The Sacrament of Studies

My father shared a wonderful article with me, from the most recent copy of Brigham Young University's Humanities magazine. In his introductory message he shares a profound message about the role of study and education in bring us closer to God.

The PDF of the magazine is found at this link:

http://issuu.com/byuhumanities/docs/fall4014_final_pdf?e=12728246/10121556

Among his ideas is that we should decide what we take with us from our studies- not everything is of equal worth. Interestingly, being more attentive and excellent in our studies makes us more focused and attentive in prayer. It does this because difficult and focused study develops faculties that can help us focus on holy things, if we choose to.

He also mentioned the mission of BYU, which makes it uncommon, even unique, among large universities:

...to assist individuals in their quest for perfection for eternal life.

I am very thankful that my faith in God was strengthened during my time at BYU. I do believe that excellence in vocation can lead to excellence in worship, and vice versa, because the abilities required for each are so complimentary. I am often struck by people whose temporal accomplishment is as impressive as their attention to worship. And I don't mean wealth or income, which is not directly related to spiritual attentiveness.

I think his thoughts are very interesting, and worth your time.

Getting His Money's Worth

I love this story. A University of Colorado student decided to pay his tuition in $1 bills, as a protest against rising tuition.

Sure beats getting into fights with the cops.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Bush: Economic Legacy

I think this is a great editorial from the Wall Street Journal. It attempts to explain the real way that Bush's economic policies have contributed to what's happened in our economy over the last 8 years, the good and the bad.

Crossing the Divide

Among the various unheralded accomplishments of the Bush administration has been the service of Dana Gioia, the head of the National Endowment for the Arts. Certainly this is due to his own personality, but his tenure has been demonstrative of how at least one official was well-selected.

Read this National Review piece for more.

College Shmollege

I thought this article favoring the demolition of our current higher education system was fantastic. An excerpt:

The solution is not better degrees, but no degrees. Young people entering the job market should have a known, trusted measure of their qualifications they can carry into job interviews. That measure should express what they know, not where they learned it or how long it took them. They need a certification, not a degree.

Follow the link for more.