As Mormons, we need to stop pretending like we have all the answers.

We don’t have all the answers.  Far too often, members of our church look down upon others for having honest questions.  At best, questioning is seen as an understandable moment of weakness, at worst it’s taken as a lack of testimony that will inevitably result in leaving the church or excommunication. I know many members (myself included) with a very strong dedication to the LDS church who are afraid to tell others of their wonderings for fear of being judged as weak or wavering. 

Questions are not a sign of weakness! They are a natural part of the growth and learning process. We should be celebrating the pursuit of further understanding and insight. I am honestly much more concerned about Mormons who don’t have any questions than the ones who do. How will they ever improve upon their knowledge? Will they simply live in complacence, satisfied that they have all the understanding that they will ever need? Do we truly believe, as the Articles of Faith state, that God “will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God”? And if so, will this revelation come to those who are complacently satisfied with the knowledge they already have, or will it come to those with a genuine curiosity and thirst for further insight?

Where would the church be today if Joseph Smith never asked questions? We obviously needed his questions for the first vision, but even beyond that we needed him to wonder, ponder, and ask about many additional doctrines in order to receive the revelation in the D&C. Do we truly believe that revelation is still real today? And do we know that it can come to any who ask, not simply the general authorities? Now, that’s not to suggest that individuals can receive revelation for the church, and I do believe that true revelations will not contradict core church doctrines. But I also know that God can greatly expand your knowledge of complex topics as you seek and ask questions.

If you think you have all the answers, you aren’t thinking hard enough. We have been told time and time again, for example, that the temple is a place of learning and that each time you go you can learn something new. And such it is with going to church, praying, reading your scriptures, etc. Are we using these opportunities as chances to learn something new and grow? Or are we simply reaffirming the things we already know and take for granted? An unfortunately common notion in the church is that we shouldn’t spend too much time reflecting on and contemplating those concepts which are difficult to understand and have led some to disbelieve. While I wholeheartedly support the idea to “doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith”, I also believe strongly that God does want us to (eventually) obtain all the knowledge of the universe. I also believe many answers will only come after we ask the questions.

Ask the tough questions! Not just about what decisions to make in your life, but ask for further understanding of difficult ideas. Think about the concepts that don’t make sense to you or seem to be contradictory. Pray for insight into whatever you find confusing. If you are like me, you will receive answers that may not be as direct as you thought. You may be expected to engage in detailed study of the topic. You may be expected to be patient as the answers are revealed a little at a time, or line upon line. You may even be expected to change aspects of your life so that you can be more in tune with the spirit to receive the answers you are looking for. But if you live right and are sincere, you will receive answers. 

But you will still not have all the answers. So when someone has a question, don’t assume that you have the answer, or that you know more about the topic than they do. Consider that it’s possible that they have spent much more time contemplating, studying, and praying about this topic than you have. Consider that maybe they have an even greater understanding of it than you do, and what they seek is an even higher level of insight. If the answer you think you know is one that you have always taken for granted and not spent much time pondering, they likely are looking for more details, and you are probably not the person who will provide them.

Realize it’s ok to not have all the answers. We have a tendency to want to explain away any potential conflicts of thought or difficult questions. Sometimes it’s ok and even more helpful to say, “You know what? I don’t understand that either.” It’s good to engage in thoughtful conversations and to brainstorm ideas. What’s not good is to assume that we understand all the facets of a topic, when there is certainly more we can learn. And ultimately, we can do what the missionaries are taught to do when they feel stumped: bear your testimony of what you do believe. In the end this is likely to have a more powerful impact than the answers you want to give. Take the time to think about hard concepts, listen to the questions of others, seek greater understanding, and resist the urge to overexplain.

Ahhhhh! There are chemicals in my food!

Some thoughts about the organic/natural food movement from a chemical engineer:

1)      There will always be chemicals in your food. No matter what you do. Even if you become super self-reliant and grow all of your own food in your backyard (which I don’t suggest). Let’s do a little review of high school chemistry real quick. What is food- and everything else in the world- made up of? Tiny atoms that are bonded together to form chemicals. Little hydrogens, oxygens, carbons, etc. We take two hydrogens and an oxygen and bond them together and what chemical do we get? Water! Similarly, we can take other atoms and bond them together to make chemicals. And without this structure, nothing exists. Nothing. Not even air. And especially not your food. Even if it’s organic.

2)      Just because a chemical has a fancy name does not mean it’s bad for you. Did you know that drink you’re having is filled with dihydrogen monoxide? I can’t believe you would drink that stuff! It’s a fancy name for water, actually. Oh and how about eating something flavored with 2-methyl butyraldehyde? Don’t like it? Then better stop eating blueberries. Even the all-natural, organic kind, because that chemical is in there. It’s not added, it’s already there.

3)      Just because a chemical is used in something non-food related, doesn’t mean it’s bad to have in your food.  Did you also know that the dihydrogen monoxide you are drinking is also used in windshield wiper fluid? Gross! Can you imagine putting the same chemical from windshield wiper fluid into your body? Oh and by the way, saying a chemical shouldn’t be eaten because it can be found in plastic is a copout.

4)      The Food and Drug Administration knows a whole lot more about what chemicals shouldn’t be in food than a simple google search does. Google is an amazing thing. We can learn so much about so many things. But that knowledge often puts us in danger of thinking we are smarter than experts because we read a Wikipedia page. The FDA is made up of people who have PhD’s in nutrition and chemistry and public health and food science. They know their stuff! And they have absolutely no motivation to allow toxic things to be put in your food. So maybe once you have studied one (or all!) of these topics for eight years of your life rather than reading a few blogs and talking to some friends, then feel free to question the FDA’s regulations about what chemicals should be allowed in foods.

5)      Food Manufacturers will never- I repeat- never put a chemical in your food that doesn’t serve a purpose. People seem to have this image in their heads of a mad scientist that mixes up weird chemicals and throws them in the food just for fun. Like the mad scientist says, “oh this long-named, funny sounding chemical is usually used for the rubber in car tires. But let’s add it to this batch of crackers I’m making. That will really have everyone coming back for more! And it will poison their children in the process!” Sounds ridiculous, right? Because it is. Any and every chemical you can find on an ingredient list is there for a reason. You may not agree with the reason, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. If you oppose preservatives or pesticides, that’s fine, but realize your food will go bad quicker and be willing to share your meal with the bugs!

6)      Organic food is much more likely to be recalled than non-organic food. One of the main reasons- bacteria. Can’t have any of those antibacterial preservatives for the federally regulated “organic” label. The result- you run the risk of bacteria. I’d personally rather FDA approved preservatives that have been studied thoroughly and determined to be safe.

7)      All foods are processed! This one couldn’t possibly be true! Oh but it is. Shocking, right? Every food goes through a process. I tried to find a good definition for what organic foodies consider “processed” and I struggled. I’m sure it’s out there and that’s fine. But just know even fresh produce generally goes through a manufacturing plant and is packaged into boxes or bags. Sure, you buy the stuff at the store looking fresh under the sprinklers, but remember, the workers just unloaded it from some sort of container it was shipped in.

8)      Vaccinate your children! Okay, I know this one isn’t food related at all. But it’s super important so I’m putting it anyway. Just as the FDA knows more than you about food, the Centers for Disease Control knows WAY more than you do about children and diseases. One of my biggest pet peeves is when parents act like they know more about a disease than a doctor does, just because they read the Wikipedia page, WebMD, and a blog of other parents’ opinions. Vaccinations are safe and important. If you disagree, talk to me after you have spent 10-12 hours a day studying them for a minimum of eight years. Because 99.9%* of the people who have done that will say to vaccinate your children.

(*A made up statistic. But I don’t care. There are plenty of reliable statistics out there for vaccinations. Start working on those eight years of study, and you will find them.)

9)      And finally, start appreciating progress. I get that life is too fast-paced sometimes. I agree we should stop and smell the roses once in a while. But that doesn’t mean we have to grow all our own food and live separate from society. We have modern food technology and medicine and it’s a wonderful thing.

Feed your kid apples and carrots instead of cookies and chips. If you want to grow your own garden, great. That’s a wonderful thing. But be informed if you are going to act informed. Don’t say you hate chemistry and then claim to be a nutrition expert. And above all else, don’t look down on your neighbor because she doesn’t eat as all-natural as you do.

Taxes and Grants for College Kids

So I've been doing a lot of research on taxes and Pell grants the past few months, and I just wanted to share some tips that I've learned. I just feel like there is a lot of money college kids could be getting that they aren't, usually because they don't know about it. Here's some things you may not have known:

-College kids should claim the American Opportunity Education credit! There is almost no excuse for not claiming this unless you are in your fifth year of college or you are a dependent with parents who make over $180,000. You can get up to $1000 refunded from the government even if you owe no taxes. If you owe taxes, they can be reduced up to $2500!

       What you can claim: any required fees or costs for the classes you are enrolled in. ie books, tuition, laptop, health insurance (for BYU), etc. You should try to think of every cost you can to maximize your benefit! And if you are paying your own tuition, there is NO reason not to be claiming the maximum amount of credit ($4000)

-You can still claim the American Opportunity Credit even if you have scholarships/grants! Just count up everything you paid for and then count the scholarships/grants as taxable income. That way you will get paid for your expenses and only be taxed for the scholarships/grants at a smaller percent.

-Taxable scholarships/grants don't count against you when you are filing FAFSA. That is- if you do it correctly. I didn't- but was then able to fix it- and am now getting $950 back. Woo hoo! Make sure you fill the form out correctly

-On FAFSA, you don't have to count scholarship/grant money you have in the bank as part of your assets! Subtract it out before you report how much money you have!

-The Pell grant formula is actually not just some mysterious mumbo-jumbo. You can figure out in advance how much grant money you should get with the charts and tables found here: http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/010512EFCFormulaGuide1213.pdf

-Revise your tax form! I know, it sounds boring right? And your fancy tax software does it for you. But actually, a lot of times the software doesn't know all the benefits you can claim unless you tell it.

-You should still claim education benefits even if you are in your fifth year. Look into the lifelong learning credit or the education adjustment. You should also be claiming some sort of education benefit for every member of your family that is taking any college courses.

Well, that's most of what I can think of for now. But I'm almost positive I will post more in the next day or two. Also, I can help! Seriously, I love this stuff. (I'm weird, I know) But I also think I am pretty good at it. Last year I got more than $15,000 in grants and scholarships and we are learning more about how to get big tax refunds with the awesome education credits!

So yesterday I taught the class I TA for again. Except I was very sick. Then I came home and slept until  I started feeling better. Also, Ken just found out that he is getting $800 more than we expected in grant money. That's a pretty big deal I think. There is a lot you can do with $800.
Also Ken and I started taking this family finance class that is being offered at church. It's super interesting. Except too bad I had to leave early this week. Next week I should be able to go for the whole time hopefully. But then we might have to miss it the week after that. So we will see. But we are learning a lot of good tips about budgeting and grants and loans and stuff. And then I think in the future we will learn about investing and some other stuff... saving for retirement maybe? I'm not exactly sure. 
Ken's at work now. And I woke up because I went to bed at midnight and it's hard to sleep for more than nine hours. Especially when I took a three hour nap yesterday. Although I kinda wish I could sleep more.
Also today I am going to a bridal shower! Hooray! That will be very fun because I love bridal showers. And then I can see a lot of girls from high school. I like them. Maybe even more than some people I was better friends with in high school because now they don't talk to me. But the whole cheer group is very nice to me whenever I happen to see them. And they are always so enthusiastic about everything that it provides great entertainment.
Anyway, that's about it. We will probably watch the football game tonight and eat the blue chips and salsa that I won last week at the homecoming party Jenn invited me to. I won a whole gift basket! But we already ate some of the stuff last week.
That's all. Except for I wish that other people would write on their blog more. I know I don't really write on mine but I really like reading other people's more than writing on my own.

Quick Thoughts

Here are my thoughts for the day:
Texas is ridiculous.
Some people from Texas are particularly ridiculous.
Evolution is real.
The creation is real.
Christians teach evolution all the time.

Divorce Court

Wow... so Ken and I have been watching episodes of divorce court on youtube tonight... it's a pretty ridiculous show but also very funny. I can't believe how crazy some people are.  But anyway... it was definitely a nice break from school and work. And in other news... two people passed out today at work. We got two new girls doing blood research and apparently neither of them was that crazy about dealing so much with blood... so we will see how that goes since that's mostly all we do in the lab.

Teaching College

Yesterday, I taught a college class. That was pretty crazy. I have a new job as a TA (teaching assistant) for Chemical Engineering 378 aka Materials Science and Engineering. It's pretty fun. But yesterday the teacher had to go to his daughter's school play or something so he had me teach. It was a little scary, and I'm not sure how well I did. But, I tried my best. Hopefully the teacher can cover anything I didn't teach very well again later. Also, I have office hours where kids come and ask me questions about the homework. And yesterday a lot of kids came and asked me for help. I hope I was helpful to them. Also, I worked almost 15 hours this week. That is a lot more than I ever have during school. Usually I work about 5 or less. I still have my job doing blood research, but that will probably only be a couple hours here and there. So I am excited for my new job. Classes are ok, some of them seem pretty hard and boring. But we will see.