I believe in Perfection

Yesterday I was watching the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and had some great feedback in some areas but found myself not pleased with some of the statements of the conference. There is one in particular that I would like to discuss here today and it deals with the word 'perfect'. So, let's begin this long journey together. 

The word perfect has two definitions according to my favorite definer: Google. Those two definitions are 1. having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be and 2. absolute; complete (used for emphasis). Read those once more and consider with me the 'imperfect' definition of perfection used so widely today. To explain this definition we need to look within the Christian religion. In Christianity we believe in the ability of continuous growth, that although we may falter and do wrong, we can become better. This includes forgiveness of sins, capabilities to develop more desirable attributes, and ultimately, to become more like the man we call Saviour. This ideology comes from biblical verses such as Isaiah 1:18, which reads 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool'. Then we move into the New Testament where Jesus commands us to 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect' (Matthew 5:48). And as we read these verses we have a strange predicament. We believe in a perfect God, one who does not make mistakes, and we are commanded to be perfect like unto Him. But we are, according to Christian tradition, a fallen people prone to sin and error thus making it impossible for us to truly be perfect in this mortal existence. Do you see perhaps where the flaws are coming in?

Now let's jump back into yesterday at General Conference before I give you my spiel on my own interpretations of the word perfect. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the Second Counselor in the LDS church, addressed the men of the church on the topic of marriage. (If your like me you are probably already thinking, "Oh great, everyone will talk marriage to me even more...) His talk was great, and he spoke of marriage so lovingly, but then he made a statement that just does not work for me. He mentioned the idea of single men waiting for the perfect woman and then stated that she does not exist. Following this remark he said, "If there were a perfect woman, do you really think she would be that interested in you?" My answer is a very strong and resonating 'YES!' I do believe in a perfect woman, and I do believe that a perfect woman can be and will be interested in me. Let's get onto my reasoning because y'all are starting to think I'm crazy and hopeless now. 

I served for two years as a missionary in Iceland (I promise I'm not just distracting you now!). I learned the Icelandic language and it changed my perspective on a lot of things, some more positive than others. One of those changes was my interpretation of the word perfect. In Icelandic the adjective perfect is fullkominn and the verb to be perfect is að fullkomna. This word is comprised of two parts, the word full and the verb að koma. The word full in compounds means completely or totally. The word að koma means, in this instance, to get there. So the words fullkominn and að fullkomna refer to a state where we have come to completeness, wholeness, or a sense of begin total. Go back to my definitions from my friend Google. Which definition does this sound like to you? To me this lines up completely with definition number 2, which according to that definition makes it perfect. 

Now back to ideology. For centuries the Christian world has distorted this word, perfect, to mean without flaws, sins, and mistakes. We have taken away the simplicity of a word that means complete, whole, total. Do you feel that you can say that you are complete? How about whole? Total? I think that I can confidently say that I feel that I am whole and complete, but not without error. I believe that most of us can actually state that we feel whole and complete, and I think we can all agree that we have a lot of improvements to make as well. But why should our flaws restrain us from being perfect in the sense of being whole? As Jesus worked miracles upon the earth He consistently referred to this process as being made 'whole'. In John 5:6 he asked the man at the pool "Wilt thou be made whole?" His role in our lives is to make us whole, complete, even perfect. God commands that we be sinless, yet He gives us time to become that person and He is not disappointed in our shortcomings. He watches us and accepts that we aren't there yet, but we are trying to be better. For heaven's sake every year in America the nation sets New Year's Resolution to try to be better! But I don't think it is wise or appropriate to let that keep us from being whole. 

So, now that I've rambled on, yes, I do believe in a perfect woman for me. And yes, I do believe that that perfect woman will be interested in me, not as an imperfect project but rather as a perfect man. And together we will be perfect, whole, complete, and total. Will we have flaws? Of course. But we will be whole. 

Haven

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything! And a lot has happened, but I'm not gonna bore you with all the up's and down's of my life. No, not this time. This time I want to talk about one special occasion that has happened in the past few months. And I know many of you will be thrilled that I am finally getting this done. So, are you ready? 

I was in a group art show at BYU! That's right. For two weeks I was able to display my art for other's to see. It's about time, eh? I like to think so. Anyway, I promised to post pictures to some friends and family and I guess I should probably keep up on that promise. Along with that promise I will do my best to explain what I'm trying to accomplish with my pieces. But first, a picture of the show! (I apologize for the glares on the images, these were taken on my phone...)

These are the four pieces that I had in our group show, Haven. Our theme revolved around the idea of finding a haven in our daily circumstances. Now I know, leaves aren't exactly the first thing you think of when you think of a haven. But trust me, there was reason behind my desire to paint leaves besides my general obsession with leaves. Let me explain it to you.



 Our explanation begins within me. I have a lot of issues, at least I like to think I do but I'm probably not that bad off. Anyway, I've never really felt like I fit into any "clique" and I have already explained how I don't fit into stereotypes. So I've always felt like a bit of a loner, but that doesn't really bother me too much. I feel as though it's expected that people fit within a clique and I just don't. I like to think that I am just as strong on my own as I am with other people. Now let's check out how this ties into the art.












Each piece within this series of work displays a minimum of three leaves. If you'll notice though, none of the leaves are actually connected. They may interact with other leaves, one overlapping the other and the other ducking behind, but they are not truly connected together. This is easy to see in the first painting with the little berry. (Don't ask what kind it is, I have no idea. Just took a picture of a plant with berries...) I wanted the leaves to be strong and finished, but I also wanted them to be isolated like how I feel. Like I said though, I don't want that to sound bad, hence why the leaves are painted in full detail.







The leaves are painted onto a background with a single circle of color surrounded by textured black. The circle itself represents the 'haven', that one place where we should feel strongest. The textured black space is symbolic of a new setting, someplace that is uncomfortable. However, I didn't want the leaves to only be strong within the circle. I really wanted to express how we can be strong on our own. Even when we are without our safe place, when we are apart from our comfort zones, we can exhibit true strength. Thus the leaves being focused inside the circle, but emanating outward.











I hope that clarifies the pieces a little bit to you. If not just know that you are not alone! I began this project with a brief understanding of what I wanted, and now that I have finished four pieces and had a show I am beginning to understand what it truly means to me. My main focus was on the idea of being isolated, yet being strong.

This series is not finished, not for me. I am currently working on three more pieces for this series. Each of the painting exhibited here are 20"x25" and the three paintings I'm working on now are 16"x20". I hope to be able to exhibit this show again, and maybe if you missed the first show you can catch the next one! If you have any questions regarding the work feel free to ask here!