Highlighting the Book of Mormon in more than 100 Days

A little while ago, I finally finished the "read the Book of Mormon in 100 Days" challenge I set out to do as one of my New Year's resolutions.  I was doing extremely well with keeping up with the number of pages that I was required to read in order to finish in time right up to the 85th day.

But I made one fatal error:  I didn't plan for finals or end of semester projects.  I got so super caught up with my final art project, my MCOM final case, my ISYS website, and my Finance final that I sadly missed several days of reading.  And when you miss just one day of reading, that puts additional pressure on every future day after that.  So in the end, I finished the Book of Mormon in about 110 days. 

In my defense, I did decide to add an additional wrinkle to the Book of Mormon resolution.  I went through and highlighted (1) every single reference to Jesus Christ or God the Father--including pronouns--in green, (2) every instance of God communicating to man in blue, and (3) every instance of man doing something to merit that communication in red.

I was pretty liberal with my highlighting.  In the end, the typical page of the Book of Mormon that I had read looked something like this:

 
It took a little while longer and was sometimes pretty tedious, but I learned a lot of neat little bits of information along the way that I wanted to share with y'all.

More often than not, prayer and faith precede revelation.  This might seem like a no brainer, but it became apparent withing just a few pages that many of the spiritual experiences Book of Mormon characters received came as a direct result of their own actions.  Consider this example from the very first chapter of the BofM.

In the very first chapter, on the second page, father Lehi is praying to the Lord when he receives a very impressive vision of the coming Messiah.  As you can see from the picture above, the experience is book ended by Lehi praying to the Lord before the vision, and Lehi again praying to the Lord afterwords (the vision itself occupies most of the left column).  This time, his prayer is in gratitude.  This pattern would be seen again with Nehpi, Ammon, and many other prominent characters throughout the Book of Mormon.

Next time you read about an amazing spiritual experience in the scriptures, pay careful attention to what the recipient of that experience was doing right beforehand.  Oftentimes, you'll find there's a cause-and-effect relationship there.

God tries to get our attention in many different ways.  Angels, visions, dreams, revelations, voices from Heaven, signs, and miracles: all of these are some of the many ways that God communicated with the people of the Book of Mormon--and still communicates with us today.  But the most common way is usually through much less glamorous methods.  God usually works through prophets and other saints, the scriptures, or the whisperings of the Holy Spirit when answering prayers. 

Devastation follows when a people completely and utterly reject every single attempt at communication.  Just look at the four times in the Book of Mormon that we read about massive destruction:

1. The destruction of Jerusalem
2. The huge natural disaster following the death of Christ,
3. When the Nephites are completely wiped out by the Lamanites
4. The total annihilation of the Jaredite people 

In three of the examples, the scriptures explicitly state that "many prophets" visited the people; warning them of their need to repent (see 3 Nephi 10:20, and Ether 9:28-29).  Most of the events were preceded by things such as famines, wars, and prophecies.  It's no wonder that the Lord felt it was necessary to take dramatic action.

Don't assume that God isn't speaking to you just because it's not immediately apparent.  The further into my reading experiment, the more items I highlighted.  This isn't because God became more social once we got through the Isaiah chapters.  Instead, it's because I started to realize that many small and simple events that I had been ignoring were really answers to prayers or tiny little proddings from Heaven.

While on a mission, at the close of those days where just nothing was going right, I realized that one of the best ways to quickly lift myself up was to write in my journal.  I would go through my day in my mind and start looking for every possible way that I had been blessed during the day.  By forcing myself to look for the good in the day, it soon became apparent that the Lord had deeply blessed me throughout the entire day.

This same pattern can be seen in the Book of Mormon as well as in your own life.  A great example of this is Nephi.  Even though he lived in the wilderness, left behind all his worldly possessions, and had to deal with his brothers, he still recognized that the Lord was blessing his life (1 Nephi 1:1).

Another great example of this is an experience my little brother had this week.  He is currently stationed in the middle of nowhere Japan.  A typhoon has been sweeping through the city these last couple of days.  Listen to his story:

"On Saturday, it was raining like crazy. Being outside was like jumping in a pool. It was one of those days where I thought: 'what`s the point?' There was nobody outside and even if there was somebody to talk to, they obviously wanted to get inside quickly. . . As we were riding our bikes, I thought 'yeah, this sucks but we really don`t have a choice, do we?' As I was riding, it was incredible how quickly and how clearly I was able to feel as though I was doing what I was meant to be doing. It was almost like I could feel the Lord put his hands on me and hear him say "thank you." It was a cool feeling and I`m glad that I had that experience even though everything in my bag got completely drenched and all of my clothes are still soaking wet."

Always look for the sunny side!

That Awkward Moment When the World Ends.

Evidences That I am Not a Good Person

In case you hadn't heard, the world could be ending in a few hours, which would make today the last Friday in history, which would mean that I will never hear another Rebecca Black Friday joke again.  This makes me want to cry.

Yes, but is it tears of sorrow, or tears of joy?

Anyway, I don't subscribe to the Rapture theory, but I do believe in a bit of fun.  So just for the heck of it, I am going to list 25 reasons why I would be one of those people that would be left behind.  Here it goes:

1. I will often ask people if there is anything I can do for them, and then be mildly disappointed when they say there is.
2. When I tell someone I'll pray for them, I will most likely forget to pray for them by 7 pm.
3. I never buy anything from the fresh produce section, and I intentionally buy the least healthy options whenever I am shopping for groceries.
4. Come to think of it, I haven't cooked a vegetable since 2007.  Possibly earlier.
5. I may not have said a cuss word since the second grade, but I have thought about it many times.
6. I don't always tell my friends how awesome they are; but when I do, it's on Facebook. But only on their birthday.  And if I'm in a good mood.
7. I enjoy listening to Lady Gaga.
8. If I do get left behind when the rapture comes, I'm totally going to take your car.
9. I haven't written a letter to my little brother on a mission for over a month.
10. I once took the tag off of a Beanie Baby.
11. I will sometimes laugh at dead baby jokes.
12. When I watched The Dark Knight, I was rooting for the joker.
13. When I watch horror movies, I pick out which characters I hope will die first.
14. When I watched Star Wars: Episode III, I was happy when Anakin finally became evil.
15. When I was a kid, I liked setting bugs on fire with a magnifying glass.
16. When I wrote ^that, I realized I still think it'd be fun to set bugs on fire with a magnifying glass.
17. This one time, when I checked our mail, I saw that all the letters were for my roommates.  I left all the letters in the mailbox.
18. I eat peanut butter straight from the jar with my finger.
19. I drink milk straight from the carton.
20. I love animals, but it's mainly because they taste really good.
21. One time, when I was missionary companions with really quiet person, I decided to stare at him and see how long it took for him to break the awkward silence (6 minutes and 32 seconds.  Holy Crap).
22. I then did that every day for the next week.
23. I say "what the eff" a lot.
24. When I see an acquaintance and I can tell they've forgotten my name ("Hey, . . .you, how are you doing?"), I like to watch them squirm by saying their name as many times as I can in our conversation.
25. When I meet people who want to know what nationality I am, but don't want to ask the question point blank, I like to throw them off and confuse them.  For example:

• "Do you speak any foreign languages?"
• "Nope, but I do know a couple of phrases in Spanish."
• "So. . .where does your last name come from?"
• "It's English." 
• "Oh, that's cool.  I was just wondering because I knew some Chinese who had the last name Low and I thought it might have had some Asian connection." 
• "Haha, those crazy Asians."
• "So, where are you from, Jake?"  
• "Farmington, Utah." 
• "And before that?" 
• "The Pre-Earth life?" 

 And that is why I am not a good person.

The Many Names of Maxibus the Man Van

Here's a list of some of the nicknames that my vehicle, a white 97' GMC Safari Minivan with tinted windows, has received since I started driving it in November.  Almost all of these were given by friends of mine.

1.) Snooki--So named because the Safari is somewhat wide and clumsy, and it likes to party.  Also it's prone to blackouts (such as breaking down in the Nevada desert or the church parking lot).

2.) Excalibur--Not really sure why the van got this name.  But I'm pretty sure the Safari and Excalibur were forged at about the same time.

3.) Pegasus--We called the van in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission 'Pegasus' for its swift transporting capabilities.  My van, on the other hand, would probably lose to the Titanic in an iceberg dodging contest.

4.) Maxibus the Man Van--The first concrete nickname the minivan received.  Usually shortened to just "the Man Van."  I'm secretly hoping that someday the Man Van will get some nice flame vinyls on the sides and a disco ball.

5.) The Shaggin' Wagon--No comment here.  Although I will point out how awesome it would be if I got some shag carpet in the van.

6.)Spank Tank--Okay, I guess I should make a comment that none of the verbs in any of these nicknames have ever happened inside my van.

7.) The Cuddle Shuttle--Sadly, that includes this nickname as well.

8.) The Makeout Machine--And this one.

9.) The Candy Van--One of my friends told me that I should write "FREE CANDY" on the side of my van and then drive around while playing the ice cream man song.  Great idea.  I always wanted to end up in the campus police beat.

Maybe I should paint a creepy clown and a rainbow on the van as well.

10.) The Perv Patrol--On a side note, another van started parking right next to me, and it's totally out-sketching my man van.  I'm not happy about losing my spot as sketchiest vehicle in the complex.

Some of My Artwork

These are some portraits that I've done for various friends of mine:

 

I enjoy drawing characters from blockbuster Movies.  Here are some examples.  The medium is graphite and ink, and the size of each is 9 x 12.

Captain Jack Sparrow

Neo, of The Matrix

Spiderman

The Joker

Here are some projects I completed for my VA-114 Drawing class:

We sketched the animal in the Bean Museum.  This one was done with charcoal.

The engine of a Ford Raptor, done with a white colored pencil.

A ball-point pen drawing of my wardrobe.

For my final project in the class, I did three of the statues on BYU's campus in a comic book style.  I used graphite and ink--my favorite medium combination.

This statue is located on the second floor of the Harold B. Lee Library.

The famous 'naked indian' statue (Chief Massasoit).

This statue is titled "Resurrection" and is located in the statue garden by the MOA

Here are some acrylic paintings I made.  I've been copying some older paintings to try to study the different styles of the old masters.

Caravaggio's "The Inspiration of Saint Matthew."  This painting is 30 x 40 inches, which is the largest painting I've ever done.

Carl Bloch's "Gethsemane." I made a few alterations; namely with the colors and the background.

Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

A Roy Lichtenstien

Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," completing the trilogy of famous female portraits.

Anything That Ends in Ectomy Sucks

So there was this one time that I had a cavity.  Now, me having a cavity as a kid is nothing unique.  I really like my Skittles, Nerds, Blow-Pops, Runts, Reese's Pieces, and Twinkies.  And my teeth seem to be kind of wussies when it comes to standing up to plaque.  I don't get why they can't fight their own battles.  Nowadays, I brush, floss, use mouthwash, and even chew Orbit Gum.  If I get cavities today, it will be because my teeth are like the French.

They'll even surrender to plaque that's already been decimated by my mouthwash action.

Anyway, this cavity was unique, because it happened on a tooth that hadn't even completely grown in yet.  Part of the tooth was exposed, but somehow, the cavity came in on the part of the tooth was still covered by gums.  I have no idea how this happens.  Like I said, my teeth are wussies.

So my mom scheduled an appointment with the dentist.  He was a tall guy with thick, blond hair who was always smiling.  This dentist and I go back a little ways, so he would usually torture me by asking about my life while I had more instruments in my mouth than the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and then watch me try to respond.     

The procedure was going okay.  The dentist was trying to use a ring-thingy to push my gums out of the way so he could fill the cavity.  Yes, it was very uncomfortable, but what did I care?  I was on laughing gas.  The dentist could have done just about anything and I would have been cool with it. 

*"Sure!"

The dentist and his assistant fiddled around with trying to push my gums out of the way for about fifteen minutes before he decided on a change of strategy.

Now, I may have been nearly unconscious and daydreaming about talking blue cheese, but I was still aware enough to remember that 'ectomy' means 'remove' (yes, I knew what ectomy meant at a young age). Even though the dentist's perfect smile was still showing through his mask, I experienced a modest bump in stress at that moment.

 

Another shot of Novocaine?  I thought I was already numb enough to have someone give me a pain-free tongue piercing.  My stress level jumped a couple more notches.

The dentist and his assistant started a fiddling around in my mouth again when he said this:

The dentist's smile vanished.  I was pretty stressed and drugged up at this point.  I was thinking, "what's bleeding a lot?!  And why is it bleeding?!"

This was starting to turn into a top ten list -- "Things You Don't Want to Hear at the Dentist's".

Well, I did survive.  The dentist person let me take multiple little prizes, so that was exciting.  At about the time our minivan pulled into our garage, the first shot of Novocaine wore off, and I was in pain for quite a while after that.

This is essentially the aftermath of my appointment:

Jacob after dentist

and the inside of my mouth

Oh, and I did remember that appointment for a long, long time.

So Long, and tell Adolf I Said Hi.