We went there again a few weeks ago with cousins and Grandma Rita.
I think the boys all had a great time. It is wonderful whenever Grandma Rita comes down from Washington, and the boys adore her. But I have trouble every time I go into this museum and see these dead animals that were hunted and killed for no other reason but sport. They are all beautiful, and it is amazing to see them close up, kind of. I was especially angered by this bear. The inscription on the glass talks about how "the hunter looked for this particular bear for 4 years before he caught up with him, and this bear, at over 8 feet tall is in the record books as one of the largest Kodiak Bears of all time"...it goes on about how the hunter used to display the bear in his living room so he could brag about hunting it down and killing it out of some selfish blood-thirsty desire to kill one of the biggest bears ever, a bear that has struggled to survive, and I think, earned the right to be left alone...that deserves our respect.
Every time I have gone to this museum, I hear the words of our prophet Spencer W. Kimball: "I do not believe any man should kill animals or birds unless he needs them for food, and then he should not kill innocent little birds that are not intended for food for man. I think it is wicked for men to thirst in their souls to kill almost everything which possesses animal life. It is wrong, and I have been surprised at prominent men whom I have seen whose very souls seemed to be athirst for the shedding of animal blood.”Spencer W. Kimball, “Fundamental Principles to Ponder and Live,” Ensign, Nov 1978, 43
I am not against hunting. But if it is not necessary, it is a sick game, and it is wrong. Killing these amazing animals that are in this museum just seems wrong. And that is how I feel when I go there. Just a feeling a death. It is stifling to me.
This was kind of cool. A butterfly made of dead butterflies. I remember for a zoology class, I had to make a bug collection, and catch and kill and mount bugs. I had to drop them in a jar with a chemical on a cotton ball that would kill them. It was awful. Watching them hope around in that jar, trying to hold on to life. I felt awful. And they were just insects.
I am teaching my boys to respect all life. They are both very kind to animals and bugs. I also want them to learn to hunt and fish, but I want them to have a reverence for animals that are sharing the earth with us. And this is a living snake. I like the living animals much more.
4 comments:
ummm......I'm not sure what to say. I do believe that killing poor little animals is wrong but I also get the whole sport of hunting. Mostly because of Greg and my Dad being big time hunters. But I think that it's great that you took your kids to such a cool museum and that you are teaching them to love and respect animals. With Greg growing up on a farm he is very loving towards all animals and I think it's really sweet.
I will have to be honest. I would prefer all snakes dead! I saw one in my yard last week and Don failed to kill it. Now my yard will be full of weeds because I refuse to go near the spot of the snake sighting.
You are right Andi, I think it is an important life skill to learn to hunt and fish, and I know that your Dad hunted Deer and Elk to eat. I don't have a problem with that...there was just something about the whole bear thing that really bothered me.
And Windy, that is funny about the snake. They freak me out a little, too.
The museum trip was also an opportunity to see incredible beauty and many of God's creations. I'd like to believe that all the "meat" was needed and used, so these animals didn't die just for a museum...but that's probably not true either. I definitely get your point. Thanks for being a tender heart.
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