A Magnificent Creation of God

To my son,

                This week in our scripture study we read about the creation of the earth. Recently we took a ski trip as a family to a mountain where we were able to see up close the majesty of God’s creations. I thought it was pretty amazing as we went to the very top, at about 11,000 feet, and were able to see the incredible views of snow and trees down the mountain. As we take the time to view and reflect upon the beautiful world around us it should fill us with awe for the Creator who gave us all of this. And it also can help us remember that we too are one of His creations and that He wants to make us just as majestic. The Come, Follow Me manual says this: “Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are Creators, and Their creative work with us is not finished. They can make light shine in dark moments in our lives. They can form solid ground in the midst of life’s stormy seas. They can command the elements, and if we obey Their word like the elements did, They can transform us into the beautiful creations we were meant to be. That’s part of what it means to be created in God’s image, after His likeness (see Genesis 1:26). We have the potential to become like Him: exalted, glorified, celestial beings.” Of all of His incredible creations, God saved man and woman for very last and gave them “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” After He was done He said, “I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good” (Moses 2:28, 31). That includes us—He said we were “very good” and I hope that one thing you remember from this scriptural account it is that you were created in God’s image and that He has declared that you are good.

                A second lesson from the Creation story which I hope you will remember is that as creations of God, our body is sacred and “a magnificent gift to cherish.” President Nelson taught this: “Your physical body is a magnificent creation of God. It is His temple as well as yours and must be treated with reverence. Scripture declares: ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,’ Your body, whatever its natural gifts, is a magnificent creation of God. It is a tabernacle of flesh—a temple for your spirit. A study of your body attests to its divine design.” President Nelson then taught what this should mean to us: “Substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and harmful drugs are forbidden by the Lord. We have similarly been warned about the evils of pornography and unclean thoughts. Appetites for these degrading forces can become addictive. In time, physical or mental addictions enslave both the body and the spirit.” I saw this firsthand early one Sunday morning as a missionary when my companion and I were walking across a large plaza as we made our way to the church building. We saw a woman who was moving erratically and picking things up from the ground. It looked very odd, and as I watched her I gathered that what she was doing was looking for little pieces of cigarette that she could gather and try to use. We attempted to speak to her but she was just not mentally present enough to say anything intelligible to us. It seemed as if she was so addicted that her only purpose that morning was to find cigarettes for her body. It made me sad to see how that addiction was so completely in control of her.

                President Nelson continued his message by encouraging us this way: “When we truly know our divine nature, we will want to control such appetites. And we will focus our eyes on sights, our ears on sounds, and our minds on thoughts that are a credit to our physical creation as a temple of God. In daily prayer, we will gratefully acknowledge Him as our Creator and thank Him for the magnificence of our own physical temple. We will care for it and cherish it as our own personal gift from God.” I am grateful for the teachings we have of modern prophets that help us understand what is harmful to us and the sacred nature of our bodies. I hope that you will never take anything into your body that could be detrimental to it, and as you honor His creations you will have His Spirit to dwell therein. 

Love,

Dad