Tuesdays with Muerte

Plot summary: Last night I dreamt I was a participant on a reality show run by heavenly angels and produced by atheists. (Weird things happened, and we had no idea what was going on, or why.)  We all lived in shared house, but I had a private bedroom with a connecting bathroom.  Every morning, I woke up to a mystery deuce in my toilet. Analysis: Without giving too much away, this plot is somewhat similar to the plot of  The Good Place  (starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson on Netflix). I have been using that show as a procrastination technique to actively avoid working on my dissertation for the past couple of weeks ago. (I loved it! I felt really connected to Chidi, the moral philosopher.) Also, I've been worrying a lot about where I'm going to end up living this upcoming school year. In fact, the last thing I remember from last night is receiving a rental contract from my property manager. The poop aspect of the dream may...

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Introduction After participating in some thought-provoking LDS church meetings today, I felt a personal desire to allow Christ greater influence in my life. Prepared with an open heart ( 2 Nephi 33:1-2 ), I received two messages which motivated me to want to spend more time with God: The Problem During the first hour of our worship service, my mind caught hold of something shared by Madeleine Hoyt, a young woman in my ward. She felt that 90% of the messages she typically receives throughout her school day are from the Adversary, and that God’s messages only squeak through 10% of the time. She concluded that she needed to "make the most of those Godly messages.” I later discovered Madeleine‘s stat was inspired by an address by Elder Eyring in his April 1999 LDS General Conference entitled,  The Power of Tea...