Sharing the Gospel 2.0

Throughout the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the means of which missionary work is performed has changed.  I will apologize up front for my thoughts being unorganized.  This is a draft for the historical content section of our final project. 

Early Church

Dan Jones preaching in Wales

When the church first started, missionaries were often sent on missions alone and often taught to large groups of people.  

Two missionaries in the early 20th century.

In the early 20th century, missionaries taught the gospel in companionship's.  Many of those serving missions left wives and families at home while they were out preaching the gospel.  





  




Memorized Discussions 
 For many years, missionaries shared the gospel by giving memorized discussions to people investigating the church.  This was known as the 'Uniform System for Teaching the Gospel'. 

Preach My Gospel

In 2004, missionaries throughout the world began using Preach My Gospel as their guide for missionary service focusing on teaching by the spirit instead of giving a memorized lesson.  This tool gives missionaries the flexibility to prepare and teach lessons to meet the specific needs of those investigating the church. 

Learn more at mormon.org

Missionary Work 2.0
As a member of The Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have been counseled to share my beliefs with others.   What impedes you from sharing the gospel with others?  Is it fear of hurting your reputation? is it the fact that it requires effort and hard work and you don't get paid for it?  Tim Wu, Professor of Law stated that we are living in more of an exposure culture, where 'getting noticed is everything'.  What are are motives of sharing the gospel?

The Wisdom of Crowds:  Think of how much good could be done and lives could be touched if all 13 million members of the church became actively involved in missionary work online.  Everyone working together for with the same goal in mind: to invite others to come unto Christ.  The church would have such an edge over the evil in the world.  Evil is everywhere but it is a  bunch of mini groups attacking from different directions.

Folksonomies: individuals acting individually yet producing a collective result.  This is what happens when we share the gosple online.  We are working individually to help the church (collectively as a whole) grow and gain more exposure.  We do this by posting links to church sites from our blogs, facebook, twitter, etc. 

Online missionary work creates a giant 'Network effect'.  Think of how many people you connect with on facebook, myspace, through e-mail, twitter, or online each day.  Fellow-shipping has become that much easier.  Investigators and recent converts have instant access to hundreds and thousands of members who are reading and willing to help.  It is always easier to make changes in our lives when we have an instant support group when times get hard. 

Fortunately official church sites and doctrine online are not an 'open but a closed API'.  Imagine what would happen if anyone could have access to editing and changing the doctrine shared on church websites.  It would be a mess?  It would lead to another apostasy or falling away from the truth. 

There are many ways in which we can become involved in missionary work online.  I'll post more about this next time.

Evolution of Missionary Work

In preparation for our presentation at Digital Revolution: Upgrading Education for Digital Civilization, I've decided to make a quick post about some thoughts and ideas we had on how to tie in the historical content to missionary work. 

The main focus of our project thus far has been helping the referral center missionaries share the gospel online. We have done this by participating in mingles online, chatting with friends on facebook, creating and translating gospel related prezi presentations, and hosting a fireside to help get more people involved. 

I feel that a cool way to tie in the historical content would be for each of us to research about how our ancestors were introduced to the gospel and eventually accepted the gospel.  Then show the evolution of missionary work.  I think it would be neat to show how it has changed from early saints leaving there families to share the word, young men sharing the gospel through memorized discussions, young men no longer using memorized discussions (emphasis on teaching by the spirit following Preach My Gospel), and now incorporating online tools and media to spread the gospel world wide.  \

More finalized thoughts to come....check out our group website for more. 

The Automobile: an essential part of life

Do you have a car?  Could you survive without it?  I recently thought about this question when I let my cousin borrow my car last weekend.  It was an interesting experience.  I never realized how much I depended on my car for things (especially on the weekend). 

A few examples where I missed my car this weekend are:  I played pick up basketball at the gym on Saturday and even though it is only a little over a mile from my apartment, I had my friend give me a ride.  I also waited until today to pick up my dry-cleaning because I didn't want to walk to the dry cleaners.  These are small things which I could definitely do if I didn't have a car, but having an automobile just seems to make life easier. 

In the early 20th century, Henry Ford's assembly line for the automobile revolutionized transportation.  Horses shortly became outdated and people became more and more accustomed to driving instead of walking.  However, I feel that unlike in the early 20th century, out society would not function without the use of the automobile as a mode of transportation. 

More information about the history of the automobile can be found here. 

Lemon's world

As part of my midterm evaluation in my digital civilization class, I done an evaluation of Mike Lemon's blog. 
This has been a really good experience for me.  It was fun to look at another blog in depth.  I learned a lot from reading Mike's blog and would like to make a few comments on it now.  Great consistency.  I really like how you stay current with the historical topics and make connections to digital media.  There is always room for improvement but for the most part I feel you are pretty up to date.  I also think it is awesome how you are using digital media to teach English to kids in Korea and Japan.  That's such a great way to connect to other people around the world.
I feel that you are doing a good job creating and connecting but sometimes it's hard for me to see evidence of adequate consumption.  I had a hard time seeing much evidence of your knowledge of the computing concepts (I feel this is partially because that is something I need to work on as well.)  I also would like to confirm your own realization that it wouldn't hurt to spice up your blog a little with some personality.  But all in all, I really enjoyed learning about the topics of this course through the lens of Mike Lemon.

Reflective Post - A change in attitude and self-directed learning

praisephotography.com

In  my digital civilization class, each student is required periodically to make a reflective blog post.  The purpose is to evaluate how well we have been meeting the course learning outcomes.  Click here to see the course learning outcomes.  In September, the overall theme of my reflections post was one of frustration.  Something needed to change.  But what?? Throughout the past six weeks, I have done my best to embrace the learning outcomes of the course and heed the suggestions of my professors.  So what changed??  I'd say it was a change in attitude and self-directed learning!!

Besides deciding to have a more positive attitude both in and outside of class, the biggest change I've made is how I use my self-directed learning time.  After reading the assigned readings on each historical and computing concept I am often confused about what I just read.  I question why anything that I just read is important?  How does it apply to me?  This is where self-directed learning comes in.  Instead of trying to research topics that aren't relevant to the specific concept we are focusing on, I have tried to use my self-directed learning to try to make sense of the topic we are studying.  If understanding historical content and computing concepts is something you struggle with, try using self-directed study to clarify concepts instead of finding new ones.  It might just work.  It did for me.

Common places I go for self-directed learning:

• Google, Wikipedia
• Diigo - I have found this to be extremely helpful.  I wish I would have started using this tool earlier
• Other students blogs - this helps me to see what other students felt was important and to draw connections from the readings
• Links - either from assigned readings, Wikipedia, or any other sites
• Books - I don't do this often but it's a good safety net 

 Meaningful self-directed learning has helped me become a better consumer, creator, and connector.

• CONSUME:  It is a lot more enjoyable and I feel significantly more comfortable with the historical concepts now than I did after the first midterm evaluation. 
•  CREATE:  Understanding the concept we are studying has made it easier for me to create as well.  I can spend more time focusing on making meaningful blog posts instead of purely posting because it's an assignment.  I guess I can't say that I would be blogging about historical concepts if I wasn't in this class but you get the point.  A few of the  fun ways to create were the youtube video and sound note for the mini-book club project on about The Count of Monte Cristo.  
• CONNECT:  I am not afraid to talk about or show others what I have learned because I am more confident in the subject matter.  I have found myself talking about this class a lot more with my friends and even asking them to check out my blog (I never thought I would willingly put a link to my blog on my facebook page).  I am also super excited about the final project.  It has been great working with the referral center missionaries and members of my ward to organize a fireside that the BYU 61st ward will be hosting on November 21.  I have also had the chance to re-kindle many old friendships (through the use of facebook) and share bits and pieces of the gospel with them.  None of them have accepted the invitation to participate in an online mingle yet but it has still been a great experience for me.
  
  
  

Along with continuing to get better at being a self-directed learner, another area of which I wish to improve on is being better at understanding and connecting computing concepts to the historical content.  I think one way I can do this is to use some of my self-directed learning time to clarify computing concepts and blog about them instead of always focusing on the historical content.  

Becoming a better self-directed learner has made digital civilization class much more fun.  It has also helped ignite the flame and increase my desire to become better at consuming, creating, and connecting with others.

Hollywood responds to Atomic Age

The invention of the atomic bomb changed the world.  Never before had the American people lived in such fear.  Fear of not knowing what would happen next.  Would the Soviets, Cuba, or another country drop an atomic bomb on the United States?  These weapons could blow up the world from thousands of miles away. 



Now for a brief history of the Nuclear Age.


During this time of FEAR, Hollywood responded.  Over 70,000 films, television, short stories, and novels acknowledged these fears.

The following is a list of a few films Hollywood created about the atomic age:

• The Day After Tinity -the film's main focus is Oppenheimer's role as scientific director of the Manhattan Project, for which he secretly recruited an assembly of top scientists.
• Thirteen Days - this film is a docudrama portraying the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. 
• The Nuclear Age - a documentary about the realities which arose from the advancements of the "Nuclear Age," from the creation of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 to the late 1980's.
• The China Syndrome - this fictional film depicts a narrowly averted meltdown at a nuclear power plant in Los Angeles, California and the efforts of three people who witness the accident to inform the public of the potential hazards at the plant

 Having watched clips from each of these movies, and seeing the state of fear that people lived in, makes me ever more grateful for the gospel in my life.  I am grateful that I have been taught the principle of being prepared.  Some disasters can't be avoided; however, that doesn't mean that we can't be prepared for them.
What would you do to prepare if there was a threat of an atomic bomb being dropped on United States?  Do you think you would be ready?  

Skype

For part of our final project, Rhett, Andrew, James, and I will be hosting a fireside with the referral center missionaries about how to become more proactive online missionaries.  Part of our preparation for the fireside has been frequent chats with the missionaries through skype.  The first couple times I met over at Rhett's apartment to participate with him in the chats; but not last Friday.  Last Friday I performed my first official skype chat with Elder Seth Spencer and Elder Blair Ahlstrom.  It was really neat.  I know that I am still an amateur but this was a big step for me in becoming more digitally literate.  It was also another step forward in becoming a better online missionary. 

The fireside is scheduled for November 21 from 7-8 in the Little Theater in the Wilkinson Center.  Here is our tentative outline for the fireside: 

1. Missionaries skype in and give brief presentation about what they do at the referral center and a few suggestions on what we can do to become better online missionaries.
2. Rhett, Andrew, James, and I plan on discussing a few of the other online tools available.  We plan on sharing personal experiences about what we are currently doing to share the gospel online.  
3. Eat yummy treats and mingle with others.

We look forward to seeing all of you on the 21st.  

What really drives our economy?

John Maynard Keynes's ideas on economics have had a profound influence on modern macroeconomics as well as many economic policies of governments.  Macroeconomics looks at the performance, structure, and development of the economy as a whole.  Keynes theory, know as Keynesian economics, states that business cycle fluctuations should be reduced through both fiscal and monetary policy.  If monetary and fiscal policy is what reduces business cycle fluctuations, why doesn't the United States use these policies to end the terrible recession we are currently in? or is the United States already applying them? 

A World of Ideas

In his blog post about social discovery, Gideon Burton states that the typical college student performs research by ferreting out print or electronic sources that consist mostly of texts or other artifacts that he or she can analyze, synthesize, generate data or arguments about, then writing about what he or she discovered.   Burton mentions that even though this process of research is solid in many respects, he feels that most of us will find this method to be increasingly inadequate and ultimately irresponsible. 

I decided that I wanted to put Dr. Burton’s opinion to the test.  The bulk of my outside research about “computing and intelligence” came from the book A World of Ideas: A Dictionary of Important Theories, Concepts, Beliefs, and Thinkers by Chris Rohmann.  Even if the information is relevant and applicable, to me, it is a pain to do research this way.  I feel that using social discovery would not only be more effective but more fun as well.   Here are a few key points from A World of Ideas:

·         Artificial intelligence is the emulation of human thought processes by mechanical devices.  Alan Turning composed the turning test to see if machines are intelligent.  So far, no device has been constructed that can pass the Turning test.  I feel that the reason that machines struggle to pass the test are because computers can’t feel, show emotion, or think like humans.  Do you think there will ever be machines that are so human-like that they will pass the ‘Turning test’?

·         Kurt Godel caused a decline in interest in formalism (any approach to theory or practice that emphasizes form, structure, or formal rules) with his incompleteness theorem which demonstrates htat not all true statements can be proven.  Pound it for Godel!!!  Since working with the referral center and sharing the gospel through digital media is the topic for my final project, missionary work has been on my mind a lot recently.  I can’t imagine what would be like trying to teach the gospel (gospel truths) if you had to prove every truth that was taught.  It’s pretty hard or even impossible to prove ones feelings, beliefs, and testimony. 

One think I like about computing is that in order for a computation to function, once must pay attention to detail.  This concept is very prevelant in the business world.  Financial statements are analyzed and reports are created in order to help companies be more profitable.  Small errors or changes can pay large dividends for businesses.  I guess that can be applied to our lives too. 

I agree with Murry Leinster that logics (computers) are civilization.  Computers are used for everything today.  They play a large role in our society and what kind of society we’ve become.  I don’t really agree with Leinster that if we shut off computers, we would become a civilization that we’ve forgotten how to run.  Isn’t that what history is for?  To learn from what people did in the past and how to avoid making similar mistakes.  Computers are new.  If we survived without them in the past, we would certainly be able to survive without them again.  Couldn’t we??

It's All in Your Head

Psychology is the study of mind and behavior.  The human mind became central to 20th century thought.  

Sigmund Freud is considered one of the most prominent thinkers of the first half of the 20th century.  In his book Civilization and its Discontents, Freud makes mention of individual development (urge towards happiness + urge towards union with others) and civilization development (creating unity out of individuals).  Freud states that these types of development oppose one another.  This imbalance between the individual and the community of which Freud makes mention is quite different from Adam Smith’s ideas about the same topic.  Adam Smith talks of people being driven by self-interest.  As each individual becomes the best he/she can at their respective skill, it leads to the betterment of the society (civilization) as a whole.  

In the same book, Freud discusses two of the drivers of human life:  men being inclined to aggression and sexuality.  Freud states, "If private property were abolished, all wealth held in common, and everyone allowed to share in the enjoyment of it, ill-will and hostility would disappear among men."  I disagree with that statement.  If you get rid of those those things, there would be an increase in moral hazard among members of society.  (Moral hazard, in business, is the risk that one party to a transaction will engage in behavior that is undesirable from the other party's point of view.)  There would be an increased number of people who would either stop working and mooooch off of everyone else OR people would be much more frivolous in there dealings with others because there is no fear of losing a home or personal belongings since all are equal.   

Carl Jung was another influential psychiatrist of the 20th century.  

A few quotes of his that I really liked were: 

"The more a man's life is shaped by the collective norm, the greater is his individual immorality." ("Psychological Types", 1921)  AND

"Without freedom there can be no morality." ("Relations between Ego and Unconscious", 1928).  

I like these quotes because I feel that they are applicable to the world we live in today.  Sex, drugs, and immorality are becoming more and more accept mainstream among members of society today.  You could even say that being involved in such acts has become "normal".  However,when we are chaste and moral, we become truly free and able to act and make decisions for ourselves.  It is when we abstain from the use of drugs, alcohol, immorality and obey God's commandments that we become free.