Katelyn Jones Dance 459- Seminar in Dance Personal Examination of LDS Values and the Dance Artist I have

grown up my whole life in the church and since I have been old enough to understand it, the truthfulness of the gospel. Because of this privilege, I have always known the importance of words of the prophets and general authorities and the truth that they speak. Since the age of seven, dance has been a major part of my life. It is always what I would turn to when everything else in my life was going wrong. To me dance is like a best friend that is always there when you need it; in the same kind of light I think of my Savior. As I have gotten older and worked my way through college, the struggle to balance dance, school, and the gospel has really escalated. But even in times of difficulty I know that I can find peace in the words of our church leaders; their knowledge in all things, including the world of fine arts, gives me insight into how I will shape my life in the future in respect to my personal attributes, goals through dance, and growing closer to my Savior and Heavenly Father. When reading a talk given by Elder N. Eldon Tanner in a General Conference session entitled, Integrity, I came across a quote that really hit home to me. Talking about honesty, trust, righteousness, dependability, and other qualities he said, When one has integrated all of these attributes within his being, when they become the moving force of all his thoughts, actions, and desires, then he may be said to possess integrity, which is defined as a state or quality of being complete, undivided, or unbroken; moral soundness, honesty and uprightness (Tanner). In this quote he is talking about a sense of unity of purpose in yourself and your life. This is such a powerful statement to me just because I am also so undivided in my decisions.

When trying to make a decision I just think about all the various consequences instead of thinking about what I really want. In another talk by Elder David A. Bednar he mentions integrity as well but in addition to the subject of honesty. He says that integrity is the quality or condition of being, whole, complete, unbroken, and divided and honesty is the quality of condition of being truthful, sincere, candid, and worthy of honor (Bednar). Growing up in the church all of my life I knew was integrity and honesty is. But these two talks have given me new insight into what all those terms encompass. I know now though, that I need to not only know what they mean and spread their meanings, but I also need to make sure that I am living daily in integrity and honesty. I have found that in those times where you are incorporating principles in your personal life that it is more noticed and makes a greater influence on the people around you than were you to just talk to them about the principles. I may have integrity and honesty in my life now, but after reading these talks they need to be more influential in my decision making and a bigger part of who I am. The path that brought me to where I am now is not the most ideal. I had to fight with my parents and family with my decision to study and make my career in dance. I know that they just cared and worried about me but it was my decision and I did think long and hard about it. Even though they have chosen to live with my choice they still worry about me and it makes me think that maybe I did make the wrong choice. A BYU devotional given by Newell Dayley has given me a lot of peace with my decision. His talk titled, Centering the Arts in Christ, is a marvelous testament to why I chose to continue in dance. Throughout the talk he gives reasons for why the arts are so important in everyones lives. He says that through the arts we can

learn to see, hear, move, and feel with greater sensitivity and understanding (Dayley). If I were a person not involved in the arts then this reason alone would make me want to make the arts a part of my life. I could just go on and on about how much this talk gives support and meaning to everything I live for in the dance world. But what I love so much about Newell Dayley and his wise words in this talk was his ability to always come back and tie in the arts to the gospel and Christ. For example he says, His light gives life to our creative potential. His love impels us to creative action. Art itself appears because there is a spark of the divine nature in Gods children (Dayley). This means that everything that I am able to do in dance is because Christ makes it so. My dancing abilities have evolved over the years into it is today because God has allowed it. Through diligence, sacrifice, and commitment the Lord will help us reach our highest potential. This truth is reflected in a statement given by Neal A. Maxwell in talk titled, Creativity. He says, The greater our sensitivity to the Spirit, the greater our response to beauty, grace, and truth in all their forces as these exist about us (Maxwell). So the closer I am to my Heavenly Father and Savior the greater my creativity will be in my dancing. I will work each day to become closer to them and see the rewards of my effort in my dancing.

Bibliography Bednar, David A. Be Honest. Brigham Young University-Idaho. 10 September 2002. Devotional Address. Web. Dayley, Newell. Centering the Arts in Christ. Brigham Young University. 6 March 2001. Devotional Address. Web. Maxwell, Neal A. Creativity. New Era. August 1982. Web. Tanner, N. Eldon. Integrity. General Conference. April 1977. Web.