Am I right or am I right or am I right?

[Better late than never--here's this week's BASOTRUSSL. Today is the 5th anniversary of the funeral of Gordon B. Hinckley, former President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To mark the occasion, I'm repeating the post from my old blog that I wrote about the event, with some added notes in bracketed italics. It was originally published on March 25, 2008. I'm kind of surprised all of the links I used are still active.

This week's Sunday School reading is on receiving personal revelation, something President Hinckley excelled at. There's not much time left, but you can check out the study guide to help you prepare for class.]

I'm finally back! Did you miss me? Last week the Internet service in my apartment was sporadic at best, so I wasn't able to post. I have one of the good Internets at work, but it wouldn't feel right to spend big chunks of time blogging while on the clock (plus, it would really eat into the time I spend playing minesweeper...if my boss is reading this, that was a joke. Kind of).

Chugging right along on my holiday season recap [I started my blog about two months after moving to New York, and I spent several weeks recapping how I celebrated myriad holidays in the city, from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day to Chinese New Year, and many more], we've reached early February, which of course means Groundhog Day. It was a very subdued "celebration" for me--I spent the night at home alone, watching the traditional Bill Murray classic (I had made it known the night before to the dozens of people at Rosemary's "literary salon"--another NYC LDS singles eVite event--that I would be watching it, but nobody seemed too keen to join me). Someday I may actually make it to Punxsutawney like Kim and Ryan did [A few months later Ryan would become my roommate, and about a year after that he and Kim got married], but until then I'm content with just the movie.

As much as I love Elf, it's not nearly as good as Groundhog Day, one of my favorite movies ever. [I actually now prefer Elf. I had only seen it two or three times when this was first written.] It's great just as a comedy, but it's also highly philosophical and has plenty of "heart" (I get a little misty-eyed when Phil tries to save the old homeless man). Plus there's Ned Ryerson. Bing!

Watching the movie was more meaningful this year because of what happened earlier in the day: Pres. Hinckley's funeral. The video package they aired right after the service ended also got me slightly weepy, which likely means Feb. 2, 2008, was the most emotional day I've had in at least a dozen years (not counting times I've been sick, when it's harder to control bodily functions, I don't think I've actually cried--tears actually escaping my eyes--since elementary school).

I found the juxtaposition of the two very interesting: a fictional story of a man who is forced to live forever and eventually learns to devote his life to making others' lives better, and a true-life story of a man who seemed like he would live forever, and who always put the needs of others above his own. Both Phil Connors and Gordon B. Hinckley showed that one can be content and fulfilled when surrounded by good friends and opportunities for service, but that the greatest happiness only comes when united forever with the one you love most. This year, at least for me, Groundhog Day wasn't just a frivolous holiday, and Groundhog Day wasn't just a really smart and funny movie.