I finished my internship last week.  It ended with UCCD's annual Tribute to Utah's Citizen Diplomats, recognizing ordinary citizens who have taken part in welcoming International Visitors to Utah.  It was a great event, and a great way to end my internship.  I really learned a lot this summer, and I think I will miss working there.  It was a great way to be involved and meet people that I otherwise would probably never have met.  Utah really is amazing in how open and welcoming it is.  People here are friendly and so willing to help and be involved, and that is something I have really grown to appreciate while living here.

This week has been nice.  I've been able to go to lunch with some friends, clean the house, and READ!  Something I haven't done much of lately until this summer.  I used to read one book after another, but its hard when I'm in school, after reading a textbook all I want to do is melt my mind with TV.  But, I am looking forward to school next week.  It's always fun to start a new class and see what the semester will be like.  I am going to be really busy, but I think it will be good. 

A few days ago I started writing a blog about how frustrated I am with the Government and President Obama and all the new laws and requirements that are being passed. I felt like I needed to make my voice heard because so often I feel like we only hear the garbage on TV or from the media and I wanted to share what I felt like is the truth about things right now.  But something about my blog just didn't feel right, so I didn't post it.

I've been reading in the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon and it talks about how one king succeeds another, some are righteous, some are wicked.  The story in Ether follows the trend of the Book of Mormon: when a righteous king is in power, the people prosper and are blessed, when a wicked king is in power, the people suffer and evil prevails. Even after thousands of years things haven't changed much.

Chapter 12 describes Ether's efforts to persuade the people to repent and return to believe in God, "For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed..." It sounded pretty hopeless, kind of like how I have been feeling about our country lately.  But, then Ether went on to say, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God" (Ether 12:3-4).

I am worried about the future of my country and I do want to support righteous people and fight the evil that is in the world, but maybe I wasn't going about it the right way. What I really need to do is live righteously and invite others to do so as well, just as Ether did, and in that way I can hope for a better world.

One more class tomorrow and I am finished with Summer semester!  It sure feels nice, though I have to admit that my Accounting final was a bit more difficult than I expected and I'm anxious to see my final grade. Luckily, my final for my Management class consists of filling out a worksheet and participating in class by sharing what I learned.  I love Professors who think outside the box.

After my class tomorrow, Phil and I will be heading off to Denver for the Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair! My dad, the great collector that he is, has been attending the fair for years and finally I get to go too.  Phil and I will stop in Wyoming tomorrow and then drive the rest of the way on Friday, spend the weekend looking at books, (and lots of other fun things since one can only look at books they can't afford for so long), and then make our way back home on Sunday.  It will be a short trip, but I am just excited to go somewhere!  We haven't done any traveling all summer and it will be a nice break.