Wednesday, August 21, 2013

An Unexpected Find....

At church last Sunday, the movie "Ben-Hur" was mentioned in a talk which took me back in time.  I remember distinctly, as if it happened yesterday, lying in bed sick from something or other and
the movie Ben-Hur playing on TV. Back in the old days with no video or DVDs invented yet, there were epic movies played on regular television all year round.

At Christmas time it was "It's a Wonderful Life".  At Easter, the Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur played. At this particular time, while I was sick, my father rolled a little black and white TV into my room so I can be entertained.  My family either had just been baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or we were taking the lessons from the missionaries. We were from a Jewish family and I had never heard the stories of Jesus at all growing up.  I knew He had existed but never knew any thing about Him.

When I got to the end of the movie, I was sobbing.  It was so touching to watch the action of what happened so long ago. Others are casual or antagonistic that this took place at all but it did and it is a testimony to me of the sacredness and necessity of our life on earth.

 The clip I  give on the bottom is a part earlier in the film when Ben-Hur (played by Charlton Heston) was put into slavery and met the Christ who helped him.

At the end of the movie, Ben Hur recognizes who Christ is as He is carrying His cross to Golgotha to be crucified. The clip is so moving but is not listed on the YouTube list. You will just have to watch the whole movie or fast forward to the end. I was nine or ten years old back then and as a young Jewish girl was so taken by what the Savior had done for us, it brought me to tears.   I think it will for you too.

Link to Ben Hur clip of "Jesus the Water of Life"

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