For 30 years I have carried the following prophetic vision of President Kimball and other inspired men. I have always believed they were speaking to me. I have always believed myself to be among those with “inspired hearts and talented fingers.”
If I have lived by a creed or been inspired by a vision, this is surely it. He said:
“For years I have been waiting for someone to do justice in recording in song and story and painting and sculpture [and film] the story of the Restoration, the reestablishment of the kingdom of God on earth, the struggles and frustrations; the apostasies and inner revolutions and counterrevolutions of those first decades, of the exodus; of the counteractions; of the transitions; of the persecution days; of the plural marriage and the underground; of the miracle man, Joseph Smith, of whom we sing, ‘Oh, what rapture filled his bosom, for he saw the living God!’; and of the giant colonizer and builder, Brigham Young, by whom this university was organized and for whom it was named.
The full story of Mormonism has never yet been written nor painted nor sculptured nor spoken [nor filmed]. It remains for inspired hearts and talented fingers yet to reveal themselves. They must be faithful, inspired, active Church members to give life and feeling and true perspective to a subject so worthy. Such masterpieces should run for months in every movie center, cover every part of the globe in the tongue of the people, written by the great artists, purified by the best critics…
Our writers, our moving picture specialists, with the inspiration of heaven, should tomorrow be able to produce a masterpiece which would live forever.
Can we not find equal talent to those who gave us A Man For All Seasons, Dr. Zhivago, and Ben Hur. My Fair Lady and the Sound of Music have pleased their millions, but I believe we can improve on them. [Ensign Article quoting address given to BYU faculty and staff 1967-68)
“Every accomplishment, every polished grace, every useful attainment in mathematics, music and in all scienes and ART belong to the saints. “ Brigham Young.
Carried beside this prophetic vision of what we can be and should be about, I keep the words of the blessing I received when I was ordained to the office of Seventy by Elder Boyd K. Packer, Sunday, January 30, 1977. Within that blessing is the following.
“The Lord loves you and will bless you and through you will bless others. We bless you in your professional life that you may be successful; that through your many talents and abilities in communications you will be able to teach righteousness. That you may reflect and teach good principles and fine ideals. The Lord will open ways for you to teach respect and love for home and family.
The Lord will provide a way through the means generally regarded as commercial that your message may be heralded across the world.:”
It is the prophetic vision of Spencer Kimball, my passion to be among those with ‘inspired hearts and talented fingers’ and the final promise of the blessing above that empowers me with a persistent faith and sense of destiny, however inadequate I am.
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