This is a guest post from S Faux at Mormon Insights.
Preface: Listed below are some secrets for “trunky” LDS missionaries (Elders and Sisters) with the help of a little Wizard of Oz imagery:
Background: Dorothy of the “Wizard of Oz” obtained the ruby slippers because her house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. As the story goes, she spent the rest of her time in the Land of Oz trying to get back to Kansas, but Kansas was always within her grasp. Why? Because all she had to do was click the heels of the magic slippers together and make a wish. Dorothy had made a quest of getting home when she could have accomplished it instantly.
*****Get Hold of Your Heels*****
Lesson #1: Getting home fast means clicking your heels. In your case, clicking heels means to keep pounding the pavement andwearing out your shoes. Working hard fills your obligation to the Lord but also passes the time quickly. Before you know it … you will be home.
Lesson #2: We struggle and struggle not fully realizing that the powers of God are with us all the time. From the moment you were set apart as a missionary, you were given the figurative ruby slippers. You have been given the power to move mountains when it comes to missionary work. Use that power. Also, don’t abuse that power.
Lesson #3: We crush evil by doing good, and never giving up. Follow the yellow brick road (translation: hang onto the iron rod) and you will go where you need to go. No road maps are needed other than the scriptures.
Lesson #4: Your companions will always be a little goofy. You know the type: the tin man (tin sister), the cowardly lion (cowardly lioness), and the straw man (straw sister). Make your companions more than they are, more than they know they can be.
Lesson #5: Confront evil by throwing water on it. (I don’t know what that means, but it sounded smart. Maybe it means that you have all the tools at your disposal – like baptism. You need never feel too small for the job).
Lesson #6: Ignore the man behind the curtain. Watch out for the pretenders. Be a little skeptical. Don’t be taken in. But, find the good in everybody. Smile and then take the high road. Let others take the low road.
— Love from the Wizard
Comments 15
Sorry, but I get this picture of Mormon holy water that missionaries carry with them in a squirt bottle, crying, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” as they pull the level on evil.
Yes, I get the image of a Catholic priest throwing holy water on someone possessed by the devil. 🙂
Ray and MH:
Dorothy threw water on the Wicked Witch and she dissolved. The running metaphor is Wizard of Oz, NOT Catholicism.
Yes, I know–I was just having a little fun. 🙂 As you said, “Confront evil by throwing water on it. (I don’t know what that means, but it sounded smart.”
OK!! Sorry if I sounded snippy. I am in love with Dorothy may be a little defensive.
Oh, now it’s even funnier when I picture Dorothy with a name tag playing the role of the religious mother in “Hairspray”. 😉
S.Faux, I had my son read this post. He leaves for the MTC on the 22nd, and I wanted him to learn what you said in it. It’s just my sense of humor getting in the way.
Judy Garland isn’t really my cup of tea, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Early Judy Garland: Yes!! Later Judy Garland: No!!
“Confront evil by throwing water on it” means keep a super-soaker handy. Even if it doesn’t always melt the badguys, it makes them look silly.
Tatiana:
I LIKE it!!!!!!!
A super soaker is hard to carry on a bike, though.
We used to say “baptize ’em through the cement”. I’m not sure exactly what it was supposed to mean, but I liked the way it sounded.
How’s that for irrelevant.
Cowboy, that almost sounds like a mafia reference, like “cement boots”. That’s kinda creepy.
“Your companions will always be a little goofy.”
A little goofy? I was a certified freak.
DrewE:
I guess my statement “Your companions will always be a little goofy,” is a straw man argument.