Parable: Acting part results in reflection

Some stayed because they loved the things they saw and heard. Among these was Sandy's bishop. After he saw the film, he embraced Sandy, saying, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want the way people would treat me if they knew what I was doing."

"We judged you wrongly," the bishop said, "but you judged us first, thinking we could not be trusted with the truth."

"I hope that you'll forgive me for not speaking up."

"Please forgive us for not trusting what we already knew of you, the man you were before the long hair and beard."

"I knew you didn't know what I was doing and I forgave you from the start," Sandy said.

And in that moment, with no mirror and only another man's face before him — with no beard, and with close-cropped hair — Sandy thought he caught a glimpse of the Savior, somewhere between forgivenesses.

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Orson Scott Card is a writer of nonfiction and fiction, from LDS works to popular fiction. "In the Village" appears Thursdays in the Deseret Morning News. A longer version of this column is available in the Mormon Times section of deseretnews.com. Leave feedback for Card online at www.nauvoo.com/contact_desnews.html.