Meridian Magazine–Come Follow Me Latter-day Saint Podcast
June 14-20
Many years ago, I read Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo: the unabridged version which is 1,463 pages long. Next to the scriptures, it was the greatest reading experience of any book I have ever had. I became so close to the characters, Jean Valjean, Monsieur Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel—the Bishop of Digne (‘deen’), Fantine, Cosette, Gavroche, Marius, Javert and many others that I wept for a long time after I finished the book because I was so sad, I would not be able to meet them in the Spirit World! Maurine reminded me they were fictional characters. I was completely transported into their hearts, their world, their times, their pain, their burdens. Maurine and I even went to Victor Hugo’s home in Guernsey Island off the coast of Normandy in the English Channel to get a sense of where he wrote this classic novel. Do you want to know my very favorite moment from the entire 1,463 pages? It has to do with this episode.