LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS Stories

Animating The Book of Mormon - From Scripture to Storyboards: Pablo Smith's Story - Latter-Day Lights

• Scott Brandley and John Brandley

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What if the perfect once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ended up being the one God meant for you to turn down?

This week on Latter-day Lights, Scott and John Brandley sit down with animator Pablo Smith to share the story of how he combined his two greatest passions in life: teaching the gospel, and animation. Having worked at legendary studios in the industry such as Nick Jr., Disney, and Dreamworks, Pablo took his skills into his own hands by independently crafting his most cherished and personal piece of work, “The Book of Mormon Graphic Novel.”

After walking away from a full-ride offer at his dream school—CalArts—to serve in the France Marseille mission on his own accord, Pablo took a risk nobody would dare to. But after numerous rejections and near-misses from several potential opportunities upon returning, Pablo walks us through how he finally got his first big break working in animation, to now channeling his talent into a doorway to the scriptures.

With this project, he helps all kinds of visual learners and readers encounter the Gospel in a format they can truly grasp, leading families toward Christ one panel at a time. Tune in to see how art and testimony meet on the page, and you might just get the spark to use your gift to serve as well.

*** Please SHARE Pablo's story and help us spread hope and light to others. ***

To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/Isr7lMlDlCE

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To READ Pablo's graphic novel for free, visit: https://bookofmormongraphicnovel.org/

To FOLLOW Pablo on Facebook, visit: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555409713770

To WATCH Pablo's graphic novel on YouTube, visit: https://www.youtube.com/@BOOKOFMORMONAGRAPHICNOVEL

To DONATE to Pablo's project, visit: https://www.venmo.com/u/pablonihah

To READ Scott’s book “Faith to Stay,” visit: https://www.faithtostay.com/

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Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaylights

Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.

Scott Brandley:

Hey there as a Latter-day Lights listener, I want to give you a very special gift today my brand new book, faith to Stay. This book is filled with inspiring stories, powerful discoveries and even fresh insights to help strengthen your faith during the storms of life. So if you're looking to be inspired, uplifted and spiritually recharged, just visit faithtostaycom. Now let's get back to the show. Hey everyone, I'm Scott Brandley.

John Brandley:

And I'm John Branley. Every member of the church has a story to share, one that can instill faith, invite growth and inspire others.

Scott Brandley:

On today's episode we're going to learn how one man's passion for animation has led him to create a graphic novel for the Book of Mormon. Welcome to Latter-day Lights. Hey, everyone, welcome back to another episode of Latter-day Lights. We're so glad you could meet with us today, on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. We're really excited to introduce our special guest, pablo Smith, to the show. Welcome, pablo, thank you. Thanks for having me. You bet Glad you're here. I'd also like to introduce my uncle, john Brandley, who's recently been on the show. If any of you guys have watched my recent book launch of Faith to Stay, john was actually in one of the episodes where we talk about some really cool discoveries we made in Illinois that have to do with the Book of Mormon. So if you haven't seen that episode, go check it out. Thanks, john, for coming and hanging out with us. Yeah, my pleasure.

Pablo Smith:

So, pablo, tell us a little bit about yourself. So I married to my wife, kristen. We have five children. We started out in El Paso, texas, but we've moved kind of all over the country and we now live in Santa Clarita, california, where I work in animation. I guess my most recent gig was with Disney doing a project for Disney as an animation supervisor. And yeah, that's me in a nutshell. That's awesome. And yeah, that's me in a nutshell, that's awesome Animation.

Scott Brandley:

I know a lot of people when you grow up and you watch these cartoons and these different movies and things, a lot of kids want to be an animator. So you actually made it happen, right.

Pablo Smith:

When you grew up, yeah, yeah, yeah. For the most part, yes, yeah, it's been fun. It's been a fun journey.

Scott Brandley:

Well, we'd love to hear about that journey. So why don't we turn the time over to you and tell us where your story begins, my friend, okay, great, thank you.

Pablo Smith:

Well, let me give you a little bit of a setup. I was born in the church and raised in the church, but as I got older I drifted away for a little bit and you know I wasn't overly rebellious or anything. But you know, teenagers have to swim through a lot of feelings and emotions before they can see things as they really are. And for me, I just didn't see the need for church in my life at that time. I just didn't see the need for church in my life at that time, and so I did my best to not go to church. And that's the setup.

Pablo Smith:

The real story, or this story, actually begins the last day of my freshman year of high school. My last class of the day was English and my teacher didn't have anything planned, so she decided to show us the Little Mermaid which had just come out on VHS. It was 1990. And I don't know how to describe it, but it kind of like ignited this passion inside of me for doing what I was seeing on the screen. Like I, uh, I felt this desperate need to learn how to do this, and like I was fascinated that I was being pulled in by by just these drawings that people did and, um, I, I it was. It was like a redefining moment in my life. Like I it was. Sometimes I call it like it was, like a monster inside of me, like this was how. From this point on, this was how I made decisions. Uh, so if I, if I had a choice to hang out with friends, uh, on a friday night, or stay home and watch cartoons and draw I night, or stay home and watch cartoons and draw, I would always stay home and watch cartoons and draw, because that was to me that was more uh, exciting and engaging than than hanging out with friends. And uh, like, I went home that day and I asked my dad, hey, can, can you really get a job drawing cartoons for Disney? And he said, yeah, they're called animators. And I said, well, how do you become an animator? And he didn't know. And so you know, we lived in El Paso, texas, and there was no internet back then. So I somehow found the physical address for the Walt Disney Animation Studios and I wrote them a letter and sent it to them and it took a while, but they sent me back a four-page reply with a list of everything we had to do to.

Pablo Smith:

Everything I had to do to become an animator, and just real quick, I'd like to share a few of those. One of them was draw, as much as you can. Take a sketchbook with you wherever you go and don't focus on cartoons, but focus on learning the human anatomy, animal anatomy. Try to capture a person's emotions by just your sketch, right, you should be able to see what they're thinking and feeling without word bubbles. The other one was watch as many movies as you can, watch as much television as you can, and and be be very analytical about it. So like, if you're, if you're, sitting in a theater with a bunch of people and everyone laughs, what was it about? What just happened on screen that made everyone laugh? Right, like, like, really study about what makes a good movie, a good actor, a bad movie, um, and join acting classes. Right, because that's that's what animators are like. They're just they're, they're acting with these characters, right, and so, um, I was a I was a mega introverted child, um, but for this I would break my rule of not not socializing, right I?

Pablo Smith:

So I joined the high school theater group. I was like, very, very, again, very passionate about this. So I did these things that were on this reply. And when school started, my sophomore year of school started, I approached my dad and said I would like to drop all of my honors classes. And when he said why, I said, well, because I want to become an animator and I want to spend more time drawing and taking art classes instead of writing book reports or you know things that honors kids did. And so it took a while but he agreed and I dropped my honors classes. I spent all the extra time just watching cartoons, watching movies, drawing, doing acting, just really focused on it.

Pablo Smith:

The summer, after my sophomore year of high school, the question began to grow in my mind if God was actually real. And I liken this to Enos, right, who went out in the woods hunting beasts and all of a sudden he really needed to know. And that's kind of how it was for me. I wasn't hunting beasts, I think I was playing a video game. But, like the, the desire to to know if God lived became, uh, very strong and overwhelming. And eventually, uh, I read the book of Mormon from cover to cover. I prayed and, through the Holy Spirit, uh, god answered my prayer, and obviously he lives. If he's answering my prayer, right, but he also told me the Book of Mormon comes from him and Joseph Smith is his prophet. And this was, you know, as strong as my passion for animation was. This was much, much stronger, and this became a whole new redefining point in my life. And from this point on, this was the way I made decisions. Well, you know that like combated with it kind of checked my passion for animation right.

Pablo Smith:

So the summer after my junior year of high school, my dad took me to the San Diego Comic Book Convention Excuse me, because Disney was hiring artists to draw their comics. I think that the took all of the sketches that I did on notebooks during class and school and, uh, we drove up to san diego, I stood in line, I applied for the and I was offered the job until I blurted out that I was a junior, I was going to be a junior in high school. And once they found out I was in high school, they said, oh, oh, hold on, hold on, you have to finish high school first. But that it was such a big boost to my confidence. And at the beginning of at that same comic book convention, I met the directors of Beauty and the Beast, who were there signing Beauty and the Beast comic books, gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. And I spoke with Kirk Wise and I asked him where do you get all your animators from? And he said you know, we get them from all over the place, but most of the animators we get from a school called CalArts which is here in Valencia, california. And we went home and I needed to get into CalArts. My dad called the school and I don't know if it's the same now, but back then they told him that hundreds of students apply each year and they only take 50 every year. And so I started to fill out the application.

Pablo Smith:

I remember it was my senior year of high school and I was filling out the application in my high school library when the thought came into my head what about your mission? I don't know if it was because I was inactive and still introverted, so I'd go to church, but I try to be as invisible as possible, right? I wouldn't talk to anybody. I just try to leave as soon as I could, just because the idea of talking to people scared me, right? So the mission never really came up in my head as like a thing, like a real thing.

Pablo Smith:

So, as I was standing there with the application half filled out, I just thought, well, I had gotten my patriarchal blessing along the way. I just thought, well, I had gotten my patriarchal blessing along the way, and in the blessing it said that not only would I serve a mission, but I needed to work and pay for as much of my mission as I could. So I just thought, well, I mean, if it's a commandment, I'm going on my mission. But I said, heavenly Father, I just want to see if I'm good enough, can I still apply, and whether I get in or not I'll go on my mission. So I applied and I got accepted to CalArts.

Pablo Smith:

Cool, yeah, the monster inside of me was very elated and I was going to write them and tell them that. You know, I told Heavenly Father a deal's a deal, right, like, I will go on my mission first. Thanks for letting me know that. I was good enough to get in. And the following that weekend it was a Saturday night I was walking through the mall in El Paso, texas, when this man stopped me in the mall to ask for directions and he wasn't from there and didn't know where he was. And as I gave him the directions, he told me you know, you don't have the local accent, are you from here? And I said no, actually I'm from Utah. And he said your last name's not Smith, is it? And I said well, yeah, actually it is. And he said your first name's not Joseph and I said no, it's Pablo.

Pablo Smith:

And you know we got to talking and he found out that I got accepted to CalArts and I was going to go on the mission first. He stopped me cold and he said wait a second, wait a second. He said look, I'm from California. I know so many people whose children have tried to get into this school and they come back crying because they can't get it. It's so hard to get in. And here you have this opportunity and you're just going to throw it away. And I said, well, I'm not throwing it away, I'm just I'm going to go on a mission first. And he said, like there's so many people can do, so many people can be a missionary, but not everybody can do. You know what you're going to do? Like, can't, can't other people serve a mission? And I said, well, yeah, but uh, I, I also want to serve a mission. And he said, well, can't you go to a year first? Go to a year of college first? And I said, well, I could. But, um, you know, cal arts is really expensive and I want to save money to pay for my mission. I want to save money to pay for my mission. And he said he pulled out a business card and he said all I remember was that his name was Lem from the card. And he said look, I own a business in California. If you go to college first, if you go to CalArts all four years first, I will pay 100% for your college and then you can go on a mission. And I said, if you don't believe me, take the card, call the number, ask them if I can do what I said I'm going to do. And I said you know that's very generous. And I said you know that's very generous. Yeah, it's a little crazy. I said that's very generous, but I feel like I should go on my mission first. And he said oh my gosh.

Pablo Smith:

And he started getting a little agitated and he said look, I know you Mormons, you guys have bishops, right? I bet you, if you go to your bishop, it was a Saturday night. So he said if you go to church tomorrow, ask your bishop, tell him my offer and ask him what should you do? He will tell you to take my offer. And I said I know what the bishop will say and I don't think he'll say that. So what will he say? And I think he'll say that that's very generous and it's my decision, but he feels he would recommend me to go on my mission first. And he said you go tomorrow, ask your bishop and then meet me back here after church to tell me what he said. So I went to church, asked my bishop, bishop Tilly, this is the offer that this guy gave me. What would you suggest? And he said Pablo, you know that's great, that's amazing, I mean, and I know that school is expensive, but it's totally your decision. But I would recommend, as your bishop, to go on a mission first. I said, yeah, that's what I thought you'd say.

Pablo Smith:

So went back to the mall after church. Lem was there on time and he threw out his arms. So what do you say? And I said he told me it was very generous and it was my decision, but he would recommend that I serve my mission first. And Lem got upset and he's like, oh, I just can't believe you, mormons. And he said well, look, keep my business card. The offer's on the table. Think about it before you rent CalArts. The offer is only good if you go to college first. If you go on your mission, you can throw that card away. So I went home and I threw the cart away and I was called to serve my mission and labor in the France Marseille mission back in the day. It was that's what it was called.

Pablo Smith:

I love my mission. I know everybody knows this right. But for two years you just you spend your day focusing on other people, on the issues, on the problems they're having, they're going through, and you're drawing upon the power of God to help these people. And I mean, as you do that like and you feel the love God has for these people, you just you get to know God better, you get to know how he thinks and how he feels a little bit more and you get to know how amazing all of these people are. And then you start, you know, like it says in Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Thus we see the importance of you know, making these things known to the children of men. Like I loved being a missionary and it you know, the only twinges I had of anything that bothered me was the movie posters, when I'd walk around and I'd see that, like the Hunchback of Notre Dame came out or the first, the first Toy Story came out, and I was like I had this slight little like am I missing out? Right. But by the end of my mission I even asked if I could extend my mission, but the the my mission president said no, just go home and get married, right. And so I came home.

Pablo Smith:

I feel like at that time, if the Lord had asked me, I could have a hundred percent given up being an artist, being an animator. Um I I reached out to CalArts when I got back and basically they told me they didn't want me anymore. So it kind of came as a excuse me. It kind of came as like a shock. I floundered for a little while. I felt, since I had served a mission, that everything would go smooth. You know, obviously I was very young in the gospel. Obviously I was very young in the gospel. So I floundered for a bit and thought, you know, after a while I thought, like, is this should look into the only other thing that I ever felt passionate about, which was teaching the gospel? Right? And I looked into becoming an institute of religion teacher because I thought, hey, I could still teach the gospel for a living and I could teach with the spirit, I could feel the spirit all day and stuff like that.

Pablo Smith:

And so I was going to move up to Utah, work at the MTC. I even applied at the MTC and went through the whole interviewing process and when I got back it felt like doors weren't just closing, they were slamming shut Like I called the MTC. They didn't have any record of me ever having been there or having done an interview, and the more I looked into it, the more it felt like doors were just closing. And I had a friend and I want to be careful, I don't want to paint anyone in a bad light.

Pablo Smith:

I had a friend who was a church leader, a bishop. I don't want to paint anyone in a bad light. I had a friend who was a church leader, a bishop, and he saw me struggling and he pulled me aside and said you know, pablo, maybe being an artist is something you just have to let go. I mean really seriously, like how, how would you know if you wanted to support a family being an artist, you'd have to be a really good artist. That was that had been my plan the whole time. But keep going.

John Brandley:

That was my plan. I want to be a good one. That's why I'm doing it.

Pablo Smith:

He said you know why not? Why not join the FBI? Like you speak three languages now English, Spanish and French why not join the FBI? And you get like a nice, steady, stable job, you can support your family? And so I left that conversation feeling just utterly depressed, like I felt horrible and him being a church leader, him being a bishop and me wanting to be a faithful member of the church. Like I took his counsel very seriously and I don't remember what movie I went to go watch later on, but in the trailers, uh, they showed the trailer to Disney's Tarzan. Um, and when I saw that trailer, it was like the little mermaid all over again. Like I just, oh, my gosh, what am I? What was I thinking? Of course I want to do this. Like this is, um, I mean, I've got to do this. The only problem was in my head was the advice that this church leader gave me. And later on in conference, in the priesthood session of conference, I heard Boyd K Packer say that a wise bishop will never give you an answer toa question, but he will help you find your own answers to your questions. And I just thought that's it right. Like this is my answer. I want to do this. This is what I want to do.

Pablo Smith:

So during the time that I was floundering, I had met who would become my wife, this girl named Kristen, and we got to know each other and I had spoken with her about my desires to become an animator and she was all for it. She was said I will support you and let's do this. And we ended up getting married on june of 2000 and I started looking for uh. I got on the internet which was a thing by then and looked for other colleges and after a lot of prayer and stuff, I uh attended, uh Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, ohio. Um, and I had read this. I had read this or heard this story. I think it was by Marion G Romney. If you guys know who it actually was, you can correct me.

Pablo Smith:

Um, but he wanted to become a lawyer and his family was afraid that in becoming a lawyer he would lose his testimony and leave the church and all that stuff, and so he still wanted to go to law school. But he decided he made a promise that he would study the Book of Mormon every day of law school as he went through law school. I think I'm getting that right as he went through law school. I think I'm getting that right. And so I was like you know, I'm going into this film animation school, I'm going to go into the entertainment business. I think you know how bad could it be to be an animator. But I made myself the same promise, like I will study the Book of Mormon every day of my college life. And so you know, and it was surprisingly very challenging.

Pablo Smith:

I mean, I don't know what film school is like, like, let's say, at BYU or a place like that, but you know, in one film class, a teacher came, walked into class and said All right, guys, we're going to learn from the best filmmakers today, and I'm obligated to tell you that there's going to be a lot of sex, a lot of violence, a lot of drug use, alcohol. If anybody has any problems with that, just let me know now. And so I raised my hand and the class busted out laughing, right, they thought I was joking, the teacher was laughing. And then, as I kept my hand up, the teacher says wait, oh, are you serious? And I said yeah, yeah, I usually stay away from that stuff. But you guys can you know, I'll just go work on my project outside and he was like uh, you're excused. And uh, and that happened like a few times.

Pablo Smith:

Like I had a, a screenwriting class where the teacher after, uh, she pulled me aside, after I walked out of her uh class a few times during some some not so good movies, uh, she pulled me aside and she asked me so in your country do they not watch a lot of violence and sex? And I was very, I'm very international looking and I said, you know, it's more of a religious thing, like I, I don't watch this for religious reasons. And she said, you know, I just don't get you. Like you are paying for this education, you are paying for this. And now, like we are learning from the masters here, like from the best movie makers, and you are refusing the education. And I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, um, and I'm, I totally understand and I'm totally fine with that.

Pablo Smith:

And I always figured that, you know, if I, if I stayed faithful and true to my covenants, that if I needed to learn something that I missed in school, that God would just reveal it to me. And you know, so far, so good. Right, so I, you know the beginning of my, I finished my junior year of college. By that time we had my wife and I had three kids, and they called me to be the early morning seminary teacher, and so that was part of the deal, right, like I would accept every calling, I was extended. I just stay in the trunk of the tree, right? So I was called to be the early morning seminary teacher and during my senior year of college, disney shut down all of their traditional animation projects. They let go of everybody. Dreamworks followed suit.

Pablo Smith:

And here I was in the middle of my senior year, just kind of floundering again, just wondering what the heck should I do now, and I decided to just finish with traditional animation. And as school was wrapping up at the end of my senior year, I was getting ready to come to a conference out here in California where I would be looking for jobs and I could pass my stuff around to recruiters. And my bishop at the time called me two days before I left and he said Pablo, look, I know you're graduating, I know you're flying out to get a job. I just have to tell you I do not feel good about releasing you as the early morning seminary teacher. Of course I'll release you, but I just wanted to let you know, uh, I, I cannot get a good feeling about this. So you're going to be the early morning seminary teacher for this next year. And uh, then he hung up the phone and I just stood there for a while thinking did, uh, did the Lord just tell me through my Bishop that I wasn't going to get a job for another year at this fair? And so I flew out to California, went to the convention I was doing this drawing class that they were having there and the instructor called over a recruiter from Sony Imageworks and said hey, check this guy out. And the recruiter came up to me and said who are you, who are you employed with? And I said I'm in college, I'm looking for a job. And she said can you give me your reel, your demo reel and your information? So I gave her a demo reel, my resume. She said you'll be hearing from us soon. And I went home thinking. I went home thinking tentatively maybe the bishop is wrong. He wasn't.

Pablo Smith:

Nothing ever happened from that. I went home and I waited and waited and I even called Sony and they never heard of me. There was no record. Nobody had my stuff. I applied to like hundreds of places. I didn't get a job the entire year. When I finished teaching seminary, I got a call from a studio in New York. That's the crazy, it was the craziest thing. I was like I finished teaching seminary and, uh, I got a call from uh, this, this company, and I flew out. I took the test and they offered me a job and we moved to new york and, uh, um, I worked on a show called the wonder pets, which was like a preschool show. For, oh yeah, did you know it?

Pablo Smith:

uh, yeah my, my kids were raised on it oh well, uh, feel free to not sing the song, because I want to hear the song.

John Brandley:

Scott, I don't know what you're talking about right now, so no, I don't.

Scott Brandley:

I'm already traumatized by it.

John Brandley:

I'm just kidding yeah, that'll be in the extra. Scott will sing that.

Pablo Smith:

Well, yeah, so I worked there for four years on that show and a few other shows for Nick Jr. Then we moved out to California where I worked on a show called Kung Fu Panda Secrets of the Masters for DreamWorks, on a show called uh, kung fu panda secrets of the masters for dreamworks. Uh and uh. After that, like I kind of just jumped around freelance studios. Like I said, I just wrapped up a job at disney, um and uh, yeah, it's been, it's I mean it's been really hard at times but it's also been really rewarding. And uh, about 10 years ago I had this idea. 10 or 15 ago I had this idea 10 or 15 years ago I had this idea to make an animated feature film for the Book of Mormon. And I mean, I know there's been, like you know the living scriptures and stuff, but I kind of wanted to make it like sequential. Like wouldn't it be such a great idea if we started from mormon's point of view? And as he, as he's trying to abridge and lead an army and raise his son, uh, that, uh, he's reading, as he's abridging and as he's reading, we go into the story and when we come back out, he like he gets all this strength from the scriptures that he's read right and um, but I mean to make a feature film. It was so much more money that I could imagine, so I kind of let that go for a while. And we had our fifth child here in California, eris, as the youngest child, and a couple of years ago, as she was just sitting down reading, I noticed that she would just read all these graphic novels. She read Diary of a Wimpy Kid or comics, right, diary of a Wimpy Kid, babysitter's Club, just anything that was like comic format. She was just reading and I thought to myself why don't I just take my movie idea and turn it into a graphic novel, because I can do that on my own. I have to do it after hours, right.

Pablo Smith:

But so I started. I told my wife, hey, I'd like to try this thing. So like when I'm not, when I'm not doing anything, so like you know, I'd work on. You know there was times where I was working, uh, especially like on, uh, like on spongebob. I'd work 20 hours, uh, like just super long hours, uh. And then when I was done to, to wind down, I would draw, like. And my wife was just like, don't you want to do anything else and I was like it's just this passion, I just love to do it. So after hours and on the weekends, I would work on this graphic novel idea. And I did it. And it was originally just for my kids. So I did it and it just became longer and longer and longer and, uh, I finished the first volume, which was, uh, by the time I was done it was 193 pages and it only covered chapters one through four of first nephi.

Pablo Smith:

I showed it to my kids. They loved it, uh, and my wife said you know why not? Why not put this online? You know if somebody else might, might like it and might need it, might use it. And so, um, I, I did, I put it, I created a facebook page. I created, uh, so I always wanted to make it into a feature film, right.

Pablo Smith:

So I, I, I've been taking the panels from this graphic novel and turning them into like, just the kind of like it's like an audio comic, right, just these little moving while I, while I narrate it, or, you know, do the voices and stuff, and so there's like a YouTube channel and then a website that people have actually been responding to it favorably. I did try advertising it online once as, uh, you know, I paid online uh ads on YouTube, but I just got all the the anti-Mormons and I spent the day just kind of deleting messages and stuff. So, um, yeah, I, I uh released the first volume. I'm like in the middle of the second volume, uh, right now. And uh, I I feel like, and I feel like it's just been a great experience.

Pablo Smith:

I feel like I can finally take the two things, like the two passions that I have, right, the teaching the gospel and the drawing, right the animation of being an artist, and I've been able to put them together. And so I'm not by any means like a scriptorian or some kind of history expert, like I don't know like what the fashion was at 600 BC, jerusalem or what they ate. So I kind of just it's not really about that, it's more about the spiritual strength that you can get from the stories, right. So, like they eat sandwiches, right, like it's not. I'm sure that that's not what they eat, but it's just kind of some things are fudged over like that kind of stuff.

Pablo Smith:

And then the I kind of try to focus on the spiritual aspect. So what I do is I will for scripture study, I will open the scriptures and I will start with a prayer and I will just read a verse or two and then just kind of ponder it. And as ideas come and I have a sketchbook and as ideas come I will start drawing and writing you know the word bubbles and stuff in the drawing. And I'll keep drawing, I'll keep reading and I'll ponder and draw and I'll keep drawing, I'll keep reading and I'll ponder and draw and eventually it comes out to like you know, I do fill in the gaps that are in the scriptures. I just kind of like point A to point B and I try to keep it as faithful as possible. And you know, every time the Lord is speaking or the Spirit is speaking, I use the exact wording that we find in the scriptures. But other than that, I try to make it more entertaining for, you know, try to give them, and I realize these are real people and that one day I'm going to meet them and I'll just say so. I just do my best, right. I just do my best right.

Pablo Smith:

But yeah, I feel like this was never meant to be a business idea for me.

Pablo Smith:

I don't plan on and I don't want to get rich drawing the Book of Mormon. I've made this available for free for anybody who would like to read it. Just take all the learning and the stuff that I've gotten from working at all these studios and kind of hopefully bringing it together in a way that, you know, some people might need to hear it. I've had parents reach out to me and tell me that you know, their kids have learning disabilities or problems and they learn through graphic novels, and so they're very grateful that they will focus on this. They will read this. They won't read the scriptures, but they will read this, and I'm not in any way saying that this equals the scriptures, but hopefully it gets them to a point where they will want to read the actual scriptures, where it kind of helps them, to a point where they will want to read the actual scriptures right, where it's kind of like helps them to liken the scriptures to themselves. And yeah, that's pretty much it.

Scott Brandley:

That's my story. Well, my daughter is one of those people. She has dyslexia and she has a really hard time reading, but she's always read graphic novels and that's how she reads, so I think this would be amazing. I can't wait to show her it.

Pablo Smith:

Well, I do know that I'm not the first one to do it. I know there's other people that have done comics and graphic novels of the Book of Mormon. This is my take on it, so hopefully it's uh, I try to make it dynamic and engaging and, you know, throw in humor and uh, I feel like it's it's being well received. So I kind of wanted to, you know, look into ways to let people know about it. Uh, so it's always, it's always free for anyone online or stuff like that. Uh, people have been asking for print copies and that that does take money, so I'm I'm charging enough to print and ship it if they want one, but, uh, it's always free online.

John Brandley:

Yeah, I love it. I think that, um, it's interesting, as you told your story, pablo, that when you had that first spark, jeremiah, when he talked about something similar, where it was like the spirit was a fire shut up in his bones right, you have this passion, right, and you have that same passion, maybe even more so, because spiritually, you're a son of God and with your testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration, right, and you have these, melded, these two things over your life. But it's interesting how, listening to you, god has directed your life. So, when you had that first catalyst with Ariel and that movie, did you draw back then, or was it? When you started to draw? Did you kind of doodle, or was that your? Hey, I think I want to draw and I've never drawn before.

Pablo Smith:

I wouldn't say it was something that I did often I would do it every once in a while. People would say, oh hey, that's pretty good, but it was never my thing. It was once I saw that, saw the Little Mermaid, that I was like that's kind kind of what. What did it? And so from that day on then I started drawing. So since my the last day of my freshman year of high school is the is the day I started like seriously drawing.

John Brandley:

So it really was the catalyst. So you had some talent, some innate talent, obviously, and then it was like the spirit directing you into do something, uh, that would bring joy into your life, and then you were able to. It's interesting, too, how, through that process you were, you had opportunities that, um, if you would have taken them, your life would have been different.

Pablo Smith:

Yeah, yeah, I, I often wonder that and you know I I'd have to say like, uh, yeah, I often wonder that and you know I'd have to say like I've always felt a little insecure about my career because, you know, having served a mission and worked with people that have like real honest-to-goodness problems, right, and meeting people who work like in the ER or as trauma nurses or stuff like that and here I am having an argument at work about a fart joke and it's like, um, it's not I've always felt like, is this really what god wants me to do with, like with my life, like I feel like, yeah, I mean, it's really fun, right, and it's funny, but uh, I feel like the book of mormon graphic novel has been a way where I feel like this, I feel like this is what he wants me to do with, this is why he gave me the talent, right.

Pablo Smith:

And so now, now, uh, still a little insecure sometimes when I'm talking to people, but I love that I can tell them hey, you know, I am working on this graphic novel that I feel really good about and I feel, you know, brings something more than just laughter, which I know that's that's important.

John Brandley:

But yeah, and I think communication to being able to communicate through your medium that you're doing can impact millions of people. And I think it's amazing how, along the way, you had opportunities to do. It's like the devil kind of put hey, I'll pay for your college at the best school that nobody gets into, right? Or you can go on a mission when you get back. Now you don't get to go to that school anymore, you go somewhere else and you meet your eternal companion and you have five kids and you're doing exactly what the Lord wanted you to do. You're teaching seminary and you're making promises with God to read the book of Mormon. So you're building a relationship while you're doing that. And those are all choices along the way. Right, this is all about your agency.

John Brandley:

But God knows you intimately and he's like Pablo, check this out, you're going to be amazing at this. And you don't even draw. That's amazing to me. That's amazing because I drew as a kid. Right, we didn't have a TV. I have 10 brothers, we were poor and TV was drawing at the kitchen table and my brother, jason, telling me hey, that's pretty good.

John Brandley:

And I'm like, really Right, and, and you're, you didn't have that, you know, maybe you had some, obviously had this talent inside you, but, but you listened, and I think you know, for Scott's podcast, he's trying to get the message out that if people will listen, right, the spirit is speaking to you. Heavenly father knows you and he's like Pablo, this right. And you're like, no matter what anybody said, you stayed on that path and whatever obstacles came and I'm sure there were more, and I'm sure there was times where you're like I'm out of this, I'm going into the FBI because I speak three languages. That's crazy to me Like maybe you should do this random thing. And you're like what? No? And you think through it and you're like that was really nice, bishop, but I'm going to be an artist and an animator. And at each time, though, you had a choice, right, but if you really listen and tune into the spirit, time though you had a choice right. But if you really listen and tune into the spirit, your life goes into a path that it would never take without it.

John Brandley:

Right, and here you are, you know, and you're almost 50 right, and you're uh, and you're doing, you're working on this after you work all day drawing because you love it, because the spirit is directing you to do it, and you know it's going to impact a lot of people. I can't wait to see marona eating a sandwich, right, or amman carrying a sandwich while he's got a bag of arms over his shoulder. You know, like what? What's the big deal? Right, right, I any opposed raise your hand and they opposed me, so I cut them off. So so this is uh, it's an amazing. I'm glad that I got to be a part of this, to listen to you and your story, because I can see how God had weaved his, his, uh light into your life and directed you to where you are now. So thanks for sharing that. I think it's awesome.

Scott Brandley:

Thank you. I would agree with John you never know who you're going to, whose life you're going to affect. I mean, for example, like my daughter, grace right, if she reads this and her testimony is strengthened and maybe this helps her to have a desire to go on a mission. Or, like you, just never know what's what's going to impact somebody's life and you're giving people the ability to absorb the book of mormon in a way that is different than the traditional route, and some people need that, you know, or if, or maybe it's a way that they can absorb it initially and then step to the full version, where they can understand it better now, because now they have something more that they can relate to. You just never know what's going to happen or who you're who you're going to affect. So I went um.

Scott Brandley:

The last podcast we did was with the founder of the LDS PMA, so that's one of the association for publishing, media and the arts for the LDS community, right, and he had this idea to start this back in 2015. Well, the crazy thing is, I got the idea to do this podcast because I went to the LDS PMA and, as I wrote a book, I was and I sat next to a girl that told me that she created a podcast about her book and I, so we wouldn't be sitting here today talking if, if that guy his name's steve, if he, if steve wouldn't have had that idea in 2015 to create an association to help people you know improve their skills and and their talents. So you just never know like it's going to be interesting to look 10 years into the future and see how many people's lives you impacted for bet for the better, because you created this graphic novel of the Book of Mormon.

Pablo Smith:

Well, I can't even think about that. I guess 10 years in the future looking back. But yeah, it would be really interesting to look back and see you know was it worth it can see you know was it worth it and you know, I, I never feel like uh, I never want to say like, hey, this is inspired by God, like all the words on this in this novel, but uh, I do feel that God is happy with my offering, and I guess that's what, yeah, that's what I would call it as my offering, and that if people do feel something from it, then then I am grateful that I did take the time to to create this, so yeah well, and I think God wants your voice right.

John Brandley:

You know, when you go on a mission, it was important for you to go on that mission to France because you are an individual that can impact people in a way no one else can, and so, of course, if you're going to do this graphic novel, it's going to have you in there, right, because you're important to this. Your personality is amazing, so God wants people to see that in your work as well. And you know, in 10 years Scott said in 10 years we'll look back you'll probably still be writing this, right, because you've only you've only got three, four chapters, for goodness sake, you got a lot to go so.

John Brandley:

So in 10 years we'll be talking about, you know, the book of ether and you'll just be working on that. Jesus will be here and he'll be like I am way better at podcasting than John, so I won't be here. You'll probably be Jesus and Scott and you'll be in the new Jerusalem and you'll. He'll think it's funny and, you know, as long as there's no fart jokes in the book, you'll be fine.

Scott Brandley:

There might be fart jokes in heaven, dude, you never know, yeah.

John Brandley:

I mean, I don't know what they're reading, but yeah, there was probably that flatulence happening for some reason. But but yeah, I think it's amazing how God directs our lives and they're so different. Right, like you're in a freshman who has some talent maybe, but you haven't really tapped into it. And you have this spark, right, the spark of the divine that leads you. Everything good comes from God. So this is good. This definitely came from God.

John Brandley:

Anything trying to stop you along the way was not coming from God. That's how you also know you're on the path. There's two witnesses to the truth, right, there's God. And then there's the devil who shows up. You know, like he did for Joseph in the sacred grove, how did he know to show up that day? Cause he knows who Joseph is, and and, uh, lem, or whoever that guy is that gave you his business card, he knew who you were too, right? I just know he's not working for the same guy, right? So so, hey, you just call this number and check on it and you know I am who. I say I am. Yeah, you're the devil, because I've got a different plan.

John Brandley:

It's just amazing as you look back at that and go, wow, there are always two forces working in your life, right, and you get to choose. And that's the beautiful thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ is agency is paramount. We fought a war in heaven for it and throughout your life, you chose the path that you're on now right, no matter what happened. And when you got off the path, you chose to get back on it and you can see the fruits of it in your life right, you can see it in that big smile when you smile. You can see it in the ability to work after you worked a full day. Right, because you're driven by this passion.

John Brandley:

So I'm excited. I have six kids and I'm excited to have them look at this and to be interested in the scriptures is good. This is good news, this is a good thing. So I think this is amazing. I think this is an amazing uh, that you have tapped into that talent and developed it and put in the work and now you can God can work through you to do something that maybe could impact grace or my, one of my kids, and maybe they'll be like wow, you know, maybe I can impact the world in a, in a, in a certain way, and they'll get a. You'll be, you'll be the aerial, the aerial right for them, your book, right?

Pablo Smith:

I hope so. Yeah, that's how it works.

John Brandley:

That's how it works, so yeah, that's cool. I'm excited to see, to see the light that comes from the light that you were given oh, thank you so much.

Pablo Smith:

That's very nice of you. I hope so.

John Brandley:

I hope that does happen I think it's already happening, so otherwise you wouldn't be on here with this nice, cleanly shaven head podcaster named Scott. You wouldn't be on here without that. I'm going to rub it right after this meeting for making me.

John Brandley:

No, that was my pleasure. I'm glad to meet you, pablo. I hope I get to meet you in person and I'm definitely going to go look at your, your book and, over the next three weeks, look at those four chapters, because that's a lot to read in 190 pages, so it'll take me a while, thanks, thank you, which is awesome, awesome.

Scott Brandley:

Yeah. So, pablo, before I get abused by John anymore, can you tell us any last thoughts that you might have before we would kind of wrap things up, anything you want to share with people that are watching this podcast?

Pablo Smith:

Yeah, let me actually write it down so that I don't mess it up. It's just two scriptures. The first one is when Alma is speaking to his son, shiblon, alma 38, 12. And he says see that you bridle all your passions, that you may be filled with love, strong as my passion was. I'm so grateful that I was blessed with my testimony of the gospel that allowed me to, kind of, you know, keep myself in the where I needed to be, to to hopefully remain a good person. And then the second scripture is 1 Timothy 4, 14 through 16.

Pablo Smith:

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. Meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. And I feel like that's kind of the message of my graphic novel. It's just, you know, stick with what the Lord has given you. Meditate wholly, give yourself wholly to these things and hopefully you save yourself and a few other people as well. Love it.

John Brandley:

Yeah, definitely. Well, scott and I love the Book of Mormon, so you couldn't have found two guys that love the Book of Mormon. So you couldn't have found two guys that love the Book of Mormon better than us. And I liked how earlier you said, when you were putting words into their mouth, that you'll meet them someday, because the Book of Mormon is a book of real people who had real experiences and Joseph Smith knew them. His mother said he talked about them as if he had lived among them his whole life. Right, and he loved these people and he had context for translating the Book of Mormon because of his relationship. So if you can get that out into a book, that's amazing because it's true, these are real people and and their story needs to be told.

Pablo Smith:

It's true, these are real people and and uh, their story needs to be told.

Scott Brandley:

Thank you, awesome. Well, thanks Pablo for being on. Thanks, john for hanging out with us and being my co-host today. Um, thanks everyone for tuning in. If you like Pablo's story and you want to get it out there and share his graphic novel of the Book of Mormon Pablo, where do they go to find this so that they can share it?

Pablo Smith:

So the website where you can see all of the stuff is bookofmormongraphicnovelorg, but you could also. There's a Facebook page Book of Mormon Graphic Novel, a YouTube page Book of Mormon Graphic Novel, a YouTube page Book of Mormon Graphic Novel. That's if you want to see the videos. And, yeah, an Instagram page I think as well, but yeah, that's where you can go see it.

Scott Brandley:

Awesome, okay, guys, go check out BookOfMormonGraphicNovelorg Okay, dot org. Okay, and and some of those other sites. We'll put them in the show notes so you can go get quick, easy access to them. Make sure that you do your five second missionary work. Go hit that share button so we can get this message out there, so Pablo can share this book with everyone that needs that needs it, because everyone does need it even. I think this is a fun way to talk about the Book of Mormon. Share it with your kids. It's more relatable. I think it's great, pablo. So thanks for being willing to come on the show, and anyone that has a story that they'd like to share, come on to the show, like Pablo, and go to latterdaylightscom.

John Brandley:

Come on down, let's go yeah.

Scott Brandley:

Let's have you on the show. So thanks again, pablo and John, and thanks everyone for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next week with another episode of Latter-day Lights. Until then, take care, bye.

John Brandley:

See you, I'm going to get the book.

Scott Brandley:

John, you can't leave.

John Brandley:

yet I don't know where he went, okay and I'm John Brantley, and, and I have no idea what you want me to say you're supposed to read the chat it's not on here, oh, it's not. No, I'm good at reading. If it's on there, I could have read it.

People on this episode

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Scott Brandley

Host
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Alisha Coakley

Co-host