To Suffer More than All

Image from LDS Media Library

The crucifixion is always a tender moment in the scriptures, especially when really picturing the suffering that Christ went through in those final days of his life. He was mocked, most likely starved, and scourged with a whip that ripped through his skin until his entire back was an open wound. 

The Romans took particular care to make his suffering even more acute. They crowned him with thorns and laid a robe onto the festering wound on his back, only to rip the robe off again after blood had surely dried on it.

And after all that, it didn't end there. They continued to mistreat him, inducing more pain that I could ever imagine experiencing. He was even expected to carry his own cross! It's no wonder, after the loss of blood and the lack of food, that Christ was unable to endure the cross's burden.

It wasn't until I had really thought about what Christ was going through—the complete agony he must have felt—that I realized the significance of this passage in Luke 23, as he is walking (staggering) to Golgotha:

27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

 When I read this, I was absolutely blown away. Here was Christ, going through a horrifying experience, and he says "Weep not for me"! Of all people, he certainly deserved the sympathy. All the world should have been weeping for him. But Christ didn't care one wit about the suffering he was going through. Instead, he was still thinking of others, concerned for their welfare more than his own. In the highest point of his agony, he turned to those he loved and felt sorrow for them.

And here I am, laying in my bed bemoaning my upset stomach and wanting all the attention of my husband, thinking, "You should feel sorry for me!" How pitiful. How humbling.

It makes me want to lay all of my pains and my fears at Christ's feet and say, "I know this isn't much, but I can't get through this without you. I need you more than you ever needed me."

The miracle of his Atonement is that Christ truly suffered more than all, and yet his love for us ran more deep than any pain.

Best Marvel Heroes and Villains

This post is going to put me in the major nerd category, but I don't care!

So this past half-year, I've been getting more and more interested in Marvel, and any movie or television show based off of their comics. I borrowed a book from a friend, the Marvel Encyclopedia, and read all of it. I know right? Pretty lame. But I was and am very interested! I don't have the time it would take to read all the comics, so this was a great way to learn characters and their stories.

On our way to Utah today, I finished reading it and decided I wanted to figure out who had the most power, because each hero/villain has a little chart in the book that rates their intelligence, strength, speed, durability, energy protection, and fighting skills. The characters are rated in each of these categories from one to seven.

That may have been the best part of the book to me, being able to compare the characters via actual powers, rather than their story or coolness.

After much studying of this Encyclopedia, I can say who the top three heroes are and the top three villains. How I decided to determine this was by first adding up the points from there abilities and whoever had the most was top dog. If there were ties, then I took the one with the strongest powers, usually a seven. Of course, this is only based on one book that doesn't have every single character, but I still consider it semi-valid! And it's not according to awesomeness, just their power and abilities.

Most Powerful Heroes

1. Silver Surfer

3. Iron Man

2. Thor

1. Silver Surfer is a learned hero with warp speed, incalculable strength, unlimited command of all energy, superhuman durability, and average fighting ability
2. Thor is an experienced fighter with incalculable strength, warp speed, superhuman durability, the ability to discharge multiple forms of energy, and normal intelligence
3. Iron Man as a super-genius with superhuman strength (up to 100 tons), superhuman durability, supersonic speed, the ability to discharge multiple forms of energy, and some training in fighting

I'm completely satisfied with this list, because I would consider these three some of the best even before I knew all the technical stuff. Though I had no clue that the Silver Surfer was so high!

One thing I was a little disappointed about was that my favorite people of all Marvel stories are the mutants, but none of them were super powerful. But that doesn't change my level of admiration for them!

Other people worth noting: Hulk was fourth, while Captain America was wayy down as number 14-- after the Thing, Wolverine, and even the She-Hulk. Crazy right? You'd expect him to be cooler, but don't worry, he is still WAY above the superhero average.

 Most Powerful Villains

1. Thanos as a virtual

   

   1. Thanos

   ly indestructible super-genius with incalculable strength, warp speed, ability to discharge multiple energy forms,  and experience in fighting
2. Galactus as a virtually indestructible being who is omniscient with incalculable strength, warp speed, unlimited command of all energy, but poor fighting skills



2. Galactus

3. Doctor Doom is a super-genius with superhuman durability, supersonic speed, the ability to discharge multiple energy forms, superhuman strength (up to 25 tons), and experience in fighting

The thing about villains is that often, they make the hero what he is, and sometimes they may even make the story. (An example would be Batman, a DC superhero, who's villains such as the Joker and Bane may be what makes the Batman stories so cool).

3. Doctor Doom

I noticed that in cases such as Spiderman and the X-men, there were a lot more super-powerful villains, while the heroes themselves were less so. I thought this was pretty interesting since you'd think that would mean the villain would kick the heroes butt. That's not the case though! Our heroes are tough and, most importantly, fighting for what is right.

Another favorite of mine is Magneto, number seven on the list, is obviously the most powerful mutant, and personally I think he is pretty cool, especially in the movies. And the fact that he could take down the X-men easily, but allows them to keep existing gives him a little credence in my mind.

I would be very interested to know who you think the best heroes and villains are! Based on powers or just in general, give me your reasons!

Integration

“I already know what to call him. I call him ‘son’.” (Hellboy 2004)

I chose to watch the movie Hellboy for one of the movies by a Latin American author. I’m not sure what I think about the movie. I enjoyed the effects, as well as the idea. But I wasn’t too fond of the actors. One thing I did really like though is the theme of accepting who you are. Both Hellboy and “Sparky” had to become comfortable with themselves, and accept that they would never be able to blend into regular society.

During Hellboy’s journey, he must ask himself whether he is part of our world, or whether he will become the creature he initially was. I loved his father’s attitude toward Hellboy. Not as an adopted creature, but as his son, no different from his own self. This is important in every similar occasion, not just with crazy fantastical creatures, but with normal people who may be a little different than us. Perhaps because of race, or because of mental capacity, or simply because they are from a different place. Hellboy is a great lesson for both learning who you are and accepting other people as they are.

What causes us to be so unaccepting of people who are different from us? Is it just part of our nature? And if so, WHY? There have been so many instances where someone or a group of people are cast out of the majority’s group just because they don’t look the same or believe the same: Mormons, African-Americans, and in a fictional example—mutants (X-men).

How can we get rid of this tendency to stay in our own little groups? Take in every outsider, welcome them, and treat them as your own. Just like Hellboy’s father did, make them part of your family, and they will become so in their own mind.