Elder Richard L. Evans, Part Four: The Ever-Epic Cecil B. DeMille

For Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Five of this talk, follow the appropriate link. 

Still reeling a little bit from the news of this week. Despite my best intentions, I ended up going down one or two disturbing rabbit holes on September 11th. So I'm glad to be back into Elder Richard L. Evans' talk, and on to the next cultural reference that's been canonized, so to speak, into the doctrine of my faith.

Fun fact - did you know that Elder Evans, my eighth cousin three times removed, used to be the voice of Music and the Spoken Word for the Tabernacle Choir, years and years ago, when I was young? Also, the same year he gave this talk was the same year he passed away.

Oh man, there it is again...death. 

Can't escape it. 

Can only prepare for it - as we're reminded in the following quote of the day:

 

The Quote 

Why run against the laws of life? 

Why run headlong into ill health and unhappiness? 

Why live contrary to conscience? 

Think of the heartbreak and waste and regret 

that could be prevented by living as we ought to live. 

No one can set aside consequences. 

As Cecil B. DeMille said: 

“We cannot break the … Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them.”

 

And speaking of the Ten Commandments...

Cecil B. DeMille directed the classic Hollywood epic, "The Ten Commandments". For years as a little girl, going to church, I thought Moses was actually Charlton Heston, who played Moses in the movie. We still break it out and watch every Easter or so. It's aged remarkably well.

But I digress...

The quote comes from a speech Mr. DeMille gave at BYU in 1957. He and our current prophet at the time, David McKay, were great friends, as he mentions in his classic talk. BYU keeps a record of their devotional speeches from way back, and fortunately I was able to find this one. 

He gives some interesting autobiographical details of himself, and talks more about the Ten Commandments. The expanded quote is below:

 

"If man will not be ruled by God, 

he will certainly be ruled by tyrants—

and there is no tyranny more imperious or more devastating 

than man’s own selfishness, without the law.

We cannot break the Ten Commandments. 

We can only break ourselves against them—

or else, by keeping them, 

rise through them to the fullness of freedom under God. 

God means us to be free. 

With divine daring, He gave us the power of choice."

 

As epic a quote as the man himself! :-)