Fitness - Reproductive or Religious?

I just read this verse in The Book of Mosiah:

Mosiah 1:4 For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

It made me think of my earlier discussion of evolution (which didn't go anywhere - surprise!): the goal of evolutionary fitness is not to reproduce better – it is to produce offspring that can reproduce better. 

I like the idea that the goal of the gospel isn't to teach the gospel to our children and help them find testimonies – it is to help our children to teach the gospel to their children and help them help their children find testimonies. 

This verse gives a brilliant and succinct illustration of a fundamental principle that applies to multiple parts of our development.

Defining Evolution

Had an interesting conversation with my dad last night that made me think it might be useful if i tried to distill some ideas here. Its a jumble of ideas that are all related to the subject of evolution and the controversy that academics get into with the public - one of these debates is about if evolution should be taught in school, but it isnt the only one. My position is that most people don't understand what evolution is (and academics seem to not be interested in educating them about evolution per se) and that most evolutionary biologists have very hostile feelings towards intelligent design advocates and the rest of the religious world by extension (and that hostility is enflamed by political preferences). Neither of these is a good recipe for reasoned exchange. Some of these thoughts will tie directly to those issues, and some more indirectly.

I think that one of the biggest problems is a desire (by both the academics and the lay) for a sound byte definition of evolution. Survival of the fittest is a commonly used phrase, but it puts an improper focus on survival, lifespan, and appealing traits (i'm thinking something like, for humans, athleticism and muscular build) since fitness in our vernacular is different than the specific definition assigned to the word by biologists. In biology, fitness roughly means the success of an organism at passing on its genes. Further, the word survival applies to the forthcoming generation, not the current one. Evolution is barely interested in the survival of the current generation once they have reproduced, and is almost exclusively focused on the ability of the new generation to reach the age of reproduction and reproduce. Therefore, to be consistent with the vernacular, "survival of the fittest" could be rephrased as, "Propagation of the reproducers" or simply "Reproducers reproduce". But to be more to the point we should define the word, "allele."

Genes are made up of variants called alleles. A common example is eye color - i may have blue eyes and you may have brown eyes, and this results from differences in our genetic makup. Briefly, an allele is a different variety of any given gene - it will be located at the same location in the chromosome, but the sequence of the DNA for each allele will vary, usually slightly. These small changes cause small variations in the characteristics that each gene is responsible for. For example, eye color varies because of different alleles - the allele responsible for blue eyes, brown eyes, etc - but we all still have color to our eyes. It is usually a subtle, not a major change. These alleles are really what evolution is interested in.

Armed with the knowledge that alleles are slight variants of gene sequence for any given gene, and that alleles may cause changes in the characteristics of the individuals who have those alleles in their DNA, defining evolution is simple: "Evolution is the change in allele frequencies in a population over time." the key concepts are CHANGE, FREQUENCY, POPULATION, and TIME.

A Reservoir of Living Water

I was speaking with someone about this talk on Sunday, and thought I'd post it, along with my favorite part:

A Reservoir of Living Water, by Elder David A. Bednar, February 4, 2007 CES Fireside

http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,538-1-4040-1,00.html

He talks about studying the scriptures in three different ways - finding connections, patterns, and themes. When he talks about themes he introduces an idea that impressed itself upon me:

Themes are overarching, recurring, and unifying qualities or ideas, like essential threads woven throughout a text. Generally, scriptural themes are broader and more comprehensive than patterns or connections. In fact, themes provide the background and context for understanding connections and patterns. The process of searching for and identifying scriptural themes leads us to the fundamental doctrines and principles of salvation—to the eternal truths that invite the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost (see 1 John 5:6).

He needed to understand something better, a clearly defined idea: gathering

In preparation for a recent speaking assignment, I was impressed to talk about the spirit and purposes of gathering. I had been studying and pondering Elder Russell M. Nelson's recent conference message on the principle of gathering (see Conference Report, Sept.–Oct. 2006, 83–87; or Ensign, Nov. 2006, 79–82), and the topic was perfectly suited to the nature of and setting for my assignment (see The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering [address delivered at a BYU–Idaho devotional, Oct. 31, 2006]).

He went to the scriptures to learn about gathering and adopted the following approach:

I recognized that I had much to learn from the scriptures about gathering. So I identified and made copies of every scripture in the standard works that included any form of the wordgather. I next read each scripture, looking for connections, patterns, and themes. It is important to note that I did not start my reading with a preconceived set of things for which I was looking. I prayed for the assistance of the Holy Ghost and simply started reading.

As I reviewed the scriptures about gathering, I marked verses with similar phrases or points of emphasis, using a colored pencil. By the time I had read all of the scriptures, some of the verses were marked in red, some were marked in green, and some were marked in other colors.

Now, here comes the part that may make you laugh. I next used my scissors to cut out the scriptures I had copied and sorted them into piles by color. The process produced a large pile of scriptures marked with red, a large pile of scriptures marked with green, and so forth. I then sorted the scriptures within each large pile into smaller piles. As a first grader I must have really liked cutting with scissors and putting things into piles!

Here is what he learned:

The results of this process taught me a great deal about the principle of gathering. For example, I learned from examining my large piles that the scriptures describe at least three key aspects of gathering: the purposes of gathering, the types and places of gathering, and the blessings of gathering.

I noted that some of the primary purposes of gathering are to worship (see Mosiah 18:25), to receive counsel and instruction (see Mosiah 18:7), to build up the Church (see D&C 101:63–64), and to provide defense and protection (see D&C 115:6). In studying about the types and places of gathering, I discovered that we are gathered into eternal families (seeMosiah 2:5), into the restored Church (see D&C 101:64–65), into stakes of Zion (see D&C 109:59), into holy temples (see Alma 26:5–6), and into two great centers: old Jerusalem (see Ether 13:11) and the city of Zion or New Jerusalem (see D&C 42:9; Articles of Faith 1:10). I was grateful to learn that edification (see Ephesians 4:12–13), preservation (seeMoses 7:61), and strength (see D&C 82:14) are some of the blessings of gathering.

Gathering is just an example, but this approach works with even less paper waste and a wider variety of colors if done digitally. This evening I tried giving each topic its own "style" in microsoft word so that the sections could be rapidly sorted out afterwards, which has always been complicated for me. Another way to do it would be to use excel and assign each scripture a word label that can be used for sorting. He points out that he doesn't care whether we adopt this approach, but I have found that it helps me to see things in scriptures that I wouldn't otherwise see, (for example, "gather" might not be the idea I center on when reading the verse in context, even though it might contain an important message about gathering that is secondary to the primary message of the verse - this is a great way to capitalize on secondary and tertiary messages of particular passages).

Hilarious

I love this kind of humor. Or is it...

And, as popularized during my undergraduate years: "Whoever brings up the Nazis first, loses."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704375604575023132215883398.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Instructions and Responsibilities

Our stake president taught the doctrine posted below this past week. I was instructed by it and wanted the quotes and found that they were in this month's issue of the Ensign. I've linked the original talk and the summary of the talk in this month's issue at the bottom. They come from a general conference address by then Elder Boyd K. Packer

… Fathers are responsible to preside over their families.

If my boy needs counseling, bishop, it should be my responsibility first, and yours second.

If my boy needs recreation, bishop, I should provide it first, and you second.

If my boy needs correction, that should be my responsibility first, and yours second.

If I am failing as a father, help me first, and my children second.

Do not be too quick to take over from me the job of raising my children.

Do not be too quick to counsel them and solve all of the problems. Get me involved. It is my ministry.

He continues without intervening text, but the focus shifts:

We live in a day when the adversary stresses on every hand the philosophy of instant gratification. We seem to demand instant everything, including instant solutions to our problems. …

It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal.

Teach our members that if they have a good, miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out.

There is great purpose in our struggle in life.

The principle of self-reliance or personal independence is fundamental to the happy life.

None of it is new doctrine, but I was edified by it. A good reminder both to my intentions to fulfill my responsibilities at home and assist others.

Original

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Solving Emotional Problems in the Lord's Own Way
http://lds.org/ldsorg/lds_servlet/EmailArticleProcess?action=view&cmlId=602311&locale=0&emId=211577421

Summary

LDS.org - Liahona Article - Solving Emotional Problems in the Lord's Own Way
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/lds_servlet/EmailArticleProcess?action=view&cmlId=602303&locale=0&emId=46041601