Charles Dickens: "What is in store for the poor people on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, what happy delusions they are labouring under now, on what miserable blindness their eyes may be opened then, I do not pretend to say. But I went on board their ship to bear testimony against them if they deserved it, as I fully believed they would; to my great astonishment, they did not deserve it; and my predispositions and tendencies must not affect me as an honest witness, I went over the Amazon's side, feeling it impossible to deny that, so far, some remarkable influence had produced a remarkable result, which better-known influences have often missed." -Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens went to shore to make judgments about the incoming members of the LDS faith that he was sure would be negative judgments. But after speaking with the captain, who said that they were the most peaceable and friendly people he had had on board, and after associating with them, he found that they were good people. I feel like this can happen in a majority of the accusations against the Church. People hear things out of context or that are just wrong and they misunderstand our mission and beliefs as a Church. If they took the time to hear and learn, I think they'd be pleasantly surprised about what they'll find out about us.
Also, however quirky and, um, interesting Benjamin Franklin could be, I had some newly found respect for him when I read his Autobiography this week.
Benjamin Franklin, from his 13 Virtues: "13. Humilty. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."
I love being an English major because of the academically stimulating reading that we're introduced to as well as the uplifting literature that proves that it's still out there.
{Ben's the man}
That's really interesting! Why do you think Ben Franklin is quirky?
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing "John Adams", which included some stuff about Franklin's life, too, and let's just say that he was very funny and cranky and hated going to meetings, but he did it anyways because he was super smart and had to contribute in order for your country to survive. I'm pretty sure he was unfaithful in his marriage and he was a BIG partier, especially when he lived in Paris. Not very many people know about his personal life, which is good because for some it might overshadow the amount of good he did for our country.
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