Are You There, God? It’s Me, Caty.

Justin and I went to see The Book of Mormon at DPAC last night.

First of all, let me just say – amazing show!  I was extremely impressed with the choreography, all the dancers did a fantastic job.  It was so much fun, and I highly recommend it.

Since the show’s creators are also the creators of South Park, one can safely assume that the subject matter will be offensive to some people.  Some would even call Book of Mormon blasphemous, and to a small degree they would be right (that’s kind of the point, though).

But I’m here today to give a different perspective.

I think that every Christian should see The Book of Mormon.

After seeing the show last night, and as a believer of God (I personally choose not to use the term Christian), this is the most enlightened I’ve felt since beginning to reassess my faith.  I’ve been on a journey to “find myself” through my faith for several months now, and every day I think about different angles of the teachings I grew up with or things I’ve been taught.  I’m enjoying this period of discovery and growth where my faith is concerned.  I think my questioning is serving to make it stronger.

This musical is helping.

Near the end of the show is a song called, “I Believe.”  The main character, Kevin Price, sings about the teachings of the Mormon religion and reaffirms his belief in them.  Throughout the course of the show, Kevin has focused on what he wanted and not what needed to be done during his mission.  He dismisses challenges because they are hard.  He leaves his friends to deal with them instead.  He doubts his relationship with God.  This song is when Kevin realizes all of this and wants to start making up for it.  It really hit home for me.  “I must trust that my Lord is mightier, and always has my back” in particular struck me.

This musical could not ring more true to the Christian faith, despite being about Mormonism.  The entire show is about using your religion correctly, to help others, and not doubting it in times of trouble.  The main character is given a huge obstacle to overcome, and has to learn a lot about himself along the way.  In the end, he realizes what faith is really about.  He realizes that he should be helping the wounded and the hurt, instead of waiting on the perfect and the healed – like he wanted in the beginning.

We should all be treating the downtrodden as an opportunity for grace and healing, and not as a nuisance or an obstruction to perfection.  Not, “Why me?” but, “How can I help?”  This is what Book of Mormon brings home.  Quite frankly, I think that God wanted me to see this show.  Because he knew I needed it.

Now, if that doesn’t ring home for your religion, I don’t know what will.

Plus, there is a musical number with sparkly vests.  If you don’t enjoy that, there is just something majorly wrong with you.

Parody title brought to you by Judy Blume.