He Lied!

The Lion King, I think, is one of the best movies I've ever seen.  But one thing I haven't realized until recently is how much it can teach us about the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I've previously spoken of the conniving Scar's plot to rise to greatness.  His plan works out pretty well, he conquers the pride and rules with an iron fist.  But he didn't plan well for the long-term well-being of himself and his hordes of hyenas.  In the years of Scar's dreadful reign things deteriorate rather quickly.  The Lionesses, who traditionally do the bulk of the hunting, refuse to supply the food for the pride.  Suddenly, all involved are left hungry and desolate.  Even the hyenas realize that all the promises Scar made are not coming to pass.  The mighty kingdom that Scar wanted to establish was never going to be fully realized.

This reminds me of another liar.  Someone who promises us wealth, success, and pleasure if we break the commandments of God and follow him.  The power of the devil is real and he can tempt us in many different ways.  One of the most powerful ways is the same way Scar convinced many African animals to follow his plan.  Satan convinces us that we'll be happier when we're not constricted by so many rules.  We start to see sin as an exercise of our freedom.  Sooner or later, though, we realize just what the lions and hyenas found out: "wickedness never was happiness".  We may find temporary satisfaction or excitement in what we do,  but it's never a good idea to break the commandments of God.  Like Scar and his hyenas we'll be left lonely and spiritually hungry.

I know that God gives us commandments for a reason.  I know from experience that God blesses the obedience of His children.  Disobedience alienates us from God and from the feelings of the Holy Spirit.  I also know that Jesus Christ, The Son of God, has prepared a way for us to receive the ultimate blessing of that obedience: Eternal Life.  We need to follow the commandments and do our part to get to that point.

http://mormon.org/missionaries/

Who Needs A Magic Lamp?!

Through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord instucted the members of His church to "teach one another ... out of the best books" (D&C 88:118).  Lately in my blog, I've been taking a similar approach but with a slight variation.  I've been using the best movies.  And the best movies are indisputably those released by Walt Disney Pictures, particularly those relesaed in the early to mid-1990s.  In 1992 Alladin came out.  It's a great story of love and excitement.  Alladin, with the help of his monkey Abu and the trusty magic genie, eventually wins the heart of Princess Jasmine and they live happily together.

If you're familiar with the story, you know about the magic lamp.  Alladin originally gets it and, over the course of the movie, makes 3 wishes:

1. To become a prince so he can pursue a devoted spouse.

2. The saving of his own life after being attacked by Jafar and his cronies.
3. The freedom of his blue friend, the genie.

 Although one can possibly question Alladin's motives and means to the end, his wishes were more or less noble.  They were to help himself and others live a happy successful life.

However, between Alladin's second and third wishes, the evil and conspiring Jafar obtains the lamp for a time.  Jafar also makes 3 wishes with the lamp:

1. To become a Sultan, to rule the land.

2. To become a sorcerer, to widen his rule with the use of magic.

3. To become "AN ALL-POWERFUL GENIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jafar wanted power.   All of his wishes were to gain more and more of it.  The worst part was that he was already a powerful man in the government.  But that power wasn't enough.  He never would've been satisfied with any amount of power.  His wishes were selfish and ignoble.  But eventually he got what he deserved.  With the "phenomenal cosmic powers" of a genie came the "itty-bitty living space" and the life of constant bondage.

We have a tool way cooler than a magic lamp.  It's called prayer!  God has repeatedly promised us answers to our prayers.  Jesus Christ gave the following counsel to the ancient inhabitants of the Americas:
"And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you" (3 Nephi 18:20 emphasis added).

That's cool, God will only give us stuff that is good for us to have.  It may seem like like that's not so great a thing, but think about it.  We might pray for stuff that we don't really need, or even pray for stuff that will be harmful to us or others.  But God is such a loving Heavenly Father that He won't give us that harmful stuff.  In doing this, God helps us avoid the trap that Jafar fell into.  If we just kept getting more and more power, we would never be happy with the blessings we already have.  In this way, prayer is WAY better than a lame magic lamp.  And we don't have to put up with a weird blue man with a knack for bad impersonations. 

It is my prayer that we can follow the example found in this wonderful movie.  I hope we can use our prayers to better ours and others lives and not pray for selfish, greedy purposes.

Be Prepared

Disney's The Lion King, I've found out, has a lot of really good messages for us in it.  One thing this movie does well is illustrate the battle between good & evil.  This battle is very real.  There's one scene when Scar is leading his hyena minions in a Nazi-style march about preparation.  Scar's voice echoes in a deep baritone while the hyenas belt out the chorus in an ominous cacophony that'll make the burliest of pachyderms squeal with terror.  The song is entitled, "Be Prepared".  Scar is plotting a complete overthrow of his brother, Mufasa's kingdom.  This plan includes two murders and many lies and deceptions.  Scar is eventually successful in taking over the pride and enjoys years of dominance before Simba finally returns and claims his right to the throne.  With some simple preparation and a reasonable amount of foresight, Mufasa could've thwarted his conspiring brother's plans of wild domination.

It gets me to thinking.  In our lives, we have the same battle between good & Evil.  There are two forces always working on us.  God always compels us to do good- to repent and forsake sin, to follow His son, Jesus Christ.  Satan, on the other hand, always does his best to convince us to do wrong.  Just like the evil and aspiring Scar, Satan is always prepared to get us at our weakest point.  Just like Scar knew his brother Mufasa, the devil knows us and our weaknesses.  We have an advantage over Mufasa though; we know who the enemy is.  If we do all we can to prepare for the temptations that we know the devil will throw at us, we can avoid the catastrophes similar to those Mufasa faced.  We must follow the commandments of God in order to avoid this.  Prayer, repentance, and scripture study are crucial points in thwarting the plan of the adversary.  I know that as we do our best to "be prepared" to fight evil, God will bless us and help us in our preparation.

"Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome." (D&C 38:9 emphasis added)

http://mormon.org/missionaries/

The Articles of Faith #8

"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God"

In the LDS church, we believe God's word.  God has always spoken through His prophets.  These prophets have taught the people of their time and kept records of their teaching.  The Bible is a compilation of the teachings of prophets, like Moses, Isaiah, and many others.  The Old Testament looks forward to the coming of Jesus Christ and The New Testament tells of His earthly ministry and the ministry of His apostles.  As can be seen in the links provided, these books went through numerous translations and interpretations in the centuries since they were originally written.  Doctrines have been lost and changed.  "Plain and precious things" have been removed from the records through corruption and translation. 

The Bible is "the word of God" and Latter-Day Saints view it as such.  But we also believe that God has said more than what is contained in the Bible.  The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  It was recorded by His prophets on the American continent.  It tells us of God's dealings with His people there.  The prophet Nephi foresaw that people would reject this idea.  He said that they would say "we need no more Bible"(2 Nephi 29:6).  But God, speaking through His prophet, said the following:

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one? ... and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?"

He went on to question those who will reject His word:

"Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?" (2 Nephi 29: 7-8).


The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  It was translated "by the gift and power of God" (Intro. to the Book of Mormon).  It contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  In addition to the scriptures, we beleive that God still reveals His word today!  He does so through His prophets, just like He always has.  See God's Words Never Cease, the words of a modern Apostle.

I know that as we treasure God's word we can draw closer to Him and find strength through our many trials.  I know that there is power in the scriptures.  I know this because I have read from them.  That is the secret!  You gotta pick them up and read 'em. 

Of this I earnestly testify.

For more on the Book of Mormon, see http://mormon.org/book-of-mormon/
For more on the Articles of Faith see http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith/

Families are Forever

If you know anything about the LDS church, you know that we have a strong focus on family.  Families are essential to God's Plan of Happiness for all of His children.  Families are essential for our spiritual progression through this life.  The world is very willing to teach children all sorts of things.  Many things kids can learn in school or on the playground are not exactly in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Profanity, pornography, and downright blasphemy run rampant through our society today.  Without parents teaching moral values in the home, there'd be nowhere to learn them. 

As important as families are here on earth, God has a much more glorious plan for us as brothers and sisters, parents and children.  When a man and a woman are married through the power of God's priesthood, that family can be sealed to each other for all eternity.  The same precious relationships we enjoy in our earthly life will be continued hereafter.  This can only be done, however, through faith in Jesus Christ and love towards each other.

I know that God lives and loves us.  He has made it possible for us to stay together as a family forever.  I know this to be true.  God's priesthood is restored.

For more on eternal families see http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/c/4E784EC0770935C0/0/0J-_f4oRuWI

The Spirit World

God has a plan for each of us.  That plan is perfect.  As we follow God's commandments and read the scriptures we can learn more of that plan.  In the scriptures that plan is referred to as the plan of redemption, the plan of happiness, the plan of salvation. 

Part of that plan takes place in what we call the spirit world.  In a conversation with his son, Corianton, the Book of Mormon prophet, Alma taught about the spirit world.  It was revealed to him by an angel of the Lord that "the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, ... whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life" (Alma 40:11).  I know that this is true.  We will reside in the spirit world.  We will live for a time without our bodies to await the eventual time when our spirits and or bodies will be united for the rest of eternity.  But before this resurection we have the incredible opputunity to learn more.  We will be taught of Jesus Christ.  We will learn his gospel.  All men will have the chance to accept the glorious message of the savior. 

We should not, however, delay the process of accepting and acting on the message of Christ's gospel.  As the prophet Amulek taught we should not "procrastinate the day of [our] repentance until the end".  "For that same spirit which doth possess [our] bodies at the time that [we] go out of this life ... will have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (Alma 34:33-34).  We can draw from Amulek's teachings that it will not be an easy thing to accept and live the gospel in the spirit world.  Thus, we should do all we can while in this life to follow Christ's teachings and prepare for eternal life (see Alma 34:32).

I am truly grateful for the mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has provided the way for all men to return to Him.  I am thankful for His atonement.  I thank God every day for his glorious Plan of Salvation and for His son who makes it all possible (see John 3:16).