C. David Belt's Blog

My wife, Cindy, and I met on a bus going to Disneyland.

I was a freshman at Brigham Young University, and she was a senior at BYU. I was in AFROTC, and she was in a club for girls called the Sponsors who supported the Army ROTC cadets (but were not cadets themselves). I was on an Army-Air Force saber (sword) team. She was on the Sponsors drill team. We were on our way to a drill (marching) competition at Disneyland.

I brought my guitar along on the trip, and my saber team commander suggested that we take the guitar forward on the bus and sing with the girls. I agreed, but said, “I get to pick the prettiest girl on the bus to sit across from.” And I did. She was the prettiest girl on the bus, and I knew she was WAY out of my league.

I played the guitar. We sang. I found out her name. She found out I was a freshman.

When we stopped in Fillmore, Utah for a break, we all got off the bus. She told me that she had sprained her ankle and asked if I would help her walk. I thrust my guitar into my commander’s hands. “Hold my guitar!” I put my arm around her and helped her walk.

It was really nice.

The next morning, we arrived in Southern California, got to our hotel rooms, and unpacked. Then we went out to the designated practice area and practiced in our individual teams.

Part of the competition involved a uniform inspection, and part of that inspection involved standing at attention without moving, no matter the distraction. While we were practicing for our inspection, the girls would do the inspecting, ask us questions, test our knowledge. She decided to inspect me. To test my ability to stand at attention without being distracted, she leaned in and kissed me on the lips. It was meant to be a test. I failed.

That evening, we were all going to Disneyland. I called her hotel room and very shyly and awkwardly asked her if she would consider going to Disneyland “with me.”

She said, “Yes.”

Completely astonished, I squeaked back, “You will?”

We had a great time that night. When we rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds, I sat in back and she sat between my legs (the normal arrangement). She said, “Now hold onto my waist. Tighter. Tighter.”

I was thrilled to comply.

After the competition that weekend, we rode back to Provo, Utah together. We kissed. A lot.

It was glorious.

But when we got back, it was over.

I was head-over-heels in love. Utterly twitterpated.

She? Not so much. It had been fun. A lot of fun, but I was a freshman, and in a few months, I was leaving for a two-year mission for my church. She was a senior (and did I mention, WAY out of my league?) and was NOT going to wait two years for a missionary.

But I didn’t take the hint. I followed her everywhere I could. I asked her out a lot. Sometimes, she would go out with me, but she was a very popular girl. (I remember one night, she had FOUR dates with FOUR different guys—I was number four.)

We dated on and off over the summer. I was leaving for my mission in August. And though she dated a lot of other guys, I believed she was falling in love with me. I certainly tried hard to win her.

I couple of weeks before I was to enter the Missionary Training Center (and start my mission to South Korea), I purchased a small stuffed animal—a German shepherd dog. I put a ring on its collar. I wrapped it up, and gave it to her.

And then I promptly left the room.

From the other room, I heard, “Oh, how cute!” A pause. “Wait! What’s this? Is this an engagement ring?”

That was my cue to return. I said, “It could be. If you want it to be.”

“You’re going on a mission! I’m NOT going to wait for two years.”

I said, “You don’t have to wait. You could go on a mission too.”

“I don’t WANT to go on a mission! Only girls who can’t get married go on missions.” (This is not true, but that was her attitude.)

“Why don’t you pray about it?” I suggested.

“I don’t WANT to pray about it. I’d probably have to go!”

So, she didn’t exactly accept my proposal, but she DID wear the ring (on her right hand).

We dated during my remaining two weeks, spending almost every free minute together. Then I entered the MTC.

She worked at the MTC, in the cafeteria. I saw her each day at lunch in the lunch line. We talked, but no more than was proper for a missionary. She left messages for me in my mailbox every day. One day, I left a huge teddy bear for her at the reception desk.

I was in the MTC for two months as I learned Korean. One day, about four weeks in, she left a note in my mailbox. It said, “Right or left?”

When I got to the lunch line, there she was, smiling like all Heaven was gathered in her countenance. I said (eagerly), “LEFT! Definitely left!”

With a grin, she dramatically pulled the ring off the ring finger on her right hand and transferred it to the ring finger on her left hand. Then she smiled some more. And, man-oh-man was she gorgeous!

So, we OFFICIALLY became engaged when I was in the MTC, while I was going through the lunch line. I became known as the missionary who proposed to a girl in the lunch line. (I took a LOT of ribbing over that, but… totally worth it!)

She did go on a mission. She went to Spain. But she had her mission call before I left for Korea. I got special permission to be in the temple with her when she received her endowment.

Then I went to Korea.

She graduated in December and left almost four months later.

We wrote to each other every week. Our love grew.

About halfway through my mission, I was transferred to Los Angeles to teach Koreans in California. Her mother lived in Anaheim, CA. I got to have dinner (along with my companion) at her mother’s house on Christmas Day.

She returned home from her mission about two weeks before I was set to be released. So, during those last two weeks, I was VERY cautious whenever I was in her area to NOT see her. We had our wedding announcements printed up. (We had to have our pictures taken separately.)

After two more weeks, I completed my mission. By special arrangement, I got to stay in southern California, rather than returning immediately to Provo. My mission president gave me my exit interview AND my temple recommend interview for marriage. Then he shook my hand and released me.

I walked from the mission headquarters to the Los Angeles Temple (located on the same property). About forty-five minutes later, she drove up. We met for the first time in nearly two years. We kissed. We embraced. We held hands. We talked.

Then we walked hand-in-hand into the mission headquarters and posted our wedding invitation on the bulletin board.

I stayed at her sister’s house during the sixteen days before the wedding. (She stayed at her mother’s house.) We were together every second we could be. After an INTERMINABLE sixteen days, we were married, sealed together for time and all eternity, in the Los Angeles Temple. My last missionary companion was able to attend. So was a Korean couple that I had worked with and helped get to the temple to be sealed together.

After an endless day with a wedding breakfast at her mom’s house and a reception at her sister’s, we were off to Disneyland for our honeymoon.

It was glorious. We were, of course, both virgins when we married, so that made our wedding night extra special.

After a weekend honeymoon, we gave our missionary homecoming talks in her home ward (congregation). The next day we flew to Provo and moved into a tiny basement apartment. We had $70 and no jobs. We had to find jobs quickly.

I still had three years of school to go. We had the first of our six children while I was at school. It was just the beginning of forty-four (so far) wonderful years together.

I still court her. She is my princess and my queen.

I look forward to eternity with her.

I love her like Heaven.

Disneyland is still a very special place to us, but now we love to go on Disney Cruises together.

Oh, and she STILL has the teddy bear and the stuffed animal dog.

So, what is Latter-day Saint horror?

(I was going say, “What the flippin’ heck is Latter-day Saint horror?” But then I thought better of it. Hold on a second. Did I write that part “out-loud?” Your Honor, may rephrase the question?)

Ahem.

So, what is Latter-day Saint horror?

Well, the horror part means that there are scary bits in my stories. However, the scary bits aren’t the point. There is violence too, but violence isn’t the point. Even the action isn’t the point.

So, what is the point?

Well, to me, at least, Latter-day Saint horror is about taking a covenant-keeping Latter-day Saint man or woman and slamming them with something that is so far beyond their experience that it may rock their faith to the core. It’s about those times in our lives—and we all have them—when we may feel abandoned by Heaven. While Heavenly Father and the Savior will never abandon us, we all have times when we feel abandoned, when everything feels dark and hopeless. Latter-day Saint horror is about those times when we are clinging to our faith and our covenants seemingly by our fingernails. It’s about passing through the darkness and clawing our way back to the light. In short, it’s about moral agency, repentance, redemption, and the atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s about having the moral courage to do what we know to be right, even in the face of horrific evil.

Evil is depicted in my books. While (and this may come as a shock to some people) vampires, for example, and not real, true evil does exist in the real world. While I try to not be overly graphic in my descriptions and depictions of evil, at the same time, I believe that evil must be represented for us to understand the nature of what good truly is. We must know the bitter to appreciate the sweet.

My work has been described by reviewers as “strangely uplifting.” One even said that my vampire trilogy strengthened her faith in the Savior. And that, of course, is the whole point—along with telling what is (I hope) a good story.

The doctrines of my faith figure prominently in my books. I make no apology for writing from the premise that what I believe to be true is, in fact, true. If you are not of my faith, I hope that you can enjoy my work with the understanding that it is set in a world where the doctrines of my faith are the truth. I believe them to be true. You are free to believe that such a world is fantasy. You can still enjoy the story.

My books should be suitable for readers from the age of thirteen and up. My standard is that my eighty-five-year-old mother (at least, she’s eighty-five as of this writing) must be able to read my work. (And by the way, my mother is NOT a fan of horror.) If it’s not suitable for her, it doesn’t go into the book. Period.

While the journey may be dark, there is always light at the end. And I hope, that while you may not get the fairytale ending, you will get a satisfying ending. Dare I say, a “strangely uplifting” and “faith-promoting” ending?

Art by Ben Savage!

Art by Ben Savage!

In this heart-stopping twist on the legends of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and the treacherous Prince Mordred, C. David Belt takes the reader on a journey through centuries as a modern knight and a cruelly wronged ancient queen fight against unrelenting evil to save the world. And each other.

Loralee Evans – author of “The Shores of Bountiful” and many others

This book had so many twists and turns from the start. Belt does extensive research on his books, from the names he uses to the places his characters go. This one was an exceptional story of two sisters with revenge scarring their hearts, a knight whose honorable mission is to serve and protect, and a lot of evil villains who get in their way.
–Jenny Rabe, Ogden, Utah

Today, I was deeply saddened to read a social media post by someone I considered to be a friend. Without getting into the profane ordure of the subject matter, the gist of the post was, “If you disagree with me about this (non-religious) subject and do so on religious grounds, I hate you, and I never want to hear from you again.” Then this individual went on to justify his hatred in the name of self-righteousness and, ironically, love.

We should be able to disagree, even on things we consider to be REALLY IMPORTANT, without hate. “Love” can never justify hate. Disagreement can never justify hate.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan disagreed profoundly with the Jew (and the Jew with the Samaritan), but Samaritan still loved the Jew, and demonstrated his love by his actions. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father disagreed profoundly with the actions of his son, but the father still loved his son and forgave him.

Today is the second day of Lent, and while, as a Latter-day Saint, I do not celebrate the Lenten season, I do have deep respect for my devout Catholic friends as well my devout friends of other Christian faith traditions who do. I wish them all a blessed Lenten season. I don’t have to agree with their theology and practice to recognize that it is a beautiful expression of faith and a desire to celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His forty-day fast to prepare for His mortal ministry and eventual atoning sacrifice, death, and resurrection.

Yesterday, on Ash Wednesday, I had a lovely discussion about Lent with a devout and learned Catholic friend, who happens to be one of the narrators for my audiobooks. We exchanged ideas about how we celebrate the life and mission of our Savior. Our traditions may be different, but we share a mutual love for the Son of God. We are both profoundly grateful for His mercy and His grace that can redeem us from hell. We’ve had many such discussions, and they have been rewarding.

I can assure you that my friend and I both hold our beliefs and our faith and our traditions very dearly. In my writing, when I am portraying Catholic characters, I want to do so accurately and respectfully. And my friend has graciously helped me with my research. I’m grateful for her friendship.

And guess what? We do NOT agree on everything. In fact, we have profound differences in our beliefs and practices. But we also share much in common. We don’t let the differences, even the fundamental and profound differences, get in the way of respect and friendship and Christ-like love.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)

May we, whatever our faith tradition, as sincere followers of Jesus, be more like the Samaritan and the father of the prodigal. (For are we not ALL of us prodigals who have strayed and desired to be reconciled to our Father?) I pray that I may be, as the apostle Paul said, “an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (I Timothy 4:12)

I deeply enjoyed being with these characters as they navigated a thrilling, historically infused adventure. This book will keep you guessing until the very end!
– Benjamin Cazier, Syracuse, Utah

The story is told in the Talmud that, during the Exodus, when Moses, under God’s direction and by His authority, allowed the waters of the Red Sea to fall upon the Egyptian army, thus ensuring the safety of the Children of Israel, the angels in Heaven rejoiced and sang praises to God. I’m certain that the Children of Israel rejoiced as well and sang praises to God for their deliverance. But according to the Talmud, God said, “My children are drowning, and ye sing me praises?”

God loves ALL His children, even those who actively oppose His will. He loves even those who sin (which includes everyone, except Jesus). He even loves ME in all my imperfections and sins.

This week in the Come Follow Me curriculum, we studied Doctrine & Covenants section 18. In verses 10-13, God says, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance. And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!” God loves all His children. He is pulling for us. Jesus Christ is our greatest cheerleader. He made it possible for us (for ME) to repent, to be forgiven, to be perfected in Him. Without Jesus, none of this is possible.

He also says, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Mathew 5: 43-44) In D&C 64:10, He says, “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.”

Why is this so important? Why does He REQUIRE us to forgive ALL? I believe it is because (among other reasons) that to refuse to forgive ANYONE is to deny the power of Jesus Christ to atone for MY sins. If I refuse to forgive even those who hate me and persecute me, then I don’t really believe His atonement is infinite in its scope and power. It means that I don’t really believe He can redeem ME. If I want to be redeemed, I must forgive everyone, no matter what they have done.

Because God loves even the ancient army of Egypt. And He mourns when they choose to fight against His will, the only true path to happiness. Jesus suffered and died to save even the Egyptian army. And we know that the gospel is being preached in the Spirit World, even to them. Even to Pharoah. Because He still wants to redeem them. He still wants to save them.

Just as He still wants to redeem ME.

From master storyteller C. David Belt comes a tale of courage, honor, and sacrifice. Bedwyr MacNeill is a man of integrity and decency who embraces the overwhelming challenge of personally facing down evil. Gwenhwyfar is a woman of honor and virtue who has been cruelly deprived of her right to rule the kingdom of Prydain with her husband. Against all odds, she has persevered in the face of betrayal and mockery to one day fulfill her destiny. C. David Belt has crafted another brilliant story, with inspiring heroes and heroines, just the right touch of romance, and a setting that adds a wonderful dimension to this already-mesmerizing story. This latest work is a satisfying and worthwhile read. It is a story that is terrifying, compelling, and ultimately uplifting. I highly recommend!