The Only Story Ever Told – History in Three Acts
By Geoffrey Biddulph
In the early 1990s, I was between careers and considered becoming a screenwriter. I have always loved movies, and I thought it would be easy to turn my journalism skills into screenplay writing skills, so I sat down at the computer and got to work.
Well, as you may have guessed, it wasn’t easy at all. My screenplay never got anywhere. But I learned something very interesting about movies that I didn’t know until then: Virtually all movies have three acts. To write the story well and according to movie formats, you must write in three acts.
Why are all movies written in three acts? Because most good stories have been told this way since the beginning of time. And why are most good stories told in three acts? Because they appeal to something in human nature that likes stories in three acts.
Stories in three acts are our story, the story of the human race, the only story ever told. Stories in three acts appeal to our spirits and remind us of the reason we exist on this planet. They make us feel comfortable and give us a sense of the familiar. Movies are written in three acts because they appeal to our most basic needs. If they did not, they could never have universal appeal and could never make money.
What are the three acts?
Act 1: The characters are introduced and some kind of conflict or problem is laid out for the viewer.
Act 2: The tension grows, the problem becomes complex and some kind of confrontation takes place. This is usually the longest act. This introduces the climax of the movie.
Act 3: The movie climaxes, the problem and/or confrontation is resolved. There is an ending (usually a happy ending) and sometimes a lesson of some kind is learned.
This idea of a movie in three acts may not seem obvious, but it becomes clearer when we look at some examples.
To Kill a Mockingbird:
ACT 1: We are introduced to Scout and Jim. We meet Atticus Finch. We hear about Boo Radley, who lives in a scary house nearby. Then Atticus is given this new court case where a black man Tom Robinson has been accused of doing something bad. Two sources of tension have been introduced: Boo Radley’s house and this mysterious court case.
ACT 2: Both of the sources of tension get developed. The kids start fooling around at Boo Radley’s house. Atticus gets more involved in the court case. There is a long, very dramatic court scene where it is clear that the black man Tom Robinson is innocent. There is a very bad man who has falsely accused him.
ACT 3: The climax. The bad man attacks the kids, Scout and Jim. But in the end, they are saved by the mysterious Boo Radley! After the attack, the drama is over. We relax. Jim is OK, Boo Radley is OK, Scout is OK. Atticus is going to appeal the conviction of Tom Robinson. It is mostly a happy ending. But we are taught a lesson about judging people. We are taught a lesson about history and the bad things that happened in the United States, when we discriminated against people because of their color. We are taught a lesson about leaving people who are not harming anybody alone, just as you should never kill a mockingbird.
Let’s look at another example: the very first “Star Wars” movie, Star Wars, Episode 4:
Act 1: Luke Skywalker is living on this desert planet. Meanwhile, Princess Leia is being captured by Darth Vader. Han Solo and the wookie Chewbacca are introduced. The robots R2D2 and C3PO are also shown to us for the first time, as well as the mysterious and evil image of the Emperor. There is a problem that needs to be resolved: The good rebels are fighting against the Evil Empire.
Act 2: The story develops. There are battle scenes. There are love scenes. Tension is created over whether the princess loves Luke or Han Solo. What will happen to the rebels fighting against the evil and all-powerful Empire? What is this thing, “the Force?” And what exactly are “Jedi Knights?” From where do they get their power?
Act 3: In a climactic scene, the Death Star is attacked and destroyed! After the climax, there is a huge parade and ceremony. Everybody is happy. R2D2 and C3PO are there, as are Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the Princess. But we know there’s going to be another movie because Darth Vader doesn’t die and we haven’t figured out yet whether Princess Leia likes Luke Skywalker or Han Solo.
So, why do movies have three acts? Because all stories are told in three acts! And why is this? Is it because cave men decided this 10,000 years ago? Is it because the Greeks decided that all stories must be this way? No, because all human beings worldwide tell stories the same way. Stories from India and China and Africa also follow the same convention. All of these stories are told by human beings to other human beings. They have to appeal to something inside of us that likes stories in three acts.
But why do we like stories told this way? I will argue because we are living a story in three acts. On the most basic level, we have the three acts of our lives, at least the three acts we are aware of as human beings:
Our Lives in Three Acts
Act 1: We live in the pre-existence and then our character is introduced to the world.
Act 2: Our character grows and develops. Do we live happy lives or not? Do we learn from the mistakes we make and try to improve ourselves? Do we seek after our only source of strength, our Creator and try to do His will?
Act 3: A climax is reached, and hopefully we will have a happy ending in paradise based on our righteous decisions. We will hopefully live “happily ever after.”
The late BYU Professor Hugh Nibley once wrote that all stories in antiquity seem familiar. They all seem to take the same format as the only story ever told, the one in the Bible. Bits and pieces of Bible stories show up throughout ancient literature. The reason is that the Bible was the first story told and the one that is most familiar to us. All other stories take their cue from there.
Is the Bible a story told in three acts? I will argue that if you look at the broad themes of the Bible it is indeed a story told in three acts.
The Bible in Three Acts
ACT 1 – We introduce the characters. The characters are human beings. Us. We lived someplace else before we got to this world. Where does it say that in the Bible? Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.” Job 38:7: “all the sons of god shouted for joy” in the pre-existence before we came to the earth. Ephesians 1:4. He has “chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.” Revelation 12:7. “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” (Lucifer) in the pre-mortal existence.
Why did Michael and his angels fight against the dragon? Because in the pre-mortal existence there was a really, really good guy, a prince figure, the perfectly righteous hero – Jehovah or Jesus Christ. And there was a really, really bad guy, Lucifer. Lucifer was brilliant, but he wanted all the glory for himself. He was proud, selfish, egotistical and very mean. The good guy was selfless and wanted to do Heavenly Father’s will. Most people decided to follow the good guy and we agreed to come to the earth so we could learn some lessons and progress and become more like the good guy.
So, the characters are introduced. A plan is created. Adam, who was Michael, the greatest soldier on the good guy’s side, will be the first man. Then God creates Eve to be his helpmeet. Then they figure out a way of getting out of the Garden of Eden so we can all be born. (Thanks to Eve, by the way). But tension develops. To get out of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve have to commit a transgression. They have to disobey one of Heavenly Father’s commands. Because of this, they cannot return to Heavenly Father’s presence. Who is going to save them? Who is going to save us all? Well, as many people may have guessed by now, the good guy is going to save us.
ACT 2: More and more people get born, meaning more and more of us get sent to the Earth. Some of them follow and believe in the good guy who is going to save them. Many people do not and some even choose to follow Lucifer, who is also on Earth, even though he’s invisible and we can’t really see him. Cain is the first person to follow Lucifer, but many others follow. God sends prophets to the Earth to remind people to follow the good guy because people keep on forgetting. How do we know they are prophets? Because they can do some magical things. They have something they call the priesthood that allows them to heal people and move mountains and part the Red Sea. In addition, the Holy Ghost confirms to us that they are indeed prophets. This is the longest act of our story. People come and go. Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses. All of these stories in the Bible are part of Act 2. Then comes the really exciting part of Act 2. The good guy is coming to earth!
Why would the good guy lower himself to come to Earth? Because it is part of the plan. The prophets with the special powers have told us that one day he would come to Earth because all of us have committed sin. Except for one. The good guy does not commit a single sin and lives a perfect life.
He heals people and he walks on water. And, because he is the prince of peace, wonderful, our counselor, our king, he takes on all of our sins. At Gethsemane, he bleeds from every pore of his body. And then, he is humiliated by the bad guys. They whip him and place a mocking crown on him, and then they make him carry a cross through Jerusalem. They use a hammer to put nails through his hands, his wrists and his feet. And then they put him on a cross, where he dies a noble but excruciating death.
But did the bad guys win? No way. Our king is much smarter than they are. Three days later, he is resurrected. He comes back and he shows everybody that he has a real body. He lets the people touch his wounds. He eats bread and fish. He travels through many parts of the world showing the people who believe in him that he is alive and resurrected. He lives, he lives, he lives!
Well, for a brief moment the story seems a pretty good one. The good guys’ supporters set up model communities using his authority. But after a few generations, the evil of the world wins. The good guys’ supporters are far outnumbered by their enemies. Bitter wars break out, and the world descends into darkness with almost none of the good guys’ supporters left. In Act 2, a problem must be resolved: will the world turn back to the good guy again?
The apostles and the prophets who supported the good guy warned us this would happen. They said the world would be taken over by “ravening wolves” before there would be a restoration of God’s true Church. They said there would be a final climax, one where the outnumbered supporters of the good guy would help save the world from the forces of evil.
ACT 3: This act started 200 years ago. That was when a special man was born. This man was prepared from the founding of the Earth to play this role. The followers of the good guy have talked about him. He is the “Messiah ben Joseph,” the special servant of the good guy.
When this man, Joseph Smith, was 14, Heavenly Father and the good guy himself appeared to him and ushered in the final climactic scene. They chose one of the weakest things of the world, a poor, uneducated, simple boy, to overcome the wisdom of the world. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Isn’t it exactly like a very good, inspiring movie?
Joseph Smith had nothing on his side – no wealth, no education, no position in society. Most people hated him as soon as he told the truth about the heavenly visit. But Joseph Smith had something the world did not; he had the power of God. He was given the priesthood, the same power that Abraham, Enoch and Moses had and the same power that Jesus Christ had. And the good guy through his power revealed to Joseph Smith the Book of Mormon and other scriptural revelations.
Isn’t the Bible enough? No, because it was not the entire script. Important parts of the story were missing or had been changed. And the Book of Mormon is important as a sign that what Joseph Smith said is true. How else did the book get written? Why are 11 witnesses willing to attest to it right there are the beginning of the book? Why is it that the people who read this book get a special feeling in their hearts that they know it is true?
Of course, the church that Joseph Smith started is growing and spreading throughout the world. It has the power of God behind it, after all. Its missionaries have the same power that Joseph Smith had. They are Jedi Knights filled with “the Force.” But their weapons are not light sabers. Their weapons are humility, long-suffering and faith – the same weapons that the good guy and his servant, Joseph Smith, had.
So, when does the climax come of Act 3 come? We know it is soon. We know that there is a big battle coming – the attack on the Death Star, if you will. We know that our faith will be challenged. But if we are loyal to God’s commandments we can win in the end. And then a magnificent scene of triumph for God’s people will be ushered in. There will be wonderful weddings and majestic gatherings and reunions with our friends and family. We will have complete joy. If we are very good, we will be able to be with our hero, Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father again. It is the happiest movie ending ever made.
So, why is this like a movie? Movies can only be popular and successful if they express our most heartfelt feelings. And why are these our most heartfelt feelings? Because this is our story. This is the story we were all told in the pre-existence. We are living it. We are anxious that there be a happy ending.
And it can only have a happy ending if we do the will of the one who created us and sent us here, the good guy, the Alpha and Omega, the counselor and prince of peace, Jesus Christ, our hero.
Geoffrey Biddulph is the author of a new novel called “Island of the Innocent,” an adventure story that describes one man’s conversion to the fullness of the gospel. More information can be found here.
