When an Image Leaves One Speechless

Contributed By Boyd Matheson, Deseret News

• 15 March 2019

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pose for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Front center are President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. Also included are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, and Elder Ulisses Soares.  Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

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“As the Apostles began to assemble in the visitors' center, energy, power, and love cascaded into the rotunda. Everyone sensed the historic nature of what was taking place. The Apostles were together. The sweetest association of brotherhood was on full display.” —Boyd Matheson, Deseret News

On March 11, photographs of the 15 Apostles were taken in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center, in front of statues of the Christus and the original Twelve Apostles. The photos electrified members of the Church around the world.

The moment was historic. The image instantly iconic. But all the pictures combined are no match for the Spirit-witnessing confirmation of the unity and brotherhood of this mighty and heroic band of Christ’s disciples.

President Russell M. Nelson brought, under the direction of the Lord, all of the Apostles to the Eternal City for what he would later describe as an important hinge point in the history of the gospel. Of the many images that could have been taken, the Prophet was only concerned with one photo—the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles all together. The message was unity. The signal of the importance of being one was a leadership masterclass for the ages.

As the Apostles began to assemble in the visitors' center, energy, power, and love cascaded into the rotunda. Everyone sensed the historic nature of what was taking place. The Apostles were together. The sweetest association of brotherhood was on full display. The joy of the gospel and the culture of a group so absolutely absorbed in the cause of proclaiming the reality of the living Savior to the world was palpable and real.

As the brethren took their places, a hush came over all who had crowded in to watch the gathering of these special witnesses documented by photograph. After the pictures of them in their traditional dark suits, the Twelve went into the temple to change into their white clothing.

The Twelve emerged together and began walking down the piazza steps alongside the water flowing from the front of the temple down to the visitors' center, where the statue representing the Savior they serve waited with arms outstretched. The sight of these Apostles walking together, talking, and clearly rejoicing in their unity literally took one's breath away. It was a scene that would have fit perfectly on the road to Emmaus or along the shore of Galilee.

As the second set of pictures was about to be taken, a similar reverence fell upon the group. The Christus statue was, as the Savior always is, the center point and uniting force for the Apostles. I happened to be standing next to Sister Wendy Nelson. She clearly felt the spiritual magnitude of the moment and softly said, “That will bring tears to your eyes.”

Members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints walk between photograph locations in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

My eyes were already wet, and in my mind I was suddenly transported to a place and time that had nearly vanished from my memory. I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, in June of 2008, sitting in the Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady), where the original Thorvaldsen statues of the Christus and of the Twelve Apostles stand. I remember sitting toward the back of that small cathedral while reading Elder Boyd K. Packer’s 1976 account of his visit there with President Spencer W. Kimball. Looking at the statue of Peter, President Kimball boldly declared that he then held the same Apostolic keys.

That scene and that moment also brought tears of testimony. As I sat in the Vor Frue Kirke, I pulled out a notepad and wrote words to match my testimony and attempted to capture the visual majesty before me of the Savior Jesus Christ with His beloved and valiant Apostles:

Christ and His Apostles

To establish His Father’s kingdom

Christ went to a mount to pray

Then prayed to God straight through the night

And then when it was day—

Christ called to Him, His disciples

And from among them twelve He chose

Whom He also named Apostles

Prophets, Seers whose witness shows—

That Jesus is the Living Christ

Our Lord and Savior, God and King.

That through His grand Atonement

All can know the joy salvation brings.

Now to become a special witness

And proclaim Christ’s true divinity

Mere faith alone is not enough

There must be certainty.

Apostles can’t just know of Christ,

His resurrection and gospel plan,

They must come to truly know Him

Then bear that witness to all of man—

That Jesus is the way, the truth

The light by which we see

The pathway to discipleship

His call, “Come, follow me.”

Peter and the Twelve held keys

To guide the Saints and lead the Church,

But persecution was strong, the martyred Apostles soon gone,

Then the world began a search—

Through ages dark and centuries long

Where wickedness did reign,

They sought the keys to the Apostleship

To restore Christ’s Church again.

At last the Heavens opened up

And the long dark night, turned day,

When a humble boy in a Sacred Grove

Asked to know Christ’s chosen way—

Christ called for new Apostles

Sent Peter, James, and John with keys

Restoring sacred priesthood power

To exalt the human family.

Thus Joseph, then the chosen Twelve

Became special witnesses here on earth

For Jesus Christ the Living and

His doctrines—and covenants of great worth.

And still today Christ’s Apostles dear

Boldly testify and speak;

Invite us to pursue discipleship

The Risen Lord to seek!

—Boyd C. Matheson

June 2008, Copenhagen, Denmark

While a picture may be worth a thousand words, the actual taking of the photograph left most in the room utterly speechless—without any words to adequately express what was seen and felt. But maybe 15 words would be a good place to start: Savior, Apostles, Unity, Keys, Love, Witness, Testimony, Power, Prophets, Temple, Family, Covenants, Revelation, Jesus, Christ.

Monday in Rome, the picture captured the moment. But all the words and photos in the world wither in the face of the silent yet stirring testimony to be found in the lives, teachings, and examples of the Apostles. They share with the world their sweet unity of spirit and certain witnesses as they continue to “go and teach all nations,” as Christ has commissioned them to do. This is ministering in the Savior’s higher, holier way.

Boyd Matheson is the opinion editor and head of strategic reach at the Deseret News.

Elder David A. Bednar pauses for a photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President M. Russell Ballard and President Russell M. Nelson react to a photograph taken earlier in the day of themselves in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

The Rome Italy Temple in Rome, Italy. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Quentin L. Cook talk in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President Russell M. Nelson walks with his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland share a laugh in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf looks over the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center in Rome, Italy. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pose for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson walks through the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

• Temples, Inspirational