Your life begins with you

I got this statement off of a commercial on Q99. And actually I tweaked it a bit. What the person really said was, "your health begins with you" but I thought about it and your life begins with you too. It really does. I mean that in the way of how you're in charge of your life. We have agency and that means that we can decide for ourselves. It may not seem that way but think about it and you might see what I mean. For instance, you can go to school, but you choose whether or not you're going to listen. It all begins with you. Others can't force you to learn; they can encourage but they can't force. That's your choice.
Another example is seat belts. Policemen and women can't force you to wear your seat belts, although they can give you a ticket. Anyway, you choose if you want to wear your seat belt or not.
You can choose; you just can't choose the consequences. If you choose not to wear your seat belt, you can get a ticket.
So, what are you going to do now that you're in charge of your life? Sure, you were always in charge of your life, but did you really realize that before? Think about it. Maybe you did but it never really stuck or maybe you're just trying to get on with life. Maybe you did and you're totally rolling your eyes at me right now; either way, now is the time to take charge of your life. Yeah, you could wait but then maybe when you do want to take control, it's to late. Kind of scary to think about that, huh?
You're in charge of your life. What are you going to do about it?

Is killing in war murder

It all depends.
Yeah, that was a bit...I don't know the word for it but...vague might be close. Anyway, what I mean, is it depends on you. That's still a little vague so let me share with you the story of Alvin York.
Alvin York grew up Tennessee in 1887. Alvin was a troublemaker. He smoked, drank and gambled. But he completely turned his life around after a friend of his was killed in a fight. Soon after Alvin was drafted into the army. Not wanting to kill anyone, he applied a 'conscientious objector.' (A conscientious objector is someone who would like to be excused from military service due to their opinion, conscience or religion. In Alvin's case it was religion.) Unfortunately, his request was denied. And so Alvin York was off to war.

Alvin was a hunter and his aim was precise. He was diffidently an asset to the army; only he still didn't want to fight.
His commanding officers gave him some time off to go back home and think about whether or not he'd be staying in the army or not. They even gave him some Bible verses to ponder on.
After a while Alvin came to the conclusion that he would fight; he would fight to defend his country. Alvin went on to become one of World War I's heroes. In fact, if you look up WWI heroes, Alvin York comes up. He really is a very inspiring and interesting person.
Another thing to think about is attitude. You could go into battle with the choice to be defending your home, family, freedom, etc. or you can go in hoping to kill more people then everyone else. Of course, I'm pretty sure no one thinks that way. Anyway, the way you feel about it can change a lot.
So, I can't decide for you, since everyone's decision is different, but I hope I've helped. The question on whether killing in war is murder or not, really is a very interesting and tricky subject. If you think killing in war is murder, then I totally understand.
It's just one of those things that you have to decide for yourself.



Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_C._York
Adventures in Odyssey, Sergeant York

"The time is now"

This statement is so true.
I've heard many, many different people repeat this statement lately. They've said it in regards to family history and learning, among other things. And I believe that this statement applies to about everything. Now is the time to do your homework, now is the time prioritize your life, now is the time to choose the right. You could use this for anything, but I think it only truly takes effect on us when we apply it to things that help us progress in life. Not progressing on your high level on a video game or your status on Facebook. I mean things like education and character. Things that can help us in the future.
Now is the time. It's not 'the time is later' or 'the time is in fifteen minutes.' The time is truly now. The time to sit around and slouch is over. Now we need to stand up for the things we believe in. And it's not going to be easy; in fact it's like what Neal A. Maxwell said, "All the easy things...have been done."1
It's not hard to the easy things, but it takes courage to do the things that challenge us. And that's what shapes our character. If all we do is the easy things then we won't have the guts to do the hard things when they come along. If we do the hard things then we become callused and firm.

You have to do the hard things. 

• You have to make the call you’re afraid to make.
• You have to get up earlier than you want to get up.
• You have to give more than you get in return right away.
• You have to care more about others than they care about you.
• You have to fight when you are already injured, bloody, and sore.
• You have to feel unsure and insecure when playing it safe seems smarter.
• You have to lead when no one else is following you yet.
• You have to invest in yourself even though no one else is.
• You have to look like a fool while you’re looking for answers you don’t have.
• You have to grind out the details when it’s easier to shrug them off.
• You have to deliver results when making excuses is an option.
• You have to search for your own explanations even when you’re told to accept the “facts.”
• You have to make mistakes and look like an idiot.
• You have to try and fail and try again.
• You have to run faster even though you’re out of breath.
• You have to be kind to people who have been cruel to you.
• You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled.
• You have to be accountable for your actions even when things go wrong.
• You have to keep moving towards where you want to be no matter what’s in front of you.

You have to do the hard things. The things that no one else is doing. The things that scare you. The things that make you wonder how much longer you can hold on.

Those are the things that define you. Those are the things that make the difference between living a life of mediocrity or outrageous success.

The hard things are the easiest things to avoid. To excuse away. To pretend like they don’t apply to you.

The simple truth about how ordinary people accomplish outrageous feats of success is that they do the hard things that smarter, wealthier, more qualified people don’t have the courage — or desperation — to do.

Do the hard things. You might be surprised at how amazing you really are. 2

I really like this. I especially like the end where it says, "Do the hard things. You might be surprised at how amazing you really are." By doing the hard things, you really can change. Watch someone who prepares for a marathon or something like that. How do they change? Or, better yet, watch someone who stops an addiction and completely turns their life around. Or, even better, do it something yourself and watch yourself change. "You might be surprised at how amazing you really are."

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1 Neal A. Maxwell, “The Old Testament: Relevancy within Antiquity”
2 Unfortunately, I don't know who wrote this but my best guess is a guy named Dan Waldschmidt, but don't quote me on that

It's your turn

I've become a little bogged down on things to write on so, if you have any ideas I'll take them. I plan to do a two part essay on Gun Control, one for and one against.
I'll write on basically anything, as long as it has something to do with preserving our nation. What I mean is, anything from why we should wear seat belts to how we can make a difference in our nation. Whatever up to a point.

Beryl

I Choose Life

This is another speech by a member of the online class I'm participating in. And so, without further ado (except for a big thank you to Amy), I Choose Life.
______

Hitler once said, “The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but not human. They cannot be human in the sense of being an image of God.”

            “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.” (Gen 1:27) Jews look just the same as you and me. They even look the same as Hitler did. Many people believe that babies in the womb aren’t people yet, or that blacks weren’t human, or that people with disabilities aren’t valuable because they use more than they can contribute to society. “Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God”. (D & C 18:10) Human life is precious no matter what race, development, or ability is contained within that body.

            In Germany between 1940 and 1945 200,000 handicapped people were murdered because they were “useless to society” and were genetically impure.  On August 24, 1941 about 70,000 handicapped people had been euthanized and public criticism was mounting so Hitler came out and publically ordered it to stop, but the program continued in secret.

            During Hitler’s time as the leader of Germany, he and his followers killed about 6 million Jews. How was he able to treat other humans so brutally? Before he was elected as Chancellor, he said, “If I am ever really in power, the destruction of the Jews will be my first and most important job.  As soon as I have power, I shall have gallows after gallows erected, for example, in Munich and Marienplatz- as many of them as traffic allows. Then the Jews will be hanged one after another, and they will stay hanging until they stink.  They will stay hanging as long as hygienically possible.  As soon as they are untied, then the next group will follow and that will continue until the last Jew in Munich is exterminated.  Exactly the same procedure will be followed in all other cities until Germany is cleansed of the last Jew!”   He was able to convince others to follow his plan by explaining that the Jews were different from the Germans, not really even human.

            Since 1973, in the United States of America over 55 million babies have been murdered.  People are trying to justify this by saying that these children are not yet human.  They call the baby a fetus in an effort to keep the public from understanding the truth.  Science has been able to repeatedly prove that an unborn baby is a separate life with a unique blood type.   A common argument in response to this fact is that while the baby is a human, he or she is not legally a person so therefore does not have the same rights that we enjoy.  Mainly his or her right to life promised by the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. 

            Another time that we have heard the argument denying the humanity of a group was during slavery. It was stated that slaves were property, not people. To be able to dismiss the Declaration of Independence the proponents of slavery had to try to convince the populace that the black race was less than human. In trying to justify this argument, John C. Calhoun said, “Never before has the black of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually.”

            Repeatedly throughout history whenever one group of people wants to take advantage of another group they claim that they are not quite human, they are too different from us, or that they are useless to society.  God tell us that he values everyone and that we are equal in his eyes.  He also tells us in Matthew 7:12, “therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

            President Ronald Reagan stated, “I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.”

            Cardinal Roger Mahoney said, “Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members – the last, the least, the littlest”. 

            Mother Teresa said, “I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?”

            There are many ways that people try to justify being inhumane but we need to rally together in an effort to stop it. Once life has been cheapened for a group in society everyone’s life is of less value.        

            I strongly believe that the murder of innocent and vulnerable children, still in their mother’s womb, needs to stop. I will contribute to the cause of lessening the rates of abortion in America by educating my peers on the sanctity of life, all life!