Book of Mormon Feast
An Artistic Tour of 3 Nephi 17
3 Nephi 17
BOOK OF MORMON MUSIC
Come, Come, My Child -
Sacred Hymns of the Book of Mormon, 24
The people of the Book of Mormon had the transcendent experience of a personal visit from the risen Savior Jesus Christ, who showed them His love, taught them, prayed for them, and blessed them.
“Come, Come, My Child” is a sequel to “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”
Come, come, my child, and I will tell
the story that you love so well,
How Jesus came, God’s Holy Son,
and blessed the children one by one
As ‘round his feet they gathered there,
with heads bowed low to hear His prayer.
They saw Him weep for joy and love,
and when they raised their eyes above,
Down angels came in bursts of light,
fire transcendent, circling bright.
3 Nephi 17:1-
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Prepare Your Minds for the Morrow -
Jesus taught the people of the New World, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, after His resurrection. At the end of the first day He instructed them to go to their homes and ponder upon the things which He had said, and prepare their minds for the morrow, for He would come again and teach them.
3 Nephi 17:5
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Tarry a Little Longer. Gary L. Kapp
Jesus Christ told the people of the Book of Mormon that He would go visit other civilizations, as He was commanded by His Father.
“And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.”
In His compassion, He did change His plans and minister further to them.
3 Nephi 17:7
BOOK OF MORMON SCULPTURE
And Christ Did Heal His Other Sheep
Jacob Elton Dobson
2012 – cast bronze figure, cement base
” I have done two versions of this sculpture. The first represented Christ healing in the Old World. This version represents the Book of Mormon account of Christ healing His “other sheep . . . which are not of this fold” (John 10:16). Christ asked the people if there were any sick among them and said, “Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy. . . . And he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him. . . . And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. . . . And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones” (3 Nephi 17:7, 9, 11, 23).”
3 Nephi 17:7-
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Patrick Devonas
oil on board, 2007
3 Nephi 17:9
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Gary L. Kapp.
The Book of Mormon records that when Jesus Christ visited the people of ancient America, He taught them wonderful things, some of which were similar to what He had taught during His mortal life in the Holy Land. Before He left that first day, He looked upon them with compassion, as He did through His mortal ministry, and invited those who were sick or hurt in any way to come to Him, and He would heal them.
“And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.”
(This painting is the 8th of 9 on the page. Scroll down.)
3 Nephi 17:10
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Colleen Wallace
acrylic on canvas, 2008.
Artist’s Comment:
“I live in the only Latter-
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Joseph Franklin Brickey
In the Book of Mormon, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ made a glorious visit to the people.
“And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.”
3 Nephi 17:11,12
BOOK OF MORMON ART
So They Brought Their Little Children
Elspeth Young
In the Book of Mormon, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ made a glorious visit to the people.
“And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him.”
Artist’s notes:
Symbolism in “So They Brought Their Little Children
When speaking of how we, too, can bring our children to the Savior, Cheryl C. Lant
explains: "Christ's invitation to seek Him is an invitation to know who He is, what
He has done for us, and what He has asked us to do. Coming to Christ, and eventually
seeing His face, comes only as we draw close to Him through our faith and our actions....It
is our sacred responsibility as parents and leaders of this rising generation of
children to bring them to the Savior so that they might see His face and the face
of our Father in Heaven as well" (Cheryl C. Lant, "That Our Children Might See the
Face of the Savior," April 2010 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-
Just as the young mother holds her child in her arms within the painting, so, too,
do parents, leaders, teachers, and family members, hold the seeds of their children's
faith and potential in their hands. By precept and by example we bring them to the
Savior's feet and point their souls to Him. M. Russell Ballard made this analogy
clear when he said: "Those of us who have been entrusted with precious children
have been given a sacred, noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed
to encircle today's children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding
of who they are" (M. Russell Ballard, "Great Shall Be the Peace of thy Children,"
April 1994 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
The young one's earnest reaching for the Messiah also symbolizes the need for all mankind to "repent, and be baptized in [the Savior's] name, and become as a little child" (3 Nephi 11:38), for every soul is invited to reach for the Redeemer and "be converted, and become as little children [to] enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3).
3 Nephi 17:15-
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Elspeth Young
The Book of Mormon tells of a powerful prayer offered up by the Great Mediator, Jesus, when He visited the people of the New World:
“He himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold, he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
“And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.”
3 Nephi 17:16
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Ted Henninger
oil on canvas
3 Nephi 17:18-
BOOK OF MORMON ART
One by One -
When Jesus visited the people written of in the Book of Mormon, after His resurrection, “He took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.”
3 Nephi 17:21
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Christ Blesses the Nephite Children
Ted Henninger
oil on panel
3 Nephi 17:21
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Christ Blesses the Nephites at the Bountiful Temple
Minerva Teichert (1888-
oil on canvas
3 Nephi 17:23
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Christ Blessing the Nephite Children
Oil on panel, 1972
3 Nephi 17:24
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Del Parson
After painting for the Church for 20 years, I reached a point where a part of me just didn’t want to do it any more. That kind of painting is very demanding. The work always goes through committees, which is usually very difficult. All the planning, sketches, revisions, and all of the different opinions and feedback on each painting really begins to wear you down. It becomes exhausting and difficult to be very creative. It got to be too much for a while and I just couldn’t paint, and that feeling really discouraged me. It was frustrating because I always wanted to paint for the church. It goes all the way back to my patriarchal blessing, which went into great depth about the importance of art in my life. I guess I’ve kind of felt obligated to use my talent to do paintings for the church.
I struggled with this for awhile, and deep down I just wanted to feel a desire to paint again. I thought about what Elder Boyd K. Packer once told me. He said that lots of artists want to paint for the Church, but what they often lack is a willingness to be humble and to be able to take criticism. He told me that criticism helps you to grow, and I could see through my experience that it was true. I am a better artist today, in part, because of the demands of painting for the Church.
Finally, I knelt down in my studio and prayed about it, and just minutes after saying “amen,” the phone rang. The graphics department of the Church called and asked me to paint the scene from 3 Nephi where Jesus blesses the Nephite children. Now I won’t say that this painting was easy — It was still very difficult, and I faced the same challenges that I had before, but I really enjoyed working on this painting. It was an interesting assignment. That portion of scripture had always been one of my favorites, and the Church wanted it to be very accurate. They found models for me — students and children from Meso America. As I pondered the account in the Book of Mormon, where the Resurrected Lord ministered to the ancient Americans, and thought about these models and the link their ancestors may have to that event, the painting really took on a lot of meaning to me.
Somehow, working on this painting got me excited about painting for the Church again, and really loving the work I do for them. I’ve painted for a lot of people in my lifetime, and the Church is the most demanding, by far. But also, the rewards I receive through these paintings are the greatest.
3 Nephi 17:24
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Minerva Teichart
This painting depicts the blessing of the children as recorded in the Book of Mormon at the time of the visit of the resurrected Savior to the New World. Done in Minerva Teichert's vibrant style, we see the great flow of heavenly beings descending from heaven to minister to the children. The Savior is near the center of the composition, reaching out to the children who come to express their love for Him. The rich, warm tones of the painting emphasize the feeling of warmth and love that filled this momentous scene.
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Walter Rane
Oil on board, 2003. Commissioned.
Of this supernal event, the Book of Mormon records, “And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.”
BOOK OF MORMON ART
Angels Ministered Unto Them