Tag Archives: Creation

Day 69: Humility and Giving Credit

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3 Nephi 9:15-22; 11:11; 13:25-29

I need to toot my own horn for a minute (with a purpose). Today I feel pretty proud of all I accomplished. I got my kids dressed and fed, I cleaned up messes off and on throughout the day; I unpacked no less than five boxes and continued working on setting up four different rooms; I made cookies with my kids, cared for a sick child, tailored a dress (that I made eight years ago) to wear to my husband’s work party, and repaired two other items of clothing; I made dinner, got the kids to bed on time, and helped my husband mount our television on a wall. Did I mention I also vacuumed the family room and flattened 10 empty boxes? I would give myself a big old pat on the back and spend some time savoring my accomplishments, but I’m trying to heed a warning given in The Book of Mormon.

In 2 Nephi 12:8, the prophet writing at the time quotes Isaiah’s prophecy of the last days, that people will “worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.” I am definitely guilty of this! I love making things, whether it’s clothing, crafts, home renovations, you name it, I love my creations, sometimes to an absurd degree. After reading the prophecy in 2 Nephi 12, I have really tried to cut back on my creative pride. Not that it’s inherently wrong to enjoy the fruits of one’s labors, but when we let pride in our own accomplishments obscure the most important creations and diminish our gratitude for their source, then we run into problems.

I found new meaning in the 2 Nephi prophecy and my own attempts to heed the warning as I read 3 Nephi 9, 11, and beyond. These chapters record true miracles of creation, sacrifice, and love that should take center stage at all times. In 3 Nephi 9:15, the resurrected Jesus Christ speaks to the Nephites and Lamanites from heaven, proclaiming His divinity and role as Creator. He is “the light and life of the world” (v. 18), he has “come unto the world to bring redemption…, to save the world from sin” (v. 21), he has “laid down [His] life, and [has] taken it up again” (v. 22). When I consider what Jesus Christ has done for mankind, for me, for my children and husband, I am humbled. The “works of my own hands” pale in comparison to the miracles of repentance and mercy made possible through the Atonement and Resurrection.

When I let pride in my temporal creations become an obsession, I neglect the true miracles of creation manifest in my children, in the beauties of the earth around me (3 Nephi 13:25-29), in my very existence, and in the promise of eternal life offered as a gift of love by the Savior Jesus Christ. These I will try to cherish more completely instead.

Day 42: On the Merits of Christ

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Alma 22:14

Having trained in the Humanities, I value the creative genius that brings music, visual art, and performance art to the world. I find so much of worth in these creations, because, so often, they point me to God. I have felt my mind quicken and my spirit resonate with art, music, and literature as I discover something good, true, and beautiful. These qualities speak to the source of creative genius, even the Creator of all.

But when the arts become exercises in ego or explorations of evil practices for the sake of curiosity or titillation, they lose any elevating connection to God and we are reminded that “since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself” (Alma 22:14). So much of what we do on earth only has lasting meaning if it points to God and includes Him in the process. Think how very different an average day might be if you began that day with a prayer asking God to help you work on improving a bad behavior, to give you an opportunity to help someone in need, and to watch over a particular family member. How would dedicating your day to these specific purposes change your thoughts, your actions, how you looked at other people throughout the day, and more? What we do on earth takes on its greatest meaning and significance when we make God part of the details.

Jesus Christ adds value and purpose to our lives through His Atonement. Despite human ability to create marvelous works of art, innovation, and mechanical brilliance we cannot merit anything of ourselves in an eternal sense. Only “the sufferings and death of Christ atone for [our] sins, though faith and repentance” (Alma 22:14). We cannot save ourselves but Christ can. He suffered, bled, and died for us all so that we could have the opportunity to repent and gain eternal life. “[H]e breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory”––He provided the gift of Resurrection to all “that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory…” (Ibid.)