FAIR's Rising Generation

Okay so you know by now that I’m 18 and I’m preparing to leave on a mission within the year. In order to get ready I’m doing a lot of study on various subjects that I think will help prepare me for the next two years. I’m going to share what I’ve learned on this blog because I’m hoping that other future missionaries will benefit from it.

So the first book on my reading list was written by Randy Bott and it’s called Preparation Precedes Power; How Successful Missionaries Prepare to Serve. Last night after reading a chapter in that book I did this exercise where I wrote out what I think the Gospel is using Bott’s “Eight Points” for a guide.

I copied this from my journal to here. Read the rest of this entry »

Noah, I’d like to start by thanking you for being here to interview yourself.

Thank you.

Okay. Here goes…. Noah. Hero? Legend? Superstar? Myth?

I assure you that I am only a ma…

I wasn’t finished. …Scoundrel? Fake? Fraud? Winebibber?

Now wait just a second, I’ve never had so much as a drop of…

Oh really? Remember that I’m actually you!

Oh, come on! You’re gonna bring that up!?

The people have a right to know. Read the rest of this entry »

Karl Marx is somewhat of a hero in my mind. No, that’s not a typo. He saw a problem, a problem the Book of Mormon itself had a lot to say about–that of class inequality, and he wasn’t afraid to stand up to a great evil of his day.

In fact, one familiar with Marxist ideology may find King Benjamin’s sermon strikingly familiar. “From each according to his ability; to each according to his needs” is both a maxim of Socialism and what could be termed Mormon Consecrationism.*

Of course, Marx was a Secularist and levelled a number of criticisms against religion. It may surprise you that I agree with most of them.

Which is why critics aren’t always a bad thing, and I think Mormon apologists are wise to recognize that. If I hold an incorrect belief, I hope someone out there will take the time to enlighten me, and I am grateful towards those who do–critic of the Church or not.

Marx stated that religion was the opiate of the masses. His criticism was that people were taking so much stock in the promise of a glorious afterlife, that they were unwilling to address the problems of the “here and now.” And…he was right!

When God commanded Lehi to send his sons to retrieve the Brass Plates, he didn’t map out every minute detail of how to do it. Nephi and his brothers failed twice before Nephi finally succeeded. Read the rest of this entry »

So I totally lost it today–my temper, that is. And you wouldn’t believe the object of my fiery conflagrations Read the rest of this entry »

In ten short months I’ll be putting in my papers to serve a full-time mission.  To me that means that I have only ten months remaining to finish my preparations.  This isn’t like high school, what I mean is if I fail to prepare now, I won’t get a second chance.  And in the words of Randy L. Bott, a teacher of Missionary Prep. courses at BYU, “Not taking these years seriously can signal trouble ahead(1).”  The name of Brother Bott’s book is in my footnotes and I totally recommend it for prospective missionaries.  It was this book that woke me up to how unprepared for a mission I really am. Read the rest of this entry »