Spiritual Creation

In Moses 3:4-5 we read, “I, the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.”

It has been interesting for me to consider why the Lord wanted to include certain information about how the creation took place. Why, through His prophets, does He make so clear to us the method of creation—that all was created spiritually before it was created physically? Is it only to inspire top-notch activity planning committees to scrupulously plan each event? Is there a more personal, practical application?

The result of the creation was a planet, the aesthetic beauty of which the best minds of science, art, and literature can only begin to describe. Even greater than its beauty is its purpose and function: to provide all the necessities of life for the human family as we come to keep our second estate. It provides a place “whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:24-25).

Just like Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ are responsible for the creation of this world, we also are responsible for the creation of our own, personal world. Brigham Young said, “There is a great work for the Saints to do … Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ” (Deseret News, Aug. 8, 1860, 177). If our world, our life is to be beautiful, filled with joy, and a blessing to those around us it will not be by accident. We can sit around and do nothing with high hopes and expectations for what life will give us, falsely believing that our wonderful, beautiful life will just “happen” to us.

Jacob, in the Book of Mormon, teaches us that there are “things to act and things to be acted upon” (2 Nephi 2:14). Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles adds, “As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of agency—the capacity and power of independent action. Endowed with agency, we are agents, and we primarily are to act and not only to be acted upon” (Seek Learning by Faith, Ensign, Sep 2007).

It seems to me that the principle of spiritual creation extends beyond committees and activities and teaches us about our divine heritage. Our ability and desire to create comes from our spiritual genes. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second councilor in the First Presidency, said, “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 … Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things” (Happiness, Your Heritage, Ensign, Nov 2008).

What else does the principle of spiritual creation teach us? It teaches us that if we desire to have a world of beauty for ourselves we must study, plan, and prepare first. The man who wishes and feels it is his destiny to become a great doctor cannot expect that destiny to simply present itself to him amidst late nights, video games, and severe apathy towards structured education. There are steps that have to be taken in order to achieve such a prestigious life.

In a book by my former Stake President, David A. Christensen, he illustrates the value of spiritual creation with a story.

“Years ago, long before the unification of Germany and the democratization of the Soviet Union, many were puzzled at why the Soviet and East German athletes performed so much better in international competition than the USA, Japan, and other nations so focused on athleticism. Why did these two countries garner so many of the medals in the Olympic Games? Maybe we could understand Russia, but little tiny East Germany was a real mystery. We sought to blame it on “quasi professionalism” or steroids, or some deviant external benefits they had that others didn’t have. Then defectors from Soviet and East German teams began to give us some of the answers.

“The Soviet and East German athletes were being coached and taught via a method called “Autogenic Conditioning.” The majority of their practice time was not conducted on the playing field or floor mat. They were practicing mentally. They were rehearsing over and over again in the mind’s eye. Their actual practice was actually just an opportunity to exhibit what they had vividly rehearsed hundreds of times mentally. Once practiced and perfected in the mind, they physically completed the routine then mentally rehearsed the routine making finite corrections and improvements” (Inner Victory: Winning Strategies for Managing Life’s Transitions, David A. Christensen, Capacity Books, 1995, pp. 111-112).

Do you want a beautiful world? Is there an aspect of your life you would like to improve? Do you want something better for yourself or your loved ones? If we live our lives waiting for something good to come to us, eventually we will realize that in our waiting, life has indeed “happened” to us. Because of lessons taught to us by prophets of God, we can spiritually create the world we desire and the steps it will take to achieve it. Then we can create our beautiful world.