The Invisible Man Becomes Seen

it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture of college, or of education in general. most of the time i find myself focusing on the next class, or the next paper with little regard to what the long term effect could and should be. instead of writing in this blog to fulfill an assignment, i am learning about media so that i can be a more critical consumer for myself and for my kids. adult development will not only count towards my graduation, but benefit my family as my parents age and deal with retirement, disease, and eventual loss.

a similar moment comes when tuition is due, and i either have to work long hours at a job during school, or find a scholarship to help cover the necessary amount. little thought, at least on my part, goes into who is behind the scholarship. the main idea is that they are great and they will help me pay for this semester of schooling so that i can learn about old people, media, marriage prep, etc. but have i ever stopped to notice the invisible man or woman that is pushing me forward in my education? do i recognize the love and hope that they are putting into my life, despite never having known the person?

today, one of my invisible men became visible, tangible... real. i had the opportunity to meet Ira Fulton, a very successful business man and philanthropist. when i say successful, this man has gone from rags to riches, and has donated millions upon millions of dollars to BYU, UVU, ASU, and UofU. while waiting in one of the upper floors of the Spencer W Kimball Tower, i looked out at the students walking to their classes and thought about how many thousands of students had benefitted from this man and his wife's generosity. the Fultons don't even know a small percentage of these students, despite coming to each of the universities frequently to meet as many as they could. they are kind, and put a lot of confidence in the future generations. they provide people with the opportunity to learn in order to change their own lives.

Mary Lou and Ira Fulton

there are few greater ways to express love towards a stranger than helping them fulfill their dreams and gaining their education. extreme amounts of faith and hope go into giving your hard earned money to a scholarship program, praying that some student will use the money wisely and that they will be better for it, instead of squandering the money on something frivilous.

i realized, when i was asked to be one of the representatives of the school of family life to meet with Ira Fulton, that i hadn't given most of my financial aid benefactors a second thought, and yet they and put a lot of thought into me. they, through the medium of a scholarship, have invested in me, as a human being that will go on to do many great things in life. at the very least, being a good husband and father, but with the hopes that i will do more with my job, with my funds, with my opportunities.  the hope that i will change the world, one person at a time, as they have.

whether it is your parents, grandparents, neighbors, or invisible men and women, recognize their sacrifice for you, and their love and confidence in you.

there will always be someone there, pushing you along on your path to greatness. He may not be the one literally pushing, but He guides others to do so. He has invested Himself and His son, along with all of the resources possible for you to become as He is.

See the invisible men and women, See your God.

A Letter to J.J.

Dear J. J. Abrams,

I have been very impressed with the quality of films and series that you have written, directed, and produced over the past twelve years. I became an avid watcher of Alias when it first came out and loved the action and the story development that was included in the show. I feel that Alias was unique in many areas, but the most important being that the protagonist was a woman. She was highly intelligent, took power into her own hands, and led groups to complete missions etc. I feel like she was a great role model for women and that on very few occasions was she objectified as most women are on television and in the movies. 

I particularly was disappointed in the episode that followed the super bowl of 2004 where Sydney Bristow (played by Jennifer Garner) was highly objectified and sexualized for, what I felt, attracting new viewers from the super bowl. This unfortunately is a huge problem with most media today, of which I am sure you are aware. Women are seen as a means to an end in most media, for example the latest Bond movie, Skyfall. The “Bond girl” as they are frequently called, is shot with no remorse and no mention of her after her death. Her role was to get Bond to the antagonist and then she was killed. If women are the lead role, the usually have many men backing them up. As seen in most of the Alias episodes, Sydney’s dad, handler, friend, co-worker, and boss are all male characters that give her advice and direction. Very few women are positive role models to Sydney in the show. Another perpetuation in one of your films was in the first installment of Star Trek that you directed and produced. Zoe Saldana did not seem to think for herself and although she was intelligent, it took Pine’s character or Quinto’s character to piece all the necessary parts together to make the difference in the film.

As I stated above, the majority of your work has done well to either overcome the problem, or at the very least, not perpetuate the problem. Alias, Lost, and Mission Impossible III have all aided the image of women and helped viewers see women as intelligent and successful people instead of sexy, helpless, side characters. 

My hope is that you continue to make quality films and series with women playing more important roles and potentially the main characters as Jennifer Garner did in Alias, to help women aspire to be more than the beautiful, helpless sidekick. You have great influence as a director, writer, and producer. Thank you for your talent in this field and I anxiously wait for your future work.

The Passion in His Voice

I feel that it takes a certain type of man or woman to really motivate a person or a group to do something, an orator of sorts. Someone who can change lives, nations, or even the world. Jeffrey R. Holland is that type of person. When he speaks, I feel that he captures every person within the sound of his voice and they HAVE to listen to him. This becomes even more of a spectacle when you put him in the conference center where 22,000 people sit and listen, not to mention the other million people gathered in church houses and homes listening over radio, internet, and cable.

This man has power and he uses it to help people do something better with their lives. I have had the privilege to meet this man in person on several occasions and each time, I am amazed by the aura around him and the intelligence that is apparent in everything he says.

This weekend was the 183rd annual general conference, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathers the Prophets and Apostles and other general authorities into one building and they teach the world simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many are soft spoken and have great messages, but some lack the confidence to really grab the viewers attention. This is never the case with Jeffrey R Holland.

I have decided that I am going to search out as many of his talks, sermons, books, etc. as I can. He is fascinating and a bit of a role model. Future posts will update y'all on what I learn. Here is the latest conference talk of Jeffrey R Holland.