The Restored Framework

This post might be one for rhetorical frameworks but I'll write it here anyway.

A couple of years ago while listening to General Conference, during Elder Robert D. Hales talk, the thought came to me that "the gospel is the framework for all other knowlegde". The gospel referenced here is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It makes claims that some others find offensive such as, "it is the ONLY true church", "it is the ONLY church that has priesthood authority to act in Gods name". Oh, and the one about the Book of Mormon being "the most correct book" just kills some people (but it nonetheless is). As exclusive as these claims are, and by the way, I believe them, I also believe that the restored gospel framework is also one of the most open frameworks than any other. The prophets and apostles teach that all truth no matter the source is part of the gospel. They teach that Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammad and others, though not prophets in the Old and New Testament sense of the word, were inspired by God to raise the moral and intellectual climates of their people. So I don't care if your Buddhist, Muslim, Baptist, athiest, agnostic, or of any other particular denomination, creed, or philosophical orientation, I safely assume that I can learn from you. I actually enjoy that there are a multiplicity of perspectives by which "reality" can be viewed. Though I am a dyed in the wool true blue believe it with all my heart member of the LDS faith (those Mormons), I also enjoy the intellectual nimbleness that other frameworks afford.

Intellectual Scribbling

I look at my children and I see how very intelligent, talented, and capable they are. Even though they are very young and just beginning their lives within this pocket of mortality, the spark of what is inside them can be easily seen. I see the unfolding of personality; something that was already there, not anything that I created. Though I am one variable (hopefully a strong variable) among many that help to give shape and direction to that unfolding. The potential can be seen in their heartfelt, tender efforts to learn and to produce, though they wouldn't use that term of course. When Tiera is drawing that is what she is doing. She is drawing with a desire to keep doing it and she has the expectation that she will get better as time goes on (and she will-she is already very good for her age-of course I am biased in her favor as I should be). As her father, I recognize the brilliance in her efforts and know with patient anticipation that she will produce much more if she continues. It is the same for all my children.

Of course we are all like our children in the eyes of our Father in Heaven. True, we have developed more than our infants, toddlers, and small ones, but the metaphor still brings home the vastness of who our Father is and what our Father knows and what little we do know and how much more we still have to develope, even though collectively we have, as mere mortals, produced so very much (under inspiration of the Father of course). The generation and production of knowledge and technology, especially since the restoration has been phenomenal. I would suggest though that despite this impressive history of intellectual, technological, and artistic advancement we are still as children who are but involved in intellectual scribbling. I do not doubt that as impressive as our progress has been that there are still so many great things still to be produced. We are like children who have learned how to ride bikes. Who didn't think is was so cool to know how to ride finally. But wait, there are cars to learn to drive later on. And how many, or how few of us, actually have learned to fly airplanes. There is progress to be made that cannot even be fathomed yet. As Elder Scott once said, we do not what it means to be like our Father, but He does, and will guide us there if we let him (it's a paraphrase). I have mixed in this personal developement at the end of speaking about knowledge and technological development. But these lines of developement are not unrelated. As time moves on we will intellectually scribble along as well. We have barely scratched the surface.

Andrew Thorn and Professional Practice Meeting

I just attended the first professional practice meeting for this semester (Spring 2009) at Alliant International University. Andrew Thorn, whom I am pleased to say is a strong acquantance, and even friend, spoke to us this evening on personal best leadership. I dare say he started the semester off right. He did very well. In speaking about his blog and how authentic he was in his daily postings, the thought of "justjg" as a blog name came to me. I had started my first blog ever called "rhetorical frameworks" just a couple of months ago, but I had not written on it as much as I thought I would (my first choice was "whatever" for a blog name but that was already taken). As I thought about it, my feeling was that "rhetorical frameworks" seemed too niche and too specific, just by the title. So to start rattling off my own thoughts and opinions about something totally unrelated to rhetoric didn't seem to quite fit the name. However, as Andrew spoke of being authentic, the blog name "just jg" seemed to fit quite nicely, so it is here that I shall call my blogging home for now and see what comes of it and out of me at the keyboard. But I will visit "rhetorical frameworks" occasionally. I have thougths for it scattered on pages through out the house and in the margins of dozens of books.

Andrew also spoke of having the perfect day. By this he meant the perfect "normal" day. It would be filled with everyday things that you would want it filled with and it would be a day showing a life in balance. It is something that needs to be planned out. I have started to do something akin to Andrews concept of the perfect day. Though not quite planned out (my approach has been a little more organic) in the sense of having a specific time set aside for certain activities, I have made it a point to take about twenty minutes to take a good brisk walk and to also make sure that I practice the piano, even if it is just for ten minutes. As a graduate student in a PhD program, it could be said that I do not have the time to do these things even for a very limited amount of time. But after three semesters of grad school, I am at the point where I realize that I cannot afford not to do these things. I'll make the time, and still have the time to take care of school work and spend time with my wife and three daughters. Something I read in Richard Carlson's book, "Don't Worry, Make Money" has stuck with me. It is that if you keep telling yourself that you do not have the time, then you won't have the time. That sort of negative self dialogue is not very useful nor is the negative energy that it creates. All I could say was "duh, I knew that". I usually think of myself as being pretty good at being aware of how I talk to myself, but I let this one get past me. Ironically, my semester has been alot more stress free just by this one attitudinal shift in my thinking. I'm walking almost every day, teaching myself to play the piano. Oh, and I make sure that there is some time everyday to practice the guitar even if it is just for five or ten minutes. I have been playing since I was sixteen, but have decided to take my current skill set and bump it up a notch. So there it is. And as an aside, all of Richard Carlson's books that I have read are most excellent and I do not doubt that the ones I have not yet read are as equally excellent. I was quite sad to learn recently of his passing away a couple of years ago. Bummer!