Tuesdays with Muerte

BYU and USU are facing off tonight in Provo at 7pm. The game will be broadcast on channel 37, The Mountain. The reason why these "LDS" teams are playing on Saturday is so their fans can travel and attend General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. I watched my first USU Aggie football game one or two weeks ago against Southern Utah University. It was a pathetic sight. I felt like I was watching overly enthusiastic intramural teams have at it. (I left a halftime.) I gonna call the game score right now. I'm thinking 52 to 10 BYU. My prediction for tonight's game is not much more generous than ESPN's. They predict a complete lopsided match with a potential score of 75 to 20 BYU. In these situations, where I have attended both schools, I can safely say, "GO BLUE!" Post-Game Report USU had a chance! BYU turned over the ball a ton. With 2 minutes left, the score was only 28-10 BYU. The final score was something like 28-17.

Preface: This post is completely my opinion. There is no specific evidence cited in this post. It's just a loosely based around one piece of information I read in a book. The Rant: In his early years, Oliver Cowdery was a Joseph-Smith-tag-along. He was Joseph Smith's junior companion, if you will. They attended all the same meetings, they received all the same ordinances, and together they were even elevated to rank of 3rd degree Masons [the highest degree Americans could attain at that time]. The difference between them was that Joseph was a spiritual leader, and Oliver was a follower. The frightening thing is that Joseph was the First Elder of the Church, while Oliver was the Second Elder. Had Joseph bit the dust (prior to his untimely death), Oliver would have been the prophet of the Church! In the words of little Shannon, "Whoa! Close!" As we read in DC 4 , I believe there is a significant difference between thrusting in one's sickle and thrusting i...

Does the guy in the middle look like Benedict Cumberpatch to you? I've never seen a men's association like it. Since I returned home from my mission, at age 21, I have been looking for a system to help prepare me for the next stage of my life. I'd been exposed multiple plans to help returned missionaries transition between the mission and marriage. First, my parents encouraged me to create my own list...of stuff...to do...in order to keep me from going off the deep end. Then, the BYU Stake Presidents all tell their single students to go to institute and be a good home or visiting teacher. Really, there's no program out there specifically designed for single men and women preparing to become devoted husbands and wives. That is until I found the IMA motto while registering for my Logan institute: I am a man of God. I strive daily to be all that He wants me to be. I develop integrity by making and keeping covenants. I share the gospel with others. I am prepa...

As many of you know, I'm studying to become a Learning Scientist at Utah State University. One instructional project I am helping to design is meant to help fellow bloggers manipulate the html code on their blogs so that they can control their attributes of their text and pictures. For now, all I need is three people to take this SUPER-SHORT, online quiz: http://sites.google.com/site/usuresearchsite/home/blog-code-background-analysis Later on, I'll post the actual instructional material and ask you to try it out. *You do not need to provide any personal information and you don't need to commit to any future action.

A couple of years ago, I spent four hours at the BYU Library on one Saturday afternoon helping to index the new Spanish Bible. It was nothing noteworthy, but I do feel like I made a contribution. "The Latter-day Saint edition of the Holy Bible in Spanish is now available. More information about the available formats, pricing, and ordering of the LDS Edition of the Spanish Bible is available in English and Spanish ( Biblia ). A special 30-minute orientation video will be broadcast between the upcoming general conference sessions." Some of the differences between this new version and the 1909 Reina Valera edition include: -limited translation changes. For example, "[spiritual] salud" has changed meaning over time. Where it used to mean "salvation", it now is understood to simply mean "health." In order to avoid confusion, the new LDS version translates "salud" 227 times to "salvacion." -New Reference Guide utilizi...

I'm still ticked off that I missed International  Talk Like A Pirate Day . Onion Mantis Dentures? (Seriously, enlarge this!) Obama Saves! Dramatic Dog is Dramatic. Duhn-dun-DUHN!

It’s one of the more bizarre scenes of cruelty that animal safety officers have ever come across . But even this cruel and unusual punishment does not appear to have dampened this cat’s spirits. The female tan and black striped feline was found wandering the streets of Philadelphia wrapped head to foot in duct tape – that most powerful of all tapes. Lucky for her, she was spotted by a woman who promptly called the SPCA yesterday. A humane officer from the SPCA found her wandering the Rhawnhurst section of Philadelphia and carted her up to safety. The tape was wrapped around her from her neck to her tail. But – armed with a great deal of patience – SPCA officers were able to remove it completely, saying she is now doing well.

Three months into my mission, I uncovered one of my many million dollar ideas. I decided to become a religious, latin pop star! Here are three reasons why entering this market is a $1.000.000 idea: 1. Hispanics still buy music records. Who buys cds [compact disks] anymore? Even the most squeaky clean music consumer I know purchases the majority of his music online. 2. Hispanics don't have high expectations when it comes to music quality. 3. I quickly and painfully observed that there are no good male, LDS, Latin American music artists. The niche is completely untouched. Prime example: Nelly Furtado's new, Mexican-flavored record, Mi Plan . Possessing a little bit of Latin American blood, herself, Nelly took the liberty of creating 11 songs marketed strictly for her "Gente" [people]. The sound of her new album is completely foreign in comparison to her earlier pop-R&B stuff. SHE DISCOVERED THE SECRET! She saw the U.S. music industry going do...

The ancient symbols in the Catholic Mass help me appreciate my relationship with the Savior. 1. Catholic Rites Greeters - There are actual greeters that stand at the doors and welcome congregationalists. Everyone likes to be greeted and made felt welcome. I think we should all serve this function for one another. Noobs should be recognized and given a special hello and handed a hymnal. Use of Water - When congregationalists enter the church, they dip the fingers of their right hand in a basin of holy water and make sign of cross to remind them of their baptismal covenant. Genuflections - In medieval Europe, the custom was to kneel before a king or person of rank or authority. This secular tradition was adopted by the Church. Many people today express reverence with a similar but even older custom of bowing to the alter before taking their seats. Priest's Greeting - The priest makes the sign of cross to, again, remind congregationalists of their baptismal covena...