Identity
Highlights from section 4 of Work and Wonder
A revelation received by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1838 reiterates that Latter-day Saints were to be distinct from the larger society. “Verily I say unto you: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:5). From the Church’s beginnings, many of its unique doctrines set its members apart religiously as well as culturally from the broader society. Initially, these distinctive differences often heightened a sense of insularity, particularly after the Saints journeyed to the isolated West. Yet, as a people believed to be in a special covenant relationship with God, the Church's mission also included sharing their distinctive beliefs with a broader audience, even to “all the world.”
As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has expanded globally, its identity has broadened and diversified, too, with members from all ages, stages of conversion, cultures, and experience. Yet, the uniqueness of its theology and the members’ beliefs and behaviors remains a strong identifier of Church affiliation, and one that has offered compelling artistic opportunities and even a symbolic vocabulary inspired by the Latter-day Saint experience.
Jeanne Leighton Lundberg Clarke (American, 1922–2014), Dessert, 1980. Oil on canvas, 48 x 54 inches. Church History Museum.
Dessert
Through layering of vibrantly colored decorative patterns and objects, Jeanne Leighton Lundberg Clarke creates genre scenes (representations of everyday life) about rich and meaningful home life. A self-proclaimed “maximalist,” Clarke embraced a host of modernist styles to fill every inch of the canvas, believing that “a minimalist art certainly cannot symbolize a woman’s experience.” Dessert is an example of such work. A woman is pictured in the foreground, laying out a table of fruit. In the room behind her, a man reads a book to children while a toddler plays on the ground beside them. In the background, a woman appears to be studying a self-portrait of the artist, a familiar motif of genre paintings in the European tradition.
After joining the Church late in life, Clarke moved to Utah from the East Coast and enrolled at Brigham Young University. She earned two degrees in art and began teaching at her alma mater, playing a formative role in the art education of hundreds of Latter-day Saint students.
Leta Keith (Native American, Diné, Edgewater Clan, 1923–2012), Mesa Arizona Temple Rug, 1990. Handspun wool, 52 x 71 inches. Church History Museum.
Mesa Arizona Temple Rug
The Diné tradition of creating pictorial rugs began in the late 19th century and has become one of the most recognized artistic forms of this indigenous nation. In 1966, one of these artists, Leta Keith, met Church missionaries proselytizing in her home of Monument Valley and later became a Latter-day Saint. Mesa Arizona Temple Rug honors the sacred space where the artist worshipped. The rug is dominated by a brilliant blue that indicates both sky and the large pool of water on the temple grounds. The striking color also foregrounds Keith’s impressive rendering of the building’s terra-cotta glazed façade. A rainbow figure arches over the temple and its grounds, a traditional Diné symbol of blessing.
The artist said this about her perspective in life: “The ‘old ones,’ my ancestors, long ago prayed that they might walk in beauty. I inherited that desire. It means that I strive to walk in beauty, to walk in happiness, and to walk with care and consideration for others. I try to live righteously and think good thoughts. By so doing I will enjoy hozho.” The term hozho is a sacred concept to the Diné that means having peace, balance, beauty, and harmony. For Latter-day Saints, the temple is a place to achieve this state.
Cyrus E. Dallin (American, 1861–1944), Angel Moroni, 1891. Gilded plaster, 31 x 15 x 20 inches. Church History Museum.
Angel Moroni
In 1891, Church President Wilford Woodruff commissioned Cyrus Dallin to create an angel statue for the Salt Lake temple. Dallin, who was not a member of the Church, initially refused the commission, claiming to not believe in angels; however, he eventually accepted and set a precedent for one of the Church’s most recognizable symbols.
This plaster figure was Dallin’s original model for the 12.5-foot-tall bronze that crowns the temple’s east tower. The artist’s early sketches refer to the angel as Gabriel, a common motif on American churches at the time. But prior to the figure’s placement on the temple, Church leaders suggested that it should be identified as Moroni, the Book of Mormon prophet who appeared to Joseph Smith. Moroni’s idealized youth, graceful stance, and flowing robes reflect the artist’s classical training. The physical features of Dallin’s Moroni are generic and represent not just one specific angel but also the various visitations and revelations foundational to the Restoration of the gospel. This piece became an important symbol for the Church worldwide.
Colleen Wallace Nungari (Eastern Arrernte, born 1974), The Coming of Christ, 2008. Acrylic on canvas, 59.125 x 36.25 inches. Church History Museum.
The Coming of Christ
Colleen Wallace Nungari’s unique visual language originates from her ancestral Aboriginal community in Central Australia. The dots that make up the background of her artwork were originally drawn on bodies, shields, and spears as part of complex storytelling rituals called Dreamings. Part ancestral saga, part cultural identity, Dreamings trace the movements of the ancestral Altyerre beings who created the Aboriginal landscape.
Nungari uses this traditional art style of her Eastern Arrernte heritage and layers her work with her testimony of the gospel. She paints from an aerial perspective as if looking down on the movements of the Altyerre, represented throughout the painting by small dots. The U shapes represent people sitting and here describe the Savior—the yellow U—and a large gathering of people from the four corners of the earth. Wooden vessels called urtne occupy the four corners of Nangari’s canvas and hold medicinal items like red river gum and the flowering emu bush, which combine to create a narrative of Christ’s healing power.
Va Va’u Relief Society (Tongan, various), Salt Lake Temple Square, circa 1936. Barkcloth, paint 111.5 x 156 inches. Church History Museum.
Salt Lake Temple Square
This decorative tapa cloth was created by Relief Society sisters in the Va Va’u District of Tonga and represents their embrace of Latter-day Saint beliefs and symbols. Pictures of the Salt Lake temple, the Tabernacle at Temple Square, the Tabernacle organ, and the Eagle Gate are painted on the barkcloth fabric. Flowers and decorations fill the spaces, along with captions labeling “The Temple in Zion,” “the organ in Zion,” and “The Tabernacle.” The women made this tapa—a traditional Tongan token of honor and respect—based on pictures the American mission president had of these sites. A 17-year-old Tongan member accompanied the mission president to Salt Lake City, where the cloth was presented to the Church as an expression of the Saints’ love and identification with their chosen faith.
Richard Lasisi Olagunju (Nigerian, born 1969), Male and Female Created He Them, 2019. Coral beads on board, 36 x 25.5 inches. Church History Museum.
Male and Female Created He Them
This representation of Adam and Eve is made from threaded coral beads in the Yorùbá artistic style practiced in Nigeria and parts of Benin. The artist depicts the pair as a unified partnership and celebrates the doctrine of eternal marriage. The figures stand equal in height, arms reaching around each other to show support; their postures indicate affection. Both wear traditional dashikis with elaborate beadwork. The strong geometry, zigzag lines, and swirl patterns lend a sense of dynamic energy and symbolize their potential as first parents and creators. They stand before an intricate blue backdrop that may evoke the heavens, emphasizing their union as celestial.
Enoma Alfred Igbinigie, (Nigerian, born 1951), Family Together Forever, 2004. Wood, 27.5 x 58 x 4 inches. Church History Museum.
Family Together Forever
Enoma Alfred Igbinigie’s wooden plaque Family Together Forever describes a family’s progression in the gospel. His narrative proceeds in two rows of vignettes. From the top right, the family learns about the gospel of Jesus Christ and is baptized to become members of the Church. They learn and grow through participating in Church activities like home evenings and scripture readings. The final vignette shows the family going to the temple to be sealed as an eternal family.
Instead of the wooden free-standing sculptures common throughout the African continent, Igbinigie’s figures are carved in relief and attached to a background, which is a sculptural style more commonly seen within the bronze casting of the Benin people in Nigeria. Benin bronzes tell the cultural and social history of the Benin people, especially as it relates to the patriarchal lineage of kings. Here, Igbinigie adopts the same idiom of a flat background with high-relief figures to describe the spiritual lineage of his family in the gospel.