Upon This Rock

Matthew 16:15-19
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Referring to this scripture, the Prophet Joseph said, "What rock? Revelation."

How will you come to know Jesus as the Christ? What is the difference between knowing Him as your Savior, and merely knowing about Him? How is that saving knowledge revealed? Could Peter have led the Church of Jesus Christ without revelation? Authority? Priesthood keys? Can you follow the Savior without following His living prophet? Come unto Christ—through all of the means He has appointed.

I tried to include some aspect of every part of this scripture into the dynamics of the composition, color, and lighting. The event took place at Caesarea Philippi. While there on a study abroad this April, I basked in the lush beauty of the place, which is located near some rocky, towering cliffs. I also took several photos, three of which I combined to create this landscape. Christ taught His apostles in the outskirts of the Roman city, located near an important spring that fed into the Sea of Galilee. Because of the high location geographically of Caesarea Philippi (some 10-15 miles north of the Sea of Galilee), I feel there could be some symbolism in the Lord's choice of setting when He pronounced this crucially important statement. Every lake has a source, and if it were to be cut off from that source it would dry up. Similarly, Christ's Church must have a living source, and not try to rely on past revelation or past authority alone. The Lord's prophet is, for us, the spring from which the Lord's guidance comes for the Church collectively. Then, both he and we receive individual revelation pertaining to whatever sphere of responsibility the Lord has given us. There is much more I could say about the scripture, but I'll refrain for now. Suffice it to say there is deep and rich doctrine about revelation, priesthood authority, and ordinances contained in these verses.

I couldn't fit into one entry all of the little miracles that have happened to allow things to come together for this painting: the right models and costumes showing up just at the right times, the right pictures falling into place, and the miraculous timing of its completion. It took just under 80 hours to paint, which I had to squeeze into 9 days working around the clock. I thank the Lord, who definitely helped me.

This is also the last painting for my BFA show, which anyone is invited to attend of course. The opening reception is this Thursday, November 20, from 7:30-9:30 pm, at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, right outside the Spori Art Gallery. On display will be the originals of this and the previous three paintings illustrating Seminary scripture mastery scriptures. Hope to see you there!