david j. garcia

It started as a casual suggestion to a couple of friends: “You should come visit me in L.A.” My bait? “We could go see Wicked (the musical).” It ended with 12 people driving in for a fabulous weekend and 20 people going to the show.

The group came in Thursday afternoon. Wicked was Thursday night– it was absolutely awesome, by the way. Friday was the beach, Downtown Disney for dinner and fireworks, and then WALL-E for some. On Saturday we went to the Los Angeles LDS temple, visited the awe-inspiring collection at the Getty Museum, and walked around downtown Hollywood, where I saw the handprints (and footprints) of such greats as Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Will Smith. By the middle of Sunday morning, the visitors were gone.

 To see those friends all together–and in so many new scenarios–was thrilling. Our friendship extends beyond our time in Provo and outside of the “Utah bubble”. That, coupled with our visit to the temple, helped me understand this scripture better, I think: “When the Savior shall appear . . . that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory . . . .” I think that’s wonderful.