I am far from being perfect, I know that. But I have found that when I have humbled myself to the Lord’s will, and allowed myself to be but a vessel for him, that I am able to be more creative and have stronger ideas. Living the gospel makes me a better creator, in that I feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost and recognize the Lord’s hand in my work. As I was reading the interview with Jeff Parkin and Jared Cardon, I found it interesting to note that Jeff recognized the blessings that came to their project, “There was a lot of opposition, and then at the same time there were just all these blessings that would come. When we needed stuff it would just show up there—permission for the music, this space.” I’m not Jeff Parkin, but to me, this is evidence that Jeff is living a gospel centered life and is receiving divine help and inspiration in his work.
When I first realized that my future needed to lead to a career in the film industry, I felt conflicted. Many of my peers were going into the medical, engineering, and teaching fields. In class I was told countless times that the film industry does nothing to help others, and that my career choice would help no one and only lead me to the poor house. Even after hearing this, I knew that this career area was where I needed to be, but I still struggled with the idea that I was not helping humanity. Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talk "The Lord's Purpose for the Artist in the Gospel Plan" has helped me to see the importance of art and artists. In this talk Ballard said, “God's purpose for the artist is to inspire. To give us visions of ourselves that we might not otherwise see. To make us better than we would have been.” I know that making movies isn’t going to cure cancer or teach children arithmetic, but it can plant seeds of inspiration in the minds of people. As long as I stay gospel centered in my work, I know that I can work for the Lord and provide a way for people to find Christ.
I completely agree with the whole blessings part. I found it really inspiring from Jeff and Jared that they would share that with us in class....about dealing with opposition, but they were able to be provided with what they needed because they were doing something "good". It is good in the sense that they wanted to do a project that would not cause harm. I felt they had prayed about the project itself...just like with anything important like that that we all do. I know that if the Lord sees that we want something and is with good intent and that it might be for a greater good or purpose then he will give it to us. And that is what I saw with these two guys. So yeah, we all shouldn't be discouraged even though the road ahead will be tough, but the rewards will be great.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that film does not cure cancer. But here's the thing, if there is no quality of life what business do we have living? Art is a part of that. The Gospel is part of that. And you are right--the two things can be used in conjunction. My sister spends hours each week in a research lab studying advanced breast cancer cells. She is going to cure cancer. And we? We are going to help fill the world with reasons to live. Everyone has a role in this world that is significant and important.
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