The creation of this world is both humbling and mind-blowing. In seven different “creative periods” the entire earth was created, ending with a day of rest.
As sons and daughters of God, we all have this creative gene within ourselves. Elder Uchtdorf has remarked...
“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. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty. You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.”
We can create every day.
In regards to the creation of the world, in Moses we learn that all things were created spiritually before they were created physically. Elder Bednar has stated...
“meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day—and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day. Just as the temporal creation was linked to and a continuation of the spiritual creation, so meaningful morning and evening prayers are linked to and are a continuation of each other.”
How often do we take this approach of the creation in our lives, creating everything spiritually before physically? Do we pray always to have our actions consecrated for our good (2 Nephi 32:9)?
One night in the temple I was pondering the creation and thought of a way to more literally implement it into our home to teach it to my kids. For one designated week, each day will correspond to a creative period, starting on Monday and ending on Sunday. To keep it simple, here are the days or “periods” of creation I am using for an outline to do our own “creation week” in case you want to do one for your home!
Day 1: organize a world
Day 2: land and sea formed
Day 3: night and day formed
Day 4: vegetation growing
Day 5: creation of animals
Day 6: created man
Day 7: rest from labors
Monday: get organized, this could include both physically cleaning your house and planning out the week
Tuesday: nature activity (go on a hike or make a treasure hunt up to find rocks, sticks, etc.)
Wednesday: learn about or look at the stars and moon, watch the sunrise or sunset, or make an effort to go to bed early and wake up early
Thursday: try a new food, think about starting a garden, or find a new recipe to make for dinner this night
Friday: learn about a new animal, visit an animal shelter, donate to an animal cause, or go to a zoo and appreciate the animals
Saturday: do a fun activity together as a family (get donuts, play a game, go bowling etc.)
Sunday: do what it takes to make Sunday restful, this could literally mean take a nap, or maybe it means eating cereal for Sunday dinner to avoid having the added stress of cooking, or establish a fun Sunday tradition to separate this day from the rest
Day to day we get to create our lives—we all have the same amount of time in a day and get to create out of our lives what we want. I know that as we keep Christ as the center of these daily choices, we will look back on our lives and be able to exclaim: “it was good.”
Jessica Dyer currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where her husband is pursuing a PhD in Accounting at UNC and is loving all of the great sunshine and basketball that Chapel Hill has to offer. She is a mom to two cute little kids and to one angel baby. She graduated from BYU in English Language and Editing but has had the opportunity right now to be at home with the kids and is loving all the crazy and fun that comes with that.
