This evening I went
to the performance of Les Miserable at the Hale Center Theater with Deb Fox and
Marie Baird. It’s our Visiting Teaching each month to go do something fun
together, and it’s the best “Visiting Teaching” ever!
For those of you that don’t know the story of Les Mis, it’s
the story of a man that steals a loaf of bread because his sister’s son is
starving to death. Jean Valjean is arrested for Stealing, and because he tries
to escape a few times, his 5 year sentence is stretched to him serving 19 years
– yes, for stealing a loaf of bread. Finally, he is Paroled and released from
prison. But in Europe in the early 1800s, everyone was required to have proper
documentation – and Jean Valjean’s shows that he is an ex-con, and he just
can’t get a break. He can’t even get a place to spend the night.
A priest takes pity
on him and offers him a place to stay and feeds him, putting out the meal on
his best silver service. The desperate Jean steals the silver and runs, but is
soon caught by the police – who upon searching him find his ex-con paperwork
and the beautiful silver. Returning him to the priest’s home, instead of
condemning him as a thief, the priest says “I’m so glad you came back. You
forgot the silver candlesticks.” As the priest hands Jean Valjean the
candlesticks, the shocked police leave, and the priest says “With this silver I
bought your soul for God. Go and make a new life for yourself.”
And he does. Jean Valjean becomes a changed man. And this
evening, as I sat there watching this play and listening to the spectacular
score, I was reminded of someone very dear to me from very long ago. Someone who
also committed a crime, although at the time he truly believed that it was the
right thing to do. Someone who was arrested, sentenced, and served his sentence
in prison. Someone who was shunned by his family and friends as they condemned
him for his actions. Someone who was at the lowest point in his life, and was
truly all alone in this world.
And someone that I
watched rebuild his life. I was blessed to be in a position to help him get a
new start on a new life. I watched as he completely turned his life around, and
struggled to overcome the challenges of a Felony Conviction. I watched as
people that should have loved him, continued to judge him and treat him poorly.
And I saw him become a truly changed man.
Tonight I was reminded that we all deserve a second chance
in this life. Whether from wrong choices legally or morally, we can take the
steps to correct the action and get a fresh start. We can repent and know the
blessings of the Atonement. We can go through the judicial system and put a
legal wrong behind us. We can ask forgiveness of God and of man.
I am grateful for the Second Chances I’ve been given in my
life, and I’m grateful for those times that I have been able to play the part
in the Second Chances of others.
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