Commandments in the Media: Volume 7

"This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." Aslan

"These carvings are almost as mystical as the real thing."

This may be my most obvious choice for Commandments in the Media yet. "The Chronicles of Narnia" has been one of my favorite book series for a long time and it naturally came to my mind after the gloomy darkness of Frankenstein.

One of the biggest reasons this was such an obvious choice is that The Chronicles of Narnia is all about Jesus Christ. All of us are aware (I would hope) that Aslan, the lion guardian of Narnia, is an analog for Jesus Christ. He says things that Jesus Christ would say; he does things that Jesus Christ would do; he even emphasizes that we need to get to know him more in our own world than in Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantasy book, but it is also a powerful sermon on Christ.

This post marks a change in the format of Commandments in the Media. In the past, I've written simple paragraphs about the various commandments within the story. However, I've recently realized that this is a difficult format to write or follow. In order to make this series more enjoyable, I will write a basic summary that will go over the main plot elements. Whenever the commandments are involved, I'll give those plot elements extra emphasis and then write a new section about how to connect the commandments in the media to the commandments in real life.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The story begins in London, where four children, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund, take shelter from the air-raids of World War 2. They are sent to live with their uncle, who is an eccentric scientist. The four decide that they should enjoy their uncle's mansion while they can, so they play hide and seek. Peter, Susan, and Edmund hide in fairly mundane places, but Lucy ends up climbing into a wardrobe which turns out to be a direct portal to the winter wonderland of Narnia. As far as I'm aware, hiding in another world is cheating. When she emerges from her hiding spot, she tries to share her discovery, but nobody believes her. Later that day, Lucy returns to the wardrobe, but this time Edmund follows her and winds up lost in Narnia. While Lucy is enjoying the company of Tumnus, the obnoxious faun, Edmund meets The White Witch, the self proclaimed queen of Narnia. The White Witch is so evil, that she paused the seasons so that winter would last forever, and no Christmas!

This incident demonstrates the importance of choosing good friends. Edmund buddies up with The White Witch and she asks him to bring his siblings to her frozen castle (of death). He agrees, but only after eating far more Turkish Delight than is acceptable. When The White Witch leaves, Lucy runs into Edmund and tells him about a horrible, no good, very bad witch meandering about in Narnia. Edmund realized he had made two mistakes, he had mocked his sister for believing in Narnia and he had made friends with an evil witch. He had a choice to make, acknowledge that he was wrong both times, or blow it off.

Edmund decides to blow it off. He lies about discovering Narnia in the first place. Because of his selfishness, Peter and Susan begin to think of their little sister as dishonest and foolish. Meanwhile, this dishonesty gave Edmund time to rationalize about the witch. "She can't be that bad." He may have thought. "She gave me food after all. And what do fauns know anyway?" Edmund's false witness is accepted by his older siblings until they all find their way into Narnia, where Edmund looks like a complete jerk.

The four children decide that a mystical world is much more exciting to explore than an old mansion, so they journey into the depths of the forest. They run into a pair of beavers, who invite them out for tea and crumpets (it's not like C.S. Lewis knew about the Word of Wisdom). After their meal, the beavers discuss the 'prophesy of the day' which explains that the witch's power will fail when two men and women sit on the thrones of the castle Cair Paravel. Human beings are in short supply in Narnia, so the children will have to do. All of their talk about prophesy, responsibility, and Aslan gets on Edmund's nerves, so he wanders off to tell the witch where his siblings are. The Witch promptly throws Edmund into her ice dungeon for coming alone. He realizes, too late, that the Witch is better at lying than he is.

While Edmund's rotting in jail (or freezing), Peter, Susan, and Lucy travel to the Stone Table, where they finally meet the mighty lion, Aslan. Aslan is busy gathering the armies of Narnia to defeat The White Witch, but he takes the time to explain that Edmund is necessary to fulfill the prophecy. He directs his army to rescue Edmund, but there's a catch. The White Witch insists that according to the deep magic of Narnia, she has the right to kill Edmund as a traitor. In order to save Edmund (who really hasn't deserved saving this entire book), Aslan agrees to give his own life in exchange. The White Witch accepts his offer and Aslan travels to the Stone Table alone, where he dies for Edmund's sins.

This leads to that awkward moment where the villain thinks she wins and the two girls are crying over Aslan's body. The White Witch's celebration is cut short however, because Aslan is resurrected! He explains that because he was offered up in the place of Edmund, the Stone Table broke and death had to release him!

Kind of like Jesus Christ. Hmmm...

After his resurrection, Aslan gathers his armies, slays The White Witch, and restores peace to Narnia. The four children are placed on their thrones and they begin to rule Narnia with wisdom beyond their years... Several decades later, the four rulers decide to go hunting in the woods and they accidentally stumble out of the wardrobe.

And thus, they find themselves back in the real world.

The Commandments in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Compared to the rest of the series, the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia is pretty simple. The heroes and villains are clear and nobody really steps outside of their role... Except for Edmund. Edmund's consistently poor decisions cause heartache and trial to his family and ultimately require Aslan to sacrifice his life to save him. Fortunately, Edmund really matures in later books. He contributes valiantly in Prince Caspian and he later redeems himself by putting up with someone as annoying as he was in The Voyage of the Dawn Threader. In this book, we learn from Edmund's mistakes; in later installments, he will contribute his fair share of heroic attributes to the posts.

Today, however, is all about how he messed everything up.

Find better friends than the White Witch.
Edmund's initial relationship with The White Witch is shallow at the best; she feeds him some food and invites him over to her ice castle. Even after Lucy warns him about her treachery, he continues to trust her with his life, his siblings, and his loyalty. We can't take that same risk with our own friends. He have to find friends who will support us and not just encourage us, but encourage us to do good.

Avoid half baked Confessions.
Edmund hurts his sister's feelings pretty bad by lying. However, I would like to point out that the more dangerous lie Edmund tells is the half confession he makes early on. When confronted about Narnia, Edmund confesses that he had followed Lucy into Narnia, but he purposely withholds an essential detail; he had encountered The White Witch in the woods. If he had confessed this, he wouldn't have been imprisoned and all of the sorrows of Aslan's death would have been avoided. One of the essential steps to repentance is that our secret sins need to be confessed. Confessing our sins can seem humiliating at first, but the very act of confession frees us from guilt. In those cases where we need to confess our wrongs to God or someone we've harmed, a half confession is not enough. If we try to hide aspects of our sins, we will hold on to the burden.

As we consider these commandments in our own lives, may we remember the words of the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians, chapter 13: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." May we also put away the mistakes and follies of youth and become men through Jesus Christ. I say these things in His sacred name, Amen.

Commandments in the Media: Volume 6

Live, and be happy, and make others so. Justine Moritz

"The night precedes itself."

Frankenstein

I think that out of all of the different forms of media, I enjoy nothing more than reading books. When I first came out on my mission, the thing I missed most was having a book in my hand at all times. It didn't help that I had just begun reading classical literature.

When I started with the classics, Halloween was soon, so I decided to experience horror classics like Dracula and Frankenstein for myself. I was pleasantly surprised when I read these books! They were creepy, but I had never imagined that they would be so positive too. They were both full of noble heroes working to defend their loved ones from the forces of fear and darkness.

The Commandments in Frankenstein

The story of Frankenstein is about a young scientist who meddles with forces beyond his imagining and succeeds in creating a monster. However, despite this tragedy, the greater horror in my opinion is the total destruction of two families; Frankenstein's and the monster's.

Families can be the greatest source of happiness in our lives, but Victor Frankenstein neglects his in the creation of the monster (sometimes named Adam). He had never considered that what he was doing could impact his family, but it did. And it destroyed them. We will never create a living monster in the way that Frankenstein did, but we may create a spiritual or emotional monster. Let us be wary of delving into dark places and experimenting with things we shouldn't; drugs and pornography just to name a few.

While Frankenstein physically created Adam, it was ultimately Adam who made himself into a monster. From the moment he is created, he wants companionship, either with his maker or with a wife. Early in his story, Adam is a very noble character. He wants to do good and be good. He is hideous physically, but he only becomes truly vile once he commits the vile sin of murder. When he kills a family who were disgusted at his appearance, he loses his good nature. His feelings warp and twist until he begins to hate his creator. Adam kills his entire family and in return, Frankenstein destroys his wife. In the end, everything that was good about Adam was destroyed by the black hole of murder and death until all that was left was the mindless instrument of death we are familiar with. There is no condition so vile, so awful, that violence won't make it worse.

As we enjoy the costumes and treats of this Halloween, never overlook that the family is the greatest source of our happiness in life. Have fun, enjoy the company of your family, and avoid the dark diversions that bring real evil into the holiday.

Commandments in the Media: Volume 5

"Believe in your strengths...Believe..." Happy Mask Salesman

"Be thankful our moon isn't trying to kill us."

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Sometimes I think that out of all of the media in the world, video-games often get the short end of the stick. They are often pointed out as an inferior art form, a dangerous time-waster, and medium for experimenting with illegal or violent actions. In many cases, these are valid concerns. However, to be completely fair, these concerns can really be extended to all forms of media.

As I thought about what would make a good addition to Commandments in the Media, my thoughts were drawn to one of my favorite games of all time. I am thinking of the abstract video-game classic, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

The Commandments in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Something that makes finding the commandments in video-games different from finding them in movies or books is that video-games can have different rules for how the fictional world works. This can be obviously bad. However, whenever the mechanics of the game revolve around the commandments themselves, this can create a very positive, uplifting experience. That is why Majora's Mask is the first video-game to get a post. The central goal of the game is to save and improve people's lives! Majora's Mask takes place in the very dark world of Termina. The main villain is the Skull Kid, a childish imp who is determined to crush Termina with the moon as a cruel joke. Even if Termina wasn't already doomed to destruction, its inhabitants are lost and miserable people. That's where you come in. Through acts of service like tending to the wounded,  finding lost children, protecting the innocent, and even visiting the lonely, you slowly make Termina a better place. Your final goal may be the most noble of all, to give the people of Termina a future.

One of the first areas you explore is the Deku Swamp. In the swamp, you discover both a forest of intelligent apes and the secluded kingdom of the deku, a race of plant people. You quickly discover that one of the apes has been imprisoned for poisoning the swamp. It becomes obvious early on that that this accusation was founded on racial tension rather than actual evidence. Instead of resolving the problem, this false accusation drives a wedge in between the only two parties who could actually solve the problem. This situation would be laughable if it wasn't completely true to life. Sometimes, instead of acknowledging our problems, we point fingers and look for someone else to solve the problem. This behaviors wastes valuable time, of which we have so little in this life, and often makes it more difficult for us to be able to overcome difficulties.

One of the most desperate areas in the game is the eastward oriented land of Ikana. During your early exploration, Ikana seems like nothing more than a desert wasteland. However, as your exploration deepens, you discover the ancient ruins of a destroyed civilization and the sin that lead to their destruction, Idolatry. The people of Ikana turned away from their (fictional) God, preferring their own ways and ideas. They built the Stone Tower (of Babel) and indulged in blasphemy and evil ritual. The result was the destruction of Ikana and the creation of the evil threatening Termina. Remember this land! Like them and like the Israelites, if we turn our backs on the true and living God, we turn our backs on our only hope for salvation.

Commandments in the Media: Volume 4

"Take my hand, I'll lead you to Salvation!" Fantine

"This bench is fairly miserable."

Les Misérables

As I've served my mission, I didn't expect was become familiar with several musicals, one of them being Les Misérables. One of my missionary friends is an Elder from France named Elder Fourtina. He was a huge fan of Les Mis, so he had the original broadway soundtrack with him. I've also heard about it from several other missionaries who have served around me. In short, I don't have any direct experience with Les Misérables, however, I've heard enough bits and pieces that I know the basic story.

And what a story it is. I've never experienced a story so emotionally stretching. It presents all of the sorrows and joys of life on a single slice of history, the French Revolution. What impresses me the most about Les Misérables is that while it depicts the dark reality of sin, it also depicts the shining light of redemption. The challenge here isn't to find the commandments in Les Misérables, but to decide which ones to include in this post.

The Commandments in Les Misérables

The main themes of the story are repentance and forgiveness. From the very beginning, when the main character, Jean Valjean is freed from his nineteen years of imprisonment, he is convinced that nothing can redeem him from his past. In order to escape his hopeless situation, he attempts to rob the bishop who had taken him in. When the bishop not only forgave Valjean for his robbery, but gave him two silver candlesticks to become an honest man, the darkened world of Jean Valjean begins to brighten. Could his soul have really been bought for God? In response to this single act of forgiveness, Valjean turns his entire life around. His new-found faith drives him to save several lost souls, including Cosette and Marius.

On the flipside of the story, Javert, a cunning policeman, does everything in his power to capture Valjean, whom he considers unredeemable. However, when Valjean shows mercy to him, proving that he has truly changed, Javert is forced to make a decision. He has to choose between forgiving Valjean and giving up his own life. Tragically, he chooses the latter and dies a miserable suicide. The good that he may have done in the world is lost, because he simply could not forgive. The burden of sin is miserable, but it may not be as heavy as the grudges we can bear when we don't forgive.

One of the most tragic characters in Les Misérables is Fantine, Valjean's sister. Her tragedy begins from having an illegitimate daughter with her lover. Her lover quickly abandons her, leaving her alone with her daughter, shattered dreams, and a burning sense of guilt. In her desperate circumstances, she makes a fatal mistake of going into prostitution to provide for her daughter. The scriptures teach that sexual sin is spiritually and emotionally destructive (even in desperate circumstances and she suffers and eventually dies from it.

Finally, how could any of us forget Valjean's heart-tugging prayer in "Bring Him Home." I am always astonished at how inspired this song is. From this prayer, Jean Valjean demonstrates absolute faith that God knows him and will answer his prayers. In the climax of the song, Valjean cries out, "If I die, let me die! Let him live! Bring him home!" In essence, it reminds me of the Savior's prayer in Gethsemane, where he valued his father's will over his own. "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." In the end, Valjean's prayer is granted. Marius is protected.

Overall, I like to believe that Les Misérables is such an impressive story because it shows so many angles of life. We can observe how the commandments protect us from sorrow and also how disobeying them leads to suffering.

The Apostles and Les Misérables?

During the process of making this post, I made a surprising discovery. During this past General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, one of counselors to the presiding bishop cited Les Misérables in his talk. Interested, I wanted to see if there were any other years where Les Mis was referenced by our apostles. I was very surprised.

Here are some talks by modern day prophets and apostles that show how they see the commandments in Les Misérables.

Ye Are No More Strangers- 2013
Redemption- 2013
Bring Him Home- 2003

Commandments in the Media: Volume 3

"May the Force be with you, Always." Han Solo

The resemblance is amazing...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... 

Star Wars: Episodes 4-6

To this day, I still don't know how George Lucas did it. He created a film which single-handedly changed the way we look at movies forever. Everything about Star Wars was and still is incredible. Whether it was the Jedi, the Death Star, or even the famous plot twist which shocked even the actors, everything about Star Wars seems inspired.

Funny thing though, where does this inspiration come from? The Book of Mormon teaches that "...all things which are good cometh of God." I would presume in that case, that parts of Star Wars itself may have been direct inspiration from God! "But wait!" You may say. "Star Wars has nothing to do with Jesus Christ! There are no light-sabers or force wielding Jedi in The Bible!" Well that's true, all of the light-sabers are in The Book of Mormon.

No, I'm just kidding. But you know what you can find in The Book of Mormon? God's Commandments. And those Commandments are absolutely interwoven into Star Wars.

The Commandments in Star Wars

As we all know, Luke Skywalker is the immature, arrogant hero of the movie. He spends the first few minutes of the movie complaining about power converters (or his lack thereof) and having to do his sand chores, on his sand planet, with his sand speeder... He has to grow up really fast when he finds his uncle and aunt's bodies roasted on his front lawn (dune?). From that moment on, he has to pick up the slack by accepting the awesome responsibility of the Priesthood. Oh wait, I mean the Force... or do I? 

If you watch carefully, nearly every time the Force is being used, its effects are straight out of the Scriptures.  The Force is power and authority recognized by the entire universe, but it's useless without discipline and focus (like the Priesthood). It allows the Jedi to move and organize matter (like God does with the Priesthood). Even people without the Force itself can feel inspiration from it (The Gift of The Holy Ghost), but they need to exercise faith in those promptings (The Holy Ghost). My friends back at home have joked about this numerous times, but despite the jokes, the resemblance really is incredible.

Star Wars is a story about redemption and repentance. Every single main character changes as the story progresses. Luke starts out as a rebellious teen who wants to kill Vader, and becomes a (more) disciplined Jedi Knight capable of not just defeating Darth Vader, but sparing him. Princess Leia makes a similar change, becoming more responsible as time goes on. Han Solo starts out as a cold blooded mercenary (who shoots first), and ends the series as a (more) honest man who is willing to sacrifice everything for the good of the universe. In the end, even Vader redeems himself by fixing the mistake he made 3 movies later (in the prequels which aren't as inspired). The only main character that doesn't really change is C3P0. Likewise, all of us have incredible potential in our galaxy. With the help of Jesus Christ, all of us can receive inspiration to make that incredible change in hearts. No one is outside of the changing power of Christ.

Commandments in the Media: Volume 2

"...Because I knew you, I have been changed for Good." Glenda

This isn't from Wicked.  It only looks like the lollipop guild.

Wicked

I have never really had the opportunity to attend very many musicals. They're usually pretty pricey, and it's just so much easier to stay home and rent a movie. However, I took theater appreciation in collage, so I got to discover the wonderful world of musicals for the first time. One of the requirements to pass the class was to see two theater productions, so my mother and I made the cautious journey to the nearby theater to experience two plays. One of those was Wicked.

I've never had so much fun in my life. I came out of that theater beaming so hard, I couldn't stop. I felt like I wanted to take all of the money I had and shove it into the Wicked charity fund (I didn't, but I did give them five dollars). It entertained me, but it also uplifted me. I wanted to follow Elphaba's example and rise above my circumstances no matter what people thought of me. As I thought about what work best for Volume 2 of Commandments in the Media, Wicked stood out to me as an excellent candidate.

The Commandments in Wicked

A lot of times we're aware of how breaking the commandments causes problems in our lives, but we don't really think about how our actions can affect others. That seems to be the background theme of Wicked. Elphaba, the future wicked witch of the west, is a good natured woman who only wants to use her unique talents to help others. However, her life is thrown into chaos because of the selfish acts of one little man, The "Wonderful" Wizard of Oz.

In the very beginning of the play, The Wizard of Oz and Elphaba's mother have a secret affair. This moment affects Elphaba for the rest of her life. What should have been a loving family relationship is tainted by embarrassment, because of the affair and because Elphaba was born into the world green. When Elphaba and The Wizard finally do meet, The Wizard wastes no time trying to take advantage of her. When Elphaba refuses him, he throws her under the bus, ensuring that she would be labeled as 'Wicked' for the rest of her life. The Wizard's false witness clings to her until the day she "melts."

I don't want to make Wicked sound like a depressing musical, because it really isn't. I just want to point out that beyond the inspiring music and Elphaba's cheery attitude, Wicked depicts the harsh reality that we can't break commandments without affecting people around us.

On the postive side, Wicked also demonstrates the power a little service and hope have. Despite her circumstances, Elphaba remains stalwart and good until the very end. Her example changes Glenda's heart, which makes her the hero we see in the Wizard of Oz. Her efforts to help the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow backfire intially, but as we can later see, the weaknesses they received eventually became strengths. The only person Elphaba doesn't use her talents for is herself. I think the message here is powerful; no matter who you are, your service will change lives. After all, isn't that what Christ did?

Commandments in the Media: Volume 1

"True love, really is the greatest thing in the world..." Miracle Max

Ooh, watch! He's going to fight left handed!

The Princess Bride

I wanted to start "Commandments in the Media" with a movie that nearly everybody loves and cherishes. I wanted it to be a classic that stands the test of time, one so classic that you could close your eyes and see the characters and scenes. The only movie I could think of that deserved that honor was The Princess Bride. Most of us know it as a childhood favorite that we could quote every single line from, but as I thought more about it, I realized that it would also make the perfect movie to start this feature with. 

The Princess Bride is a story of true heroes, true villains, and true wove, flooding with unfailing christian chivalry. You've probably seen it a thousand times before... but have you ever considered it from perspective of The Commandments?

The Commandments in The Princess Bride

Nearly all of the greatest moments in The Princess Bride can be tied into The Commandments. The entire movie is filled with good old-fashioned christian chivalry, which is not only inspiring but humorous in a positive sort of way.

A lot of my favorite moments in the movie come during the fight scenes. The sword fighting is kind of neat (old-fashioned and still neat), but I also find it interesting to see the respect that the heroes have for life. Even when the villains play dirty (like throwing a dagger or fighting left handed), the heroes never kill anyone unless they're attacked first. For example, during their duels, Wesley knocks Inigo and Fezzik unconscious rather than killing them. During the scenes in the castle, the only soldiers killed by the heroes are the three who attack Inigo. Then later, when Inigo faces Count Rugan, he waits to fight him until he makes the first attack. There is not a single character that the heroes kill who wasn't trying to kill them first, and to me, this respect for life creates respect for the heroes.

Another one of my favorite moments is Inigo's prayer. When Inigo and Fezzick face a closed door on their journey to find "the man in black," Inigo drops to his knees and prays for his father's spirit to guide his sword. With his eyes closed and in hilariously dramatic fashion, he ends up accidentally stabbing it into a tree knot, which reveals the hidden passageway to "the man in black." This moment really shows that prayer doesn't make a big show or give us all of the answers. Inigo was gently guided to the knot and he initially thought his prayer hadn't been answered, however when he leaned on it, he learned that his faith was correct. How important is it for us that we lean on the answers that we receive through Prayer and exercise that faith?

Another great moment, remember the battle of wits? Wesley tricked Vicini into drinking poison by drinking along with him. However, he had built up an immunity to iocane power. If Vicini had let go of his pride and refused to drink, he would have survived his encounter with the man in black. Just like that, we have modern poisons like alcohol and drugs, that can be just as deadly to us, even though we don't see other people experience the consequences. I'm thankful for the Word of Wisdom, which protects us from "falling into one of the classic blunders."

Finally, the entire movie is just full of Christlike love. Wesley and Buttercup have such a sweet relationship, because it is founded on service and loyalty, rather than on looks or cheap pleasure. Having an attitude of service creates "true wove" in our relationships. May we all follow this example and serve our families and friends. As we do, we will experience the joy and confidence of serving our neighbors and we will be able to follow the Savior's example, who loved us so much he gave us His life in service. "As you wish."

Commandments in the Media: Introduction

Look unto me in every thought... Doctrine and Coventants 6:36

"Look ma! I'm keeping the commandments!"

It's one thing to read the commandments in the scriptures, but following them may still be difficult. We can know about the commandments, but if they don't become part of our desires, application can be frustrating and difficult. We need a stepping stone from knowing about the commandments to remembering them, and that can only happen if we really think about them a lot.

The funny thing is... we actually do think about them a lot! We just don't realize it. Whenever we watch a movie, or view any form of media, what we view becomes part of us. That means that while negative, inappropriate media influences us to see the world in a darker tint, positive media can influence us to live the commandments!

This introduces the first new series into Color of the Commandments. In "Commandments in the Media," I uncover the gospel principles I've observed in my all-time favorite media. There will be no copyrighted pictures, but there will be commandment oriented descriptions of classic media. My purpose here is to demonstrate the eternal principle that Mormon teaches in The Book of Mormon. "Behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." (Moroni 7:13)

I hope you all enjoy this exciting new series.

Elder Michael Cockrum