{"id":40147,"date":"2020-04-07T04:20:24","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T09:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=40147"},"modified":"2020-04-06T20:18:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T01:18:00","slug":"a-tale-of-two-statues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2020\/04\/a-tale-of-two-statues\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Statues"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are several statues that exist at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, but two stand out as the most well-known and prominent.\u00a0 The first is the Angel Moroni, standing at the highest spire of the Salt Lake Temple.\u00a0 Created by Cyrus E. Dallin, the statue of the angel represents the Book of Mormon prophet who finished the record and later delivered it to Joseph Smith.\u00a0 Regarded as a fulfillment of the apocalyptic prophecy of an \u201cangel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth,\u201d[1]<\/a> replicas or variations of the statue have been placed on most Latter-day Saint temples as a symbol of the Restoration of the gospel.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The second is the Christus <\/em>statue held in the northwest visitor\u2019s center, overlooking a green area and the historic Tabernacle.\u00a0 A copy of the original sculpture held at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark, created by Danish sculpture Bertel Thorvaldsen, the Christus<\/em> statue replica has been located at Temple Square since 1966.\u00a0 Other replicas have since been used by the Church at the World\u2019s Fair and at visitors\u2019 centers near 16 temples as well as two other locations as a symbol of our commitment to Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Together, these two powerful statues represent different aspects of our history and belief\u2014the one focusing on the legacy of Joseph Smith, the second on the legacy of Jesus of Nazareth.<\/p>\n

While the two legacies are not necessarily at odds with each other, balancing these two parts of our narrative can be difficult to do.\u00a0 In our efforts to stress differences with other Christian groups, it is easy to get caught up in discussing that which is unique about the Church\u2014the Book of Mormon, a belief in a general apostasy, specific doctrines taught by Joseph Smith, living prophets who speak for God, etc.\u00a0 We also have a wealth of records and interesting (albeit controversial) history to discuss that revolves around the narrative of the Restoration.\u00a0 While we have generally attempted to avoid setting a symbol for the Church, the Angel Moroni has acted as our de facto <\/em>symbol.\u00a0 In addition to its use on temples, it has been used on seminary and institute graduation certificates, the cover image on copies of the Book of Mormon, Church pamphlets, the official emblem for Latter-day Saint veterans on gravestones,[3]<\/a> and the symbol of the Gospel Library App (among other uses).\u00a0 In many ways, the use of the Angel Moroni as our symbol represented our distinctive Mormon-ness.<\/p>\n

Last week, however, President Russell M. Nelson revealed a new symbol to use in branding for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints\u2014one focused on the Christus <\/em>statue, accompanied with the Church\u2019s name and symbols of a corner stone and the empty tomb.\u00a0 When used with media presentations, it seems to be accompanied with a brief motif from \u201cCome, Come, Ye Saints\u201d as an audible icon of the Church.\u00a0 The change in symbol sparked a number of jokes about the Salt Lake City Temple\u2019s statue of the Angel Moroni losing its job because it dropped its trumpet in a recent earthquake, but it represents an important shift in branding and iconography for the Church.\u00a0 Following on the heels of a major push to call the Church as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by its proper name rather than using Mormon or LDS to signify the Church, the change in symbol represents an ongoing effort to put the legacy of Jesus of Nazareth front and center in our mentality as a culture and our image in the public square.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the change, there is still a tightrope to be walked between the two legacies and narratives, which was reflected in the new bicentennial proclamation about the Restoration.\u00a0 The document celebrated the legacy of Joseph Smith but did so in ways that place that legacy within the context of the legacy of Jesus of Nazareth.\u00a0 It begins by affirming God\u2019s love, as demonstrated by the life and sacrifice of His son, Jesus the Christ.\u00a0 It then shifts to describing the First Vision and other steps in the process of restoring the Church through the visitation of angels to Joseph Smith \u201cunder the direction of the Father and the Son.\u201d\u00a0 The Book of Mormon sits at the center of the proclamation, with the focus being on the \u201caccount of the personal ministry of Jesus Christ among people in the Western Hemisphere soon after His Resurrection,\u201d and the doctrine of Christ.\u00a0 The document then bridges the temporal gap between the two legacies of Joseph Smith and Jesus of Nazareth by proclaiming that the Church \u201cis Christ\u2019s New Testament Church restored\u201d and that it is \u201canchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 In reviewing two hundred years since the First Vision, the document emphasized that the Restoration \u201cwas initiated by God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ\u201d and that the purpose of the Restoration is \u201cto prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 While not advancing anything new, the new proclamation is significant in its efforts to walks the tightrope of representing our unique history as a religious community while thoroughly rooting that history in the ministry of the Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n

That same tightrope walk was shown by the focus of talks given at the bicentennial general conference<\/a>.\u00a0 Most talks focused on some aspect of Joseph Smith\u2019s life and ministry\u2014the First Vision, the translation of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of priesthood authority and keys, etc.\u00a0 Amid the multitude of talks celebrating the legacy of Joseph Smith, however, there were also talks that focused on the doctrine of Christ or personal revelation to connect us to God, among other topics.\u00a0 The hosanna shout was discussed both in terms of celebrating the Restoration and in terms of celebrating Palm Sunday.\u00a0 While there were efforts to root the celebration of Joseph Smith\u2019s legacy in the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ, the overall impression of the conference topics was (at least for me) more a celebration of Joseph Smith\u2019s legacy in our Church.<\/p>\n

I suspect that we will continue to struggle to find ways to adequately strike a good balance between the two legacies represented by the Angel Moroni statue and the Christus <\/em>statue.\u00a0 I appreciate the structure and focus of the new proclamation in its efforts to root the Restoration in Jesus\u2019s legacy and the use of a symbol for the Church that is more Christ-centric than has generally been used in the past.\u00a0 There is a part of me that still cherishes my Mormonism and the use of Angel Moroni as the symbolic herald of the Restoration, but as a Christian, I find the trajectory of focusing more fully on Jesus the Christ as the foundation and head of the Church to be satisfying.<\/p>\n

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Now that we\u2019ve had a couple days to digest and ponder on General Conference, I am interested to hear what everyone thought about the event.\u00a0 Some specific questions I have are:<\/p>\n