The Power of the Written Word

My mom recently sent me an article, "The Power of the Written Word,"* by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that he originally presented to writers and editors of the LDS church on October 15, 2013. As a former editor and a big fan of Elder Holland, I was eager to read this article and it did not disappoint. One of my favorite quotes from the article reminded me of my very first blog entry, in which I said, "The process of writing, for me, helps fragmented thoughts crystallize…" Elder Holland stated:

"My second piece of counsel about tackling a blank page comes from Frank Smith in his “Myths of Writing.”  He said encouragingly:

“Thoughts are created in the act of writing.  [It is a myth that] you must have something to say in order to write.  Reality:  You often need to write in order to have anything to say.  Thought comes with writing, and writing may never come if it is postponed until we are satisfied that we have something to say. . . . The assertion of write first, see what you had to say later applies to all manifestations of written language, to letters . . . as well as to diaries and journals.”[i] 

So, again take heart.  Begin and learn as you go.  You will have ideas and phrases come late that could not have come early.  Elder Bruce R. McConkie said he learned the gospel by teaching it.  Maybe we find what it is we want to say by writing and writing until finally it appears."

After reading this article, I began thinking about the power of writing in my own life. The whole premise for this entire blog is that writing helps me learn the lessons life has to teach me. I've noticed I am much more the person I want to be when I employ writing in all sorts of forms:

1. I have learned it is imperative that I keep a daily planner. Long ago I realized that if I neglect to write down my daily to-do list in my planner, my life quickly becomes complete chaos. 

2. I am much more apt to see God's hand in my life and live in thanksgiving daily if I keep a gratitude journal.

3. I get far more out of my daily scripture reading when I faithfully keep a scripture journal and record the insights I discover.

4. I have exponentially greater success at staying on track with healthy eating if I keep a daily food log--and better still--exchange food logs with a friend. This makes such a difference that I find I lose weight when I keep a log and gain it when I don't.

5. My relationships are strengthened when I take time to not only express gratitude and appreciation for someone, but to write these expressions down. I can record these thoughts in a special journal I have for my spouse, a text message to my son, or an e-mail to a friend, and the results  are always the same: both of us are uplifted and our relationship is strengthened. A spoken expression of love is always meaningful, but the impact of a written expression of love and gratitude just seems to be more powerful.

6. And, of course, I do better at learning life's little lessons when I post entries on this blog!

I am utterly convinced of the power of the written word. I have seen its power in my life, in my relationships, in my time management, in my spirituality, and in my waistline. And yet. It is far too easy to get too busy to write. I still feel that the whirlwind that my life has been since we bought our house this past summer has yet to settle. Sheer busyness has taken a toll on every single form of writing I listed above, and I have felt the loss. This week I determined that I would do better, and I have already felt the blessings begin to flow. Just from writing. That's the power of the written word. 

*I would love to provide a link to this article by Elder Holland, but I only have it in PDF form and have not been able to find it online. If you are interested in reading it, post a comment and I will forward it to you! 

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[i]    Frank Smith, “Myths of Writing,” Language Arts 58:7 (1981): 793, 795, as quoted in “Why Write It?,” by Brad Wilcox, Ensign, September 1999, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1999/09/why-write-it?lang=eng.