There Were Beasts of Every Kind

“And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper.” 1 Nephi 18:25

"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.