Prayer helps us cool our anger by prompting us to pause and change our state of mind. Your whole demeanor changes, and even your breathing, when you pray. It shifts the focus from whatever you're mad at to God, and that shift alone can be calming. Not only does it invite the spirit, which will, in turn, provide you with any of the opposite feelings of anger. For me, it reminds me of the person I want to be, and I don't want to be angry with myself or those around me.

Here are a few pre-performance tips that I use before high-pressure moments. The first is a quick grounding ritual: placing both feet on the floor, breathing slowly, and thinking about what I'm about to do. The second one is to imagine myself doing the thing I'm about to do, with confidence and a good outcome. The third would be to stretch my back and release any tension in my back, arms, and legs. Each of these has a different appeal to me, grounding because it helps me sto

Interviewing has been eye-opening over the years and has improved my communication skills. I think interviewing shapes you, teaching more than just how to get a job, but how to connect with others. For me, it has helped with my awareness and how I interact with others. I have noticed that after many interviews, my confidence has increased. I am no longer scared to go into interviews and can actually enjoy them, which makes the tedious search for a new job much more stress-fre

Quote by Joseph Smith: “When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow’r it has over my mind. . . . The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls—[we feel that we want] to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back . . . if you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another.” How do you think the quote above relates to news writing? I think the quote relates

I think newsworthy things are what the public needs to hear, and they matter. At the same time, something sensational is more emotional than informative. Newsworthy is timely and affects people's lives, safety, money, or other matters that help them make informed decisions. A story can become a sensation when its main reason is to grab someone's attention. It doesn't give you information to help deepen your understanding; instead, it focuses on the most shocking or disturbing

Having greater faith to follow the Lord's prophets isn't something you say and magically happens. You have to create moments when you can personally experience God, which will let you know that their words are true. You can do this by asking God if the words are true and waiting for the Spirit to confirm it. You could even take something a prophet said and test it out, see for yourself how it makes you feel, and wait to see what comes from the outcomes. Also, when they are pr

Sadness and depression sometimes get confused and put in the same corner, but I think they are totally different. In my mind, I think of sadness as a feeling that is felt during certain moments, whereas depression is a state of mind. You might feel sadness while you are depressed, but I don't necessarily think that being sad causes depression. I think that depression is also more of a condition that interferes with your daily life and needs support and care to overcome. Sadne

President Hinkley said it best, "Each of us can do a little better..." and that is pretty much what editing principles are. It's trying to do a little better each time we go back over the page. When you edit a paper, you look for errors in grammar, extra unnecessary words, typos, and structure. As we try to live the gospel, we have to cut out certain things, people, places, and thoughts that might lead us further away from God. Do you see the similarities? It's a beautiful th

The strengths and weaknesses of feature writing over news writing come down to readers' needs. Feature writing answers questions like what it feels like and why it matters, whereas news writing is more direct and gets to the base question of what happened. The strengths would be greater depth and intrigue. They don't have to follow any pyramid and can draw the reader in however they want, unlike news writing that needs to be concise and to the point. On the downside, I think

Frequent blog writing has been interesting and taught me more about myself. It’s helped by giving me an outlet to write what I think, and even when the blogs aren't necessarily about something I want to write about, they still help me see who I am through how I choose to respond. Blogs are a peek into someone’s mind on various topics and their opinions and thoughts. It's definitely a great way to get to know yourself better. I have also noticed a difference in the way I write

Have you ever looked at graffiti and thought, "Wow, that looks good"? I personally have, in fact, I would have to say that some of the graffiti I have seen is beautiful and artistic and can totally be considered art. Then certain pieces of graffiti make me cringe, and I don't see anything artistic about them. By definition, graffiti is writing or drawings illicitly placed on a wall or other surface in a public place. So, I guess that it's in the eye of the beholder. When my

By: Cody Thorson This is quite the debate, since I think the most powerful platform really depends on what you are using it for and why you're using it. Each platform has similar social aspects, but they serve different demographics. For instance, if I wanted to influence boomer-aged people, I might lean towards Facebook. On the other hand, if I wanted to reach a younger crowd, such as teens and young adults, I would use either Instagram or TikTok. I don't think any media pla

I have seen social media be used as a marvelous work in various ways. Whether it's being used to uplift others, to share truth, or to share testimony through stories, I have seen it. There was one the other day that I saw that shared a beautiful scripture about loving others and encouraged people to do the same. I think any role I play on social media will be in the service of God, as I plan to bring only intent, integrity, and love. I want to be Christlike in all of my commu

This is a tough question because I think it also depends on the person using the technology. Some people can easily get addicted to sitting on their phones, scrolling, and yes, that, in turn, can make a person feel more alone. However, some use technology to create groups of like-minded people who communicate and share their interests. There are also events listed, so you can use the technology to find out what's going on and be social. I think that sometimes people get too

If I could go back and fix my social media posts and do things differently, I would make sure to use a better microphone when recording video. I would also do a more in-depth screenplay. I felt as though I wasn't prepared enough when it came to shooting. I only had a script with shot descriptions, and I think it would have helped to create a visual screenplay with each shot drawn and described. I made do with what I had, but later had to go back and take a couple of shots I

As I look back on my childhood, I have fond memories of various moments that I think back on and wonder if that's how the moment actually went. After so many years of hearing the stories repeated, I sometimes wonder if things were added, forgotten, or even changed. An experience is also not just yours when someone else tells it, whether it's accurate or not. You have your perspective, and other people have theirs, which can lead to multiple versions of the same memory. My bro

By: Cody Thorson School has changed since I was a kid; it's still just about as long, but now there's no more nap time for kindergartners, lunch is at different times instead of all at once, homework takes forever, and recess is shorter than before. I definitely think that if someone spends the better half of the day somewhere and comes home, but still has to do more work, I wonder if they did anything in the classroom at all. Plus, it's overwhelming for parents when they wan

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do! I am just starting to realize that the younger generations think it's some secret code of sorts. My son saw me writing in cursive on a note to my dad, and he asked me to write in English so he could read it. When did this change even happen? I guess there's really no need for it when we already have an easily legible way to write in English. Plus, sending mail and writing a handwritten note is something of the past, with phones now doing all

I use this article of faith to guide my choices about what I create and share with the world. I try to leave a place better than it was before I got there. When creating things, whether it's movies or writing text messages to others, I try to stay virtuous, honest, praiseworthy, and kind. I know I'm not perfect, but I make the effort to find things and people to surround myself with who uplift me and genuinely want to see me grow. I think this also applies to the things I br

By: Cody Thorson I would have to say it wasn't so much learning as relearning everything I had been taught in a few video production courses I took in high school. I had forgotten that sometimes my imagination and what I want something to look like aren't always conveyed properly in the script, which can lead to disappointment later during filming. Also, while filming, if you want to change something in the moment, go back and edit the script; it's helpful in post-production.