A "Making Things" Manifesto

I posted a little while ago about a “Spoon Manifesto” that I ran across on the internet.  In it, a carver explained why he makes spoons.  While a don’t share all of that carver’s sentiments, it made me think about why I make things.  It is something that I have thought about before, and I have talked about it with my wife and with Laughter. 

Why do I make things?  What is that desire that keeps me searching for new things to make or new ways to make familiar things? 

These answers spring to mind first:

1) it is fun to make things. 

2) I feel a sense of accomplishment when I make things.

3) I like the attention that I get when I make something cool.

4) I am easily bored by inaction, so making things is just something I have to do to stay mentally healthy.

But, as I started to make my list of reasons for making things, like the Spoon Manifesto that I posted earlier, I found all the reasons lacking.  Then I remembered this talk by President Dieter F. Uchtorf, from October of 2008, entitled “Happiness, Your Heritage.”  In it, he talked about this very thing.  He says it very well, so I quote it and say Amen:

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. . .

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. . . .”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

. . . .

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

. . . .

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.