Using Ensign Art

Passing a local art gallery one day, I paused, struck by the beauty of a painting of Jesus Christ on display. My heart was touched as I looked at the face of the Savior, and I wished I had the painting in my own home. Afterward, I found myself thinking about the impact that painting had had on me. I wanted those feelings to linger, to become an everyday occurrence in my life.

Later on as I was preparing for a lesson I would be giving the following Sunday, I picked up the Ensign magazine and began to thumb through it, looking for a picture to illustrate my lesson. I was deeply moved by the artwork displayed in the magazine, particularly on its inside covers. I felt I was enjoying a visual and spiritual feast. At that moment I decided that my family should share in the wonderful treasure I had just rediscovered.

I went to my basement, where I had stored 10 years of Ensign magazines, and brought them upstairs. Removing the covers, I separated them and placed them in clear sheet protectors, then put them together in a binder according to subject matter: biblical scenes, Book of Mormon, Church history, families, Jesus Christ, temples, and so on.

We now have a wonderful visual resource for our family home evenings, talks, and lessons. We have enjoyed the beautiful spirit these paintings have brought into our home and the priceless gift of visual worship they give us.—Lisa Gemperline, Kaysville, Utah

Clockwise, bottom, far left: Jesus Christ Visits the Americas, by John Scott; Rebekah at the Well, by Michael J. Deas; detail from Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann; detail from The First Doll, by G. Magni