The Washington Student Math Association (WSMA) is a non-profit organization in Washington State. Led by students in the Seattle area, WSMA seeks to promote math and its applications by aiding existing math clubs and starting new ones. The goals of the organization include hosting math practices and providing information about past and future contests to encourage students, math club leaders, and math enthusiasts at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. WSMA extends its influence to the community by working directly with students, parents, teachers, and coaches.
Mission statement
According to its official website, the Washington Student Math Association is a "student-driven organization dedicated to promoting the uses and purposes of math that are not generally covered in the current school curriculum. The Washington Student Math Association will accomplish this mission through the advocacy of alternative uses of math and the provision of assistance in the startup and improvement of local math clubs."
Representation at math competitions
WSMA representatives attended several math competitions throughout Washington state to promote its resources, encourage math learning, promote awareness of opportunities for high-achieving math students, and recruit new members. In 2010, WSMA board members presented at Washington State Mu Alpha Theta, a competition sponsored by the national mathematical honor society. Representatives also encouraged competitors to pursue their education in math and science at a competition recently hosted by Interlake High School in April 2010. WSMA was also recognized at the contest as one of its main sponsors.
Services
Starter pack
WSMA offers a starter pack for math club leaders, which is written by students who have experience in running math clubs.
Lists of math competitions and summer programs
WSMA provides a list of major math competitions at each of the local, state, regional, and national levels for primary and secondary students. It also offers suggestions of summer math and enrichment programs for motivated students.
Electronic Data Initiative
In 2009, Washington math students called attention to the lack of current resources available to math clubs, citing www.wamath.net as a helpful but infrequently updated resource. Indeed, as of April 2010, the site's main list of high school math contests had not been updated since the 2007-2008 school year. Responding to students' requests, WSMA recently announced its plans for the Electronic Data Initiative, a searchable, online database targeting math club leaders. Projected to launch in May 2010, the EDI project aims to provide information on running a club, which includes math problems, event results, leadership advice, and sample lessons. WSMA has also formed a partnership with the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) to provide information about the American Mathematics Competitions and provide convenient access to past tests to WSMA member schools.
American Regions Math League
WSMA supports the Washington teams that compete in the annual meet of the American Regions Math League, a national math competition for high school students sponsored by D. E. Shaw & Co. whose tests are more difficult than those of most other high school contests. WSMA hosts weekly practices to train and prepare the thirty Washington team members that compete in ARML each year.
Community recognition
According to the , WSMA encourages students to explore math topics beyond normal school curricula.
The Sammammish Reporter also noted that WSMA makes "effective math learning accessible to more students" by developing a large base of commmunity math resources. Evan Shieh, the founder of WSMA, was recently praised for his efforts to establish this organization by the Issaquah Press.
Mission statement
According to its official website, the Washington Student Math Association is a "student-driven organization dedicated to promoting the uses and purposes of math that are not generally covered in the current school curriculum. The Washington Student Math Association will accomplish this mission through the advocacy of alternative uses of math and the provision of assistance in the startup and improvement of local math clubs."
Representation at math competitions
WSMA representatives attended several math competitions throughout Washington state to promote its resources, encourage math learning, promote awareness of opportunities for high-achieving math students, and recruit new members. In 2010, WSMA board members presented at Washington State Mu Alpha Theta, a competition sponsored by the national mathematical honor society. Representatives also encouraged competitors to pursue their education in math and science at a competition recently hosted by Interlake High School in April 2010. WSMA was also recognized at the contest as one of its main sponsors.
Services
Starter pack
WSMA offers a starter pack for math club leaders, which is written by students who have experience in running math clubs.
Lists of math competitions and summer programs
WSMA provides a list of major math competitions at each of the local, state, regional, and national levels for primary and secondary students. It also offers suggestions of summer math and enrichment programs for motivated students.
Electronic Data Initiative
In 2009, Washington math students called attention to the lack of current resources available to math clubs, citing www.wamath.net as a helpful but infrequently updated resource. Indeed, as of April 2010, the site's main list of high school math contests had not been updated since the 2007-2008 school year. Responding to students' requests, WSMA recently announced its plans for the Electronic Data Initiative, a searchable, online database targeting math club leaders. Projected to launch in May 2010, the EDI project aims to provide information on running a club, which includes math problems, event results, leadership advice, and sample lessons. WSMA has also formed a partnership with the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) to provide information about the American Mathematics Competitions and provide convenient access to past tests to WSMA member schools.
American Regions Math League
WSMA supports the Washington teams that compete in the annual meet of the American Regions Math League, a national math competition for high school students sponsored by D. E. Shaw & Co. whose tests are more difficult than those of most other high school contests. WSMA hosts weekly practices to train and prepare the thirty Washington team members that compete in ARML each year.
Community recognition
According to the , WSMA encourages students to explore math topics beyond normal school curricula.
The Sammammish Reporter also noted that WSMA makes "effective math learning accessible to more students" by developing a large base of commmunity math resources. Evan Shieh, the founder of WSMA, was recently praised for his efforts to establish this organization by the Issaquah Press.
The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon is the "sealed" part of the gold plates from which also came , a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The "unsealed" portion of the gold plates (The Book of Mormon) was published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr. The "sealed" portion of the plates was first published in October 2004 by Christopher Marc Nemelka as The Sealed Portion-The Final Testament of Jesus Christ.
Smith's first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold," and were described by Martin Harris, one of Smith's early scribes, to be "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires." Smith called the engraved writing on the plates "reformed Egyptian." A portion of the text on the plates was also "sealed" according to his account, so its presumed content was not included in the Book of Mormon.
Whereas the Book of Mormon (unsealed part of the gold plates) was written mainly by Mormon, and a small end part by his son, Moroni, the sealed portion of the record was written entirely by Moroni. In the Book of Mormon text, Moroni writes about a man called the brother of Jared. It was revealed to the brother of Jared that God was a human being like him. He was shown "all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be." Moroni wrote that the things he would include in the sealed portion are "the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared." Moroni was told that he should seal up all that he would write concerning what the brother of Jared saw, along with the Urim and Thummim, which would serve as the interpreters of the record. He continued that the sealed portion would "not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord. And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw." When Joseph Smith had the gold plates, he found specific instruction written by Moroni in the unsealed part concerning the sealed part of the plates. He was commanded to "touch them not in order that ye may translate; for that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in God."
Origin
According to Nemelka's account, and written in the book itself, it was translated by the exact same Urim and Thummim used by Joseph Smith to translate the "unsealed" portion. Just as Smith claims that he received the gold plates from an angel named Moroni, whom Smith identified as a resurrected human being, Nemelka claims that he received the same plates from a resurrected Joseph Smith in 1987 in a room located in the upper floors of the LDS Salt Lake Temple.
Book Content
The Sealed Portion contains 100 chapters written by Moroni. The chapters begin with the creation of the earth and its solar system and continue chronologically up to the time of the Second Coming of Christ, and beyond to the modification of the planets in our solar system to become the final home for all human beings who have lived upon earth. The book also contains a retranslation of the lost 116 pages (also known as the Book of Lehi) taken from the beginning of the unsealed part of the plates translated by Joseph Smith and then lost by Martin Harris. Also included are: the "many other things" Joseph Smith was told during the First Vision that he was commanded not to write at the time; and a retranslation of the Beatitudes given by Jesus both to the Jews and to the Book of Mormon people.
Other Associated Published Works
* According to the prophecies about The Sealed Portion found in the Book of Mormon, after the sealed portion of the gold plates is translated, "then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye shall see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed." This prophecy was fulfilled with the publication of a detailed and comprehensive work that "unfolds" the New Testament book of Revelation unlike any ever published. Accordingly, Nemelka claims that under the direction of John himself, he was instructed to publish the book, . The publication of this book also confirms other prophecies given in the Book of Mormon.
* Joseph Smith established an "endowment from on high" that would, ostensibly, teach the people everything they needed to know about God, the Universe, and humankind's relationship with them. Part of the "other books" mentioned in the prophecies of the Book of Mormon that would come "forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true,", is a complete explanation of Smith's original endowment. The book is called, SACRED NOT SECRET--The Official Guide In Understanding the LDS Temple Endowment. Nemelka claims that under the direction of the same resurrected being (Joseph Smith) who gave him the gold plates so that he could translate the part that was sealed, he published a full explanation of Smith's endowment.
* Nemelka claims that advanced human beings, who live in advanced human societies in other parts of the Universe, are responsible for the earth, its environs (both terrestrial and celestial), and all of its human inhabitants. He claims that besides the advanced (i.e. resurrected) beings who oversee his work, there are four other quasi-mortal men who assist him. All four of these men are mentioned in the Book of Mormon, especially the Three Nephites. John the Beloved is the other. Under their direction, and written anonymously, a book was published that details everything that is needed to know about who humans are and why they exist. It was published in 2009 and dedicated to his nephew, Aaron T. Nemelka, a victim of the Fort Hood shooting, under the title, HUMAN REALITY-- Who We Are and Why We Exist.
* Other soon to be released books associated with The Sealed Portion,
The Light of the Moon--The Plain and Precious Word of the Ancient Prophets, which explains the words of Isaiah, Malachi, and other Old Testament prophets;
Without Disclosing My True Identity--The Authorized and Official Biography of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., claimed to be authorized and written under the direction of the resurrected Smith.
Doctrinal and philosophical teachings
The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon contains doctrinal and philosophical teachings on a wide range of topics, challenging many basic themes of Christianity (more especially LDS/Mormon) and Judaism and the political and ideological teachings that have developed during the history of the human race upon the earth.
The Sealed Portion's presentation is unique in that it presents God, the creator of the human race, as an advanced human being; and that each human being has an advanced "Eternal Mother" living on a planet in a solar system found in another galaxy. It presents that human beings are the ultimate form of life found in the Universe, and that mortal beings are simply advanced beings who needed to experience the effects of an "imperfect" life so that they would appreciate the perfect state in which their advanced creators first created them.
The book describes "priesthood" as something "allowed to be instituted upon the earth... because of the frailties and wickedness of the children of men," but not necessary as long as one belongs to an order of people called, "the Holy Order of the Son of God."
Throughout the presentation of the Sealed Portion, every form of organized religion, its leaders, and the social and political structures that have been established by the human race upon the earth are challenged.
Most Significant Doctrine
The Sealed Portion teaches that the only purpose for the "unsealed" part of the gold plates, to which the sealed part was included, is to present to the world the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel... as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants." The book relies heavily on the Book of Mormon (the unsealed part) to explain the hypocrisy of the modern Mormon faiths that practice any doctrine that takes away from the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel" given by Jesus to the ancient Americans. It is particularly critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The contention is made that the LDS Church has developed apart from the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel" and teach instead "the precepts of men."
The book explains that the LDS people are fulfilling many of the prophecies contained in the Book of Mormon in which they believe; but because of their "blindness and hardheartedness" they do not see that they have "polluted the holy church of God" by building opulent temples, church houses, and worrying more about their religious principles than they do about the poor and the needy in the world.
Comments
The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon has caused much controversy between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its members who have read and embrace it as the sealed part of the gold plates. Any member who accepts The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon is excommunicated from the LDS Church for apostasy. LDS members are taught that if God has something to give to the people of the world, it can only come through God's chosen leaders as revelation. LDS people are encouraged to avoid anything not authorized and published by their leaders. In spite of the warning, many people have read The Sealed Portion, and most who do, become disillusioned with the LDS Church. See Personal Stories and Testimonies of The Sealed Portion
Critical Comments
While incarcerated in the Salt Lake County Jail, Utah, in December 2001, Nemelka told a reporter for Salt Lake City Weekly that he made up the sealed portion. Nemelka does not deny this, but issued a public explanation of what happened. , an LDS apologetic website, has published a detailed counter to Nemelka's claims. (NOTE: Not one of the For Christopher Nemelka are verified as accurate. Everything FariMormon has published against Nemelka is expected to be repudiated in his upcoming biography: The Man From Joe's Bar and Grill. (See reference note below.)
Smith's first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold," and were described by Martin Harris, one of Smith's early scribes, to be "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires." Smith called the engraved writing on the plates "reformed Egyptian." A portion of the text on the plates was also "sealed" according to his account, so its presumed content was not included in the Book of Mormon.
Whereas the Book of Mormon (unsealed part of the gold plates) was written mainly by Mormon, and a small end part by his son, Moroni, the sealed portion of the record was written entirely by Moroni. In the Book of Mormon text, Moroni writes about a man called the brother of Jared. It was revealed to the brother of Jared that God was a human being like him. He was shown "all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be." Moroni wrote that the things he would include in the sealed portion are "the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared." Moroni was told that he should seal up all that he would write concerning what the brother of Jared saw, along with the Urim and Thummim, which would serve as the interpreters of the record. He continued that the sealed portion would "not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord. And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw." When Joseph Smith had the gold plates, he found specific instruction written by Moroni in the unsealed part concerning the sealed part of the plates. He was commanded to "touch them not in order that ye may translate; for that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in God."
Origin
According to Nemelka's account, and written in the book itself, it was translated by the exact same Urim and Thummim used by Joseph Smith to translate the "unsealed" portion. Just as Smith claims that he received the gold plates from an angel named Moroni, whom Smith identified as a resurrected human being, Nemelka claims that he received the same plates from a resurrected Joseph Smith in 1987 in a room located in the upper floors of the LDS Salt Lake Temple.
Book Content
The Sealed Portion contains 100 chapters written by Moroni. The chapters begin with the creation of the earth and its solar system and continue chronologically up to the time of the Second Coming of Christ, and beyond to the modification of the planets in our solar system to become the final home for all human beings who have lived upon earth. The book also contains a retranslation of the lost 116 pages (also known as the Book of Lehi) taken from the beginning of the unsealed part of the plates translated by Joseph Smith and then lost by Martin Harris. Also included are: the "many other things" Joseph Smith was told during the First Vision that he was commanded not to write at the time; and a retranslation of the Beatitudes given by Jesus both to the Jews and to the Book of Mormon people.
Other Associated Published Works
* According to the prophecies about The Sealed Portion found in the Book of Mormon, after the sealed portion of the gold plates is translated, "then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye shall see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed." This prophecy was fulfilled with the publication of a detailed and comprehensive work that "unfolds" the New Testament book of Revelation unlike any ever published. Accordingly, Nemelka claims that under the direction of John himself, he was instructed to publish the book, . The publication of this book also confirms other prophecies given in the Book of Mormon.
* Joseph Smith established an "endowment from on high" that would, ostensibly, teach the people everything they needed to know about God, the Universe, and humankind's relationship with them. Part of the "other books" mentioned in the prophecies of the Book of Mormon that would come "forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true,", is a complete explanation of Smith's original endowment. The book is called, SACRED NOT SECRET--The Official Guide In Understanding the LDS Temple Endowment. Nemelka claims that under the direction of the same resurrected being (Joseph Smith) who gave him the gold plates so that he could translate the part that was sealed, he published a full explanation of Smith's endowment.
* Nemelka claims that advanced human beings, who live in advanced human societies in other parts of the Universe, are responsible for the earth, its environs (both terrestrial and celestial), and all of its human inhabitants. He claims that besides the advanced (i.e. resurrected) beings who oversee his work, there are four other quasi-mortal men who assist him. All four of these men are mentioned in the Book of Mormon, especially the Three Nephites. John the Beloved is the other. Under their direction, and written anonymously, a book was published that details everything that is needed to know about who humans are and why they exist. It was published in 2009 and dedicated to his nephew, Aaron T. Nemelka, a victim of the Fort Hood shooting, under the title, HUMAN REALITY-- Who We Are and Why We Exist.
* Other soon to be released books associated with The Sealed Portion,
The Light of the Moon--The Plain and Precious Word of the Ancient Prophets, which explains the words of Isaiah, Malachi, and other Old Testament prophets;
Without Disclosing My True Identity--The Authorized and Official Biography of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., claimed to be authorized and written under the direction of the resurrected Smith.
Doctrinal and philosophical teachings
The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon contains doctrinal and philosophical teachings on a wide range of topics, challenging many basic themes of Christianity (more especially LDS/Mormon) and Judaism and the political and ideological teachings that have developed during the history of the human race upon the earth.
The Sealed Portion's presentation is unique in that it presents God, the creator of the human race, as an advanced human being; and that each human being has an advanced "Eternal Mother" living on a planet in a solar system found in another galaxy. It presents that human beings are the ultimate form of life found in the Universe, and that mortal beings are simply advanced beings who needed to experience the effects of an "imperfect" life so that they would appreciate the perfect state in which their advanced creators first created them.
The book describes "priesthood" as something "allowed to be instituted upon the earth... because of the frailties and wickedness of the children of men," but not necessary as long as one belongs to an order of people called, "the Holy Order of the Son of God."
Throughout the presentation of the Sealed Portion, every form of organized religion, its leaders, and the social and political structures that have been established by the human race upon the earth are challenged.
Most Significant Doctrine
The Sealed Portion teaches that the only purpose for the "unsealed" part of the gold plates, to which the sealed part was included, is to present to the world the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel... as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants." The book relies heavily on the Book of Mormon (the unsealed part) to explain the hypocrisy of the modern Mormon faiths that practice any doctrine that takes away from the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel" given by Jesus to the ancient Americans. It is particularly critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The contention is made that the LDS Church has developed apart from the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel" and teach instead "the precepts of men."
The book explains that the LDS people are fulfilling many of the prophecies contained in the Book of Mormon in which they believe; but because of their "blindness and hardheartedness" they do not see that they have "polluted the holy church of God" by building opulent temples, church houses, and worrying more about their religious principles than they do about the poor and the needy in the world.
Comments
The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon has caused much controversy between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its members who have read and embrace it as the sealed part of the gold plates. Any member who accepts The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon is excommunicated from the LDS Church for apostasy. LDS members are taught that if God has something to give to the people of the world, it can only come through God's chosen leaders as revelation. LDS people are encouraged to avoid anything not authorized and published by their leaders. In spite of the warning, many people have read The Sealed Portion, and most who do, become disillusioned with the LDS Church. See Personal Stories and Testimonies of The Sealed Portion
Critical Comments
While incarcerated in the Salt Lake County Jail, Utah, in December 2001, Nemelka told a reporter for Salt Lake City Weekly that he made up the sealed portion. Nemelka does not deny this, but issued a public explanation of what happened. , an LDS apologetic website, has published a detailed counter to Nemelka's claims. (NOTE: Not one of the For Christopher Nemelka are verified as accurate. Everything FariMormon has published against Nemelka is expected to be repudiated in his upcoming biography: The Man From Joe's Bar and Grill. (See reference note below.)
Complete list
Over the course of the character's 2000+ years of existence, Jesus has, at some point or another, had various combinations of the following powers and abilities:
*Invulnerability - He's the Son of God.
*Transmutation - Can turn water into wine.
*Exorcism - Possess-ee must be of "Good" alignment, and possessor must be of "Evil" alignment.
*Curse - Possibly limited to fig trees.
*Resurrect Party Member - Can bring back others from the dead.
*Resurrect Self - Came back from the Dead. Can He do it again? Unknown.
*Levitation - Limited to hovering over liquid water. Possibly affected by salinity.
*Cure Light Wounds - Limited to things like leprosy, blindness, etc.
*Charm - Subject to Saving Throw vs Mind depending on INT and WIS of target. Targets of sufficiently low CON get a penalty.
*Bring Light - Range unknown.
*Summon Drink and Summon Food - Redundant with Transmutation but presumably has higher Mana cost.
Over the course of the character's 2000+ years of existence, Jesus has, at some point or another, had various combinations of the following powers and abilities:
*Invulnerability - He's the Son of God.
*Transmutation - Can turn water into wine.
*Exorcism - Possess-ee must be of "Good" alignment, and possessor must be of "Evil" alignment.
*Curse - Possibly limited to fig trees.
*Resurrect Party Member - Can bring back others from the dead.
*Resurrect Self - Came back from the Dead. Can He do it again? Unknown.
*Levitation - Limited to hovering over liquid water. Possibly affected by salinity.
*Cure Light Wounds - Limited to things like leprosy, blindness, etc.
*Charm - Subject to Saving Throw vs Mind depending on INT and WIS of target. Targets of sufficiently low CON get a penalty.
*Bring Light - Range unknown.
*Summon Drink and Summon Food - Redundant with Transmutation but presumably has higher Mana cost.
Cornhill Consulting ("Cornhill") is a risk management consultancy based in the City of London.
Cornhill's consultants have contributed to the ongoing debate on developments in liquidity risk management, with articles published in the Journal of Compliance, Risk & Opportunity and FX-MM magazine .
Cornhill is also a member of the UK Financial Services Authority's Liquidity Regulatory Reporting Independent Software Vendors Group .
Cornhill and Microsoft
Cornhill was the feature of a Microsoft Small Business case study in May 2010, profiling the firm's rollout of Microsoft Online Services.
Cornhill's consultants have contributed to the ongoing debate on developments in liquidity risk management, with articles published in the Journal of Compliance, Risk & Opportunity and FX-MM magazine .
Cornhill is also a member of the UK Financial Services Authority's Liquidity Regulatory Reporting Independent Software Vendors Group .
Cornhill and Microsoft
Cornhill was the feature of a Microsoft Small Business case study in May 2010, profiling the firm's rollout of Microsoft Online Services.