The Transfigurist

Faith is sometimes thought of as the seed for comfort in our lives. Yet often it is more comforting to turn to evidence rather than faith, to be assured that decisions and policy are sound. Science provides light into the mysteries of disease. At its best, it brings us to the root causes of suffering and helps us look in the right direction for solutions. Knowledge can bring us to compassion, it moves us away from superstition, and ideally away from stigma. Belief in the power of prayer isn't rational. Neither is believing in God. Who needs a puppeteer in the sky when we can travel into the heavens ourselves and witness the birth and death of distant stars?

Composite image sourced here and here

In the symbolic language of Mormonism, the circle indicates eternity. This symbolism was introduced by Joseph Smith in his expounding on eternity's nature. He used the most common symbol he had at his disposal. Prophets take eternal concepts which are beyond anything we can completely express and communicate them using familiar symbols or objects. This is semiological transmission with its encoding and decoding. And as Mormonism promotes the idea of continuous revelation of further truths, I believe the symbol system of fractals, which has come to us after the life of Joseph Smith, can be welcomed to provide clearer resolution of Mormon truths surrounding creation, cosmology, ontology, and aesthetics.

In 1928, Carl Theodor Dreyer made the silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” The film was shown once and censored. It was thought lost in a fire, and a second version, made of second takes, was created. Then, another version (not by the original director) was compiled by cutting and torturing the second original. The film Joan, thus, was subjected to a path paralleling that of the historical Joan.