Examples of visual meaning in Japanese

   Today in my talk, I mentioned how languages that use Chinese characters, or ideograms, have an advantage over English and similar languages. When we read a church-related term in English, it's often hard to grasp its meaning without a dictionary or an explanation. You'd usually need to know the original language—be it Greek, Latin, or something else—and its meaning there to truly understand it.
   However, in languages that use ideograms, you can often visually understand a word's meaning just by looking at it. I find it fascinating how different our experience can be with languages and meanings... 

   Below, I've included a few examples from Japanese, since I don't speak Chinese.

[  To be fair, when church or Christian terms arrived in Asia, there was likely an effort to record them in a way that conveyed their meaning. In modern Japanese, however, things might be different. These days, it's popular to write foreign words using katakana.
  Katakana is one of the three main Japanese writing systems, primarily used for transcribing foreign words and names, as well as for emphasis. Unlike kanji (which are based on Chinese characters and often carry inherent meaning), katakana characters represent sounds, similar to letters in the English alphabet.
  So, when words are written in katakana, they're recorded phonetically, based on how they sound. This means their meaning isn't visually obvious, which probably adds a certain mystique and "coolness" to such words in the eyes of Japanese speakers. ] 

 

 Words structure examples:

 信仰 - shin-kou - (religious) faith. 信 -  (general) faith, trust. 仰 - look up, face-up, seek...

福音 fuku-in -  Gospel (good tidings).  福 - blessing, fortune 音 - sound 

背教 hai-kyou - apostasy. 背 - back, behind, [turn your back on..] 教 - teach(ing), doctrine

神権 shin-ken - priesthood. 神 - God 権 - authority, power, rights

神権 時代 shin-ken-ji-dai - dispensation.  神権 - priesthood 時代- period, era, epoch

 聖典 sei-ten - scripture(s). 聖 -  holy, saint 典 - code, law, rule

悔い改め kui-aratame - repentance. 悔 - regret, repent 改 - reform, mend, change

預言者 yo-gen-sha - prophet. 預 -  leave with, entrust to, deposit 言 - say 者 - person 

使徒 shi-to - apostle. 使 - use, send on a mission, messenger 徒 - follower, person  

戒め - imashime - commandment. Literally: caution; admonition; warning; lesson​

誘惑 - yuuwaku - temptation. 誘 - entice, seduce 惑 -  delusion, perplexity

相応しい - fusawashii - worthy. 相 - inter-, mutual, each other 応 -  answer, reply, accept, corresponds to

 

 Kanji structure examples (keys):

 祈り - inori - prayer 

 

 贖 - aganai - atonement, redemption. shell (used to be a money alternative) + sell 

 

Farmer's Cheese Bars Recipes

 I have a favorite Russian dessert: chocolate-glazed farmer cheese bars (tvorozhnye syrki). They are visually similar the yogurt bars you can find in the US, but nothing like them in terms of taste!

While chocolate is my top choice, the ones with caramelized milk (dulce de leche), blueberry jam, or strawberry jam are also delicious.

When I first started reading the Book of Mormon, it felt just like eating one of these sweet treats. Today, I was reminded of that feeling during a talk. I even used it as an example of how the desire to share the gospel is like wanting to share these cheese curds (or even their recipe!). So, I'm going to share a couple of simple recipes here. Yes, there are fancier versions out there, but sometimes, simplicity is key

 

Chocolate-Glazed Bars with filling

 

This recipe makes about 4 servings of a truly indulgent treat!

Ingredients:

• Farmer's cheese (NO SALT ADDED) (10-16% fat): 333.33 grams (about 11.75 oz) 

• Unsalted butter: 66.67 grams (about 2.35 oz or 4.5 tablespoons)

• Dulce de leche (cooked/caramelized condensed milk): 66.67 grams (about 2.35 oz or 3 tablespoons).  (Find it in Russia, Eastern Europen, or Latin American stores. You can also make it yourself by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk. However, please be extremely cautious if you choose this method. It involves boiling a sealed can for several hours, and there's a small but real risk of the can exploding if not done correctly,)

• Powdered sugar: 66.67 grams (about 2.35 oz or 1/2 cup, packed)

• Dark chocolate (60-65%): 200 grams (about 7 oz)

• White chocolate for decoration (optional) 

   

  1. First things first, make sure you have all the necessary ingredients ready to make these delicious glazed cheese curds with dulce de leche.

   

  2. Place the farmer's cheese in a bowl, add the powdered sugar, and mix thoroughly. Melt the butter and pour it into the bowl with the farmer's cheese. Then, use a blender to process everything until smooth and uniform.

   

   3. Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler (or in a microwave safe bowl, being careful not to burn it). Then, apply a design to the bottom of your molds with the melted white chocolate. Place them in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to set.

   

  4. Chop the dark chocolate and melt it over a double boiler until it's completely smooth. Let the melted chocolate cool down a bit and thicken slightly. Then, apply the chocolate in two layers to the bottom and sides of your molds. Pop them into the refrigerator to let the chocolate set.

   

  5. Now, spoon the cheese mixture into your chocolate-lined molds. Make sure to create a small indentation in the middle and don't fill them completely to the very top.

   

  6. Using a pastry bag, pipe the dulce de leche into the indentations you made in the cheese mixture. Then, cover the dulce de leche filling with the remaining cheese mixture and smooth it out.

   

  7. Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the top of each filled mold. Then, place them in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to firm up completely. Once chilled, carefully remove them from the molds and serve!