“The Life of Christ,” a New Entry in Series of Online Exhibits
Contributed By Marianne Holman Prescott, Church News staff writer
The second installment of the Church History Museum’s online exhibits features the life of Christ in three segments.
Article Highlights
- A new online exhibit depicts the life of Christ in three segments: His childhood, His ministry, and His organization of His Church.
- This is the second installment of the Church History Museum’s online exhibit collection. More entries will be available in the near future.
“We hope that [participants] take time to reflect on the Savior and the significance of that event in their personal lives and in their families.” —Kevin Nielson, history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
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Sunday School teachers, families, and individuals with Internet access can now view an online exhibit compiled by the Church History Museum focusing on the life and ministry of the Savior.
The exhibit, “The Life of Christ,” is meant to accompany this year’s scripture study in the New Testament and be a resource available for viewing online. “There are so many unseen treasures in the [Church History] Museum’s collection that people don’t know about that will both supplement and enrich their study of the New Testament this year,” said Kevin Nielson, the product manager of history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. “The museum has tried to identify those and make those available to a global audience so they can get a better understanding in a visual way how artists have represented some of these events in the Savior’s life.”
The web is a perfect medium to make the images available to Church members—and fellow Christians—around the world, Brother Nielson said. “What we are trying to do with the life of Christ exhibit is really portray Christ as an individual,” said Brother Nielson, “His ministry, His childhood, and who He was.” The exhibit contains approximately 30 pieces of art done in many mediums and has been broken into three sections: “The Grace of God Was upon Him,” “Behold the Lamb of God,” and “A New Commandment.”
The format of the exhibit is a large timeline, allowing participants to scroll through different pieces of art at their own pace. The information for the art—title and artist—is available upon scrolling over the image on the screen. The exhibits are formatted in a way that it is easy to scroll through and view on a tablet. “We are trying to make these resources Sunday School teachers can use in their teaching,” Brother Nielson said. Many of the pieces of art are familiar, and many will be new to viewers. All of them come from the Church History Museum’s collection, much of which was acquired through the International Art Competition held every three years.
“The Grace of God Was upon Him,” the first section, focuses on Christ’s childhood and looks to the influences of His mother, Mary, and His earthly father, Joseph. Many of the images show the young Christ child in His interactions with others. One of the themes includes depictions of Christ and the impression He had on scholars of His day.
“According to Thy Faith” by Adair Payne.
“Flight” by Rose Datoc Dal.
“Behold the Lamb of God,” the second section of the online exhibit, includes images of Christ’s ministry—His baptism, preaching, and healing; miracles He performed; and the calling of the Twelve Apostles. It focuses on Christ’s role as the Son of God and shows Christ calming the seas and walking on water.
“A New Commandment,” the third section of the exhibit, focuses on the role Christ had in establishing His Church on the earth so that the Church could move forward after His death. Images include Christ teaching the Twelve Apostles, establishing the sacrament, and the Last Supper.
The exhibit is one of a four-part online exhibit that focuses on the life of Christ. The first exhibit, “Birth of Christ,” was released online at the beginning of December 2014, and subsequent exhibits will be released in the future. The next exhibit, scheduled to be released in mid-February, will focus on the parables of the Savior. The last exhibit, scheduled for March, will focus on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. Most of the art included in the exhibits comes from the Church’s International Art Competition. The museum is currently accepting art for the 10th annual International Art Competition. The call for entries came in August 2013, and submission dates began in November 2014. Art submissions will be accepted until February 27, 2015, in preparation for an exhibit to go from the fall of 2015 through the summer of 2016.
To view the exhibit, visit history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/exhibit/life-of-christ or go through the Church History Museum’s home page, history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
