I Was One of Them - Ephraim's Rescue

I just got back from a screening of Ephraim's Rescue. I tell you what - wow. I don't remember a movie that was so well made and so touching since Legacy and The Testaments. Honestly, I was a little skeptical because I had watched 17 Miracles a few weeks ago and I didn't have the best experience. That's not to say the stories weren't incredible (my husband's ancestor, Ann Jewel, was in the film), but the film was hard to follow because of all the individual stories with no real common thread tying them all together. I wondered if Ephraim's Rescue would be similar.

I was pleasantly surprised with the film. I laughed, cried, pondered, believed. The music was fantastic, and the script was clever. There are two separate story lines, but they end up converging at the end in a glorious finish.

My favorite thing about this film is that it shows how two ordinary men with great human weaknesses become great tools in the hand of the Lord. Of course, He has told us that he will "show forth [his] wisdom through the weak things of the earth." The story of Ephraim Hanks is an amazing example of that promise from the Lord.

There is a line at the end of the movie where Ephraim comments that there were many on those plains that needed rescuing, and, he says, "I was one of them."

Today, after watching that movie, I felt like I was one of them, too.

Indeed, I think I was rescued, too.

The film comes out in theaters on May 31. It's definitely worth seeing. The people who worked on the film are great people and media like this definitely deserves our support.

Heavenly Mother at Real Intent

Anath sepulchral stela, Encyclopaedia Britannica

Have you ever wondered about Heavenly Mother?

Well, head on over to my post today at Real Intent and join our discussion about her. It's been lively so far, and very enlightening.

Truth Eternal Tells Me I've a Mother There

If you have questions about how to separate culture and doctrine submit a question here or over at Real Intent and we'll try to do a little research to get you started finding answers.

GCBC Week 6: "This is my Work and my Glory"

Image Credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

A lot of thoughts came to me as I read through Elder Ballard's talk. I love talks about the Priesthood power. That power is very significant in my life and my spirituality. I have a lot of thoughts tossing around now, but I think they deserve a little more thought and study and then their own blog post. I am also excited to watch and study the new worldwide leadership training video Elder Ballard referenced in his talk (you can view or download it here)

What were your thoughts about Elder Ballard's talk?

“This Is My Work and Glory” - Elder M. Russell Ballard

If you are new to General Conference Book Club, click here to find out more. The basic idea is to study one General Conference talk each week between April conference and October conference, and to chat about the talk here in the comment section. You can also link up (using the linky tool below) to your own blog post about this talk. The link up will be open until I post the next week's talk, but if you study this talk later and missed the link up, feel free to post your link in the comment section.

Delighting in Film

Image Credit: gailf548

Earlier this week I posted about the launch event for T.C. Christensen's new movie, Eprhaim's Rescue (in theaters May 31). The first person who spoke to us was Authur Van Wagenen, the product director for Excel Entertainment and Deseret Book. He said something I found really interesting. He talked about movies and movie theater, and the way we connect with other people in a movie theater. He also said something about the movie theater being the most sacred place for his family, after the temple and the chapel.

While the thought of wasting two hours of my life watching a movie usually makes me create a laundry list in my head of all the things I go do in two hours, I do love a good movie. I'm very picky about the movies I watch - if I am going to spend two hours of my precious time watching a movie it has to be a lot of things. First of all, it must be meaningful. I have to come away from the moving wanting to be a better person, wanting to change something in myself and the world in a very real way. But a movie can't just be meaningful for me - ideally it will also be a well made movie, with good acting, a great script (that should usually have at least a little bit of comic relief, if it is a more serious film), enjoyable cinematography, and hopefully poignant music that helps the viewer connect with the images on the screen.

Some movies and documentaries that fit this bill for me are Fireproof, Courageous, Slumdog Millionaire, Waiting for Superman, Admission, and Rise of the Guardians, just to name a few I have seen recently.

At the Ephraim's Rescue launch event, I was given a copy of 17 Miracles (which I hadn't seen). The movie was definitely inspiring - in fact, it made me want to tell pioneer stories to my children. My mother used to tell us stories of our pioneer ancestors all the time. One of the stories in 17 Miracles is actually of my husband's great-great grandmother, Ann Jewel Rowley. The story of the hard sea biscuits that she prayer over and turned into enough food to feed their family that night. The experiences of the Saints who traveled the plains were truly miracles.

In complete honesty, 17 Miracles was not the best movie I had seen. The story line seemed a little fragmented and sometimes I had a hard time following who were were talking about, but because T.C. was trying to tell all 17 stories as accurately as possible. Rather than creating a fictional family to whom all the miracles happen (which would be a pretty unbelievable story) we had to jump around to the different families who were experiencing these things. But the music was excellent, and the script was pretty well written, and the acting was really superb. So in all, the movie was great.

Which gives me high expectations for Ephraim's Rescue.

What films have you found meaningful, or have inspired you?

"Life doesn't come with a manual. It comes with a mother."

For those of you don't really care for Mothers Day, I offer this post by Cheryl at Real Intent: Learning to be Okay with (and Maybe Love) Mothers Day

Mothers' day was always a great day when I was growing up. I loved waking up early with my dad to make my mom breakfast in bed. I loved working with my siblings to make or buy my mom the perfect gift.

My mom is a great lady. I think the thing that impresses me the most about my mom now is how much she keeps learning. My mom is always learning something new. I remember when she asked me once how to copy and paste on our new computer (no more F keys - remember those old IBMs and Word Perfect on a blue screen?). Now my mom is a pretty proficient web designer. She knows how to build a website, which is crazy awesome. To give you a little taste of what my mom has been up to, you can check out our family history website that she has done an amazing job with: http://smithharper.org/

Now that I am a mother, Mothers' Day has a little more meaning for me. Unfortunately, my husband was out of the country last year on Mothers' Day, and he is gone this Mothers' Day, too. But he makes every day feel like Mothers' Day for me. He is always appreciating the job that I do as a mother, and that helps me feel good about the job I am doing.

And it is a tough job.

These videos have been floating around on the internet for the past few days, and I thought I would share them here if you haven't seen them yet.

So, happy Mothers' Day to all of you Mothers out there. And every woman is a mother, in my opinion.
How are you appreciating the mothers in your life this year?

Rescued

Today I attended a launch event at Deseret Book for a new film, Ephraim's Rescue. It is the true story of Ephraim Hanks, one of the first on the scene to rescue the Martin and Willie handcart companies.

I just got back from grocery shopping after a ridiculously long day, so I won't write a whole lot about it right now. But I will share the trailer, because this movie is awesome. I do have lots to say about the event and the movie, and all the people involved, I'm just too tired to do much tonight.

Without further ado, I give you the trailer for Ephraim's Rescue, coming May 31! Watch for it at a theater near you!

GCBC Week 5: "The Savior Wants to Forgive"

I am grateful that the Savior wants to forgive. I am also grateful for the knowledge we have of a merciful, forgiving God. Isn't that a much better thought than someone who wants to make us pay for every sin we have committed? Isn't is a beautiful thought that a man loved us so much that He gave himself as an offering for our sins? He offered himself to satisfy the demands of justice, allowing God to be merciful and forgive us.

Can we even imagine the love He must feel for us?

What were your thoughts about Elder Cardon's talk?

The Savior Wants to Forgive - Elder Craig A. Cardon

If you are new to General Conference Book Club, click here to find out more. The basic idea is to study one General Conference talk each week between April conference and October conference, and to chat about the talk here in the comment section. You can also link up (using the linky tool below) to your own blog post about this talk. The link up will be open until I post the next week's talk, but if you study this talk later and missed the link up, feel free to post your link in the comment section.