Mormons and Brigham Young

1. The Mormons were people who were part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, originating the the US in the 19th century. They migrated across the US from the Midwest to modern-day Utah.
2. Joseph Smith was the founder of Mormonism. Born is 1805 in Vermont, he was an American religious leader who was believed to be the prophet of God and is not worshiped. He was said to have received visions from God and an angel called Moroni, which led to his creating the "Book of Mormon" which was published in 1830. In the same year he established the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became the first president. He died in 1844.
3. Brigham Young was the leader of the Mormon Church. Born in 1801, he was baptized into the Mormon church in 1832 after seeing Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon. He worked as a missionary and served the Mormon church. After Joseph Smith's death, Brigham Young led the Mormons to the west, looking for a place to freely worship. In 1847 he replaced Joseph Smith as the church's president and prophet. In Utah, he expanded the church, increasing the church's influence and authority. Brigham Young was a key figure in the Mormon's prosperity and allowed the Mormon church to succeed. He died in 1877.
4. The Mormon church believes that people are punished for their own personal sins rather than Adam's original sin, and that they may achieve salvation by abiding by the rules of the Gospel. They believe in upholding the law and maintaining order. They are strongly focused on traditional family values and used to practice polygamy. They believe that humans can become gods after they die and that God has a physical body, is married and is capable of having children. They believe in honesty and living life they way God wants them to.
5. Plural marriage is polygamy as practiced by the Mormons. It is not legal in Canada.
6. I believe that John Ferrier was justified in his decision. Although he had promised to live as a Mormon, he should also have the freedom to live by his own values. Even if the Mormons did save his and Lucy's lives, they should not have forced them to live under a certain faith and threaten them if they chose not to. Especially considering how closely John Ferrier obeyed Mormon rules for so long, he should have had the right to follow his own morals.
7. Polygamy is illegal in Canada because it violates the human rights to freedom and equality, more specifically gender equality within a marriage. Polygamy is a practice that often relies on women being obedient, modest and subservient to men. In some societies, polygamy is accepted because of religious beliefs or customs; the majority of countries that permit polygamy are African or follow Muslim faith. In some African cultures, men are considered superior to women and polygamy is accepted as the norm. Polygamy used to be more widely accepted because of the equality difference between men and women; there were expectations for women to be chaste, modest and obedient to men.
8. Some norms in my family are that family members spend most of their time together; even when everyone is working, it is usually within the same room. Phones and computers are generally not allowed upstairs, to make sure no one stays up too late. In Chinese culture, it is expected for people to respect those who are older than them.
9. Lucy is given the name "Flower of Utah", meaning that she has is known for being both innocent and beautiful. In Utah, where polygamy is practiced, numerous men want her to be one of their wives. As a girl living under Mormon rules, Lucy is required to eventually marry one of these Mormon men. However she wishes to marry Jefferson Hope, who is not a Mormon, which then violates the Mormon law for women to only marry within the Mormon community. Because she is sought after by so many, this violation is all the more unacceptable. Usually, being beautiful and desirable is a positive thing. However in this situation, it becomes a burden for Lucy and only inconveniences her and limits her freedom.
10. Lucy's fate - being dragged back to the Mormons to be married against her will - indicates that in the Mormon community, women are treated more as a commodity than people. In the novel it is described that Lucy was brought back to "fulfill her original destiny". Mormon women have no other purpose than to become wives and bear children; they are given no freedom to make their own decisions or pursue an independent life. Doyle portrays the Mormon community as strict and unyielding, permitting no infractions in its members' conduct. John Ferrier is threatened with death (and does die eventually) when he refuses to marry Lucy off to a Mormon, even though he had led an exemplary Mormon life up until then. Through the kidnapping of women outside the community, the Mormons are portrayed as people who give little regard to those who do not follow the same beliefs that they do. They are confident that all their actions are justified, and that objects and people alike are open to their taking.The Mormon leaders are frightening and have an almost omnipotent and omniscient quality, keeping track of everything that happens in the village and leaving numbers in John Ferrier's home despite it being supposedly impossible to do so.


Sources
1. http://www.mormon.org/faq/the-mormons
2. http://www.pbs.org/americanprophet/joseph-smith.html
3. http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/young.htm
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/beliefs/articles.shtml
5. http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/poly/chap1.html
6. http://www.economist.com/node/21553461

Masonry and A Study in Scarlet

1. Masonry, or freemasonry, is a fraternal organization. It is not a religion in itself, but contains many rituals or beliefs that correspond with those in Christianity. Freemasons are not all Christian. however, and involve people of various religions; they do not permit atheists. Because of the various religions that exist within masonry, the name "Jesus" is forbidden. Freemasons live within networks called lodges, which are organised around larger regional grand lodges. They live a lifestyle centralized around God, with strict beliefs and customs. They believe that the member who lives his entire life following Masonic teachings will be granted eternal rest in the "celestial lodge", which is similar to the Christian heaven.

2. The origin of the masons is estimated to be from the stonemasons during the middle ages, however the exact origin is uncertain. Freemasons were initially smaller groups of stonemasons, then later developed into the current system of lodges. The first Grand Lodge came from when four lodges began holding meetings to discuss masonic business in the 18th century. In America, the oldest lodges were in Pennsylvania.

3. As a fraternity, masonry is a strictly for men only. It is organized around lodges, which are organized around grand lodges, which are supervised at a regional level. Masonry is an organization and not a religion, although its customs are similar to some of those of Christianity and the lifestyle is centralized around God, or a single supreme being. It has a very strict set of beliefs that all members are expected to live under. They believe in that eternal rest in the "celestial lodge" is granted to he who faithfully follows these beliefs until death. They believe that man is imperfect rather than sinful at birth, and that in order to achieve salvation, one must do good deeds and work for his own self-improvement.

4. The fact that both Brigham Young and Drebber were Masons probably means that the two of them were part of the people who brought masonry into the Mormon community. Both of them were important people among the Mormons, and it is likely they were responsible for bringing masonry to the Mormons.

5.  There are some speculations that Sherlock was a mason. In A Study in Scarlet, there is a reference to masonry in part one, in which a Masonic ring is found on Drebber's body. In The Red-Headed League,  Sherlock is able to recognize a man as a mason but does not tell Watson how he knows. Sherlock also follows the main Masonic values; brotherly love, offering relief and pursuing truth. Sherlock cares for Watson, seeks to provide relief and satisfaction to his clients, and works to find the truth through his job as a consulting detective. Arthur Conan Doyle became a Freemason when he was 27 years old in 1887. He left in 1889, returned in 1902 and left again in 1911. [1]

Sources:
1. http://themastersmasons.homestead.com/masons.html

2. grandlodge.on.ca/home/about-freemasonry/who-are-masons.html

3. http://www.msana.com/historyfm.asp
4. http://www.gotquestions.org/free-masonry.html

Jefferson Hope Confession

I, Jefferson Hope, confess that I have killed Enoch Drebber of Salt Lake City, Utah.
It all happened about twenty-one years ago. I was driving some cattle from the Nevada mountains to Salt Lake City. It was then when I met Lucy Ferrier, daughter of John Ferrier. We fell in love and were to marry, if it weren't for the Mormons whom they were living with. It was against Mormon law for Lucy to marry a gentile like me, so she and her father were forced to flee from the Mormons with my aid. We travelled together for a while, but one evening when I was away hunting the Mormons found Lucy and John Ferrier. I returned to find the grave of John Ferrier and no trace of Lucy. From that point on I decided to dedicate my life to revenge, and I traveled for days until I returned to the home of the saints. I learned that Lucy had been married off to Drebber. When she died a month later, I took the marriage ring off her finger and bid her one last goodbye before I set off in search for revenge. For a number of months I lived in the mountains and attempted murdering Drebber a number of times while he was travelling. I pursued Drebber for several years, from America to Europe. I chased after him from city to city, until I finally found him in London. There I met him and offered him the two pills, one of which was poison and the other harmless. I wanted God to judge between us and pass judgment. I was so overcome in that moment; I had finally reached Drebber, whom I had been pursuing for years, who was responsible for the death of John Ferrier and my dear Lucy. Drebber chose the poison pill and died. I showed him Lucy's ring as he died. I wrote the word Rache on the wall shortly afterward. However once I had left the house, I realized that I had lost Lucy's ring somewhere between here and the house. I turned back to retrieve it but the detectives were there. I pretended to be drunk to avoid suspicion. A few days later I found Stangerson in a hotel room and have killed him as well, however instead of choosing a pill like Drebber he first tried to attack me with a knife. I left the hotel and waited to be discovered, as I soon was.

Watson: Maslow's pyramid

In the beginning of the novel, Watson is struggling to find employment and shelter. He travels in search of fulfilling his basic life needs. He is also looking for security, both financial and mental, and order in his life after the chaos of eh war in Afghanistan. He spends this period of time on his own for the most part and receives little support from other people. His communication with family and friends is almost nonexistent. When he moves in with Sherlock at his apartment, the first two tiers (basic life needs and safety needs) are fulfilled. Watson now has a home, food and drink, and more stability in his life. As he gets to know Sherlock better and becomes friends with him, the third tier (family and relationships) is also fulfilled. Sherlock becomes Watson's roommate, friend and colleague. Watson now has someone to talk to and spend time with, instead of wandering around alone. He eventually becomes more involved in Sherlock's job (consulting detective) through the case of Drebber's death. After the case is resolved, he seeks to fulfill the fourth tier (esteem needs: achievement, status, responsibility, reputation) by preparing to publish a journal on Sherlock's skills. Through the journal, Watson hopes to achieve more and gain more of a reputation, promoting Sherlock at the same time. Throughout the course of the first part of  A Study in Scarlet, Watson gains more self-fulfillment: he finds a purpose in life and no longer wanders aimlessly around London as he did before. Thus by the end of the story, he has worked from the base of Maslow's pyramid to the top tier.

Answer to code

whale sharks are cool

Consulting Detective

(note: the fonts changed when I transferred the advertisement onto the blog so I took a screenshot instead, if that's alright.)

Code

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n     o     p     q    r     s    t     u     v    w    x     y     z     

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