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The most important, most overlooked, most easy and most superlative tool in scripture study: Part 3 (updated)

Aug 17th, 2011 by benspackman

(This likely represents my last post here.)

Update- some of the text of this long post disappeared when I first posted it, but it’s been reinserted and set off.

Part 1 of the series and Part 2

My note-taking mechanism consist of two things*:  Evernote and  a pocket notebook. I’ll explain what they are, and how I use them to keep track of all my Church and scripture notes.


Evernote is a free very easy note-taking program. I haven’t used Evernote competitors like MS Onenote,  Simplenote, or Notational Velocity, but since Evernote does some things I really like without problems, Evernote will continue to be where all my notes get stored.

Why? Continue Reading »

Posted in Scripture, Study | 13 Comments »

Marketing to the faithful

Jun 10th, 2011 by emilyu

Last night I read to my son from an illustrated book called New Testament Stories. The book fell open to the story of Jesus cleansing the temple, and my impulse was to skip over it to avoid having to explain the image of Jesus using a whip. But my son wanted to hear the story, so I relented. I told him the basic outline of the story and conveyed the message that temples and the churches are houses of God, places where the Holy Ghost can be. That makes them special, and we don’t do everyday things in them like buy stuff. I hope it was a good enough explanation for a 4 year old.

However, I didn’t talk to him about another facet of the story, which is the morality of making money in the context of worshiping God. In the story of Jesus cleansing the temple, sellers were exploiting the fact that temple worshipers needed an animal to sacrifice, setting up shop right there in the temple and probably overcharging people the same way movie theaters and airports have rip-off concessions. Jesus called it a den of thieves. Continue Reading »

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

The most important, most overlooked, most easy and most superlative tool in scripture study: Part 2

May 26th, 2011 by benspackman

(Part 1) I have my functional stylish desk, sharpened pencils, scriptures and a clean slate…. and there it sits, stubbornly remaining that way… blank.

Many people just don’t know what to write in their notes, which often means that they haven’t really crossed the line from scripture reading into scripture study. (The problem with scripture study is you can often barely get through a verse without running down all kinds of interesting rabbit trails, questions, etc.) Continue Reading »

Posted in Study, teaching | 3 Comments »

The most important, most overlooked, most easy and most superlative tool in scripture study: Part 1

May 22nd, 2011 by benspackman

It’s happened to you before. Lots, actually. You’re reading the scriptures, and say “hey, I read something about this that was cool/insightful/important! I wish I’d written it down, because I can’t really remember it.”

Or you’re on a blog, trying to recall that perfectly a propos statement you’ve read, but you can’t even remember when you read it or what the title was, or even if it was print vs. electronic and googling is no help at all.

Or you made some notes somewhere on a lesson you had to teach three years ago, and now suddenly you’re teaching it again and really wish you could remember what brilliant things you’d said.

Each of these benefits from some kind of system of note taking. Note-taking is the best long-term tool in your scripture study, general reading, and all-around pedantry/absent-mindedness. I think note-taking is far more important and productive than scripture-marking, but I don’t believe it’s a skill taught in Seminary and I’m not aware of any good anecdotes or GA’s authoritatively booming “thou shalt take notes!” (The Teaching:No Greater Call manual does mention it briefly.)

I’m going to focus on note-taking and the scriptures in these first two posts, and expand a bit in the third.

Why take notes on the scriptures?

  1. To build. Every time you read, you should have some kind of thoughts. If not, you’re not really paying attention. If you write down your thoughts and other things, the next time you return to the passage, you’re not starting from zero again, because you’re recorded your previous interactions with that passage. Otherwise, whatever epiphanies, aha moments, spiritual morsels, or revelatory insights you have… are gone the next time. If you don’t write it down, it never happened.
  2. To remind and remember. In particular, spiritual experiences and thoughts seem much more resistant to memory than more tangible experiences or knowledge. If they’re connected with your scripture study, write them down to be reminded of them.  I also have in my notes historical experiences connected with passages, like “I visited Nazareth on 3-15-99.” I sometimes date my notes, and as time passes that lets me see my own progression (or retrogression) in various ways. I’ve sometimes gone back and written responses to myself a few years later.
  3. To interact and enhance. Taking notes of various kinds (coming in part 2) requires more thinking and interaction with the scriptures, which helps use different parts of your brain, involving us more  and cementing those scriptures, thoughts and experiences deeper. This results in richer, more effective and more rewarding scripture study.

Part 2 addresses “what do I write?” And part 3 will cover various tools and ideas for keeping track of notes.

Posted in Study, teaching | 3 Comments »

Quotes of Note- Joseph Smith on Easter and Mormonism

Apr 24th, 2011 by benspackman

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” -Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 121

(I usually post a picture of the person quoted, but today thought in more appropriate to picture the subject of the post.)

Posted in Quotes of Note, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Quotes of Note: Elder Maxwell on Increasing Faith

Apr 19th, 2011 by benspackman

I miss Elder Maxwell…

There are other things we can do daily to bolster the faith of others as well as our own. Peter prescribed: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

The word answer here means a verbal defense or a reason statement. The very act of so giving our witness will help not only others but also ourselves. As Brigham Young said, we will grow in the knowledge of the truth as we “impart knowledge to others,” by means of which we “will also grow and increase.” Hence, President Young continued, “Wherever you see an opportunity to do good, do it, for that is the way to increase and grow in the knowledge of the truth.” If, instead, we are reluctant to do good, we “will become contracted” in our views and feelings.

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Lord, Increase Our Faith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1994), 113-114.

Elder Maxwell, I think, knew that the word was Gr. apologia, whence we get “apology.” But instead of “being sorry,” it meant “the defense of a position, answer back, reply.” I might paraphras as “Be prepared to explain the reasons for your faith,” which for me lies in the same ballpark as the idea kicked around the Naccle of inoculation (see here by DMI Dave, or here by me) or put more scripturally, “preparing [our] minds to be faithful to the Lord their God.” (Alma 48:7)

Posted in Quotes of Note | No Comments »

President Lee on your Seminary Teacher’s Uncle’s Friend whose Daughter Married a Guy who Ran Into President Hunter and the Three Nephites in an Elevator

Apr 7th, 2011 by benspackman

In context of rumors, random stories, space doctrine, and basically the kind of thing missionaries pass around without any kind of substantiated provenance, President Lee said,
“…it never ceases to amaze me how gullible some of our Church members are…”

— President Harold B. Lee, “Admonitions for the Priesthood of God”, Ensign, Jan 1973

Posted in Quotes of Note | 6 Comments »

As an eagle gathereth her eaglets

Apr 5th, 2011 by emilyu

I spent some time today watching live feed of a pair of eagles caring for their hatchlings in a large cottonwood tree in Iowa. One egg hatched on April 2, a second on April 3, and the third will hatch within a couple of days. You can catch the 24 hour feed here. It was remarkable to watch them – especially around 5 pm central time when one was feeding the hatchlings a fish. The female and male take turns sitting in the nest while the other hunts for food – and the nest is fit for a noble bird. It’s 5-6 feet in diameter and weighs a ton and a half! Watching them feed was interesting, but mostly all they do is groom the nest, occastionally shift their weight, adjust their feathers, and patiently sit, warming their young.

One thing that struck me is how powerful they look – large birds of prey with sharp eyes, a beak for tearing flesh, and large talons. Yet they’re nurturing, carefully and patiently providing their precious offspring – the only three they’ll have this year – with everything they need to get started in life. It made me think of the metaphors Christ uses in the scriptures to liken his care for us to a nurturing mother:

“How oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.” (3 Nephi 10:4)

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” (Isaiah 49:15)

These are tender, even intimate images Jesus chooses to represent the care he has for us. But I very seldom feel that his care is so available and eagerly offered. I wonder why? What can I do to let Christ nurture me? How can he nurture me? These are questions I’ll try to ponder as we approach Easter and see the earth shake off winter and her creatures nurture their little ones.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Is Strong AI Possible? Mormonism Says No.

Mar 31st, 2011 by emilyu

Last month the artificial intelligence computer system “Watson” beat the two biggest winners ever on Jeopardy!. Watson is a kind of specific artificial intelligence – it’s programmed to do something very specific, which is to answer questions for Jeopardy!. As David Ferrucci, lead researcher of the IBM team that created Watson said, it can only respond to content it’s been given and analyzed; it understands language “only in a way we call statistical machine learning. It gives you the answer that makes sense to you, but it doesn’t mean anything to the computer.” [1] It can’t make a joke or do it’s own interview.

Computers excel at many tasks where human intelligence fails. And they’re getting faster and faster. But when it comes to basics of human abilities, such as “spatial orientation, object recognition, natural language, and adaptive goal-setting,” humans still win hands down.[2] Strong AI, or artificial general intelligence doesn’t exist. But some people think it will, and sooner than you might think.

Technological savant Raymond Kurzweil believes that because computers are getting faster and an ever increasing rate, that this exponential growth will eventually result in humans creating artificial intelligence that is smarter than they are. He estimates this will happen by 2045. It sounds like science fiction, and in fact this scenario is precisely what the very excellent TV series Battlestar Galactica was based on. His critics say that he underestimates the complexity of the human brain. Says biologist Dennis Bray, “Although biological components act in ways that are comparable to those in electronic circuits, they are set apart by the huge number of different states they can adopt.” He says chemical modifications on top of modifications which spread out in multiple directions result in a “combinatorial explosion of states endow[ing] living systems with an almost infinite capacity to store information.” [3] As someone trained in biology I’d have to say the argument based on the power of exponential growth falls apart for me because while living systems do experience exponential growth, this growth is always a phase, not a continual state of being. The growth curve of bacteria in culture looks more like a stretched-out letter S than a letter J. Our computing power is growing exponentially, but does that necessarily mean it always will?

An article on AI in the March issue of The Atlantic points to human adaptability as a reason artificial intelligence will never beat natural intelligence. People assume that human intelligence is static, while artificial intelligence can evolve rapidly. In the Turing test computers compete against humans to try to fool judges into thinking they are actually human. If more than 30% of the judges believe a computer is a human being, the computer wins. So far no computer has done it, but they’re getting close. Eventually, a computer is probably going to beat the Turning test. But does that mean humans are beat forever? The Atlantic article points out that after IBM computer Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov at chess in 1997, Kasparov wanted a rematch, but IBM dismantled the computer and it never played again. Once beat, Kasparov was ready to re-tool and go for it again. I’ll bet he could have won, because he’d be able to adapt to the nature of his opponent more quickly than Deep Blue could.

Regardless of the physiological and philosophical arguments about whether strong AI is possible, I think Mormon theology says it’s not. For one thing, Doctrine & Covenants 93:29 says that intelligence is like matter and energy – it can’t be created or made. And the Book of Abraham says that intelligences existed before any physical parts of our nature. The scriptures are no doubt using the word intelligence in a different way than our everyday usage, referring to something spiritual in nature rather than just IQ. But it’s the spiritual intelligence that makes us unique as humans, I think. Could a computer ever feel the Holy Spirit? Would it ever yearn to commune with God? To create? Could it yearn for anything at all? As humans, we don’t just think, we also feel. It seems to me that if an AI system can’t do those things, it’s lacking in a significant aspect of human intelligence.

What do you think? Is the Battlestar Galactica scenario possible? Or can no one create general/natural intelligence?

1. “10 Questions” Time, March 7, 2011, pg 104.
2. “Artificial Intelligence? Why Machines Will Never Beat the Human Mind” by Brian Christen. The Atlantic, March 2011, pg 68.
3. “2045 The Year Man Becomes Immortal” by Lev Grossman. Time, February 21, 2011, pg 48.

Posted in Speculation | 6 Comments »

Quotes of Note- The FP and President Clark on Assertion vs. Revelation

Mar 28th, 2011 by benspackman

I’ll admit upfront that there’s more than one way to read this.

Dogmatic assertions do not take the place of revelation, and we should be satisfied with that which is accepted as doctrine, and not discuss matters that, after all disputes, are merely matters of theory. Your brethren, (Signed) JOSEPH F. SMITH, ANTHON H. LUND, CHARLES W. PENROSE.

-James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 6 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75], 4:264-65.

At first read, I take it to mean that in absence of clear revelation, doctrine cannot be established through dogmatic repetition or assertion, regardless of who is doing it. However logical the assertion may seem, one must wait for revelation. In that light, a letter (apparently never sent) from President Reuben J. Clark to Elder Joseph Fielding Smith seems relevant. They had a bit of an argument over things like the creation and age of the earth. Clark responded to Smith thus.

You [Smith] seem to think I [Clark] reject the scriptures, or some of them. I do not intend to do so, but obviously I am no more bound by your interpretation of them than you are by mine….Now, as to what the earlier brethren have said–where they have declared themselves as speaking under inspiration and by the authority of the Lord, I bow to what they say. But where they express views based on their own understanding and interpretation, then none of us are foreclosed from exercising our own reasoning powers, inadequate though they may be; but the earlier views do not foreclose us from thinking. This is particularly true, where we come to interpreting their interpretations.

-D. Michael Quinn, J. Reuben Clark- the Church Years (BYU Press, 1983):167-168. That whole chapter of the bio, on Clark’s views on faith, reason and intellect is fascinating, worth reading, and available online.

Discuss.

Posted in Quotes of Note | 5 Comments »

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