Anastasia, the Gospel, and Us

    Yesterday, I decided to watch one of my favorite childhood movies, the 1997 animated movie Anastasia. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this movie, it’s loosely based on the story of Anastasia Romanov, the last Russian princess, back in 1916. She and her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie, had a very special bond, and a secret lullaby, which at her grandmother’s request was put into a music box for little 8 year old Anastasia to listen to when her grandmother was away in Paris, with a matching necklace with the words “Together in Paris” on it. But their world of security, palaces, and family was suddenly taken away when their enemy Rasputin gave his soul to evil spirits to curse the entire Romanov family with death. In an attempt to escape the palace and Russia, the Dowager Marie took Anastasia to the train station, but Anastasia was unable to get on the train, lost her grip on her grandmother’s hand, and fell unconscious. Ten years later, young and feisty Anya emerges, a young woman who remembers very little about her past, and her only clue is a necklace that says, “Together in Paris.” Embarking on a journey with two men to Paris, posing as the Grand Duchess Anastasia without realizing that that was her true identity, she finally reunited with her grandmother, vanquished the awoken Rasputin once and for all, and even found romance along the way.

            As I was watching this, I started asking myself why I love this movie so much. Part of it was nostalgia, I’m sure. I watched this movie over and over again as a child, and I had the picture book, and toys resembling Anya and her dog Pooka. But as I looked even deeper, I realized that there’s something in this mostly fictional story that we can all connect with: the quest to discover who we truly are. Anya had very few memories of her past – we have very few memories (if any) of who we were before we were born on this earth. Anya’s one clue to her past was her necklace – we have patriarchal blessings and personal revelation. But she still had moments when something would seem almost familiar, like when she entered her abandoned palace, or when she found the music box her grandmother had given her several years before. We have moments like that too, when we hear a truth of the gospel that particularly resonates with us – because our spirits remember learning the same truths before this mortal life.

            The people in Anya’s life—both those who wanted to help, and those who sought to harm—can also be paralleled in our own lives. Rasputin, the once-holy man who turned out to be a fraud, is awfully similar to the adversary. Both are power-thirsty, cunning, dangerous, and both were willing to sell their souls to seek to destroy those who oppose them. They also would stop at nothing until they reach their destructive goals, attacking us in any way they possibly can. However, neither of them will win in the end. Rasputin was defeated, and Satan will be too. Anya’s travel companions Dmitri and Vlad represent our loved ones, leaders, and teachers, whoever they may be. Dmitri and Vlad, although they were far from perfect, taught Anya about who she once was, and they never gave up on her. If it weren’t for them, she never would’ve found her grandmother, her past, and her identity. Finally, the Dowager Empress Marie, I believe, represents our Heavenly Parents. The only difference is that Marie didn’t know if her granddaughter was still alive. Our Heavenly Parents not only know that we’re alive, but They know each of us perfectly, and like Marie, just want us to return, to be “Together in Paris (or heaven),” never to be separated again. And that reunion will be every bit as sweet if not sweeter than the reunion between Marie and Anastasia.

            Though our stories may not be like Anastasia’s, there are many connections between her fictional life and ours. We are all travelers “on this journey to the past” to find who we once were so that we can move forward to find our future. We’re all looking for “home, love, [and] family,” and we’ll “never be complete until [we] find [them].” I hope we can each find what we’re looking for, just like Anastasia did.

Understanding the Book of Mormon

With the Sunday school Come Follow Me curriculum being about the Book of Mormon this year, I thought I'd write on that a little bit. I feel like the Book of Mormon is the book of scripture that I understand the best out of all four books we have in our scriptures (The King James Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price). I attribute most of my knowledge to my year of early morning seminary my freshman year of high school where we studied the Book of Mormon, though my knowledge has definitely expanded with my college Book of Mormon part I and II classes, and in my own personal studies both on and off my mission.

First and foremost, the Book of Mormon is the record of God's people in the Americas. The book starts out with one family in Jerusalem around 600 BC, but when the father/prophet Lehi received a warning about the imminent destruction of Jerusalem as well as the attempts on his life, he took his family and fled, and they eventually sailed to the American continent under the Lord's direction. From there, over hundreds of years, two peoples grew from that first family, the Nephites (named after the righteous son Nephi) and the Lamanites (named after the rebellious oldest son Laman). These two nations stood in opposition to each other the vast majority of the Book of Mormon. However, hundreds of years before Lehi and his family came, another people called the Jaredites (named after their righteous leader Jared) came to the Americas immediately following the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel. By the time the Nephites and the Lamanites came around, the Jaredites were destroyed, and their bones were found by the Nephites hundreds of years later. The Book of Mormon is a story of how our loving Heavenly Father was the God of more than one nation. He wasn't just the God of Israel - He had a branch of Israel in the Americas as well.

But more than that, I believe the Book of Mormon is a story about families. In Lehi's family, there were righteous sons who believed in the Lord and heeded His counsel, and there were sons who had seen angels and had other remarkable experiences, yet their hearts were hardened against Him. Then there were the righteous king Mosiah and the prophet Alma with their initially rebellious sons that have incredible repentance stories and eventually become some of the most powerful missionaries in the Book of Mormon. Then there are the people of Ammon (named after one of the missionary sons of Mosiah who brought them to the gospel) and their 2,000 righteous young sons who covenant to protect their people from the Lamanites. Then Alma the Younger has his 3 sons (two righteous and one rebellious) whom he writes to. Then we see Jared, the righteous leader of the Jaredites with his righteous prophet brother Mahonri lead their people. Finally, we have Mormon, the prophet/historian who compiled all the books together (hence the name the Book of Mormon) who passes the record onto his righteous son Moroni who adds some words, then seals up the record and buries it in the hill Cumorah so that the Lamanites won't find it and destroy it. There are families throughout the Book of Mormon! And each one tells a different story.

Of course, the culminating event in the entire Book of Mormon is the resurrected Savior's ministry among the righteous Nephites in 3rd Nephi chapters 11-27. Throughout Latin and South America, there are legends of a "white man" coming to visit them. Though we don't know exactly where in the Americas He came, in the Book of Mormon, we have an actual account of what the Savior taught and did while He was there. If that doesn't show His love for His people in the Americas, I don't know what does! He actually said to them that there were certain things He wasn't able to teach/show the Israelites that He was able to teach/show to the Nephites because their faith was so great. I just think that's amazing. Like a mother that has equal love for her two sons, Jesus Christ had an immense love for both His people in America and His people in Israel. As the title page says, the purpose of the Book of Mormon is for the "convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself to all nations" (emphasis added).

I testify that when Mormon compiled the stories of all these families as well as the ministry of Jesus Christ, he was inspired to know which stories we would need in our day. The Book of Mormon was written for our day. It's another written testimony of Jesus Christ. It isn't here to replace the Bible, but to supplement it. The Bible tells the "what" (Christ's law), and the Book of Mormon tells the "how" (how to live the law). Like a father and a mother that are different people yet speak with one voice, the Bible and the Book of Mormon work together to testify of the reality of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and lay out His plan to save all of us through His atoning sacrifice. In every chapter, Christ can be found. Look for Him. Look for what He's trying to tell you specifically. Two people could read the same chapter and pull out completely different things. I testify that reading the Book of Mormon will bring you closer to Christ. If you want to build a better relationship with Him, the Book of Mormon is where you should turn to. The Book of Mormon is a major reason for the relationship I have with Him today.

If you ever have questions about the Book of Mormon, if there's something you don't understand, I'd love to help! Whether you're interested in learning more about it or the Church, or if you've read it many times and just have questions about content, people, or looking for a new way to read it, feel free to post in the comments below on my blog or on my FB post! I'd love to answer questions!