Conference

Conference this weekend was amazing. 

It always gives me hope and guidance— And for a weekend, all seems right in the world. 

It is so reassuring to see these incredible leaders who devote all their time and attention to God’s work.

I love the peace that comes with their eternal perspective. 

Although Conference weekend means a lot to me,

I’m most excited to go back through all the talks and study more closely each message.

For the next six months, I will enjoy this new encouragement and guidance from the Lord. 

I know that He speaks directly through these ordained and inspired disciples. 

I know that we are so blessed to live in a day with living prophets;

And the technology to hear from them no matter where we are in the world. 

“Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.” -Jeffrey R. Holland 

Yay for Tech!

This week I'm feeling extra grateful for technology.

My husband has been on a business trip for 9 days (the longest we've been apart since we were married) 

It's definitely been hard to be separated..

But every night, I get an hour or more face time session with him--

It has literally saved my life!!

It's amazing that we can stay connected and even talk "face-to-face" so many miles away.

I got to go meet up with him on Friday for his last couple work days.

The night before my flight, delta sent me a notification that it was time to "check-in".

I was able to sign in and send a confirmation bar code to my cell phone without stepping foot in the airport.

The next day, I arrived and went straight to security with my cell bar code, skipping all the check in process. 

They scanned my phone and let me through security!

Brilliant system right?

I was late (of course) and the security line was long...

So I honestly made my flight thanks to my little pre-checked bar code.

Technology is truly a beautiful thing!! 

Face-to-Face

I got to watch the Face-to-Face with Elder Holland this last week.
Not surprisingly, it was absolutely amazing!
I even looked on his Facebook page after and saw the hundreds of questions still coming in...
He was doing his best to go through and personally answer a lot of those.
It struck me in that moment how incredible media is.
The global LDS presence had immediate access to an apostle of the Lord,
To answer their individual questions.
Isn't it almost mind-blowing that such access exists?

I'm so grateful for the technology that makes it possible,
And for the representatives of Christ that take the time and interest to cater to the needs of each one of God's children.
It's a privilege to live in a day where such miracles are a reality.

Coding

I started my coding this weekend,
My group is studying the objectification of women in magazines.
One thing that I noticed was that about 90% of the objectified women were white...
Which brought up a lot of questions for me.
I'm really interested now if this is because most magazines feature a white majority,
Or if they are really targeting white women as more sexual objects.
Either way, the message being sent to women is loud and clear--
So common also, that unfortunately we are starting to take it for 'normal'.
After coding and watching "MissRepresentation" this week,
I've started to realize what a poisonous epidemic objectification is...
And that I've become so conditioned to it that I've been dominantly desensitized until recently.
I'm grateful for this class and the media awareness it has brought to my life.

Create

This week I have just been in awe of the media!
I am doing an internship this semester, and unexpectedly,
I've had the opportunity to do a lot of graphic creation and design.
This is definitely not my area of expertise...
But as I've learned to use different programs like Illustrator and Acrobat,
I've been amazed by all the resources we have to create.

My husband is a filmmaker.
He is an amazing artist, and his work is uplifting and inspiring.
I love that because of the media and technology,
He is able to do something he loves and is passionate about.

As President Uchtdorf says,
It is an inherent human gift to create.
I'm so grateful for the media available in our world--
that gives us greater opportunity and capacity to do what we were made to do.

Bednar's Wisdom

I was so touched by the Mormon Message we watched in class.
I had never heard Elder Bednar speak about media and his words were so powerful.

This last weekend, my family went to St. George.
There is this new scrabble game app that my mom loves called "Words with Friends".
Many of us downloaded the game so we could all challenge each other.
Throughout the weekend, we continuously played the game...
On the drive home, I noticed that there was a lot more playing than talking going on.
It was a Sunday morning, we were driving early so we could be home in time for church--
I realized that I had only read half a chapter in the Book of Mormon,
But I had managed to play 5 rounds of the game during the 4 hour car ride.

Elder Bednar's talk really hit home for me.
I loved his two questions,
"Does it invite or impede the Holy Ghost?"
"Does it enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve?"

I realized that I would have to answer no to both those questions after this weekend.
I, first off, forfeited the companionship of the spirit,
and secondly, forfeited the opportunity to build greater relationships with my family.

Starting today, I'll frequently ask myself Elder Bednar's questions,
and start living my life accordingly.

Think Twice America

I was listening to a podcast by Michael Medved the other day.
He reported that the average American watches 4 hours a day of television...
And unfortunately we don't have a news business, but a " bad news business"
Since over 70% of news content highlights crime, sickness and natural disasters.
Michael believes that the affects of watching too much TV include:
negativity and pessimism,
short-term attention span,
emphasis on the superficial/material
and loneliness.

I think based on the popular content consumed today, this evaluation is true.
However, it doesn't have to be!
As Americans, we need to be more conscious of our media consumption.
Great programs that offer education, perspective, positivity and enrichment are available.
We just need to seek them out.
I'm grateful for this class because it has helped me to see all both sides of the media coin.
I know that our lives are what we make of them, as is our use of media.