Because of Him

Every time General Conference comes around, I feel like this whenever I log onto Facebook:

www.quickmeme.com

There is on onslaught of memes and cute quotes from General Conference, some of which are very pretty and cute, but to be honest,

I

don't

care.

*gasp* 

Sorry, I'm just not one of those people. I guess it's because 

1) I heard the exact same thing you heard, and don't need it to be repeated on my Facebook wall. Seriously.

2) What touched and inspired me is different from what touched and inspired you, and so an inspiring quote may have lifted you up but didn't do anything for me. And vice versa. 

Now, you may say, "It's a missionary tool!" Look, let's be honest here -- non-Mormons looking at your quote/ meme featuring Pres. Utchdorf (he appears in so many memes for valid reasons- he IS awesome!) have no idea who the heck he is, so why should they care what he has to say?

Just saying. 

But you know what, everyone expresses their faith differently, and some quotes cut across cultural and religious boundaries, so carry on. I'll just make sure I don't log onto Facebook these 2 days, and if I do, please don't be offended if I skip over your post. 

Having said that, I want to share this video that I think is simply magnificent and especially relevant this Easter season. And yes, I know that I just said that what inspired me may not have the same effect on you, but I hope this video does inspire you. 

The mission president of the Columbus Mission shared this video at a church event last night, and he downloaded it from mormon.org. After watching the it, I thought to myself, "Why is this on mormon.org and not on lds.org?! It needs to be on lds.org too!" 

Let us remember this Easter and throughout the year how special our Savior, Jesus Christ, was. He was a perfect example of everything good in this world, but He was also so much more. Because of Him, I and everyone else can be so much more as well. 

Enjoy! 

(If the video doesn't work on my blog post, please click HERE or HERE)

I Told You Grad Sch Was Hard

A few of my colleagues have shared this on Facebook, so you might have seen this floating around on your feed.

But guys, I have to re-post it here just because I need to feel justified in my whining about graduate school- "It's so hard... we read and write A TON... I'm so tired... It's so hard..." Every PhD student goes through the same rigorous process, so fellow PhD students unite!

But here's a glimpse of how much writing a PhD student of history does for their dissertation alone:

Source: http://beckmw.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/how-long-is-the-average-dissertation/

Yes, that's right, history tops the list. And according to one colleague, that doesn't even include the index and gazillion pages of bibliography (how do people even read this much?!). It also doesn't include the pages and pages of writing for semester/ term papers. No wonder historians churn out books that are at least 200 pages in length- they're trained to do so in graduate school!

And this is only the writing part. Who knows how the graph will be if we measured how much reading PhD students do? I bet history will be somewhere at the top of the list too.

You may go, "Well, of course, duh, isn't that what historians like to do all day? Read and write? So stop complaining because you get funded to do what you like to do all day." Or you may say, "History writing requires that many pages in order to make a convincing case."

Yes and no.
Yes, I love to read, but no, I don't really like write. (Other historians may be the reverse from me, or they may like reading and writing.)
Yes, I get funded, but no, it's not a lot of money and it's not a stable income.
Yes, some histories need that many pages to make a convincing case, but no, I don't think every book needs to be that long. Some history books drag on (500+ pages...*bang head against wall*), and sometimes I wonder if historians produce such lengthy works simply because "the system" requires it. What if the system required historians to only write 100-page books? Or the system was based on churning out articles rather than books? Is it possible? Sure, but the current system isn't like that, so we either conform or get out.

Such is the life of a History doctoral student. *sigh*

My 0.2 Seconds of Fame

Everyone, this post is going to be about Me, Myself and I. Not that other posts aren't any less about me, but this post is going to be extra narcissistic.

You have been warned.

I came home on Friday to see a box from Deseret Book Publications lying at my doorstep. I had been expecting this package for a looooong time but didn't know exactly when it was going to arrive, so I was super super super excited to finally receive it.

I opened the package and pulled this out:

Love the beautiful blue jacket cover!

This is volume 3 of an ongoing series (7 volumes in total) called Women of Faith in the Latter Days, which you can find more information about at THIS LINK. One of the editors, Brittany Chapman, is a good friend of mine and who is also one of the loveliest and even-tempered people I know.

Each volume consists of biographical chapters of about 25 Latter-day Saint (Mormon) women born within a certain time frame of 25 years (e.g. volume 3 is about women between 1846 to 1870). Every chapter consists of a one-page biographical sketch, and nine to eleven pages of these women's writings culled from journals/ diaries, newspapers, magazines, interviews, etc.

I excitedly flipped open the book and saw this:

Do you see it?! Here is the page zoomed in at a particular section...

Now do you see it?!?!?!?!

Yup, my chapter on President George Albert Smith's wife, Lucy, has been published! And the ebook version has another chapter on a well-known writer, Louisa Lula Greene Richards, that I contributed as well but that didn't make it into the hardcover version. Deseret Book told me it's because they wanted to keep cost low to boost sale prices, so some chapters were taken out. Sad, but that's reality. 

What's sadder is that Deseret Book hasn't sent my copy of the ebook yet, so even I have not read that chapter. Waiting in anticipation... 

But at least I have the hard copy- HOORAY! 

I specifically asked that Deseret Book use this picture of Lucy. When I received the manual on Pres. Smith, I opened the book to read his biography, and I literally gasped when I saw a picture of his wife, Lucy. She has such a serene gaze with her striking, clear eyes, plus she's beautiful. I'm glad that this very picture even made it to the front cover of the book! Moral of the story: Read the biographies in the front of the manual- it's really interesting, especially the parts about courtship and marriage(s). Or maybe it's just because I'm a romantic at heart. 

Anyway, Lucy's chapter is essentially about her love story with her husband. I included a letter she wrote to him while they were courting, and excerpts from her mission to the Southern States with her husband from 1892-4. Her writings are tender, romantic and full of faith. I enjoyed writing her chapter, and hope readers enjoy getting to know her better. 

And that, my dear readers, is my 0.2 seconds of fame. Please let me soak it in before I return to reality.

Hope everyone had a great Conference weekend :)