Because of Him

Notes

Psychology major, BYU. Artist statement: "Mosiah 14:3-5, "3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." I have always loved these three verses as I feel they capture the Atonement which our Savior performed so perfectly. To represent these verses, I blacksmithed and welded a crown of thorns and leaves out of metal rod with roses made out of 20 gauge sheet metal. Half of the crown is rusty (done through a chemical process) and thorny, while the other half is polished with leaves and flowers. The idea behind it was that half of the crown would represent Christs Atonement, and the other half would represent each of our potential if we are willing to use His Atonement to repent and draw closer" to Him. The opportunity to create this piece presented itself at a very difficult time in my life. My parents are going through a very rough divorce which has had many negative effects on my own mental health and testimony. This project helped remind me that no matter what we go through, no matter the pain or doubt, our Savior knows us perfectly. As we will use His Atonement in our lives, we will one day have the chance to become perfect. Because of Him, we will be healed. Because of Him, we will overcome sin. Because of Him, even a crown of thorns will bloom again.

Exhibition History:

• Submitted to the 2023 BYU Book of Mormon Art Contest.