Museum of Art

Over the weekend, I went and visited the Museum of Art and was able to see all 42 paintings on the Book of Mormon by Teichert. I was grateful for this opportunity to see the paintings. I saw them just a short time ago, but didn’t have the time for in-depth analysis at that point. Teichert was born in 1888 in Ogden, as the granddaughter of pioneers. She enjoyed art and studied it her whole life. Over the course of just 2 years, Teichert was able to paint 42 murals on the Book of Mormon, later donating them to BYU, which is how they were obtained.
One of the paintings I chose was the painting of Abinadi standing before King Noah. This reminds me of an important theme from the Book of Mormon. The painting shows the upright stature of Abinadi, his unfearing demeanor. The theme in the Book of Mormon related to this picture is standing as a witness of God at all times. If there is one example that truly exemplifies standing as a witness of God, it is Abinadi. Abinadi was not fearful of what man could do, but only wanted to please God. He showed that through his testimony, sealing it with his own blood and his death.
Another one of my favorite paintings is related, showing the baptisms at the Waters of Mormon. This came as a result of Abinadi’s teachings, heard by the priest Alma, who found a desire in his heart to change and become better. After finding this change in his heart, he ran away and devoted his time to preaching the gospel. He was the result of many baptisms at the Waters of Mormon. Mosiah 18:30 says, “And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.” The painting causes me to reflect on the restoration of the gospel as well, when Joseph and Oliver baptized each other. I’m sure the heavens rejoiced as well.
The third painting I chose was entitled ‘On the Warpath’, showing the Lamanites coming up to war against the Nephites. We know that the ultimate destruction of the Nephites was the war against the Lamanites after refusing to turn back to God. This scene causes me to wonder what it would have been like to be Moroni, sitting up in a hollow, hiding, and watching the death and destruction of his people. How solemn his attitude must have been, watching families he knew, his own family, and thousands of others be completely slaughtered. It reminds me of the path that we are on today and the choice that we have to make to turn back to our God as a society, or to be utterly slaughtered by the enemy.

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