"Endless Night"

I know that I posted a blog a while ago on musicals, but today I wanted to talk about a specific one. Everyone knows the movie "The Lion King." It is one of my favorite Disney movies. It is also my favorite Broadway shows. "The Lion King" has been on Broadway for 14 years and has been one of the most popular musicals of all time.

As we know, Simba loses his father Mufasa in a wildebeast stampede. For years Simba blamed himself for his father's death. In this video, Simba is talking to his father and wondering where he is at. This is from the Broadway production. The song is "Endless Night." Sorry about the beginning part.



I love this song because it provides some very key points. Simba says "Father, I feel so alone." How many times do we feel that we are alone in this world? How many "Endless Nights" do we have because we are so distraught and hopeless? Then he says "Sleepless I dream of the day when you were by my side guding my path." We all want the days that were good. We would all like to live with our Heavenly Father again and to live in His presence.

We need to always remember that He is always there for us. He will never leave us alone. And we can return and live with Him if we follow Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father wants us all to return to Him, but we have to show our faith. We have to put forth the effort. Everyone is going to have some days when they feel alone, but it's just not true. We need to realize that "...the night must end, and that the sun will rise." Everything will always turn for the better.

I testify that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there for us. No matter what we go through, we are never alone. Just like Simba, we know that "...the clouds must clear and that the sun will shine." We are sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. He loves us and will always help us as long as we ask for it.

Harry Potter and the Gospel

So, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read the books at least 20 times. One reason I love them so much is because the characters are always faced with hard choices. and they always have to choose which path they want to go down, and noone ever forces them to make a choice. Sometimes they aren't the choices that would have been easy or the best. But they always learn from their actions. One of my favorite quotes is, "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." That comes from the character of Albus Dumbledore. I feel that is very true. No matter how articulate we are, no matter how poised or polished, our choices make us who we are. They used and we can use agency.

What is agency? As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, agency is a very common word. But most people are confused by what it means. To us, "Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves." So in simple terms, agency is the ability for us to choose what we want to do with our lives.

Heavenly Father has given us this ability. We are never going to be forced to do something. You may say "The devil made me do it." This is not true. No matter what situation we are in, we always have a choice. And those choices make us who we are.

As we go through life, Heavenly Father wants us to make the right choices. But remember, He will never force us to do anything. He has given us agency to show our faith in Him. When we follow His commandments, we are showing our faith and we are blessed for them. When we choose the right, we become better people, and others can see that. They will be drawn to us and they will want what we have. I testify that agency is one of God's greatest gifts, and if we use it correctly, we will recieve so many blessings.