Cool "Gospel in Action" Story

[smac97]

I really love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Though far from perfect, it houses some things I find to be of great worth.  Restored truths.  Priesthood authority.  Continuing revelation.  A real sense of community.  A substantial commitment of time, money and effort.  Good and decent leaders.  Missionary work.  Temple work.  Family history work.  Humanitarian work.  Educational endeavors.  At the center of this constellation of attributes is the Atonement of Jesus Christ, from which radiates love and hope and encouragement and guidance.  And not just in the abstract, but with the expectation that we taken the message of the Restored Gospel and apply it where we can in the real world.

To wit, see here:

Quote

Nick Flint has always wanted to be a doctor and make a difference in the world. What he didn’t know was that he would make such a difference before he even got out of medical school. 

Three years ago, Flint and three other students at the University of Utah School of Medicine — all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — began developing a study resource that has revolutionized how hundred of thousands of aspiring physicians conquer the masses of information they need to know to pass their exams. 

A customized deck for the existing flashcard app Anki, AnKing uses an algorithm that allows cards to automatically show up when users most need to review the information — the better you learn a flashcard, the more time will lapse before you see it again.

The AnKing deck not only improved on existing medical school flashcard decks, it also introduced software that would allow the flashcards to be updated as medical information changes. Today, AnKing, a free resource, has been downloaded 200,000 times — twice the number of current medical students in the U.S.

I wonder if this app can be used in other contexts.  Studying languages, for example.  Or mathematics.  Or law.

And they've made it available for free.  Very cool.

Anyway, read on:

Quote

“It really started because we just wanted to help people,” said Blake Cowan, one of the original AnKing members, all of whom attended Brigham Young University before moving on to the University of Utah. “Since we all had that common background of going to BYU and being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we felt it was important to give back to our community of med students.”

Flint and the original AnKing team members consider the resource to be a way to live out their faith.

Cowan said everyone in the group has served on missions where they shared the gospel of Jesus Christ. Once they started medical school, they wanted to find ways to continue serving others in an environment that typically fosters individualism.

“We just want people to know that we’re a group of students that want to help others,” said Cowan. “We’re trying to do so because we feel that that’s what our savior would do if he was in our position.”

Very cool.  This sentiment, this desire to "help others," with no particular thought of reward or ROI, to be one of the more beautiful manifestations of the Restored Gospel.

So good job, my brothers!

Thanks,

-Smac

[JustAnAustralian]

Very cool. I didn't know Anki let you do custom algorithms like that.