Being Creative through Christ

God gave us all the potential to create. With the power of creativity, we can light up the world.

I am an artist, and I love to draw. Usually, I draw as a pastime for personal enjoyment, but sometimes I draw for other people because I like establishing friendly relationships. When I draw for others, I want to satisfy the recipient as much as possible. It is truly rewarding when I get to see someone react positively to my work. To me, drawing for others feels like an act of service.

Christ is the one who gave me and the rest of us the power to create; creativity is one of his gifts. In his BYU devotional address “Centering the Arts in Christ,” Dr. K. Newell Dayley says, “As we participate together in Christ-centered artistic experiences, we will be increasingly bound together in singleness of purpose and a love for that which is good.” We can feel the light of Christ through our creative endeavors as we center ourselves on him. We can also spread that light to others. In doing so, we can feel ever more connected to Christ. By understanding the power that our creativity has, we can raise our confidence in creating. There is so much that we can do with our creativity!

One of my purposes in drawing is to fill others with light. Dr. Dayley wishes for us to “access…the power of Christ as we seek learning and edification through the arts.” I don’t want to stop drawing, because I know I can uplift people with my art. And by making others feel joy, I can fill God with joy because I am using the gift he gave me. All in all, drawing for others makes me happy in return. We should get out there and create and make the world more beautiful!

Read Dr. K. Newell Dayley’s full address “Center the Arts in Christ” to learn more about how creativity and God are related.

Source: BYU Speeches

—Taylor Lash, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY KAI OBERHAUSER

Find more insights

Take a look at Payton Pingree’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “Finding Inspiration through Art” for more creative insight.

Check out Daniel J. Fairbanks’s BYU devotional, “The Arts, the Sciences, and the Light of the Gospel,” to find out more about how creativity is related to the Church.