Behold Your Little Ones

Technique & Style

Abstract, Drawing

Figures

Angel, Jesus Christ, Nephites

Symbols

angel, circle, fire, halo, square, wing

Notes

Artist's statement: "Christ's visit to the Nephites in 3 Nephi can be read liturgically, as a series of very structured ritual interactions comprising a celebration of the archetypal Year Rite--the new year's celebration held by cultures all over the world. The Greek term for the Year Rite is panegyris, which at its root means 'the gathering of all in a ring.' That same term, panegyris, is used in the New Testament and translated in the KJV book of Hebrews as 'the general assemby' to describe the divine council (as in 'the general assembly and church of the firstborn'). This was the feast of unleavened bread one year after Christ's death, hence the crowd had gathered at the temple to keep the feast...It is also an image of Eden: with the fruit of the tree of life at the center, attended most closely by the innocent. The boundary of paradise is guarded by angels and fire, with humanity outside in various degrees of worship or self-will...It is also an image of the Doctrine of Christ, as described by 2 Nephi 31-32 and 3 Nephi 11...So this is also a portrait of the transformation of the self across time...Because the chapter break bewteen 3 Nephi 17 and 18 is not original to the text, the Nephite sacrament should be read as a continuation of this ritual. In other words, this is the cosmic structure underlying the Lord's Supper...It is a foretaste of the gathering of all things in one in Christ, and thus this is an image of the fullest cosmic meaning of atonement."