Many thanks to Pauline Colton for sharing this beautiful watercolor painting with us. Below, she shares some of her thoughts about the painting, and a few of the many scriptures that came to mind as she was working on this piece. We first shared this in 2009 but the image was not accessible. We figured it was a great opportunity to re-share. Please note the image is copyrighted, and shared with permission. More information below.

Alma 37:6 “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”

The greatest of all the gifts of God is His Son. Christ willingly and lovingly makes the blessings, the healing and the power of the atonement available to each of us. Only by small and simple means can I be in a position to partake of the atonement.

As I worked on the drawing and design of this piece, I had many scriptures come to mind. By taking note of each scripture as I recalled it, I ended up with six pages of scriptures. I categorized the scriptures by elements in the painting. Here, I include only one reference for each category:

1. Being partakers – Alma 5:62

2. Fruit – 1 Nephi 8:10-12

3. Tree – Revelation 2:7

4. Oil – D&C 33:16-17

5. Support for the lamp – Isaiah 41:10

6. Drop by drop – Deut 32:2

7. Light of the World – John 8:12

8. Light of Christ given to man – D&C 84:45-46

9. Clay lamp – Isaiah 64:8

10. Being invited – Revelation 3:20

<font=size=”1″>Copyright Pauline Colton. Picture may be reproduced and used for for personal, non-profit use.</font=size=”1″>

The post “Be Partakers” – a watercolor painting about oil in our lamps, the light of Christ, the tree of life, and more appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Every year, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the “Mormons“) can submit art to the Church’s International Art Competition. This weekend, the awards ceremony was held for this year’s competition, and you can vote for the People’s Choice awards here.

The theme for this year’s LDS International Art Competition is “Make Known His Wonderful Works.”

“Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 65:4)

We recommend taking a few minutes to look at the variety of art that was submitted, from Mormons all over the world.

View art from the Ninth Church International Art Competition. The current exhibit will be open until October 12, 2012.

View art from past years’ competitions at the links below:

Eighth LDS International Art Competition: Remembering the Great Things of God

Seventh LDS International Art Competition: Our Heritage of Faith

Sixth LDS International Art Competition: Latter–day Saints Yesterday and Today; Beliefs, History, Life

Other Artwork from previous LDS International Art Competitions

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It had been a bad day. I was dealing with disappointment over a hoped-for opportunity that had been withdrawn, and pain over a teacher’s unfair and damaging treatment of my young son. As I sat at my computer where so much of my life seems to happen these days, I was feeling lonely and discouraged. Just before I reached out to click the update button on my email, I bent over my keyboard and said a little prayer. “Oh, please, Heavenly Father, let some good news pop up for me!”

I clicked my mouse and emails flooded my inbox, many of them from friends I hadn’t heard from in a while. These emails brought a lot of love and comfort to my heart. One contained a link to a video and I was delighted to find that it was a clip entitled “Reflections of Christ,” featuring the work of an artist who uses live models to re-imagine scenes from well-known paintings. This particular clip featured scenes from the Book of Mormon, when Christ comes to the Americas after he was resurrected.

The first images started out a bit dark and gloomy, just like my mood, but as I watched, Christ appeared and the faces of the people curved with smiles, just my own was doing. As the people gathered, knelt, prayed, and worshiped, I could feel the pain and sorrow slip from my heart as the tears did from my face. When the images of Christ displaying his crucifixion wounds appeared, I was reminded that Christ died on the cross to bear the burden of sin for those who had wronged me as well as for my own sins. I was also reminded of this: there is no pain that is bigger than His love, bigger than His gospel, bigger than His truth. I watched eagerly as the beautiful images permeated my mind, the soaring music permeated my heart and the message permeated my soul. It was just what I needed to watch/see/hear/feel at that very moment.

As the clip came to a close, I was filled with gratitude for my Father in Heaven. What someone else might think is a mere want, He knows to be a true need. He answers prayers, even when murmured over the recumbent letters of the alphabet, the very same keys that brought this gift to me.

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For more Sharing Our Voices content, including First Person essays, see here.

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Read thoughts from some of this year’s artists here. Find past years’ exhibits here. Enjoy an interview with one of the artists, Rose Datoc Dall, here.

And, speaking of art, enjoy some examples of faith-promoting pieces now on display in the art exhibit, “Types and Shadows: Intimations of Christ.”

We know most of you will not be able to visit these exhibits in person, so we like to bring what we can to your home.

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And, speaking of art in your home, if you are interested in some of the more well-known art pieces we use to teach our children at home and at church about the scriptures and basic gospel principles, you can view the Church’s Gospel Art book online. Pictures are available for personal use. The book includes art for several Old and New Testament stories, and also for Book of Mormon, LDS Church History, Gospel in Action, and Latter-day Prophets. Online, you can find scripture references for each picture.

Find information about the Gospel Art book in multiple languages.

The post Links We Like: Inspirational Art appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Click here to be taken to the Church History Museum page. Then scroll down below the hours for the exhibit and click the link to The Eighth International Art Competition Exhibit.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to look at the amazing entries. Then return and share with us which you enjoy the most and why.
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See more Review, Refect, and Return posts here.

The post Review, Reflect, and Return: Art Competition appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

We are looking for more personal essays and poetry, photography, art, videos, and other creative expressions of faith. Don’t be intimidated — your work doesn’t have to be perfect or professional. What matters most to us is that it be heartfelt and consistent with our goal here at Mormon women: to share content that uplifts, strengthens faith, and gives a glimpse into our lives — from the simple to the sacred.

Please consider submitting your writing or artwork or photography or other creations to ‘mormonwoman’ (or ‘mormonwomen’ — either one will work) AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’

If you submit poetry or artwork, please also include a brief paragraph or two with some background on your piece.

For ideas on how or what to share, you can browse content on our site by clicking on the drop-down box on the right, or click here.

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All submissions are subject to review. Authors and artists retain all rights to their work. Please do not submit work with the intent to advertise commercial products. The only commercial work we will consider must also be available free of charge on the internet. Please email if you have any questions.

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And enjoy below a video about one of the scenes.

The post “Reflections of Christ” video appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Born December 21, 1913, in Winnetka, Illinois, Arnold Friberg is recognized as one of the greatest master painters of modern times. Perhaps his best-known work is the 1975 American masterpiece “The Prayer at Valley Forge” — depicting George Washington praying while the Continental Army winters at Valley Forge.

He also did the pre-visualization paintings for the Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments , for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

Currently, the exhibit is in Bountiful, Utah. If you are interested in getting the exhibit in your area, you can go here to vote (see the ‘vote’ tab at the top of the page).

For more information about this traveling art exhibit, see here or here.

The post Bring Arnold Frieberg’s Art to a City Near You! appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Currently, the exhibit is in Bountiful, Utah. If you are interested in getting the exhibit in your area, you can go here to vote (see the ‘vote’ tab at the top of the page).

For more information about this traveling art exhibit, see here or here.

The post Bring Arnold Friberg’s Art to a City Near You! appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

For some beautiful pieces exploring stories of women in the Old Testament, see this article.

Do you know of other existing art to which we can link? Do you have art of your own you would like to share, or know someone who does? Please email us at ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’

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