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| It's the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God! Get it? |
"Are you going to let me do one of those guest posts on your blog someday?"
"Sure. What are you going to do it on?"
"I could do it on Zelda."
"That works. Just remember, it has to have some kind of gospel link-"
"Ha!"
Get it?
Hello, readers, it's Elder Wilde, here to grace your presence with my attempt at being cool like Elder Lopez. "Cool like me? Oh look, I'm the reader! So this is what this feels like... How y'all doin'?" Quiet, Elder Lopez, it's my turn! "Ok..."
While perusing Elder Lopez's blog, I was astounded by his neglect toward The Legend of Zelda. "Hey, I was getting there..." Are you done? Anyway, I thought that more than 25 years of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, there had to be something there that applied to the gospel. "Why is everyone so sassy to me..?"
So just in case you didn't know me, my favorite Zelda game of all time is Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo (closely followed by Ocarina of Time on the N64 and Link's Awakening for the Gameboy tied for second). Link to the Past was a masterpiece with flawless gameplay, epic music, and a classic struggle of good vs. evil. Now, Link to the Past takes the cake merely because of sentimental value. To compare it with Ocarina of Time on the basis of gameplay would be a folly, because the two are incommensurable. Now where was I going with this?... "You lost me at Super Nintendo."
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| Know the difference. It could save your (eternal) life! |
Just like Link had to fight his way through many dungeons to collect everything from medallions to crystals with princesses trapped in them, we have to face our own trials and opposition here on earth. God put us here on earth knowing that we were going to have a hard time. He cast Lucifer and his followers from Heaven, knowing that they would tempt us and try us in every possible way. Why would a loving Heavenly Father do that to us? We find the answer in D&C 122:7:
"... Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."
"Our trials are for our good?" That's right, Elder Lopez. Think about it: Link would have never saved Hyrule if he decided that it was too hard and he was going to take the easy way out. In the thirteenth Article of Faith, it says that "we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things." Our trials have a refining effect on us. In Malachi 3:2-3, it says:
"... For he is like a refiner's fire... and he shall purify the sons of Levi... that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."
Well, I'll save you the sob story, but about a year ago on my mission, I was going through a bit of a rough patch. I wasn't homesick, per se, but long story short, I asked myself for the very first time, "What am I doing out here?" Well, I was a little bitter at God and others for the difficulties of mission life, and instead of sucking it up and moving on, I just had a terrible attitude. Something would happen to me, and the second I thought that my trials were over and l I thought I could handle life, a new trial, immensely larger than the last, would be looming over me. It was as if the Refiner decided to turn up the temperature on the fire every so often. Well, one day, I got a package from my dear mommy. I can't remember too much of what was in there, but I do remember there being a magnet with a quote on it that I put on the refrigerator door and read every time I pulled the milk out of the fridge to eat a bowl of delicious Wheaties. The quote was from Jeffery R. Holland, and it said:
"If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."
Later that week, as I rode my bike, I had a thought cross my mind: my mission was like a video game! The only reason things were getting harder was because I had gotten to the next level, so to speak. The only reason things were getting harder was because I was getting stronger and getting closer to conquering evil!
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| I don't know what this has to do with anything, it's just cool. |
Don't you think for a minute that God is going to sit there and let you suffer. He'll help you every step of the way! I don't think I suffered more in any Zelda game than in Majora's Mask. That one was hard, ok? "I still have problems putting the cartridge in the right way..." Sit on your hands, Elder Lopez! "But-" Do it! "Awwww..." Anyway, Majora's Mask was hard. The only reason I ever beat that one was because of my little sister. My little sister only liked to watch me play, so I'd sit there and play and she'd tell me what to do. In most cases, I had already played the game through while my sister spectated, but Majora's Mask was so hard I didn't play it unless she forced me to sit down and play it. Well, many a time, I would be at my wit's end, and I was ready to give up, but my sister would always say, "You can do it! Did you try doing it like this?" I would respond, "No, that won't work. I've already tried everything..." Well, I'd go ahead and do it her way, and more often than not, things would work out, I'd solve the puzzle, and we'd continue on our merry way.
What does this teach us? Well, God has given us the Gift of the Holy Ghost for all those who make the covenant and receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation. Once the Gift of the Holy Ghost is bestowed upon us, we are entitled to His guidance. When we are at our wit's end, God can tell us through the Holy Ghost what we need to do next. And guess what? He's always right! How neat is that? "That's pretty good, I guess."
Well, I'm running out of time, but I'll catch y'all later!
"Well... I guess I'll just sit here and make some breakfast till the next guest blogger decides to show up and insult me..."
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