Book of Mormon Art Contest Winners Announced

In Christ We Are Made Alive

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?" In these two verses, the Book of Mormon powerfully teaches and testifies of some important truths bout the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how Christ offers us new life through it in different ways: The first is that Christ offers everyone the universal gift of life after death. We can all be resurrected and have a perfected physical body and thus be able to have a fulness of joy. Christ also offers us the gift of being spiritually made alive through the beautiful process of repentance and striving to engage in covenantal living. Moreover, in many ways that are unique to each individual, Christ can cause the aspects of our lives that feel dead, broken, or damaged to be made alive, mended, and wholly restored. This message is conveyed in the way the two figures are oriented towards each other. The figure that represents Christ is the one standing upright, while the figure that appears to be lying partially below a surface represents all of us. The position of the partially submerged figure calls to mind the reality that all of us are faced with the inevitable future of mortality, and that all of us in some way or another, are dying, breaking, and falling apart. But at the same time, like the figure in this piece, we are still linked to Christ and He is always close to us, and able to lift us above the surface of human suffering and despair. The color red in the piece has a very significant meaning in the narrative of this piece as well. Red symbolizes blood, which in turn represents life, sustaining force, and suffering. The great unfathomable price of Christ's Atonement for every individual that is a member of the human family was His blood, and His suffering for every human being has existed, is existing, and will come to exist. From the fall of Adam, to our modern times. It is by His blood that He spilt for us that we are able to be made alive in every sense. This means of being made alive is largely due to His suffering for us which makes Him able to understand each of us perfectly in our various complex circumstances and to fashion a vision of hope from them. His blood and suffering is a demonstration of His love for us, and it is a core element of what firmly anneals His relationship with us. Human experience is also largely characterized by much suffering, but it's value in helping us to feel love and appreciation for the Savior and what He did for us far outweighs the inconveniences and difficulties they so often seem to beset us with. At least in my personal experience, it is the most important way by which I have come to love and appreciate my Savior in the ways that are most meaningful and powerful to me. The continuous flow of red between Christ and the figure representing us ultimately proclaims the message that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is about man being brought close to the Savior, and that all mankind can have hope for life (or a better life) through seeking a true relationship with Christ. It is His blood, sacrifice, and suffering that breathes life into our lives. By His stripes we are healed, and truly our destinies are inseparable from His. These are some of the greatest fruits of blessing that come from Christ, who is characterized as the Tree of Life in the Book of Mormon. See if you can find the different details that make reference to this symbolism of Christ! Medium: Digital Canvas

Inspired by Alma 5:14-15.

Journey of the Jaredites (as recorded in an ancient Sumerian style)

". . . They got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God." -Ether 6:4. I sketched the original version of this painting on the flight to my mission. As most new missionaries are, I felt an odd mixture of overwhelming excitement and extreme anxiety for the adventure ahead of me. I'd been reading the first chapters of Ether early that morning, so it was on my mind. Our flight was running late and we would miss our layover to Nashville, so I started praying that the wind would push our plane towards the East like how God had pushed the Jaredite's barges through the ocean. I started drawing something like this to remind me that everything would be okay. We made our layover on time with an extra 30 minutes to spare, and made it to Nashville safely. The original ink sketch changed meaning for me throughout my mission. Most of the time, I didn't know what I was doing. I felt like I was stuck in barges, being pushed around through deep waters, swimming past monsters of the sea. And yet I'd always end up on top of the waters. I felt often like those little Jaredites, praising God for His higher plans, even though I was often confused by them. This ink illustration is like a record of an ancient piece of Sumerian art. Obviously we don't have any of the art the Jaredites made, but the Jaredites came from Babylon, and I imagine they could have made art like this. I felt like an archeologist illustrator making this, taking note of something much older and ancient than the rest of the Book of Mormon. The text in the middle is a rough Sumerian translation Ether 6. I feel grateful that God trusts us with their story, and wants us to know who these people are. I'd like to see what kind of art they would make of themselves.

Inspired by Ether 6.

And They Were Strong

This is a charcoal drawing of the imagined portrait of one of the women in Lehi's family. 1 Nephi 17: 2-3 reads, in part, "So great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings. And thus we see that . . . if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God He doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them." This is the scripture that inspired my drawing. I wanted to capture the facial expression of a woman being strengthened and nourished by the Lord--a woman who is strong, faithful, and long-suffering. With the simplicity of charcoal, I wanted to depict the hope in her eyes, the fortitude in her face, and the trust of her sleeping infant. Women are not often represented in Book of Mormon art, especially those who go unnamed, but I felt it important to give this mother a face. She is an inspiration to me. Each woman faces different challenges to caring for children in faith. It is important to remember that God will help us. As many other women in the scriptures have learned, nothing is impossible to God. When we keep His commandments, He will help us. Our children are not just ours; they are His, too.

Inspired by 1 Nephi 17.

Opposition

This ceramic installation features contrast and opposition through form, color, and texture. Its formalistic presentation conveys an opposing effect that reflects Lehi's words surrounding the Fall. The shadows of the hollow structure become natural opposing shades of darkness against its white glaze, while the dark geometric shapes on either side loom closely. As Lehi says, righteousness can only be brought pass if there is opposition in all things.

Inspired by 2 Nephi 2:11.

A Cartoon Retelling of the Book of Mormon

I made this art for my Book of Mormon class, highlighting concepts and stories detailed in the first 30-ish chapters of scripture. I drew this on my iPad and drew inspiration from several other cartoonists whose work I admire. My greatest hope in doing this project was that it could make the often esoteric text of the Book of Mormon more accessible to a general audience, particularly children. Inspired by

1st Nephi and part of 2nd Nephi.

The Land of Desolation

To be able to understand any group of people, it is important to understand the environment in which they live. For many cultures, the land is linked to prosperity, history, and spirituality. Artistic depictions of the Book of Mormon typically spotlight the human figure, assumably interest modern viewers and centralize certain characters’ stories. While artistic depictions that focus on people can of course reveal elements of that person’s culture, I wanted to delve into this underrepresented realm of Book of Mormon art: people’s connections to their land. This piece aims to capture the melancholy of the destroyed Nephites leaving their lands for the Land of Desolation as describe in Mormon 3:5. The aridness of the land reflects the symbolic state of the people. Being divorced from their original land mirrors the Nephites’s separation from their righteous history.

Inspired by Mormon 3:5.

Daughters' Faith
This piece represents an intimate moment as one of the daughters of Ishmael holds and studies the sacred Liahona. The lord used the faith of these women to help guide Nephi's group towards the promised land as they acted righteously.

Inspired by 1 Nephi 16.

Behold

This piece represents 1 Nephi 12:1, where Nephi envisions his posterity. Although the following verses foretell hardship and conflict, as an isolated scripture this verse has brought me comfort as a reflection of the beauty of seeing “multitudes of people…as many as the sand of the sea.” This painting, mirroring Norman Rockwell’s Freedom from Want, is a study of glimpsing my family as a parallel for all families of the earth. My family is a family of pioneers, converts to the church, and nonmembers. My mother grew up LDS in the United States, with pioneer ancestors. My father converted to the church as a child. His family is from Nigeria, who then moved to England. After getting married to my mom, my dad immigrated to the United States. I am the oldest son and have two blood-related siblings. My youngest sister was adopted from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The other two brothers represented are not legally my siblings, but I consider them family because they have lived with us since 2014, because of their own difficult family circumstances. In a global church, most families look like mine with an intermingling of cultures, backgrounds, and stories within the walls of the same home. Within 1 Nephi 12:1 verse, a variant of “behold” is repeated three times. The dictionary suggest behold means to see or observe a thing of a person, especially a remarkable or impressive one. My family, like every other, is extraordinary, holding immeasurable value. And all it takes to notice that is to behold.

Inspired by 1 Nephi 12:1.

Teancum's Decision

“And thus they did encamp for the night. For behold, the Nephites and the Lamanites also were weary because of the greatness of the march; therefore they did not resolve upon any stratagem in the night-time, save it were Teancum; for he was exceedingly angry with Ammoron, insomuch that he considered that Ammoron, and Amalickiah his brother, had been the cause of this great and lasting war between them and the Lamanites, which had been the cause of so much war and bloodshed, yea, and so much famine.

And it came to pass that Teancum in his anger did go forth into the camp of the Lamanites, and did let himself down over the walls of the city. And he went forth with a cord, from place to place, insomuch that he did find the king; and he did cast a javelin at him, which did pierce him near the heart. But behold, the king did awaken his servants before he died, insomuch that they did pursue Teancum, and slew him.”

Alma 62:35-36

Of all of the lessons to be pulled from the story of Teancum, his example as a decisive and proactive leader is one of the most intriguing. Often, we hear about the example set by Captain Moroni in his defense of the Nephite people, but I feel that the example of Teancum in doing the same is also worth learning from. When faced with a threat to his people, their peace, and their religion, he did everything in his power to ensure that evil would not prevail, even at the cost of his own life.

In this piece, I hoped to be able to capture not only the fervor and the focus that Teancum exemplified, but also his mortal fragility. Origami is an artform that allows a surprising amount of expression to be translated through the simple medium of folded paper. This model was folded from a two foot square of paper, over the course of several days. Designing the model took the better part of a week.