LDS General Conference This Weekend!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is hosting the 181st Semiannual General Conference in Salt Lake City, UT this weekend. It begins Saturday morning at 9 am (AZ time) with a couple two hour sessions on Saturday (and an additional one for men) and it continues on Sunday. All general sessions are broadcasted world wide at various chapel, tv stations, and the internet.

All 14 Million plus members of the Church, as well as the general public, will have the opportunity to hear from Prophets and Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their messages contain guidance and direction for all people and provide clear doctrines about the Savior.

It is a great blessing to have living Prophets speak to us who receive direct revelation from the Lord. I have a witness that what these mean speak about is true and really is scripture for our day. As you listen to their words, you invite the Spirit of the Lord into your life and receive personal messages for your benefit.

I invite you to watch and learn from the Lord this weekend.

FRINGE Season 4 Premier

I was super excited about the season premier of FRINGE last night. I would say it's definitely my favorite tv series out right now. Pretty much anything produced by JJ Abrams is going to be legit. After all, LOST really was a landmark series and no one can deny JJ is the master of suspense.

At the end of the last season of FRINGE, Peter Bishop merged two alternate universes together into one central location at the Statue of Liberty (long story). In short, the recurring story of the series is the existence of an alternate universe and the possibility of one of them destroying the other was pretty real until the end of last season. Geeky, I know, but I love it.

Anyways, after Peter merged the worlds, he was erased from time by the Observers (people who oversee both worlds). In the first episode of this season, we see glimpses of him, but only in short instances. All of the other main characters have no memory of him, except Walter (his father) sees images of him.

So the big mystery is where is Peter Bishop? That will be the big story line of the course of the season. I'm very interested to see how this plays out.

The Goal

Just finished listening to "The Goal" by Eliyahu Goldratt. It was required "reading" for my Supply Chain Management class. It is a teaching tool about managing operations cleverly disguised as a novel. The story is about a plant manager named Alex Rogo who is faced with a problem of his plant being closed in three months if he doesn't improve performance. The reader is taken through Alex's journey of discovering that previous measurements of performance were not sufficient to accomplish their goals. In fact, they determined the goal was not to push products out of their warehouse, but to make money. In this case that was done through increasing net profit, ROI, and cash flow. At the plant level that goal translated into increasing throughput, while reducing inventory and operating expense.

The details are not as important as the fact this manager questioned some fundamental assumptions of how to deal with their objectives and what they should be.

Also, interlaced in this management story is a bunch of family drama! Rogo and his wife get into a rough part of their relationship as a result of his intense work schedule. It definitely keeps the story interesting! Don't worry, it all works out in the end, in case you were wondering.

If you ever want a good book on learning about business and operations (and maybe relationships, lol), this is certainly an entertaining way to do it!

Fashion Revamp

So Chantal took me on a trip today to redo my whole closet. Chantal has good taste and has been helping several other my friends with their fashion tips. It started earlier this week when I was tricked into going shopping with her, Meghan, and Lauren. After a while in Anthropologie, we went to J. Crew. I jokingly asked them to help me find some clothes to help me look more hip. But then we did and I got some sweaters then went to H&M to complete the outfit with some jeans and shirts. So then I decided I needed to get more of her opinion so we checked out Urban Outfitters and tried a few combinations. So if clothes make the man, then maybe I'm on my way...

Never Forget

This morning is the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in NYC. You can almost sense the nation's pause as we remember the 2,753 people that died that day after such a horrific act. President Obama and former President Bush both attended a memorial service this morning at ground zero. Obama read a scripture that I believe is appropriate from Psalms 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Pres. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote a letter to the Washington Post stating, “If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day,” he says, “it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. . . . We too should be with Him in every season.”

We must never forget the people who lost their lives that day, but we must also never forget the Lord and His presence in our lives.

Running (Outdoor vs. Treadmill)

Supposedly running outside is better for you because it is higher impact, you propel yourself, and you get a variety in terms of elevation and scenery. I do feel like my body worked harder after a run outside vs. one after the treadmill. I love the freedom of outdoor running and the change of scenery it provides. However, there are some limitations.

Treadmill running is more convenient. You don't have to leave the comfort of a gym or your home, the climate is controlled (nice thing during the hot AZ summer months), and you can have entertainment like reading or TV while you run. But does your body get the same results from doing a treadmill as opposed to outdoor running?

In any case, I found my love for running about five years ago when I moved to Arizona. It has really benefited my lifestyle after losing 114lbs! It is also a great way to process your thoughts and just get away from all the business in your life. In fact, it can even be fun! I've run three relay races and they are a blast. Someday, I may even do a marathon!

Have fun running!

“I’m a Mormon” Campaign

The Church recently launched the "I'm a Mormon" campaign in NYC, in a state where the Church has seen a staggering 75% growth in the last eleven years. In the campaign you will see the faces of everyday people advertised as members of the Church. The ads direct you to mormon.org, which has more than 30,000 profiles of members of the Church. When this site was relaunched in 2010, the idea was to give the general public exposure to the lives of it's members. I personally think it was a genius idea to help the world get a view of real people, not just the organization. As you read some of these profiles, you get a sense of how the Church has impacted their lives. Each has a different story, but all have a testimony of Jesus Christ.

If you are unfamiliar with the Church, definitely check out the site and see what Mormons are all about. You may even find the profile of a familiar face!

Mormon.org “I’m a Mormon” Effort Launches in New York City