The Mormon Young Single Adult (YSA) Blog Spot

So in the world of today: -Iran tested a new weapon. -Jewish persecution reached a seven year high. -Both the rebels and military withdrew from east Ukraine. -The Mormon tabernacle choir was inducted to the classical music hall of fame. -Virginia agreed to compensate people they forcefully sterilized from 1924-1979. -Investigators found hundreds of thousands of IRS emails related to the IRS tea party scandal. The IRS attempted to destroy said emails.

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html      I would like to tell you about my work and my interesting health situation currently. I don't know why I am not feeling well, but yesterday I felt weak at work. On Monday, I felt like my feet and hands were freezing all morning long. On Tuesday or so, I was wondering about my diet because I felt fine, but something was off. I think that I am not getting enough calories. I think that I have been getting about 1000 calories. Since I fasted, I could not eat as much breakfast as usual. I thought that my body was weak not eating enough, and fasting pushed it over the edge; plus, I donated blood last week. My grandma was thinking that I may have a little 24 hour bug to overcome. I think that I was getting about 200-300 calories for breakfast, 300-400 calories for lunch, and 400-600 calories for dinner; which is ...

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html      I also made Jamaican rice and peas on Wednesday for my grandparents, but making that is not as special as curry. This is the recipe that I followed. I recommend cooking the beans for an hour; maybe more, you can taste it yourself after soaking it over night; then, add the rice in the pot to cook. The beans when I cooked it was a little crunchy. The scallion, Scotch bonnet, garlic, and thyme are not meant to be in the food when you serve it; therefore, take them out before serving it. Put the entire scallion, garlic clove, thyme, and Scotch bonnet in the pot when it is cooking. Scotch bonnet is a Jamaican pepper. I usually replace it with a habanero. Don't dice anything.  x peas 1 cup first!       serves 3-4 x garlic a clove or two when boiling the peas x ric...

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html On Wednesday night, I prayed for a missionary opportunity, and the next day my work situation changed.  A coworker of mine is named Carlos, and he has been told to take the position of another coworker, who I usually work with, since he did not show up on Thursday and Friday. We got along well. His English was mediocre, so we were able to develop a closer friendship easily especially since he loves to talk. On Friday he asked me what church that I attend, and I said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; then, he replied that he began to read the Book of Mormon last Monday. I listened to him talk, and he seemed to be a solid person. I can't judge his personality, but he has great integrity, respecting himself and the law of chastity. I got his phone number Friday afternoon, hoping that he could come to a gam...

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html Late this past week, I started doing my taxes, and I completed it on Saturday. I did it with the mobile app of TurboTax. It is surprising that one could do their taxes with a mobile app. It was easily understood. The only difficulty was that it would not except my double check with my Utah tax return. I took most of the day to figure out everything, but only about 6 hours of work for me. It may be different for others.

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html   On Wednesday when Jessica and I began to Skype, a thought popped up in my mind, saying "You should not be dating her." This is not the first time that this happened, so I gave it some thought. Today is Sunday, and Jessica and I are fasting to confirm this prompting today. Pondering the thought that I should not be dating Jessica was unbearable last night, and I expressed it to her.      The thought that "You should not be dating her." for an odd reason came when I saw how young Jessica looked as we Skyped a couple times. This happened about a month ago, and Jessica felt the prompting to, but we did not hearken to it. Ever since that night on Wednesday, the thought that I should not be dating Jessica has been plaguing my mind. It became so unbearable last night that I could not fake a cheerful nature in...

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html      Jessica's Valentine was greater than I can ever imagine. It was ocean themed for I said that I love goldfish, the cheese snack. I gave her seaweed snacks on the first time that we ever ran together, so that fit in the theme too. She decorated the inside of a box like an ocean, putting stickers and fun quotes on it. She also wrote a note, putting it in a bottle. I am grateful that God let us have a most glorious Valentine's Day before reminding me that I should not be dating her.

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html The opportunity to give blood became exciting on Tuesday, when I found out that my blood type is O positive. I was told that I can do a special donation where I give double the red blood cells. They said that it was actually easier on the body because they only take the red blood cells, and put the plasma and everything back into the body. One thing that I would need to do is gain fifteen pounds because O positive people need to weigh 150 pounds to qualify for the opportunity. I don't want to gain 15 pounds, hoping to convince them to let me do that special donation without gaining the weight.

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html Follow up Monday: I told you that I was going to tell you about "Runaround," a short story that leads into the science fiction series of Foundation and Robot by Isaac Asimov. It explains the three founding rules of the artificial intelligence of robots in a story, showing the limits of their intelligence. The story is very interesting, but it is obviously set up to explain these three rules and the usefulness of them. An interesting story is not always amazing.      Jessica and I also read "Reason," the next short story of the Robot Series. I think that the fundamentals of reason in the robot is a reflection of the author's opinion of religion. The perspective of the robot is interesting. Jessica and I realized that part of the story is flawed because the other robots should not have the same reasoning...

This blog post is a segment of the journal entry of Alex Hicken found at the following link:  http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-22-2015.html Here are some adventures with Eve. She is stealing some of Goldfish, and she  had a message from the One Direction band who she loves. She said that the video is the greatest thing that she has ever done. 

This week has been productive somewhat. I gave blood on Tuesday, and Jessica and I received our Valentine's Day packages on that day too. On Wednesday when Jessica and I began to Skype, a thought popped up in my mind, saying "You should not be dating her." This is not the first time that this happened, so I gave it some thought. Today is Sunday, and Jessica and I are fasting to confirm this prompting today. Pondering the thought that I should not be dating Jessica was unbearable last night, and I expressed it to her.  Also on Wednesday night, I prayed for a missionary opportunity, and the next day my work situation changed. I did my taxes on Saturday.      The opportunity to give blood became exciting on Tuesday, when I found out that my blood type is O positive. I was told that I can do a special donation where I give double the red blood cells. They said that it was actually easier on the body because they only take the red blood cells, and put the plasma and ever...

So in the world of today: -Isis is inducting five yea- olds. -200 anti-government activities were arrested in Cuba. -Egypt’s president is calling for an Arab coalition to combat Isis. -South Sudanese rebels kidnapped 89 children and adolescents. -Russia is trying to sell its anti-missile defense system to Iran. -A 94 year old man is on trial for working at Auschwitz. -Al Shabab is calling for attacks on malls in the US, Canada, and the UK. -Russia is suffering economically. -Scientists may soon have a peanut allergy patch. -A study out of Dartmouth found that kids who are formula fed are more likely to get arsenic poisoning.

So in the world of today: -The UK caught a Russian war plane in their airspace. -The Feds are considering changing the rules for what constitutes unlawful search and seizure to allow them to hack any computer system they choose. -An old woman in Washington was found guilty of discrimination for refusing to do a floral arrangement at a gay wedding. -Walmart upped its minimum wage, and plans to do so again next year. -Obama is asking for 1.2 Billion to combat ‘superbugs’.

So in the world of today: -A study found that a UN fund meant to help victims of natural disasters was instead going into North Korea. -Prokopis Pavlopoulos was elected president of Greece. -Oregon appointed Kate Brown to be the US’s first bisexual governor. -The University of Massachusetts reversed its policy of barring Iranians from certain majors. -The Kurds had a major victory against Isis. -China is building bases in disputed territories. -The US state department has been keeping Israel in the dark about some of the Iran nuclear talks.

So in the world of today: (long one) -Ukraine’s ceasefire ended. -Egypt is asking the UN to call on the international community to fight Isis. -57% of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of Isis according to MSNBC. -A Texas Judge has temporarily blocked Obama’s immigration executive order. -The Libyan ambassador blamed the rise of Isis on the vacuum created by the fall of Gaddafi. - A study found that teens with more active church and family participation in their lives are less likely to commit suicide. -The white house said there’s no evidence that American Muslims are more likely to become terrorists than other groups. -France says it’s tracking hundreds of sleeper cell terrorists. -Isis killed 45 people in Iraq.

so in the world of today: -The University of Massachusetts is banning Iranian students from being engineering majors. -A ring of hackers stole at least one billion from banks around the world. -A 72 year old man may lose his pension and spend 10 years in jail for having an antique gun in his glove compartment. -A large tobacco conglomerate is suing to force several small nations to do less to limit tobacco distribution.

Questions Tuesday: What are irritating writing mistakes?      "I feel irritated at myself when I find I've written 900 words and meant to write 300 :)" Velda begins the discussion.      "Why do you think that you write three times the amount that you plan?" Alex questions.       "Alexander, I think I just get carried away sometimes. :) Sometimes I'll save my "unabridged" post privately." Velda explanations.         "I hate when people misspell words." Matea hates.      "Their vs they're vs there, you're vs your" Sarah complains.      "not getting the spelling right" confesses Lesego.       "I learned from a favorite substitute teacher in high school that the word "that is the most missed word in the English language, so I make sure keep them where they should." Alex expresses.      "I use ... Way ...

 This article is a segment of the journal blog of Alexander Hicken from http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-8-2015.html.      Valentine's Day was great. My Valentine was chosen months ago for the first time ever, and she knew it. I didn't have to ask. Will you be my Valentine? I was planning to go to Oregon to visit Jessica, but we decided that it was a waste of money to fly there for only slightly over one day. I don't like the idea of flying on Sunday either. The pilots and flight attendants should rest on the Sabbath. Jessica is so loving, and it was expressed wonderfully by her, creating a Valentine. She started working on it about a week and a half before the special day, and she worked on it so diligently even until the very last minute. She probably worked on it for more than forty hours. She called it her project. That effort makes my Valentine's Day glorious because of her pure display of love; although, it will arrive next week. My pack...

 This article is a segment of the journal blog of Alexander Hicken from http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-8-2015.html.  Jessica and I made some steps to be more practical, deciding to unite our finances and language. The practice of finances is personal, but this knowledge should be applied early in a courtship to have greater unity and respect to each other. We decided to make Spanish our main language to speak to each other. Both of my brothers will most likely have Spanish speaking families, so I should be right with everyone and the language. I am grateful that Jessica is patient with our preparation.

 This article is a segment of the journal blog of Alexander Hicken from http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-8-2015.html.       The work in the small shop of Delta Stone Products is hard, but it is more chill than the previous station that I worked at. I like the small shop because it is where custom pieces are prepared for the customer. Since I sat in the Provo City Center Temple seminar a couple weeks ago, I thought that it was complete, but I was wrong with to assume that. Aaron Hicken said that they will be producing product for the temple until the fall comes. I was able to sand pieces of the stone which is going to be placed in the construction of the temple. I identified where the stone for the temple is placed, and I looked at them, thinking that God must have prepared the stone and the company to provide it for his house. One artisan was having a hard time sanding a product for the temple because there was not enough water on the stone, ...

 This article is a segment of the journal blog of Alexander Hicken from http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-8-2015.html.  The Stranger in a Strange Land book became a disappointment quickly. Why would a Martian ever create a nudist church? Jessica and I decided to read the Foundation series upon the advice of Jessica's father. We are starting from the very beginning of Isaac Asimov's compositions. Robbie is one of the cutest stories ever imagined. Jessica and I are still reading the Book of Jer3miah: Premonition, and the ninth chapter finally moves on with the development of the story; however, it feels like it is coming from all angles too quickly.

 This article is a segment of the journal blog of Alexander Hicken from http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-8-2015.html.     On Wednesday, I cooked curry for the first time. I think that curry is intimidating to make because the paste looks toxic. I have been cooking for my grandparents for the past couple Wednesdays. Since they have a can of curry paste, I decided to cook curry. My mother probably gave it to my grandparents about ten years ago because it was expired almost for eight years, but it looked and smelt fine. I asked my father about it, and he said that if it was not bulging that it should be fine. The can had a simple recipe on it, which made shopping easy. It just called for two cups of coconut milk, 300 grams of potatoes and onion, and 600 grams of chicken. I chose to purchase some red potatoes and purple onions because the curry seemed to have yellow color, and purple and yellow are opposite colors, which will make it look nice. The ...

 This article is a segment of the journal blog of Alexander Hicken from http://mormonysa.blogspot.com/2015/02/february-8-2015.html.   Jessica's amaryllis is finally blooming. I bought it for her for Christmas. My grandmother's amaryllis bloomed with four flowers one at a time seemingly over the time period of a week a couple weeks ago. I got a picture of each blossom. I named our amaryllis Fifa because it is Thai for the plant, yet it means light bulb. I don't really understand the word. Here is the growth of the flowers in pictures. Fifa has gotten a disease, having red spots on it, because her soil was too moist, and I think that there is not enough ventilation of water and air. I believe that Fifa is growing slowly because she doesn't get natural sunlight. She depends on man made light from electricity.

Not that much happened this week. At work I was sent to work in the small shop of Delta Stone Products. This location is impressive. I got to witness the custom pieces of the Provo City Center Temple be cut and sanded. The Stranger in a Strange Land book became a disappointment quickly. Why would a Martian ever create a nudist church? Jessica and I decided to read the Foundation series upon the advice of Jessica's father. We are starting from the very beginning of Isaac Asimov's compositions. Robbie is one of the cutest stories ever imagined. Jessica and I are still reading the Book of Jer3miah: Premonition, and the ninth chapter finally moves on with the development of the story; however, it feels like it is coming from all angles too quickly. Jessica and I are developing a higher level of commitment and practicality to each other. Eve and Ezra are still as great as ever. We went to a dinner hosted by the Boy Scouts of America. This past week I have a curry dinner and my Valen...

so in the world of today: -A study found that by 2050 the US will experience a ‘mega-drought’ due to climate change. -Over a thousand people gathered in DC to mourn the murder of three Muslim Americans. -A majority of Americans support Obama’s proposed war on Isis. -Ruth Bader Ginsburg admitted to being drunk during the president’s State of the Union address. -A Turkish journalist was arrested for tweeting about corruption in the government. -The UN threatened to sanction anyone who buys oil from Isis.

so in the world of today: -A ceasefire deal was reached in Ukraine. -A leukemia patient in California is suing to have the state allow her a doctor assisted suicide. -A study found that children raised by a homosexual parent or parents are more likely to suffer emotional distress than those of heterosexual parent or parents. -An Oregon court ruled that a bakery refusing to make a gay wedding cake was guilty of discrimination.

So in the world of today: -Newsweek’s twitter account may’ve been hacked by Isis. -Governor Jeb Bush released private information on hundreds of Florida residents to the public. -The FEC chairperson (in charge of responsible election spending) was found to spend thousands of tax dollars in every trip. -Obama may ask congress for permission to declare war with Isis. -A study found that Europe’s Jewish population dropped by 1.8 million since 1960.

Hi! How are you? How was your week? This week we've been trying to help our Investigator Everson from Brazil to prepare for Baptism. He has a baptismal Date for this coming Saturday but he just doesn't feel ready yet. We spoke with our leaders and we felt good about having meet with President White (He is one of Presidents in our Mission who helps people resolve their concerns before being Baptized) it was a great meeting but Everson still wasn't really willing to progress:( I just felt sooo sad through out that lesson. I've been praying for him and trying to discern really what it is that Heavenly Father wants us to do to help him but he still struggles with believing that the Book of Mormon is true. He believes that part of it is true but not all of it. During that lesson with President I just felt like a Mom trying to help her child but not really knowing how. I don't know how we can help Everson but I do know that I really love him and desire his salvation. Ple...

So in the world of today: -North Korea says it has new ‘cutting edge’ misses -Bagdad’s curfew was lifted. Lots of people died. -Obama asked Germany to give the NSA the ‘benefit of the doubt’. -Boko Harem abducted 30. -France and Morocco vowed to fight terror together.

     So recently in the world Isis and other Islamist extremists like Al Qaeda and Boko Harem have dominated the headlines, and they’ve done so by almost being your stereotypical mustache twirling villains. Honestly they couldn’t be any less subtle about being evil if they got someone with a stereo to follow them around and play the imperial march everywhere they went. On the one hand it’s refreshing when the enemy is so clear-cut and obvious. But on the other hand this means that some people have had a tendency to clump everyone with the same ideology together in one camp.      Now as silly as this may sound, some have been taking it seriously. Some have even been calling for war. Not war with a specific nation, or with extremism, but war with Islam itself.  Ridiculous isn’t it? Islam is a religion that teaches charity, virtue, love faith and good works, but few alleged Muslims go bananas and suddenly the world relig...

so in the world of today: -Isis is selling Iraqi children into slavery. -Ferguson is experimenting with less-lethal guns. -The Pope says spanking is OK as long as it’s done respectfully. -Representative Blumenauer proposed that the government find ways to tax people by the miles they drive. -Russia is helping the Ukrainian separatists -Turkey refused to be at a security meeting because they didn't want to associate with the Israeli delegation. -Some parts of Canada may soon allow doctor assisted suicides. -China is upset about the Dali Lama attending a public event that Obama also attended.

so in the world of today: -In Cameroon Boko Harem killed at least 60 people. -A drone got an al-Qaida leader. -Putin may have Aspergers. -Isis are killing kids in the most tortuous and brutal fashion. -Obama vetoed two bills meant to bring transparency to federal spending. -Staples bought Office Depot. -Anthem health insurance was hacked.

So in the world of today (it's another big one): -Poland decided to sell Ukraine weapons. -224 Ukrainians (both nationalists and separatists) have dies in the last 3 weeks. -A new study found that viewing pornography literally shuts down the brains decision processing centers. -A man in Texas was arrested for paying his property taxes in folded 1$ bills. -The White House is cutting back on some veteran care programs. -A Muslim family on a Delta plane was made to move to the back of the plane because of their faith. -The Muslim brotherhood met with the state department, then declared ‘a long uncompromising jihad’. -Students at the University of Chicago are holding a fundraiser to help a convicted terrorist. -The NSA has new regulations. They can still spy on you, but they can’t keep the data for long. -The UN decided that the systematic killing of 8,000 Muslims in the 90’s by Serbia wasn't really genocide.

This past Saturday we had the privilege and blessing to go through the Temple with Bob Black. He is the Recent Convert from Manhattan Beach that we found a little over a year ago and helped and was baptized. He looked so happy and at Peace. As we prepared ourselves to go there my heart was sooooooo full of Gratitude and love for our Heavenly Father and Savior and this wonderful work and for leading us to find Bob and especially for the person that he is now because of the Gospel. Being there with him really just helped me to see the Eternal Perspective of everything we do here. It was really an amazing experience:) One I will cherish forever. As we all stood in the Temple with Bob and some of the members from the Manhattan Beach ward my heart was again filled with so much gratitude and love to be surrounded all in one room with all these people that I've come to love so much! I was sooo filled with Joy. I looked at Bob and saw how he was just taking everything in - it was sooo grea...