Conclusion

Surprisingly, Writing 150 has turned out to be one of my favorite classes this semester.  At the beginning of the semester, if you were to ask me what class I thought was going to be my favorite, I probably would have said Chemistry.  However, as the semester progress, I found myself throughly enjoying Writing.  I found that I learned something new with each essay topic we covered.  I also didn't anticipate enjoying writing a blog very much.  I thought it would be something that I would have immediately given up at the end of the semester.  However, I actually enjoyed keeping a blog a lot.  Writing has always seemed to be a pain for me so I usually avoided it as much as possible.  However, this class forced me to write more often which I actually really appreciate.  I found that as I wrote these blogs, it became easier and easier.  And I also found that I was able to be myself more with each blog that I wrote.  And due to this experience I have decided that I am going to do my best to continue to keep this blog going.  This is ultimately why I decided to name my blog "19 and Counting."  I am grateful for the opportunity I had to take this class and the principles I learned throughout this course.  I hope that I can apply them to my life on a daily basis.

For those of you out there who don't know me very well, I absolutely love watches, specifically Nixon watches like this one.  My friends think that I have a problem.  They call it a watch fetich, but I like to think of it as a collection, or an investment.  I don't have too many watch, probably about 6, however I definitely plan on getting more.  This is a picture of my dream watch.  It is called the Regent and it is worth about $1200.  The chances of me getting this anytime soon are about zero percent chance but I absolutely love it.

Things I'd like to do before my mission

I have 59 more days until I leave to Kennewick Washington so I'm making a list of the top five the things I would loved to right before.  Im trying to make the most of my last few weeks with my family and friends.  This list isn't in any specific order.

1. Hike Machu Picchu with my Dad
2.Go to the beach at least 3 times a week, if not more
3. Built a bond fire on the beach with all my close friends and family
4. Have my mom teach me how to cook so I don't starve on my mission
5. Take a fun day trip out to Catalina Island, just of the coast in Laguna Beach.

3 Nephi 11:14

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is 3rd Nephi 11:14 because it is completely centered on Christ.  In fact, it is Christ speaking.  Third Nephi Chapter eleven is by far the most important chapter in the Book of Mormon -- Christ Visits the Americas.  This verse is very powerful because it is Christ testifying that he is the Christ.  It states, "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the Whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the World."  I can't but help be moved by the power in which he testifies that he is the Christ.  He alludes to the atonement that he preformed to for every individual.  Through our faith in Christ we can be cleansed and eventually return to our Father in Heaven.  This verse makes me want to be the very best person I possibly can so that I don't contribute to the pain Christ suffered through the atonement.  This is such a great scripture and I am so happy I was able to share it with you guys!

Home

I can't wait to go to the beach when I get home.  I am so sick of the snow.  

Fam at Conference

What's better than being edified by prophets and enjoying the company of your family at Conference?

A Glimse at Freedom: Final Draft

Christian Davis

Sister Steadman

Writing 150

March 29, 2012

A Glimpse of Freedom

“Boom, Boom, Boom!”   

“I Got it Mom!” I exclaimed.  It could only be one thing.  I had been waiting for this moment for months.   I leapt to the navy blue oversized door, unlocked it, and swung it open.  

“Are you ready?” Greg exclaimed with excitement in his voice.

“Heck yes!” I yelled. “Let me grab my bags, I’ll be out in a moment.”  I could nearly feel it.  It was unbelievable.  It was impossible.  Yet, it was very real.   It was the one thing I had been longing for my entire life, and it was finally here: Freedom.  

“Bye Mom! Bye Dad!” I screamed across the house as my voice echoed through the halls.  “I love you guys, I’ll see you in just a few day.”  This was it.  It didn’t need to be said.  It was just implied.  It was a test.  I stuffed my dark grey oddly-shaped bags in the trunk of silver mini van parked diagonally across the tan cobblestone driveway.  It was a beautiful bright summer day.  There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.  It smelt fresh; it felt new.

“Am I the last stop?” I asked.

“Yes Sir,” Greg exclaimed, “Let’s hit the road!”  We just weren’t excited, we were more than thrilled.  We had every detail planned to a tee, including the name of our trip.  We referred to it as Man-cation or Extrava-man-ganza.  All six of my very best friends were here.  It was our last hurrah before college split us up.  We were determined to have the time of our lives.  

Noticing that I hadn’t eaten all day I screamed at Greg over noise of the car, “What’s for dinner?”  

Immediately everybody answered, “Hula Burgers!”  This was my first test.  These just weren’t any ordinary burgers, they were legendary.  Each patty was carefully hand crafted and marinated in just the perfect amount of teriyaki sauce.  Each pineapple was precisely sliced in just the perfect shape.  Each bun was slowly grilled in just perfect amount of time.  And of course, it was my Dad’s secret recipe.  I was determined to make the best burgers I possibly could.  I didn’t need my Dad’s help.  This was finally my task.

  “Woot, woot, hurrah!”  we screamed as we pulled into the circular unloading zone directly in front of our hotel.  We had finally made it to Palm Spring.  We grabbed our bags and immediately headed for the hotel room.  

“Swoosh!”  

“Wow, this hotel room is incredible!” Greg exclaimed as he opened up the door.  I quickly scanned the room, but my attention was immediately drawn to the kitchen where I had the chance to prove myself.  It wasn’t a large kitchen, probably the size of a medium dinner table shoved into the lower right hand corner of the room.  The stainless steel sink was on the left and the stove was on the right.  It wasn’t the ideal place to make burgers, but it had to do.

“Where’s the supplies?” I asked.

“Underneath the table, in the blue cooler,” Greg responded.  Greg unpacked his Coleman grill and together we lit the flames and waited for the grill to heat up.  

“Here’s the first one!” he said as he handed me the patty. Twenty minutes past by and the patty was still completely raw, without a single sign of improvement.

“What do you think we should do, Christian?” Greg asked.

“I have no idea,” I responded.

“Let’s move inside,” Greg hesitated. “We’ll grab the grill top and throw them on the stove instead.  That should do it.”  I had failed the first time.  This was my last shot to prove myself.  I slowly started to cook the burgers with the utmost care, hoping make outstanding burgers.  

“Beep, Beep, Beep!” I turned around, looked past the table, and scanned the room for Greg, but but all I could see was a a thick layer of gray smoke.  

“Holy cow! Grab the towels, we need to shut off this smoke detector alarm before the fire department comes!” Greg yelled worriedly.  I quickly grabbed a yellow pool towel and began swinging it with all my might at the smoke detector.  

“Quick, call the hotel!” I yelled.  It didn’t need to be said.  It was just known.  I had failed.  I instantly began longing for my Father’s burgers and my Mother’s maternal care.  I was hungary and helpless.  I didn’t want to say it, but I needed my parents help.  This was a problem only they could solve.  

Practice Personal Narrative

"Hey, Buddy do you see it?" exclaimed My Brother.
"See what?" I said.
"Look out your widow!" My brother said with excitement in his voice.  I immediately turned around, looked out the taxi window, and saw a big brownish-black tower.
"Holy cow!  It's incredible; I can't believe we're here!" I said.  It took us nearly 11 hours on the dot to travel to Paris.
I turned to my Dad and asked, "so when do we get to go op it."
"In just a few minutes," my Dad answered.  Our entire trip built up to this moment.  The moment we finally got to go up the Eiffel tower.

General Conference: The Merciful Obtain Mercy Elder Uchtdorf

This past weekend, I had the wonderful privileged to attend three sessions of General Conference.  It was quite an amazing experience and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had and the lessons I learned.  One of the talks that stood out to me the most, and one that I would love to share with everybody, is Elder Uchtdorf's talk.  It really spoke to me because it talked about, the atonement, the central event our religion.  If you were watching, you probably remember one statement he made about judging.  He said, "This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon,” he said. “When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm—please apply the following: Stop it!"  He continues to further explain that when we judge others, we are condemning ourselves.  This statement reminded me of another conference talked a few years ago.  The central message of that talk was the difference between two types of judging.  But something that stuck out to me in that talk was that the way you judge others is the same way that you will be judged by Heavenly Father. Another statement that stuck out to me in Elder Uchtdor's talk was about forgiving others who had sinned, instead of judging them.  He said, “Refusing to forgive is a grievous sin—one the Savior warned against. … When the Lord requires that we forgive all men—that includes forgiving ourselves.”  I thought that his talk was very profound.  I think that it is very important to forgive each other and not judge.  At this age of our lives, we tend to judge each other a lot.  I am going to try to stop judging others because we are all going through some sort of trial and just because they did something we may think is wrong does not give you the authority to judge them.  We are going through a different try, that is essentially no different from theirs.  

Personal Narrative

Christian Davis

Sister Steadman

Writing 150

March 29, 2012

Extravamanganza

“Boom, Boom, Boom!”   

“I Got it Mom!” I exclaimed.  It could only be one thing.  I had been waiting for this moment for months.   I leaped to the navy blue oversized door, unlocked it, and swung it open.  

“Are you ready?” Greg exclaimed with excitement in his voice.

“Heck yes!” I yelled. “Let me grab my bags, I’ll be out in a moment.”  I could nearly feel it.  It was unbelievable.  It was impossible.  Yet, it was very real.   It was the one thing I had been longing for my entire life, and it was finally here: Freedom.  

“Bye Mom! Bye Dad!” I screamed across the house as my voice echoed through the halls, “I love you guys, I’ll see you in just a few day.”  This was it.  It didn’t need to be said.  It was just implied.  It was a test.  I stuffed my dark grey oddly-shaped bags in the trunk of silver mini van parked diagonally across the tan cobblestone driveway.  It was a beautiful bright summer day.  There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.  It smelt fresh; it felt new.

“Am I the last stop?” I asked.

“Yes Sir,” Greg exclaimed, “Let’s hit the road!”  We just weren’t excited, we were more than ecstatic.  We had every detail last detailed planned to a tee, including the name.  We referred to it as Man-cation or Extrava-man-ganza.  All six of my very best friends were their.  It was our last hurrah before college split us up, so we were determined to have the time of our lives.  

Noticing that I hadn’t eaten all day, I screamed at Greg over noise of the music, “What’s for dinner?”  

Instantly everybody yelled, “Hula Burgers!”

Friends at BYU

One thing that I noticed about being at college is that you have the opportunity to be with your friends constantly.  It is such a neat experience and you build very strong relationships because of it.  I also think that because we are at BYU we tend to all have the same standards and therefore we immediately become very close friends.  I am so grateful for the friendships that I have built up at BYU.

Research Essay -- Physician's Assisted Suicide

I changed my topic yesterday as I was about ready to start my essay.  So I have been focusing more on research than starting the first 2.5 pages of my essay.  

Thesis:  Although the ability to end your life may benefit a patient experiencing extreme discomfort or inevitable death, it demeans the value of life, leads to eventually passing a euthanasia act, and prohibits the recovery or misdiagnosis of the patient.  

A patient that is experiencing extreme discomfort or is diagnosed to pass away within the next few months may benefit from having the ability to choose to take his or her own life, however the value of life is much more important.  In the past decade or so, there have been three states that have found physician's assisted suicide a reasonable right to every individual suffering from an critical illness.  The first of these three states to pass a bill was Oregon.  Under Oregon’s death with dignity act allows, “doctors can prescribe medication to hasten the death of terminally ill patients with six-month prognoses. Patients must be mentally competent and they must administer the medication to themselves.”    

Cupcake Recipe

A couple of days ago I decided that I really wanted cupcakes, so made this wonderful recipe.  I had a blast making it, and i got to enjoy some awesome cupcakes...alright so I have a confession.  They weren't that amazing but they were at least my cupcakes.  Oh and I really love Cream cheese frosting and chocolate so it was my favorite.  It was a fun experience that produced a tasty treat.  All in all, I consider it a win.  

Ingredients

• 8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sweet butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 egg whites

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1 Tbs. corn syrup
• 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbs. grated orange zest
• Food coloring

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In top part of double boiler over boiling water heat chocolate, 1/2 cup milk, brown sugar and egg yolk. Stir continuously and remove from heat when smooth and thick. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together into medium bow.

In separate large bowl, beat together butter and sugar, add egg yolks, 3/4 cup milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Slowly add flour mixture and stir until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and combine. In separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter. Bake in cupcake tins for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes in tins. Remove to cool completely. Combine frosting ingredients and frost cupcakes.

Whitney up at BYU

This semester, about a week after my birthday, my girlfriend was able to come up and visit BYU.  She absolutely loved it and we had so many fun experiences.  We were able to play in the snow --it was her first time being in snow for more than an hour.  It was a very new experience for her.  We also went up to Park City on a fun date and had a very nice dinner at a BBQ restaurant.  The food was incredible!  We also went sledding and built a snowman.  It was one of the funnest weeks I had up at BYU.

Our Divine Destiny By David A. Bednar

We are taught be several Apostles of God that obtaining a body is central to the Father's plan.  It is a necessary step in order to eventually return back to our Heavenly Father.  In the book, "Prospective on New Media," Elder Bednar talks about the importance of having a body.

Joseph Smith taught, "We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom.  The great principle of happiness consists in having a body.  The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment." It is very important that we have a body, it is important that we do not forget the important of having a body.  The devil's ultimate goal is make force us into taking advantage of using our body.  

Joseph Continue's by saying, "The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power."  I'm not sure which apostle said this, but we are stronger than sin the moment it first presents itself to us.  However as we dwell on it and allow it to enter our mind, we are allowing satan to take control.  We need to immediately conquer sin.  In Brother Bott's  Mission preperation class, we recently discussed the importance of overcoming sin immediately.  Brother Bott teaches that there is an internal battle between your perfect spirit body and your imperfect physical body.  Before we came to earth, we perfected our spiritual body.  We could exist in the presence of God.  However now that we have obtain an imperfect physical body, our goal is to prefect them so that we can have perfect control over it.  Once we can complete this, we will be able to experience true happiness.  In Doctrine and Coventants 93:33-34 its states, "For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy."  Our body's can make us eternally happy.  If we can follow God's commandments, we will be able to return our perfected body's back to Heavenly Father.      

Me and My Sister's Birthday

My Birthday was so much fun!  Both my sister and I had our very best friends come up and visit for our birthday.  It just happened that our best friends are dating each other too.  During the entire weekend we went snowboarding, had a little party, and shared a bunch of other fun memories.  I am so lucky to have a great sister and great friends!

Mission Call!

This semester, probably the most significant event in my life happened.  I GOT MY MISSION CALL!  Two lines on a peace of paper determined where I am going to live and serve for the next two years of my life.  I am extremely excited to share my love of the gospel with others in Kennewick Washington.  I can't wait to get out there.

The Kooks Concert

This semester I had such a neat opportunity to go to the Kook's concert with one of my very good friends up at BYU.  We had such a neat experience.  This is actually a video from the concert.  After we left the concert my eardrums were ringing for about 4 days straight.  It was definitely worth it though.  

Meet the Family

 This is my wonderful family.  My little brother, Warren, on the far left, is a stud.  He loves to play sports and he is a very smart kid.  My little sister, Hanna, in the middle left, loves to figure skate.  She is very athletic.  My twin sister, Aley, on the middle right, next to me, is up at BYU with me.  We are having a lot of fun and enjoying the full experience up here.  And last, my mom and dad, in the Middle of the picture, are the most amazing parents and I am super lucky to have them in my life.  I would like to say we are the perfect family but were not.  We do the best we can though.

Perspective on New Media By Elder Ballard

In the Article "Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet," Elder Ballard discusses the benefit of using the internet for sharing the gospel, as the name of the article implies.  In the past, it was very difficult to spread information very quickly.  Before the time of telephones and telegrams, the most effective way was writing letter.  Today, it has changed significantly.  This generation is growing up in an age where they have useful technology all around them.  And, quite frankly, with the use of cell phones and the internet, passing information around is very easy.  We should use this technology to share the gospel.  Elder Ballard states, "Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration."  The Internet can be a very effective way to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with such a wide audience.  Elder Ballard states that "the emergence of new media is facilitating a worldwide conversation on almost every subject."  This is astounding that the Internet can reach such a large audience on a variety of topics, including religion.  I am planning on using the internet to share the gospel with others.  It is an awesome tool to have and we should take advantage of it.

Hiking Timp

Earlier this year, a big group of my friends, probably about 20 kids, decided that we wanted to Hike Mount Timp.  After the ten hour hike was over, only three of us made it to the top.  And among that group was my twin sister and I.  It was such a neat experience.  I couldn't help but think about all of the wonderful creations God has made for the enjoyment of his people.

"A Child of God" By Henry B. Eyring

These past few weeks have been a period of great learning for me.  It has been a transition from my first semester, here at BYU, to my second.  As you know, with the end of the semester inevitably comes finals. Just to give you a quick background about myself, I am planning on majoring in Chemistry and pursuing a career somewhere in the medical field.  As you can probably guess, my story involves me and my Chemistry final.  Going into my final, I had a 97 percent in the class.  I was feeling very confident, which was probably turning into a sense of pride.  As a result of my high grade and -- I admit -- my pride, I began skipping class and stopped doing homework.  The night before my final I realized that the test was 35 percent of my grade and I had completely neglected to learn the new material.  As you can probably guess, I ended up getting a 76 percent.  It dropped my grade nearly 8 percent, all the way down to an 89.5 percent.  My pride had completely and utterly destroyed me.  Ironically this past week, I had the opportunity to read a talk given by an apostle of God about pride and its direct correlation to success in school.  In this talk, Elder Eyring portrayed exactly what happened to me.  Elder Eyring says,

"But I will tell you that not only can you pursue educational excellence and humility at the same time to avoid spiritual danger but that the way to humility is also the doorway to educational excellence." 

From my personal experience in this matter, I can say with confidence that this statement is true.  There were many lessons to be learned from Elder Eyring's talk, but the main point I gained is no matter how intelligent you are, or how wise you think you may be, there is always someone smarter than you.  Elder Eyring provided a great solution to this problem.  He directed us to remember the Savior and "what it means to be a spirit child."  In no way can we be compared to the Savior.  We are not worthy by any means, and in no way can we match up to his resume.  Christ is "the creator of all things, about which the wisest of us knows so little."  He atoned for all of our sins.  There are countless things he has done for us.  We are nothing without him.  Comparing yourself to him is a very humbling experience and will definitely change your outlook on life.  I know it did for me.  This will be the last time I will let pride fill my heart, the consequences are not worth it.