Heather Went to India

I had heard Heather went to India.  I saw a couple girls from India that my niece was in India.  However I didn't know where or why, other than something to do with school.  My sister shared an article which explains what they where doing.  Even though the article doesn't mention Heather, this is the group they were with.  She must have been there in May.  Follow the link to read the article from the Newsroom for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

BYU Stanford NIT Basketball

Grandpa is visiting; and he is a big BYU fan.  So we went to the BYU game together since they were playing close.  It was a very good game.  The song leaders signed the National Anthem.  The jazz band members bounced up and down, the saxophones more than the trumpets.  The refs stunk.  They didn't give Yoeli Childs a chance, putting him in foul trouble early, and then fouling him out.  It was those crazy rebounding fouls that did him in, two of them at the first of the game.  However Elijah Bryant had a good game, and almost carried BYU to overtime, but not quite.  Stanford had difficulty shooting foul shots, but shot a lot more than BYU, over twice.  BYU had a hard time making threes.  BYU was short handed under the basket, and by the end of the game were down to just one big man.  Crazy thing is they didn't charge for parking, and the tickets were only $20. 

Mormon Music Review: Echoes of the Sabbath: Brigham Young University

This is an anthology of BYU choruses, singing music appropriate for a Sunday.  Most of it is church hymns, but not all.  Young Ambassadors and a soloist sing "Let Him Heal Your Heart" and the concert choir and philharmonic orchestra perform "Death Shall Not Destroy my Comfort."  The philharmonic also accompany the combined chorus in "Praise to the Lord the Almighty."  Another favorite is performed by the women's chorus, "Simple Gifts."  There is plenty to like in this collection.

Mormon Movie Review: Greater Love

This movie was produced in 1980.  I guess if I wanted to be critical of the acting, I could probably be so with this movie, bur I am more interested in the message and how well it is presented.  I hate to give the twist of this movie away, but it is impossible to talk about the message of the movie without doing so.  The crux of this movie is when the little girl says “When do I die.”  This movie begins with showing the brother being mean to her sister, teasing her at the dinner table.  However to make amends, he takes her to the pet store where the buy a humming bird feeder.  However he is hit by a car on the way home and ends up in the hospital needing a blood transfusion.  He has a rare type, and only his younger sister is available to donate.  She says she will do it, if her father wants her to.  After her brother is recovering, she asks “When do I die?”  She explains that her understanding is that when you give blood, you die.  In this we see the depth of her love for her brother. 

Mormon Movie Review: The Mail Box

This is a classic BYU Movie made for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It shows Lethe, a widow, living in her house alone.  The highlight of her day is to walk to her mailbox and wait for letter from her three children.  But they never come.  Even a bill is better than nothing.  She does have association with her neighbors, five-year-old Rachel and her mother.  But that is not adequate because they are always having to go home.  Lethe makes cookies for cookie day, and Rachel comes by to eat them.  She is getting up in year, her husband leaving her a widow long ago.  The most poignant line is "I am so lonely."  It really touches you.
Now the movie was made to help us not forget our older parents and grandparents.  It is easy to do while we go about our daily lives.  Life is so busy at times, there is hardly time to do anything else.  But just the same, we cannot forget those who have given us so much.  As Lethe points out, a letter is so much better than a phone call, because you can read it over and over, and make it last.
My mother is now the age of Lethe.  We have been struggling with what do do.  She so much wants to be independent; but she isn'e any more.  She has been losing her memory.  Some days are better than others, but most are pretty bad.  My sister, Connie, who still lives in Cache Valley, visits her daily.  She ends up with the greatest responsibility.  We would have her come and live with us, but she does not want to.  She likes her home, even though most of her friends have passed away or moved on.
This movie is excellent to get one's priorities in line.  I highly recommend it, but not too often.  It left me very emotional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1srLpGaXsBU&noredirect=1

LDS Movie Review: *****The Guilty BYU 1978

This is on the old church video cassette 27.  I love some of these old movies.  This one has a very poignant theme.  It shows a fast and testimony meeting.  A woman, supposedly recently on her own, comes to the meeting.  She had moved to the city to take a job.  She stands to speak.  She is pregnant.  She stands up and says he is sorry, and confesses her guilt.  However, many other people in the congregation also stand.  The admit, if anyone is writing on the wall those who are guilty, they should also be there.  The bishop who maybe could have been more diligent, the friend, the neighbor who travels to the city, but never stopped by to check on her, and finally her father, who talks about his reaction to his daughter's pregnancy of being one hoping she would not come home, and worried about how her actions were effected "Your mother and I."  He has gained insight and now sees things more from his daughter's perspective, and asks the question, "How has my reaction effected my daughter?"
This movie reminded me of the incident of the savior, and the woman taken in adultery.  Jesus says, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."  All of the accusers then fade away, as we all have guilt in our time.
This movie never received a lot of play.  However its message is classic.  We are all struggling to make it through, and we need to stand up for each other to make the journey easier.  We all fall short, and that is where our savior comes in.
This movie stars Gordon Jump.

Mormon Movie Review: ****The Phone Call

This is a BYU movie from 1979.  It is based on a Jack Weyland article published in the New Era.  I wanted to dislike this movie.  It is about a a theme I struggled with, calling girls and lack self confidence.  However it is pleasantly witty and enjoyable.  It is on the light side, but also has a message of gaining self confidence.  Scott has a hard time calling the girl he likes to ask her on a date.  (I had a struggle with the same.)  He calls and hangs up on her before he can say anything.  (I did that too.  Luckily there was no caller id in that day.)  However when he takes a job at a diner, he finds it easy to talk to his coworker, Becky.  Becky helps him work on his confidence, and he helps Becky realize that her boyfriend is no good for her.  He just puts her down.  Scott is still a nerd at the end of the movie, and often says the wrong thing, but he is gaining in self confidence through practice.
It is available on You Tube, but I have an old VCR version.
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/feature-films?lang=eng

Is Anyone Else Watching Granite Flats?

I am just wondering if anyone else has caught the BYUTV Series "Granite Flats" and what you think.  I have watched the first couple episodes, and the characters are intriguing, and the plot mysterious enough to keep my interest.  This is the first foray by BYUTV into a scripted story this way.
http://www.byutv.org/show/0aea4804-47dc-470f-b80a-35c8f23d0f27/granite-flats
I think I am going to continue watching.  There is some sinister plot going on and I haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet, but there are three young people, probably sixth graders, who are investigating.  The series is set in rural 1950s Colorado, where there is a military base for no good reason.

Mormon Movie Review: **^The Trophy Case (BYU 1979)

This is a movie I have seen many times, and watched a couple times over the last weeks, but not sure if I still understand it.  I saw a report talking about this movie.  It addresses the question, "To what extent should a parent direct the life of a teenage child?"  This movie shows a father and a son, who are at odds with each other.  We do not see the mother, but the movie implies she is too busy pursuing earthly things.  The movie starts with the son being arrested, and sent to juvenile court.  Father confronts him, but in the end chases him away.  He runs to his part time job (which his father disapproves of) watching horses.  He is given a place to stay and a job.  The movie presents his love of horses, and after some time, there is a chance for reconciliation, but it gets messed up.  The problem is Father just can't see things from his son's point of view.  He takes off on a horse, and father following on surface streets in a car.  They remain at odds. 
So I wonder, what is the point of the movie, if we don't see a successful resolution.

Mormon Movie Review: ****^The Drop Card

This is one of my favorite of the old BYU movies.  It tells the story of La Nina, freshman age from who is attending BYU.  Her family is very traditional and of Italian descent.  Going from rural Idaho to the campus is a struggle.  Her struggles becomes more intense, as her first assignment in communications class is to talk about something she does well.  She immediately asks the instructor to please sign her drop card.  He decides to not do this, but meet with her to see if he can help her.  Her struggle is the assignment, she does not think she does anything well.  They go through several meetings, and she is still determined to drop the class.  The professor comes upon her in the cafeteria, where she is after skipping an appointment.  She makes a comment on the poor pizza they serve, and the professor has proven his point.  She does have value, and has a skill at making pizza.  I find this movie motivational on two fronts.  The professor goes the extra mile  to work with LaNi.  Lani's struggle is also motivating, as she realizes she has worth, and is able to share this with others.