The Work and the Glory, Volume 1
Author Gerald Lund has to rank up there as one of my all-time, favorite authors. He published his first book in 1971, a non-fiction book titled The Coming of the Lord. However, he took the LDS publishing world by storm with his 9-volume historical fiction series titled The Work and the Glory. The first volume was published in 1990, followed by subsequent volumes each year through 1998. Since that time, he has written many more books, fiction and non-fiction alike. He has sold about 3.5 million copies and his Work and the Glory books were made into three movies.
The first Work and the Glory book came out in 1990 while I was at BYU, and I don’t remember hearing much about it at the time. Of course, I was immersed in my studies and did not have a lot of spare time for reading non-curriculum materials. I believe that it was shortly after the third volume came out, Truth Will Prevail, my wife and I heard about these wonderful stories and started reading them.
The Washington DC Temple
When the fourth volume was to be released in 1994, Thy Gold To Refine, I was in graduate school in North Carolina. We decided to drive to Washington DC one summer day between semesters to visit the Washington DC Temple, which was the closest at the time. But we also had an ulterior motive — to stop at the LDS Bookstore around the corner from the temple and purchase volume four. We excitedly raced back home and took turns reading over the next day or two. My favorite volume of the series was number six, Praise to the Man, which took place in Nauvoo and covered the martyrdom of Joseph Smith.
He stands as one of the most successful and prolific LDS authors on the market today and is an inspration to other authors. I always enjoy hearing how authors got their start because it seems many of them stumble onto writing by accident. Gerald Lund is a great example of that. Below is a six-minute clip of an interview he did on the Mormon Channel where he explained how he got his start in writing. I enjoy it so much because it has a familiar ring to it, at least for me and my writing. I will also post this video on my Author Therapy page.
Gerald Lund on writing
If you would like to learn more about Gerald Lund or some of his other wonderful books, you can visit his website at: http://geraldnlund.com/index.html which includes a list of all of his books, links to other articles, and more of the interview that he gave to the Mormon Channel.
Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon. Not the first race I have run and certainly not the last. Not the best time I finished, but I did have a somewhat valid excuse. At any rate, it was a great experience. One of the best parts was running with a lot of my family. My awesome wife ran the 5K (she is new to running and slowly working her way up to a half) and got a PR with her time, plus it was great to have her at the finish line. Also, my son, daughter, brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, and several friends all ran the half marathon, which made it much more enjoyable. Misery truly does love company.
My daughter came home from college a week ago and saw that I was reading The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown. Actually, it was her book — she had received it as a Christmas present the year before. Having already read it, I asked her what she thought about the book. She said, “It’s good, but it gets kind of preachy at the end.” Now having finished the book, I think her assessment is right on the money. It is a page-turner, suspenseful, and full of interesting puzzles and clues, but it does lose steam at the end and, whether intentional or not, it seems the author tries to surmise his thoughts and feelings about religion. Granted, he tries to put a positive spin on his conclusions, he presents a number of proofs and evidences, and he states that the Bible is key to our salvation. However, I don’t agree with all his views.
5. (tie) The Greatest Game Ever Played (golf), 2005. Based on the true story of the 1913 US Open where 20-year-old Francis Ouimet beat his idol, Briton Harry Vardon (1901 US Open champ) in a play-off. Born in Massachusetts to immigrant parents — his father was French-Canadien and his mother Irish — Francis Ouimet was the first amateur to win the US Open, and he is credited with bringing golf into the American mainstream. This was in a day when golf was restricted to the wealthy, was dominated by Europeans, and there were very few public golf courses available. Francis’ family was very poor, but they lived across the street from a Country Club. At the age of 9, he began to caddie, and he taught himself to play with clubs he borrowed from his brother and balls he found on the course. His impossible win made front-page news across the country, and ten years later, the number of American golfers had tripled and many public courses had been built.
5. (tie) The Natural (baseball), 1984. This one is a fictional story about a gifted baseball player who is mysteriously shot by a crazed fan. He returns many years later when most players are thinking of retirement and leads a poorly performing team to the top of the league. Interestingly, this movie is based loosely on the legends of King Arthur, (most notably the story of Sir Percival) and Homer and the Odysseus. The acting is superb, and the story is uplifting. A shooting incident similar to this really did happen in June 1949 when the first baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies was shot in a hotel by a fan (this incident sparked the writing of the book in 1952 by Bernard Malamud), and the scary part is that this could very easily happen again today. Let’s hope not.
4. Cinderella Man (Boxing), 2005. A very moving film about the true story of fighter James J. Bradoock during the Great Depression. In the hands of director Ron Howard and actor Russel Crowe, this film is well crafted. After a series of losses and bad financial luck, Braddock struggles to feed his family and for a while relies on welfare to make ends meet. It looks like his boxing career is finished, and he takes on various odd jobs to barely eke out a living. When he is given one last chance to enter the ring, he makes the most of his opportunity, driven by something a little more than competition.
3. Miracle (Hockey), 2004. Based upon the true story of the 1980 US Olympic men’s hockey team, this film captures one of the greatest moments in all of sports history. Talk about long odds, the US team consisted of a ragtag collection of college players who were to face off against the legendary, veteran-laden team from the Soviet Union who had won the gold medal in the previous four olympics. In fact, the Soveit team was do dominant, they won nearly every world championship and olympic competition from 1954 to 1991. There are many inspiring moments in the movie, but for me, the most memorable occurred when the team learned that the name on the front of their jerseys was more important than the name on the back of their jerseys.
2. Remember the Titans (football), 2
1. Hoosiers (basketball), 1986. Of course, my favorite movie is a basketball movie. Once again, this story is based upon the true story of a 1954 team from a small town in Indiana that played in the state high school basketball finals. The performances by Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper are timeless. Many great moments throughout, but my favorite is when he takes the team out onto the court before the championship game and he measures the basketball standards to show they are the same size as the hoops in their smaller gym back home. A great film about teamwork and the journey to greatness against all odds, similar to many of the films on this list.
More than anything, I have had an overwhelming feeling of graditude and I have been unsure of exactly how to say it, but no sense putting it off any longer. Thank you to all those brave souls who took a chance and purchased my book. Also, thank you to all of my friends, family, and neighbors who actually read the book and gave me feedback how to make it better, and helped me along the way to publishing it.