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Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?: Difference between revisions
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One of the strangest attacks on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an assault on the Church's art. Now and again, one hears criticism about the representational images which the Church uses in lesson manuals and magazines to illustrate some of the foundational events of Church history.<ref>Note: Most of the images used in this paper are centuries old, and so are in the public domain. I have tried to indicate the creator each of these works of art. No challenge to copyright is intended by their inclusion here for scholarly purposes and illustration. Click each photo for title and author information.</ref> | One of the strangest attacks on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an assault on the Church's art. Now and again, one hears criticism about the representational images which the Church uses in lesson manuals and magazines to illustrate some of the foundational events of Church history.<ref>Note: Most of the images used in this paper are centuries old, and so are in the public domain. I have tried to indicate the creator each of these works of art. No challenge to copyright is intended by their inclusion here for scholarly purposes and illustration. Click each photo for title and author information.</ref> | ||
[[Image:Parson BoM Translation.png|frame| | [[Image:Parson BoM Translation.png|frame|center|Artist's rendition of Joseph and Oliver translating the Book of Mormon.<ref>Del Parson, "Translating the Book of Mormon," © Intellectual Reserve, 1997. {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/hf/art/print/picture/0,16989,4218-1-4-128,00.html}}</ref>]] | ||
[[File:Anthony Sweat Translating with Emma.jpg|thumb|center|500px|Joseph Smith translates using the seer stone placed within his hat while Emma Smith acts as scribe. Image Copyright (c) 2014 Anthony Sweat. This image appears in the Church publication ''From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon'', by Michael Hubbard Mackay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat. (11 May 2015)]] | [[File:Anthony Sweat Translating with Emma.jpg|thumb|center|500px|Joseph Smith translates using the seer stone placed within his hat while Emma Smith acts as scribe. Image Copyright (c) 2014 Anthony Sweat. This image appears in the Church publication ''From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon'', by Michael Hubbard Mackay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat. (11 May 2015)]] | ||
Revision as of 20:02, 30 April 2015
Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?
As the critics point out, there are potential historical errors in some of these images
One of the strangest attacks on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an assault on the Church's art. Now and again, one hears criticism about the representational images which the Church uses in lesson manuals and magazines to illustrate some of the foundational events of Church history.[1]
A common complaint is that Church materials usually show Joseph translating the Book of Mormon by looking at the golden plates, such as in the photo shown here.
Here critics charge a clear case of duplicity—Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith are shown translating the Book of Mormon.
But as the critics point out, there are potential historical errors in this image:
- Oliver Cowdery did not see the plates as Joseph worked with them.
- For much of the translation of the extant Book of Mormon text, Joseph did not have the plates in front of him—they were often hidden outside the home during the translation.
- Joseph used a seer stone to translate the plates; he usually did this by placing the stone in his hat to exclude light, and dictating to his scribe.
Notes
- ↑ Note: Most of the images used in this paper are centuries old, and so are in the public domain. I have tried to indicate the creator each of these works of art. No challenge to copyright is intended by their inclusion here for scholarly purposes and illustration. Click each photo for title and author information.
- ↑ Del Parson, "Translating the Book of Mormon," © Intellectual Reserve, 1997. off-site