Oh No...It's the Mormons!

This weeks assignment is to write a Prospectus or proposal for our future Researched Argument paper.  Basically I am supposed to persuade my instructor Sandy, that I can be  successful with the topic I have chosen to write about. Here we go.....









What issue do you plan to address, give one sentence?

• How does the public image of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints aka "Mormons" affect church members?
  

  I propose to show that there is a difference between what i believe most people see and perceive about Mormons and what the actual Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is. These two are different and i plan to highlight the differences and explain the common misconceptions that are related. Also, i will show how this affects members of the church.

What is your is your tentative answer to the question or thesis statement?

• Although the individual public image of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is positive, there are still many misconceptions that exist because of misunderstanding and grouping in with other faiths as Mormons, this has positive and negative affects on its' members.



Who is the audience you need to persuade?

• My audience is made up of those who might have misconception about the LDS church, who might think negatively, or do not have any knowledge about Mormons.

What personal interest or stake do you have in this issue?

•  I am a member of the LDS church and yes, I am a Mormon. I was baptized when i was 18, right after i graduated high school. Before becoming a member I had my ideas of what they believed and who they were. It wasn't until after i learned and joined that i saw these misconceptions for what they really were, prejudice. Then began my own experiences with other's intolerance towards me because of these misunderstandings and fallacies. I lost most of my friends, some of which i had since elementary school, and for almost two years, my relationship with my family ceased to exist. All because i was a Mormon. This was heartbreaking because it was such a beautiful thing in my life and i had no one to share it with, i had to start over. I often thought to myself " what about freedom of religion, isn't this America?". This topic hits my heart at its core.

Why is this a controversial issue?

 

 

 

 

• Governor Mitt Romney is the republican candidate for this years 2012 presidential election and he is a Mormon. This platform has put a lot of attention on him and his faith. As an individual Romney's public image seems to represents all members of the LDS church and each individual member represents Mitt Romney to those who have may not know about Mormons. So this situation is an interesting one, where a lot of  misunderstanding and misrepresentation can happen.

 

 

• The LDS church has what i believe to be a positive public image because of it's humanitarian and welfare programs. However, not surprisingly it seems to get included in everything else the public eye watches or reads about so called morons, even if those things aren't actually affiliated wit the church at all. For example, there is a show on TLC network called Sister Wives, where we meet the Browns, a Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint family who practice polygamy and refer to themselves as Mormons. Anybody who watches this could easily assume that any Mormon they come across practices polygamy. This grouping is understandably why my mom used to think I was the first of future sister wives to my husband but this is just not true. I plan to address other misconceptions formed from the media and explain these other faiths who share the same nick name.

                         

• I have been the person with the misconceptions about Mormons and i have been on the receiving end of the judgment. I have friends who are members of the LDS church who have had their own families disown them because they became Mormon. It affects families and real people, it's definitely controversial.

 

 

Who seem to be the parties involved?

• I believe this to be a controversial issue and the parties involved are those who are members of the LDS church who feel offended and confused by the view of others who are not members. Also, those who are not members and have no affiliation or do not know anything about Mormons. Lastly, those who might be prejudice and feel strong negative emotions toward Mormons.

Is there sufficient or insufficient evidence to resolve this issue?

•  I believe there is sufficient evidence to help resolve the issue, however i think it is impossible to eliminate it all together. I will support my claim with online resources but most of my evidence will come from personal experiences, as well as  interviews with members of the LDS church and others who do not share the same faith.
 

If your argument calls for an action, who has the power to act on your claim?

 

• My argument is a call for action. This action calls for my audience to be accepting of those who practice a different faith than them, especially one they might not understand like the LDS faith. i invite them to be open minded, learn and ask questions to those around them. I do not want them to rely on assumption, ignorance, or bigotry as way to cope with what they do not understand. I want them to investigate, explore and have tolerance towards people who practice other faiths. The individual person has the power to act on my claim and i hope they do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Intorducing....The Magnificent 7!

The magnificent 7 challenge is an assignment in which the class is to post comments on at least 7 other classmates blogs and then write about it. After some technical difficulties I'm finally posting it.

This assignment was challenging because i don't like being mean. I want only to make friends and have peace:) But this forced me to critique others work and I felt I  was completely unworthy to do so. I feared that even though the comments were constructive that i would walk into the class room on Tuesday and get food thrown in my face....thank goodness food and drink aren't allowed. But i was surprised at the comments i got and how i felt about them.



 Overall everything was pretty positive and helpful. Of
coarse criticism isn't always easy to swallow but i did
my best to stop myself from writing back in defense
saying...."yes i did do that, read it again!".  I had to laugh at myself and my husband had a good laugh too  because it took me a little while to relax and realize that this was the point of the exercise. I had to learn and see my writing through others eyes in order to improve, i just hope no one was offended by my comments. In the end i was completely happy and found myself looking forward and hopping everyone would continue to give feedback.


Below are the links to my 7 comments:


Crystal - http://thesmithsonianpodium.blogspot.com/2012/10/freedom-of-internet.html?showComment=1350452577526#c6317195382782849085

Colby- http://mccoolb.blogspot.com/2012/10/divergence-we-stand.html?showComment=1350685290184#c5778349567013733611

Kevin- http://theadventuresofaristasdad.blogspot.com/2012/10/lying-is-wrongexcept-when-its-right.html?showComment=1350686996868#c6807571670903665116

Jasmine- http://jasminejewelhood.blogspot.com/2012/10/do-we-need-it.html?showComment=1350684033163#c6201041128166315216

Shane- http://smitrovitch.blogspot.com/2012/10/attack-of-ipod.html?showComment=1350770856100#c7707448169886970867

Robert- http://robertswrittingview.blogspot.com/2012/10/communication-let-freedom-ring.html?showComment=1350802090909#c8019785699758980506
          - http://robertswrittingview.blogspot.com/2012/10/communication-let-freedom-ring.html?showComment=1350802292486#c2135146131745139981

Simone- http://wordwidewriting.blogspot.com/2012/10/gaybies-my-children-mariah-simeon-anna.html?showComment=1350804591378#c8203336989930294367



My most helpful comment to another:

I believe my most helpful comment i believe was my response to Jasmine's post about Egypt's uprising in 2011.
 

Jasmine, I enjoyed reading your post on this issue. As well as your other post, a reader can easily tell that you put time and effort into thinking about the issue and how you might present it. I like that because it shows your character and detication to the assigment.In this particular assingment, it was refreshing to see a differrent take on the issue because it always allows me to expand my thinking, so thank you for that. However, I can see how the extra information in your response can seem off topic to the real issue at hand and it isnt always clear where your summary ends and your response begins. The effect of technology on society is noteworthy but to me felt some what irrelevant to the heart of the matter. Although you obviously have a strong oppinon that is clear, which i love, i would have liked it to be more focused on the situation at hand.My last critique would have to be that shorter text blocks would make it easier on the eyes to read and not so overwhelming, a critique Sandy gave me which i thought helped me, and i m still working on. You are doing great! keep up the good work.

First of all  i have to say that she is one intelligent lady and i can say this because i know her she is in my writing group. Anyone can easily tell from reading her blog that she goes above and beyond and really digs deep. I admire this about her. But in the post i felt as she expressed her opinion she veered off topic and so i suggested her to keep the passion but try to remain on the specific topic.She did do a great job and I'm happy to have her as a group member.




The most helpful comment i received:
     From Robert-

 Whoa, this shouldn't be a hot topic article but it is! Wow, you represented your side very well too, good job! Not only does your blog page look professional, but your layout for this specific article is pretty amazing. This is better looking than Huffingtonpost.

As for what you said in the article you nailed it. "What is the world coming too, isn't this a no brainier, come on we are talking about porn." I mean if that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what else could.

I do like how you have Summary, and then the Response. Of the essays I've read and commented on so far, you're the only one who's done it this way. (most people mixed them up in the articles together)It does make the response kinda better. I got the feeling of "I can't wait to see what you have to say next."

My suggestion isn't in content or how it flows. Its just I noticed a few spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, missing punctuation and maybe spacing mistakes. (president.Any) (definitly) (i) (University of Wisconsin system and the university of Virginia, Robert O'Neil claimed)

A simple Spell Check and Grammar Check this would've been perfect!

Again, well written. Thanks for letting me read it!

Robert gave me a few enormous compliments and i was very flattered by them. This and other comments helped boost my confidence and helped me to learn some of my weakness's like grammar. He explained with specifics that i need to work on my grammar and spelling which is helpful because i know what to watch for even more carefully. I enjoyed the compliments and think he is a great writer too.