Lexis Principia Sophron

Hey all!

This week I finished a project I've been working on. It's a blog for all my word studies. I thought it would be nice to hear other peoples thoughts on my thoughts!

http://thewordschool.blogspot.com/

That's my blog address. I have 50 words and counting. I hope you'll all take some time to look around there!

Focus Word Study

Questions:
What are the right things to focus on and how do I stay focused on them?
Pick a strategy of defense to focus on this week...
How did it help you? How else can focus be used to defend yourself from the adversary?

And Please share any other questions or thoughts you had as you studied this week.

You can comment below, or if you have an inspirement you can share online (a video you make from your ah-ha, a poem, a paper, a prezi, a song, etc), start a new post so we can comment on your inspirement. Remember to reply to other people's comments so we can answer each others' questions and discuss our different thoughts.

I hope that a lot of our questions in class can come from the discussions/questions posted here.

Is Leo Borlock an "Inner Ringer"?

Reading C.S. Lewis's The Inner Ring, right after Stargirl gave me quite a bit to think about. I wanted to hear some other peoples thoughts. I hope I can arrange mine in a way that will make sense!

Stargirl is NOT an "Inner Ringer". By definition, an "Inner Ringer" is someone who seeks validation from peers in increasing levels as they try to climb the totem pole. Stargirl is anything but an "Inner Ringer".

But what about everyone else in the book? Is is true that almost every person in High School is in a ring of some sort? I would say that the whole Mica High (with the exception of Stargirl, Dorry, and possibly Leo) are "Inner Ringers". So the question is; is Leo one of the esoteric, or not?

Archie asks Leo this very question, "Who's affection do you value more, hers or the others?" (Stargirl, pg. 104) May I change the quotation to fit the context, but keep the general meaning? "Who's validation do you value more, the 'Inner Ringers' or not?"

I think this shows very well the paths that Leo could take. He could follow the crowd, OR he could break free of the limiting chains of popularity. Sadly, he chose to follow the crowd. That decision was one he regretted for the rest of his life. Leo was an "Inner Ringer"

That is my conclusion. If anyone else has thoughts or comments, I would love to hear them. I think Stargirl is the perfect book to study Inner Rings and their effects in High Schools.

Connections

So... I just watched the beginning of the video on Bet (the Jim Staley one), and I was just thinking something...

Av means Father, and Ben means son. You combine to two words to make Aben, which means stone.

So we all know the story of the wise man and the foolish man... you know the Primary song?

Well, I was just thinking that we need to have a solid foundation. I was thinking of a heart, and the shape it has.



It sort of has a 2 sided thing going on. Then you think of a broken heart:



Whenever we see a picture of a broken heart, it seems to always be split into two parts. Have you ever seen a picture of a broken heart in a million pieces?

So, I think everything kind of connects. What if Heavenly Father is one side of the heart, and Christ is the other side of the heart. Together, they make a whole, or 1. Together they make the core (which is sort of what the heart means), and a synonym for core is foundation, and foundation is the rock or the stone.

So... lets go back to the wise/foolish man story.



The foolish man built his house on the sand, which is a million billion pieces. In my analogy, let's say that each person in the world is a grain of sand. All together, it makes the world. Now, as we all know, the world is not a very sturdy foundation. When the flood came, the "house on the sand washed away". I'm not saying through this that you can't rely on people, I'm mostly just saying that we can't rely on the world.

Now, let's look at a rock.



I was just in Zions this weekend, looking at all the rocks, and while we were walking down from a hike, I was talking to my dad, and I asked him if he thought that the two giant rocks on the sides of us would fit together like a puzzle piece.



We were talking about how once, the rock was all one. And then it split into 2 because of whatever happened. The two sides of the rock wouldn't fit together anymore because of all of the weathering, and the rocks falling off, and so on and so forth.

We were talking about the number one last month, and about how it represented God. God and Christ are 2 separate beings.



But yet... they are one. How does that work?

It's like when we talk about unity (which is pretty much every week). We may be a group of Vanguardians, but then we can still be one. How is that?

Well... if we refer back to Aben, it's Av (the Father) and Ben (the Son) put together. We can only be one through both Christ and Heavenly Father. We need a firm foundation. We can't just live on the sand. It doesn't work that way. We need to be in the world, not of the world! And in order to have unity (which is what we're working towards... right?) we need to have the correct core foundation!

Sorry for my scatter brain! I can't ever seem to pull my thoughts all together completely! I hope you all understood!!!!

What connections did you see this week?

Love,
Gracious <3

Symbols of Two

Hey all!

In preparation for our day of Vanguard this week, I'd like you all to ponder something...

What does the number two mean to you? How is it symbolic of your life? What are some other symbols in the world around us that represent the same things two represents to you?

If you would all ponder this and post something that two is symbolic of to you and something in the world that relates to that in the comments, that would be awesome!

Thank you all! I can't wait till Wednesday! :D

Hebrew Thought

On the Ancient Hebrew Word Meanings website this is something it says about the word Love:
'We are told to love God and our neighbors, not in an emotional sense, but in the sense of our actions.'
I mostly agree with this saying. Except for one thing; If we love and serve people with our actions, how are we not to love them with our hearts? I know hearts aren't the same as 'emotion' but is that where emotion comes from? 
I want to hear peoples thoughts on this, whether on Wed, or here on the blog. :) 

Question for October week 3

What did your learn about what you need to do with your heart (and how you can do it) to be a better disciple of Christ?

Temptation is the Fence-- A-Ha Moment from Armor of God Reading

I once heard a story that went something like this:
   Way back when during the war in heaven, there was God's side, and Satan's side. To split those sides up a fence was put up in between the two sides. Most people knew where they wanted to go; they knew who their leader was and who they were willing to fight with. But there was a select few who didn't know who to follow, or really just didn't care. So they sat on the fence. There were some who would get off, and choose a side for a time, or some who would always just sit on the fence. 
   There was one particular man that always sat on the fence. Day after day after day he just sat there and watched. Both sides knew he was there, but God knew it was his choice where he would go, so He knew he couldn't take him off the fence.
   Satan had another plan in mind. One day, he walked up to the man and said, 'What are you doing on the fence?' the man said, 'I cannot decide which side I am on. So I have decided to sit on the fence.'
   All Satan said after that was, 'I own the Fence.'

When I heard this story, it really hit me hard. You really can't just sit in the middle of good and bad. You are always moving forward or backward. There is no in between in this life. If you aren't striving to move forward, you are always bound to stray backward.

As I was thinking about this last night while trying to fall asleep, I started thinking about Temptation. God does not and never will tempt us. Satan on the other hand, that is his only mission. Is to tempt, and rid us of all that is good and holy. I think temptation is one of his main battle tactics. 
Then I started thinking about how the fence is like temptation. Satan owns the fence, as well as temptation. He will not stop fighting us against what is right. He will try to steal us with temptation, just as he does with the fence. If we sit on the fence, we are left vulnerable and he is able to catch us much easier. 

I hope this made some sense. :) I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! 

Temptations - Armor of God reading

Comment below and share your thoughts about how to win on the battleground of temptation and how things went when you tried overcoming a weakness last week! 

Am I a slave?

What does learning about Harriet Tubman or the Underground Railroad teach me about the purpose of life and what I am doing here? I love this quote from Harriet Tubman: "I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves." this made me wonder if I am a slave. I think that in many situations I am. I often am trapped by my actions and thoughts, by the way I put myself down and the way I say negative things to myself. Soon I let Satan into my heart and I get trapped in so many things that I become a slave, in bondage.

The slaves that Harriet freed may not have been trapped in the same way I might be, but if they were freed I can be freed to. Through Christ's atonement I can be saved. :) Yay!

What Does Your Word Study on "Heart" have to do with freedom and bondage?

One of the scriptures I used for my word study was 3 Nephi 13:21: 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.' I think a lot of the slave owners had 'Bondage' in their hearts, so that is where there treasure was, in their slaves bondage. 
Now, the slaves on the other hand, had 'Freedom' in their hearts, not bondage. All their hearts effort or treasure went to freedom. Freedom to be normal people. Not slaves.
I think we can apply this to our lives by never having a 'Bondage-Heart' for one another. Only a 'Free-Heart' can bring Unity. When we don't feel 'bondage' for each other, we are able to love and unify each other as Christ would. 

I don't know if that made any sense, but that's the A-Ha I had this week. :) 

Choices: My Underground Railroads

   Harriet Tubman was faced with a choice. Her choice was to help break the chains which had bound her and still bound the rest of her race, or to relax and live life as a freed slave. Like Isaiah said, "Every slave that escaped was looking for change in their lives, because they knew there were things that are wrong in their lives." Harriet had found that change in her own life, but she wouldn't stand by like so many others did once she was free. She made the choice to stand up for what she knew to be right, no matter what the price.

   Her Underground Railroad was a challenge, as well as a blessing. She was sent here to accomplish something, and I'm sure she received much satisfaction from helping others gain their freedom. Each of us have our own "Underground Railroads" that can deliver us from the bondage of aimlessness. We can choose to gain that freedom by doing those hard things, and become who were sent here to be. Choice is the difference between personal slavery, and liberty. It's interesting to think about the line in context; "Give me Liberty, or Give me Death." For those are really our only two choices.

What Does Harriet Tubman Teach Us About the Purpose of Life?

I think that Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad teach a lot about the purpose of life and what I'm doing because they teach change. Every slave that escaped was looking for change in their lives, because they knew that there were things that are wrong in their lives. If something is wrong in your life, change it.
Heart has everything to do with freedom and bondage, because softening our hearts leads to freedom and hardening them leads us to bondage. This is evident throughout the whole Book of Mormon. When people turn their hearts to God, they are freed. God often has to get people to soften their hearts through plagues, wars, etc, because they are too stubborn to soften their own hearts. Softening your heart definitely has to do with humility. Those who are prideful and stubborn fight God, and their hearts are hardened.

What does learning about Harriet Tubman or the Underground Railroad teach you about the purpose of life and what you are doing here?
Learning about other people and how they completed their personal mission can help me know how to finish mine.  :) 

Questions for October Week 2

Questions to ponder and discuss with your family this week:

• What does learning about people like Harriet Tubman and those who helped with the Underground Railroad teach you about what you need to do to accomplish God's work for you at this time?
• What does your word study on "heart" have to do with freedom and bondage?

Comment and share some of your thoughts or questions! Don't forget to reply to other peoples' comments or questions.