The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in.
The other night we got together as a family and saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In preparation for the movie #ImDatingSeth brought over Jedi robes and lightsabers. The plan was He and MoKo would wear them to the theatre.
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| MoKo, Jedi Master |
It was a wonderful idea since it was chillingly cold that night and the robes were nice and warm.
However, upon realizing what the items were Ethan became excited and asked MoKo if he could wear it. She obviously couldn't resist his request and happily helped him dress in the robe.
Almost instantaneously Ethan became Obi-Wan Jinn (yes, a mix of two Jedi masters). He stood up tall, pulled the hood over his head, gently folded his hands holding them close to his waist, and began walking proudly towards the theatre. As traffic approached he lifted his right hand and swept it gently in front of his chest, his thumb and two fingers extended in perfect Jedi-mind-trick fashion.
Once inside the theatre Ethan couldn't resist admiring himself in the reflection from the entrance doors. Unfortunately this need to admire himself also put him in every body's way. I asked him a few times to step out of the entrance so that he didn't get in people's way. This didn't go well when I asked him the third time to please step away from the entrance. Turning, he waved his right hand, thumb and two fingers extended, across his chest and declared:
Dad, I'm using the Force to tell you to get away from me.
Sorry, but the Force needs you to step out of the way. You can admire yourself in the reflection back here.He stepped away from the door, and found a new place to admire himself in the reflections. That lasted about five minutes - or maybe just two. The next time I looked up he had moved back into position right in the doorway. By now more people were entering the theatre. I stepped towards him and asked him to move. In his best put-out-whine he slowly said,
Alriiiiiiiiiggggght!
Thank you! Now, please stay out of the doorway.Not more than two minutes later, he was back, proudly admiring himself in the reflection as he blocked the entrance. Not feeling very patient by now I stepped towards him and told him he needed to move or we'd have to go home, since he couldn't mind. Turning, he squarely faced me and once again waved his hand at me:
Dad, get the %$#* back!
Nope, sorry, even with bad words added to it the force doesn't work that way. You need to get out of the doorway!Reluctantly he stepped back out of the way, and luckily they began letting us through with our tickets. We took our seats, the movie began, The Force Awaken[ed], and it was fantastic!!
It is often said that Star Wars ideals and Latter-day Saint theology have close resemblances, such as the guidance of the Force and the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Consider how Star Wars portrays mankind as infinitely greater than the fallen worlds on which we live. It was Yoda who taught,
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.President Dieter Uchtdorf recently spoke of the divine destiny of man.
There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings...Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the almighty God.Since seeing The Force Awakens, Ethan has been on a superpower kick. That is how it usually goes. He'll be focused on something, say the movie Marley and Me which he got for Christmas - since opening that present he has watched the movie ten times, at least. The moment he finishes it he starts it over again. This "focus" will go on for days, weeks, or sometimes months at a time, before he moves on to a new topic.
Well, since the movie, he focused on superpowers for nearly two weeks. Just the other day he began printing off something from the computer. It printed for a rather long time. After it stopped he stapled it, and proudly announced:
Dad, wait 'til God sees my list of superpowers He's going to give me!
Oh, I'm sure he will be so excited! What kinds of superpowers?Taking a look at his 20-page "Superpower Guidebook" he plans on giving God, I was fascinated by some of the superpowers he was able to search on the Internet and included in the list. Among the 375 superpowers he listed were:
- Regenerative Healing Factor
- Amalgamation
- Additional Limbs
- Body Part Substitution
- Self-Detonation (that one's gotta hurt)
- Fat Manipulation (I seriously could use that one!)
- 360-Degree Vision (All mothers already possess this power)
- Emotion Vision
- Omnilingualism
- Ancestor Evocation
- Perspicuity
- Psionic Inundation
- Deoxygenation
- Cloaking
- Reality Warping
- Concussion Beams
- Hell-Fire Manipulation (a close cousin to Can-Of-Whoop-#@$ Manipulation)
- Age Shifting (another very useful trait)
- Dermal Armor
- Self-Liquefication (kind of like we feel in August in Arizona)
- Xenarthra Mimicry (the ability to turn one's self into an armadillo, sloth, or aardvark! Heck YES!!)
- Candy Mimicry (for those sweet tooth cravings), and of course the classic Godly standbys
- Omnipresence,
- Omniscience, and
- Omnipotence.
I'm partial to number 3, but only because it reminds me of the names of classic 80's Rappers like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince!
- Mega Super Ethan
- Captain Ethan
- Captain Mega Super Cool Boy, and
- Captain Wonder Boy
Though there is an obvious childlike genuineness in Ethan's desires, I can't help but recognize the divine potential in at least some of those powers. Consider this in light of President James Faust's comments from an April 2002 General Conference address:
Great things, can happen to you, even beyond your fondest dreams and expectations! Often we do not have even a glimpse of our potential for happiness and accomplishment in this life and in eternity...We must recognize that our natural gifts and abilities are limited, but when augmented by inspiration and guidance of the Holy Ghost, our potential increases manyfold. You need help from a power beyond your own...We may not be fully aware of what the Lord has put in our “inward parts” and written in our hearts.We would all do well to keep Ethan's youthful innocence when it comes to contemplating those Heavenly glimpses. Remember,
The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in.
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