President Uchtdorf's Creation Conundrum
I've been kind of lazy about blogging lately. So here is something quick that I had intended to post on a while ago, but had forgotten about.
Last year at the October 2009 General Relief Society meeting, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a talk that included counsel to exercise individual creativity. That portion of the talk served as the basis for this brief Church video.
Here is an excerpt:
...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.
It struck me as odd that President Uchtdorf used spirit bodies as examples of masterpieces of creation. First, to say that most people have never seen a spirit body is--I think it's safe to say--an understatement. When I read those words all I can do is imagine that he's right. Why choose something that most people can't directly identify with?
But beyond that, the human (physical) body is often held up as an example of God's marvelous creations. (For examples, see here, here, and here.) Why didn't President Uchtdorf follow suit? Maybe he just wanted his example to correspond to his earlier use of the words "spirit daughters". Or maybe he was being sensitive to the body-conscious among his audience by using a more abstract and idealized example. But I can't help but wonder: Is it possible that he intentionally avoided a traditional example of natural theology? If so, why?


5 comments:
If I had to guess, I'd go with the "body conscious" answer.
I think he's trying to help us understand that we have the seeds of godliness in us, that we have HIS power of creation by divine inheritance within us. He's trying to help us tap into that creative power that comes directly from God.
I don't think he was avoiding anything, but trying to help us see that just because we can't paint or sing doesn't mean that we don't have amazing creative powers in some way that we can tap into and come closer to God and find more of our eternal identity.
I agree with m&m: it seems likely that he was going for an "eternal perspective."
The bigger question, in my mind, is how to square his "your spirit body is...created" with Joseph Smith's "God never had the power to create spirit."
BrianJ: That's Easy. Ask B. H. Roberts. Or read Moses.
Yes well, the devil is in the details.
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