Freedom of Religion: Joseph Smith, April 6, 1820

Freedom of Religion: Joseph Smith, April 6, 1820
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Personal Painting, Oil on canvas, 16×20″, 2001
Featured in “Prevailing Human Spirit—The Exhibition”, Society of Illustrators, 2002, New York City, New York, memorializing the events of 9/11.
From the collection of Daniel Carter.
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Young Joseph Smith kneels in a grove near his home in 1820, asking God which church was right and which he should join. While we don’t know the exact date of the event, this environment would be “early in the Spring” in upstate New York.

Shot with a model in what is now called The Sacred Grove, a forest glen near his home in which he likely knelt. See James 1:5-7 and Joseph Smith-History 1: 1-20.