The Gospel: A Nerd's Eye View

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 Star Wars.
 Those two simple words bring a flood of memories to me, and, I'm sure, to you as well.  What is it about this epic saga in space that causes people to dress in white plastic shinguards with suffocating helmets (in public), swing multicolored-retractable-plastic sticks at each others heads, and casually use in a sentence otherwise incomprehensible things such as, "let the wookie win"?


  Yes, if you are guilty of any or all of these aformentioned attributes, you are likely a fan of Star Wars.

 Star Wars has a place in my heart, not only because it warps me to a galaxy far, far away with planets, aliens, and ships from the nether regions of my childhood (and, admittedly, my adulthood as well), but because it magnificently touches on many things much closer to home.  Star Wars, at its core, is a story of family, choices, and redemption. It is a story that we all relate to, regardless of how many parsecs separate us from Tatooine.

My "CT-R2" :)

  In exactly that same vein, the gospel of Jesus Christ is something universal to everyone: one could even say "it surrounds us, it penetrates us, [and] it binds [us all] together."  The gospel can be applied to everything in life. And so I'm going to write a series of posts that combine two things I love, the Gospel and Star Wars, to show how we can see the spiritual side in that galaxy far, far away; and maybe even a little closer to home as well.
 
EPISODE 1: Light vs Dark

 In the course of the series, Luke is led to a choice to follow the Light side of the force and be a Jedi, or succumb to the power and temptations that the Dark side offers.  We hear from Nephi a similar dilemma:
"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." ~2 Nephi 2:27

 If we are to learn anything from the tragic story of Darth Vader, it is that if we allow our emotions to control our actions, we will surely succumb to the Dark Side of the force.  We all face that same decision in real life; will we choose to follow the Way, the Truth, and the Life, or will we lose ourselves to the Father of All Lies?
 As with the force, you do not simply one day decide to go over to the dark side. Your actions lead you there, step by step, until you are held captive by the darkness.
 "yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever..and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."

Satan entices us to do wrong, slowly, carefully, until we are bound down by his chains of hell. 
On the other hand, we know that God works in light.  Just as Luke chose not to give into temptation, but to stand for good and hope, we too can choose the right. Our lives are marked by choices; we either succumb, or overcome.  If we choose the right, we will find ourselves in the side we all want to be on.  We all want to follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
 
  I pray we will all remember Jesus Christ a bit more, and why we follow Him. Every decision is crucial to who we will become, and where we will end up. If we keep His commandments, and follow the path He has laid for us, we will become more receptive to the whispers of the Spirit. We will find it not only clear, but easy, to choose light over dark. We will become like the Master.

 If I may slightly alter the immortal words of Obi Wan Kenobi,
 "May the [spirit] will be with you."