The Gospel According to Lions

OK, so for some of you this post is going to seem VERY strange, but it has been on my mind for the past couple of days, so I thought that I would write about. I FINALLY had the opportunity to see The Lion King in theaters. Let's just say it was a weirdly spiritual experience and I cried through half of the movie. I had not seen the Lion King in FOREVER, but it really is a great flick. It is kind of all I can think about now. Basically you can draw about A MILLION parallels to the gospel from this one film. I am going to share with you just a few that really touched my heart.

 1.  We have rules and guidelines for a reason. They keep us safe. Remember how the kingdom of Pride Rock covers "everything the light touches." That is because once you step outside of Pride Rock and go into the scary, dark elephant graveyard you are in enemy territory my friends. There is NO light there. You are not safe. You are not even brave. You put yourself and those whom you love in danger. To quote president Monson, "Our code of conduct is definitive, it is not negotiable...I declare unto you that there is nothing which can bring more joy into our lives or more peace to our souls than the spirit which can come to us as we follow the Savior and keep His commandments."

2. Satan is a JERK. No really. He is. I mean it. Think about Scar for a second. HE. IS. SATAN. Who was the one who encouraged Simba to go into the elephant graveyard in the first place? Scar. How did he do it? By pointing out to his nephew the things that he COULD NOT do...

"Your father showed you THE WHOLE kingdom, did he?...He didn't show you what's beyond that rise at the northern border?"
Simba: "Well no, he says I can't go there."

THEN he uses bits of truth to make it appear like a good idea...

"He's absolutely right! It's far too dangerous. Only THE BRAVEST of lions go there."

Also - He uses guilt trips to make us feel inadequate and unworthy and small. He did this with Simba, making the little lion cub think that Mufasa's death was his own fault. Satan, and Scar, make us think that the only solution to our problems is to "run away and never return," because repentance is out of our reach and not possible. "What will your mother think?" What will the other lions says when they find out you killed your dad? This is the OPPOSITE of what God thinks. That is why he sent His son to the Earth, so we could change and be better and return to him again one day.

Satan also will NEVER support his followers in the end. He can promise you the world, just at Scar did to his hyena comrades, but he cannot deliver. This is because the outcome of the final battle is already determined and the forces of righteousness will win.

3.  The Lord loves each of His children SO MUCH! The scene of Mufasa's death was extremely powerful to me. It made me realize how much out Heavenly Father is willing to go through to save us and protect us and how much the Savior went through. He truly is The Good Shepard who is willing to leave the 90 and 9 at any point in time and go after the one.

4. The Book of Mormon teaches us about Kings. We learn that kings are WONDERFUL as long as they are righteous. Unfortunately a righteous king is hard to come by. That is why kings were done away with so often in the Book of Mormon, because people tend to get a little greedy and want POWER. The Savior is going to rule as THE King of Kings when He comes because he is perfectly just and perfectly merciful.

5.  The carefree, stress free life is NOT GOD'S PLAN FOR US. This one really hit me because school is hard. Work is hard. Looking for a husband is hard. Being in the Relief Society Presidency is hard. That is because, to quote Elder Holland, "I believe God wants us to be happy, but he also wants us to be strong." It would be REAL easy to sit around do nothing, especially when compared to ruling a country like Simba was mean to do. This is called living below our potential. Mufasa tells his son..."You are more than what you have become." I NEVER want to hear my Heavenly Father say that me.

6.  The most touching scene of ALL is course when Simba finds out that his father has been with him all along. I always tear up a little when Rafiki leads him to the pool of water to find what Simba thinks is his dad waiting for him. He looks down and sees his reflection. It made me think of another Disney gem...THIS picture -

LOOK AT WHO MICKEY SEES WHEN HE LOOKS IN THE MIRROR? Touching, right? Sometimes it is hard to see the sacred spark of divinity within each of us. All we have to do when we have trouble finding our creator is, as Rafiki says..."Look HARDER." He lives in YOU.

We can't know who we are without understanding a small part of who HE is and where we came from. Mufasa tells Simba..."You have forgotten who are and so forgotten me.... REMEMBER.... REMEMBER." Is that NOT the most important word in the Gospel? Remember who you are.
"You are my son, and the one true king. You must take your place in the circle of life."

Let me just close by quoting the words to a song from the movie...

"There's no mountain too great,
Here the words and have faith.
HAVE FAITH.

He lives in you
He lives in me.
He watches over
Everything we see
Into the water
Into the truth
IN YOUR REFLECTION
He lives in you..."