The Language of Prayer

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by Tanner:

Disclaimer: I am a believer that people do and should pray in more than formal prayers. Let people pray how and where they may. I do.

I am a devout individual and have often found myself trying to make reason of some doctrine, principle, or event from the scriptures. Everyone has what I call "objects of consideration,"or some idea that they fixate on as a root or contingency point for making sense of other ideas or simply fixate on for some other reason. For some it may be following the prophet, the creation, the Abrahamic covenant, the eternal nature of the atonement, etc. It could also be the separation of roles in the gospel and church, e.g. priesthood and motherhood. One of my "objects of consideration" has long been the language of prayer.

I am a linguist and polyglot. In other words, I speak a few languages, study language, and language is the object of my professional career. For a long time I have been bothered that English speaking members of the church are encouraged to pray using the archaic pronoun "thou" instead of the normal "you." "Thou" survives today for formal and solemn settings and purposes. However, "thou" is actually the informal, singular, second person pronoun.

A lesson about the history of the English language.

The pronoun "you" is the descendant of the plural and formal "Ye." Actually, "You" is the direct object form of "Ye," as in "Ye love me, I love you." After the Norman French speaking William the Conquerer took over England in 1066, French quickly became the ruling language. French was forced on the English people. Have you ever wondered why the English, a germanic language, has so many latin roots and alternative? The Norman conquest of England is a large part of it.

Guest Post: A Taxonomy Of Women

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Tanner was born and raised in Georgia, with a few years in Alabama. He has a delightful wife, Sarah, and a fat, adorable and cheerful six-month old son, Nikolai. He is currently completing his master's degree at Georgia State University focusing on corpus linguistics. He served a mission in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Tanner played football and rugby though high school and college and was a male cheerleader his last year at BYU. His time is mostly split between family, school and work (and trying to watch college football on Saturdays). For work, Tanner is a linguist analyzing less common languages and writing language tests, as well working as an academic research assistant. He also has a pressure washing business on the side. You can read Tanner's first guest post here.

Taxonomy of a Distant Planet by Michael Chesworth

To say that women are complicated and incomprehensible is like saying that the sky is blue. Everybody knows it. In fact, this is so commonly accepted that nobody bothers talking about it until it reaches a state of extreme. That is when people say things like, “Wow, what a beautiful day!”, or “Wow, did you see that sky today? Talk about blue!” However, in the case of women those sentences often begin with more profane exclamations. Yet, the complicity of women need not befuddle men. In reality, there exists a very simple way of looking at women as they all fit into one of two categories: girls that will date me and girls that will not date me. As dating is the reason and purpose of a young man’s life, it is urgent that men become acquainted with the varying types of women before proceeding to date. As an expert on women, I have included a guide to the taxonomy of a few select genres of the feminine type.

The Athlete. The athlete is a great girl. She enjoys sports, working out, and physical stimulation. This is a great thing as long as you share these qualities, but if you do not you should immediately cease in your pursuit of the athlete. The athlete is a team player and needs social activity; yet, because of this need of social action, personal one-on-one time is of greater value to her than to other types. The athlete is strong and decisive. If you cannot provide strong support for her to match her own strong will your quest for her will fail. The athlete has physical stamina and energy to spare, and excess energy often leads to a demanding sense of humor, so cardboard boxes need not apply. If you have support and consistency to offer then the athlete is a great dating option. Dating recommendations include: outdoor activities, hiking, dancing, and hopscotch.

Guest Post: ADHD & Me

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Tanner was born and raised in Georgia, with a few years in Alabama. He has a delightful wife, Sarah, and a fat, adorable and cheerful six-month old son, Nikolai. He is currently completing his master's degree at Georgia State University focusing on corpus linguistics. He served a mission in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Tanner played football and rugby though high school and college and was a male cheerleader his last year at BYU. His time is mostly split between family, school and work (and trying to watch college football on Saturdays). For work, Tanner is a linguist analyzing less common languages and writing language tests, as well working as an academic research assistant. He also has a pressure washing business on the side.

Image via Flickr.

People hear about ADD and ADHD among children, but the condition seems to be looked down upon when it comes up in the adult world. When I was in third grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD. My elementary school later put me in a special education classroom to give me extra attention. In the later years of high school, my dad told me that my special education teacher was "so proud" of me when he saw me in the local newspaper after winning a talent show and noting that I was going to teach swing dance classes. My dad reenacted how the teacher had mimicked crazy movements that I was "always" doing and explained that I could never sit still in a desk. I was shocked how bizarre my dad looked as he waved and swayed about as if he were dancing and on drugs at the same time. I don't remember acting like that. However, I feel a sort of pride when I think about how far I have come in relation to my ability to focus and get things done. Over the years, the "hyperactive" part of ADHD has lenitioned, but ADD persists.