Great News!

I just found out that I've been accepted to law school at St. Mary's in San Antonio, TX!! This is after receiving two rejection letters (a rude one from UC Davis and a polite one from Hastings). I still have several schools left that I haven't heard from, but it's such a relief that, regardless of what happens with the other schools, I'm going somewhere. When I found out, I cried. I'm not usually a crier, but I was just so overcome with relief and gratitude. I'm going to get it right this time around. I'm a little nervous about the possibility of picking up and leaving the Bay Area for Texas. I'll be flying out next week to check out the area; the only time I've been to Texas was a layover at the Dallas airport coming home from my mission.

The Sisterhood of the Slacks

This won't be a post about the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, although I did enjoy it. Over at Adventures in Mormonism, bfwebster posted about The Brotherhood of the Beard, talking about what it's like at church being a man with a beard. This got me thinking about what it's like at church being a woman in slacks.

I've never really cared for wearing skirts. I've always found them to be more trouble than they're worth, and they tend to get in the way. However, every Sunday I dutifully put on a skirt for church. I discovered dress slacks when I entered the workforce at age 18. I noticed that I was one of the only women wearing a skirt, and I decided that since everyone else was wearing pants, I could, too. I still dutifully put my skirt on for church, though.

Shortly after I discovered slacks, my stake had a women's conference on a Saturday afternoon. It was being held in the chapel, so I decided that jeans weren't proper. I threw on slacks and a sweater and off I went. There were a few hundred people there, and only about 10 of us were wearing pants. None of us were struck by lightning.

My mission (southern US) was a real eye-opener as to how much of a cultural rebel this makes me. In most of my areas, I was on bicycle. It's extremely difficult to ride a bike in a skirt. I mentioned to a few other people that it would be safer, more practical, and more modest if sisters on bikes could wear slacks. They all acted as if that suggestion was one step away from apostasy or something. There was a woman in my last area who regularly wore slacks to church. The RS president told me that she wanted to call her to a position in RS, but was hesitant because she thought that wearing slacks was setting a bad example. (Lest you think that this is merely a southern attitude, the RS pres in question had moved there recently from the SF Bay Area - my home.)

I have only gotten up the nerve to wear slacks to sacrament meeting once (while I was traveling), but I wear slacks to stake and general conference and to non-Sunday meetings more often than not. In my ward, there is one woman who wears slacks to church regularly, and there are several in the branch that shares the building with my ward. The woman in my ward is a bit defensive about it (she has some medical reason for it), which leads me to believe that she has experienced either overt or covert hassling for it.

The anti-slacks rhetoric has always confused me. A woman is much more dressed up in a smart pantsuit or slacks and sweater set than someone in a denim skirt with a babydoll tee. Yet the latter outfit is par for the course at church, especially among teenagers and young adults.

I live in a very culturally diverse area - there are people from all over the world here in Fremont. Someone was talking about pants at church, and her opinion was that the only time it was ok was for women from India to wear their pants/tunic outfit (the name escapes me at the moment) because it's dressy and part of their culture. I didn't say anything at the time because it was clear that this was a rant and not a discussion.

My culture (western US, CA specifically) also says it's dressy and appropriate for women to wear pants. Why can't that be respected?

Things My Cat Taught Me About God

I've had a soft spot for animals ever since I was a kid. When I was three, I convinced my mom, against her better judgment, to adopt a stray cat that was mewing at our door for food. We kept the cat until we moved to California. I wanted to get another cat, but my parents wouldn't let me. They said that when I got my own place, I could get any pet my landlord would allow, but as long as I lived at their house, no animals.

Well, I got my own place a few years ago. I had a roommate who loved dogs but hated cats. I love cats, but I'm not too crazy about dogs, so we agreed not to have pets. She moved a year later and I found a new roommate. My current roommate has a cat, so for a while, my desire for a pet was taken care of. Then, over the summer, a stray cat showed up on my doorstep mewing for food. Of course, I had to feed her.

A funny thing happened. My cat was so excited about this newfound source of food that she went and rounded up all the neighborhood strays. I suddenly found myself feeding five cats (just counting the ones I know about) instead of the one I signed up for. This is the first lesson my cat taught me. She had found a good thing in her life - a benevolent being that provided her with her daily sustenance. Instead of keeping this to herself, she shared it and brought her friends so they could experience the same blessing.

Some of the strays were friendly, but most of them were afraid of humans. There was one particular kitten who would watch me fill the bowl, gingerly eat from it if I was far enough away, but would run if I tried to approach. It hurt my feelings that I was feeding this kitten, but he would run if I tried to have a relationship with him. I'm sure we similarly wound God's heart when we run from Him in fear, even knowing the good He does for us.

Last week, I finally convinced my roommate that bringing another cat into the apartment would be a good plan. My cat finally got to move in! I took her to the vet to get a checkup and to get her shots. When I put her in the carrier, she tried to scratch me. As I drove to the vet's office, she meowed loudly, voicing her clear displeasure at the situation. When we got there, she whimpered as she got her shots. When I brought her home, she ignored me the rest of the day because she was mad at me. This is the third lesson. Sometimes we have to go through painful things in life. It looks to us as if God is mistreating us. However, we lack the big picture, and we don't fully understand the reasons behind our suffering.

I'm sure my cat will continue to teach me important lessons. Do any of you have lessons or parables learned from your pets?

=^. .^=

A Time to Speak

While I was sitting in my institute class this evening, the prompting came to write this blog post. The topic of discussion for the day was on not judging and not spreading gossip. These are important topics, essential to the Christian life. However, I was disturbed at the turn that the lesson took.

The teacher spent a good portion of the lesson on how we shouldn't say bad things about someone even if those things are true. One guy in the class raised his hand and proposed an excellent hypothetical that bears discussion.

You know that someone "has a morality problem". [My classmate didn't elaborate. I'm assuming from the tenor of the discussion that what he meant to say was that the individual had pressured a woman he dated into breaking the law of chastity.] Your sister or friend starts dating him. Shouldn't you tell her what you know so that she can be aware and protect herself?

The teacher gave lip service to the notion that you should go by the Spirit in deciding what to say. However, she spent the next several minutes talking about how if we share negative information, even if it's true, that it paints a label on someone and prevents him or her from changing. While she didn't come right out and say it, the impression that I was left with was that making it easier for a sinner to avoid embarrassment in the repentance process (assuming they even choose to repent) outweighed protecting the innocent potential victims. I'm sure that isn't what she meant, but it disturbed me nonetheless.

I had an experience on my mission where I had an emotionally and verbally abusive companion. At first, I was reluctant to bring it to the attention of my leaders, because I had had it drilled into me in missionary prep and in the MTC that there's a reason for every companion, you shouldn't complain about them, and if you're having trouble, you should just pray for more charity. I let this go on for several weeks before I told my mission president. He transfered me right away and my companion was sent home a few weeks later.

Part of me I guess believed that since mission presidents are inspired in the setting of companionships, that they know everything there is to know about a situation. Several months later, I was discussing the situation again with my mission president (because I was still distressed over it), and he told me that if he had known what was going on sooner, he would have transferred me immediately. I realized that if we don't volunteer the information we have, then people with the power to do something won't be aware that something needs doing.

I highly doubt that I was this companion's first victim. If one of them had spoken out, I might have been spared the pain I went through. I believe that by speaking out, I spared someone else down the line.

One scripture that speaks to this topic is found in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven...A time to keep silence and a time to speak." When deciding whether to share negative but true information, I think there are some factors that need to be considered.

First, why are you sharing it? If it's to protect someone, that is fine. If it's because you enjoy passing along juicy tidbits, that's not fine.
Second, who are you sharing it with? Are you telling everyone, or just the people who need to know?
Third, are you violating any confidences by sharing the information? This can get problematic, for example if a lawyer learns something from a client, or the bishop hears something in confession.

If you can pass this test, then it sounds like it's a time to speak. Even Jesus, the perfect embodiment of charity, had some not so positive things to say about some people who were behaving harmfully. He was motivated by love and concern, both for the sinners and the victims. We should feel confident in following His example.

Around the Bloggernacle - Volume 2

I've been busy lately between job hunting and filling out another round of law school applications (more on that later), and so I haven't taken the time to write a blog post in a while. Here's a list of some of the posts on other blogs that have caught my attention lately.

Beginnings New has a post on the YW Lesson 3-8 "Eternal Families" that provides a fresh perspective on how sensitive an issue this can be for youth from part-member or less-active families.

Times and Seasons has a post about Nate Oman's recently written paper about LDS church courts in the 19th century.

By Common Consent has a post about experiences singing solos in church. I posted a comment on one of my more spiritual singing experiences. I have several funnier or more embarrassing experiences as well that I didn't post in the comments, due to length. So, here's my most embarrassing:

• When I was on my mission (why is it that so many good church related stories start like that?), the day of the ward Christmas party, the ward mission leader called me in a panic. The soprano soloist for the party had a last-minute emergency and had to back out. He remembered me mentioning that I sang in the opera in college, and he implored me to fill in that evening. I had a really bad cold and could barely talk, but I said yes anyway. My companion and I headed over to the church so that I could practice. I was supposed to sing The First Noel, and since I couldn't get an accompanist last-minute, I needed to sing a capella. While rehearsing, I was able to sing just fine, as if the cold was gone. When the time came for me to sing, I got through the first half with no problem. Something happened in the middle, and my voice went all haywire. I finished the song, but it wasn't pretty. I sat down, embarrassed, hoping that by the end of the party, everyone would have forgotten. Afterward, the bishop's wife, who didn't know about my singing experience and training, patted me on the back and complimented me on my bravery for getting up in front of everyone to sing.
  

I hope you all are having a great week! Check back on Tuesday or Wednesday for a more substantive post. (Now that I've put it on the internet for all to see, I'm going to actually have to follow through and do it.)

Law School Applications- Round 2.0

On Friday, I sent in my first batch of law school applications for the fall semester. I had to cut the list down considerably because many of the schools were not even willing to consider someone who had previously attended law school. To make up for that, I'm going to probably apply to a few more schools as a backup later this week. I've already applied to 5 schools, and I'm going to shoot for 4-5 more to be on the safe side. I'm fighting an uphill battle here, but I'm confident that I'll get in somewhere.

The job search is going slowly, but I had an interview last week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll do a more spiritual post in a few days when I have some more time.

The Passing of President Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away in his home this evening. An official statement can be read here.

I'm not sure what to add. Several other blogs in the Bloggernacle are already discussing his passing. I was a new convert when President Hunter died, and I was also a teenager who didn't pay too much attention to current events. As a result, this will really be my first experience with prophetic succession.

There are two themes that stick out to me when I think about President Hinckley's ministry. First, he was a big promoter of extending the blessings of the temple to everyone. He embarked on a program of unprecedented temple building. I remember when the small temples were announced, and it's just amazing how fast things have happened. The second theme that sticks out to me is education. President Hinckley championed the Perpetual Education Fund, making it possible for many people in developing countries to gain the blessings of education. Additionally, he has been insistent that everyone should gain all the education that they can.

Godspeed, President Hinckley! May you rest in peace.

Around the Bloggernacle

I've had the flu this week, so I don't have the energy for a proper post. This is the first in a series called "Around the Bloggernacle". I'll link to posts I've found interesting recently.

First, Exponent II has a great post on seasonal depression, entitled S.A.D.ness 2008.
Times and Seasons has a post on Lesson 1 in the Joseph Smith manual, entitled Teaching the very familiar.
The Waters of Mormon has a post, called On Eating Meat, that started out being about reducing meat consumption, and the comments have turned toward vegetarianism.
And, on the lighter side, By Common Consent has a post calling for limericks.

Have a great week!

New LDS Blogs

Dave, over at Dave's Mormon Inquiry, has posted a list of newer LDS blogs. I'm excited that The Posts of My House has made the list. Thank you to all of my current readers, and welcome to all of you who click on over from there.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! This post is a few days later than I had planned, but here goes. At this time of year, many people make resolutions for self-improvement. I usually make two or three, which I manage to keep for about a month in a good year. I was a bit more ambitious this year, and I made eight resolutions for ’08.

There are not many scriptures that focus on the childhood and youth of Jesus Christ, but there is a great one in the book of Luke that I find instructive at this time of year. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) It shows four distinct areas in which He developed. Since Christ is our example and we are to strive to be like Him, I have chosen this scripture as the framework for my resolutions this year. I have grouped them into four categories.

I. Wisdom- I have defined this broadly to include not only wisdom itself, but all pursuits of the mind. I have three goals in this category.
1. I resolve to return to law school in the fall. When I first wrote this goal, I made it considerably squishier, something like "I resolve to do what I can to return to law school in the fall," but I decided that I was through with being squishy on this one. I recognize that there are parts of this resolution that are out of my control, but I'm going to exercise faith on this one. I firmly believe that I am on the right career path, so I'm going to do my part and let the Lord do His.
2. I resolve to read at least one book per month. It has been a long time since I have taken the time to read a book for fun, as opposed to for a class. I've enjoyed some of the books I've read for class, but there's something different about picking up a book to read simply because I want to. I do a considerable amount of reading for pleasure anyway, between blogs and news articles and other stuff online, but I can't help but feel that I've been missing something by not reading books.
I've already completed January's installment of this resolution. Just yesterday, I finished reading My Grandfather's Son, the autobiography of Clarence Thomas. I found all the hardships he had to overcome to get where he is to be inspiring. My law school woes don't seem so bad anymore. Regardless of what you think of his court opinions, I recommend the book highly.
3. I resolve to write at least one blog entry per week. Well, I've managed it for this week. You'll all know whether or not I end up keeping this one.

II. Stature- I can't do anything about actually increasing my stature; I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I've reached my full, impressive height of 5'4". I'm using this to refer to physical goals. I only have one in this category.
1. I resolve to exercise for 20 minutes per day, six days per week. I have made more ambitious goals about exercise in years past, but I keep breaking them, so I decided to set one I might keep. I've already broken this, so I've decided that it starts tomorrow, the first full week of the year. I used to be in really good shape- I was on the swim team in high school and in the ROTC in college. On and after my mission, I got out of the habit of exercise, and it's really hard to get back in. I'm not overweight, so when I mention to people that I need to start working out again, they are dismissive. I'm not doing it for weight, I'm doing it for health. I feel better when I exercise. Also, heart disease runs in my family, and I want to do everything I can to spare myself from it.

III. Favor with God- This one seems fairly straightforward. I'm using this for goals related to my spiritual life. I have two in this category.
1. I resolve to meditate for 20 minutes per day. The meditation that I do/have done in the past isn't really like a lot of Eastern meditation of which I'm aware. I took a meditation class in college, and it was taught by a Jesuit priest. I found the class to be extremely valuable. We met each morning and meditated as a group. My mind tends to race and I'm often easily distracted. I used the meditation time to just let my mind run with whatever was concerning me, and I found that by just sitting quietly and thinking, I was able to identify and solve my problems. I slept better and had better communion with the Holy Spirit. I've fallen out of this habit and I want to get back into it.
2. I resolve to have at least 20 minutes of quality gospel study each day. In years past, I've set goals to read the standard works during the year. Those goals have been valuable, but I feel that I have sacrificed quality for quantity. This year, I have no set program. I will study what needs to be studied at a given time. I'm hoping that by freeing myself from a schedule, I'll get more out of it.

IV. Favor with man- I've made this a broad category that includes social and financial. I have two goals in this category.
1. I resolve to go on at least three social outings per month. I've kind of let my social life stagnate, and I really need to get out more. I'm defining social outing broadly. It isn't just dates, although a date would certainly qualify.
2. I resolve to find a job in the legal field that will be sufficient to pay my bills. My current job is in the medical/social services field, and it is sucking me dry emotionally. It also doesn't pay me enough to avoid the ugly trap of credit card debt. (And I don't live extravagantly, either.) I have a recruiter helping me out. I'm looking for a paralegal position somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. I know the jobs are out there, I just need to find one.

I love the start of a new year because it gives me an extra incentive to start fresh and improve myself. What are some of your resolutions? Do you find yourself making the same ones over and over again, or do you make different ones each year?