FAIR Confference of Apologetics

The FAIR (Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research) featured my show "Ornaments of Eden"  at their most recent conference,  which was perfectly thrilling, on it's own. But right here,  is the highlight of my adult life:

 That is John Gee.

Interpreting the heiroglyphs.

On my painting.

 They have failed to make a word for how COOL that is! When I discovered that my darling friend Roger Nichols had caught that on camera,  I practically squished him to death-  the squish of gratitude.

The conference was fascinating.

One great discovery  I’d like to share is  Valerie Hudson’s article “The Two Trees” A fascinating perspective on the Adam and Eve story. (Her conclusions seem to coincide completely with what I’m getting from facsimile #2. trusting that I remotely understand Hugh Nibly)

I  also realized that my painting, "O Morning Star, Make a Path for Me," is a personal apologia, (Greek "written in justification of belief"), almost autobiographical. It is my McConkie-esque declaration,  that the best defense of faith comes from it's most controversial attributes: The King Follet Sermon,  Joseph's ability to translate, Women's abeyance from the priesthood, Revelation, The Temple.   These "cruel"  "biggotted"  "insensitive" (and my personal favorite,) "unscientific" standards are also what save us in our darkest hour. (Speaking of....)

Josh Johansen spoke about the Labyrinth of Homosexual desire, (His talk should be required reading for America, PLEASE go read it!) But in a lot of ways his talk was typological for apologetic argument;  He demonstrated how unscientific, agendized, and damaging  the homosexual movement was. He concluded by saying that people with SGA  need the church; and it's structure and requirements were helpful,  supportive, and loving. (We are not allowed to hear that anywhere else. hmm.)

I was disappointed that they invited a feminist to come whine about priesthood,  but  I was quite content that my Eve stood behind her left shoulder undermining her work; silently celebrating the priesthood- holding the beacon for true Mormon feminine power through her entire argument. (Thanks to my darling friends Maya and Roger for taking pictures for me.)

Seed time: Eve considers the harvest.

The Greek temple idealized the "planting" of god's daughter Persephone into the underworld, her marriage to Hades, and her restoration to paradise in the spring;   the climax of their temple ceremony being the appearance of the shaft of wheat, (appearing in Catholic mass, centuries later as a wheat wafer.) This Greek ideal is but a shadow of our oldest story: Eden.
The Human seed is "sent forth" from the divine garden in the climactic moment of this well known allegory of creation; the first step towards a paradisical harvest.

The Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith commented on this garden story:
“Adam did not commit sin in eating the fruits, for God had decreed that he should eat and fall.... ....therefore the Lord appointed us to fall and  also Redeemed us”
( McIntire Minute Book February, 1841)

As all epic journeys require,  this "seed" left Eden with tangible refrences of it's origin and promise.  My show follows these promises, to their visual and archaic roots millennia ago, celebrating the "Ornaments" of Eden, and their mysterious and archaic message.

Please join us for a reception at the Repartee Gallery on the North End of the University Mall, Saturday Evening, 7-9 pm.

This Exhibit will also appear at the FAIR Conference of apologetics August 2nd and 3rd, at the South Town ExpoCenter.

Family Watch International

An interesting look at the essential role of motherhood on an international scale.

Mother of All Living

The covenant of the Hebrews , was unique from the world in the way it related to women. Christ  uses that relationship as an allegory for the governance of their religion: He is the bridegroom, The church is the bride. He speaks of making covenants as "knowing," the biblical word for intimacy. This Covenant, physically marked by circumcision, obviously centered in the intimate relationship between man and woman.   Men were considered  adults only after they had entered marriage and taken on the asociated responsabilities. The marriage ceremony was not complete until the couple had proven consummation and the essential part of the covenant had occurred. Woman's marital rights were  protected by laws unknown by the surrounding nations,  and lineage was passed through the woman.

The Egyptians shared this biological common sense- It is not power, but the queen, choosing who ascended to the throne. Of course she chose her favorite- her husband, her son. (Contrast that with our western power centric tradition- Is the domineering king ever sure that HIS son inherits his throne?)

ISIS' (whoose glyph is "throne") alludes to this unavoidable truth, illustrated here, her quality being drawn above her head as a throne, the same throne on which Osiris sits.*   *(OK this isn't quite the picture I was looking for. Which reluctantly brings us to the next point.) Fine,  I'll admit it, there are two women here. That is because these two Divine feminine qualities are so similar they eventually became the same goddess, Isis on the left, Hathor on the right, she also wearing her glyph as a crown- "the womb of Horus" drawn as a box within the shrine (bigger box), again very similar to the throne on which Osiris Sits. Isis is the mother who puts her son on the throne, Hathor the mother who creates and nurtures life, both are the same  life giver and nurturer, wife and mother, ultimately the same divine quality, Mother of all living. This ideal, the Mother of all living, is expressed in the hypocephalus heiroglyphically as a drawing of the Bovine Nurturer, Hathor . Mother,  the binding core of all relationships, our physical and first acquaintance with divinity-- A quality which esixted in woman before she left the garden,  a quality defined when Adam first laid eyes upon her.

Interesting that the Mother of All living should be the central essential element of all hypocephalus, The artifact of resurrection and glorification of a justified being.

Interesting, especially in the context of a religion whose central covenant is defined by man's fidelity to the woman.

Yackety Yack,  This is the technique I'm playing with right now.  Love how the throne turned out,  but I'm not sure where to take the details.