I had occasion to drive from Sandy to Springville today, about an hour on the freeway. I had intended to find some great new book or talk to download onto my iPod for the journey, but my morning got away from me and I ran out of time. As I got into my little Toyota Tacoma and got ready to drive, I browsed through the selections on my iPod to see if there was anything interesting that I hadn’t listened to for a while. I wasn’t in the mood for music and wasn’t really mentally engaged enough for serious doctrinal stuff.

As I browsed I found that I had downloaded several short (25-30 minutes) biographies that we have available on LDSAudio.com from the World Classics section (see “World Classics” tab on the LDSAudio.com homepage — it is nearly obscured by the graphic of the temple). I had downloaded biographies of the great Scottish microbiologist Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, and also of Rembrandt, DaVinci, Van Gogh and Picasso. The four artists I had downloaded to help my wife prepare for some art classes she was teaching. I have no idea why I had downloaded Fleming. These are all from a series of biographies that we carry on LDSAudio.com called, The World’s 100 Greatest People. It can be purchased as a big bundle with all 100 biographies, or in 5 smaller bundles (To see who is included in each bundle go to: Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5), or each biography can be purchased separately.

I was so pleased to find these little gems! I had listened to some of these a couple of years ago when we first put them on LDSAudio, but had forgotten that I had them. They are really terrific. The quality of the production is excellent all the way around. The content is interesting, the stories are entertaining, the narrators are professional and pleasant to listen to.

On the way to Springville I listened to the biography of Fleming (of whom I knew virtually nothing). I learned of the “happy accident” of his discovery of penicillin when an errant dust particle flew into a petri dish he had not cleaned out. To his credit, he watched over time to see how the mold that was growing began to interact with the foreign object, took careful notes, experimented, and eventually found a way to harness the power of the mold to kill infection — ultimately, of course, paving the way to save millions of lives. Next was the fascinating and inspiring life of Leonardo da Vinci. I couldn’t wait to get back in the truck and head home so I could listen to the story of Rembrandt, and then Picasso.

When I got home I went straight to LDSAudio.com to see what else was available. In addition to the 100 Greatest People, there is a series entitled The World’s 100 Greatest Books, also available as a total bundle, or in volumes or separately. My wife had also downloaded two of these titles; To Kill a Mockingbird and Last of the Mohicans. She used these as sort of audio Cliff Notes when we went on a long road trip to California so she could get a jump start on some books they were reading in her book club. She also downloaded the entire audio book of Last of the Mohicans, knowing it would be easier to listen to her iPod in the car rather than read. The final bundle is The World’s 50 Greatest Composers. These have short bios and then samples of the composers great works.

I loved listening to these short biographies. I learned a lot, was entertained, and didn’t feel I had wasted an hour of my time while I was driving. How many times do we wish we had more productive learning time? I do all the time. This was one way to remedy that. I am actually looking forward to the next time I need to be on the freeway for an hour! Now to get some of these onto the kids’ iPods . . .

Anybody who has seen “The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd“, has an opinion of Tomas Kofod, the Danish actor selected to play the role of Jesus. I can’t imagine a more difficult role to play. Each of us has a very specific and intimate portrait of the Savior in our own heart based on our own experiences and understanding. We have our own impression of how he looks, talks , walks. We each have in our minds an image of his eyes and hair and hands and voice. These images are complicated by the many Hollywood images of Christ, from Max von Sydow in “The Greatest Story Ever Told” to John Caviezel in “Passion of the Christ”. Now imagine the additional pressure of being cast in a film about the Savior that the Church will use to show visitors — members and non-members alike — the story of Christ from the perspective of the Old World and the New. Now imagine you are a young stage actor, from Denmark, and a convert to the Church.

“Of One Fold and One Shepherd - Fireside“, is the story of Tomas Kofod, told by himself and his wife, Ane Marie, about his experience being cast in this most singular role. It is a live recording of a fireside that Ane Marie and Tomas presented and is full of stories about the miracles associated with their conversions to the Gospel and the incredible experiences surrounding their involvement with the production and the lessons of faith, patience and the reality of the Savior that they learned while making “The Testaments”.

LDSAudio.com made this fireside available in April and had an immediate rush of orders. In fact, it quickly became our bestseller for the month. Then it became our bestseller so far this year! Last week I finally took the time to listen. At about an hour in length, it features both Ane Marie and Tomas Kofod relating the stories of their conversion as well as stories regarding “The Testaments”.

I recommend this audio fireside highly. The messages that are presented are sweet and powerful. The delivery of the messages is mesmerizing. Both Ane Marie and Tomas have voices that are so compelling that it is impossible to stop listening. They are warm, sweet and the Danish accent adds a touch of character that makes the presentation perfect.

I really want to relate a number of the stories, but I don’t want to spoil anything. They speak about their time as exchange students at Orem High and Bingham High, how they were converted to the Gospel (great messages here for kids about their influence on their friends!) and great stories about the casting and production of The Testaments, the events that conspired against their involvement and about how all things were resolved.

This fireside is available to download or the CD can be purchased. One possible way to use this is to watch “The Testaments” for family home evening, then download this fireside to the kids’ iPods (especially the teenagers). They will have a greater appreciation for this actor and for the production.