I listened to a TED Talk about the importance of privacy. The speaker used poor logic (a far too common method of debate) to show that people have something to hide even if they say "only people who are doing something wrong have anything to hide." Then, he seemed to suggest that a lack of privacy is bad because it leads to obedience and obedience is bad because it leads to a death of creativity. I can certainly see why he would think obedience kills creativity, but that's only partly true.
I believe that the desire to create in most human beings is so strong we will find ways to overcome any obstacle that gets in our way of creating. We want so much to create. It's almost a desperate (and in some cases more extreme) desire. The gospel of Jesus Christ makes it clear why that would be: we were created to become creators (1 John 3:2, Philippians 2:5-6). We were made after the image of our Maker (Genesis 1:27), the Great Creative Thinker (Colossians 1:16). He who created the heavens and the Earth and all things that in them are has instilled in us a desire to be like him, to create.
Scientists would attribute our creativity to our neocortex and would probably agree that is one of the great attributes that distinguishes mammals from other organisms. The ability to create poetry, music, scientific inquiries, philosophies, etc. is a mark of humans because of their enlarged neocortex. Indeed, we are made to create.
The question we often fail to ask is, "To create what?" The world is quickly forgetting that all creations are not equally good. We seem to think that if it hasn't been tried before, it should be. Rules only keep us from beautiful worlds, and possibly universes, of creation.
To quote John Bytheway, "I say unto you, wrong-o bongo." Not all rules are of equal value. They range from devastatingly disturbing to most beautifully sacred, and I think they hit about every infinitesimal point on the spectrum between those two. There can hardly be a statement made about the quality of rules that encompasses all of these. Certainly, it is naïve to claim that all obedience is bad. In fact, I would go as far as to say that is shows a severe lack in creativity.
Discernment and temperance are important concepts in many decisions; the decision of whether or not to be creative is no exception. Sometimes it's important to break away from mind numbing (and sometimes destructive) norms. At others it’s necessary to latch on to the safety line of tradition. A wise man can tell the difference. How can a man gain such wisdom? An extra-large, well functioning neocortex wouldn't hurt, but who better could tell us when to be creative than our Loving Father who created all things?
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ tells the story about an ancient patriarch named Jared and his brother. Jared's brother was a prophet to whom the Book of Mormon refers as "the Brother of Jared." Joseph Smith later found out that his name was Mahonri Moriancumer (Gospel Doctrine Manual). I'll go ahead and refer to him as Mahonri.
Mahonri lived during the construction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) and was warned by the Lord that he should sail across the ocean to the Americas before his language was confounded (Ether 1:34-43). Jared,Mahonri and all their kin made eight airtight barges to sail across the ocean, and, when they had finished,Mahonri noticed two problems with them. First, there was no way the passengers could get air from the outside, and, second, there was no way they would be able to see (Ether 2:19). Mahonri was told exactly what to do in order to solve the first problem (Ether 2:20), but he was left to figure out the solution to the second on his own (Ether 2:25). Clearly, the Lord does not want to destroy our creativity. If anything, he expects us to obey him in order to learn how to solve problems on our own.
Moving on to the next point, that creativity requires privacy, I have to again admit that there is some truth to that. But, only to the extent that we are prideful. We can be creative while working publicly, but first we have to overcome our pride. If we do something different we are sure to call attention to ourselves. If we are not better than everyone else, it will be apparent. We have to overcome our desire to be better than other people; that is what pride is. If we don't feel the need to be praised for everything we do, we can work creatively even in public.
When it comes down to it, I don’t think we would do well in perfect anonymity or in perfect publicity. I think we need both. By working publicly, we can encourage each other to continue working well and help each other. By working privately we can avoid getting stuck in a rut, trying only what we see others do. "There's a time to every purpose" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
There’s a wonderful spiritual application as well. Our spirits also need some anonymity as well publicity. While walking in obscurity we learn why it is important to do right even when no one can praise us. We learn the importance of integrity. While walking in the light of day we learn how powerful a righteous example can be. Thank the Lord that we are blessed with opportunities to experience both abundantly.
I have felt a little presumptuous in writing about creativity. One could easily point at me and say, "you haven't written single creative idea and you claim that creativity is important. You've obviously just been enculturated to think that you are creative." Certainly that's a real possibility. What can I say in defense against that? Well, I can only say that none of us can really know whether we are truly creative, or if we just follow the ideas of others.
Some people disobey others just to prove that they are creative. With all due respect, that idea to me is so juvenile. Do you really think that hurting yourself because someone told you not to is creative? I guess it could be. For me, the only way to really be creative is to think deeply about what you want and to figure out what you need to do to get it.
I may not be a deep thinker, but I have searched as deeply as I know how. I continue to try to dig even deeper. I know what I want, and I believe with all of my heart that the gospel of Jesus Christ will help me get it. I may not have been the first to come up with that solution, but I came up with it for myself. I have used every datum of knowledge I have to figure out what I should do, and I think that is pretty creative.
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