Artworks for the End of the Book of Mormon
Our artistic journey through the Book of Mormon concludes this month! Each month on our website, you can find artworks to accompany each of the coming month's Come, Follow Me readings. You can also subscribe to get email reminders when new artworks are ready or follow along weekly on Instagram or Facebook. We hope that art-lovers everywhere will be inspired by these artworks as they complement their gospel study, family discussions, and church classes with fine art from around the world. Here are our final selected artworks for the year.
November 25 - December 1
The Book of Ether describes a civilization so hateful that it destroyed itself through war. There were only two survivors: the king who oversaw the destruction and the prophet who witnessed it. Besides these two, only bones remained.
This painting by Brian Kershisnik also shows the end of a war, albeit one with a different outcome. The bodies of the survivors bear the scars of the conflict, but they have done what the Jaredites would not; they have found a way to reconcile. Both sides approach one another as equals: celebrating, embracing, playing games in the dirt. All have suffered, but because they have found a way to forgive, the losses of war are at an end.
Conflicts great and small can have harrowing consequences if we cannot find ways to make amends. How do you find common ground with potential enemies?
December 2-8
Moroni didn’t love his own writing (see Ether 12), but he dedicated the last years of his life to the task of finishing the story of his people, transcribing the history of the Jaredites, and recording gospel principles. In this painting, Minerva Teichert depicts him carrying out his task alone. In mortality, no one would ever acknowledge his work, but his writing contains some of the most crucial and inspiring passages in the Book of Mormon.
hat tasks do you struggle with that make a difference in others’ lives?
December 9-15
Before the Jaredites crossed the sea on barges, they traveled across the wilderness “where there never had man been.” Minerva Teichert’s painting Journey of the Jaredites Across Asia highlights how much of an undertaking this might be to travel through unknown territory with large herds. The Lord provided directions to the Promised Land, but he did not provide the entire map from the beginning. Instead, “the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel” (Ether 2:5). Though daunting, the Jaredites were not left alone. Teichert reminds the viewer, through the cloud above and the sheep below, that we, like the Jaredites, are never truly left alone.
December 16-22
“Come unto Christ” is one of the most frequent and one of the final messages of the Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:32). At times, like the path depicted in this painting, this journey may seem like it has no end in sight. In a way, that’s true; our journey is an eternal one. But we also know that Christ is with us even as we journey toward him. And as we look around the path he has set us on, there’s so much beauty, wonder, and goodness for us to see!
What is one change you’ve made because of the Book of Mormon?
December 23-30
As we conclude our Come, Follow Me series for this year, we remember that the central purpose of the Book of Mormon was to bring people to Christ – to him who first came to us as an infant, teacher, and Savior 2,000 years ago. We hope that these images have been helpful and inspiring to you, and we plan to continue the series into 2025.
What would make our Come, Follow Me campaign more helpful for you next year?
