Amour***
66. Sacred Clowns - Tony Hillerman***
67. The Covenant - James A. Michener****
68. Prentice Alvin - Orson Scott Card****
69. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy -Douglas Adams****
70. The Quick and the Dead - Louis L’Amour***
71. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*****
72. The Gift of the Jews - Thomas Cahill****
73. The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis****
74. Iberia - James A Michener**
75. Ender’s Game -Orson Scott Card*****
76. People of Darkness - Tony Hillerman****
77. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis****
78. The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis****
79. Memory of Earth - Orson Scott Card***
80. The Odyssey - Homer****
81. The Source - James A. Michener*****
82. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger****
83. The Story of England - Christopher Hibbert****
84. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway****
85. The Changed Man - Orson Scott Card****
86. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl****
87. El Milagro del Perdon -Spencer W. Kimball****
88. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley****
89. A Marvelous Work and a Wonder - LeGrand Richards****
90. A Treasury of Classical Mythology - A.R. Hope Moncrieff****
91. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien****
92. Pure Drivel - Steve Martin***
93. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens****
94. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens****
95. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling*****
96. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling*****
97. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -J.K. Rowling*****
98. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -J.K. Rowling*****
99. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling*****
100. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling*****
101. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling*****
102. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis*****
103. The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis*****
104. Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis****
105. Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis*****
106. The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis*****
107. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis****
108. That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis****
109. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway***
110. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov**
111. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley****
112. I Claudius - Robert Graves*****
113. Anthem - Ann Rand***
114. Lord of the Flies - William Golding****
115. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner***
116. The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad***
117. Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein****
118. A Room With a View - E.M. Forster****
119. Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad***
120. Citizen of the Galaxy - Robert Heinlein****
121. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesley****
122. Tunnel in the Sky - Robert Heinlein****
123. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum****
124. Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card****
125. Xenocide - Orson Scott Card****
126. Songmaster - Orson Scott Card**
127. Saints - Orson Scott Card****
128. Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card****
129. Cruel Shoes - Steve Martin***
130. The Great Brain - John Dennis Fitzgerald****
131. Me and My Little Brain - John Dennis Fitzgerald****
132. Jesus the Christ - James Talmage*****
133. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas****
134. Dracula - Bram Stoker****
135. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown***
136. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown****
137. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire****
138. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator - Roald Dahl**
139. How the Irish Saved Civilization - Thomas Cahill***
140. Fundamentals of Family Medicine - Robert B. Taylor***
141. Medical Physiology - Rodney A Rhoades and George A Tanner**
142. D'aulaires Book of Greek Myths - Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aurlaire****
143. El Libro De Mormon - Un Relato Escrito por la Mano de Mormon. Traducido de las Planchas por Jose Smith, Hijo*****
144. Generation X - Douglas Coupland***
145. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe****
146. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice****
147. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde****
148. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen****
149. History of the English-Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchhill****
150. A Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking - Barbara Bates**
151. Complete History of the World - Richard Overy****
152. The American Religion - Harold Bloom***
153. The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck****
154. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote****
155. A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo****
156. Religion in the New World - Richard E. Wentz***
157. The Moon Is Down - John Steinbeck****
158. The Pearl - John Steinbeck****
159. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck****
160. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré****
161. The Education of Little Tree - Forrest Carter*****
162. The Chosen - Chaim Potok****
163. The Work and the Glory, Pilar of Fire - Gerald N. Lund*****
164. The Work and the Glory, Like a Fire if Burning - Gerald N. Lund*****
165. The Work and the Glory, Truth will Prevail - Gerald N. Lund*****
166. The Work and the Glory, Thy Gold Refine - Gerald N. Lund*****
167. The Work and the Glory, A Season of Joy - Gerald N. Lund*****
168. Stepen King On Writing, A memoir of the Craft - Stephen King***
169. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris****
170. Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, The Evidence for Ancient Origins - Edited by Noel B. Reynolds. **** (March '08)
171. The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko****
172. Naked Ape : A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal - Desmond Morris****
173. Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes****
174. Mormons and Masons, Setting the Record Straight - Gilbert W. Scharffs* (March '08)
175. San Manuel Bueno, mártir - Miguel de Unamuno****
176. Critiquing the Critics of Joseph Smith - Hartt Wixom**** (March '08)
177. Mormon Country - Wallace Stegner****
178. The House of God - Samuel Shem**
179. The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler****(March '08)
180. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel**** (April '08)
181. Religions of the World - A Latter-day Saint View - Spencer J. Palmer, Rober R. Keller, Dong Sull Choi, James A. Toronto****
182. Julius Caesar - William Shakespear****
183. Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare****
184. Hamlet - William Shakespeare****
185. Macbeth - William Shakespeare****
186. One Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions - Stephen W. Gibson*** (May '08)
187. Jay's Journal - Beatrice Sparks**
188. Blueprints in Obstetrics and Gynecology - Tamara L. Callahan, Aaron B Caughey and Linda J Heffner***
189. Clinical Microbiology Made Rediculously Simple - Mark Galdwin and Bill Trattler****
190. Prescription for the Boards USMLE Step 2 - Radhika Breaden, Charyl Denenberg, Kate Feibusch, Stephen Gomperts***
191. The Instant Exam Review for the USMLE Step 3 - Joel s. Goldberg**
192. Appleton & Lang's Review of Pediatrics - Martin I. Lorin**
193. Pathology - Arthur S. Schneider and Philip A Szanto**
194. Internal Medicine - Edward D. Frohlich**
195. The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien****
196. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien****
198. The Mountain Meadows Massacre - Juanita Brooks****
198. A Thief of Time - Tony Hillerman****
199. Naked Pictures of Famous People - Jon Stewart**
200. La Casa de Bernarda Alba - Federico García Lorca***
201. Why Things Are and Why Things Aren't - Joel Achenbach****
202. Why Things Are - Joel Achenbach****
203. Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? And Other Imponderables - David Feldman****
204. First Aid for the Family Medicine Boards - Tao Le, Christine Dehlendorf, Michael Mendoza, and Cynthria Ohata*** (May '08)
205. Why Don't Cat's Like to Swim - David Feldman****
206. The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer**** (June '08)
207. Encounters with the Archdruid - John McPhee***
208. Desert Solitaire - Edward Abby***
209. Family Medicine Board Review - Robert L. Bratton, MD*** (July '08)
210. View of the Hebrews - Ethan Smith** (August '08)
211. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle****
212. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens****
213. The Book of Mormon and DNA Resarch - Edited by Daniel C. Petersen**** (Sept '08)
214. The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis**** (Sept '08)
215. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson**** (Sept '08)
216. The Great Angel - A Study of Israel's Second God - Margaret Barker**** (Sept '08)
217. The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne**** (Sept,08)
218. The Scarlett Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne**** (Oct, '08)
===========================================================
Books I Can Remember that I’ve Read (In no particular order)
I'm only counting text books if I read the entire thing.
I'm counting books that I read more than half of but stopped because I couldn't stomach it (Lolita) or hated (Moby Dick). I'm not counting books that are mostly pictures (The Cat in the Hat) although they are still some of my favorite books. I'm counting books twice if I read them in English and in Spanish. Also, I have not counted all the Bathroom Readers I've read, mostly because I'm ashamed of how much time I spend on the pot. I've read almost all of them however.
***** - I really liked
**** - I liked
*** - OK
** - I didn’t like
* - It sucked.
1. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald****
2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce**
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen****
4. Walden - Henry David Thoreau**
5. Claudius the God - Robert Graves*****
6. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez***
7. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess****
8. As I Lay Dying -William Faulkner***
9. Animal Farm - George Orwell****
10. The Book of Mormon - Written by the Hand of Mormon. Translated by Joseph Smith Jr.*****
11. The Holy Bible - King James Version*****
12. The Doctrine and Covenants - Joseph Smith, others****
13. The Pearl of Great Price - Moses, Abraham, Joseph Smith****
14. Travels with Charley (In Search of America) - John Steinbeck****
15. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket***
16. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket***
17. A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket***
18. Les Liaisons Dagereuses - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos****
19. Tom Sawyer Abroad - Samuel Clemens***
20. The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey****
21. The Hero With a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell***
22. The Faith of a Scientist - Henry Eyring****
23. The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell****
24. What are People For - Wendell Berry***
25. The Miracle of Forgiveness - Spencer W. Kimball****
26. The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino***
27. 1984 - George Orwell****
28. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Samuel Clemens*****
29. On the Road - Jack Keroac****
30. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens****
31. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller****
32. Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra****
33. Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe***
34. Deliverance - James Dickey****
35. The Best of Edward Abbey***
36. Rosaura a las Diez - Marco Denevi****
37. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow****
38. Tom Sawyer Detective - Samuel Clemens***
39. The Iliad -Homer****
40. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein*****
41. Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky***
42. The Double - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky***
43. The Trial -Franz Kafka***
44. Moby Dick - Herman Melville**
45. Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison***
46. Principles of Surgery Companion Handbook - Schartz, Shires, Spencer*
47. Standing for Something - Gordon B. Hinckley***
48. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis*****
49. The Sound and the Fury -William Faulkner**
50. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck****
51. Slaughter House-Five - Kurt Vonnegut****
52. Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald****
53. Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry**
54. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -Samuel Clemens*****
55. Darkness at Noon - Arthur Koestler*****
56. The Call of the Wild - Jack London****
57. Kim - Rudyard Kipling***
58. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens****
59. Howards End - E.M. Forster****
60. Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence***
61. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad***
62. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -Robert M. Pirsig****
63. The Stranger - Albus Camus****
64. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf***
65. The Lonely Men - Louis L’Amour***
66. Sacred Clowns - Tony Hillerman***
67. The Covenant - James A. Michener****
68. Prentice Alvin - Orson Scott Card****
69. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy -Douglas Adams****
70. The Quick and the Dead - Louis L’Amour***
71. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*****
72. The Gift of the Jews - Thomas Cahill****
73. The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis****
74. Iberia - James A Michener**
75. Ender’s Game -Orson Scott Card*****
76. People of Darkness - Tony Hillerman****
77. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis****
78. The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis****
79. Memory of Earth - Orson Scott Card***
80. The Odyssey - Homer****
81. The Source - James A. Michener*****
82. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger****
83. The Story of England - Christopher Hibbert****
84. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway****
85. The Changed Man - Orson Scott Card****
86. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl****
87. El Milagro del Perdon -Spencer W. Kimball****
88. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley****
89. A Marvelous Work and a Wonder - LeGrand Richards****
90. A Treasury of Classical Mythology - A.R. Hope Moncrieff****
91. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien****
92. Pure Drivel - Steve Martin***
93. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens****
94. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens****
95. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling*****
96. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling*****
97. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -J.K. Rowling*****
98. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -J.K. Rowling*****
99. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling*****
100. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling*****
101. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling*****
102. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis*****
103. The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis*****
104. Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis****
105. Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis*****
106. The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis*****
107. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis****
108. That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis****
109. The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway***
110. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov**
111. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley****
112. I Claudius - Robert Graves*****
113. Anthem - Ann Rand***
114. Lord of the Flies - William Golding****
115. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner***
116. The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad***
117. Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein****
118. A Room With a View - E.M. Forster****
119. Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad***
120. Citizen of the Galaxy - Robert Heinlein****
121. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesley****
122. Tunnel in the Sky - Robert Heinlein****
123. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum****
124. Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card****
125. Xenocide - Orson Scott Card****
126. Songmaster - Orson Scott Card**
127. Saints - Orson Scott Card****
128. Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card****
129. Cruel Shoes - Steve Martin***
130. The Great Brain - John Dennis Fitzgerald****
131. Me and My Little Brain - John Dennis Fitzgerald****
132. Jesus the Christ - James Talmage*****
133. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas****
134. Dracula - Bram Stoker****
135. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown***
136. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown****
137. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire****
138. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator - Roald Dahl**
139. How the Irish Saved Civilization - Thomas Cahill***
140. Fundamentals of Family Medicine - Robert B. Taylor***
141. Medical Physiology - Rodney A Rhoades and George A Tanner**
142. D'aulaires Book of Greek Myths - Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aurlaire****
143. El Libro De Mormon - Un Relato Escrito por la Mano de Mormon. Traducido de las Planchas por Jose Smith, Hijo*****
144. Generation X - Douglas Coupland***
145. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe****
146. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice****
147. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde****
148. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen****
149. History of the English-Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchhill****
150. A Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking - Barbara Bates**
151. Complete History of the World - Richard Overy****
152. The American Religion - Harold Bloom***
153. The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck****
154. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote****
155. A Rumor of War - Philip Caputo****
156. Religion in the New World - Richard E. Wentz***
157. The Moon Is Down - John Steinbeck****
158. The Pearl - John Steinbeck****
159. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck****
160. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John le Carré****
161. The Education of Little Tree - Forrest Carter*****
162. The Chosen - Chaim Potok****
163. The Work and the Glory, Pilar of Fire - Gerald N. Lund*****
164. The Work and the Glory, Like a Fire if Burning - Gerald N. Lund*****
165. The Work and the Glory, Truth will Prevail - Gerald N. Lund*****
166. The Work and the Glory, Thy Gold Refine - Gerald N. Lund*****
167. The Work and the Glory, A Season of Joy - Gerald N. Lund*****
168. Stepen King On Writing, A memoir of the Craft - Stephen King***
169. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris****
170. Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, The Evidence for Ancient Origins - Edited by Noel B. Reynolds. **** (March '08)
171. The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko****
172. Naked Ape : A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal - Desmond Morris****
173. Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes****
174. Mormons and Masons, Setting the Record Straight - Gilbert W. Scharffs* (March '08)
175. San Manuel Bueno, mártir - Miguel de Unamuno****
176. Critiquing the Critics of Joseph Smith - Hartt Wixom**** (March '08)
177. Mormon Country - Wallace Stegner****
178. The House of God - Samuel Shem**
179. The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler****(March '08)
180. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel**** (April '08)
181. Religions of the World - A Latter-day Saint View - Spencer J. Palmer, Rober R. Keller, Dong Sull Choi, James A. Toronto****
182. Julius Caesar - William Shakespear****
183. Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare****
184. Hamlet - William Shakespeare****
185. Macbeth - William Shakespeare****
186. One Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions - Stephen W. Gibson*** (May '08)
187. Jay's Journal - Beatrice Sparks**
188. Blueprints in Obstetrics and Gynecology - Tamara L. Callahan, Aaron B Caughey and Linda J Heffner***
189. Clinical Microbiology Made Rediculously Simple - Mark Galdwin and Bill Trattler****
190. Prescription for the Boards USMLE Step 2 - Radhika Breaden, Charyl Denenberg, Kate Feibusch, Stephen Gomperts***
191. The Instant Exam Review for the USMLE Step 3 - Joel s. Goldberg**
192. Appleton & Lang's Review of Pediatrics - Martin I. Lorin**
193. Pathology - Arthur S. Schneider and Philip A Szanto**
194. Internal Medicine - Edward D. Frohlich**
195. The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien****
196. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien****
198. The Mountain Meadows Massacre - Juanita Brooks****
198. A Thief of Time - Tony Hillerman****
199. Naked Pictures of Famous People - Jon Stewart**
200. La Casa de Bernarda Alba - Federico García Lorca***
201. Why Things Are and Why Things Aren't - Joel Achenbach****
202. Why Things Are - Joel Achenbach****
203. Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? And Other Imponderables - David Feldman****
204. First Aid for the Family Medicine Boards - Tao Le, Christine Dehlendorf, Michael Mendoza, and Cynthria Ohata*** (May '08)
205. Why Don't Cat's Like to Swim - David Feldman****
206. The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer**** (June '08)
207. Encounters with the Archdruid - John McPhee***
208. Desert Solitaire - Edward Abby***
209. Family Medicine Board Review - Robert L. Bratton, MD*** (July '08)
210. View of the Hebrews - Ethan Smith** (August '08)
211. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle****
212. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens****
213. The Book of Mormon and DNA Resarch - Edited by Daniel C. Petersen**** (Sept '08)
214. The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis**** (Sept '08)
215. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson**** (Sept '08)
216. The Great Angel - A Study of Israel's Second God - Margaret Barker**** (Sept '08)
217. The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne**** (Sept,08)
218. The Scarlett Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne**** (Oct, '08)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
October Snow
It is only October 12 and we just got our first layer of snow for the year. I hope it melts so we aren't trick-or-treating in the snow. We did make a snowman today.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Book of Mormon Lesson 37
Book of Mormon Lesson 37
“Whosoever Will Come, Him Will I Receive.”
I. Introduction.
A. In our last lesson we saw that the Nephite and Lamanites received the sign of Christ’s Birth - the sun went down and it remained light. We saw how quickly the people forgot this sign
B. We read about the chief judge’s murder and the government of the Nephites failing and the whole nation falling into tribal chaos. One small group separated themselves and made a man named Jacob their king.
C. Today we will be reading what happened at the time of Christ’s Crucifixion and about Christ’s actual visitation to the Americas.
D. As missionaries, when we give the Book of Mormon to investigators, what is the first thing we invite them to read? 3 Nephi 11. Why? Not only is it important to establish that the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ, but there are some very important doctrine taught by Jesus in his very first encounter with the Nephites and Lamanites - things that are important for seekers of truth to understand.
II. People again question the prophesies of Samuel the Lamanite.
A. Read 3 Nephi 8:2-4. We see that although these people either witnessed and remembered or were told by reliable sources of the miracle that happened in this hemisphere at the time of Christ’s birth, they were already questioning and doubting Samuel’s other prophesies. Why is it so easy for us to forget what the prophets tell us even when we have ample evidence of their veracity?
1. I don’t know if this recent economic down turn is just a bump in the road or if it will cause more devastation and despair, but if it does, none of us can say that we were not adequately warned by our prophets to prepare for it. Our prophets have been telling us to stay out of debt, live within our means and prepare our food storage for decades.
III. The destruction at the time of Christ’s crucifixion is described.
A. Read 3 Nephi 8:5-10, 14-17.
1. The level of destruction here may have been hard for me to fathom in the past. But with the tsunami a few years ago, and hurricanes Katrina and recent tornados in the Midwest, it is easier for me to understand how entire cities could be washed into the see or completely blown away.
2. I visited Pompeii in 1998. This was an entire city frozen in time when it was completely covered by lava and ash by Mount Vesuvius . In one day an entire city was destroyed. The plaster casts they have done of the people covered with ash and lava are haunting. It is frightening to think how quickly a civilization can be destroyed.
B. Read 3 Nephi 8:19-22.
1. Why do you think God caused this darkness to come over the land?
a. Could it be that he wanted to contrast the darkness of sin with the light of salvation from Christ? Is he illustrating that Christ is the only light of the world.
b. This also contrasts with the sign of light the Nephites experienced at the time of Christ’s birth.
2. Why did the darkness last 3 days? Was this when Christ was in the tomb, in the spirit world, before the resurrection?
3. Although it is not necessary to understand exactly how God made this darkness occur. One explanation could be volcanic activity. My wife lived in Washington state when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. She remembers everything being very gray, and not being able to see through people just a few feet in front of her through the ash. People had to get out of their cars and have someone feel the road in front of them in order to drive. You couldn’t see headlights just a few feet away.
IV. They hear the Voice of Christ.
A. In the darkness they hear a voice. Read 3 Nephi 9:1-2. Not a very hopeful message at first. He then list how the different Nephite cities have been destroyed. He indicates that they were destroyed for justice “that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them.”
B. Read 3 Nephi 9:13-15. These are the first words of hope they have had in 3 days. Also, the voice announces who he is.
C. Read 3 Nephi 9:17-21.
1. How was the law of Moses fulfilled in Christ?
a. All of the rituals in the law of Moses in some way symbolize Christ.
b. Who knows what Jewish Holiday we celebrated last week? Yom Kippur. Yom means day and Kippur means Atonement = The Day of Atonement. Today Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue fasting and praying. It is a day of repentance. Traditionally Jews wear white, symbolizing purity. When there was a temple the priest used to take a he-goat as a sin offering, kill it and sprinkle it’s blood on the alter and mercy seat in the holy of holies. He took another goat and laid his hands on its head and symbolically placed all the sins of Israel on it and then took it out into the wilderness - signifying Israel’s release from sin by these offerings. It is easy for us to see how this represents the Atonement of Christ. This is just one example of how Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses.
2. What sacrifice does Christ request of us now? “A broken heart and a contrite spirit.” He wants us to humble ourselves before him, be truly penitent and accept his atonement.
V. Christ appears to the Nephites.
A. Read 3 Nephi 11:1-7.
1. Why did it take them 3 times to understand the words? They finally “opened their ears.” Perhaps they first few times they were too shocked to actually pay attention.
B. Read 3 Nephi 11:8-11 and 13-15.
1. Why was in important that Jesus testify and show the people who he was before he started teaching them? The right authority is important when teaching the gospel.
C. Once Jesus has testified of his own authority and shown the people who he is, what is the first thing he teaches them? Baptism.
1. Read 3 Nephi 11:18-26.
2. Why do you think this is the first thing he teaches? Baptism is necessary for salvation.
3. Why does he call Nephi out of the multitude to teach about the manner of baptism? Priesthood authority is necessary for baptism.
4. While the Bible gives us some very good hints about how we should baptize it still leaves room for some confusion. Thus there are hundreds of different ways different Christian churches baptize and none but the Church of Jesus Christ have the authority to do it. (I loved the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where her fiancé is baptized 3 times in the blow up pool.) But here in the Book of Mormon we get the correct mode of baptism right from Jesus’s mouth. And we were all baptized in this very way using these exact words.
D. Jesus teaches about the spirit of contention.
1. Read 3 Nephi 11:28-30. How can we have honest disagreements amongst ourselves and with people of other faiths and still avoid the spirit of contention?
2. Reading these verses reminded me of Elder Hales talk last week on General Conference. I wanted to quote a bit from it:
Recently a group of bright, faithful young Latter-day Saints wrote down some of the most pressing questions on their minds. One sister asked, “Why doesn’t the Church defend itself more actively when accusations are made against it?”
To her inquiry I would say that one of mortality’s great tests comes when our beliefs are questioned or criticized. In such moments, we may want to respond aggressively—to “put up our dukes.” But these are important opportunities to step back, pray, and follow the Savior’s example. Remember that Jesus Himself was despised and rejected by the world. And in Lehi’s dream, those coming to the Savior also endured “mocking and pointing . . . fingers”. “The world hath hated [my disciples],” Jesus said, “because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”. But when we respond to our accusers as the Savior did, we not only become more Christlike, we invite others to feel His love and follow Him as well.
To respond in a Christlike way cannot be scripted or based on a formula. The Savior responded differently in every situation. When He was confronted by wicked King Herod, He remained silent. When He stood before Pilate, He bore a simple and powerful testimony of His divinity and purpose. Facing the moneychangers who were defiling the temple, He exercised His divine responsibility to preserve and protect that which was sacred. Lifted up upon a cross, He uttered the incomparable Christian response: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”.
Some people mistakenly think responses such as silence, meekness, forgiveness, and bearing humble testimony are passive or weak. But, to “love [our] enemies, bless them that curse [us], do good to them that hate [us], and pray for them which despitefully use [us], and persecute [us]” takes faith, strength, and, most of all, Christian courage.
He goes on to say:
When we do not retaliate—when we turn the other cheek and resist feelings of anger—we too stand with the Savior. We show forth His love, which is the only power that can subdue the adversary and answer our accusers without accusing them in return. That is not weakness. That is Christian courage.
He gives ways we can respond to our church being criticized: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice—who are “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” I assure you that to answer our accusers in this way is never weakness. It is Christian courage in action. (So he is not suggesting that we just ignore people when they attack us or misrepresent out beliefs.)
One of the most common and hurtful ways enemies of the church attack us is by claiming we are not Christians. But Elder Hales reminds us “More regrettable than the Church being accused of not being Christian is when Church members react to such accusations in an un-Christlike way! May our conversations with others always be marked by the fruits of the Spirit—‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance’”
E. Read 3 Nephi 11:32-36.
1. While these verses may sound like common sense to us, it is important to realize that these few verses explain the nature of the Godhead (trinity) better than any verses in the entire Bible. While other Christians try to claim that Mormons are in error in our understanding of the nature of the Trinity, you can read the Bible from cover to cover and you will not find the word Trinity or Godhead once. There is nowhere in the Bible that explains the Trinity the way it is explained in the Nicene Creed. We are lucky we have these verse where Christ Himself explains how He, the Father and the Holy Ghost are both separate and one in that they testify of each other.
2. I just got finished reading a book called The Great Angel - A Study of Israel’s Second God by a Methodist Bible Scholar named Margaret Barker. She presents overwhelming evidence of how the ancient Israelites believed in a Son of God, “The Great Angel”, who was separate from God the Father but who helped in creation and how the first Christians believed Jesus Christ was a manifestation of this Son of God, separate from God the Father. It’s a very interesting book and I’ll loan it to anyone who wants to read it.
VI. Conclusion. Important things taught in this lesson.
A. Don’t ignore the prophesies and signs from the prophets.
B. Christ fulfilled the law of Moses and the law of Moses testifies of Christ.
C. Christ Himself established his authority before administering to the people. This underscores the importance of the priesthood authority to administer and teach in the church today.
D. Christ taught the correct manner of baptism.
E. Christ taught the nature of the Godhead.
References:
Elder Hales, Robert D., Christian Courage - The Price of Discipleship. October Conference 2008.
“Whosoever Will Come, Him Will I Receive.”
I. Introduction.
A. In our last lesson we saw that the Nephite and Lamanites received the sign of Christ’s Birth - the sun went down and it remained light. We saw how quickly the people forgot this sign
B. We read about the chief judge’s murder and the government of the Nephites failing and the whole nation falling into tribal chaos. One small group separated themselves and made a man named Jacob their king.
C. Today we will be reading what happened at the time of Christ’s Crucifixion and about Christ’s actual visitation to the Americas.
D. As missionaries, when we give the Book of Mormon to investigators, what is the first thing we invite them to read? 3 Nephi 11. Why? Not only is it important to establish that the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ, but there are some very important doctrine taught by Jesus in his very first encounter with the Nephites and Lamanites - things that are important for seekers of truth to understand.
II. People again question the prophesies of Samuel the Lamanite.
A. Read 3 Nephi 8:2-4. We see that although these people either witnessed and remembered or were told by reliable sources of the miracle that happened in this hemisphere at the time of Christ’s birth, they were already questioning and doubting Samuel’s other prophesies. Why is it so easy for us to forget what the prophets tell us even when we have ample evidence of their veracity?
1. I don’t know if this recent economic down turn is just a bump in the road or if it will cause more devastation and despair, but if it does, none of us can say that we were not adequately warned by our prophets to prepare for it. Our prophets have been telling us to stay out of debt, live within our means and prepare our food storage for decades.
III. The destruction at the time of Christ’s crucifixion is described.
A. Read 3 Nephi 8:5-10, 14-17.
1. The level of destruction here may have been hard for me to fathom in the past. But with the tsunami a few years ago, and hurricanes Katrina and recent tornados in the Midwest, it is easier for me to understand how entire cities could be washed into the see or completely blown away.
2. I visited Pompeii in 1998. This was an entire city frozen in time when it was completely covered by lava and ash by Mount Vesuvius . In one day an entire city was destroyed. The plaster casts they have done of the people covered with ash and lava are haunting. It is frightening to think how quickly a civilization can be destroyed.
B. Read 3 Nephi 8:19-22.
1. Why do you think God caused this darkness to come over the land?
a. Could it be that he wanted to contrast the darkness of sin with the light of salvation from Christ? Is he illustrating that Christ is the only light of the world.
b. This also contrasts with the sign of light the Nephites experienced at the time of Christ’s birth.
2. Why did the darkness last 3 days? Was this when Christ was in the tomb, in the spirit world, before the resurrection?
3. Although it is not necessary to understand exactly how God made this darkness occur. One explanation could be volcanic activity. My wife lived in Washington state when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. She remembers everything being very gray, and not being able to see through people just a few feet in front of her through the ash. People had to get out of their cars and have someone feel the road in front of them in order to drive. You couldn’t see headlights just a few feet away.
IV. They hear the Voice of Christ.
A. In the darkness they hear a voice. Read 3 Nephi 9:1-2. Not a very hopeful message at first. He then list how the different Nephite cities have been destroyed. He indicates that they were destroyed for justice “that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them.”
B. Read 3 Nephi 9:13-15. These are the first words of hope they have had in 3 days. Also, the voice announces who he is.
C. Read 3 Nephi 9:17-21.
1. How was the law of Moses fulfilled in Christ?
a. All of the rituals in the law of Moses in some way symbolize Christ.
b. Who knows what Jewish Holiday we celebrated last week? Yom Kippur. Yom means day and Kippur means Atonement = The Day of Atonement. Today Jews spend the entire day in the synagogue fasting and praying. It is a day of repentance. Traditionally Jews wear white, symbolizing purity. When there was a temple the priest used to take a he-goat as a sin offering, kill it and sprinkle it’s blood on the alter and mercy seat in the holy of holies. He took another goat and laid his hands on its head and symbolically placed all the sins of Israel on it and then took it out into the wilderness - signifying Israel’s release from sin by these offerings. It is easy for us to see how this represents the Atonement of Christ. This is just one example of how Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses.
2. What sacrifice does Christ request of us now? “A broken heart and a contrite spirit.” He wants us to humble ourselves before him, be truly penitent and accept his atonement.
V. Christ appears to the Nephites.
A. Read 3 Nephi 11:1-7.
1. Why did it take them 3 times to understand the words? They finally “opened their ears.” Perhaps they first few times they were too shocked to actually pay attention.
B. Read 3 Nephi 11:8-11 and 13-15.
1. Why was in important that Jesus testify and show the people who he was before he started teaching them? The right authority is important when teaching the gospel.
C. Once Jesus has testified of his own authority and shown the people who he is, what is the first thing he teaches them? Baptism.
1. Read 3 Nephi 11:18-26.
2. Why do you think this is the first thing he teaches? Baptism is necessary for salvation.
3. Why does he call Nephi out of the multitude to teach about the manner of baptism? Priesthood authority is necessary for baptism.
4. While the Bible gives us some very good hints about how we should baptize it still leaves room for some confusion. Thus there are hundreds of different ways different Christian churches baptize and none but the Church of Jesus Christ have the authority to do it. (I loved the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where her fiancé is baptized 3 times in the blow up pool.) But here in the Book of Mormon we get the correct mode of baptism right from Jesus’s mouth. And we were all baptized in this very way using these exact words.
D. Jesus teaches about the spirit of contention.
1. Read 3 Nephi 11:28-30. How can we have honest disagreements amongst ourselves and with people of other faiths and still avoid the spirit of contention?
2. Reading these verses reminded me of Elder Hales talk last week on General Conference. I wanted to quote a bit from it:
Recently a group of bright, faithful young Latter-day Saints wrote down some of the most pressing questions on their minds. One sister asked, “Why doesn’t the Church defend itself more actively when accusations are made against it?”
To her inquiry I would say that one of mortality’s great tests comes when our beliefs are questioned or criticized. In such moments, we may want to respond aggressively—to “put up our dukes.” But these are important opportunities to step back, pray, and follow the Savior’s example. Remember that Jesus Himself was despised and rejected by the world. And in Lehi’s dream, those coming to the Savior also endured “mocking and pointing . . . fingers”. “The world hath hated [my disciples],” Jesus said, “because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”. But when we respond to our accusers as the Savior did, we not only become more Christlike, we invite others to feel His love and follow Him as well.
To respond in a Christlike way cannot be scripted or based on a formula. The Savior responded differently in every situation. When He was confronted by wicked King Herod, He remained silent. When He stood before Pilate, He bore a simple and powerful testimony of His divinity and purpose. Facing the moneychangers who were defiling the temple, He exercised His divine responsibility to preserve and protect that which was sacred. Lifted up upon a cross, He uttered the incomparable Christian response: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”.
Some people mistakenly think responses such as silence, meekness, forgiveness, and bearing humble testimony are passive or weak. But, to “love [our] enemies, bless them that curse [us], do good to them that hate [us], and pray for them which despitefully use [us], and persecute [us]” takes faith, strength, and, most of all, Christian courage.
He goes on to say:
When we do not retaliate—when we turn the other cheek and resist feelings of anger—we too stand with the Savior. We show forth His love, which is the only power that can subdue the adversary and answer our accusers without accusing them in return. That is not weakness. That is Christian courage.
He gives ways we can respond to our church being criticized: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice—who are “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” I assure you that to answer our accusers in this way is never weakness. It is Christian courage in action. (So he is not suggesting that we just ignore people when they attack us or misrepresent out beliefs.)
One of the most common and hurtful ways enemies of the church attack us is by claiming we are not Christians. But Elder Hales reminds us “More regrettable than the Church being accused of not being Christian is when Church members react to such accusations in an un-Christlike way! May our conversations with others always be marked by the fruits of the Spirit—‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance’”
E. Read 3 Nephi 11:32-36.
1. While these verses may sound like common sense to us, it is important to realize that these few verses explain the nature of the Godhead (trinity) better than any verses in the entire Bible. While other Christians try to claim that Mormons are in error in our understanding of the nature of the Trinity, you can read the Bible from cover to cover and you will not find the word Trinity or Godhead once. There is nowhere in the Bible that explains the Trinity the way it is explained in the Nicene Creed. We are lucky we have these verse where Christ Himself explains how He, the Father and the Holy Ghost are both separate and one in that they testify of each other.
2. I just got finished reading a book called The Great Angel - A Study of Israel’s Second God by a Methodist Bible Scholar named Margaret Barker. She presents overwhelming evidence of how the ancient Israelites believed in a Son of God, “The Great Angel”, who was separate from God the Father but who helped in creation and how the first Christians believed Jesus Christ was a manifestation of this Son of God, separate from God the Father. It’s a very interesting book and I’ll loan it to anyone who wants to read it.
VI. Conclusion. Important things taught in this lesson.
A. Don’t ignore the prophesies and signs from the prophets.
B. Christ fulfilled the law of Moses and the law of Moses testifies of Christ.
C. Christ Himself established his authority before administering to the people. This underscores the importance of the priesthood authority to administer and teach in the church today.
D. Christ taught the correct manner of baptism.
E. Christ taught the nature of the Godhead.
References:
Elder Hales, Robert D., Christian Courage - The Price of Discipleship. October Conference 2008.