Fairy Tale Lecture (Little Red Riding Hood)

She wrote an adapted story about the Little Red Riding hood, she changed some significant things, but I though she creatively incorporated her new ideas. It was a little more gruesome, and “adult” if you will, but it was interesting none the less. She wrote a lot in second person, which was interesting because it allowed you to see into the minds of the characters. She wrote in the mind of the wolf, which was interesting, considering most versions of this story I have heard are in Red’s perspective. It was interesting to hear his thoughts and his perspective, it gave new light on the character. Over all her characters were in more depth, and allowed for dynamic villains and inspiring heroines! Here descriptions were very detailed and didn't leave too much to the imagination, she basically spelled it out. However, I was impressed with her sentence structure. I felt like each sentence was delicately crafted and had some sort of hidden meaning. Her use of metaphors was good, and interesting. I felt like she used a lot of metaphors which created not only the imagery she was giving us, but the imagery of the thing she was comparing it to. While listening to her story, I didn’t feel like I was reading a book necessarily but I felt like I was being told a very visual story. Over all I thought she did a great job, and provided me with a new style of writing I have never experienced. I thought she was creative and innovative, as well as original. 

Why Youth are Leaving the Church (opening paragraph)

Why are youth leaving the church? What is causing this new influx of inactivity? Church leaders everywhere are asking this question, wondering why youth are starting to leave the church. I would like to convey the message, that this is no new trend. Looking to the scriptures we can see youth leaving the church all throughout time. Either falling into transgression, false sense of security, forgetting the Lord their God, or falling into forbidden paths; we can see there are many factors for youth leaving the church. Searching the scriptures, identifying these situations, and linking them with modern day problems, we can detect why youth are leaving the church today. God, being a loving and merciful God, never gives us a trial he hasn’t also provided a way and a law that will guide us through in righteousness. Figuring out why the youth are leaving the church and determining how to bring them back, I believe the best place to look for answers is in the scriptures; the word of God. Through Gods plan of happiness, and the paths he has shown us through the example of our ancestors we can identify exactly how to convert our youth, and keep them living in righteousness.  

Annotated Bibliography

"DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends." DrugFacts: High School and Youth Trends. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/high-school-youth-trends>.

This article is showing the statistics of drug use among teenagers. It talks about specific drugs, and the rates at which they are being used. It goes into depth about each drugs and the popularity among adolescents. This article shows the top drugs used by teens at certain age groups. It also shows that over the past 2 decades drug use among teenagers has decreased. Going back to the 1990’s we see that drug abuse and alcohol consumption has decreased.

This article is interesting to me, and is valuable to my topic because it gives valuable information that is contrary to what I would have expected. When approaching my stance I was planning on showing that the statistics of drug and alcohol use would grow as the church attendance among youth would decrease. However to my surprise I was wrong. I would like to use this information to narrow my topic, answer some questions, and assumptions made my religious leaders and really get down to why the youth are leaving the church. If it doesn’t correlate with drug use, what is it?

Call, Vaughn R. A., and Tim B. Heaton. "Religious Influence on Marital Stability." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Vol. 36, No. 3 (Sep., 1997), pp. 382-392 Print. Wed. 13 Mar. 2015.

This article discusses the influence religion and church attendance has on marriages. It talks about how living religiously can help a relationship, and strengthen family. It also talks about the difference between harmonious marriages and functioning marriages. It looks into the effects of different forms of worship and different religions and how certain traditions, and rituals are effective in different ways.  

I would like to look at the parents of the teens leaving the church. Is there a contributing factor caused by the parents that is casing youth to leave the church. Questioning this, I looked to divorce rates, which many would say have increased, but have they really? Is divorce a strong contributing factor of youth leaving the church? I would like to use this article to see how couples can incorporate religion into their relationship, and if stable parents who are both religious could contribute to our youth attendance and solve some of these problems we are facing!

Shattuck, Kelly. "7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America." ChurchLeaders.com. CHURCH LEADERS Lead Better Every Day, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html>.

They conclude in this article that church attendance is in fact much less than has been advertised. It tells that over the past 30-40 years church attendance has drastically decreased. Why are the statistics unreliable? In this article they talk about what they call the “halo” effect; which basically means over dramatizing the good and minimizing the bad. Therefore when taking surveys, people are more willing to say they attend church most of the time, rather than admit they are addicted to alcohol.

This article is valuable to my research, because it shows that church attendance has in fact been declining. It also gives me new light to my research and my statistical findings, to know that obviously not all statistics are accurate, but even those with good sources and background, can be untrue due to people and their dishonesty, denial, or self-preservation. I would like to analyze this article and use it to help me determine why church attendance has decreased, what years were most noticeable, and what is causing people to be shameful about their attendance or lack thereof.  

"Prescription Drug Abuse Facts - What Is Prescription Drug Abuse? - Drug-Free World." Prescription Drug Abuse Facts - What Is Prescription Drug Abuse? - Drug-Free World. Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/prescription-drugs.html>.

This website is set up to give the facts about all kinds of drugs. It lists the origin and history of each licit and illicit drug. It gives the effects for short term and long term. It gives reasoning behind the drugs and what they were intended to be used for. They inform readers of the addictive properties and all things that are harmful when taking drugs. This website goes through all the details anyone would want to know about taking drugs, and what to expect.

                This website is extremely valuable to my research. As I read about each drug I gathered the reasoning behind why people take these drugs. By using this information I can better understand the problems these people are facing that they are trying to overcome, and therefore turn to drugs instead of wholesome help. After reading the reasoning behind these drugs I found some numbing qualities, telling me that kids want to escape from life. I also found quickly stimulating drugs telling me that kids may be looking for excitement or need a rush in their lives. As I analyze the needs and emotional desires of these kids, and why they turn to these drugs instead of things that bring real happiness, this article will be a useful source to me.

Dimock, Michael. "Growing Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Minds and Changing Demographics." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. Www.people-press.org, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.people-press.org/2013/03/20/growing-support-for-gay-marriage-changed-minds-and-changing-demographics/>.

                This article gives statistics of people who are now supporting gay marriage. In comparison to past years, the rate of acceptance is much higher. It goes through the percentage of different reasoning’s as to why people are more open to it. A large percent of people support it because they know a friend who is gay who they wish to support. Other reasons differ from, “the times are changing, and so must we” and “I don’t care what they do, everyone should have equal rights.” Looking to the lowest percentage of reasons, we see that it has to do with religious affiliation.

                I would like to use this article in my paper, to show that there are many reasons why people are more supportive of gay marriage these days, however the lowest percentage on that list is affiliated with religion. I take from this, that the lowest supporter of gay marriage is religious people. Therefore, I would like to ask the question; are youth leaving the church because they feel that religious people should be supportive of gay people just like the rest of the world? And furthermore, do youth feel that the world is more Christian like, for accepting others, than their fellow church goers who turn their back to it? A close friend of mine, who recently left the church after being a member for 17 years, told me that she didn’t need the church to be a good person, in fact, people outside of the church are often more welcoming and accepting of others. I would like to use this mentality and expand on it.

Smith, Joseph. "Alma 24." The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Print.

Looking in the Book of Mormon, there are 3 scriptures that explain members leaving the church. Alma 23:6 talks about the conversion of the Lamanites. Because they were converted to the teachings of Christ they were strong and loyal to their savior. Alma 24:30 talks about youth who have been taught the faith all their lives but later leave because of transgression. Those who once had the love of Christ in their lives are now far more bitter and hateful towards the church than those who never had a knowledge of it. 1 Nephi 8:28 talks about those who have just tasted the fruit of life, but suddenly fall away into forbidden paths because of the scorn of their fellow man.

We see hundreds of examples in the scriptures of people falling into transgression and falling away from the church. These scriptures offer many different reasons for why people are leaving the church, and I believe they refer strongly to youth. Alma 23:6 states “Lamanites… were converted unto the Lord, and never did fall away” I believe that youth in the church today are leaving because they have never been truly converted to Christ. You hear hundreds of times, “I went to church cause my parents made me” or “I never really had a testimony, I just listened to my parents” I believe there is action we can take to truly convert our youth to the teachings of Christ. Alma 24:30 “And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallenaway into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.” I would like to analyze this scenario along with my statistics about drugs, alcohol, pornography etc… youth are falling into transgression and falling away from the church. What kinds of transgressions are swarming our youth today, and what can we do about it? 1 Nephi 8:28 “And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.” Growing up we are taught not to give in to peer pressure. But how big of a problem is it really? If we were to talk to youth in the church how many would actually say they left because of peer pressure? This is what I would like to research. The view of the world and the potent desire to fit in; could it be causing youth to leave the church? 

2 page Thesis Proposal: Why youth are leaving the church

I would like to look at the significance and relevance the production, legalization, and popularity of alcohol, drugs, pornography, and gay marriage has on the youth leaving the church. I would like to look back at some statistics and determine at what point in time, alcohol was becoming prominent in common households as well as readily available to youth. I would like to also look at church records and determine statistics as to church attendance and membership records. Common in today’s society is the trend of removing you name from the church. Why is this? And what is causing this? As I look to the youth in all churches today, I see reoccurring trends that lead me to believe that the consistent decline in church attendance has to do with the world and expectations places on the youth today. When looking to legalizing gay marriage and what an outburst that has caused. I feel like the number of gay people in the world today has dramatically increased over the past 10-20 years. Why is that? Are there more than there ever have been? Or is the sudden shift in mentality, and acceptability in society, allowing more people to express themselves freely? I would like to look at some statistics of numbers concerning gay people, comparing the 2000’s to earlier 1900’s and see the difference. I should also like to acquire as to what years in particular the change happened, and what were some particular events in those years that could have affected it. Looking to legalizing drugs, I would also like to see which decades were more prominent among youth for drug use. Which drugs were prominent, and the qualities of each drug. Some drugs are known for getting high, some or for numbing purposes, anti-depressants, and other reasons. I would like to correlate the reasoning behind these drugs with possible explanations as to what is causing these teens to leave the church. I’ve seen in my little experience, teens leaving the church because they don’t want to be judged, they don’t want accountability, “they only live once,” they don’t want to be controlled by their parents, they don’t need a “church” to be a good person, “God will look at my heart, and if I’m nice to people, that’s all that matters,” “the church is too judgmental, we spout the idea of charity, but all we do is judge.” There are many mentalities that I have run into, which all seem to have an underlying factor. Is it laziness, self-doubt, rebelliousness, denial, desire not to be notices for their actions, and furthermore “judged” or held accountable? What are some of the effects that could be manipulating this way of thinking? In society today, a common phrase is “you only live once,” this is a little phrase that is often spoken among friends in the most critical moment of our teen lives. The moment we make stupid decisions. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, gay tendencies, sex, dangerous activities; all of these critical moments in life where we have the opportunity to make and important choice, our teens are submitting to the pressures of Satan and heeding to the words of the world “you only live once” this sentence seems to give comfort to those who want to live in the moment, even though most of them have been raised to know that we, indeed do NOT only live once, and are therefore accountable for the actions of this life. I believe these teens are in denial, and are in a self-loathing state, where they are willing to do anything, in order to make them feel good about themselves, instead of turning to the teachings of the Lord. The Lord has laid out his plan so clearly through the scriptures, teachings of the prophets, and revelation. Why then to youth who were raised in the church and taught the correct way to obtain happiness, turn to these addicting, damaging, and manipulating sources for happiness? There are many reasons for this. I would like to examine and study the reasoning behind these drugs. I estimate that it is due to laziness, desire to fit in, rebellion, and curiosity. A testimony of Christ takes time, and energy. In order to gain happiness from the gospel of Jesus Christ you must have patience, faith, and determination. In many cases, I have seen that this is too much to ask of teens. They don’t desire the time it takes to accomplish the happiness promised from the gospel, instead they turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, and pornography. Why then do they turn to these things to find joy? Instead of more wholesome activities, although still not spiritual? Is it the grasp Satan has on the world? Are we submitting ourselves to Satan? Do we know it? Are we aware of it? And if we recognized it, would we want to change? In this research paper I would like to draw conclusions as to what is causing youth to leave the church, through evidences of statistics in growth of substance abuse and other addictions, and the time table of each during the time of rapid change. 

Style Academy 4

This exercise was actually really helpful. I remember learning all of these things in Jr. High, but it is nice to look back at them and really understand what’s going on. Although we may understand the idea of sentence construction, I feel like it is difficult to remember all the rules while writing. I appreciated how he explained the situation, and made everything clear. I think this exercise will help improve my writing in many ways. Last time I looked at the style academy lesson pertaining to colons and semi-colons. I think understanding phrases and clauses could also help identify that. Looking at the dependent and the independent clauses, we can better decipher where to add punctuation and other things. By using these rules and tools, we can construct more effective sentences, and write more intelligently.

Phrase or Claus

For each group of words below, indicate whether the group is a phrase or a clause.

Phrase                    clause                on the front porch steps

Phrase                    clause                after the dinner party

Phrase                    clause                we ate peas and carrots

Phrase                    clause                after running to the store

American Justice and Divine Mercy Rhetorical Analysis Thesis

I really enjoyed this piece. The first time I read it, I thought it was a little dramatic, but when I went back and read it taking the stance of his “audience” I was moved by what he had to say. I think Patrick Clark does a marvelous job at persuading “his audience.” I believe that is audience would be mainly Catholic students probably in their late teens and early twenties. Because their minds are still subject to influence and persuasion, I think he does a great job of getting them to think. First, I think his opening line was brilliantly written; “here are just a couple of scattered thoughts that have come swirling into my mind…” When we spoke in class, someone said that this diminished his credibility, because he is down playing his himself. However, I think this shows just how smart he really is. It shows that he is a well-respected and intelligent man. By showing his humility and “downplaying” what he has to say right at the beginning, under the surface he is saying “here are some of my recent discoveries and revelations. If you would like to hear them, I would be delighted.” I imagine president Monson in my coming to BYU and saying “I had a revelation last night, would you like to hear it? If not, that’s okay” and every Mormon out there would say “ha-ha of COURSE we want to hear about your revelation! Are you kidding me!?” By downplaying his credibility and his importance, he shows humility which consequently strengthens his credibility. As we find in religious pieces written by prophets, popes, ministers etc. I feel like there are a lot of thought provoking questions that get the reader thinking. He does this in a sneaky way, because he states what he thinks, then asks what the reader thinks – as if they are going to disagree with him, right! If a general authority said “I think going to the movie on Sunday, is probably not the best thing to do. Rather, we should go on a picnic with our family, and enjoy Gods creations. What do you think?” he states what he thinks but turns it back on us! This is a common strategy among religious leaders, and it works! The “guilt trip” or the free agency given, even though you know what you are “supposed” to do. I think the audience would be very receptive to what Patrick Clark has to say. I think he is thought provoking and persuasive and moral, which is something that strikes hard with young religious people. 

"Faith in America" Rhetorical Analysis

Romney's purpose in conveying this message was to show voters who he was as a candidate. He expressed that he - no matter his religion would remain unbiased, and loyal to the constitution. I think his motive in doing this, was to show readers that he would be a just and fair president, but not sacrifice his beliefs to do so. He believes in God, and the Freedom of religion. He believes that God had influence on the founding of this country, and he would like to encourage that. He is appealing to voters, who want a good president who advocates for those who wish to see God brought back into America, instead of shoved under the rug because the idea of God is "offensive, unrealistic, or discriminating."  "Faith in America" I thought he was very persuasive. Probably pertaining to the fact that I am also LDS, and have similar views. I thought he directed a lot of his argument towards Ethos. He used "identifying with the reader" to his advantage, because in this situation, his audience are all the the United States citizens. He identified with the reader, by talking about the founding of the United States. This topic is something every single person living here can relate to, whether were born into freedom, or came here in search of it. The founding is - and should be something that is important to every citizen. He related to them, by adding himself into the mixture and telling the blessings he has received by living in this great nation, and how he plans to continue to strong and reliable government. He also accomplished this by "selecting an appropriate point of view" he told about his wife and his family, and the joy they can have because of freedom of religion. He made it more personal by telling about himself and his family, as well as his beliefs. He appeals to peoples pathos by giving examples of the past. Most Americans respect our founding fathers, and we all know that the founding fathers, had at least a hint of God in their mind while creating this great nation. Romney chose to take this and run with it. I have heard before that the fathers weren't actually religious, but form this Romney chose to portray that they were so. Which, at least for me, brings some sentimental value to his argument, because I can see how they "trusted in God" and it makes me want to do the same, because look how far we have come. He also uses, sad examples of other countries who have tyrants or murderers taking over because of religious prejudices. This appeals to our Pathos because nobody wants death, and sadness, which he described it to be because of religious discrimination, therefore, religious freedom will keep things like that from happening and make us happy. When applying to Logos, I think there were a few flaws in his argument. Looking to "acceptability" I think he forgot a large majority of citizens - atheists (those that don't believe in God) there are a lot of people in the United States that don't believe in God. To those people I can see a lot of holes in his argument. Because his argument was basically centered around God and religion, those that don't believe in God, are instantly cut out of the group, and probably stop reading the minute they hear the word religion. Those people are looking for a president who is completely focused on the government and politics. As was clearly conveyed by Romney, that he wasn't spouting to be something he wasn't, it think he could have tied in some "logical" stances he had that weren't based around "emotion" which is what a lot of people think religion is - its not logical and realistic, it is an emotional decision. I think Romney had some good Logos points, like equality for all, and the right to freedom, which appeal to mostly everyone, but I think he could have stated his opinions in a less biased manner in order to persuade. Not necessarily to convey who he was a a president because he made it clear he was proud to be a Mormon, but in the sole purpose of persuasion, i think he could have been more comprehensive.