General Conference Notes

Thoughts, impressions and speeches from LDS General Conference.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aNUVVd6N0hs8rCvdXArr9kbb5uVPnTiv_z9cGDbQEEI/edit

Chelsea B. Merkley

The Words of God:Thoughts from Elder Ballard's Talk

Elder Ballard :S. L. Institute Speaker
 The Future rests on our shoulders.  We need to Protect moral values of decency- In our world Morals seem to change to what everyone wants them to be. You have eternal standards. Live up to them. Prepare to serve: country, community, and family. Building relationships Remove  fear with faith & trust in God. Lift away your fear. Trust God. Your Heavenly Father Loves you, you are his sons & daughters. Learn the eternal Gospel, keep the commandments, live rightously and we will find even in difficulties & challenges or heartaches--we will find peace, joy and happiness even in difficult circumstances. Keep our mind focused on studying the scriptures & the gospel. Learn about your eternal journey. We lived in the Pre-Existence in the Pre-Earth life with our Heavenly Father. We will Live forever in Eternal Life. Blessings to be with Heavenly Father eternally are our through keeping Eternal Covenants. Prepare to use Revealed Technology to Proclaim the Gospel. Respond to friends who have questions,on your blog, twitter or other technological devices to defend the church. Live worthily & serve your church callings faithfully & you'll lead your own homes as fathers & Mothers. You are they who will carry this kingdom on. God bless you in all your education, prepare spiritually and learn to love the Lord. In all Learning don't forget:Melvin  Ballard said: "And above all brethren, let us think strait." Think strait in a world that is not thinking strait. In a world with the media, pornography & lack of morals; don't tamper with that. Focus on thinking strait all the days of your life. Read your Scriptures at least 30 minutes everyday, this will help nurture & strengthen your testimony.

Chelsea Merkley

Alternate Reality

Okay, so this is going to be an unusual post.
I will just say that last night I watched a movie that was about living in alternate realities.
Well, more of it was really getting a person's brain to work after they were supposedly dead and getting the brain to remember things which happened to them so that terrorist attacks can be solved and not happen in the first place. The crazy people who wanted to blow up the train or the city can be arrested and found,etc.

Studying Positive Psychology and Human Development & Family Studies this film really affected me.
It was similar to Inception in some ways but very different in others. The military personnel training this Captain
who finds out he is basically dead and only on life support to solve these imminent terrorist attacks; tell him that the training room he is in and his body is his imagination. They also tell him the pasts he keeps repeating, even though they are a little bit different everytime, are not real and are just shadows of what has happened. Well, they were wrong. In the film anyway.

This person goes back and in a different reality saves all of the people on the train stops the bomb from going off and catches the crazy guy in charge of the attacks. He thinks he is going to die and he asks to be taken off life support after his last mission time is up and he saves the world. Or the "whole new world" that is a different reality than the one he came from. Well, because he changes his circumstances and all of the people's who may have died, he also changes the world and circumstances for the military who were training him. Only one person knows he is alive and well; in a completely different world and version of himself.

It is quite intriguing, I would not reccomend it for anyone who has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, bad dreams or episodes of extreme depression or anxiety though. The flashbacks and faint memories are quite vivid and very heartbreaking.

The Captain said to the the Commander in charge of him; "Do you think there is an alternate version of yourself out there somewhere? Someone who just made different choices all together.?" She says no, this is reality, what you see is real and he replies; "Oh, the one where you are talking to a dead Helicopter Captain?" I thought that was quite clever.

The film is called "The Source Code".

Chelsea Merkley

Powell/Cox Tragedy

  The news of the death of Josh Powell's children and himself has been affecting me and I decided I need to write about it. I had a feeling at the beginning of this case that the husband was responsible for his wife's dissapearance and death. He always gave me a sick, twisted feeling when I saw him on the news. His countenance was tainted and his eyes looked like he was seriously mentally disturbed. I am not saying he did it for sure, but the fact that he took the lives of his own children with him makes him look extremely guilty.

    There is no doubt that this man was severely depressed and mentally deranged. He was demonized by the media, but frankly I think he made himself look bad in the first place. He was followed everywhere he went and last week I had heard that the court had ordered a Psychosexual evaluation on him to be released this week. I just can't imagine those poor children having to be subject to such a crazy, horrible man and his selfishness! I have had my struggles with anxiety and depression, I know what is it capable of and how the darkness can engulf one's mind if it is allowed to do so. I just wish that 3 lives; Susan, and her two boys did not have to be taken. It's so very debilitating to me. When we heard the news last night, it was before dinner.
My husband and I lost a lot of our appetites and couldn't eat much. It was shocking and horrifying. It was really bothering my husband last night. I know the tragic news was taking so much out of a lot of people I know and love, and I am sorry for that. People who commit such horrific acts do not understand how many people they affect when a harsh decision is made.

My only solace is that these 3 innocent victims will be with Heavenly Father and Jesus and together.
And the boys are with Susan, their Mother again. Chelsea Merkley

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700222367/News-reports-Explosion-at-Josh-Powell-home-in-Washington.html


http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=19135705&title=family-mourns-investigation-continues-following-powell-deaths&s_cid=featured-1

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705398808/Family-friends-in-shock-after-the-death-of-Josh-Powell-his-two-young-sons.html?s_cid=fbdnews

Realization

Do you know what I just realized a few seconds ago?
A cluttered mind can sometimes be caused by a cluttered home.
And a cluttered home can often cause a cluttered mind.
In my Psychology class I am learning about Addictive Thinking.
It's only the first week of class and I've already learned a great deal.
Cause and Effect do not always happen the way we read them.
Sometimes the effect may make the cause happen.
Occasionally, the cause will bring about an effect.
Thinking badly about oneself or one's circumstances, accomplishments, family life or blaming others for your choices can start addictive thinking.

Addictive Thinking does not have to mean we are dependent on chemical addictions or alcohol.
Although it definately can, all it means is that we as humans have a propensity for "instant gratification." We would like a reward right now, without working hard to have earned it. I know I work very hard at the University and in my Choirs and Singing Courses. But, if I worked just as hard on everything else as I do the talents & skills I have my circumstances would be so much sweeter. Remembering to take care of myself physically has always been a challenge in my life. I need to work on that and really understand the value of my body and being healthy. My brother has said, "We only have one body, we need to take care of it." I really need to work on that. Just because I've struggled with something doesn't mean I can't tackle it! I can overcome this hurdle by making goals and sticking to them, and believing in myself!
It's important to cope with my past in a healthy way and understand that everyone's life has challenges.
What's critical is what am I going to do with my life? How am I going to react to the stresses I receive?
What I do in the here and now affects my future greatly! I don't have to worry about what happened to me or what was done years ago, I need to focus on the positive wonderful aspects in my life. My son, my neighborhood, my home, my amazing schooling and wonderful friends and loved ones.

Everyone has a back story, in truth many adults have had troubled past in childhood and it still hurts them now. Our past is a part of us, but it does not have to control who we are today, tomorrow or in the future.
We can use it as a pattern for resiliency and helping others. We should learn first how to take care of ourselves.

What also makes me understand who I really am is that I have a divine potential! And so do you!
Whatever you believe in, or what spiritual views or secular frameworks you hold, you are soaring to new heights and so can I!

Thank you for reading!


Chelsea Merkley

Mark Twain's 176TH Birthday today!

 I really love to read and write.
Mark Twain is not my favorite Writer, but I enjoy his works and his witty literature.
I enjoy some of his poetry and I really like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.


This post doesn't have much to do with beauty, but beauty and humor can be found in literature.
It is a joy to laugh, I think it is one of life's best medicines.

Here is the Google Doodle honoring Mark Twain via Youtube and a Washington Post article on it's origins;http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/mark-twain-google-doodle-panoramic-tom-sawyer-logo-colorfully-celebrates-legendary-clemens/2011/11/30/gIQAfD1eBO_blog

Wikipedia Info. on Mark Twain's life and works;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

And a punny Columnist's commentary on Mark Twain's birthday;http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/mark-twain-american-classic/2011/11/30/gIQAcTMLDO_blog.html

Here are my favorite Quotes of Mark Twains's (some of them may contain words I would not use);
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."


"All you need is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure." 
"The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money."


"Now is the accepted time to make your regular, annual, good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual."


"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."


    Have a great day! And Happy 1st Day of December tomorrow!

Chelsea

Objectivity

Have you ever wondered what it's really like to be truly objective?

I mean to see who you really are; from another person's point of view.

How would that be?

We probably wouldn't be so critical of ourselves. 

I may not be so worried of what other people think of how I look if I know they are not even thinking about that.

Every person has their own everyday issues to tackle.

They have relationships to mend or family they don't like being around.

It would be interesting if I could be a completely objective person in consciousness watching myself.

It makes you really think about psychology and how the brain works doesn't it?

Objectivity has nothing to do with objectification. The root word is object. I'm surprised it's not subject.

Because when we are being subjective we are thinking about ourselves and how others are thinking about us, or worrying about what people think of our actions. So, why is objectification not called subjectification?

I am not sure. I know that society has labeled object as the meaning of objectification. And that when people (in media mostly women) are used as objects of advertizing to sell just about everything under the sun. Well, this concept gets under my skin and frightens me. I know that our society has way more potential than to be shallow and greedy, but it seems that's what it is doing to get gain.

How do I deal with this? First of all, I need to openly disgrace that kind of advertizing in front of my family and children. Not being rude or conceited, but let them know I don't approve of it. I may even write letters of discontent to the advertisers if their message is really inappropriate and makes me upset at how they've used women's bodies or prettiness to get gain. I also need to educate people in my neighborhood about media and how it works and what to be aware of. These beautiful "real" girls in my neighborhood are confused and think they are supposed to be a size 0 when looking at models scantily clad in magazines. Not only are these models unrealistic, most of the time their completely fictional. Their bodies are a Photoshop illusion created for money. This is very unfortunate. These sweet girls in my neighborhood, and in society today- need to understand their individual value and divine worth. These genuine women and girls need to understand their very bodies and existence is being challenged and we need to fight back!

These are my thoughts for today.

Chelsea