✏Writing Assignment
Make sure you have a page of notes AND a 4-square sheet for all 4 topics and bring them all to class: biome, ancestor, lines, Asia.
Know
Do ALL of the following:
- Watch this video about bristlecone pines:
- Print and read the following talk by Pres. Russell M Nelson “Overcome the World and Find Rest”. Mark your favorite parts and come to class prepared for a discussion.
- Watch this video synopsis on “The Power of Full Engagement”. Quickly assess yourself in the four areas (physical, mental, spiritual and emotional) and see how you’re managing your energy. Which one could you use the most help with? Write down examples in each category of things you are doing well and things you could use help with.
- Choose one of the following scientists and sign up for an in-class presentation on him/her in this doc. Study the person you chose and find out10 interesting facts about them that aren’t on the notecard, including how they impacted the world with what they discovered or built. Using the 10 interesting facts you learned, prepare a creative and interesting presentation for class on him/her. Come prepared to present it to the class.
- Max Planck (1858–1947)
- Karl Elsener (1860-1918)
- Agnes Pockels (1862–1935)
- Henry Ford (1863-1947)
- George Washington Carver (1864–1943)
Understand
Choose ONE of the following and be prepared to share in class:
- Research other living things that manage to survive in hard climates or under impossible conditions. Prepare a short presentation on one with visual aids for the class. Tell us about the thing, where it lives, what makes its environment so harsh and what it has done to adapt and survive.
- Research a person who has managed to not only survive but to thrive under harsh or impossible conditions. Prepare a short presentation with visual aids for the class. Tell us who this person is, a little bit about their life, what made their environment so harsh and what he/she did to turn their life around and thrive.
Become
In November we talked about all a plant needs to thrive and survive. In a perfect world, plants would always have everything they need and have nothing to keep them from reaching their full potential. But as we’ve learned this month, conditions aren’t always optimal for a plant’s survival and the plant has two choices, adapt or die. The same can be said for us as human beings. In a perfect world we would have everything we need and have nothing to keep us from reaching our full potential, but life isn’t like that. There are trials, oppositions, consequences to our actions and choices and a whole lot of other things that make it hard for us to thrive sometimes. Like the plants, we also have choices. Do we adapt and thrive or sit down and cry and complain that life is hard? Let’s look at some of the advice we’ve been given from wise men about this:
- Uchtdorf (Oct 2010) “Of Things That Matter Most”
- “Have you ever been in an airplane and experienced turbulence? The most common cause of turbulence is a sudden change in air movement causing the aircraft to pitch, yaw, and roll. While planes are built to withstand far greater turbulence than anything you would encounter on a regular flight, it still may be disconcerting to passengers. What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road. Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions.”
- Bednar (Apr 2014) “Bear Up Their Burdens”
- “[One day my friend took his brand new truck out into the woods to cut firewood.] My friend went too far along the snowy road. As he steered the truck off of the road at the place he had determined to cut wood, he got stuck. All four of the wheels on the new truck spun in the snow. He readily recognized that he did not know what to do to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. He was embarrassed and worried. My friend decided, “Well, I will not just sit here.” He climbed out of the vehicle and started cutting wood. He completely filled the back of the truck with the heavy load. And then my friend determined he would try driving out of the snow one more time. As he put the pickup into gear and applied power, he started to inch forward. Slowly the truck moved out of the snow and back onto the road. He finally was free to go home, a happy and humbled man. It was the load. It was the load of wood that provided the traction necessary for him to get out of the snow, to get back on the road, and to move forward. It was the load that enabled him to return to his family and his home. Each of us also carries a load. Our individual load is composed of demands and opportunities, obligations and privileges, afflictions and blessings, and options and constraints. Two guiding questions can be helpful as we periodically and prayerfully assess our load: “Is the load I am carrying producing the spiritual traction that will enable me to press forward with faith in Christ on the straight and narrow path and avoid getting stuck? Is the load I am carrying creating sufficient spiritual traction so I ultimately can return home to Heavenly Father?” Sometimes we mistakenly believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness. Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most.”
- OPTIONAL: You can watch Elder Bednar’s story dramatized here.
- “[One day my friend took his brand new truck out into the woods to cut firewood.] My friend went too far along the snowy road. As he steered the truck off of the road at the place he had determined to cut wood, he got stuck. All four of the wheels on the new truck spun in the snow. He readily recognized that he did not know what to do to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. He was embarrassed and worried. My friend decided, “Well, I will not just sit here.” He climbed out of the vehicle and started cutting wood. He completely filled the back of the truck with the heavy load. And then my friend determined he would try driving out of the snow one more time. As he put the pickup into gear and applied power, he started to inch forward. Slowly the truck moved out of the snow and back onto the road. He finally was free to go home, a happy and humbled man. It was the load. It was the load of wood that provided the traction necessary for him to get out of the snow, to get back on the road, and to move forward. It was the load that enabled him to return to his family and his home. Each of us also carries a load. Our individual load is composed of demands and opportunities, obligations and privileges, afflictions and blessings, and options and constraints. Two guiding questions can be helpful as we periodically and prayerfully assess our load: “Is the load I am carrying producing the spiritual traction that will enable me to press forward with faith in Christ on the straight and narrow path and avoid getting stuck? Is the load I am carrying creating sufficient spiritual traction so I ultimately can return home to Heavenly Father?” Sometimes we mistakenly believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness. Because our individual load needs to generate spiritual traction, we should be careful to not haul around so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most.”
- Find some applications for your life from Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar’s quotes. Apply Pres. Nelson’s counsel and do something this week. Come prepared to discuss in class.
- Pres. Nelson
- “My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world. Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.”
- Pres. Nelson
