Warning: The movies I like the best generally get poor reviews with movie critics.  “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I love the epic battle between good and evil and do not think it is “over the top” when good triumphs.  I love movies that make me want to be better.  I realize these kinds of movies aren’t for everyone.  So, if you don’t agree with my cinematic preferences, you’re probably not going to like this movie.

Forever Strong, is a movie (based on a true story) about Rick Penning, a self-centered, out-of-control, star rugby player who lands himself in a juvenile corrections facility after a repeat drunk driving accident in which he almost killed his girlfriend.  The director of the corrections facility notices Rick’s love for rugby and offers Rick the opportunity to play for the longtime rival Highland Rugby team, and its legendary Coach Gelwix. 

This coach has a philosophy that he would rather help young men to be champions in life than to be champions on the field.  This core philosophy is demonstrated when the coach allows Rick to stay in the first game even though the team is being destroyed because of Rick’s “me-first” mentality.

Gelwix emphasizes team play and has a policy prohibiting, liquor, drugs, cigarettes and fooling around with girls, as he tries to teach his players to be “forever strong” in life and not just on the field.  Rick struggles with the dichotomy of the person he was and the person he is becoming. Rick’s evolution as a team player is symbolized through his participation with the team in the Maori war dance, the Haka. 

Rick is finally released from the corrections facility and returns to his home and his old team.  However, when he doesn’t fall back into his old ways, his old friends mock him and plant drugs and alcohol on him so that he ends up back in jail.

The defining scene shows Rick’s father visiting him in jail.  Rick’s father won’t believe that Rick has changed, but Rick stands and declares that he is a Highland Rugby player and would never do anything to disgrace his family or his team.  Rick ends that scene by telling his father “Kia Kaha” which means “forever strong” in Maori.

I enjoyed Rick’s strength to change despite intense pressures. I loved the strength of the Coach Gelwix character in shaping young rugby players to be champions in life.  Kia Kaha.

If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. (Alma 48:8-19)

For many years I have read and pondered this scripture and tried to emulate Moroni, albeit unsuccessfully. Years ago my wife even gave me a painting of Moroni with this scripture for my office because she knew how much it meant to me.

However, though the years of focusing on this scripture, I failed to connect it with the full context of the situation in which this description of Moroni is given.  Moroni was the army captain of a group of Christians named Nephites who lived in the ancient Americas shortly before Christ’s birth.  Moroni’s people were ruled democratically by elected judges, yet on multiple occasions Captain Moroni had to put down revolutions from a faction of the people who wanted to appoint a king.  The man who started this internal revolution, and who desired to be the king, was named Amalickiah.

When Amalickiah realized that he could not prevail against Moroni, he fled with a group of followers and joined the Lamanites, who were the eternal enemies of Moroni’s people.  Amalickiah poisoned the leader of the Lamanite armies so that he (Amalickiah) could become the leader of the army.  Then, he killed the Lamanite king and married that king’s wife so that he could become the king of the Lamanites.  Then, with control of the Lamanite armies Amalickaiah waged a horrific war against Moroni and his people that lasted for many years.

I have often (and correctly) associated Christianity with Christ’s teaching such as “turning the other cheek”, “not returning evil for evil” and “forgiving”. So, the dichotomy of Moroni’s description as such a strong Christian that Satan had no power over his heart, shook my understanding of Christianity.

How did Moroni find peace while at war?  The following verses help explain the answer to this paradox:

He was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of the Christians. And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; Yea a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.  Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ. (Alma 48:10-14)

They were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all–they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God. Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren. (Alma 48:23-24)

Moroni wasn’t seeking revenge or to force his will upon anyone else.  Instead Moroni was reluctantly fighting a battle to stand up to evil, to defend his people from oppression and abuse, and to eradicate the horrible influence of the Lamanties in their lives.  He wasn’t trying to change the Lamanites, he was just trying to be free of the Lamanites, and was forced to fight to secure that freedom.  Moroni didn’t hate the Lamanites, and was genuinely concerned about the enternal welfare of their souls.

War and fighting is often at odds with the way that Jesus Christ would like us to live with our fellow man. War should be a last resort. However, sometimes as Christians we have to stand and fight evil.  When war does become necessary in our lives, though, it is important that our motives and hearts are right with God, and that we can find peace while at war.

In the July 2008 Ensign magazine, Elder Ballard published an article titled Sharing the Gospel on the Internet, which was adapted a commencement address he gave at Brigham Young University–Hawaii on December 15, 2007. I blogged about that address, but I am so excited about this Ensign article that I am including it in its entirity in this blog post:

With new technological tools, you can further the work of the Lord by joining the ongoing conversation about the Church.

I am in my 80th year. By some accounts that makes me pretty old. Actually, some folks think some of the Brethren may be too old to know what’s going on in your world. Let me assure you we are very much aware.

A Changing World

In the span of nearly 80 years, I’ve seen many changes. When I began my mission in England in 1948, the most common way for people to get news was through newspapers and radio.

How different the world is today. For many of you, if you read newspapers, the chances are you read them on the Internet. Ours is the world of cyberspace, cell phones that capture video, video and music downloads, social networks, text messaging and blogs, handhelds and podcasts.

This is the world of the future, with inventions undreamed of that will come in your lifetime as they have in mine. How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?

You have a great opportunity to be a powerful force for good in the Church and in the world. There is truth in the old adage that “the pen is mightier than the sword.”1In many cases it is with words that you will accomplish the great things that you set out to do. And it’s principally about ways to share those words that I want to talk to you.

From its beginnings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has used the power of the printed word to spread the message of the restored gospel throughout the world. The Lord, over the centuries, has had a hand in inspiring people to invent tools that facilitate the spreading of the gospel. The Church has adopted and embraced those tools, including print, broadcast media, and the Internet.

There are perhaps few inventions that have had a greater impact on the world than the printing press, invented by the inspired Johannes Gutenberg around 1436. The printing press enabled knowledge, including that contained in the Holy Bible, to be shared more widely than ever before.

The Internet: A Modern Printing Press

Today we have a modern equivalent of the printing press in the Internet. The Internet allows everyone to be a publisher, to have his or her voice heard, and it is revolutionizing society. Before the Internet there were great barriers to printing. It took money, power, influence, and a great amount of time to publish. But today, because of the emergence of what some call “new media,” made possible by the Internet, many of those barriers have been removed. New media consists of tools on the Internet that make it possible for nearly anyone to publish or broadcast to either a large or a niche audience. I have mentioned some of these tools already. The emergence of new media is facilitating a worldwide conversation on almost every subject, including religion, and nearly everyone can participate. This modern equivalent of the printing press is not reserved only for the elite.

Now some of these tools—like any tool in an unpracticed or undisciplined hand—can be dangerous. The Internet can be used to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and can just as easily be used to market the filth and sleaze of pornography. Computer applications like iTunes can be used to download uplifting and stirring music or the worst kind of antisocial lyrics full of profanity. Social networks on the Web can be used to expand healthy friendships as easily as they can be used by predators trying to trap the unwary. That is no different from how people choose to use television or movies or even a library. Satan is always quick to exploit the negative power of new inventions, to spoil and degrade, and to neutralize any effect for good. Make sure that the choices you make in the use of new media are choices that expand your mind, increase your opportunities, and feed your soul.

As you know, the new media has already profoundly impacted the old world of newspapers and other traditional media. Once upon a time, as a Church leader I might give a newspaper interview, then wait a day or two for it to appear somewhere deep inside the newspaper. Then that newspaper was thrown away, and whatever impact it might have had dissipated rather quickly.

Now, as I am leaving one appointment to go to the next, the report of my visit or interview begins almost immediately to appear on the newspaper’s Web site or on blogs, where it can be copied and distributed all over the Web. You can see how important the right words are today. Words recorded on the Internet do not disappear. Any Google or Yahoo! search is going to find one’s words, probably for a very long time.

A case in point: In 2007, NBC television came to Salt Lake for an interview with me as part of a piece they were producing on the Church. Reporter Ron Allen and I spent an hour together in the chapel in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We discussed the Church at length. A few days later the story appeared, and in the four-minute segment that aired, there was one short quote of about six seconds from the one-hour interview. That was just enough time for me to testify of our faith in Jesus Christ as the center of all we believe. I repeat, just six seconds were used from a 60-minute interview. Those six seconds are quite typical, actually, for members of the traditional TV media, who think and air in sound bites. The big difference from the old days to today is that the reporter also ran 15 minutes of our interview on the NBC Nightly News Web site. And those 15 minutes are still there. What we say is no longer on and off the screen in a flash, but it remains as part of a permanent archive and can appear on other sites that reuse the content. People using Internet search engines to hunt for topics about the Church will come across that interview and many others.

These tools allow organizations and individuals to completely bypass the news media and publish or broadcast their messages in their entirety to the intended audiences. For instance, last year the Church Public Affairs Department conducted an interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Lance B. Wickman of the Seventy regarding the Church’s position on same-gender attraction. In the old days, to communicate our message to the public on an issue like this we would have had to rely on the news media. But this probing interview was conducted by Church Public Affairs staff and posted in its entirety on the Church’s Web site, unfiltered by the news media.

Joining the Conversation

There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time.

The challenge is that there are too many people participating in conversations about the Church for our Church personnel to converse with and respond to individually. We cannot answer every question, satisfy every inquiry, and respond to every inaccuracy that exists. We need to remember that there is a difference between interest and mere curiosity. Sometimes people just want to know what the Church is. And some who seek answers want them to come directly from a member of the Church. They appreciate one-on-one conversation.

All of you know that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are reminded and encouraged continually to share the gospel with others. The Church is always looking for the most effective ways to declare its message. Preaching the gospel of the Restoration has always been special to me. I loved being a missionary in England. I loved being a mission president in Canada. And I love my present calling, which allows me opportunities to share the message of the Restoration of the gospel to the world and to testify that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1820. Through Joseph, the gospel that Jesus established in New Testament times was brought back. It had been lost with the deaths of the Apostles of old. I can share with the world the knowledge that priesthood authority, the doctrine, and the ordinances of the New Testament Church are once again on the earth. This is the most important work that we can participate in.

Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. You can download videos from Church and other appropriate sites, including newsroom.lds.org, and send them to your friends. You can write to media sites on the Internet that report on the Church and voice your views as to the accuracy of the reports. This, of course, requires that you understand the basic principles of the gospel. It is essential that you are able to offer a clear and correct witness of gospel truths. It is also important that you and the people to whom you testify understand that you do not speak for the Church as a whole. You speak as one member—but you testify of the truths you have come to know.

Far too many people have a poor understanding of the Church because most of the information they hear about us is from news media reports that are often driven by controversies. Too much attention to controversy has a negative impact on peoples’ perceptions of what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is.

Recently a columnist writing in a major U.S. newspaper was irresponsibly inaccurate in his description of the Church and our beliefs and practices. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of Church members and others who understand our beliefs commented on the newspaper’s Web site, correcting the misconceptions he was spreading and calling for accuracy.

Examples of What You Can Do

Let me give you a few other examples of how Church members are using the new media.

A Church member living in the Midwest of the United States makes a concerted effort to share the gospel every day, in person. He then writes a blog about his daily endeavors to share the teachings of the Book of Mormon and to give pass-along cards to all he meets. His effort to share the gospel so diligently is admirable, and his further effort to write about it no doubt inspires many others to do the same.

Others have recorded and posted their testimonies of the Restoration, the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and other gospel subjects on popular video-sharing sites. You too can tell your story to nonmembers in this way. Use stories and words that they will understand. Talk honestly and sincerely about the impact the gospel has had in your life, about how it has helped you overcome weaknesses or challenges and helped define your values. The audiences for these and other new media tools may often be small, but the cumulative effect of thousands of such stories can be great. The combined effort is certainly worth the outcome if but a few are influenced by your words of faith and love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ has no doubt had a powerful impact on your life. It has, in part, shaped who you are and what your future will be. Do not be afraid to share with others your experiences as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all have interesting stories that have influenced our identity. Sharing those stories is a nonthreatening way to talk to others. Telling those stories can help demystify the Church. You could help overcome misperceptions through your own sphere of influence, which ought to include the Internet.

Things to Avoid

Every disciple of Christ will be most effective and do the most good by adopting a demeanor worthy of a follower of the Savior. Discussions focused on questioning, debating, and doubting gospel principles do little to build the kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul has admonished us to not be “ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). Let us all stand firmly and speak with faith in sharing our message with the world. Many of you are returned missionaries and can carry on a meaningful conversation in the language you learned on your mission. Your outreach can be international.

As you participate in this conversation and utilize the tools of new media, remember who you are—Latter-day Saints. Remember, as the proverb states, that “a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). And remember that contention is of the devil (see 3 Nephi 11:29). There is no need to argue or contend with others regarding our beliefs. There is no need to become defensive or belligerent. Our position is solid; the Church is true. We simply need to have a conversation, as friends in the same room would have, always guided by the prompting of the Spirit and constantly remembering the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, which reminds us of how precious are the children of our Father in Heaven.

May the Lord bless each of you that you will have a powerful influence on those you come in contact with. As I said in the beginning, the power of words is incredible. Let your voice be heard in this great cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Helps for Home Evening

• 1. As a family, watch the video clip of Elder M. Russell Ballard’s call for Latter-day Saints to share the message of the Restoration with others using the Internet. See www.youtube.com/LDSPublicAffairs. Discuss ways you can share your testimony of the gospel with others using the Internet.
• 2. Fill a large bowl or bathtub with water. Drop a bar of soap into the water, noticing the ripple effect of tiny waves generated from the soap falling into the water. Compare the waves to using the Internet to promote good, clean conversations about the Church. As a family, send an e-mail to a friend, telling something you love about the gospel.

Lee’s website for this project

Download the app in the iTunes Store

Monetization through virtual currencies and virtual goods is a topic that has fascinated me recently.  Online communities have developed virtual currencies which can be purchased or earned, and then can be redeemed to buy virtual goods or services within the community.  For example, a community member could purchase a suit of armor in a multi-player game, or virtual flowers to send to a friend who is sick.

Last month, the Associated Press reported that GaiaOnline.com collects $1 million per month from players buying virtual goods ranging from puppy ears to lightning bolts.

VentureBeat has reported that the MobWars Facebook application generates more than $1 million per month from the sale of virtual goods.

A few days ago MarketingVOX reported that Build-A-Bear’s online community, Buildabearville.com, might save the financially struggling company which posted a $2 million net loss for Q3 earnings.

Today I finished listening to the audio book “Play Money” by Julian Dibbel.  This book chronicles the story of a Wired magazine author who becomes enamored by massive multi-player online games (MMOs), and his attempt to make a full-time job out of selling virtual goods from the game for real-world cash.

Online communities have been criticized for years due to the increased difficulty of monetizing through advertising sales.  Virtual goods and services provide a much more effective way to monetize these online communities than advertising sales.  For example, Last month Adotas.com said that Facebook’s virtual economy will be worth more than $100 million in the next twelve months.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Virtual Goods Summit in San Francisco and was shocked by the number of attendees who are making a living by selling virtual goods.  I believe that virtual goods and services are the best way to monetize many online communities.

Adoption.com and thousands of other websites have migrated their site search to Google SiteSearch, which is a free solution providing much higher quality search results.  (To test this technology, do a search in the search box on the upper right of the Adoption.com website.)  However, the biggest problem has been that Google SiteSearch will only show pages in the results that are contained in the Google search index.  For example, Google does not index all of the “deep” content on the Adoption.com website, such as all of the records in the Adoption.com Reunion Registry or the posts in the Adoption.com Forums.  As a result, the websites which use Google SiteSearch are usually not allowing their site visitors to search all of the website content.

Also, Google SiteSearch has not allowed any preferencing of content if a website owner wanted a certain section of content to show up higher in search results than another section.  However, Google SiteSearch has been the best option available, so website owners have continued to use it.

Google has just announced a premium version of Google SiteSearch that solves these problems.  For a fee, Google will now include all of the content from the website within the search results of Google SiteSearch.  Also, with this paid service, website owners can preference content on their site that they would like to show higher or lower in search results.

The pricing can be moderately expensive if you have a very large number of pages of content on your website.  However, for the quality of search results that Google SiteSearch provides, along with the ability to monetize those search results through Google Adsense, most website owners will probably feel that the pricing is fair.

I clearly understand the importance of forgiving and I want to forgive. I know that Jesus Christ expects us to forgive everyone, whether or not they have repented, and if I do not forgive others, a greater sin is upon me than whatever the other person did (D&C 54:8-9). I know I need to keep forgiving others even if they keep hurting me (Matthew 18:21). I know I will receive forgiveness only to the extent I forgive others (Matthew 6:12) and that to become worthy of the atonement of Jesus Christ and to be forgiven of my sins, I must forgive others (Matthew 18:23-35).

I know that holding on to offense and not forgiving can rob me of happiness and the light of Christ, and that the path to the greatest joy and peace in life includes frankly and immediately forgiving others. However, I don’t remember any Sunday School lessons teaching me how to forgive.

What do I do if I feel I have forgiven the offender, have prayed for God’s help in forgiving that person, yet when that person continues to commit similar offenses, the feelings of animosity return? I think those feelings are a sign I have not completely forgiven that person despite my desire and efforts to do so. I don’t want to feel those negative feelings. I want to forgive . . . but how do I forgive more deeply and permanently?

I have been struggling with this question for more than a month, and studying to understand “How do I forgive?”. My answer came through the scripture “Charity suffereth long and is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). As someone continues do things that cause me to suffer, I need to have charity towards that person and be kind. Saying I forgive someone, and stopping to have negative feelings towards that person is not enough. I must fill the void left by the abandoned negative feelings with feelings of love, charity, kindness and compassion towards that person. When I fill that void with the pure love of Christ for that person, it becomes almost impossible for those feelings of animosity to return when the person trespasses against me again.

The love for that person make it easier to bear any additional offenses, helps us to minimize the severity of those offenses, and helps us to understand where that person is coming from so we might not even need to take offense.

It is important to note that forgiveness does not mean we must continue to allow abusive behavior. We have a right and a responsibility to protect ourselves and others within our stewardships from dangerous situations. For example, we might forgive someone who has abused one of our children, but we might wisely choose to never let that person babysit our children again.

It is also important to note that forgiveness and trust are not necessarily the same. It is required of us that we forgive everyone (D&C 64:10). However, we and those within our stewardships deserve to be treated respectfully. It is reasonable for us to respectfully set healthy boundaries for our association with those people who have not acted respectfully. For example, if a child yells at my wife and hits her, it is appropriate for me to remove my child from that situation, explain the behavior unacceptable, and let the child know that they can return to be with the family when they are ready to act respectfully. Forgiving someone does not mean allowing unacceptable behavior to continue.

As we seek to forgive it is also important that we stop talking bad about the offender, even if it is true. We also need to stop blaming the offender and take back ownership in our lives.

I am grateful for the gift of forgiveness. As I fill my heart with charity and forgiveness towards others I can receive the peace that comes from forgiving others, and qualify for forgiveness from the Savior.

What have you done to help you to forgive, and how has forgiveness blessed your life?

First, I find the term “bottom billion” inappropriate and offensive, as I have lived among many of these amazing people during the nearly two years I spent in Brazil. These people face almost hopeless poverty, have enormous challenges and we need to help them. However, they are not the “bottom billion”. These are beautiful people filled with amazing potential. These might be the poorest, most underprivileged people on earth, but I don’t agree with the label “bottom billion”.

Regardless of the semantics of the name for this group of people, I agree with Dr. Collier that we need to provide hope for these underprivileged people. Dr. Collier analyzes the role the United States took to help Europe after World War II as a model that the world can follow today to help solve this problem.

He recommends that we provide:

(1) AID

(2) TRADE - After WWII the US tore up the protectionist trade policy and totally reversed it, opening trade with Europe.

(3) SECURITY - After WWII, the US tore up it’s isolationist security policy and put hundreds of thousands of troops in Europe.

(4) GOVERNMENTS - Before WWII the US had not been willing to join the League of Nations, but after WWII we became part of a larger international community that helped create the solution for Europe.

DR. Collier spoke about the need to better utilize the resources booms in these under-developed countries. He recommended international standards to create informed societies, such as government financial transparency and competitive auction formats for contracts related to the developing country resources.

I agree with Dr. Collier that these lessons learned from the successfully rebuilding of Europe after WWII can provide us with several of the necessary pieces of the solution to end global poverty. However, many more solutions are available to help us solve this problem today as compared to 60 years ago. For, example, the power of the Internet allows us to facilitate microlending from millions of people around the world in a way that would have been impossible before the Internet.

Technology advances provide phenomenal solutions if they are shared with developing countries. For example, inexpensive solar panels can provide consistent power in developing countries that have struggled with insufficient and unreliably power supply. Inexpensive wireless technologies can facilitate communication necessary to efficiently run businesses, including access to telephones, email and the Internet. Vaccines for diseases such as malaria can help to halt the ravaging effects of these diseases.

Dr. Collier is right that we need to learn from the successes of the European construction after World War II, but let’s also open our minds to the additional innovative solutions that are available. We can certainly do a better job developing underprivileged countries today than was possible in the 1940s.

The video of Dr. Collier’s speech is embedded below: