This topic has been near and dear to my heart for many years now and has come to the front of my mind more often recently. Last night I got the chance to have dinner with some friends and we discussed the LDS church and the arts and our position in it as artists. The Lord has created and fostered in his children the desire and need to create and blesses our endeavors to do so. As the arts increase in availability throughout the world and as content continues to shift and change it's important to remember that art is one of the greatest tools for good in this world. The portrayal of evil is not the supporting or condoning of it. How can we appreciate the light if we do not know of darkness? As we create and participate in the arts of course we must check with ourselves and the Lord to know what we are to accept or reject, but it is my belief, experience, and testimony that certain feelings, realizations, motivations, and blessings can only be received through creation of and participation in the arts.
rant over.
Here are some things to read:
"Brigham Young guessed publicly that there was a lot more singing and dancing in heaven than in hell, and he saw no reason why the saints should imitate the hot place."
-Wallace Stegner's Mormon Country, page 18 of the 2003 paperback edition
"If placed upon a cannibal island with the charge of civilizing the inhabitants, I would construct a theatre." Brigham Young
"God's purpose for the artist is to inspire. To give us visions of ourselves that we might not otherwise see. To make us better than we would have been. The world is better for the arts and artists in it. Few earthly things bring joy more fully to the world than the arts."
The Lord's Purpose for the Artist in the Gospel Plan: Elder M. Russell Ballard, Tuacahn Mormon Arts Festival, 8 April 1995
rant over.
Here are some things to read:
"Brigham Young guessed publicly that there was a lot more singing and dancing in heaven than in hell, and he saw no reason why the saints should imitate the hot place."
-Wallace Stegner's Mormon Country, page 18 of the 2003 paperback edition
"If placed upon a cannibal island with the charge of civilizing the inhabitants, I would construct a theatre." Brigham Young
"God's purpose for the artist is to inspire. To give us visions of ourselves that we might not otherwise see. To make us better than we would have been. The world is better for the arts and artists in it. Few earthly things bring joy more fully to the world than the arts."
The Lord's Purpose for the Artist in the Gospel Plan: Elder M. Russell Ballard, Tuacahn Mormon Arts Festival, 8 April 1995
Shelbs. Have you read this talk?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/happiness-your-heritage?lang=eng&query=*+(name%3a%22Dieter+F.+Uchtdorf%22)
My favorite part...
"remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."