Bountiful, Irreantum

“And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.
And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.” 1 Nephi 17:5-6

The artist statement for this group of work is as follows:

"The Lord showed unto me great things." This is my second series of Book of Mormon paintings, each painted while looking through a stone--meditating on and coming to terms with Joseph Smith's revelatory process. Painting through a stone forced upon these compositions an abstraction, removing the text from most geographic or cultural specifics. I chose 1 Nephi 17-18 for this series because it has been the most formative Book of Mormon passage in my own development. In these verses, Nephi returns to the mount oft in search of divine instruction. I have similarly turned to God in an effort to craft my own curious workmanship. And I have wrestled with the implications of attaining a promised land.

Copyright retained by J. Kirk Richards. Contact the artist to license this image for publication.