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April 26, 2017

teichert_the_first_vision


Minerva Teichert (1888-1976),

The First Vision, 1934, oil on canvas, 102 x 78 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art.


Joseph Smith became a witness of profound truths at a young age. Confused by escalating religious tensions in his hometown of Palmyra, New York, Joseph sought answers from God directly. Early in the spring of 1820, the fourteen-year-old Joseph retreated to the woods near his home and offered his first verbal prayer. In response, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and called him to restore the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and establish the Lord's Church again on the earth.

When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Joseph Smith-History 1:17

This piece by Minerva Teichert can be seen at the BYU Museum of Art in the current exhibition,

To Magnify the Lord: Six Centuries of Art and Devotion.