"...the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds." Doctrine and Covenants 88:90

May God open the windows of heaven upon the people of Japan.

One time in Alpine, Utah, I found the most amazing thing. And within the next moment, it got even more amazing.

I love the shells that you find on the beach here in Naples. There is so much beauty everywhere, but I just noticed a little while ago, you can even find beauty in the nooks and crannies. Just take a close look at these shells.

So, lately, I've started something back up that I used to do in high school... Every time I find a worn out paper clip, I work it into something cool. This is one example.

So, I don't think I've ever posted these pictures, but this is my favorite book that I ever made. I cut pieces of a rock that I found with Nathan Kelsey in Swett Canyon, and sort of went from there. I made it into a piece of artwork with different things inside of the pages, even burning some from the center out. I actually gave it to my bookbinding teacher, Judy Sommerfeldt, who was amazing. Seeing these pictures makes me want to abandon the law to its crumbling self and just make books.

  

Also, I just finished competing in the finals for the Southeastern Region of the Giles Rich Moot Court Comp, and it looks like I get to go compete in Washington DC. Wish me luck.

The following is a small quote from the Catholic encyclical Deus Caritas Est, paragraph 38, regarding the physical sufferings we experience in life:

It is Saint Augustine who gives us faith's answer to our sufferings: “Si comprehendis, non est Deus”—”if you understand him, he is not God.” 

I just wanted to emphasize how grateful I am for Joseph Smith, and the restoration of the truth on the earth, that man is not only able to come to know God, but that he is commanded to know him. It is a fundamental aspect of faith itself to understand the character and nature of God, and if we accept a doctrine that completely denies this knowledge, we cannot have true faith.

Share the gospel. It is sorely needed.