Journal

December 25, 2022

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates! This December feels colder than the one last year.

November 28, 2022

Song stuck in my head: "Plastic Hearts" by Miley Cyrus

We now have four copies of The Book of Mormon thanks to the missionaries who visited last Friday. Had they been Americans, I would've wanted to ask a lot of questions about Utah—Salt Lake City as a center of human genetics research, Brigham Young University's ballroom dance team, this film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, or the state setting baby name trends, among others. But instead, we got two compatriots, albeit from different parts of the country. They were nice, though. My brother was impressed that two guys his age were traveling by themselves without social media (save for Messenger access once a week to contact their families on a shared phone) and sharing their faith in a calm, cheerful manner despite being rejected before. I found that impressive, too—it's hard and not something I would've done—but I was more amazed that they could hand out free copies of leather-bound books (soft covers, but still leather) printed on nice paper. How high is their publishing budget?

That Friday was also memorable because a stray cat gave birth in our yard that morning and left her only kitten on our doorstep. Unfortunately, the rest of the household didn't know that cow's milk could make cats sick, and I was unable to warn them because (1) I didn't wake up until my brother had already fed it and (2) I thought kitten milk replacer might be too expensive and goodness knows we have enough expenses. So the poor thing died the next day. Yes, I'm aware that newborn kittens are weak and helpless—fancy not being able to poop when mother's not around to help you—but its death made me sad. I was really looking forward to having a cat, but perhaps now is not the time.

Anyway...back to the Mormons. I went to YouTube so I could listen to some songs from the musical and ended up watching this. It's almost five hours long. I haven't finished the whole thing, but whether or not the doctrines are true, I think it's funny how The Book of Mormon keeps the sibling rivalry theme (specifically, the "younger son wins" theme) of the Old Testament:

• Lehi and his wife Sariah have four sons: Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. One day, Lehi gets a message from the Lord telling him to prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its inhabitants to Babylon. Of course, the people mock him, with some throwing rocks and wanting to kill him. The Lord then tells Lehi to go to the wilderness with his family. Laman, the eldest son, thinks his dad has gone crazy, while Nephi, the youngest, trusts in his dad and the Lord. You can tell where this is going.
• Once in the wilderness, Lehi tells his sons to go back to Jerusalem and get the family genealogical records from the house of a guy named Laban. The sons do so. Laman goes to Laban's house first, but the latter drives him away. Next, the sons get the gold and silver from their old house and bring it to Laban, hoping that he will give them the records in exchange. Laban appreciates the precious metal, yes, but he drives the sons away just the same, falsely accusing them of being thieves. Once they have run away, Laman blames Nephi and the two older brothers beat up the younger ones, but an angel stops them, saying that the Lord has delivered Laban into Nephi's hands and that Nephi will be leader over his brothers (1 Nephi 3:29). Sure enough, the sons try once more. Nephi finds an unconscious Laban, kills him after some hesitation, puts on the dead guy's clothes, and talks Laban's servant into handing over the records, which are written on brass plates. The plan succeeds and the brothers go back to the wilderness with the servant.
• The brothers go to the house of Ishmael (not the same Ishmael who was Isaac's stepbrother, though I assumed it was him at first) and request that their families "be united" (in other words, they sought to marry his daughters). Ishmael agrees and his whole family joins Lehi's in the wilderness. After some time, Laman and the others complain about their parents being fools for leaving the city of their inheritance. When Nephi objects, the others beat him, tie him up, and leave him, hoping that he'll be devoured by wild beasts. Instead, Nephi prays to be freed from his bonds, and joins the others after succeeding, thus shocking them.
• Lehi claims to be a descendant of Joseph...history repeats itself?

Finally, some good news to wrap this up: I got a perfect score on a homework assignment. Stumped as to why I kept answering the first question wrong despite my efforts, I wrote my last answer a few minutes before the deadline and hoped for the best. I got what I hoped for. Praise be.