The Return of the King (3/25/2019)
Dear everyone,
This
past half-of-a-week was pretty good. Wednesday evening we had a
cool/funny experience where we were walking to the church and someone
was calling out to us from their stopped car. We went closer and heard
them offering us a ride somewhere. It was a member from another ward! We
declined however because we wanted to possibly run into people along
the way.
Later we were
walking home from the church but we hadn't managed time very well and we
were going to get home late. We get halfway there and walk almost to a
crosswalk when we hear someone calling out to us. "Do you want a ride
now?" It was the same member on his way back from their ward's activity
night. We accepted this time and jumped into his car while the light was
still red. Such a funny experience. We appreciated it.
So
we now have Nepali-speaking elders in our district! They are both
elders I've known before and love a lot. I am super excited to go on
Nepali exchanges again!
As
of Saturday (when we were riding on some roads we normally don't go on
and bikes normally shouldn't go on) I can officially say I've biked on a
highway. Now it was only for a brief moment as the end of the highway
off-ramp merges into the regular road, but it still felt kinda nuts.
And
Friday I read a talk that I now regard as one of my all-time favorites:
"The Return of the King" by Larry Y. Wilson of the Seventy. So a few
months ago, BYU talks were suddenly authorized for us to view on our
devices. I don't know when or why but I know that we used to be unable
to see them. But boy am I glad that they are now because it is a
treasure trove. So I was glancing through them by topic and came upon
the topic of the Second Coming. And what I am about to describe is one
of the biggest indicators that I have changed since I began my mission
almost 15 months ago. I saw a talk called "The Return of the King" and I
clicked on it...because it sounded like a cool talk about the Savior's
Second Coming. I scrolled down to the bottom to see the picture of the
speaker and happened to see in the footnotes references from The Lord of the Rings. Only then did it hit me that "The Return of the King" is also the name of the third book/movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The fact that I did not at all recognize that when I saw the title of this talk still kinda boggles my mind.
But
anyway, I started reading the talk, and pretty quickly I felt the
Spirit. Like how Joseph Smith said that James 1:5 "seemed to enter with
great force into every feeling of my heart", which we know was the Holy
Ghost impressing its truth upon his mind. As I read this talk the Holy
Ghost hit me like a bulldozer and I was profoundly moved.
I
won't try to explicate it all but I'll give a brief explanation before I
invite you to read it. I believe that knowing the context surrounding
the creation of great works of fiction really enriches our appreciation
of the creative work itself, and the works referenced in this talk, The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia are
no exceptions. His talk explains the backdrop of mankind's attitudes in
the early 20th century, how culture and two great wars affected the
faith of the people for the worse, and how two men--friends--who came
out of that very same war took their experiences to create challenging
works that, against the tide of atheism and cynicism, championed faith in Jesus Christ.
This
talk hit me for four reasons: I love those two works of fiction, I find
the 20th century extremely fascinating, I believe in the power of the
written word to tap into hope and faith in Jesus Christ, and the Spirit
told me that I have the power to do the same in our time.
Love,
Elder Gallagher
Throwback pic: Kirtland trip '18
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