Watch and Be Ready

In the 24th chapter of Matthew Jesus taught:

Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up (Matt. 24:42–43). But would have been ready (JS—M 1:47).

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh (Matt. 24:44; see also D&C 51:20).

Here is an excellent talk that expounds on this scripture, by the apostle Elder Dallin H. Oaks ~

In Matthew 24, I think there is a mystery to be studied and searched for ~ it says that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in "an hour that ye think not..."  He will come when we aren’t expecting Him?! But if there are signs of his coming, we'll see them and think he will be coming soon, right?  So why will we not think He is coming?  What is going to be happening in the world that will throw us off?  He will come in an hour when we think not!  He will come at a time when we are least ready, why?  He will come at His appointed time and we need to be always watching and waiting for that day, that hour, and that minute to come. Don’t drop your guard. Don’t believe the lies of the adversary and let yourself be lulled into carnal security. Don’t allow yourself to fall into apathy. Stay vigilant, stay ready! Our faith in Christ is not just a Sunday thing, it's daily.  Flood your life with His Word and you'll be ready.

Day and Night

Is it easy to know between right and wrong in a day like today when evil is called good and good is called evil?  Is it easy to build our foundation upon Christ?  Consider these words that Mormon taught to the people of the church in his day:

For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.   For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.  - Moroni 7:15-16

As plain as the daylight is from the dark night?  Well, I can tell day from night easily enough, is it really that easy to tell good from evil? 

Yes, it's that easy.

It is easy, simple, and plain if we have the Spirit to guide us.  Any prompting to do good, to fast, to pray, to help, to bless, to be kind, to serve, to obey a commandment, etc, we can know with an absolute knowledge, nothing doubting, that these promptings are revelation.  For more, read "Following the Light of Christ into His Presence" pages 36-53 with the subheading "The Voices".  I'll try to type up some of it soon.

Resisting Temptation

I love this quote by C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity ~

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

Fortify Your Homes

We watched a movie tonight that I watched when I was a kid, and then we turned it off.  They just kept swearing over and over again.  Here I am at the computer a few hours later and stumble upon this video...


I resolve to be more diligent in protecting my children and my home from entertainment that does not edify and uplift.

Wet His Feet With My Tears

I love this talk by Elder Bruce R. McConkie - what an amazing and powerful testimony of Christ:


And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.

God grant that all of us may walk in the light as God our Father is in the light so that, according to the promises, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son will cleanse us from all sin.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

As we read scriptures last night, I asked the kids how they would feel if they met the Savior.  They all said they'd feel okay, like there is no unrepentant sin that they have that would be pricking their conscience.  I told them that was good, and they're doing great.  But, I believe, as we truly come to understand what Christ has done for us, we will be in tears too, tears of thankfulness for His great gift to us.

Lead Kindly Light

From Following the Light of Christ, page 121 ~

The path to perfection is only as difficult as each person chooses to make it.  If we keep letting go of the rod of iron and wandering off, then fighting our way back, it will become a task of exceeding difficulty and pain.  We will battle every fault, every weakness, and every imperfection we posses, until we are bruised, bloodied, and defeated.  Then, only once the pain is sufficiently intense, once the anguish is seemingly permanent, once it has cost more that we could ever have realized and we have been beaten into submission by the travails of life and buffetings of Satan, then perhaps we will humbly submit ourselves to the Lord.

"Lord, I can't do this any longer ~ I feel helpless and alone ~ Please, please hear my plea ~ Please forgive me and lead me on the path of righteousness, and give me the strength to stay there, for I know the pain of the forbidden paths and year for the joy and rest of the righteous." 

If this is your prayer, then you are ready to feast on the Savior's own words:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my  yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

What a beautiful promise this is.  What hope and peace is offered here.  The Savior is the one commissioned to defeat Satan and the word.  We can't do His work for Him.  All we need do is conquer ourselves by yielding to His will.  He will bear our burdens and give us rest if we just cast our burdens upon Him and take upon us His yoke.

How does one cast one's burdens upon the Lord?  The answer is twofold.  First, repent.  When the humbled soul is ready, repentance is a fantastic relief.  Second, yield yourself to His guidance through the Holy Spirit, which first manifests itself as your conscience.  Depend on Him for solutions, wait upon Him for direction, and obey with all the courage and energy of your soul.  Spend less energy and emotion trying to figure things out, and put that effort into developing faith and obedience.  Your investment int eh Lord will pay rich dividends.  He is the "kindly light" that leads us on.

No Respecter of Persons

“God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34–35; see also Romans 2:11; D&C 1:35; 38:16).

I listened to this talk on our drive home from Moab on Thursday and I loved it, cause it is beautifully and harmoniously along the lines of the message in the book by John Pontius "Following the Light of Christ into His Presence"~



- there are amazing blessings in store - and they are available until ALL!  ALL who will desire them and are willing to come, and Christ has commanded to come unto Him!  I feel like I've heard these things all my life but my heart if just now starting to open up to begin to understand them. It's all real, it is all true ~ I believe in Christ, I know He lives!

Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; … The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, … … That every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established; That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding” (D&C 1:17, 19–24).

I believe it with all my heart and pray that my testimony that I share in weakness may help me, my children and family, and others to be strong in Christ.  We can even become perfect in Him (Moroni 10:32), which is the greatest gift and miracle of all, I'm so thankful for Christ's Atonement, thank you Lord for your love and great gift to us.

Complaining Makes It Worse!

We took the kids on a day trip yesterday.  They complained, no more than usual ratio wise, except since we were trying to do more than usual it really upped the intensity of their murmuring.  I nick named Hyrum & Wesley "Laman & Lemuel" when they were in my car.  Although Ethan (who once again earned the title of "Top Complainer") was worse than both of them and had been banished from my car after enduring him for the first 3 hours of the trip down.  Anyway, reminded me of this quote from this talk by Elder Holland.

"Yes, life has its problems, and yes, there are negative things to face, but please accept one of Elder Holland’s maxims for living—no misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse."


I heard that talk when it was given in April 2007.  I was listening to conference over the internet in a little chacara in the middle of the tropical bushlands of Campinas, Brazil.  And I was in full complaining mode.  It was what I needed to hear and helped me repent, although I still struggled.  To read about my life and the reasons why I complained, you may spend as much time as you'd like reading this long post/journal entry of that time.  I'm grateful for that experience and that that experience helped me learn to endure, even though I didn't endure it well at that time, I'm grateful for how much I've improved. 

Paintings of Christ

On page 19 of the book/manual Teaching of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, is this picture of Christ by C. Bosseron Chambers. It took me a while to find a picture of it on the internet. It was one of President Lee's favorites. Due to the similarities, I think Del Parson's "The Lord Jesus Christ" was based on Chambers' painting. This picture of Christ below is the one I most associate with my childhood - I remember it being the picture that was in the primary room when I went to church. It is titled "Head of Christ" by American artist Warner Sallman -More recently, I am impressed with the story behind Akiane Kramerik's picture of Christ, titled "Prince of Peace", and also a second witness to her painting from Cloton Burpo in the Heaven Is For Real book (p. 141-145 in my copy) Colton went to heaven in a near death experience and saw Jesus, and people would ask him about what Jesus looked like and if "this one" was right, but the paintings never were, so they'd instead start to ask "What's wrong with this one?" But when he saw this painting by Akiane...He stared at it without speaking for a few moments and then told his father "Dad, that one's right." 

I also loved the story behind casting Tomas Kofod as the Savior in the LDS film "The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd" - Some day I know I will see him again and I believe, as it has been said by others, that I might be surprised at how familiar his face it. I pray for and will continue to work so I may have his spirit with me and have his image in my countenance.

Doubt and Despair

This is a great talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland given at a Devotional at Brigham Young University on 18 March 1980 - All of it is excellent (you can listen to it here) and I love the story a third of the way down about Thomas Edison when he was 67:


Thomas Edison devoted ten years and all of his money to developing the nickel-alkaline storage battery at a time when he was almost penniless. Through that period of time, his record and film production was supporting the storage battery effort. Then one night the terrifying cry of fire echoed through the film plant. Spontaneous combustion had ignited some chemicals. Within moments all of the packing compounds, celluloid for records, film, and other flammable goods had gone up with a roar. Fire companies from eight towns arrived, but the fire and heat were so intense and the water pressure so low that the fire hoses had no effect. Edison was sixty-seven years old—no age to begin anew. His son Charles was frantic, wondering if he were safe, if his spirits were broken, and how he would handle a crisis such as this at his age. Charles saw his father running toward him. He spoke first.

He said, “Where’s your mother? Go get her. Tell her to get her friends. They’ll never see another fire like this as long as they live!”

At 5:30 the next morning, with the fire barely under control, he called his employees together and announced, “We’re rebuilding.” One man was told to lease all the machine shops in the area, another to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “Oh, by the way. Anybody know where we can get some money?” (Paraphrased from Charles Edison, “My Most Unforgettable Character,” Reader’s Digest, December 1961, pp. 175–77.)

Don't be discouraged, keep going forward with your dreams and hopes, God is at the Helm!

Have I Done Any Good?

I remember one time last summer when I was feeling particularly useless (7 months pregnant and barely able to keep up with doing the dishes every day, house was a mess, wasn't being very helpful to the kids, etc) and the song "Have I done any Good" came into my mind.

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

[Chorus]
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
’Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

As I sang the song, I kept saying "didn't do that... didn't do that... didn't do that..." until the song was over. Yup, I'm pretty much a failure right now. I sang it again to decide what I might do to do good in the world today ~ and on the second time around, I realized that I had helped someone's burden be lighter... a close neighbor was expecting and experiencing the first dreadful months of morning sickness, and her kids had been spending a lot of time over at our house playing with my kids.

Now I hadn't counted that before, cause that wasn't a big deal to me, when her kids came over they all just played nicely and it didn't feel hard or like service, but I guess it was helpful to her, so maybe I had done something good, but I hadn't even noticed. (as a side note, this lady's husband mentioned this later when he spoke in Sacrament meeting, and then someone else heard about it and mentioned it too, I was humbled that I got any credit for such a small thing (see here at 4:08.))

I didn't really consider that it counted as service, and that might be key - we read in Matthew 25 that the righteous who are praised by the Lord for their service to their fellow man are not even aware of what he's talking about, asking the Lord "When did I do that?"

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the lease of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:34-40

And then I think he will open their minds to all the small and simple things they did that lifted their brothers and sisters. As President Monson has said "Often small acts of service are all that is required to lift and bless another: a question concerning a person's family, quick words of encouragement (like his quick words in an elevator to Elder Cook of "Remember, it's better to look up!" in the video below), a sincere compliment, a small note of thanks, a brief telephone call. If we are observant and aware, and if we act on the promptings which come to us, we can accomplish much good."



So how can we do much good? There are two things he requires: our hearts and a willing mind

“Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days” (D&C 64:34).

I can do that! and I will today as I strive to become a true friends, a friend who cares, who loves, listens, and reaches out.

These Things Are Important

From President Monson's October 2008 General Conference Talk "Finding Joy in the Journey"

In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote:

These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.

Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family.

Repenting of Our Sins

I knew this book would be good - I love it when I start a book and I'm not even 10 pages into it and there are amazing truth's like this revealed - makes me excited for what's in store for me in the rest of the book! From Bruce C. Hafen's book "The Broken Heart" - page 8

We have been told that if we do not repent, we must suffer even as the Savior did to satisfy the demands of justice (D&C 19:15-17)

I once wondered if those who refuse to repent but who then satisfy the law of justice by paying for their own sins are then worthy to enter the celestial kingdom. the answer is no. The entrance requirements for celestial life are simply higher than merely satisfying the law of justice. For that reason, paying for our sins will not bear the same fruit as repenting of our sins. Justice is a law of balance and order and it must be satisfied, either through our payment or His. But if we decline the Savior's invitation to let him carry our sins, and then satisfy justice by ourselves, we will not yet have experienced the complete rehabilitation that can occur through a combination of divine assistance and genuine repentance. Working together, those forces have the power permanently to change our hearts and our lives, preparing us for celestial life. The Savior asks for our repentance not merely to compensate him for paying our debt to justice but also as a way of inducing us to undergo the process of development that will make our nature divine, giving us the capacity to live the celestial law. The "natural man" will remain an enemy to God forever--even after paying for his own sins--unless he also "becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child" (Mosiah 3:19)

~

Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. (D&C 19:15-17)

A Broken Heart

I love Elder Hafen's Conference address "The Atonement, All for All" and in my continued quest to understand the Atonement better, I requested this book above and it was on hold for me at the Library (my first time ever holding a book, go me!) and I just got it and started it, eventhough I've still got 1, 2, 3... 4 other books that I've started and haven't finished yet. I've got a book in each room so I can read wherever I am! :)

But this one looks good. I feel like my life is so easy, how can I apply the Atonement when everything is smooth sailing and I'm not being steamrolled by trials? Part of me feels like I need to be brought to my knees with urgency and intensity, but I'm trying even though there's nothing urgent in my life, of course I try to make sure I don't let anything become a Problem, cause if I have faith, then we trust the Lord in our problem-ish situations, right? I've got some little challenges, but nothing like the trials I see so many other's endure. For example, we watched 17 Miracles last night, wow - poor, homeless, starving, tired, exhausted, what more could they give?



I hope I can come to know the Savior in my life, even if I'm not in such extremities as they were. I know Christ lives and He loves me, I know I will live again because He lives and was resurrected for us all. He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free, while God is marching on ~

Loving Your New Normal

We had a fabulous lesson in Relief Society yesterday by Sister Theriot.

She started by sharing how there was a cultural revolution in China in the 1960s - after some of my own research I learned the revolution was to purge their nation of the "Four Olds": old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas. As part of this revolution many beautiful vases made in the past dynasties were destroyed -


"During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, (1966-1976), keeping the antique porcelain at home was regarded as illegal. So many collectors broke their porcelain and threw them away. Just after the revolution, we began to collect the broken pieces of antique porcelain and tried to bring them back to life again. Around 1983-1985, the Shard Box was created. The Shard Box is not only a collection of antique porcelain, but also a collection of Chinese history." (source)
Vases that survived are very valuable now. For those that were broken and shattered, their lovely shattered remnants have been created into beautiful little shard boxes.

Aren't these just pretty?

She showed us a shard box that she had and said how she just loves it. Are we able to accept it when the ideals we have for our life are shattered after all our hard work? Are we able to pick up the pieces and turn them into something lovely again? Can we love our new normal? It reminded me of Elder Wirthin's talk from the October 2008 Conference ~ "Come What May and Love It"



Someone also commented how President Boyd K. Packer learned this while in the military - the constant movement that military life brings uncertainty about how long will I be here, when are we moving again, etc. He learned that there are blessings found in 
unpacking your bags and settling down—whether for days, months, or years. For him, it made the difference between misery and 
happiness. (referenced in this speech at BYU by Stanley G. Ellis under the heading "Unpack Your Bag")

She also shared a message from the Music and the Spoken Word on July 15, 2012 - here's a recap:

Have you ever noticed how a car GPS can be compared to our lives and the way we live them? When we are driving somewhere and we take a wrong turn, does the GPS shout, “YOU IDIOT!! What were you THINKING!! Now you’ll NEVER get there!” No. The GPS simply says in a matter-of-fact voice, “RE-CALCULATING…” and proceeds to find you an alternate route to get to your destination. It might take you longer to go the “detour” sort of way. However, if you don’t stop driving and follow the directions, you WILL eventually get there. Stay calm, come what may and love it, learn to love your new normal and make the best of it, God's in control of your life and is helping you become what He wants you to become.

:) Thanks for the great lesson Kay!

Interview with Tomas Kofod

I've been looking for different portrayals of Christ today - As I looked for some pictures of Tomas Kofod (I heard him speak at a fireside several years ago) I found this article and used google to translate this interview from this Danish online newspaper:

Danish Mormon Known as Jesus in the USA
by Sidsel Fabricius
24 Feb 2012
Hundreds of thousands of American Mormons know him best as Jesus because of his role in two American-made Mormon movies.

Here at home, the 43-year-old Tomas Ambt Kofod, however, a relatively normal life, where he balances between the role of a modern family man, actor and practicing Mormon. Best known from the stage as Ambt Tomas Kofod, he has played leading roles in musicals such as 'Les Miserables' (listen to him singing here - beautiful!!!) and 'The Phantom of the Opera' at the New Theatre.

But early in Tomas Ambt Kofod's career as an actor, he was cast to playing Jesus in the two films The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd, and Finding Faith in Christ, both produced by the U.S. Mormon church. Therefore, the Dane now known and admired by many more than you'd think and is particularly popular among Mormons in Utah.

Day to day, the 43-year-old Tomas Kofod Ambt lives in Søborg with his wife and their two children. Their family is among about 4,500 Mormons living in Denmark, or just over 14 million worldwide.

On student exchange with a Mormon family in Utah

It all started when Tomas Kofod Ambt as 17-year-old traveled to the USA as an exchange student and ended up in a Mormon family in Utah. The encounter with the Mormons in the United States would prove to be crucial for Ambt Tomas Kofod, which today has been a practicing Mormon for nearly 20 years.

"When I came to the U.S., I was both young and very immature, but the Mormon family gave me both the space and room to be me, while I got an insight into how life in a Mormon family worked," says Tomas Ambt Kofod, who himself was not raised with religion at home.

Of the time with his American host family, he recalls, among other daily life, their religion took a large part in their day to day life:

"They were nice to take me to church and to give me a sense of how their faith worked in daily life. And it made a big impression on me, "says Tomas Kofod Ambt and explains:

"You feel very closely connected to each other as family, because there's this eternal perspective within the Mormon church. As a family they do some things together to make this world here a better place. It could be very small things like washing cars, cleaning up in people's basements, help the elderly in the neighborhood with cooking, housekeeping, and the kind deeds. It is to reach out to each other. It was a very positive experience. "

About being a Mormon in Denmark

Although one would think that there was a world of difference between teenage life at home in Denmark and to get behind the walls of the faithful family in Utah, there was still something about the Mormon way of life that seemed very familiar to Kofod.

"From my parents' side, I've been brought up with a great sense of justice and has always taught that one should live his life conscientiously, loving and friendly."

In his meetings with the Mormon church, Kofod didn't feel like give something up. Instead, the Mormon faith was a really good extension of the core values ​​he had learned from home.

When Kofod took leave of the Mormon family in Utah, they gave him a Book of'Mormon to take with him. In the years after he came home, he occasionally took the book down from the shelf to read a little into it.

"At one point I was sufficiently curious. I, I had to know something more about what it was that I had experienced over there. "

So Kofod in 1993, at the age of 24 years, was baptized into the church. He has been practicing Mormon since.

The Kofod family works in many ways like an ordinary Danish family.

"We want as many others simply do something good for society and want our children grow up and become sweet and harmonious people," says Kofod.

But since the Mormons are a relatively small movement in Denmark, Kofod sometimes meets people who are a bit prejudice when they hear about his faith.

"Overall, I think people are incredibly sweet and good to ask about religion - sometimes even too sweet and too cautious with their questions. Mormons have often been seen as a sectarian and closed society, but nothing could be more wrong, "says Kofod.

"We love visitors, but we do not force. Well, you can easily get rid of us again. So it is not for the foot-in-door method, "he smiles and explains:

"One of the most fundamental principles of the church is precisely that we should be able to choose for ourselves."

About the grief of losing

Kofod recently experienced the loss of his father, to whom he was very close. In his fathers' passing, Kofod really felt how his faith helped him. He saw how the Mormon belief in eternal life after death, in many ways made the grief easier to bear:

"Having a complete fundamental belief that we will meet again on the other side and that we can be together as a family forever, and not just in this life, gives me an inner peace and solace," says from a clearly affected Ambt Tomas Kofod, who continues:

"I do not feel that the grief was so profound and oppressive as I really had expected. I know that he is just over on the other side, and it's just a matter of time before we can meet again. "

In this way, faith made the grieving process easier for Kofod, also through prayer he finds inner strength and power to get through the difficult aspects of life, such as losing.

Role of Jesus

Playing the role of Jesus was not a very common challenge for the actor Kofod, when he was a Mormon has a special relationship with Jesus.

He looks back at some of the many thoughts, he made himself during the preparation for the role:

"How can I, as little useless man, radiate the kind of love that Jesus did?"

As part of preparations for the role, Kofod thoroughly read all the places in the Bible where Jesus appears and spent much time both to think and meditate upon him.

"It was all in all a very humbling experience," remembers Kofod, explaining that during his time in his youth playfulness, said yes, because it was the first major movie role, he was offered. And he got the offer today, he probably thought one more time about it, he says.

"But it has undoubtedly been a very big piece of my spiritual and personal development to be allowed to delve into such a role," he says. He has subsequently visited several countries such as Germany, Estonia, Lithuania , Poland, Sweden and the U.S. for talks on how he prepared himself to play the role of Jesus, and what impact it has had on him afterwards.

"As I have grown older as man and had more experience, I also got myself thoroughly looked in the mirror. The differences between oneself and the Savior appears therefore more clearly. The more one learns about life, the more apparent it becomes how great the Savior is and how far from him, you yourself are. I also found out that I am immortally less than I thought. "