tonight i participated in my first oral argument.
i was arguing the side of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School against a professor i'm ta'ing for, who was representing the side of Cheryl Perich, a former teacher for the school. the case was recently heard by the us supreme court and concerns whether and to what the degree the government can be involved in church employment issues. if you're interested you can fine a basic summary here.
so besides being a really interesting case i also had a few thoughts.
1. the role of an attorney vs. the role of a judge. i'm not exactly sure how to describe this without making it too confusing but i'm going to try. (thanks for bearing with me!) this past semester i've had the opportunity to watch mock trial and appellate competitions and a utah supreme court decision. and the thing i've noticed--a pattern--is how incredibly dedicated attorneys are to defending their side/their client. this may seem obvious--of course they would be committed to their client; it's their job. but i guess it seems significant to me when i'm watching a person or partners continue to hold to their side, even when they know (or in my head i'm thinking they must know) their arguments are wrong/flawed. maybe it's bc they don't have a good case or maybe they just don't have good arguments, but it doesn't phase them. attorneys will defend their side until the end. at first i thought maybe it was a pride thing--people care about winning and looking good, so they won't budge even when they know they're losing. they won't admit the other person is right; they just stubbornly defend their side.
BUT--tonight, and i think also during the past competition, i saw things differently. tonight i realized it is a noble thing to defend someone, even if you don't agree with them. crazy right. i used to disagree. i thought i would NEVER put myself in a situation where i had to defend someone i didn't believe in. but i just see things really differently now, and maybe my perspective will continue to grow and change. that seems likely. but the thing i have come to see is an attorney's job is not to be influential in the way maybe we expect to be, or i expected it to be. at least i know i was thinking maybe by being an attorney i can help have an influence in various issues i care about by presenting a case so well--yada, yada, yada. but i don't think that's it anymore. at least, i don't think that's the main goal. rather, i think an attorney's calling is to take care of what he's been given--his client. and it is the judge's role, not ours, to take the arguments and to come up with a decision of how things will be. i don't know if that makes sense (sometimes i don't explain things well, especially things that i'm just starting to think about), but i just feel like there's something to everyone working together, and i think sometimes the way we BEST work together is by knowing our roles and doing them--giving our best--and especially not trying to do each other's roles. i just think of an orchestra. every instrument is different and has a different role in a piece. some are stronger than others, maybe more influential, and it's when everyone is focusing on what they've been given--their part--that there is this beautiful synergy and unity of sound. like a masterpiece. and just bc i think we should all stick to our roles i'm not saying nor do i think that there's absolutely no room to move around or that we can't change roles--i think of it more like there's a time and a season for everything, and as an attorney our time and season is dedicated to our clients. and i also don't think what we do is so defining. it is what we do, but it is not necessarily who we are. anyway, i hope that made sense! i thought it was a great discovery tonight. :)
the other thing i thought about is...
2. i am so excited to be an attorney. weird. i never would've imagined myself saying those words and actually having it feel so right. and all i can say is i am grateful to the lord. AMAZING. he knows us PERFECTLY; and he sees the end from the beginning. no matter how many hard times or discouraging moments we go through, it is so inspiring and encouraging to see the lord CONSTANTLY guiding my life. the lord has taught me so much in the past year, but one thing i have come to see more and more is he has a plan for us. and as we're trying to figure out what to do with ourselves or our lives--where to live, what to do, who to date and later marry, it seems that as long as we are keeping his commandments and honoring our covenants and coming unto christ (not by being perfect or even being our "best" (see brad wilcox's talk "his grace is sufficient"), but by simply exercising our faith and repenting, which in some cases may just involve us trying to move forward), as long as we do that i believe there is NOTHING we can do that will ruin our chances to receive everything he has in store for us--every blessing and every kind of joy he has prepared. so often i think we worry--i know i do--about these decisions, and we think if we choose the wrong one and we should've chosen another one, well then too bad. but i just don't feel it's like that! the lord has shown me time and time again, that sometimes it's like he almost doesn't matter what choice i make, as long as i make a choice, and even if i make a choice that puts me in the wrong place, somehow i end up being in the right place. so it's like i either choose the right place or the wrong place, but either way, as i am seeking and yearning for good things the lord always has a way of helping things to happen as they should.
well that was very long. but i'm glad to write. :)
christmas is coming! yaaaaaaay! i love christmas~~~~~~ :)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
12 names of christ.
so today i was thinking about something one of my companions told me on my mission. she said while she was at the mtc, and it was christmas time, elder holland came and spoke and talked about 12 names of christ. i don't remember what they all are, although i think i have them written down somewhere, but he picked 12 names and invited the missionaries to take 12 days before christmas to exemplify each of those names.
what a cool thing. and i dont remember if i got this from myself or my companion but the one and only december of my mission, i guess that was 2009, i thought of 12 different names of christ and found 12 different scriptures, and focused on one each month of the year 2010. it was such a neat experience, and i felt that as i prepared the scriptures and things i wanted to focus on for each month that they all ended up being what i needed.
so anyway, lately, and this is kind of a personal thing, but i've been thinking about things that i struggle with--like those things that ultimately keep me from giving everything, from being so one with christ. one thing is this false idea that i have to be this perfect person in order to be special or of worth. most of the time i think i don't believe that and know it's a lie, and i feel comfortable with myself--imperfections and all--bc i know i'm trying, and i know the lord isn't asking me to be perfect, but that life is such a process and the things we struggle with keep us coming toward christ. BUT sometimes! it just isn't that clear to me and i find myself getting lost in pressures i put on myself to be this perfect person in ways that just aren't realistic. and it is something that i struggle with.
but this morning, while i was studying, i had this great thought. i love great thoughts! and new ideas! they are wonderful and so special to me. but i was thinking about the names of christ and also about the principle of replacing bad things with good things (like the example of removing weeds and doing nothing and the weeds come back vs. removing the weeds and planting flowers and the weeds dont grow back but flower blossom). so i thought about the same thing but involving this name of christ thing. i started looking up names of christ and thinking about this issue and i found a few scriptures. i think i came up with about 3 but ended up feeling really good about this one. it's in romans 15:8.
"now i say that jesus christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of god, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:"
now in all honesty, i don't know exactly what that means, but it really stayed with me, and i especially liked the part about him being a minister for truth, which confirms these promises he has made to our fathers and ultimately to us. and so that is the scripture i'm picking, with the purpose to replace a false lie "i'm only special by the things i do" with this name of christ about a truth that confirms promises.
anyway, i wanted to share that as an invitation to anyone else who would like to also do the 12 names thing. i don't know if i'm doing it all year next year; my plan was to just do it up until christmas, and i think i may do more than just one day for each scripture bc i'm starting before dec. 12.
i love christmas!!!!!
what a cool thing. and i dont remember if i got this from myself or my companion but the one and only december of my mission, i guess that was 2009, i thought of 12 different names of christ and found 12 different scriptures, and focused on one each month of the year 2010. it was such a neat experience, and i felt that as i prepared the scriptures and things i wanted to focus on for each month that they all ended up being what i needed.
so anyway, lately, and this is kind of a personal thing, but i've been thinking about things that i struggle with--like those things that ultimately keep me from giving everything, from being so one with christ. one thing is this false idea that i have to be this perfect person in order to be special or of worth. most of the time i think i don't believe that and know it's a lie, and i feel comfortable with myself--imperfections and all--bc i know i'm trying, and i know the lord isn't asking me to be perfect, but that life is such a process and the things we struggle with keep us coming toward christ. BUT sometimes! it just isn't that clear to me and i find myself getting lost in pressures i put on myself to be this perfect person in ways that just aren't realistic. and it is something that i struggle with.
but this morning, while i was studying, i had this great thought. i love great thoughts! and new ideas! they are wonderful and so special to me. but i was thinking about the names of christ and also about the principle of replacing bad things with good things (like the example of removing weeds and doing nothing and the weeds come back vs. removing the weeds and planting flowers and the weeds dont grow back but flower blossom). so i thought about the same thing but involving this name of christ thing. i started looking up names of christ and thinking about this issue and i found a few scriptures. i think i came up with about 3 but ended up feeling really good about this one. it's in romans 15:8.
"now i say that jesus christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of god, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:"
now in all honesty, i don't know exactly what that means, but it really stayed with me, and i especially liked the part about him being a minister for truth, which confirms these promises he has made to our fathers and ultimately to us. and so that is the scripture i'm picking, with the purpose to replace a false lie "i'm only special by the things i do" with this name of christ about a truth that confirms promises.
anyway, i wanted to share that as an invitation to anyone else who would like to also do the 12 names thing. i don't know if i'm doing it all year next year; my plan was to just do it up until christmas, and i think i may do more than just one day for each scripture bc i'm starting before dec. 12.
i love christmas!!!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
memo 3 is DONE!!!!
wow i just have to say i have not felt this happy in a long time! I CAN'T STOP SMILING!! BC MEMO 3 IS DONE!!! WOOOOOOO~~~~~~~
Note. Memo 3 is my worst nightmare. :) just kidding, that is dramatic, but no really that paper was awful. so far i have felt really good about law school and not stressed, but that paper was just so much more intense than i expected it to be. BUT NOW IT'S DONE!!!!!! YIPEEEEEEE!!
i thought this was cute :) i think he (or she?) is asian :)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
dogs, rabbits, and acorns.
today i heard the funniest story! it totally made me laugh.
so there is this family and they have a pet dog. they live next to a family who has a pet rabbit. one day the mom is in the kitchen and the dog comes in, but with the neighbor's pet rabbit in his mouth. well, the mother and the family feel just horrible about it and don't really have the guts to tell their neighbors. so they decide to take the rabbit and fix it up. they clean off the blood, bathe it, dry it, brush out its hair, and then they put the rabbit back in its cage in their neighbor's backyard. well the next day the mother is outside and sees her neighbors all standing around the rabbit's cage. she goes over and asks, "is something wrong?" the father of the other family says, "well, we're not sure what happened. our rabbit died a few days ago but now we're trying to figure out how it got back in its cage."
hahahah! :) :) isn't that funny?
i thought that was funny. maybe you've heard that before or could tell where it was going. i couldn't and so it was really funny for me.
our stake president's wife shared that story this morning at stake conference. our stake president also shared a short little story that i wanted to share that illustrates the principle of faith in a really interesting way. he said,
find a slow growing oak tree and take 2 acorns from the tree. then go and plant one. and then plant the other beside it, about 15 feet away from the first. and then, go out and buy a hammock.
it's so simple, but i thought it illustrated beautifully the principle of faith. the person who buys the hammock has faith and knows the acorns will produce a tree, even though the process of having the acorn mature into a tree is a slow process, so slow it might seem on some days there is no growth at all--no sign that one day there will be a big tall tree standing over the spot where the acorn was planted. but that's what faith is--believing and remembering and then awaiting the miracle of growth.
so there is this family and they have a pet dog. they live next to a family who has a pet rabbit. one day the mom is in the kitchen and the dog comes in, but with the neighbor's pet rabbit in his mouth. well, the mother and the family feel just horrible about it and don't really have the guts to tell their neighbors. so they decide to take the rabbit and fix it up. they clean off the blood, bathe it, dry it, brush out its hair, and then they put the rabbit back in its cage in their neighbor's backyard. well the next day the mother is outside and sees her neighbors all standing around the rabbit's cage. she goes over and asks, "is something wrong?" the father of the other family says, "well, we're not sure what happened. our rabbit died a few days ago but now we're trying to figure out how it got back in its cage."
hahahah! :) :) isn't that funny?
i thought that was funny. maybe you've heard that before or could tell where it was going. i couldn't and so it was really funny for me.
our stake president's wife shared that story this morning at stake conference. our stake president also shared a short little story that i wanted to share that illustrates the principle of faith in a really interesting way. he said,
find a slow growing oak tree and take 2 acorns from the tree. then go and plant one. and then plant the other beside it, about 15 feet away from the first. and then, go out and buy a hammock.
it's so simple, but i thought it illustrated beautifully the principle of faith. the person who buys the hammock has faith and knows the acorns will produce a tree, even though the process of having the acorn mature into a tree is a slow process, so slow it might seem on some days there is no growth at all--no sign that one day there will be a big tall tree standing over the spot where the acorn was planted. but that's what faith is--believing and remembering and then awaiting the miracle of growth.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
things as they really are.
food for thought: things as they really are.
"the spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls." -jacob 4:13
"i want to see truth in all its bearings." -joseph smith.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
more truth found in my property book.
"Courts have a duty to reappraise old doctrines in the light of the facts and values of contemporary life--particularly old common law doctrines which the courts themselves created and developed.
"As we have said before, 'The continued vitality of the common law . . . depends upon its ability to reflect contemporary community values and ethics.'
"Some courts have realized that certain of the old rules of property law governing leases are inappropriate for today's transactions [think of the principle beyond the lease]. In order to reach results more in accord with the legitimate expectations of the parties and the standards of the community, courts have been gradually introducing more modern precepts of contract law in interpreting leases.
"Proceeding piecemeal has, however, led to confusion [important!] where 'decisions are frequently conflicting, [why?] not because of a healthy disagreement on social policy, but because of the lingering impact of rules whose policies are long since dead.'"
I really like that. :)
I remember my first, week maybe? of law school we had an event called the Founder's Day Dinner, with Justice Monroe McKay as our speaker. He talked a lot about the principle of really looking at what we're doing to make sure that our actions are actually leading us to the results we want, that we should avoid temptations to just get stuck in old habits that are no longer beneficial. He used our current prison system as an example, discussing high recidivism rates, rehabilitation versus penalization, etc.
And he gave this really wonderful poem that I have meaning to share but haven't yet.
::What have you preserved from your frenzy?
A lamp that flickers; an eye that weeps.
::What is there from the storm, that you withstood?
A mournful leaf, that has not yet found rest.
::What has love done in your heart?
It has made me understand the pain of the lonely.
::What remains of all the glory that surrounded you?
Nothing but a singing memory.
-H.W.J.M. Keuls
thoughts?
"As we have said before, 'The continued vitality of the common law . . . depends upon its ability to reflect contemporary community values and ethics.'
"Some courts have realized that certain of the old rules of property law governing leases are inappropriate for today's transactions [think of the principle beyond the lease]. In order to reach results more in accord with the legitimate expectations of the parties and the standards of the community, courts have been gradually introducing more modern precepts of contract law in interpreting leases.
"Proceeding piecemeal has, however, led to confusion [important!] where 'decisions are frequently conflicting, [why?] not because of a healthy disagreement on social policy, but because of the lingering impact of rules whose policies are long since dead.'"
I really like that. :)
I remember my first, week maybe? of law school we had an event called the Founder's Day Dinner, with Justice Monroe McKay as our speaker. He talked a lot about the principle of really looking at what we're doing to make sure that our actions are actually leading us to the results we want, that we should avoid temptations to just get stuck in old habits that are no longer beneficial. He used our current prison system as an example, discussing high recidivism rates, rehabilitation versus penalization, etc.
And he gave this really wonderful poem that I have meaning to share but haven't yet.
::What have you preserved from your frenzy?
A lamp that flickers; an eye that weeps.
::What is there from the storm, that you withstood?
A mournful leaf, that has not yet found rest.
::What has love done in your heart?
It has made me understand the pain of the lonely.
::What remains of all the glory that surrounded you?
Nothing but a singing memory.
-H.W.J.M. Keuls
thoughts?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
something i am working on. :)
From 1 Peter 3.
8| Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, bit pitiful, be courteous:
10| For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11| Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12| For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers:
14| But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
my favorite..
15| But sanctify the Lord in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
8| Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, bit pitiful, be courteous:
10| For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11| Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12| For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers:
14| But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
my favorite..
15| But sanctify the Lord in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
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