The Old Testament

I went to an Institute class this morning that was fantastic. It's a class on the second half of the Old Testament, which is perfect for me, because I'm to Proverbs and one of my 2009 goals is to finish the Old Testament. The class started at 8:35 am (and like seriously, the Old Testament), so I knew it would be a small class, except that, oh wait, it was actually two classrooms big. There were a bunch of people! And I'm sure some people are ambitious and go to the first class and stop coming partway through the semester, but still!

Turns out, it's basically because the teacher is amazing.

He was telling us, you go to the Old Testament for a first person account of the Atonement. He said that next to the book of Luke, the Old Testament is the best place to go to get to know Christ. Mostly the second half of Isaiah, and the stuff David wrote. I thought this was kind of interesting, because I always just sort of assumed that the Book of Mormon would be the second best. Or like, Matthew would be, or something. But as we were talking about it, I could see what he meant.

We mostly talked about a few Psalms today. Psalms are not just a poetic part of the scriptures; they're basically the hymnbook of their world back then. It was the same as it is for us. When we're going through hard times, sometimes we sing hymns. The LDS pioneers sometimes sang "Come, Come Ye Saints" when things were rough. Just as we draw on hymns in times of trial, Christ quoted Psalm 22; "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,". But he wasn't just saying that line; he was quoting the first line of this song. And people back then would have known that he was quoting it.

So to know better how Christ was feeling, we can read the rest of the psalm. Instead of us looking up at the cross, like we are in the accounts in the gospels, reading this takes us right up onto the cross with him, because it's in first person.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn : they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

(Shoot out the lip = stick out their tongues. They're mocking him. Which, we knew.)

He told us the most poignant account of the crucifixion is Psalm 22. It's Messianic literature.

With Messianic literature, there are two ways of looking at it:

1. The writer saw Christ and was writing about it. (This is more true of Isaiah.)

2. David had experiences, and he had a deep heart and could express some of the deepest feelings of our hearts. (He compared this to Shakespeare, who can write from the perspective of Juliet, who is a teenager in love, and also from the perspective of King Lear, who is like, a bitter old man. And he writes the depth of emotions that all different kinds of people experience so well that his stuff stays around. Not very many people can express deep emotions so well, but Shakespeare was one who could, and so was David.) And David's writing is Messianic because Christ drew upon his words and said that's exactly how he felt.

So with Messianic literature it's partially people writing about Christ, and partially people expressing deep emotions so well that Christ quotes it later.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

These things are literal, and then verse 19:

19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

They can do all these things to me, but I can handle all that; but Lord, don't you leave me. These verses give us perspective into how Christ was feeling during the Atonement.

He said a bunch of other stuff, and gave other examples, but it's late and I'm tired, so I'll just share a couple more things from my notes.

Psalm 69.

9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Again, we're on the cross with Him, looking down, instead of being with the apostles, looking up.

He said we sometimes talk about "the cup of trembling" or the "bitter cup" when we're talking about the Atonement, and he said that the two go together. When we drink vinegar, we don't just say "ew", and he made a face as though he'd tasted something bitter, and when people taste bitter things, their faces pucker and crinkle up--bitterness causes trembling. (He told us, "You go home tonight and drink a cup of vinegar and you'll understand the image very well.")

And then just one last thing he talked about; Psalm 107. He said sometimes Christ deliberately did things to fulfil prophecy. He would specifically duplicate the miracles of other prophets.

That was the way they did things back then. I wish I remember all of the examples he gave, but basically, like Moses parts the Sea, so other prophets parted other things. And that repetition happened a lot. It was part of assuming the mantle of a prophet. Or something like that.

And back in the day, because they did that, you couldn't say "Oh, I believe Abraham was a prophet, and Moses was, and I believe in Elijah, but I don't know about this Elisha..." because that would be gross hypocracy.

In Psalm 107, he showed us this:

23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

(He told us that the phrase "at their wits' end" came from that verse of the scriptures.)

I asked him if the apostles would have recognized that from the psalm when he calmed the storm. He told me they would have. He said they knew the Psalms really well, just like we would recognize stories from the Book of Mormon if we heard them.

Anyhow, it was a really good class. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester. I was telling my coworkers about it today, and my boss asked who was teaching it. I looked it up, and I told her. It's S. Michael Wilcox. I thought the name had sounded kinda familiar, but she knew who he was. Apparently he's also an author. He's written a bunch of books I've heard of. Deseret Book has like 15 of his books listed. Hm. Neat.

Institute Retreat - Successful Goal Setting

This was the second handout that we got at the time management workshop by Sister Smith.

Successful Goal Setting

Top Ten Reasons to Establish Written Goals for Your Life

10. Written goals strengthen your character by promoting long-term perspective.
9. Written goals allow you to lead your life as opposed to simply managing it.
8. Written goals provide internal and consistent motivation.
7. Written goals help you stay focused - to concentrate on what's most important.
6. Written goals enhance your decision-making ability.
5. Written goals simultaneously require and build self-confidence.
4. Written goals help you create the future in advance.
3. Written goals help you control changes, to adjust your sails, to work with the wind - rather than against it.
2. Written goals heighten your awareness of opportunities that are consistent with your goals.
1. The most important benefit of setting effective goals, is the person you become as a result of the pursuit.

7 Reasons People Don't Set Goals

1. They have not yet accepted personal responsibility for their lives.
2. They fear criticism.
3. They don't know how.
4. They don't realize the importance of goals.
5. The curse of early success.
6. Fear of failure.
7. Fear of success.

Highly Effective Goals Are:

1. Written.
2. Stated positively.
3. Time-Bound (I will...by Dec 31st, 2010).
4. Challenging and reasonable.
5. Consistent with your ambition and desires.
6. Specific and measurable.
7. Thoroughly planned.
8. Tracked. (Chart, graph, track online, fill in the bubble, calendar, etc.)
9. Performance goals, not outcome goals. (Base your goals on personal performance which you can control.)

The Goal Setting Workshop

Step 1: Brainstorm your dreams/Ideal lifestyle (no limitations, 50+ goals to cover next 25 years).
Step 2: Prioritize (choose 5 goals to focus on for the next year).
Step 3: Convince yourself (what are tangible/intangible rewards of accomplishing your goals?).
Step 4: Plan on paper (what has to happen for you to accomplish your goals...be specific).
Step 5: List available resources.
Step 6: List potential obstacles.
Step 7: Identify ways to overcome obstacles.

Tips for Success

1. Review your written goals regularly.
2. Get a mentor for important goals. (get direction, advice, ideas, motivation, etc.)
3. Be accountable to someone-- tell someone about your goal & deadlines.
4. Be balanced- set goals in several areas. (spiritual, physical, financial, career, family, recreation, travel, community service, education)
5. Create a "triumphs" journal. (create a list of things you have accomplished in the past)
6. "Visualize" your goal as already accomplished. (screen saver, pictures, goals book, etc.)

Resources:
"Success is Not an Accident" Tommy Newberry
"The Success Principles" Jack Canfield
www.joesgoals.com (website to track goals, habits, provides reports, etc.)
www.maintainfit.com (tracks running, swimming, hiking, biking, and walking)

Institute Committees Retreat - Time Management Workshop

This weekend I went on a retreat with all of the people who are on committees at the University of Utah Institute of Religion. It was a lot of fun. Saturday morning we had workshops, and one of them that I attended was on time management. (I can use all the help I can get!) We got a couple handouts that I thought other people might appreciate.

Time management

"You can't make more time--only better choices"

[Since it was it quotes, I wondered who said it. I looked it up online, and I think it's by Tommy Newberry, who wrote a book called Success is Not an Accident.]

Goals:

Minimize wasted time

Work smarter

Reduce stress

Experience peace

Vital Time: The quantity of time you invest in principle-based, goal-directed activities.

Vital Time Tactics

[She said a lot of these we may have heard before, but if we don't actually do them, then knowing them won't do us any good.]

1. Overcome procrastination

Procrastination, which is the delaying of higher priority tasks in favor of lower priority ones, is more responsible for frustration, stress, and underachievement than any other single factor.

[Am I a feeler or a doer? Be a doer! JUST GET STARTED. Try putting blocks of personal time into your schedule so that you're not tempted to do the stuff you want to at times when you really need to be doing something else.]

2. Organize your workspace
Most disorganization tends to come from indecision, not being able to decide if a piece of paper or some other information is important or not, and if it is, what to do with it.

3. Handle reading material effectively
When you are reading or reviewing correspondence, stand up. Your mind will stay more focused and alert and you'll get done much faster.

4. Handle everything once, and only once

Don't pick up the same task, the same piece of paper, or even the same phone call twice. Pick it up, take care of it, then bring it to a close and go onto the next one.

5. Delegate

Choose the best people. Knowing when to delegate, whom to delegate to, and how to delegate will come more naturally with continued practice. Delegating jobs that neither you nor anyone else wants to do [?] it's delegating, it's assigning.

6. Control your phone calls

Don't be a slave to the phone. Use it as a tool. Ignore it completely if you are involved in an important task. When you call somebody leave a call back time as well. [She suggested we turn our cellphones off sometimes. Like when we're working on a paper, or whatever. I guess studying at the library is a good idea, because I get no reception there. Not that I get a ton of phone calls anyway.]

7. Manage interruptions

Designate specific times for interruptions. Put a hotel "do not disturb" sign on your door, or move your work to a place where you won't be disrupted. [She said when we are interrupted while focusing on something, studies show that it takes 20 minutes to get back to being focused and totally productive. She said if you're interrupted 3 times during an hour...]

8. Batch similar tasks

Set aside certain days to do similar tasks such as work, homework, errands. Save errands and do them all at once, or in a specific area of town.

9. Block out chunks of time

The more important your work becomes the more important it becomes for you to develop blocks of time where you and work on serious projects without interruption. [She suggests we plan our week, and then also, even more importantly, plan your day the night before.]

10. Run masterful meetings

Know the purpose. Is the meeting absolutely necessary? Develop a written agenda. Prepare for the meeting. Lead the meeting effectively.

Use the extra time you've freed up to:

- Spend quality and quantity time with those you love
- Work on important goals and plans
- Simply rest, relax and rejuvenate

Schedule quiet, unbroken blocks of time.

Join the 5 o'clock club [She said they've studied this, and people who are up at 5 am accomplish more between then and 8 or 9 am than the people who get up at 8 or 9 am will accomplish in their entire day.] [These sorts of things always kind of make me wish that I didn't work nights, because what do I even compare that to?]

Block out 3-4 hours once a week.

Create places/spaces where you won't be interrupted.

Assignments:

1. Determine how much your time is currently worth. How much do you want it to be worth?

2. Make a list of your top 3 highest payback activities, both personally and professionally.

3. Keep a log of your time for the next 2 weeks (use 15 minute increments).

4. Brainstorm 20 ways you can specifically improve your personal time management.

"No matter who you are your progress and ultimate success in life will depend more on what you do with the 24 hours you're given each day than on any other single factor."

[This is also from Newberry. I checked.]

How to Study the Scriptures

This is a handout that we got in my Institute class yesterday. (It's Brother Brown's New Testament class at the U of U Institute of Religion.) His favorite ones have the numbers in bold. He said "If something else works for you, keep doing it and add it to the list. If it works, it's good."

HOW TO STUDY THE SCRIPTURES

1. Pray and ask for specific spiritual guidance.

2. Listen and be sensitive to spiritual promptings.

3. Limit the scripture block to just a few verses and don't be afraid to go slowly.

4. Have a good attitude. Approach the scripture block as if there was a special message from the Lord just for you and then study and ponder to find it.

5. Use the new LDS version of the scriptures and the study helps. [Note for readers who are not LDS: we use the King James Version of the Bible; we just have footnotes and a topical guide and index, etc.]

6. RSVP - Especially visualize. Let the words paint pictures and images in your mind. [ RSVP = Read, Study, Visualize, and Ponder]

7. Focus on: Words - look them up and read all definitions for context.
Phrases - ponder and try to understand meanings.
Lists - look for and number the lists you find.

8. Ask questions and study to find answers (who, what, how, why, when, and where).

9. Focus on principles and doctrines; if/then relationships.

10. Look for symbols and ponder the characteristics of the symbols used.

11. Thus/therefore relationships; connecting words.

12. Look for Christ in everything you read.

13. Use other scripture sources and the teachings of the living prophets to clarify.

14. Try to study at the same time and in the same place each day. Develop a habit of scripture study.

15. Look for themes and story lines. Note protagonists and antagonists and watch for comparisons.

16. Put yourself in the scripture and ask questions like: How would I feel? What would I do? etc.

17. Read out loud occasionally and write down what you discover.

18. Share what you discover. Mark and annotate your scriptures.

19. Study cultural applications.

20. Ponder and meditate about what you've read -- this is when the Spirit will guide you.