A WALK THROUGH THE SACRED GROVE

In this photo, we see the the forest in a way that young Joseph Smith must have seen it: quiet, inviting, and cut off from the noise of the world and the confusion he had been facing. 

Beyond taking an actual photograph of the location, Robert has also added an artistic sense of light, reminding us of what the First Vision means: God still speaks to His children.

This second picture by Robert takes a different approach, depicting the forest how it might have looked in the direct light of that miraculous vision.

The entire photograph is full of light, changing the entire color tone of the trees and foliage. It carries a message of clarity and hope, much like Joseph Smith’s First Vision did.

We love this photo of the sacred grove for its unique view of this historical site. 

Cary has a style all his own, and we love it! In this unique piece of LDS artwork he includes the beginning lyrics and line of music from the loved hymn Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning.

You can’t help but hear the music as you gaze at the painting. The art itself fits the lyrics well, depicting a beautiful, golden-lit forest.   

Cary adds a variety of different textures in his LDS art, such as the crosshatching as the paint behind the line of music fades out.

The dark silhouettes of trees draw the eye and add to the vertical composition while the complementing orange and blue tones tie the piece together nicely.

Robert works chiefly in photography, while Linda is a painter. We love her depiction for its realism. In her work, there is no shining beacon, just the forest on a spring morning. 

Linda also chooses an interesting angle for this piece. While many sacred grove pictures focus on entering the patch of forest, Linda has chosen the angle of exiting. After all, as miraculous as the First Vision was, nothing really happened until Joseph Smith acted on the revelation he had received.

It was not until he put his trust in God, stood up for his beliefs, and put his whole soul into the task God had given him that more individuals were able to come to know their Savior.

In this instance, Linda not only captures the sacred grove, but if you look closely, you can spot young Joseph praying. Interestingly, he is not a huge focus in the painting. In comparison to his surroundings, he is quite small. 

Linda’s artistic choice here speaks a lot for what the First Vision really means. There is a common misconception that members of the church worship Joseph Smith when, in reality, we don’t worship him any more than we would worship Moses. We see both individuals as revered prophets of God. They were humble instruments in His hands who, despite their human weaknesses, helped to free God’s children, whether physically or spiritually. 

Linda’s LDS art piece demonstrates that the First Vision is less about Joseph Smith and more our loving Savior who wants to communicate with us. 

We’ll start with another one of Linda’s paintings. In this artwork, we see more of the First Vision. Characteristic of Linda’s style, the colors and lighting are soft and gentle. The scene feels peaceful and even personable, reminding us that  Heaven isn’t so far out of reach after all. 

We also love this LDS art piece because Linda chose to place Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ close to the forest floor. They are still in the air, as Joseph Smith describes in his personal account, but they are also close to the Earth. It’s a subtle message of God’s love for His creations and of Christ’s condescension in coming to Earth.

Madison is one of our newer LDS artists. Her art is easy to spot because of her unique use of shapes when she paints. In this picture, the various shape patterns bring a sense of rhythm.

For example, the blue sky is full of more color and movement, suggesting a busy world outside of the miraculous vision. The grass has even tighter shapes which speak of the long and confusing journey that led to Joseph approaching his Father in Heaven in prayer. 

And there are the large, evenly-toned shapes within the beam of light. The rhythm here is slow and calm. It ties the picture together with clarity and stability.

Jeff brings a very modern, minimalist style to LDS art. In this sacred grove picture, we don’t see the surrounding forest at all. The entire focus is on the vision itself and, more particularly, light.   

The darkness surrounding Joseph Smith is symbolic of the world before Christ restored His gospel to the earth in its fullness. The First Vision occurred during a time of great religious excitement and even conflict in the United States. In Jeff’s painting, we see that Joseph’s vision was enlightening and clarifying. 

We also appreciate Jeff’s artistic choice of warm colors to depict Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s appearance. The event must have been initially startling to a boy so young, and yet the message was one of peace, purpose, and love.

Jorge, another artist with a modern flair, created his own style of this miraculous event. His LDS art has a lot of character. In fact, he has even come up with a name for his unique cubism-inspired style that he uses for his religious artworks: “sacrocubism”. First Vision is just one example of sacrocubism at its finest.

Jorge doesn’t focus too much on the visual details of the event because his goal is to help people look past any historical or technical accuracy to find deeper meaning for themselves. That being said, what do you see in this painting?