The Joys and Glories of Creation (svithe)

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Last year in commemoration of Mormon Arts Sunday, we had speakers speak on creation one way. This year they spoke on creation/creators/creativity in another way.

God left the world unfinished for [us] to work [our] skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to [us] the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that [we] might know the joys and glories of creation.
Thomas S. Monson*

* The provenance has suddenly become less certain. Although I had a print version of Monson saying this decades ago, the God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. potion of this quotation is attributed online to both George MacDonald (but I can't find it in any of his books) and to someone named Dr. Alan Stockdale. Unfortunately, I can't find my original paper source for Monson, but I think it was also in the 1960s. For today's purposes, because when I assigned the topic I gave credit to Monson---and since it appears the fullness of it is his, I'm leaving the citation to him at present. Thanks to Speaker One for alerting me to the MacDonald information.

All the speakers were excited by the assignment, especially Speaker One who about jumped out of the pew when I handed him a card with the topic written on it.

In brief:

Speaker One:

Creativity brings up to the joys and glories of creativity.

Speaker Two:

Spoke of creation in other contexts such as family.

Speaker Three:

Happiest time of his life was building a house of scrap wood at age ten.

Now go forth and celebrate in your own ward in your own ways.

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