Category Archives: Superheroes

Be Content with Clark Kent

29 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Book of Mormon, Brothers, Example, General, Poems, Power, Strength, Superheroes, Trials, Weakness

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superman

Can I really be content to get Clark Kent?
When I really need a MIRACLE to burst these bands?
This guy who looks low rent- turns out, is Heaven sent!
And underneath that suit- IS SUPERMAN!

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School, our teacher shared a little tidbit that was awesome (Thanks again Gena). I want to try and pass on and summarize what I learned.

It was a perfect example that highlighted the difference between the realistic and unrealistic expectations in our minds when we pray for help. We seem to want, and expect the Hollywood movie version of real life. We want the dramatic flair and instantaneous resolution to our problems, but have a hard time when all we get are the seemingly plain regular answers.

The story was when Nephi and his brothers were headed back to the wilderness where their father, Lehi, was camped. This was after having returned to Jerusalem for the second time. This time, they had just convinced Ishmael and his family that it would be a sweet idea to head out into the desert for some unknown amount of time, and towards some as of yet unknown promised land.

However, somewhere along the way, Laman and Lemuel and their newly-formed merry band of misfits, did their thing, and got ticked off at some imaginary slight. They tied Nephi up, bound him with cords and left him out in the middle of nowhere in the desert, to be eaten by wild beasts. And I thought I fought with my brothers growing up…

If you were Nephi, how would you pray in this situation?

If I were a Hollywood producer, Nephi would pray, and then legions of fiery sword wielding angels would descend upon Laman and Lemuel and turn them into barbequed mincemeat, then cut his bands triumphantly and carry him on a chariot of clouds back to the desert while the Hallelujah chorus blared for everyone to hear. But, that’s not what happened.

Remember, Nephi had been down this road before. He had to deal with his bonehead brothers over and over and over again. He had also overcome all odds, and retrieved the brass plates from a wicked maniac (Laban). Nephi knew he could be delivered from the measly ropes he was tied down with. No problem. So, knowing all that, lets pay close attention to what he asks for is his pleadings with the Lord…

“But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may BURST these bands with which I am bound.¹”

Burst the bands? Thats what I’m talking about! Lets look at the definition of the word “burst” to see exactly what Nephi was asking for.

Burst = to issue forth suddenly and forcibly, break open, or fly apart with sudden violence:, to issue forth suddenly and forcibly.

Yes Please! How awesome would that be? Shards of severed ropes flying through the air as trumpet music blasts our ears and Nephi’s hands rise in clenched fists as he yells triumphantly….. Now, lets look at the actual result of that prayer…

“And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were LOOSED from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.²”

Not exactly Hollywood flair. For comparison, lets now look at the definition of “loosed” (what he received) as compared to the “Burst” definition from earlier.

Loosed = free from anything that binds or restrains.

Pretty vanilla huh? The Lord got the job done. His way.

How many of us pray like that? We pray for the dramatic hero on a white horse to come in and save the day. We pray for Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan to ride over a distant hill and strike fear into the hearts of the Orcs who are attacking us. We pray for sudden, forceable deliverance from hardship, pain, or struggle. We want deliverance from whatever is ailing us, we want resistance to go away, we want instant peace, and resolution.

When we pray like this, we want, and even expect results. Now. Or at least in the next few minutes, maybe a week at most. We want results, dramatic, perceptible, obvious results. We want Clark Kent ripping off his shirt revealing Superman results!

And, if they don’t come, we are disappointed that the Lord didn’t hear us, or help us, or deliver us.

Instead of Superman, ripping off his shirt, we get this…….

christopher-reeve-superman

We pray for “burst”, but get “loosen”.
We pray for Superman, but get Clark Kent.
We pray for Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan, but get 4 tiny hobbits with hairy feet.

Nephi had asked for enough strength to perform the Superman “burst”. What Nephi got was Clark Kent secretly unbuttoning his shirt in a phone booth, methodically, slowly, maybe even awkwardly.

But, this is the exact point, and heart of the lesson! His strength was increased! And it was enough to loosen the bands. Probably after much wriggling, struggling, pulling, twisting, pushing, and pulling. He did not sit idle and wait. He did receive strength to loosen the bands that held him captive. He was able to become stronger and overcome. It just wasn’t in the dramatic hollywood way.

Remember, this was the same Nephi that fashioned a wooden bow and arrow after his fancy steel one broke leaving his family without any means of obtaining food. This was the same Nephi that built a ship after never having built one before. This was the same Nephi that smote Laban after shrinking, having never before spilt the blood of man.

His actions were coupled with, and enabled by, the strength from the Lord. That is how He works! He just doesn’t swoop in and do it for us, He allows us to grow and be able to help ourselves!

When we think about it, that Clark Kent answer that Nephi received, just like in the movies, eventually did change into that same Superman.

His bands didn’t burst, but he also didn’t wait for that to happen. He didn’t wait for Superman, he was strengthened to become a superman.

Do we do the same thing? After we receive strength, do we attribute that help as coming from the Lord? Or do we think that it was us, ourselves? Do we give credit to the Lord when all we get is just what we need? Or do we get upset, impatient, and resentful that we seemingly have to do it all on our own? Do we embrace the struggle, wriggle, fight, and strain? Do we recognize the small changes that the Lord effects in us to alter the outcome?

If the change or added strength is slow, methodical, gradual, almost imperceptible do we STILL give the Lord the credit for fostering that change like Nephi did? The Lord is certainly capable of bringing about dramatic and immediate changes, but He gives us just what we need. Its much more likely that He will strengthen us just enough for us to grow, stretch, and overcome.

Lets remember that the Lord is perfectly in charge of every little aspect of our lives. He knows. He knows exactly what we need, when we need, how we need, and who we need. He already knows. Sometimes “My way” needs to take a big old back seat to “His way”.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths³.”

And for another final piece of humble pie….

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts 4.”

Lets try and trust him a little bit more, and never just stop and wait for the Hollywood version of real life. Lets continue fighting, wriggling, straining, pulling, tugging, and pressing forward. Lets be happy with Clark Kent, because he is Superman5! Lets be happy with the 4 hairy hobbits, because they are the secret heroes. Let’s be happy with loosened bands, because they still allow us to be free.

“Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him 6.”

 

 

1. 1 Nephi 7:17
2. 1 Nephi 7:18
3. Proverbs 3:5,6
4. Isaiah 55:9
5. Riley beat me to this Superman subject. His original post can be found here.
6. Psalms 28:6,7

Taking on Goliath

21 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by in Faith, Giants, Superheroes

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The first of what would be many battles between Harry Potter and “He who shall not be named” shouldn’t have even been a fight. It should have been an easy victory, and not even a contest. It was like a middle school basketball team set to scrimmage the 96’ Chicago Bulls. One side clearly has no business even being there, let alone competing. “He who shall not be named” was a strong, capable, experienced adult and had just taken out two extremely able parents by himself.  All he had to do now was take care of a baby. A baby probably covered in drool and milk stains that couldn’t even talk yet.

However, it wasn’t an easy victory, in fact, it wasn’t a victory at all. The baby not only beat, but flat out smoked the much older, wiser, stronger, more capable wizard. The whipping was so bad it left the wizard with virtually no life and forced him to flee like a dog with his tail between his legs… but that was just the beginning.

Over the course of their next battles the circumstances were pretty similar. The odds were always against and mounting against the young Harry Potter even as he continued to learn and grow because “He who shall not be named” also continued to gain strength. Yet in each battle Harry emerged alive. Fast forward to their last and most awesome battle, it was an epic showdown between the same Harry Potter and the now full strength Voldemort. Harry logically had a donuts chance in a police station. This was a battle between a mere 17 year old student vs. the strongest wizard of all time, this was like the fictional version of David vs. Goliath.

Let me paint this for you like Bob Ross: Harry Potter is 17 years old. He’s a scraggly, skinny, floppy haired kid facing a wizard so powerful, so strong, and so intimidating that the mere mentioning of his name makes grown experienced wizards shutter in fear and wet their robes. The picture of the battle probably looked like the header on this post. However, Harry (David) had no fear of Voldemort (Goliath) even though he was clearly smaller, less capable and less experienced. Why is this? Harry had courage, faith, and he didn’t see it the way we see it. He actually thought he could win. He actually KNEW he could win. That’s why this teenager barely old enough to grow armpit hair could stand against the biggest obstacle imaginable and throw a pie in his face by calling him Tom Riddle in front of everyone. The message Harry was sending was more than just calling him out for what he really was, it was a message of calling out his power. Harry was essentially saying “this power you THINK you have is in YOUR head, not mine”. Long story short Harry Potter worked him like a 9 to 5 Monday through Friday in front of everybody left at Hogwarts. Harry (David) slays Voldemort (Goliath) easy peezy lemon squeezy. Harry solidifies his place even more into wizard history. Light overcame dark and everyone lived happily ever after… well, except for Fred. The End.

On top of being awesome, Harry Potter and the story of David and Goliath have relevance in our lives? How? The fact we are in their exact position every single day facing our own individual Goliaths (or Voldemorts). The world is heading down at a rapid pace. Morals are in massive decay, what is acceptable seems to be ever increasing and more and more people seem to be losing their way each day. We seem to be outmatched, outgunned, undersized, and outnumbered. Furthermore, to make matters worse, our individual Goliaths or Voldemorts are tailored and customized to best destroy each of us. They are built to exploit our weaknesses and detect and then prey upon any chink in our armor. It doesn’t sound good for us does it?

Our Goliaths and Voldemorts could be any number of things. It may be drugs, alcohol, pornography, judging others, stress, language, self doubt, anger, food addictions, thinking we’re not worthy, capable, or good enough, struggling with depression, inappropriate music, bad habits, dishonesty, laziness, various other addictions, or a million other things. It is ANYTHING that that stands in our way or is stopping us from being as Christ like as possible. You may think changing your life for the better and overcoming bad habits is not worth it or impossible. We may not even be trying because we don’t think we can succeed! We may think we’re incapable of forgiving, letting go, or being kind. You know what’s ironic about all that!? Guess who’s telling you that… Your enemy! The very thing in your way is where that false logic is coming from. Look, this is a battle, the enemy will show no mercy and this is nothing more than trash talk. He wants to get in your head. It’s a means of intimidation. He wants you to give up rather than show up. Our enemy wants’ to prevent this battle from even happening. The question is why? Why is he so focus on preventing this battle instead of inviting it?

It’s simple.  It’s because he knows he can’t beat you. It’s that simple. His ploy is fooling YOU into not knowing or realizing that YOU are stronger than he is. His whole act is a giant façade, an act, a hoax, a fraud, a lie, a game he’s playing. He can’t beat us because of who can fight WITH us. Even more it’s who can fight FOR us. Exodus 14:14 says “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace”. That my good people, is the game changer. Christ ensures and guarantees victory. Christ = check mate to the enemy in every single case. With Christ, only one side ever even has a chance, and it’s not Goliath, it’s not Voldemort, it’s not the 96’ Chicago Bulls… it’s you and me.

Does that mean overcoming evil and changing our lives for the better will be easy? No! — Wait, what!! Didn’t I just explained how this could be a beat down? Here’s the catch…

This “battle” reoccurs every single day. A victory today doesn’t mean the battle is over nor does it insure a victory tomorrow. It doesn’t mean we can let our guard down or take it easy once we achieve victory. Likewise, a loss today doesn’t mean we hang our head and accept defeat tomorrow. No! If you lose today, you pick yourself up, shake the dust off, and get ready to open up a can tomorrow! You never give up! Every day is a new day. Weakness today doesn’t have to mean weakness tomorrow, unless YOU personally allow it to. Our Goliaths and Voldemorts only have as much power as we choose to give them. So the question is: “how much power are we giving them?

The truth is they are built to exploit our weaknesses yes, but we can be altered to handle their every attack! We are built to withstand and overcome. We are bigger, better, and stronger than we know or even think we are. We each are capable of incredible, tremendous, amazing, things, things that we never knew we were capable of. Whether it is a calling, a talent, trait, or ability or simply our example, or personality that shines a light for others we with and through Christ can change hearts, minds, lives, and generations! We can uplift and inspire others and we can affect others in a positive way if we choose to. There is nothing stopping us from doing this other than ourselves. We are so much more than we think we are. It’s just up to us to discover and realize this! The time has come to make the changes needed, roll up our sleeves and get to work… and open a can up a can of awesome!

Lessons I Learned from Batman

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Superheroes

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In case you thought I was done making Superhero references after my various posts have included Tony Stark (Iron Man), Superman, Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk… you are wrong. Today, I will again be referencing an action hero. Basically, in other news: Asparagus is still disgusting. Today’s Super Hero is none other than Bruce Wayne… also known as Batman.

(Here’s a quick setup for those unfamiliar with his story)

When Bruce was young and long before he turned into the super awesome crime fighting tech spectacle known as Batman he had fallen down a well into a bat cave. His fall stirred up a nest of Bats who swarmed around him and scared the living snot out of him giving him a massive bat phobia. Shortly after being rescued from the well by his Father Thomas Wayne and Alfred (the family butler) the following dialog takes place:

Alfred: Took quite a fall didn’t we Master Bruce?

Thomas Wayne: And why do we fall Bruce?… so we can learn to pick ourselves up.

Go ahead and read that simple dialog one more time. Thomas Wayne flat out nails it like “sky” nails Chicken Little. We all fall, it’s inevitable. We all at one point (or even now) come up short. We are all in one way or another a day late or a buck short. The question is not what will we do “if” we fall, but “when” we fall. “Falling” and “failing” are NOT the same thing. When we “fall” does it mean we’ve “failed?” Absolutely not! We don’t fail unless we choose to! It is our conscious choice whether or not we fail. We are all going to fall, but we don’t fail until we CHOOSE to STOP getting up. It’s our response to WHEN we fall, that determines whether or not we fail. The second we stop trying, the second we relent and give up hope THAT is when we fail!

Sometimes life hits us right between the eyes. Sometimes it hits you so hard it knocks you flat on your butt. Life may even sneak a cheap kidney shot in while your down. Maybe it’s the daily grind, work or family stress, school, an unexpected event, death, illness or disease, a difficult calling, financial struggles, past mistakes or whatever it is that seems to be insurmountable. You don’t see any light in the end of the tunnel. There may be times when you’ve been there so long you almost start to accept it, or start to believe that the endless tunnel with no light at the end is where you belong. We might even feel like we are powerless to change our fate or wonder if we even deserve any better. This is where not Thomas Wayne, but Bruce Wayne teaches a straight up clinic.

(Back to the Batman Story)

Years after Bruce Wayne was found terrified, alone, and scared in the well/batcave (as mentioned above) he confronts his biggest fear: bats. The same fear that has given him nightmares and plagued him since his fall. He doesn’t run from it, pretend it doesn’t exist, deny it, or ignore it. He simply refuses to accept his current mindset and situation and proactively makes a change. Instead of letting his fear and situation control him he runs straight at it full force and meets its head on. In this process he overcomes his crippling bat phobia by converting what used to be his biggest fear into pure confidence. He turns his greatest weakness into his greatest strength to the point that it becomes part of his very identity. He dons a bat colored disguise with a bat symbol on his chest, names his car the bat mobile, responds to the bat signal, and builds his headquarters in the very same bat cave that once terrified him. Through this process he changes his mindset, identity, and conquers his fear. Through this process he becomes, wait for it… Batman. He essentially took his fear, body slammed it, gave it a wet willy, dropped a “yo mama” joke on it, and then wiped the floor with it. In overcoming his fear he uncovered his potential and abilities, gifts, and talents which he found to be virtually limitless after he eliminated what was holding him back.

First off, any guy that can beat up bad guys all day despite sounding like he’s got the worst case of emphysema in history AND turn their weakness into strength earns my respect. This theory of turning a weakness sounds oh so familiar no? How about Ether 12:27:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.  

In summary: We are all weak, in fact, we are made that way for a purpose and reason. We likely won’t understand the full extent of our situations and weaknesses. However, working on our weaknesses will allow for lessons to be learned. This helps us build faith in Christ, our weaknesses becoming strong and maybe even shedding light on our future direction, talents or gifts. Its sounds funny but sometimes we can even be afraid of our gifts, abilities, and talents, and even be afraid of our own potential! This is exactly what the adversary wants. He wants us to believe that we should fear the unknown. He wants us to lack the faith to reach our potential. He wants us to think we are weak and can’t change. He wants us to believe that we can’t win or that we don’t deserve to. Relying on and following Christ at all times means that even when we fall, even when we make mistakes, and even when we have no idea what we’re doing, or why we’re doing it, if we are truly following him, we are not failing.

After all, if Bruce Wayne never addressed his fears and weaknesses or decided to get back up after falling… we’d never have Batman.

Are we Superman or Clark Kent?

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by in Strength, Superheroes

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When it comes to total abandonment of fashion sense Superman outdoes even my 3 year old. For decades this Symbol of power and justice has defied fashion logic entirely and chosen not only to wear tights, but also to reverse the traditional relationship between underwear and pants. Maybe he does it because he knows he’s that awesome. Maybe he’s actually super dyslexic and doesn’t realize he’s doing it. Maybe that’s the traditional way of dress on his native planet Krypton (although he was raised in Smallville Kansas) and maybe I’m showing how nerdy I am right now by starting my article out with Superman facts, but despite all his imperfections (or what I perceive to be imperfections) he was one of my heroes growing up. I pretended to be him on plenty of occasions. I had a makeshift cape, I fought imaginary bad guys and at one point I even tried to wear my underwear over my shorts. As a matter of fact, I was born in the front seat of a car as opposed to in a hospital bed. (not quite Krypton but the best I could do with two mortal parents).

There is something else unique about Superman. Most superheroes are regular people whose disguises transform them into their Superhero alto ego. Superman on the other hand IS his true identity. His disguise and alter ego is Clark Kent the mild mannered, clumsy, freelance employee at the Dailey planet. As we all know Superman blends in as Clark Kent until danger is amiss and then he retreats to a closet, phone booth, or somewhere discreet and busts out ready to deliver a beat down to the bad guys as the 6-packed, perfect haired Superman.

My point with this ramble is this. Everyone knows who Superman is. Everyone knows what his morals and standards are and where his heart lies. He immediately uplifts those around him and brings hope. They know he wants the best for them and wants everyone to be happy and safe. Being born in Kyrpton yet living on Earth Superman truly lives the saying “Be in the world, but not of the world”. Thinking about it, Superman is a pretty awesome guy. On the other hand… no one knows who Clark Kent really is or what he stands for. He blends in and gives no impressions on who he really is or what he stands for. No one knows what he believes or where his intentions are. However, Clark Kent’s standards are every bit as high as Supermans because of course they are one and the same person! So that then leads to the question which is the title of the article. Are we Superman or Clark Kent?

Like Superman do people know who we are and what we stand for? Do we personally by our words, our actions and our deeds show people, whether they know us or not see that we stand for truth, righteousness, love, hope, and peace? Do we aspire to inspire others to do good, to be good and to be the best person they can be? Do we attempt to follow one of my favorite sayings by Ghandi “Be the change you want in the world”? Are we a force for good? Can we be counted on by the Lord? Or, on the other hand are we like Clark Kent? Do we simply blend in? Do we keep ourselves and our stance quiet in this world which is in obvious and rapid decline!? Do we allow people to make their own assumptions on who or what we are? Do we give them reason to doubt what we stand for? Or do we, or will we now choose to make a stand?

The truth is, we are constantly showing who we are. So yes, I’m basically saying that in a way we’re all like Superman… which is awesome! Whether we know it or not, whether we are aware or not, whether we are even trying or not, we are constantly showing and proving who we are at all times to people around us. People across the office, at the post office, across the parking lot, at the stop light, in the next line over at the checkout line could be paying attention to you. How we treat others, our spouse, our children reveals our true character. That is something we cannot hide nor should we want or need to hide it! Are we being the best person we know how to be? Are we proud of our character? Are we letting it shine? Does our character speak for us when we cannot?

If we’re not, and even if we are our Heavenly Father can help us magnify who we are to an even higher degree. He can and will help us become the best person we can be. His gospel can change our lives and add happiness and joy, love and peace. It can provide comfort in times of turmoil and can help give us guidance and hope. The Gospel of Christ is something that I love. It is something that has helped me tremendously in life and I’m sure will continue to help me in the days and years to come. I hope that we can all become more like Christ and be proud to show our character as it aligns with the Character of the Master. He is here to help us, he always has been, and always will be.