Sunday, June 14, 2020

Companionship of the Holy Ghost御霊を伴侶に

This calligraphy was written by my wife. As our world moves to more division and dissension, I felt this was a very appropriate piece of art to frame. One of the purposes of this mortal life that Heavenly Father gave to every one of his children, is the agency to choose. We are free to choose. What we decide in this life, shapes us every day. The entertainment we select, the food and drink we ingest, the people we associate with and their opinions and ideas, the clothing and adornment we select for our bodies, the work we engage in (or shirk) all affects us everyday. But just like our earthly parents, our Heavenly Father provides us with guidance to help us to make good choices. That guidance is through the Holy Ghost. But we must learn to recognize and allow the influence of this great power and gift to be a part of our life. These are some links to talks about how to recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost in our life.

Now let me explain how I framed this calligraphy piece. In Japanese arts there is system of classifying aspects of the art based on Formality ranking. This calligraphy was written in the Gyousho (行書)style, which is semi-formal. This particular scroll style, called Fukuro Hyougu (袋表具)is an informal mounting style. Although, most religious themed artworks would be framed in a more formal style, I felt simplicity in the mounting would provide a more accurate, symbolic depiction of how the Holy Ghost communicates with the children of Heavenly Father. In the piece you see 3 lines of Suji (筋). I used these three lines to represent each separate member of the Godhead. 

  1. The top in the Ten (天)or Heaven portion of the scroll is representative of our Heavenly Father. 
  2. The first Suji in the Chi(地)or Earth  portion of the scroll represents the Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to this Earth to minister, teach, and fulfill Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation for us all by fulfilling the Atonement becoming Resurrected. 
  3. The second Suji in the Chi(地)or Earth  portion of the scroll represents the Holy Ghost, as he is omnipresent on this Earth, providing the power of our Heavenly Father to be present with us always.  
The three lines of suji are straight and narrow. That is the path that leads us back to Heavenly Father.

If you look close, there is also a suji that surrounds the entire calligraphy piece. Another title given to the Holy Ghost is the Comforter. During these troubling times of dissent, rebellion, economic uncertainty, health crisis; Remember that the Holy Ghost will surround you with a comfort, and peaceful surety of a better future.

The color of the cloth was selected to represent the etheral nature of the Holy Ghost, meaning it does not have a body of flesh and bone. It was also chosen to represent dark glass....(but that I will leave to you to study and ponder on your own.

Looking at this writing by my wife everyday, reminds me to strive to be worthy to have the Companionship of the Holy Ghost everyday in my life.

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