A Series of Miracles

Conference (No we were not in attendance)

Torvaldsen's Christus

We were invited to the Svend Ove Andersen’s (head of the translating office) home for dinner last week.  It was in conjunction with the fellowshipping of a couple who came down from Iceland to be married in the Temple.  I asked the Icelandic brother how he came to join the Church three years ago.  He said he was sitting on a bus one day and heard two missionaries behind him talking to each other.  A few minutes later one of the missionaries tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he would like to hear a message about Christ, to which he said “yes”.  I asked him what caused him to agree to hear their message.  He said the evening before he had prayed to get help with putting his life in order.  I asked, “Did he generally pray?”  He said "no, but his life was spiraling down and he needed help".  The rest is self-explanatory.

Brother Andersen invited us to visit the translating office this weekend to view the process of broadcasting the General Conference in Danish.  We went over to the translating office between the Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon session (8 pm to 10 pm Copenhagen time).  It was very interesting to see people we know repeating the words of the conference in Danish.  The translating office received English copies of all of the speeches two weeks ago.  They translate all of the talks to Danish.  Three men, Brother Andersen, President Nielsen (Temple President) and Tomas Kofod (actor who played Christ in the Church’s “Testaments” film) with headsets and microphones, sat around the sound equipment and repeated the talks in Danish in real time.  They heard the talks in English and with a slight delay read the translations.  It was impressive to know that 96 such translating offices around the World were functioning the same way at the same time.  That is more translating than at the UN.

We also had the privilege of meeting with Tomas Kofod an hour before.  He was willing to share with us some of his story having to do with his portraying Christ in the Church film.

Before he joined the Church, and when he was a teenager, he was an exchange student in West Jordan, Utah for a year and graduated from High School there.  After he returned to Denmark, he became more serious about the Church.  He was attending acting school in Aarhus when he was baptized.  Shortly after, when he was visiting his family in Copenhagen, he attended a dance in the Søborg Ward.  He had earlier, as an answer to prayer, been told that he would know the girl he should marry when he met her.  He didn’t know any church members in Copenhagen, so when he came to the dance he felt alone; however, when he first saw his future wife at the dance, he knew she was the right one.  Interestingly enough, she had been an exchange student in Orem during the same time he was attending school in West Jordan, but they never met.  She was a year younger, and traveled back to Utah in order to graduate from School in the US.  While she was there the second year she joined the Church.  When they met at the dance they were both new members.

His acting profession was not very profitable, so they were very poor, and struggled to get things started.  They didn’t even own a computer.  She had access to an e-mail address at her work, but they had never used it.  He was asked to read the script for “Rent” and determine if he would like to accept the lead.  After reading it through, he determined it was not for him.  He notified them that he could not accept the part.  The next morning his wife received an e-mail at work from a friend in Orem notifying them of an ad she had read regarding a search the Church Film Department was making to find actors for the new film which would replace “Legacy” at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  This was the first e-mail they had ever received, and their answer was the first e-mail they had ever sent.  They wanted all the information their friend could provide so he could prepare a proper presentation to the Church.  He said, jokingly, that he was ready to pay his own way and work for free to get the opportunity to be in a Church film.  There was nothing said about what the role was, it was just a search for actors for the film.  His presentation was reviewed by Elder Richard G. Scott, and Truman Madsen.  He was asked to come for a screen test.  The date was set and travel tickets would be sent.  When the date came and he was packed for his departure, the tickets had not arrived.  He called to see what the problem was and discovered they were lost.  They were retransmitted and he received them just two hours before he was to leave.  At the Copenhagen airport he checked in and then waited for the signal light to come on, allowing him to pass the checkpoint.   After some time had elapsed his name was broadcast over the speakers.  When he reported in, they told him he was late and it was possible that he would not make the flight.  Of course they held him back at the baggage check (anything to cause more panic).  Finally a woman came to him and grabbed his hand and said he was to run, or miss the flight.

In Utah, the make-up artists had just finished getting him ready for the last approval.  Elder Neil L. Andersen came in and began telling the make-up people to change this and that.  When they began arguing with him he said, “This is how the Brethren want it”.  At that moment, Tomas could tell this was a serious screen test.  When they asked him how he felt about the make-up, he said his “little boy nose” was not right.  They put some shadow on it and all was ready.  They gave him the script.  He looked down at it and knew it was not the same as they had sent him.  He told them it was not the right script, but they said that was what they wanted.  He thought:  “This is not fair.  They can’t change the script and expect him, a Dane, to read in English a dialogue he hadn’t reviewed”.  Then he was told they were just interested in seeing his reaction to a stressful situation.

After the screen test, he was told by Elder Scott and Truman Madsen that they were very satisfied.  He was asked to meet with Elder Andersen.  Among a series of questions, he was asked:  "Had he ever played a role that required him to be naked on stage and had he ever played the role of a Gay man?".  He was able to answer “no” to both questions, and was able to explain that the day before he heard of the Church film, he had turned down an offer to play the lead in “Rent”.

He was notified that he had the part and the schedule required him to be in Utah for four weeks on such and such dates.  Here was another hurdle to jump.  It was one thing, as the lead, to ask for permission to be away from rehearsals for “Fame” for two days for a screen test, but quite another to get permission to be away for four weeks following the opening.  He would need to find a replacement for the four weeks; one who was exactly the same size, and who could be ready to take over when he left.  Now Tomas needed to do his own search.  He narrowed it down to one person.  This person was very qualified and in great demand, and was with the Royal Danish Theater.  When he called him he was told he was too busy and could not possibly do it; however, when he found out what the dates were, he said those were exactly the four weeks between his present assignment and the next one.  As you can see, there were many miracles that happened along the way. 

According to Tomas; however, the greatest miracle happened later.  He and his wife were not able to have children and were trying to adopt here in Denmark.  This proved to be impossible.  While they were in Utah, they were able to adopt through the LDS Family Services.  Two years later they adopted another child through the same process.  Since that time they have been told that foreign adoption through the LDS Family Services is not possible.  We have watched them with their childrn, and know what great parents they are. He said he would meet with us again another time and tell us the rest of his story.

Norma and I have started Sprogskole (language school) this week, three hours a day and four days each week.  Sorry to be so late in posting the blog, but with Conference and school, this is the first time I have had a chance to finish writing and getting it posted.

Until next time . . . .

Mom and Dad

Elder and Sister Larsen