Types and Shadow:"Imitations of Divinity"

I really liked the exhibition Types and Shadows: “Imitations of Divinity.” All of the artwork was well chosen to portray the exhibition’s overall message. While I liked some of the interpretations of the artwork, I thought that some of them were a little overanalyzed. Sometimes artwork should just be admired for how it makes you feel, not about every little detail that may of may not mean something else.
My favorite piece was the 3-D art that was copper colored and seemed to come to life right before your eyes. The bodies of the two men looked like they were real and you could just reach out and feel them. I really like the symbolism of the larger man as our Father in Heaven, reaching out to help us from beyond the veil. This piece really made me feel the hardship in the young man’s life and the hope he gained from reaching out to his Father.
Another favorite of mine was the drawing of two simple chairs, one draped with a red robe and the other with white. The red chair was lying down at the feet of the white chair, which was very interesting. The interpretation I liked of this painting was that the red represented the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, while the white represented his resurrection three days later. Jesus Christ, as the chair, laid down his life for us that we many all receive the gift of resurrection, and the chance to be clothed in white and live with our Heavenly Father forever.
The last art piece I found interesting was the depiction of Lehi’s family crossing the sea to the Promised Land. I have seen this picture numerous times throughout my life but have never really given much thought to it’s meaning. The picture, upon closer inspection, is much more than just a depiction of Lehi’s family in a boat. Everything about the picture points towards Christ. The tilt of Lehi’s head, the waves, and the white birds in the sky all are allusions that point the viewer towards Christ. This made the picture much more meaningful to me as I contemplated on how much this family leaned on Christ as they made their voyage to a new land.
I am grateful for the chance to visit the Types and Shadows exhibit. I think every BYU student should take the opportunity to view this great artwork, while at the same time being edified and pointed towards Christ.

The Amistad

I really enjoyed watching La Amistad in class these past couple of days. Sometimes it’s much easier for me to understand and remember history if I see it visually. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the story and message of the Amistad now.
I think it’s so crazy how slaves were just treated like sub-humans. It bugged me so much after they worked so hard to win the first court case, and then the men repealed the decision so it would have to be tried again at the Supreme Court. All of the jury and the people knew that the slaves were not guilty, but they did nothing to try and stop this from happening.
Although there were many depressing parts in the movie, I loved all of the good people that it showcased. When I think of slavery and this time period, I don’t usually think about people who actively fought against slavery or disagreed with it. But in reality, there were a great number of people who didn’t agree with slavery. I really admired that lawyer Michael Baldwin who lost all of his clients and his livelihood just for standing up and defending the slaves because he knew it was right. I also loved the judge that the president handpicked. They picked him because they thought that he would immediately side against the slaves, but after hearing all the evidence, he knew that they were innocent and stood up for them even though he knew it would probably cost him his job. It was really great to hear the stories of these people who gave up a lot in order to do what was right and just.
I think The Amistad is a movie every American should see. It really portrays the unjust nature of slavery, but it also inspires me to see that there were people who stood up for what was right in the face of overwhelming pressure and influences.

The Wealth of a Nation

Adam Smith made a very important contribution to the discussion on the wealth of nations. Before Smith’s book, it was widely believed that the wealth of a nation was determined by how much treasure they had. This notion of mercantilism was widely practiced from the 1500s up until the 1800s.
However, in his book Smith argued that it is not the amount of treasure a nation has that determines wealth, but the living conditions and lifestyle of the people. Or, in other words, the per capita income of the people living in the country actually determines wealth. Wealth does not come from stockpiling treasure and hording gold, but from consuming and producing, which is called consumer sovereignty.
The economy that emerges from consuming and producing is called a Market economy, and its basic method is self-interest. In order for a Market economy to flourish it needs personal relations among highly ranked officials, it needs to operate on its own without government involvement, and players that themselves respond to economic forces. Another point made by Adam Smith was that if human beings, if free to do so, will act in their own best interests.
Adam Smith’s book, The Wealth of Nations, was truly revolutionary in its ideas. It completely changed the way the world judged a nation’s wealth and moved more nations towards establishing a market economy.