Selfevident After Faith

One of the gems of discussion which I picked up in my Honors 240 class is the strength of the founders when they declared revolution and pulled a nation into existence all in an act of faith. They did it all with the outcome uncertain, and the future menacing. When Washington, Adams, Madison, Jefferson, and Franklin all signed their names to the Declaration of Independence the future was far from self evident and would only become so through their victory. Only upon triumphant conclusion would people even consider looking back. No one looks back to the causes and claims of failed revolutions and uprisings and says "Oh yeah, of course. That makes sense" because we view history in the eyes of the victors (regardless if the defeated were right)

I find that what they did was in ever sense an act of faith. They were led to step into the dark, into the unknown outcome of a war against the world's superpower without any witness that they would succeed. That lack of knowledge in the future is the definition of an act of faith, we "receive no witness until after a trial of [our] faith" .The founders did not received evidence of their future victory, which then prompted the war and the Declaration, but instead faith is better understood in its true nature when looking back. Then after our witness can we can say "oh yeah, well of course..."

Crandall Historical Printing Museum

I had the privilege of spending some time at the Crandall Museum, just south of campus, which takes its visitors through the process of printing. The tour begins with an exact replica of Gutenberg's printing press and the fascinating process that he went through on his road to this amazing invention which confounds me. He first had to create a mold of every letter which took some time due to finding the correct metals, to creating the precise metal to fill the mold but not shrink or expand too much, to the press which he fashioned after a wine press and inventing his own unique blend of thick ink to stay on the top of the letter and how to transffer the ink onto those letters--awe inspiring. Gutenberg was indeed a remakable man who tenacity proceeded onward after trial and error with inguinuity which I can no where near match.

The tour then leads into a revolutionary time period of the 18th century followed by a presentation of how the first copies of the Book of Mormon were made--testimony building. I was blown away that the two printers could print 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon in seven months while setting the type one word at a time--first by taking the letters one by one out of the cases and arranging them backwards, upside down, while filling in the appropriate punctuation in their heads. Incredible--how the realization of the Book of Mormon came from the ancient golden plates to our version today.


The entire trip filled me with awe and appreciation for the printed word. I strongly believe that anyone interested in literature MUST go.

The BYU Connections

BYU uniquely allows for professors to connect what they teach with what they believe. Just today in my Mission Prep class I read from the Book of Moses about the creation and particularly in chapter three, verse five, we learn that all things were created spiritually before physically. I enjoy having a course centered on studying what we believe but learning in a spiritual context is not restricted to a religion course. After the bell rang I went to my Honors Lecture class and was privileged to hear a lecture from Professor Handley who was speaking on Nature. I began listening and before long Dr. Handley was quoting the scriptures that I was reading only 20 min before. He linked Nature with its divine origins and saw nature built on a foundation of spirit which rejuvenates our spirit by being in contact with a trace of the divine. wow He applied his field of study to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his life and was able to share those spiritual insights he has gained in his discipline of study.
This happens quite often and in my American class we spent a good 30 min on the Origin of the Book of Mormon and the idea of how non-members view it as a product of 19th century America. We quoted the beginnings of the Book of Mormon and went through the rhetoric of Nephi in grabbing our attention(Lehi might die...) then a thesis (the mercy of God to those who he has chosen and will deliver) and then evidence ( story after story after story) which exemplifies that thesis. As a class we discussed some other proofs of this book of scripture like chiasmus, the name Alma, and others all in my American history class!!

I love this opportunity at BYU which takes into account my entire well being. By recognizing how each dimension of my life builds on the others the professors can apply my learning to other fields and help me develop my complete character.

Sacrifice of Office

I found it interesting that the perspective that our Founding Fathers had toward their role in the new government that they created was a dutiful burden. Political office was not a prize of advancement but was in fact more often the reversal, in which serving in office was a sacrifice of not only time but income as well. Allowing for this understanding of the time we see a faction of their shining character. Today I cannot see a man running for office as one who is doing so without self interest. I cannot imagine a man who chooses to sacrifice in the senate or run for office simply because he feels it is his duty to serve others without any underlining self interest.
When we view the Founding Fathers with this insight into their cultural and chronological perspective, than than we can appreciate that they we not governed the selfish connotations associated with politics today, which critics have attempted to accuse the Founding Fathers with, but would elevate their company as a group of men governed by duty.