Of Beauty

A treatise on words and creation.

The words we use convey meaning. Sometimes this meaning is powerful and deep. Other times this meaning hurts and is painful. The meanings may fill us with joy. Still, other times it fills us with dread. How? How can words have such powerful meaning? How do words start and end wars? How do words make or break relationships? How does someone not saying a particular phrase bring peace or pain?

Why do we share words with each other? Is it not, in it’s essence, for connection? Words help us understand each other. They propound to others that which is internal and unseeable, unknowable in any other way. Words are one of the highest expressions because they allow me to convey my brightest or most noble thoughts, my base and shameful feelings, my fears and triumphs, my sorrows and my joys; words allow me to take all of these abstract things which do not exist in reality and carry them forth into a moment and make them known to all who hear me. Words, in perfection, allow sharing of the most intimate parts of ourselves: the parts which are unknown but by our words.

In the Bible we read that the very beginning was “the word.” All which is and ever will be has come about by words. The greatest form of creation man practices each day without even thinking twice about it is the use of words. Is it any wonder then, that James (who is purported to be the brother of Jesus Christ in mortality) spent nearly half of his words speaking to us about the use of our tongue? Perhaps James understood better than most, the power of words and that for which they are truly meant.

When I say a certain word, I express the word in context and meaning as I understand it. If I am to share that word with another, I gamble. I gamble that they will, at the very least, hear my word which I am sharing with them. The gamble continues as I assume the one who hears my word will also understand my word in the context in which I use it. And further still, I gamble that this one will take my word at my meaning and not change the meaning according to his or her own understanding. By my word, I make myself known. By my hearing, others are known to me.

Except my understanding of their words is almost never the meaning they intended. When I use the word “large,” it is quite subjective. My large can be small to someone and can be gigantic to another. But if I only say large and do not qualify with more definition, I am most certain to be misunderstood. When you read that word, something came to your mind. Perhaps you thought of fruit, as I did, because I have two peaches in front of me at this moment and one is quite large compared to the other. 

Suddenly, with that context, your thoughts have shifted. You can imagine two peaches. Even though you do not see what I am currently seeing, you can imagine what I am seeing with every word I share. The more I share, the more you will see.

I can tell you those peaches are sitting on my table, on top of a yellow kitchen towel that is new. I just bought the towel a week ago and it’s color is bright but soft. 

The more detail I give, the more full the picture becomes. I could describe the color and texture of the towel, the shape of my table, the color of the table, the design and coloring of the peaches, the smells of the room, the other items on my table…on and on. The more details I give you, the more you can see what I am seeing - even though you have never seen this particular view.

This is one of the most powerful properties of words…they give us the ability to go with another, into their world, and to see through their eyes. The more we know the definitions of words, the more we understand one another.

But what if I had, instead, been speaking of how large the cloud is outside? Or what if I had been thinking about body shapes? Or what if I was thinking about the car I drive? Or a million other things. The word “large” is subjective to the context. If I’m speaking of a car, suddenly that large peach is very small. 

So. Knowing all of these things are true, why are we so impatient in our communication? We bustle about, getting snippets of words and often not even full words anymore. In the name of efficiency, we have abbreviated communication until true words are almost difficult to understand. Someone who has grown up in the age of mobile phones and texting has difficulty sitting and reading the thoughts of Aristotle. And, I wager, Aristotle would scratch his head at a few texts I’ve received in my lifetime. 

The definitions of my words are essential to be understood if my thoughts and feelings are to be made known. And while we all agree that large means bigger than something that is smaller, it does not at all give us the context for truly understanding what is being discussed. 

I once had two friends who were about to be married to each other. They were sharing with me their plans for a “small family get-together” before the wedding. I immediately saw the “gotcha” in their plan. He came from what, in my mind, was a very small family - only three children. She came from a much larger, blended family. I listened to the word “small” and instantly knew a fire would need to be put out. I asked him how many people he was thinking would be at this “small” family brunch. He replied that he supposed there would be about 25-30 people. 

Immediately his fiancé said, “What?! That won’t even include all of our immediate family!” He asked her how many she was thinking would be there and her response of “Closer to 80-100 people” sent him into the same upset state. Do you see that even their margins were vastly different - his margin was plus or minus five while her margin was plus or minus twenty. Vastly different.

And they both saw the gotcha. They had assumed they meant the same thing as they discussed their plans over the last month. Yet neither had thought about the different backgrounds from which they came and the most certainly different definitions they would hold for every word which they assumed would be common.

We spend our lives interacting and talking. We are hurt or offended because someone uses a particular word. We decide truth based on our understanding of someone’s word. We then preach that “truth” according to our own understanding.

Yet, in all of this, the human race still somehow manages to survive and grow and progress.

Words are the initial power of creation. Until words are spoken, everything remains internal and thus impotent. Words bring to life that which is created within my being. By them, when used properly, you and I can create a harmony and direction and growth which is impossible in any other way. 

Isaiah 55:10-11 reads:

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

What power is conveyed here! We are being taught the power of words in these two short verses. That which we send out will return unto us. The words we use will, must, return unto us for they are our own creation. And they will always return bearing the fruit of the intent from which they were created.

Oh, then, how powerful and how important are the words we choose. Especially those words used in moments of great emotion, for then our powers of creation are in their heightened state. Whether it is an emotion of joy or pain, one which brings darkness or light, what we speak in those moments will be full of the power of the latent divinity within each of us.

To truly understand words, we must understand creation. And to understand creation, we must understand words. The beautiful paradox which ever is and ever will be within each creation will, when you can see it for what it is, turn your heart and mind around and around in each other in exquisite joy and enlightenment as the depth and meaning of these truths open your understanding.

The process of creation of all things is taught to us in the story of the earth’s creation. It is the blueprint for all creation, in all spheres, and in all realms of all existence.

First there is matter, unorganized. We take this portion of matter which is unorganized and form it into a world. In words and thoughts, it is the same as it is in action and deeds.

I have thoughts or feelings swirling around in my head. Either by myself or with another, out loud, in my head, or in writing, I organize my thoughts. I bring them into a world, a creation, which is rudimentary in its beginning. It is formed. There is nothing fleshed out, there are no details to yet observe. It is my rough draft of this feeling or thought or idea. 

After observing what bits of “matter” belong in this creation and what do not, then we move on to the division of the matter.

Always and forever, whenever there is creation, it is the whole creation first. We have, within the elements of matter, all which is necessary to create a self-sustaining world. So we first do the big division. We divide the water from the land. We give them names.

Words. Again.

We call the land one thing and the water another. In this case, that which is solid would be creation…words and speaking will create. It is. That which is fluid are the words used to create. Creation is our earth. Words are our water.

Then we divide the light from the darkness and we call the light day and the darkness night. In other words, we discover what is truth and what is not. We begin to discern between that which is tradition and that which is doctrine concerning this particular thing. The tradition (darkness) on land or on water, makes the details hazy and hard to see…and we discover the purpose of tradition: to make clear that which is doctrine. The light (doctrine) illuminates all things. That which is already light becomes more defined and clear. That which was in shadow is brought to light and is more understood and can be brought into harmony with the doctrine.

Do you see how this blue print goes? And it works for all things. All creations. Whatever it is you desire to create in your life, this blueprint is the eternal means set forth as a path for lasting and eternal creation.

After there is light and darkness, we are then able to plant seeds. These seeds are the many ideas which come forth from the one original idea. They will all grow up and each will bear fruit in its kind, showing what that particular doctrine (light) does with that particular seed (theorized truth). As we continue this process of observation, the light and the darkness let us fully see and understand that thing which is in theory but not yet in practice. The darkness shows us the full side which can be used to bring men into tradition and bondage. The light shows us the full side which can be used to bring men into doctrine and freedom.

Learning, with each new vegetation growth (each new theory put to the test), we begin to create a fruitful and self-sustaining garden which is capable of proliferating: adding truth upon truth until it is dense and rich and full.

Then we put that theory into practice, we introduce the animals, and we see if it still holds up. Will the animals overrun this “garden” and kill it? Is there enough vegetation to sustain the life put upon it? If the theory of doctrine holds up in the practice, we can see that this particular doctrine has eternal roots. Then we can introduce more and more life - meaning we can apply this doctrine liberally throughout our lives and it will only bless and enhance and strengthen that area to which we have applied it. 

When we reach the point of mastering a doctrine, just before sentient beings are introduced, we see that this whole creation is glorious and beautiful. We see it, in the intricate web and structure. We know it in broad strokes and in refined detail. We see it all and we marvel and wonder in the creation…so much so that we would never desire to unravel the design.

And then at last, sentient beings are introduced to our garden. We take the doctrine we have mastered and may manipulate and use it according to our will, for we have obtained it and it is ours. When we have complete knowledge and understanding of a doctrine, which results in wisdom, we can use it according to our will - for with that wisdom comes the self-restraint to use that doctrine properly and not wantonly or destructively. 

So it is with words and creation. When we understand what our words mean and what the words of another mean, we are brought into communion with one another. Our creation, day after day, takes a more tangible form in our reputation. Our words go before us and tell others who we are. Our words tell our heart. The words we share which lack meaning share our fear of being known. The words we share which are full of meaning show our trust in another and our desire to connect.

When I take the time to know your definitions, I am saying to you that I desire to know you and who you are…not your outward, safe, parts which are easily shared, but that which is hidden and raw and under layers of cover. When I take the time to share with you my definitions, I say to you that I want to be seen and known, it expresses the trust I give to you and the depth of feeling I have for you. 

Sharing our words with each other, our true and innermost words, is saying to the other “You are glorious and beautiful: reveal yourself to me.” It is to admire the other in all the splendor for which we were created. It is to look into the soul of my fellow and find my own soul staring back at me. For when I know you, I also know me. And yet, I cannot know you if I do not know me. The beauty of the division which creates the paradox is the most intoxicating of all.

It is the division of the whole and breaking it down into pieces that makes it become more than it ever was. It is the paradox of the broken within the whole which creates the stunning beauty. 

This is the blueprint for progression laid out before us. 

We create the whole that we may dissect it into pieces that we might see the connections which make the whole. 

Beauty is the paradox. And in the paradox, we find the definition of beauty: beauty is this connective tissue which holds together all of creation.

I create the whole, by the power of my word. I then can direct the discovery of that whole in all the power and truth it holds. I come to know every crevice, every mountain top, every blade of grass, every stream, every fish, every insect, every bird, every beast, every living thing, every inanimate object that is within the scope of my creation which I have spoken into existence. I come to know it by interacting in life and practicing what words grow and what words diminish. I learn by understanding which words will harm and which words will heal. I see by gaining the insight into each expression and the intent and motive behind that expression before it comes out of me.The whole is dissected, word by word, letter by letter, meaning by meaning. Until I see the smallest particle in the creation of it all. And in that moment, when I see that most insignificant when by itself particle, my mind is blown by the powerful connectivity of it all and I gaze in wonder at the beauty before me. 

Words do this. Words help us know things as they really are, as they really have been, and as they really will be. They shape and inform our every moment. When we cannot express our innermost feelings and thoughts, we feel alone. What majestic beauty, then, is the power of a word. For by it, I bring into conscious, cognitive understanding the connection which exists between the particles in all of creation. 

What is beauty? It is the connective tissue which holds together all of creation. It is the sinews and the binding. It is the powerful existence which lives in every particle and is mirrored in every universe. From the microcosm to the grand scale beyond the comprehension or even imagination of man, beauty is the connection which binds it all. 

Beauty opens our eyes that we might see. When we see something that is beautiful, our bodies have a natural reaction; our pupils dilate that we may take in more light to see it more clearly. 

That we may take in more light. That we may see more clearly. Here is the fundamental function of beauty. Beauty exists that we might grow and increase in light. Beauty exists to help us progress and grow. Beauty is that we might become the sons and daughters of God in flesh and not just in spirit.

When something is beautiful, it calls to us: it stills us. Beauty creates peace when we are able to admire it in the natural form. A beautiful landscape will settle the most anxious heart. A beautiful painting can bring moments of stillness to the busiest life. A beautiful person will inspire us to become more beautiful ourselves. A beautiful heart ennobles all who witness that heart in truth. We crave beauty because it is an eternal truth. With beauty comes greater light. With greater light comes greater truth. With greater truth comes greater humility. With greater humility comes greater joy. If we are that we might have joy, then understanding beauty and what it truly is will be an essential step on that path.

Beauty is not anything I have found in the creations of man in media. There is nothing beautiful about the most sacred creation (the human body) being on display. Mass media has taken the divine and made it crass and vulgar and ugly. It has take that which was meant to ennoble and degraded it into something we should be ashamed to see before our Maker. Over the last 100 years, beauty has become the commodity through which all monies are exchanged.

We have begun to only understand and see beauty in the world's way. This is the warning from Isaiah in chapter 3. He gives a long list of things that will happen in the last days, things that will feel hard to the "daughters of Zion" because we have pursued worldly beauty and forgotten what eternal beauty looks like or how to obtain it. We have sought beauty in the shallow way we have begun to understand it and the truths of beauty have been hidden from us. That is not to say that beauty is an exclusively feminine trait, because it is not. It is, however, innately given to the feminine species.

There are always those who are base and some who are evil who will take that which is beautiful and try to claim it and take it away from those who have it. There are those who will molest and hurt and make afraid. There are those who will harm in their great desires to own that which, through their own darkness, they have lost. We seek the light, we crave the light, and if we do not understand then we try to surround ourselves with those who are light. For some, that is not enough and they seek to take the light, as if they could bring it into themselves by their hideous acts.

Yet the light is there. Beauty is there. It will always come forth. It must, for it exists in every connective particle. It is the center of every intelligence, it is the light which shines forth from those intelligences to create. This is why, when Nephi sees the vision his father saw, he says about the tree, “the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty…” (1 Nephi 11:8 in part). We know that this tree represents the Love of God. The Love of God is the very force which holds all particles in existence together.

When a person has even a portion of the Love of God within them, they become beautiful, for they take in more light and reflect that light out again. The more they are filled with that love, the more beautiful they become. When one is filled with the Love of God, there is a beauty which is indescribable and eternal. It is a beauty which exceeds all the worldly views and definitions. It is brilliant. It is ecstasy. It brings one into that place where all that is desired is light and good and true.

Anything I create, I imbue with my heart and my soul. Whether it is words, or art, or interactions, or any other thing I am capable of creating. That which I create takes on the essence of me, it carries forth into the world my being in some form or another. Those who see my creations or interact with my creations or hear my creations, begin to know me and who I am. 

When I own a piece of furniture, the story behind it is part of the life it takes on. It becomes part of me and part of my beauty as I fill it with meaning from the history we have together. My clothing. My hairbrush. My bedsheets. My curtains. My couch. My shoes. My toothbrush. My tea cup. My kettle. My plates. My books. My art. All things which I claim become imbued with my heart and become part of my creations. Each article telling a part of me and who I am. 

Most of all, my body. My body, in every tissue, in every cell, in every particle, holds all that I am and feel and think and do. My body gives resonance to beauty in a very real way. My body will naturally be the shape which is most conducive to the truth I am holding. When we work hard, sometimes we can get our bodies to outwardly express what is not true inwardly. 

This is why we are always attracted to those whose bodies seem to look fit and healthy. It is not the health that makes them beautiful. It is the inner light which comes with that level of living that would cause the body to be that way naturally. When a body takes on that look by deceptive means - or only by diet and exercise and not by becoming that internal creation - it leads to great confusion and struggle. When we desire greater light in our lives, we look to those who are beautiful - it is a natural turning because we seek that which creates beauty. 

As I become filled with the Love of God, all that is not part of that level of existence sheds off. All that is part of that level of existence comes on. And we are brought into complete balance. 

Here we gain more understanding then on what I meant at the beginning when I spoke of the power of words to create. When I speak, my body obeys me, for I am it’s creator the moment my spirit enters into this tabernacle until I depart from it. I am not The Creator…do not misunderstand my meaning. I have been given permission from The Creator to be my body’s creator. As you have been given for your body. It is my first stewardship. Each word I speak, my body seeks to obey - the more I feel, the more fully my body obeys. Words with emotion and feeling and meaning behind them are powerful enough to make my body create things which would seem impossible. Words are, truly, a most powerful tool in creation.

As we are full circle again to the beginning, I hope my thoughts are being made clear. 

The end of it all is this: I participate in your creations, that you might experience beauty. You participate in my creations that I might experience beauty. 

As my highest self I create, I speak, I connect, I share, that I might know beauty - or the Love of God. In knowing beauty, I gain a higher knowledge of truth. Truth is expressed by the Love of God, by Beauty. When I obtain truth, I obtain the Love of God in that realm and sphere; I obtain Beauty.