Friday, November 18, 2011

Harry Potter and the Half Truths

That's right, I'm going for it... I'm gonna do a series! So,  the logical progression in a series is to go from 1 to 2, so we're going to go from Harry Potter book 1, to Harry Potter book 2. So, here's a brief summary of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
Harry is set to go back to Hogwarts, but some strange stuff is going on, mainly a house elf named Dobby trying to keep him from getting back. Well, Harry gets back, and strange stuff doesn't stop. There are mysterious messages being written, and people (and cats) being petrified. What's not helping the matter is the fact that Harry is hearing voices that no one else can. Throw in the legend of the Heir of Slytherin and the Chamber of Secrets, and that people have discovered Harry is a parselmouth (can speak to snakes), and it's looking like a pretty rough year for Harry. Well, when a mysterious diary pops up, then just as quickly goes missing, the plot thickens. And now there's a big problem: A note saying that someone is taken into the Chamber of Secrets... and it's Ginny, Ron's little sister. Now it's up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione (no surprise) to go and save the day. But can they do it?
Well, if you've read the book or seen the movie (or can make a guess based on the 5 books that come after it), you'll know that they can do it. Harry once again comes face-to-face with Voldemort, though this time a memory of his former self. This came about through an enchanted diary, the depth of its magic goes far deeper than at first expected. This diary came into the possession of Ginny Weasley, and she started using it. What was so special about this diary is that it could respond to what you wrote in it, so Ginny started to write all of her secrets in it. The more she poured into the diary, the more Tom Riddle (who would become Lord Voldemort) was able to make himself stronger, till finally he could pretty much control her, and bring himself out of the book. He was the Heir of Slytherin, and had opened the Chamber before, and had done it again. Now Harry needs to kill a Basilisk, destroy the diary, and save Ginny's life. This is a frightening thing that happened to Ginny, and it's fortunate that something like that couldn't happen to us... right?
What's so frightening is that could happen to us. The diary is certainly something that could be compared to Satan. As Ginny put her trust and confidence in something she didn't understand, and that seemed innocent, she made herself weak and vulnerable to Tom Riddle's designs. That is just how Satan works. He presents us with things that seem innocent and harmless, so we don't see a problem going ahead with it. As we do this, thinking all is well and we're in control, he gains stronger possession of us until he has control. Our actions are no longer in line with the Lord's will, and we are being lead carefully down to hell (2 Nephi 28:21). It's Satan's half truths that make it possible for him to do his work. He presents us with something that seems okay, and convinces us that there's no harm in it. It's presented with just enough truth to justify it. We need to be careful of these things. We need to always be on the lookout for things that seem alright, but we know aren't. Satan's plan is to drag us down with him and make us "miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:27). We should follow the advice of Ginny's father and never trust anything where we can't see where it keeps its brain, applying it to the Gospel: if we can't see how it will bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. Don't trust Satan's half truths.

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