A Great Man

For me, Amazing Grace is a great film which follows the struggle of a remarkable man toward abolishing the slave trade. William Wilberforce was the man who persistently crusaded despite defeats. He and his friend William Pitt had a youthful, we-can-conquer-the-world attitude as they dreamed to change the world--and they did for the better.
Amazing Grace was insightful to the difficullty process that came through outlawing slavery in the United Kingdom. It wasn't the simple sidenote, "oh and in 18.. Britian abolished the slave trade....and now on to...." which some history teachers make it out to be but was a auduous campaign which took years of work, organization, and the sacrifice of William Wilberforce. He gave so much to see his dream realized and it wasnt just his dream but many people's dreams which Wilberforce championed and became the spokes person who had the courage to stand up admid shouts and speak his conscience.
In the final scene Lord Fox speaks "When people speak of great men, they think of men like Napoleon - men of violence. Rarely do they think of peaceful men. But contrast the reception they will receive when they return home from their battles. Napoleon will arrive in pomp and in power, a man who's achieved the very summit of earthly ambition. And yet his dreams will be haunted by the oppressions of war. William Wilberforce, however, will return to his family, lay his head on his pillow and remember: the slave trade is no more.
[Wilberforce receives a standing ovation from the entire House and the Gallery] ,
Wilberforce was a Great Man who proclaimed and sacrificed for the truth of his convictions.

Museums, Libraries-- Dead Men Talking

For our class in my American Heritage class I have yet again had a phenomenal time. Our class had delicious pizza...just for kicks! and after a quick peer review we headed off to the Museum of Art. Museums were established as a, "temple to the Muses," a gathering of art and experience which allow for a concentrated creative energy. I like libraries because it is essentially a collection of dead people who still have a word to say--they survive to continually give us something and the same can be said for art.
Our class was lead in a tour of the Museum's permanent collection of religious art..."awe"some. It was fascinating to see the work of people survive for hundreds of years after them and still have a prominent place so long after their death. I will never see these people...never talk to them, discuss their lives or their view on things...but I can get close. Seeing the art, especially the beautiful annunciation painting, I can see how they saw the world through the symbolism in their work...something I haven't realized until last semester. Before this realization I had always regarded art as pretty pictures, to me they lacked the symbolism I could readily find in novels and where simply a nice way to depict people, plants, or whatever the artist wished to stare at endlessly. Only after talking having an Honors lecture on iconography did i realize that art has potent symbols, like poetry, which I have simply over looked my entire life, but I have since become fascinated with finding symbols hidden by artists and especially yesterday during our tour.

Amistad

Another testament for how great my Honors 240 class is, we watched the powerful movie Amistad yesterday for Wendsday class. The movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, retells the true story of Africans taken from their villages, who relovt on ship, only to drift to America and ensue a heated courtroom battle over their origin and their rights. The screenplay, by the way is incredibly--people just dont speak that clearly or eloquently anymore (esspecially John Quincey Adam's courtroom scene).
Whenever I watch movies like this one, I constantly ask myself, "How would I have acted in that situation?" Would I have given in to despair? Would I do all I could to survive? Would I fight and risk death or would I do try to preserve myself--possibly for my family? You never can know unless you are living that moment and it is in that moment when you learn something about yourself. It is in those difficult moments when you choose to either wither in despair or stand that define our character; and though I never wish to go through the horrors of slavery, I do hope I can face my struggles with the strength like Cinque and the others who suffered and triumphed on La Amistad.

Recognizing the Realistic

"If anything the founders were realists"
In our discussion of the federalist papers today, i realized that the founders never believed that they were creating the perfect, ideal government with delusional ideals full of virtuous men. They recognized that men are not all angels. Men, and Americans are no exception, are motivated by self-interest and will rarely if ever put that aside for the greater good. The functionality of this country was stemmed from that realization that no one is perfect and people will seek for their own gain and was able to harness that into our wonderful system of checks and balances.
With government and with life grad illusions of the Utopian person or environment often lead to disappointment and despair. The truth is that no one is perfect and that the yearned-for illusion that something or someone is perfect--or that we must be perfect--can never happen. Realizing I, and all those around me, have flaws is part of the journey and it is our battle against these expected failings that we grow. Realizing the human characteristic in ourselves and each other lets us take mistakes without grief and come closer to the only one in whom we find salvation.

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.