Circumscribed Truth

from a Segullah essay

"...I happened to sit next to a gentleman who had done his PhD work in sacred geometry. He kindly allowed me to look over his shoulder as he worked, methodically drawing a series of hash marks, curves, and straight lines. He used the ruler only to draw lines, not to measure. The distances were all determined by the compass—setting the point at one intersection and then moving it to the next. The form generated its own continuation, the proportions determined by relationship.

As I watched him work, the temple phrase “all truth can be circumscribed into one great whole” came to mind. It occurred to me that I may not fully understand what “circumscribe” means, so I looked it up after I got home. The third entry read: “to construct or be constructed around (a geometrical figure) so as to touch as many points as possible.”

In the past when I’ve envisioned that phrase, I saw in my mind a single circumscribing circle–curiously empty, as though the boundary somehow superceded the content or simplified the “great whole” into blank uniformity. But after watching this man and reading the definition, I’ve been thinking about all the points of truth that will be embedded in that circle: the truth of physics, of light; the truth of stars, planets, motion, space-time. The truth of biology—creation, evolution, life, disease, healing. Chemical truth, mathematical truth, musical truth, literary truth. Truth spun from the roving of every book ever written, as well as the myriad never committed to ink. Truth silenced in the hearts of those afraid to articulate it. The truth of what it is to suffer, of what it means to be alone. The truth of doubt. The truth of anger and desperation. Even, if you will, the truth of deceit, of knowing what it is to be false.

Added to this, the truth of prayer, of forgiveness. The raw joy and heartbreak of love. The truth of tears when you don’t know why you are crying, and the truth of tears when you do. The unspeakable truths of grace and compassion and cleansing.

Truth in all its possible forms of ugliness and beauty will be intersected by and included in the eternal round of God, filling the circle with infinite, intricate complexity. The truth of my own darkness and light weave together in a pattern that creates a personal sacred geometry–hash marks of thought, lines of action, curves of intent, colors of feeling. Distance, relationship, connection."

President Uchtdorf

One Thing Needful

Must read talk by Patricia R. Holland

Obviously the Lord has created us with different personalities, as well as differing degrees of energy, interest, health, talent, and opportunity. So long as we are committed to righteousness and living a life of faithful devotion, we should celebrate these divine differences, knowing they are a gift from God. We must not feel so frightened, so threatened and insecure; we must not need to find exact replicas of ourselves in order to feel validated as women of worth. There are many things over which we can be divided, but one thing is needful for our unity—the empathy and compassion of the living Son of God.

I believe we can find our steady footing and stilling of the soul by turning away from physical preoccupations, superwoman accomplishments, and endless popularity contests, and returning instead to the wholeness of our soul, that unity in our very being that balances the demanding and inevitable diversity of life.

We must have the courage to be imperfect while striving for perfection. We must not allow our own guilt, the feminist books, the talk-show hosts, or the whole media culture to sell us a bill of goods—or rather a bill of no goods. We can become so sidetracked in our compulsive search for identity and self-esteem that we really believe it can be found in having perfect figures or academic degrees or professional status or even absolute motherly success. Yet, in so searching externally, we can be torn from our true internal, eternal selves. We often worry so much about pleasing and performing for others that we lose our uniqueness—that full and relaxed acceptance of one’s self as a person of worth and individuality. We become so frightened and insecure that we cannot be generous toward the diversity and individuality, and yes, problems, of our neighbors.

We are aware of our hunger and needs, but still ignorant of what will satisfy them. With our garnered free time, we are more apt to drain our creative springs than to refill them. With our pitchers [in hand] we attempt … to water a field, [instead of] a garden. We throw ourselves indiscriminately into the committees and causes. Not knowing how to feed the spirit, we try to muffle its demands in distractions. Instead of stilling the center, the axis of the wheel, we add more centrifugal activities to our lives—which tend to throw us [yet more] off balance.

We are women now, not children, and we are expected to pray with maturity. The words most often used to describe urgent, prayerful labor are wrestle, plead, cry, and hunger. In some sense, prayer may be the hardest work we ever will engage in, and perhaps it should be.

Meeting God in scripture has been like a divine intravenous feeding for me

We have all recognized the relationship between Abraham and Isaac that so parallels God’s anguish over the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ. But, as women, do we stretch ourselves and also ask about Sarah’s travail in this experience as well? We need to search in this manner, and we need always to look for deeper meaning. We should look for parallels and symbols. We should look for themes and motifs such as those we would find in a Bach or a Mozart composition, and we should look for repeated patterns.

Spirit

"The inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit can be overcome or masked by strong emotions, such as anger, hate, passion, fear, or pride. When such influences are present, it is like trying to savor the delicate flavor of a grape while eating a jalapeño pepper. Both flavors are present, but one completely overpowers the other. In like manner, strong emotions overcome the delicate promptings of the Holy Spirit." Elder Scott

Lift

"In order to get an airplane off the ground, you must create lift.  In aerodynamics, lift happens when air passes over the wings of the airplane in such a way that the pressure underneath the wing is greater than the pressure above the wing.  When the upward lift exceeds the downward pull of gravity, the plane rises from the ground and achieves flight. 

In a similar way, we can create lift in our spiritual life.  When the force that is pushing us heavenward is greater than the temptations and distress that drag us downward, we can ascend and soar into the realm of the Spirit. 

Prayer is a heavenly gift designed too help us achieve spiritual lift."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Creating and Being Compassionate

"Heavenly Father is able to accomplish these two great goals—the immortality and eternal life of man—because He is a God of creation and compassion. Creating and being compassionate are two objectives that contribute to our Heavenly Father’s perfect happiness. Creating and being compassionate are two activities that we as His spirit children can and should emulate."

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

For a long time, I have struggled with the idea of "fulfillment."  How does one feel appropriately satiated with what she is doing in life?  I especially worry about becoming and mom and what that will look like in the midst of the search to feel like a complete, productive woman.  Admittedly, feminist texts from the 60's convinced me that one has to be both in the home as well as out in society, ideally the work force, to feel whole.  But when I heard President Uchtdorf's talk about the need to create it was one of those experiences where someone puts words to a hundred things you have been trying to express for so long.  We need to create in order to feel happy.  Creation is that inherent connection to fulfillment.  To some this translates into work, but I believe now that one who is creating a safe and beautiful space for a family to grow can also be fulfilled to the same degree.  To create and be compassionate is to be like God.  To be like God is to be happy and fulfilled. 

http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,285-1-54-31,00.html