"And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;
And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them."
Ether 12:23-24
I love the idea here that God can grant us power in speaking and in writing, through the Holy Ghost. I feel like I have heard talks, read words, sung songs or listened to music, and even seen artwork that was somehow infused with the spirit, carrying the message or idea or emotion out to whoever was open and in tune. 2 Nephi 33:1 talks about this idea as well, telling us that "when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." Nephi said that he was better at speaking than writing in that regard, which is probably a little strange to us because we are all familiar with his writing.
I think the scriptures themselves are writing like that. Not just the black and white message, but the spirit-infused words, waiting for our hearts and minds to be open enough to feel as well as read ... to get the many-layered communication that God is sending us. I am not sure that we typically get to the point where we are overpowered from reading the words--the scriptures that we have are probably adapted to not blow our minds quite so much all at once, but it does make me super interested in what the Brother of Jared had to say.
I also wonder how far this idea goes. God is the creator. Surely he infused everything that he created with the spirit, which, if it is the same idea, is what gives life to everything just as it brings to life his words as we speak or read or sing them, or as we see/watch depictions of his life or his message. The Earth itself speaks in one of Enoch's visions (Moses 7:48), calling God her creator. If the Earth is alive on some level, then maybe everything is... and maybe learning to become like God includes learning this whole idea of how to infuse the spirit into our messages and our own creations. Perhaps a baby step, but a step nevertheless. :)
Today, let's work on our connection to the Spirit, and work on including that spirit in all that we do... speaking, writing, singing, painting, composing, sewing, building... let's find ways to include God and infuse his spirit into all that we do, making things that are worthy of the spirit, better and stronger and closer to fulfilling the "measure of [their] creation" (D&C 88:20). I think the whole idea of infusing the spirit into the things around us gives us the same general motivation as when we are already asked to infuse the spirit into our own lives, praying and reading and staying connected in that way. It helps us to be better people, and it can also help us to make everything around us better... our communications, the things that we work on, and even the things that we do for fun. As we move the spirit into everything that we are and everything that we create, we will be walking the Savior's path more closely, improving everything we touch, and every person that we talk to.
And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them."
Ether 12:23-24
I love the idea here that God can grant us power in speaking and in writing, through the Holy Ghost. I feel like I have heard talks, read words, sung songs or listened to music, and even seen artwork that was somehow infused with the spirit, carrying the message or idea or emotion out to whoever was open and in tune. 2 Nephi 33:1 talks about this idea as well, telling us that "when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." Nephi said that he was better at speaking than writing in that regard, which is probably a little strange to us because we are all familiar with his writing.
I think the scriptures themselves are writing like that. Not just the black and white message, but the spirit-infused words, waiting for our hearts and minds to be open enough to feel as well as read ... to get the many-layered communication that God is sending us. I am not sure that we typically get to the point where we are overpowered from reading the words--the scriptures that we have are probably adapted to not blow our minds quite so much all at once, but it does make me super interested in what the Brother of Jared had to say.
I also wonder how far this idea goes. God is the creator. Surely he infused everything that he created with the spirit, which, if it is the same idea, is what gives life to everything just as it brings to life his words as we speak or read or sing them, or as we see/watch depictions of his life or his message. The Earth itself speaks in one of Enoch's visions (Moses 7:48), calling God her creator. If the Earth is alive on some level, then maybe everything is... and maybe learning to become like God includes learning this whole idea of how to infuse the spirit into our messages and our own creations. Perhaps a baby step, but a step nevertheless. :)
Today, let's work on our connection to the Spirit, and work on including that spirit in all that we do... speaking, writing, singing, painting, composing, sewing, building... let's find ways to include God and infuse his spirit into all that we do, making things that are worthy of the spirit, better and stronger and closer to fulfilling the "measure of [their] creation" (D&C 88:20). I think the whole idea of infusing the spirit into the things around us gives us the same general motivation as when we are already asked to infuse the spirit into our own lives, praying and reading and staying connected in that way. It helps us to be better people, and it can also help us to make everything around us better... our communications, the things that we work on, and even the things that we do for fun. As we move the spirit into everything that we are and everything that we create, we will be walking the Savior's path more closely, improving everything we touch, and every person that we talk to.
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