19.2.18

Lessons from "Unbreakable"


A few years ago I had told my eldest son, Addison, that I would't buy him Airpods because I would be afraid that he would "cut-himself off" entirely from the Spirit of God and cut him off from the people around him--mostly from his classmates at school.  Funny enough, after time and questions that have made me trust him more (in that regard), we bought him airpods last Christmas...


Last LDS General Conference, the same or a similar issue was raised by Bonnie L. Oscarson, the President of the wold-wide LDS Young Women's program when she delivered her talk, "Who Needs Me Now?"  She says, "We are touched when we see the suffering and great needs of those halfway around the world, but we may fail to see there is a person who needs our friendship sitting right next to us in class."  Or seeing the needs of someone walking down the hallway, literally right in front of us!


However, we can look to a lesson from the movie, Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis ("David") and Samuel L. Jackson ("Elijah").  David feels an emptiness in his life, maybe always has felt that emptiness.   David has some sort of super-power that makes his body impenetrable.  His cells are "unbreakable."  He is also strong, in an undetermined way or amount.   He was a super-star football player in high school but decided to use the car accident that he was involved in (where his then-girlfriend, now-wife was almost killed) with the girl that would become his wife.


Elijah tells him, after David performs his fist superhero-esque feat of saving a houseful of children that have been kidnapped by a house-napper and killer:



Go to where people are. You won't have to look very long. It's all right to be afraid David. Because this part won't be like a comic book. Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMjBw3mz3Y).

David has to be that superhero that he was born to be if he doesn't want to feel that emptiness and not fulfill his destiny!

Likewise, Addison and all the hearers-of-Who Needs Me Now?", (including my entire family--that means you too, Quentin!) just like David, needs to pay attention to the Spirit whispering to them (all of us!) to help those who stand in need.  Imagine, you're walking down the hallway at school and someone does need you.  Imagine that you're listening to your favorite steaming station or your new favorite album using your bluetooth connection through your new airpods.  You might have heard the whispering of the Spirit say to you to help or why or in what way you should help, but you are busy focusing on your music or even a broadcast (wouldn't it have been absolutely ironic if you were even listening to "'Good, Better, Best' by Elder Dallin H. Oaks when you ignore that prompting to reach-out and talk to your fellow student?) and can't hear the Holy Ghost whisper to you to help your fellow classmate.

So, who needs us now?  Listen, and you'll hear!  Elder Boyd Kenneth Packer, of the quorum of the twelve apostles, said to the youth of the church:

The gift of the Holy Ghost, if you consent, will guide and protect you and even correct your actions. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought or a feeling put into your heart. … It is not expected that you go through life without making mistakes, but you will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Spirit. This promise applies to all members of the Church. (President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Counsel to Youth,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 17–18.)
JPS

see Learning to Hear and Understand the SpiritObeying the Whisperings of the Holy Ghost

The Whisperings of the Spirit, Helping Others recognize the Whisperings..., & Acting on Promptings ("It is the privilege of every Latter-day Saint to receive daily inspiration through the Spirit. By being worthy of and willing to heed spiritual promptings, we can obtain the guidance Heavenly Father wishes to bless us with. Below, three members share how they listened and responded to promptings of the Spirit and, in turn, received abundant blessings.").

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