3 Life Lessons from Meet The Mormons
Meet the Mormons opening weekend is finally here! There is no doubt that members of the LDS Church as well as friends of other faiths will flock to the theaters to see what the film is all about.
One of the most exciting aspects of the movie is that two close friends of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir—David Archuleta and Gail “The Candy Bomber” Halvorsen—are involved with it. We send our congratulations to David, whose video for “Glorious” reached 1 million YouTube views in the first week of its release. The song is featured inMeet the Mormons and is his first major release since returning from his Church mission in Chile. Gail Halvorsen, who participated in the Choir’s 2012 Christmas concert, is also featured in the film. His unique and touching story has brought joy to countless lives and will no doubt bless many more as his story is shown in theaters throughout the U.S.
Here are three life lessons you can use to prepare your family to enjoy Meet the Mormons together:
1. From Little Things Come Big Things—To effectively teach charity and generosity there is no better story than that of the 27-year-old pilot Gail Halvorsen in post-war Berlin who came up with the idea to drop candy from the air to lift the spirits of children. The video, titled, Christmas from Heaven: The Candy Bomber Story (Narrated by Tom Brokaw), took place during the 2012 Christmas concert featuring Tom Brokaw and Alfie Boe. This segment will touch the hearts of all ages that watch and teach them to “Give whatever we have no matter how small the gift,” as spoken by Brokaw. "From little things come big things" is what Halvorsen's father used to say. Those simple words that moved Halvorsen to act and sparked healing in the hearts of the people of war-torn Berlin.
2. Put God First—In Meet the Mormons, the diverse members featured from around the world all share a common trait: they put God first. When former American Idol contestant David Archuleta announced that he was going to put his music career on hold to serve a mission, his supportive fans were right behind him. “I have chosen to serve a full-time mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And it’s not because somebody told me that I was supposed to do it, not because I no longer want to do music anymore, but it’s because it’s what I felt I needed to do next in my life,” said Archuleta, as he fought back tears. David made his heartfelt mission announcement during a 2011 concert in Salt Lake City, UT.
3. The Power of Positive Music—The films song “Glorious” is about finding our own purpose within our hearts. Throughout David Archuleta’s career, he’s made a conscious effort to focus his talent on singing music with a positive message. During a recent live Facebook chat he was asked about how his music has changed his life, and he responded by saying, “Music has helped me understand myself better.” He explained that even when people didn’t want to listen to what he had to say as a missionary, he would ask them, “Will you at least listen to a song?” He described their reaction by saying, “To see people’s faces change and have them invite us in . . . a lot of people always talked about the feeling they felt.” Since most people in Chile didn’t recognize him from his singing career, Archuleta said, “It was neat to see that it was with an unbiased opinion that they felt the spirit and understood our purpose even better.” Watch the beautiful video for "Glorious" below, featuring scenes from the film and David in the recording studio.
For more information on David Archuleta or Gail Halvorsen including interviews and videos, visit their guest artist pages on our website.
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