Summerhays 1 Eliza Summerhays Ed Austin DANCE 261 22 January 2014 Learning Outcome 1.

1 In modern times, the chasm between Latter-Day Saints and the rest of the world is rapidly increasing. One of these differences /issues that arises is how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints portray art. As in many modern issues, we can turn to the voices of the prophets and apostles for advice on how to handle these situations. Elder Newell Dayley gave a talk entitled, Centering the Arts on Christ, in which he discussed how we can center our lives and the art forms that we love on our beliefs in Christ without sacrificing the beauty of it. He said, The arts embody a unique learning process that awakens the very core of ones being to lifes meaning and beauty. Through the arts we can learn to see, hear, move, and feel with greater sensitivity and understandingour challenge is to strengthen and extend artistic work into the 21st century and beyond (Dayley). In order to fulfill the challenge Elder Dayley gave us, we need to seek to center our works on Christ. This doesnt mean we need to choreograph every dance to be about Christ, but we need to think of Him and choreograph movements and pieces that would be pleasing unto Him. By finding this balance, we will be able to further enjoy the thing we love whilst praising God for all He has given us. Creative expression can also represent the celebration of our gratitude to God for our gifts and talents. Elder Neal A. Maxwell also encouraged developing artistic talents

Summerhays 2 in his talk called, Creativity. If we use dance in the correct ways, appreciation for the worldwhich God has given is but a prelude to adoration of the God who has so gloriously displayed His creativity for us (Maxwell). In other words, through our righteous artistic expressions of the world, we will not only grow love the world around us, but also grow in our love and adoration of God. This creative work, however, is indeed hard work even though it is inspired by God. Elder Maxwell states this quite plainly: Perspiration usually precedes inspiration, and pondering reverentially almost always occurs before we make a breakthrough. Creative work is sweet, but it is work! (Maxwell). It is important to respond to the beauty and truth that are all around us that are waiting to be expressed. This way we can become more grateful for what we have, and we will grow closer to God. Elder David A. Bednar, in That We May Always Have His Spirit To Be With Us, focuses on the ways the Lord communicates with us. This applies to dance because, as Elder Maxwell previously stated, we need to reverentially ponder about our inspirations. When we ponder on these things, it is important to recognize in what ways the Lord communicates with us. Elder Bednar reminds us, the Spirit of the Lord usually communicates with us in ways that are quiet, delicate, and subtle (Bednar). If we seek diligently to recognize and follow the promptings of the spirit while dancing, our dancing will become a lot more edifying and strengthening spiritually as well as spiritually. Elder Russell M. Nelson, who used to be a heart surgeon, began his talk entitled We Are Children of God with awe-inspiring facts about the miracles that our bodies are. He said, Your body, whatever its natural gifts, is a magnificent creation of God (Nelson). This single statement removes all stereotypes of what dancers have to look like

Summerhays 3 or dress like or be like. Each body is unique and God created it to be that way. Dance, however, (especially ballet) has created a stigma that dancers need to be skinny, strong, and long-limbed. Despite the stereotype created, Elder Nelson assures us that a perfect body is not required to achieve a divine destiny (Nelson). Perfection and beauty are interesting words because they are completely subjective and perceived differently by different people. Furthermore, Gods terms of beauty and perfection are very different from the worlds view. If we focus on using our bodies, no matter the size or shape, as the medium of uplifting and edifying works of art, we will more fully realize the potential we hold, and we will come closer to Christ. N. Eldon Tanner, in his talk called Integrity, reminded us that man cannot live a divided life; he cannot serve two masters (Tanner). As members of the LDS church, we know that there is always a counterfeit, created by Satan, to every good thing. This principle also applies to dance. There are movements and dances that edify our bodies and minds and uplift our spirits, but there are also kinds of dance that are degrading or immoral. The key to creating the righteous kinds of dance is through the integrity of the dancers and choreographer. Integrity is expressed as a state or quality of being complete, undivided, or unbroken; moral soundness, honesty and uprightness (Tanner). Along with the need for dance to have integrity, dance must also be honest. Honesty and integrity are similar principles, but quite different. Elder David A. Bednar said, honesty is the quality or condition of being truthful, sincere, candid, and worthy of honor (Bednar). In contemporary/jazz/modern, sincere performances are always the best performances. LDS dancers may run into trouble, though, when it comes to the honesty and integrity of their dancing. I know a ballroom dancer who is LDS, and she tried out

Summerhays 4 for So You Think You Can Dance and made it to the top three girl contestants in the competition. She is now successfully dancing for Dancing With The Stars, but she compromised the integrity of her dancing for the world of dance outside the LDS church. As a result, her relationship with God definitely decreased as she continued to perform for these shows. Other morals and principles of the gospel fell once she gave up the integrity of her dancing. Therefore, if LDS dancers are both moral and honest in their movement and remain worthy of honor, they will be engaging in the kind of art that is pleasing unto God, and they will be successful in Gods terms. Lastly, as members of the church, we are expected to come to a personal knowledge of the truth. Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf testified that Heavenly Father will not leave you alone in the dark. He knows the truth despite all the questions and rumors of others/the adversary (Uchtdorf). With dance, if members of the church have any questions pertaining to the truth or righteous/appropriate aspects of dance, they should pray about it and honestly ponder about whether or not their movements are edifying and uplifting. The Holy Ghost is trustworthy and will aid us in our artistic choices, if our intent is for righteous purposes. Not only with choreography or artistic expressions, but with costuming and body image, and any aspects surrounding dance. The Lord wants us to be creative and express ourselves the best way we can. He also knows there are many things that can be expressed through dance. As artists of the LDS church, it is our responsibility to keep our will one with Gods and create works of art that will show our gratitude to Him for everything He has given us.