Maybe I'm craaaaazaaaaay

Okay. BYU peeps. Help me out here.

... Is today's easy sudoku in the Daily Universe IMPOSSIBLE, or did I just mess up somewhere? I've seriously tried solving it 3 or 4 times but I keep concluding that it can't be done.

*Edit: Um... I just figured it out. Never mind. Heh.

I stole this post from my secret blog

Hi guys! So... I have a secret: I have a secret blog that I haven't told anyone about. It's a bit of a school project, and it's probably not that interesting. If you are interested in following it, let me know and I'll let you read it. I'm going to keep it private.

The following words are from that blog:

On Wednesday, my teacher presented my class with the following "doctrine": In the Celestial Kingdom, there will be more righteous women than men. Because of this, plural marriage will be necessary, as you need to be sealed to be exalted.

I left the class feeling very upset.

I recognize that he might have a reason for saying the things he did, including principles given in Jacob 2 and D&C 132, and the fact that a man can be sealed to more than one woman (usually as long as only one is currently alive; it sounds like sometimes divorces don't end in sealing annulments). But I highly suspect that his comments were out of context, and, honestly, out of line.

I need to stick in a disclaimer right now and admit that I don't know what it's going to be like on the other side. But I do believe that things will work out right. I think that people struggle with the idea because, first of all, it isn't really discussed, and second, when it is discussed, it's very vague. And sometimes people with weird ideas are the ones who speak up loudest.

My issues with his presentation of this "doctrine" are

1. Historically, plural marriages were instituted by God to "raise up seed" (Jacob 2:30). I highly doubt that this will be a problem in the Celestial Kingdom, considering all the people who have lived on the earth, and who have yet to live on the earth. D&C 132 addresses plural marriage; however, Joseph Smith received this revelation at a time when the Church was commanded to practice plural marriage. It seems to me that, again, the people needed to expand the Church. I believe that verses 58-66 are specifically for the members of that time, and not for the members of today or even the future.

2. The idea that there will definitely be more women than men in the Celestial Kingdom seems kinda silly to me. I take it that my teacher is drawing this idea from his own experiences seeing more women at Church or in the temple, or perhaps in hearing talks about how LDS Women are Incredible! Whether or not this is the case, there are other things to consider. For example, think of all the children who have died before the age of eight, or all the righteous people who died before having the opportunity to be sealed. I believe that God is just and fair, and that He will give those people an opportunity, too; the idea that the Celestial Kingdom will be over-populated by women is ridiculous to me.

3. I do recognize that a man can be sealed to more than one woman in this life. I have struggled with the idea of typically not having men annul their sealings upon remarriage, because the idea of polygamy disgusts me, frankly. I can't imagine being happy sharing my husband with anyone, whether in this life or the next. But I believe that the multiple sealings are more for the sake of giving those women access to the fullness of the gospel and the Priesthood; I think the Priesthood is going to play a huge part in the Resurrection, and probably other stuff, too. It would be unfair to cut them off from that blessing. HOWEVER, again, I think that everyone will be able to have their very own family unit, meaning one man and one woman, so the idea that a man will be living with a bunch of women forever simply doesn't cut it for me.

4. God understands the desires of our hearts, and takes them into account (Alma 41:3-6). I firmly believe that He would never take away our agency and force us into arrangements that we don't feel good about. The Celestial Kingdom is a place of happiness and peace and progression. The only happiness and peace and progression I can imagine will be with MY husband and our (future) children.

In a way, I'm glad that my teacher made those comments in class because it forced me to really research it for myself, and as a result, I understand it a little more and feel at peace. There aren't many things I know for sure, but I do know that Heavenly Father loves me, and He values me as much as everyone else. That, to me, speaks volumes.

*Edit: I realize now that I failed to mention something. I'm not trying to disprove the possibility of eternal plural marriage. I'm trying to explore other ideas about what might be going on with this topic. I do think that if eternal plural marriage does exist in the Celestial Kingdom, it will be an option, not a requirement. My teacher upset me because he presented it as true, certain doctrine, and I didn't appreciate that; it was a little one-sided for something that isn't (what I consider) solid doctrine. If you have your two cents to throw in, please do so!

All will be well

Hey everybody! Guess what? I didn't die!

Dria has been such a faithful poster, but I've just been such a deadbeat on this blog. But life has been crazy for me, which is my best excuse.

So basically, this semester is busy, but I think it will be manageable. I've got 15 credit hours, including one hour of mentored research, which is 5-6 hours per week in the lab. I'm also working 16 hours a week, preparing for the MCAT 10+ hours a week, helping out with the Premed Club website, and doing various other service-type activities.

However, as much as this seems like a huge burden, it's actually starting to look okay. I'm enjoying almost all of my classes this semester, and working hard to prioritize my tasks each day and get the most important things done first. Last night, I actually had 2 whole hours of free time!

So I guess this semester will be okay. Especially since I have Dria to help me when things get stressful. :)

Family

Today we had a surprise visit from my folks, which means that we chatted and I got candy and I showed Alexa the fish in the Widstoe and we made fun of Zac Efron.

Parents just don't understand

Dear parents of the world,

I've noticed that some of you keep trying to prove to me that people should take a competency test before even thinking about having kids.

Don't be stupid. Take care of your children. Don't put your baby's carrier in the front seat of the car. Don't leave your kids unattended in a vehicle. For heaven's sake, put a helmet on their head when they ride a bike or scooter. Provide good medical care for them.

You should also love them, but I hope that's a given.

Love and hugs,

Dria

I wanna be the very best

So I've been debating for months about signing up for this Pro Web Design Course that's taught by a web designer who I've been following for quite some time. The steep price drove me away from it, until Ben Hunt (that's the guys name) posted a presentation on his site about how web design can be a great way to graduate from school debt-free. Now, as a premed student, I don't expect any job to get me out of school without at least a ton of debt, but I could sure use all the help I can get!

Anyway, after intense soul-searching and learning more about the unique research that went into the course, I finally decided to take the plunge and sign up. I felt confident that Ben could teach me web design that would be much more effective (and profitable!) than anything I could figure out on my own.

And good news! I've finished just my first day of the course, and I've already learned some amazing things that I had never thought about before. Not only does this course teach web design itself, but it also focuses on business and sales, which are essential in both being a freelance designer and in designing web sites that will actually help the businesses that pay for them.

So if anyone out there is interested in doing web design, be sure to check this course out. I can't say for sure just how great it will be yet, but I'll let you know as I get further along.