An Armful of Valentines: Readers
Write from the Heart
Edited and compiled
by Kathy Green
Belnap
as Bellwether
Read Article Here
How the Brain/Body Reacts to Anxiety
and Stress, by W. Dean Belnap
As a former victim of a terrible
postpartum depression, followed by two others, It took me quite
a while to escape from the fear and anxiety these depressions
evoked. But I can personally testify to the truth of what Dr.
Belnap is saying in his articles. There is no doubt whatsoever
in my mind that hard work, positive thinking, and the healing
power of the Lord can ultimately overcome symptoms of depression.
I do believe that there is a physical component to some mental
illnesses, but I also know that in many cases correct thinking,
the support of others, and a reliance on the Spirit of the Lord
can help us overcome such tendencies. I am grateful that the psychiatric
profession is coming to this belief in great numbers, for they
will now be able to give real help to their patients.
Thank you, Dr. Belnap, for stating
these truths so plainly and clearly.
Judith LaMontagne
Freeland Washington
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Sweet Freedom
Read Article Here
Agency, by Vickey Pahnke Taylor
There is a common tendency in the
church to refer to "free agency," but the term appears
nowhere in scripture. Scriptures are replete with statements
that man is "free to choose [liberty and eternal life or
captivity and death]," is "agent unto himself,"
and refer to "the agency of man." However, the term
"free agency" tends in the minds of many to lead to
the notion of being free to do as they please, rather than to
choose between good and evil.
I think we would all be well served
to refrain from using the term "free agency," and instead
use the term "agency." I am to teach my children and
grandchildren careful that they have a right, and are free, to
choose between good and evil. But when they make wrong choices,
they are not free to control or significantly affect the consequences
of their choices because consequences are established by laws
and principles that are neither changeable, nor are they are in
the control of God or other humans. For example, someone who
commits a wrong against me is in no position to determine or control
how I choose to respond to their irresponsibility.
Your article is well presented and
correct. It is unfortunate that so many equate "freedom"
with "license," which leads to licentiousness. One hears
too much about rights and too little about responsibility in today's
society. A prime example is the current discourse over NSA "eavesdropping"
on private conversations in the interest of improving national
security against terrorists. Many consider it an "invasion"
in violation of their right of privacy. The US Constitution makes
no mention of privacy, and the fourth amendment addresses "unreasonable
search and seizure," not an absolute ban against search and
seizure. Careful observation reveals that many who purport to
be most concerned about their right to privacy also tend to have
much to be private about.
A lack of privacy tends to make one
more careful about being circumspect in behavior in order to avoid
public embarrassment. In many instances, this can be a very good
thing. Concealment of private, illegal behavior is the stock
in trade of not only the Gadiantons, but also the ACLU and others.
It is also the stock in trade of those who desire to "cover
[their] sins" (D&C 121:37).
Clarke Echols
Loveland, CO
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Global Respect
Read Article
Here
Week 2 of February: Respect,
In Connection with Richard and Linda Eyre
I just read Mr. Eyre’s article.
Excellent!
He's nailed it down to the fundamentals.
Now if we could only implement these
changes, what an effect they would have in turning our country
around, helping countless families who are struggling, and perhaps
even creating positive change on a larger global scale.
LF
*****************************************
Most Likely to Succeed
Read Article Here
SVU's Returned Missionaries Improve
Bolivian Businesses, by Bryan Gentry
I just wanted to thank you for including
this article in your magazine. It was great to read it, not only
because I am currently an SVU student, but also because one of
the returned missionaries highlighted (Chris Burton) is very dear
to my heart. It was great to see what my fellow classmates are
accomplishing.
Krysten Squires
Buena Vista, Virginia
*****************************************
A Valentine for Wally
Read Article Here
The Change of Heart
From Chapter 1 of The First Principles of Marriage, by H. Wallace
Goddard
Thank you so much for including articles
written by H. Wallace Goddard. What an inspiring and delightful
man. I always look for his articles because he seems to speak
to my soul, not only with the words and subjects he writes about,
but the thoughts that he so ably captures and conveys through
his writing. He makes me want to be a better wife, mother and
human being. I thoroughly enjoy his books as well. He is a real
asset to Meridian.
Allie Duffy
Salt Lake City, Utah
*****************************************************
Pops Against Pop-ups
Read Article Here
The Lure of the Web, by Paul Bishop
I would like to say how clear, calm
and disconcerting I found Paul Bishop's article "The Lure
of the Web." As a mother of two sons under 10, I am careful
about what sites they visit, and I stay close in case of pop-ups.
I have a question for Br. Bishop
though — how do we keep younger children safe from abuse (direct
or otherwise) on the internet?
My son's Primary school asked us
to read a contract with our son to agree to "Net Ettiquite"
(which we didn't have a problem with, particularly as it included
disclosing no personal information except first name). But then
we were asked to give permission for the publication of his photo
on the net if needed for projects. Is this possibly opening the
door to abuse, known or otherwise?
Wanting to protect my innocent,
Kel George,
Melbourne, Australia
**
I have three teenagers who have recently
been introduced to the MySpace craze. I felt wrong about it from
the beginning. Although I have a lot of trust and faith in my
teenagers and their "choose the right" decision-making
skills, I noticed the pictures they chose of themselves to post
were not ones I would have chosen for them. I visited some of
the sites of their friends and the pictures chosen to represent
them and captions were obviously not chosen by their parents.
I suppose the attitude portrayed is common risqué to fit in with
the others. It took me little time and effort to find links from
my space to extremely inappropriate (actually X-rated nasty) material,
pictures and short movie clips. Invitations to some of these
sites came automatically through pop ups. I cannot allow MySpace
use in my house, period.
I view it as allowing my child to
go to the bar downtown adjacent to the strip club and red light
district without supervision in disguise, to just hangout in a
side room and talk with others who have been dropped off by their
parents. The doors to the smoke filled bar, the naked dancing
club and the red light district all swing open from time to time,
exposing a little glimpse of what action is out there. Even the
friends that have joined him in the room do not know what he sees,
or knows if he exits the room for what lies outside. No one is
at the door to deny him from exploring. The filth out there is
calling, who's going to close the door?
I closed my door!
Dan Taylor
Concerned parent/seminary
teacher and friend to the youth of Zion.
**
I just read the article and some
of the reader responses about warning labels on social interaction
websites.
I still don't understand how a warning
label acts as a deterrent to discourage horny or "overtly
curious" young people from visiting such a site.
In fact the opposite may be true,
where people could use the keywords of the warning label to search
the internet to discover more bad stuff.
The only real deterrent that I know
of is to get legislation enacted to start taxing websites that
offer such discretionary material.
A good example of this would be the
"Adult Entertainment Industry" initiative and to enforce
the use of credit card age protection certification that will
solidly block out minors and others from most (if not all) of
these types of places. (After all, In California you have to
show the store clerk your drivers license to buy a beer or pack
of smokes.)
Bryce Hall
Carlsbad, Califrnia
**
Your article was absolutely true.
I've recently heard about myspace.com and in this short time,
have been completely disgusted with what I've heard and scene.
I watched Dateline last night-it was a 2-hour special on Online
Predators-they arrested more than FIFTY men in three days in Riverside
California. These "men"(perverts) thought they had
met a 13-year old girl or boy online, and were meeting at the
child’s house for sex. The number one place for blogging was
myspace.com.
I have children, not quite teenagers
yet, but I can tell you that they have very limited time on the
computer, and I watch what they look at, and we only have one
computer. It's in the living room where everyone can see, not
in their bedrooms behind closed doors. It is our responsibility
as parents, to stay informed and "up to speed" on what
our youth are doing. I really appreciate your article and I hope
more people realize how serious this problem is.
Name withheld by request
**********************************
Schooling Orson Scott Card
Read Article Here
Creation and Evolution in the School,
by Orson Scott Card
Bravo for a sane and educated voice
on this issue. I agree wholeheartedly with Card’s proposed statement
on evolution for use in the schools.
However, Card slightly misses the
mark in his discussion of Intelligent Design in failing to note
that scientists in other fields have developed methodologies for
discovering the presence or absence of "intelligent design"
in what appear to be natural phenomena.
Examples are rife in archeology,
which postulates, searches for, and recognizes instances of intelligent
causation in environmental settings. Objects that appear to the
average man to be plain old rocks are easily identified as scrappers
or grinding stones, lumps and heaps of soil can be distinguished
as burial mounds and ancient village sites, and scratches on cave
walls are
identified as prehistoric art. The
SETI Project, which searches for signs of extraterrestrial intelligences
and is well accepted in the scientific community, is convinced
that it will be able to identify intelligently created radio signals
as separate and distinguishable from the radio noise created by
natural processes. Computer scientists involved in cryptology
(the study, creation,
use, and breaking of codes and coded
messages) develop and use algorithms to separate data containing
hidden encrypted messages from random signals.
To postulate, search for, and recognize
possible instances of intelligent causation on the biological
materials of life on our planet is a perfectly valid scientific
pursuit. In fact, biologists already do this when they identify
plants and animals as the products of human domestication.
Fifty years ago, "intelligent
design" of biological materials was Science Fiction. Today,
it is Genetic Engineering and Biotech. When our new understanding
of these processes and methodologies points to possible or probable
instances of intelligent interference in the random natural processes
of biological evolution, then scientists must have the academic
freedom and the courage to say so. Unfortunately, in the current
"Church of Darwin" atmosphere, scientists doing so risk
their careers and reputations for a perfect example, see here
and are unlikely to make the discoveries along these currently
forbidden lines of enquiry.
From an LDS perspective, the spirituality
of man, the plurality of worlds and the existence of higher orders
of intelligent life (and their involvement with life on this planet)
— all accepted as articles of faith by the LDS — should not be
forbidden subjects of study to scientists of any field. In fact,
in the past ten years, proving the existence of planets circling
other suns has become the "poster boy" of astronomers
and the SETI Project has evolved from crackpot to accepted dogma
amongst scientists in general.
The forced separation of Science
and Religion is based, in my opinion, on the false premise that
things spiritual (including God) are not part of the "real"
world, that they are "supernatural" and therefore can't
be studied with "real science." As in the past, Man's
big mistake is to claim that the things we don't understand, or
the causes we can not identify, are "cosmic mysteries"
or "magic" and must not be approached lest we offend
the Gods or the Authorities or the Emperor or the University Board
of Regents. It is my suspicion that we simply understand so very
little about the spiritual aspects of the universe that we continue
to label it as "unknowable," and like the ancients,
claim it is a matter for study "only by priests.” Perhaps
a better approximation of the truth would be that everything that
exists — spirituality of man, God, the Universe, and everything
— is the real world and a proper object of study.
As LDS, we do not fear the truths
of science or any other subject, because we believe ALL things
that are true — in fact, "we seek after these things."
It is the failure to "seek after these things" that
is error.
Kip Hansen
Saugerties, New York
*******************************************
Open Door Policy
Read Article Here
Meridian Radio: Marvyn Payne, Troubadour,
The Cricket and Seagull Fireside Chat, with Steven Kapp Perry
Marvin Payne did go door to door.
I was a student at BYU, living in off campus housing, and he came
by and sang and played his guitar to our apartment (and, I suppose,
anybody else who would let him in)! It was a long time ago, maybe
1974 or 75, and a unique enough experience that I still remember
it.
Joyce VanTassell
Ogden, Utah
**************************************
Fast
Forward to Temple Readiness
Read Article Here
A Photographic Journey in the Footsteps
of the Prophet Joseph Smith, by Scot Proctor
Thank you for taking a personal interest
in my concern about delivery of this DVD. We received it and
spent a most rewarding Fast Sunday afternoon being totally mesmerized
by its beauty and spiritual impact. Please pass our good wishes
along to Brother Proctor. I have just been called and set apart
as an assistant recorder in the Denver Colorado Temple. I will
take a whole new insight and appreciation for the Prophet Joseph
Smith into the Temple on Tuesday. Please know how deeply we appreciate
all that you do.
Gale E. Epperson,
Denver, Colorado
*************************************
Every Day is Christmas at Meridian
Read
Article Here
My Christmas Wish, by Tiffany
Lewis
Wow, I just came across your article,
"My Christmas Wish," in Meridian Magazine. What a beautiful
piece you wrote. I was deeply touched, and sincerely admire your
talent. Your message, writing style and "voice" really
spoke to me. I look forward to reading more of the "Mother
Mayhem" column.
Jennifer Gibbs Kambourian
Santa Clara, CA
******************************************
Pressure Point
Read Article
Here
Grace under Pressure, by Maurine
Proctor
This article surely must apply to
almost everyone! I just really like the title, too: Grace under
Pressure. We all have pressures. With seven children and 14 grandchildren
(and 2 in the pocket), I have that one wild child that is not
embracing the truth. That is so hard on a parent, but I just remember
the promise at the veil, and just keep loving this rebellious
one. My sister has a brain tumor, and her life has taken a huge
bump in the road. She is trying to cope, but it is hard; I shall
share this article with her; I think it will really help. Prayers
are always answered, but sometimes not the way we hoped for, or
within the timeframe we wanted. That is where the grace becomes
a survival technique. I shall remember the best line: the triumph
sometimes has to be mine alone. I really enjoy your writing.
Rebecca in Salem.
